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The Abbott Touch: Pal Joey, Damn Yankees, and the Theatre of George Abbott
by Thomas HischakThis in-depth and original study examines 100 productions and analyses why George Abbott's name became synonymous with the 'golden age' of Broadway. What did Abbott contribute? How did he work? How did he innovate the industry? How did he survive so long? All of these inquiries, and more, lead to the most fundamental question of all: what exactly was the famous “Abbott touch”? For sixty years, George Abbott was a vital force in the American theatre. As an actor, playwright, director, librettist, play doctor, and producer, he laid his "touch" on approximately 100 New York productions, from The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees through to Once Upon a Mattress and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Spanning this incredible figure's work chronologically, each chapter of The Abbott Touch examines a period of creativity in his life, culminating in how he became the famous multi-hyphenate artist he is now celebrated as. Beginning with his early career in 1913 through to his work on the 1994 revival of Damn Yankees, this book analyses his key contributions to his primary works, all of which have relied on his genius. The first study of its kind, The Abbott Touch provides key insights into the working life of one of the 20th Century's most prolific theatre practitioners, as well as a vital history for theatre scholars and fans alike.
The Abbott Touch: Pal Joey, Damn Yankees, and the Theatre of George Abbott
by Thomas HischakThis in-depth and original study examines 100 productions and analyses why George Abbott's name became synonymous with the 'golden age' of Broadway. What did Abbott contribute? How did he work? How did he innovate the industry? How did he survive so long? All of these inquiries, and more, lead to the most fundamental question of all: what exactly was the famous “Abbott touch”? For sixty years, George Abbott was a vital force in the American theatre. As an actor, playwright, director, librettist, play doctor, and producer, he laid his "touch" on approximately 100 New York productions, from The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees through to Once Upon a Mattress and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Spanning this incredible figure's work chronologically, each chapter of The Abbott Touch examines a period of creativity in his life, culminating in how he became the famous multi-hyphenate artist he is now celebrated as. Beginning with his early career in 1913 through to his work on the 1994 revival of Damn Yankees, this book analyses his key contributions to his primary works, all of which have relied on his genius. The first study of its kind, The Abbott Touch provides key insights into the working life of one of the 20th Century's most prolific theatre practitioners, as well as a vital history for theatre scholars and fans alike.
Abe Koogler Selected Plays (Methuen Drama Play Collections)
by Abe Koogler“Koogler's characters are earnest, idiosyncratic, and suspicious of hierarchy. Often bitingly funny, Koogler's plays…reveal larger truths about the economic and racial systems under which we all live.” (The Yale Review)Abe Koogler writes darkly comedic plays about ordinary Americans confronting larger political and economic forces, from small town residents grappling with environmental change to slaughterhouse workers trying to retain their humanity. Although grounded in realism, Koogler's plays often incorporate imaginary elements and heightened or musical language, creating moving and memorable works of art.In his first play collection, Koogler's work is brought together and introduced by the author, offering an overview of his range in style, from the naturalistic to the absurd.Deep Blue Sound: “If anything links all of these people, it is an aching loneliness. That they are trying to figure out what happened to orcas, which are remarkably social animals, is among the nice touches that Koogler has sneaked into his group portrait.” (New York Times)Fulfillment Center: “steeped in a luminous and illuminating empathy that feels both uncommon and essential right now.” (New York Times)Aspen Ideas: A fast-paced and darkly comedic thriller about an annual conference of the famous and well-connected, held high in the Colorado mountains.Kill Floor: “Melancholy and moving. A very closely, and often quite beautifully, observed character study.” (Chicago Tribune)Advance Man: Ripe with experimental language, movement and absurdism, a surprising comedy exploring what it means to be a politically engaged American.
Abe Koogler Selected Plays (Methuen Drama Play Collections)
by Abe Koogler“Koogler's characters are earnest, idiosyncratic, and suspicious of hierarchy. Often bitingly funny, Koogler's plays…reveal larger truths about the economic and racial systems under which we all live.” (The Yale Review)Abe Koogler writes darkly comedic plays about ordinary Americans confronting larger political and economic forces, from small town residents grappling with environmental change to slaughterhouse workers trying to retain their humanity. Although grounded in realism, Koogler's plays often incorporate imaginary elements and heightened or musical language, creating moving and memorable works of art.In his first play collection, Koogler's work is brought together and introduced by the author, offering an overview of his range in style, from the naturalistic to the absurd.Deep Blue Sound: “If anything links all of these people, it is an aching loneliness. That they are trying to figure out what happened to orcas, which are remarkably social animals, is among the nice touches that Koogler has sneaked into his group portrait.” (New York Times)Fulfillment Center: “steeped in a luminous and illuminating empathy that feels both uncommon and essential right now.” (New York Times)Aspen Ideas: A fast-paced and darkly comedic thriller about an annual conference of the famous and well-connected, held high in the Colorado mountains.Kill Floor: “Melancholy and moving. A very closely, and often quite beautifully, observed character study.” (Chicago Tribune)Advance Man: Ripe with experimental language, movement and absurdism, a surprising comedy exploring what it means to be a politically engaged American.
Abhishek Majumdar: Collected Plays (Oberon Modern Playwrights)
by Abhishek MajumdarThe first collection of plays from Indian playwright Abhishek Majumdar, in Hindi.
Abhishek Majumdar Collected Plays: Dweepa; Pah-La; Djinns of Eidgah; Muktidham; 9 Kinds of Silence (Methuen Drama Play Collections)
by Abhishek MajumdarIn his first play collection published in English, international audiences can finally discover the acclaimed work of Abhishek Majumdar. Internationally celebrated author and theatre maker Abhishek Majumdar has worked across the world as a playwright, theatre director and scenographer. Performed at the Royal Court Theatre, Deutsch Schauspielhaus. Edinburgh Festival and at worldwide venues in cities such as Bangalore, New York, Hamburg, London, Yokohama, Cairo and Buenos Aries, his plays speak to all audiences through their emotional truth and shocking relatability. Infusing retellings of contemporary events with timeless themes, this collection threads together explorations of authoritarianism, radicalization and the sense of belonging: both intimate and far-reaching in scope, Majumdar marries the personal with the universal. With an introduction by renowned Indian Philosopher Sundar Sarukkai, the anthology cements Majumdar's place as an important and necessary voice in contemporary drama: whether for performance or for study, Abhishek Majumdar Collected Plays is the essential introduction to the playwright's beloved work.
Abhishek Majumdar Collected Plays: Dweepa; Pah-La; Djinns of Eidgah; Muktidham; 9 Kinds of Silence (Methuen Drama Play Collections)
by Abhishek MajumdarIn his first play collection published in English, international audiences can finally discover the acclaimed work of Abhishek Majumdar. Internationally celebrated author and theatre maker Abhishek Majumdar has worked across the world as a playwright, theatre director and scenographer. Performed at the Royal Court Theatre, Deutsch Schauspielhaus. Edinburgh Festival and at worldwide venues in cities such as Bangalore, New York, Hamburg, London, Yokohama, Cairo and Buenos Aries, his plays speak to all audiences through their emotional truth and shocking relatability. Infusing retellings of contemporary events with timeless themes, this collection threads together explorations of authoritarianism, radicalization and the sense of belonging: both intimate and far-reaching in scope, Majumdar marries the personal with the universal. With an introduction by renowned Indian Philosopher Sundar Sarukkai, the anthology cements Majumdar's place as an important and necessary voice in contemporary drama: whether for performance or for study, Abhishek Majumdar Collected Plays is the essential introduction to the playwright's beloved work.
Abi Morgan: Plays One (Oberon Modern Playwrights)
by Abi Morgan'Tiny Dynamite: An impossible love story is given a second chance and three scorched characters are about to learn that lightning does strike twice. Splendour: Inside a beautiful state residence on the edge of a city, four women wait. They talk: films, Prada, chilli vodka, anything. Outside civil war looms ever nearer. Tender: In a city of fast talk and chance encounters, how much faith can we put in other people? Abi Morgan’s acerbic play takes a scalpel to modern love and friendship. Lovesong: The story of one couple, told from two different points in their lives – as young lovers in their twenties and as worldly companions looking back on their relationship. 27: Dr Richard Garfield has given Ursula a difficult choice. She is the Mother Superior in waiting of a convent that has been given the opportunity to take part in his revolutionary scientific study. Ursula must weigh up the value of preserving her faith, versus embracing science.
Abi Morgan Two Plays: Splendour/Tender (Oberon Modern Plays)
by Abi MorganInside a beautiful state residence on the edge of an Eastern European city, four women wait. They talk – movies, handbags, vodka, anything. For outside, as snow is falling, civil war looms ever nearer. A play about decadence, desire and dictatorship, Splendour brilliantly peels back the cruel veneer of our lives to reveal the beating heart within. Tender takes place in a city full of chance encounters. Al loves Hen, but now there’s a baby on the way everything looks different. Gloria loves Marvin, but one day he walked out and disappeared. And Hen’s mate Tash just loves a laugh and a drink. Particularly a drink. In this world of fast talk and hard sell, how much faith can we put in other people? Splendour was first produced by Paines Plough and won the Barclays TMA Award for Best New Play. Tender was first produced by Birmingham Rep, in a co-production with Hampstead Theatre and Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Abigail's Party
by Mike Leigh40th anniversary edition with a new introduction by Mike Leigh. Forty years on from its first performance at the Hampstead Theatre and original screening on BBC1 soon after, Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party - telling of two marriages spectacularly unravelling at an awkward neighbourhood drinks party - remains a pinnacle of British theatre.Here is the original script, complete with a new introduction by Mike Leigh describing the play's unlikely genesis, how it came to be made and where he believes it fits within his oeuvre as one of the country's leading writers and directors.'The play came from my intuitive sense of the spirit and the flavour of the times, and from a growing personal fear of, and frustration with the suburban existence' Mike Leigh, from his new introduction'Leigh's play isn't simply about marriage and Essex, but also about the unhappy state of the realm' Guardian
Abigail's Party & Goose-Pimples
by Mike LeighMike Leigh’s 1970s classic play ‘Abigail’s Party’ focuses on an evening of domestic hell in the guise of a suburban drinks soirée. While teenager Abigail parties a few doors away, the pretentious Beverly and her estate agent husband, Laurence, entertain their neighbours – Abigail’s mother, Susan, ex-footballer, Tony, and his wife, Angela. But as the alcohol flows, tensions in the hosts’ barely functional marriage emerge and their obsessions, prejudices and petty competitiveness are ruthlessly, and hilariously, exposed. ‘Goose-Pimples’, meanwhile, is easily as sharp and uncompromising. This time, the action focuses on ambitious casino croupier, Jackie, and Saudi businessman, Muhammad, who meet – and misunderstand – one another spectacularly.
Ablutions (Oberon Modern Plays)
by Patrick DeWitt Fellswoop TheatrePicture yourself as a bartender, sipping top-shelf whisky and watching your customers descend into nightly oblivion. Your heart is broken by the world around you and, leaving the whisky aside, you hatch a devious, unthinkable plan of escape… Award-winning FellSwoop Theatre present Ablutions: a dark, modern drama, adapted from the novel by Man Booker shortlisted author, Patrick deWitt. A grimly funny tale from the sodden depths of the Los Angeles underworld, Ablutions blends a live soundtrack and deWitt’s heart-wrenching humour. WINNER: Ignite Theatre Festival’s Critics’ Choice Award
About Beckett: The Playwright and the Work (About... The Playwrights And Their Works)
by John FletcherIn About Beckett Emeritus Professor John Fletcher has compiled a thorough and accessible volume that explains why Beckett's work is so significant and enduring. Professor Fletcher first met Beckett in 1961 and his book is filled not only with insights into the work but also interviews with Beckett and first-hand stories and observations by those who helped to put his work on the stage, including Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Roger Blin, Peter Hall, Max Wall and George Devine. As an introduction to Beckett and his work, Professor Fletcher's book is incomparable.
About Friel: The Playwright and the Work
by Tony CoultThis series contains what no other study guides can offer - extensive first-hand interviews with the playwrights and their closest collaborators on all of their major work, put together by top academics especially for the modern student market. As well as invaluable synopses, biographical essays and chronologies, these guides allow the student much closer to the playwright than ever before!In About Friel, teacher and playwright Tony Coult has selected an extensive and stimulating range of documents and interview material that explores Friel's life, work and the experiences of his collaborators and fellow artists who put that work on stage, including Patrick Mason, Connall Morrison, Joe Dowling and actors Catherine Byrne and Mark Lambert. If you want to read just one book on Brian Friel and the titanic power of his work, this is it.
About Hare: The Playwright and the Work (About... The Playwrights And Their Works)
by Richard BoonThis series contains what no other study guides can offer - extensive first-hand interviews with the playwrights and their closest collaborators on all of their major work, put together by top academics especially for the modern student market. As well as invaluable synopses, biographical essays and chronologies, these guides allow the student much closer to the playwright than ever before!In About Hare, Professor Richard Boon provides an in-depth study of one of the great post-war British playwrights. His study includes a rigorous analysis of Hare's work, as well as interviews with Hare and those who helped to put his work on stage, including Bill Nighy, Vicki Mortimer, Sir Richard Eyre, Lia Williams and Jonathan Kent. With the increasing interest in this major playwright, whose work attracts the very best of acting talent, this book is a timely publication for student and theatregoer alike.
Absence and Memory in Colonial American Theatre: Fiorelli's Plaster (Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History)
by O. JohnsonHistory, they say, has a filthy tongue. In the case of colonial theatre in America, what we know about performance has come from the detractors of theatre and not its producers. Yet this does not account for the flourishing theatrical circuit established between 1760 and 1776. This study explores the culture's social support of the theatre.
The Absence of America: The London Stage, 1576-1642 (Early Modern Literary Geographies)
by Gavin HollisThe Absence of America: the London Stage 1576â1642 examines why early modern drama's response to English settlement in the New World was muted, even though the so-called golden age of Shakespeare coincided with the so-called golden age of exploration: no play is set in the Americas; few plays treat colonization as central to the plot; a handful features Native American characters (most of whom are Europeans in disguise). However, advocates of colonialism in the seventeenth century denounced playing companies as enemies on a par with the Pope and the Devil. Instead of writing off these accusers as paranoid cranks, this book takes as its starting point the possibility that they were astute playgoers. By so doing we can begin to see the emergence of a "picture of America," and of the Virginia colony in particular, across a number of plays performed for London audiences: Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, The Staple of News, and his collaboration with Marston and Chapman, Eastward Ho!; Robert Greene's Orlando Furioso; Massinger's The City Madam; Massinger and Fletcher's The Sea Voyage; Middleton and Dekker's The Roaring Girl; Shakespeare's The Tempest, and Fletcher and Shakespeare's Henry VIII. We can glean the significance of this picture, not only for the troubled Virginia Company, but also for London theater audiences. And we can see that the picture that was beginning to form was, as the anti-theatricalists surmised, often slanderous, condemnatory, and, as it were, anti-American.
The Absence of War
by David HareThe Absence of War offers a meditation on the classic problems of leadership, and is the third part of a critically acclaimed trilogy of plays (Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges) about British institutions.Its unsparing portrait of a Labour Party torn between past principles and future prosperity, and of a deeply sympathetic leader doomed to failure, made the play hugely controversial and prophetic when it was first presented at the National Theatre, London, in 1993.
The Absence of Women
by Owen McCafferty- he hadn't forgotten i was there - he just didn't care whether i was there or not - it would've been better him forgetting rather than not caring at all Gerry and Iggy face the ends of their lives in a London hostel. As they drift from present concerns - the funeral of an old drinking partner, the relative sizes of their swollen livers, tube routes, street names, God and the lure of Belfast - to remembering ghosts from long ago, we catch a poignant glimpse of what might have been. Owen McCafferty's The Absence of Women, heartrending and darkly comic in turn, premiered at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, in February 2010.
Absolute Hell (Oberon Modern Plays)
by Rodney AcklandSet in a Soho drinking Club just after World War II, this savage, witty slice of Bohemian life in London was reviled by one critic as ‘an insult to the British people’. Its title then was The Pink Room, as close as the law would allow for a play in which one of its central characters is a drunken homosexual writer. Despite these obstacles, Absolute Hell is now regarded as a twentieth-century classic, following a sumptuous revival at the National Theatre, starring Dame Judi Dench. Earlier the play had been televised by Channel 4 after being rediscovered by the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, near to where the author Rodney Ackland was living in virtual obscurity. The play is remarkable for two reasons: It offers a realistic view of postwar London, in contrast to the nostalgic memories of the blitz and buzz bombs; Ackland’s craft is consummate, weaving together the lives of 20 speaking characters, many of them lost souls as they drift in and out of the bar in search of a more meaningful life. Ackland died in poverty, having written some of the finest plays of our time.
An Absolute Turkey (Oberon Classics)
by Peter Hall Georges Feydeau Nicki FreiGeorges Feydeau (1862-1921), the supreme master of farce, devoted his skills to exploding hypocrisy in a very self-important age. An Absolute Turkey (Le Dindon) is one of his best loved plays. He displays all his dramatic tricks as the characters are pulled back and forth by an escalating series of complications. This translation received its London premiere at the Globe Theatre in January 1994.
Absolutely Perhaps
by Luigi PirandelloA brand new adaptation of Pirandello's first play.No one has ever seen Signor Ponza's wife and her mother, Signora Frola together. Also, the neighbours have become suspicious because Signora Ponza never leaves her home and start asking questions. Ponza claims that this wife is really his second wife, the first having died in an earthquake that destroyed all records. Meanwhile his wife only pretends to be Signora Frola's daughter to humour Signora Frola, who, he claims, is insane. Thoroughly bewildered, Agazzi demands to meet Ponza's wife, who arrives heavily veiled proclaiming herself as both the daughter of Signora Frola and the second wife of Signor Ponza. Absolutely! {Perhaps} is brilliant comedy on the elusive nature of identity and reality and, like all of Pirandello's work, shows truth as subjective and relative and drama itself a mystery.Absolutely! {Perhaps} is published to coincide with the production at London's Wyndham's theatre starring Joan Plowright and directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
Absolutely Perhaps (Methuen Fast Track Playscripts Ser.)
by Luigi PirandelloA brand new adaptation of Pirandello's first play.No one has ever seen Signor Ponza's wife and her mother, Signora Frola together. Also, the neighbours have become suspicious because Signora Ponza never leaves her home and start asking questions. Ponza claims that this wife is really his second wife, the first having died in an earthquake that destroyed all records. Meanwhile his wife only pretends to be Signora Frola's daughter to humour Signora Frola, who, he claims, is insane. Thoroughly bewildered, Agazzi demands to meet Ponza's wife, who arrives heavily veiled proclaiming herself as both the daughter of Signora Frola and the second wife of Signor Ponza. Absolutely! {Perhaps} is brilliant comedy on the elusive nature of identity and reality and, like all of Pirandello's work, shows truth as subjective and relative and drama itself a mystery.Absolutely! {Perhaps} is published to coincide with the production at London's Wyndham's theatre starring Joan Plowright and directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
The accident did not take place (Oberon Modern Plays)
by Sam WardSomewhere on the other side of the world, a plane is falling from the sky.You can see it on your laptop. You can watch it happening on YouTube.You can hit rewind and watch it burning on repeat.Combining play text with experimental book design, the accident did not take place is a hyper-real exploration of the way we consume information, and the way information consumes us; a frenetic, head-on collision with a world thoroughly mediated by screens, a world possessed with post-truth hysteria, a world yearning for contact with those who seem so far away.