Modern American Drama, 1945–2000
Modern American Drama, 1945–2000
In this new edition of the widely-acclaimed Modern American Drama, Christopher Bigsby completes his survey of postwar and contemporary theatre and brings the reader up to 2000. While retaining the key elements of the first edition, including surveys of those major figures who have shaped postwar American drama, such as Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, David Mamet, and Sam Shepard, Bigsby also explores the most recent works and performances: these include plays by established dramatists such as Miller's The Ride down Mount Morgan and Albee's Three Tall Women, as well as works by relatively new playwrights Paula Vogel, Tony Kushner, and Terrence McNally among others. Bigsby also provides a new chapter, 'Beyond Broadway' and offers an analysis of how theatre has formed and influenced the millenial culture of America.
- Bigsby the number one writer on contemporary American theatre and knows many of the dramatists he includes in the book
- Brings the first edition, '1945–1990', up to date to 2000 and includes the latest plays and playwrights
- Perfect as a course book and also as a guide for the general reader and theatre enthusiast
Reviews & endorsements
"Bigsby has read the evolving American spirit through its theater. It is a work of enormous encyclopedic breadth, reaching out into the myriad byways of American theater, encompassing all its styles and approaches, but always with an eye to the central preoccupation of all serious theater, the nation's mysterious soul." Arthur Miller
"Bigsby's knowledge of the field is encyclopedic. His insights are sharp and well reasoned. Replacing the earlier volume, this expanded edition is strongly recommended for public, college, and university libraries." Choice
"Impressive in its scope, provides invaluable insights, and motivates the reader to take a closer look at the plays analyzed." Zeitschrift fuer Anglistik und Amerikanistik
Product details
January 2001Hardback
9780521790895
468 pages
229 × 152 × 30 mm
0.86kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Preface to first edition
- Preface to second edition
- 1. The absent voice: American drama and the critic
- 2. Eugene O'Neill's Endgame
- 3. Tennessee Williams: the theatricalising self
- 4. Arthur Miller: the moral imperative
- 5. Edward Albee: journey to apocalypse
- 6. A Broadway interlude
- 7. Sam Shepard: imagining America
- 8. David Mamet: all true stories
- 9. The performing self
- 10. Redefining the centre: politics, race, gender
- 11. Beyond Broadway
- Notes
- Index.
