Best of
Drama

1999

Carpe Jugulum: The Play


Stephen Briggs - 1999
    A play based on Terry Pratchett's Carpe Jugulum

Shame on It All


Zane - 1999
    Lucky) Whitfield are sisters in every sense of the word. They argue and get on each other's nerves, but when it comes down to the wire they are extremely protective of one another. "Shame on It All" follows their adventures, friendships, and love lives -- which are jam-packed with unpredictable, downright crazy situations. With a few surprising twists thrown in for good measure, "Shame on It All" is as wild as they come.

Two Women


Martina Cole - 1999
    Unloved by her mother, abused by her father, and brutalised throughout her entire marriage, she's convicted of smashing her husband's skull in a final act of desperation. All that keeps her sane is knowing that she's done it to protect her four children. At last, they are safe from harm. When she is celled up with murderess Matilda Enderby, their fates become inextricably linked. And no one - least of all Sue - could have predicted the consequences . . .

The Maintenance Man


Michael Baisden - 1999
    Do you know where your woman is?Every Woman’s Dream: Malcolm Tremell is handsome, charismatic and a great lover; but in his world sex is not a game…it's serious business. Every week his schedule is booked with secret rendezvous, extravagant dinners and sessions of passionate love making, all for the right price. But Malcolm begins to reflect on his gigolo lifestyle when he meets Toni, a talented dancer and choreographer. But can her love transform him into the man he wants to be and the man she needs to make both their lives complete?

Cheaters


Eric Jerome Dickey - 1999
    Cheaters takes on a larger canvas and cast of characters, and fearlessly explores how bad even good people can sometimes behave in the game of love. It has earned Dickey even more loyal readers, and was chosen as Blackboard’s Best Book of the Year.In Cheaters, Stephan loves em and leaves em, just like his daddy. Chanté thinks she’s found her dream man—until his wife and kids come banging on her door. Jake is a player—left with bad dreams he just can’t shake. Darnell is true to his wife...but the temptation’s getting tougher every day. Tammy is caught between the man she loves, and the woman he’s promised to. And while Karen lectures her friends about fooling around, she may not live up to her own high standards...This is the world of Eric Jerome Dickey. It’s heart-wrenching and hilarious, smart and soulful, and as honest and recognizable as your own—and that of everyone who never loved you back.

A Walk to Remember


Nicholas Sparks - 1999
    Every April, when the wind blows in from the sea and mingles with the scent of lilacs, Landon Carter remembers his last year at Beaufort High. It was 1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two. He even swore that he had once been in love. Certainly the last person in town he thought he'd fall for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's Baptist minister. A quiet girl who always carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie seemed content living in a world apart from the other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. No boy had ever asked her out. Landon would never have dreamed of it. Then a twist of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecoming dance, and Landon Carter's life would never be the same. Being with Jamie would show him the depths of the human heart and lead him to a decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably on the road to manhood. No other author today touches our emotions more deeply than Nicholas Sparks.Illuminating both the strength and the gossamer fragility of our deepest emotions, his two New York Times bestsellers, The Notebook and Message in a Bottle, have established him as the leading author of today's most cherished love stories. Now, in A Walk to Remember, he tells a truly unforgettable story, one that glimmers with all of his magic, holding us spellbound-and reminding us that in life each of us may find one great love, the kind that changes everything...

Pay It Forward


Catherine Ryan Hyde - 1999
    Even Trevor himself begins to doubt when his "pay it forward" plan seems to founder on a combination of bad luck and the worst of human nature.In the end, Pay It Forward is the story of seemingly ordinary people made extraordinary by the simple faith of a child. In the tradition of the successful and inspirational television show Touched by an Angel, and the phenomenally successful novel and film Forrest Gump, Pay It Forward is a work of charm, wit, and remarkable inspiration, a story of hope for today and for many tomorrows to come.

Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act


David Stuart Davies - 1999
    Watson. Holmes reflects on the old days and comes to realise that not only was there so much that he had shared with Watson in his lifetime but also there was so much that he had not revealed to him: things he had kept hidden, including his deep affection for his friend. Imagining that Watson is present, Holmes addresses this failing and touches on aspects of past cases and the various characters he encountered during his investigations, including ‘The Woman’ Irene Adler and of course Professor Moriarty.Holmes delves deeper into the darker aspects of his own history, revealing at last a shocking secret. Realising now how lonely and isolated he is without his old comrade, adrift in a new modern and war-ravaged age, he comes to wonder whether, like Watson, he too has come to the end of his time…

Tales of Durga


Adurthi Subba Rao - 1999
    According to the Devi Bhagavata, the universe is but her manifestation. The worship of Durga is believed to be more than 4,000 years old in India.

Matilda's Last Waltz


Tamara McKinley - 1999
    The more time Jenny spends on the farm, the more she is aware of the lingering presence of Matilda Thomas, Churinga's former owner, and the more she wonders just what she is doing there.

Plays 5: Arcadia / The Real Thing / Night and Day / Indian Ink / Hapgood


Tom Stoppard - 1999
    Arcadia received the Evening Standard, the Oliver, and the Critics Awards and The Real Thing won a Tony Award.

Is IT A Crime


Roy Glenn - 1999
    He becomes enchanted with drug dealer Cassandra Sims, and when an attempt is made on her life, Mike has to rescue her and soon becomes her protector.

The Shadow Child


Judith Lennox - 1999
    She is looking after two-year-old Charlie Lanchbury when he disappears during a family picnic and is never seen again. Once a happy, carefree girl, Alix is blamed for the tragedy and cannot escape from the resulting disintegration of the family. The war ends and Alix tries to pick up the threads of her life. Through her marriage and the birth of her son, Rory, she finds happiness, and through her meeting with the brothers Derry and Jonathan Fox, she finds love. Yet, living in her ancient and beautiful home, Owlscote, she is haunted by the loss of her baby cousin. As the years pass, and as the world descends into the horrors of war once more, the question remains: will Charlie Lanchbury ever be found?

Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do


Valerie Wilson Wesley - 1999
    And now she plies her talents in a new direction in an insightful, poignant story of family ties unraveling and lost loves regained.Eva is alone with an empty heart in a big, empty house. Hutch fears he is falling in love with the neglected wife of his wealthy, philandering best friend. Charley, Eva's law school-bound daughter, forgets her plans for school to become a stand-up comedian. Steven, Hutch's son, harbors a secret that will rock his father's world. And into the mix strolls Isaiah Lonesome, Charley's ex-boyfriend, a handsome hunk of a twenty-eight-year-old jazz musician who will teach Eva to play some lusty new riffs on love's oldest song. And in the end, everyone learns that when it comes to living life to the fullest, and in the quest for true love, it ain't nobody's business how one goes about it.Valerie Wilson Wesley's Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do is a delightful story of an African-American family in transition that is, at once, touching, sad, and funny, and that celebrates love, personal freedom, and the pursuit of happiness with charm, humor, and wisdom.

Lessons from the Light: Extraordinary Messages of Comfort and Hope from the Other Side


George Anderson - 1999
    Now, for the first time, Anderson offers a vivid and intimate account of his spiritual communications. He explains what it's like to be a psychic, what he experiences, and what it means.He directly answers the many questions most commonly asked of him. He also shares moving, inspirational, and reassuring readings that illuminate the meaning of life, the reality of the afterlife, the importance of spirituality, and our bond to the souls in the hereafter. They are messages that not only enlighten us about what awaits, but also teach us how to fulfill our significant roles here on earth and in life. They are messages of hope and love as extraordinarily beautiful as they are eternal.

The Truth Teller


Angela Elwell Hunt - 1999
    It's a gift some will do anything to silence and a mother will do anything to protect.Lara Godfrey desperately wants to have a child--a living legacy from her late husband. Placing her life in the hands of a doctor she believes she can trust, Lara doesn't relize a web of deception is being woven around her. An unseen voyeur, with dreams of immortality, plans to use the child for a test--an unbelievable experiment that could have genetic consequences not only for Lara's baby, but for the entire human race. In the face of danger, Lara must make impossible choices. That's why she flees the clinic before the baby's birth. It's why she changes her name and hides. She knows she must protect this gifted child who can see through lies and identify truth. Yet how can an innocent truth-telling boy survive in a world that wants to destroy truth at any cost?

Shakespeare in Love: A Screenplay


Marc Norman - 1999
    Marc Norman and renowned dramatist, Tom Stoppard have created the best screenplay of the year according to the Golden Globes and the New York Film Critics Circle.

American Beauty: The Shooting Script


Alan Ball - 1999
    But look closer. Lester Burnham's wife, Carolyn, regards him with contempt, his daughter, Jane, thinks he's a loser, and his boss is positioning him for the ax.Captivated by Jane's sultry high school friend Angela, Lester decides to make a few changes in his mere existence—changes that are less mid-life crisis than a life reclaimed. The freer he gets, the happier he gets, which is even more maddening to his wife and daughter. Complicating matters, Lester finds an unexpected ally in Ricky, the teenage son of the new next-door neighbors, who sees life through a camera lens that has lately focused on Jane Burnham.In pursuit of his new vision of the American dream, Lester is about to learn that the ultimate freedom comes at the ultimate price.The 1999 winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, American Beauty boasts an accomplished cast led by two-time Academy Award® Best Actor winner Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects) and Oscar® nominee Annette Bening (The Grifters). The ensemble cast also includes Thora Birch (Ghost World), Wes Bentley (The Claim), Mena Suvari (American Pie), Peter Gallagher (Mr. Deeds), Allison Janney (NBC's The West Wing), Scott Bakula (NBC's Quantum Leap), Sam Robards (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence), and Chris Cooper (Adaptation).American Beauty marks the feature film directorial debut of award-winning theater director Sam Mendes (The Blue Room, Cabaret). The film is produced by Dan Jinks (Nothing to Lose) and Bruce Cohen (The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas) from an original screenplay by Alan Ball (HBO's Six Feet Under). Stan Wlodkowski (One Hour Photo) and Alan Ball are the co-producers.

All I Ever Wrote


Ronnie Barker - 1999
    In 1987 Ronnie retired from the stage and screen, but the occasion of his 70th birthday prompted this collection of his work, which may surprise some people who were unaware of his vast talents as a writer. The collection includes his early radio and Frost on Sunday sketches to classic monologues and immortal songs, his (almost) silent films to his final situation comedy, Clarence.

Plays 1: Low in the Dark / The Mai / Portia Coughlan / By the Bog of Cats...


Marina Carr - 1999
    Love in the Dark'One of the most exciting, new and absolutely original aspects of Carr's writing is the manner in which the sexism of the language and religious imagery is exposed... Marina Carr is a playwright to be watched.' Sunday TribuneThe Mai'The writing is at once gentle and raucous... capable of articulating deep-seated woes and resentments in a manner you rarely find outside Eugene O'Neill.' ObserverPortia Coughlan'A play of precocious maturity and accomplishment.' Irish Times'Portia Coughlan packs a hell of a punch. It hurts to look at it. But it has to be seen.' Irish IndependentBy the Bog of Cats...'A poetic realism steeped in the past... Carr has an extraordinary ability to move between the mythic and the real.' Guardian'A great play... a great work of poetry... the word should soon carry across both sides of the Atlantic.' Independent

The Cider House Rules: A Screenplay


John Irving - 1999
    It tells the story of Homer Wells, an orphan who is raised and mentored by Wilbur Larch, the doctor at the orphanage. Dr. Larch teaches Homer eveything about medicine. Yet though his capacity for kindness is saintly, Larch is also an ether addict. He and Homer come into conflict, which is typical of many father-son relationships, but in this case, their conflict is intensified by their disagreements about abortion. The result is Homer leaves the only family he has ever known.Homer's new life provides more excitement than he could have imagined, especially when he falls in love for the first time. But, when forced to make decisions that will change the course of his future, Homer finally realizes that he can't escape his past. The Cider House Rules is ultimately about the choices we make and the rules that are meant to be broken.

The Whitest Flower


Brendan Graham - 1999
    Perfect for fans of Winston Graham and Ken Follett. It is August 1845. In Dublin’s Botanic Gardens, Phytophora infestans is discovered for the first time. The bacteria blooms throughout the country, blighting potato crops and creating what becomes known as the Great Famine: an event of holocaust proportions that affects every man, woman and child in Ireland.Ellen O’Malley is one such victim. As the Blight ravages the land, Ellen loses her husband. Alone and vulnerable, she is duped into going to Australia to seek a better life, leaving three of her beloved children behind. Travelling aboard a coffin ship, she arrives emaciated and ill with her new baby. But the country proves a harsh and brutal landscape and a change in fortunes seems further away than ever. But Ellen, a woman with an indomitable spirit, is determined to rise above her oppression and bring her family together once more.

Chicken Soup for the Soul the Gift of Christmas: A Special Collection of Joyful Holiday Stories


Jack Canfield - 1999
    A great holiday gift."Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Gift of Christmas" will delight readers with its stories about the joy, wonder, and blessings of the holiday season. This special collection is filled with joyful, heartwarming and merry stories about holiday traditions, family, and goodwill that the whole family will enjoy. Most of these stories originally appeared in a limited edition book called "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tales of Christmas."

The Complete Poems


Robert Graves - 1999
    He created a rich mythology where love, fear, fantasy and the supernatural play an essential role. Intimate yet universal, passionate yet precise, their brilliant alchemy of realism and magic made Graves's poems some of the finest of the last century. In this edition the poems appear without critical apparatus or commentary. The volume represents in its purest form the achievement of Graves's seventy productive years.

The Arden Dictionary of Shakespeare Quotations


Katherine Duncan-Jones - 1999
    Quotations are selected for their intrinsic interest and organised by topic, as being both user-friendly and stimulating for the casual reader, with speaker and play reference, and with some annotation to give a context to the quotation.+ Brief general introduction outlining the purpose and use of the volume+ Shakespeare biography + Chronology of plays+ Keyword index+ Selections from Arden glossary

おいしい関係 1 [Oishii Kankei 1]


Satoru Makimura - 1999
    She had eaten it several years earlier when celebrating her birthday at a 5-star restaurant with her parents. She asks to work there as a cook under the head chef, Oda-san. She falls in love with Oda, but he doesn't notice her feelings and only considers her an annoying apprentice. This series goes through joy and heartbreak, as experienced by Momoe. How does the situation end?

Marx in Soho: A Play on History


Howard Zinn - 1999
    Through a bureaucratic error, though, Marx is sent to Soho in New York, rather than his old stomping ground in London, to make his case.Zinn introduces us to Marx's wife, Jenny, his children, the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin, and a host of other characters.Marx in Soho is a brilliant introduction to Marx's life, his analysis of society, and his passion for radical change. Zinn also shows how relevant Marx's ideas are for today's world.Historian and activist Howard Zinn is the author of the bestselling A People's History of the United States and numerous other writings. He recently received the Eugene V. Debs and Lannan Foundation awards for his writing and political activism. He is also the author of Emma, a play about Emma Goldman, in the anthology Playbook (South End Press).Praise for Marx in Soho:"An imaginative critique of our society's hypocrisies and injustices, and an entertaining, vivid portrait of Karl Marx as a voice of humanitarian justice - which is perhaps the best way to remember him."-Kirkus Reviews"A cleverly imagined call to reconsider socialist theory... Zinn's point is well made; his passion for history melds with his political vigor to make this a memorable effort and a lucid primer for readers desiring a succinct, dramatized review of Marxism."-Publishers Weekly"Even in heaven it seems, Karl Marx is a troublemaker. But in the deft and loving hands of activist/author/historian Howard Zinn, the historical figure... is also a father, a husband and a futurist possessing a grand sense of humor."-ForeWord"A witty delight that will engage both new and old acquaintances of the Marxian corpus.... Even conservatives will find Zinn's [book]... an intelligent and diverting read. Recommended for academic and public libraries alike."-Library Journal

The Weir and Other Plays


Conor McPherson - 1999
    collection of an extraordinary new voice in Irish drama.

In the Bear's House


N. Scott Momaday - 1999
    Scott Momaday has had one of the most remarkable careers in twentieth-century American letters. Here, in In the Bear's House, Momaday passionately explores themes of loneliness, sacredness and aggression through his depiction of Bear, the one animal that has both inspired and haunted him throughout his lifetime.Winner of the Oaklahoma Book Award for Poetry, In the Bear's House celebrates Momaday's extraordinary creative vision and evolution as one of our most gifted artists with transcendent dignity and gentleness.

Stalag 17


Billy Wilder - 1999
    Billy Wilder developed the play and made the film version more interesting in every way. Edwin Blum, a veteran screenwriter and friend of Wilder's, collaborated on the screenplay but found working with Wilder an agonizing experience.Wilder's mordant humor and misanthropy percolate throughout this bitter story of egoism, class conflict, and betrayal. As in a well-constructed murder mystery, the incriminating evidence points to the wrong man. Jeffrey Meyers's introduction enriches the reading of Stalag 17 by including comparisons with the Broadway production and the reasons for Wilder's changes.

Plays 2: Dancing at Lughnasa / Fathers and Sons / Making History / Wonderful Tennessee / Molly Sweeney


Brian Friel - 1999
    The plays included are Dancing at Lughnasa, Fathers and Sons, Making History, Wonderful Tennessee and Molly Sweeney. The collection is introduced by Christopher Murray.

Postdramatic Theatre


Hans-Thies Lehmann - 1999
    Newly adapted for the Anglophone reader, this is an excellent translation of Hans-Thies Lehmann's groundbreaking study of the new theatre forms that have developed since the late 1960s, which has become a key reference point in international discussions of contemporary theatre.In looking at the developments since the late 1960s, Lehmann considers them in relation to dramatic theory and theatre history, as an inventive response to the emergence of new technologies, and as an historical shift from a text-based culture to a new media age of image and sound.Engaging with theoreticians of 'drama' from Aristotle and Brecht, to Barthes and Schechner, the book analyzes the work of recent experimental theatre practitioners such as Robert Wilson, Tadeusz Kantor, Heiner Muller, the Wooster Group, Needcompany and Societas Raffaello Sanzio.Illustrated by a wealth of practical examples, and with an introduction by Karen Jurs-Munby providing useful theoretical and artistic contexts for the book, Postdramatic Theatre is an historical survey expertly combined with a unique theoretical approach which guides the reader through this new theatre landscape.

Capek Four Plays: R. U. R.; The Insect Play; The Makropulos Case; The White Plague


Karel Čapek - 1999
    In R. U. R., the Robot - an idea Çapek was the first to invent - gradually takes over all aspects of human existence except procreation; The Insect Play is a satirical fable in which beetles, butterflies and ants give dramatic form to different philosophies of life; The Makropulos Case is a fantasy about human mortality, finally celebrating the average lifespan; The White Plague is a savage and anguished satire against fascist dictatorship and the virus of inhumanity.

A Russell Hoban Omnibus


Russell Hoban - 1999
    Hoban's novels: the haunting Lion of Boaz-Jachin, the popular Turtle Diary (made into a movie startting Glenda Jackson and Ben Kingsley), Pilgermann, and his newest work, the sharp and witty Mr. Rinyo-Clacton's Offer, published here for the first time in North America. In addition, the collection includes samples from Mr. Hoban's short stories, essays, and poetry. Finally, for true Hoban aficionados, there is part of an unfinished sequel to the adult children's classic The Mouse and His Child, featuring the further adventures of Manny Rat.

Plays 4: Dalliance / Undiscovered Country / Rough Crossing / On the Razzle / The Seagull


Tom Stoppard - 1999
    This fourth volume of Tom Stoppard's work for the stage brings together five of his most celebrated translations and adaptations of plays by Arthur Schnitzler (Dalliance and Undiscovered Country), Ferenc Molnar (Rough Crossing), Johann Nestroy (On the Razzle) and Anton Chekhov (The Seagull).

Cloud Nine


Luanne Rice - 1999
    But against all odds, she beat the disease that threatened to take her life and she reopened her bedding shop, Cloud Nine. It is a new beginning for Sarah --- a fresh start at life that few are given. And Sarah is determined to take advantage of her newfound opportunity. On her first adventure --- a ride in a small chartered plane --- comes a chance meeting with a man who will change the course of her life.These two fellow travelers find each other a kindred spirit and a bond that will give them the courage to confront the past and have faith in the future ... no matter how uncertain.

Edward Albee: A Singular Journey


Mel Gussow - 1999
    Mel Gussow's critically-acclaimed biography of the three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright ( Seascape, A Delicate Balance, 3 Tall Women ), who first electrified the American theatre scene in the 1960s with his groundbreaking The Zoo Story followed by the legendary Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Autumn Leaves


Victor McGlothin - 1999
    But their lives are far from perfect. Despite loving the best thing that ever happened to him-his girlfriend, Jasmine Reynolds-Marshall is constantly faced with the shapely sirens who always seem to accompany the limelight. And Rorey has a dark secret that could destroy their friendship and his life. In Dallas, Kennedy James is a beautiful art curator who's romantically involved with the wealthy but self-centered society climber Simpson Stone. When confronted with the dilemma of what's more important, getting what she wants or having the man she needs, she finds herself caught up in a tumultuous war of the heart. When she's offered a chance at true love with a less glamorous man will she be able to take it? As their lives converge, which of them will manage to capture happiness? And which will fall, beautiful but doomed, like autumn leaves?

Gary Cooper Off Camera


Maria Cooper Janis - 1999
    Now, his only child gives us an extraordinary memoir-a book that reveals the Gary Cooper only she knew. Illustrated throughout with 175 photographs, including many never-before-published family pictures, Maria Cooper Janis' heartfelt book offers an unprecedented look at her father's private side, from his Montana boyhood and his Hollywood home life to his friendships with Ernest Heming way, Pablo Picasso, and Jimmy Stewart, among others. Filled with anecdotes that capture the off-screen humor and warmth of this avid outdoorsman and great humanitarian, Gary Cooper Off Camera is an unforgettable portrait of a great star and a beloved father. 175 photographs in duotone, 911/2 x 11"

All Sondheim, Vol 4: Piano/Vocal/Chords


Stephen Sondheim - 1999
    Songs include: Beautiful Girls (Follies) * If You Can Find Me * I'm Here (Evening Primrose) * Move On (Sunday in the Park with George) * Multitudes of Amys (Company) * Pleasant Little Kingdom/Too Many Mornings (Follies) * Sooner or Later (Dick Tracy).

King Henry IV (Arden Shakespeare Second (Paperback))


Arthur Raleigh Humphreys - 1999
    Now being totally reedited for the third time, Arden editions offer the very best in contemporary scholarship. Each volume provides a clear and authoritative text, edited to the highest standards; detailed textual notes and commentary on the same page of the text; full contextual, illustrated introduction, including an in-depth survey of critical and performance approaches to the play; and selected bibliography.

A Long Way from Home


Connie Briscoe - 1999
    For an enslaved mother, daughter, and grandmother, Montpelier plantation in Virginia is a living hell- and the proprietor, at least initially, is none other than President James Madison. A Long Way from Home opens during Madison's lifetime, when Susie and her daughter Clara serve the First Couple as house slaves. Yet even this regime seems civilized compared to the havoc unleashed by Madison's brutal stepson. As Clara fends off (and ultimately succumbs to) the sexual advances of one master after another, the author conjures up the entire world of the "peculiar institution."It is Susie's granddaughter and namesake, Susan, who first leaves Montpelier. Not, of course, voluntarily: she is sold to a family living in Richmond. Chained in the back of a departing wagon, she "clenched her teeth and stared at the sky. How dare the day be so clear, so beautiful, on this, the worst day of her life." But as the Civil War erupts, Susan ponders the possibility of a more joyous liberation. As Briscoe makes clear, the prospect elicited a complex blend of emotions from many slaves- Susan, for example, has been lulled into considering herself a part (if a diminished part) of her white master's family. A Long Way from Home does occasionally fall back on the pat formulas of the television miniseries, and Briscoe doesn't manage to quite ignite Susan's conflicted feelings about bondage and freedom. But Susan's postwar travails do convey the reality that Reconstruction was not only a political process but also a painfully personal one. --Katherine Anderson

Seven and 8mm


Andrew Kevin Walker - 1999
    Seven, which starred Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, followed the trail of a serial killer, whose victims were murdered in accordance with the seven deadly sins. 8mm focuses on Tom Welles -- portrayed by Nicolas Cage -- an honest and hardworking private detective, who discovers an appalling 8mm "snuff" film in which a teenage girl was raped and killed. Hired to track down the masked murderers shown in the film, Welles reconstructs the dead girl's unhappy life; in the course of his investigation, he learns that all fantasies can be filmed to order, at a terrible price, and he becomes obsessed with avenging the girl's death.

Never the Sinner


John Logan - 1999
    and Richard Loeb -- abducted and killed fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks, horrifying a nation. Never the Sinner is John Logan's brilliant documentary play about the infamous Leopold and Loeb case, known in its time as the "crime of the century" and still one of the most notorious.Leopold and Loeb were richer than most, and smarter. They knew every hot topic of the day, from Freud to Nietzsche; they were also lovers. Considering themselves Nietzsche's "supermen, " they decided to commit the "perfect murder, " just for the thrill of it. But they proved to be considerably less than supermen, and within a matter of hours police questioners cracked their alibis. In the ensuing sensational trial, they were defended by the legendary Clarence Darrow, who got them life sentences rather than the expected execution.

The Spanish Prisoner & The Winslow Boy


David Mamet - 1999
    His dialogue--abrasive, rhythmic--illuminates a modern aesthetic evocative of Samuel Beckett. His plots--surprising, comic, topical--have evoked comparisons to masters from Alfred Hitchcock to Arthur Miller. Here are two screenplays demonstrating the astounding range of Mamet's talents.         The Spanish Prisoner, a neo-noir thriller about a research-and-development cog hoodwinked out of his own brilliant discovery, demonstrates Mamet's incomparable use of character in a dizzying tale of twists and mistaken identity. The Winslow Boy, Mamet's revisitation of Terence Rattigan's  classic 1946 play, tells of a thirteen-year-old boy accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order and the tug of war for truth that ensues between his middle-class family and the Royal Navy. Crackling with wit, intelligent and surprising, The Spanish Prisoner and The Winslow Boy celebrate Mamet's unique genius and our eternal fascination with the extraordinary predicaments of the common man.

The Horizontal Instrument


Christopher Wilkins - 1999
    Now he will honour her by constructing a fitting memorial: a perfectly accurate timepiece. Can such a device ever exist?

The Complete Plays, Vol. 1: 1989-1998


Theresa Rebeck - 1999
    There are many ways to categorize me and my work. But for myself, I would most like to be considered a playwright. - Theresa Rebeck, Introduction

My Darling Elia


Eugenie Melnyk - 1999
    While recovering, he explains that it was a gift to his beloved wife, who disappeared from their Kiev home in 1941 during the German occupation. He has been searching for her ever since. It is now 1982.After that first encounter, Elia comes back to the flea market every Sunday to tell his story. It's the tale of a young Jewish mane risking his life to find his beloved. Elia recounts hiss earch for his pregnant wife through war-torn Eastern Europe, barely escaping death at Babi Yar, encountering suspicious partisans, posing as a Nazi soldier, witnessing the destruction of the Polish ghetto, and ending up in a concentration camp. The war over, he follows his wife's trail to Montreal--where it fades away. But three women are moved by his story and join the hunt. At the story's unexpected end, readers will believe that love and hope can in some way survive horror and inspire good.

The Spectator: Talk About Movies and Plays With the People Who Make Them


Studs Terkel - 1999
    Originally published under the title The Spectator, this “knowledgeable and perceptive” (Library Journal) look at show business presents the actors directors, playwrights, dancers, lyricists, and others who created the dramatic works of the twentieth century.Among the many highlights in these pages, Buster Keaton explains the wonders of unscripted silent comedy, Federico Fellini reflects on honesty in art, Carol Channing reveals that she is far more serious than she lets on, and Marlon Brando turns the tables and wants to interview Terkel. We learn about crucial artistic decisions in the lives of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and Edward Albee and hear from a range of film directors, from Vittorio De Sica and King Vidor to Satyajit Ray. We even get to witness Terkel playing straight man to a wildly inventive Zero Mostel. Because Terkel knows his subjects’ work intimately, he asks precisely the right questions to elicit the most revealing responses. As the New York Times Book Review noted, “Terkel’s knowledge and force of personality make him fully a player alongside his famous guests.”

Iron Will: The Triathlete's Ultimate Challenge


Mike Plant - 1999
    With its in-depth look at the endurance philosophy and the powerful lure of the Ironman Triathlon, it's no wonder that ten years after its landmark publication this book remains a multisport standard.

Stanislavski for Beginners


David Allen - 1999
    After common myths and misconceptions are shattered, the groundbreaking ideas and practices of Stanislavski, actor/director turned visionary, remain. "Stanislavski For Beginners" is both an invaluable guide to the Stanislavski system and a fascinating chronicle of the life of its creator, who remains one of the most important figures in theatre worldwide. The For Beginners series aims to explain complex, abstract, and esoteric ideas in a comprehensive, compelling style. Every title—topics include Philosophy, Art Theory, Astronomy, Black History, and many more—is accompanied by illustrations that support the subject and create an enjoyable experience for all readers.

The Superman Radio Scripts, Vol. 1: Superman vs. the Atom Man


Ben Peter Freeman - 1999
    The first book ever to publish the scripts from the smash-hit Superman radio series! Features classic art by Superman cocreator Joe Shuster, plus 16 sidebars providing inside stories about the Superman legend as well as the radio broadcasts themselves.

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater: An Episode Guide and Handbook to Nine Years of Broadcasting, 1974-1982


Gordon Payton - 1999
    Created, produced and directed by Himan Brown, the series remains a landmark in radio drama. This book is a detailed history and episode guide to the show. Descriptive information includes exact titles, airdates and rebroadcast dates, episode numbers, cast lists, writer and adapter credits, and a storyline synopsis. This material comes directly from CBS press releases in order to insure complete accuracy. Also included wherever possible are information about the actors and actresses, quotes from performers and writers (many from personal interviews), anecdotes about various scripts and sound effects, and other notes of interest.

The Arden Dictionary of Shakespeare Quotations


Jane Armstrong - 1999
    Part of the ARDEN SHAKESPEARE series, a thematically arranged collection of some 3,000 quotations, both familiar and less well-known, drawn from Shakespeare's works.

A Chance on Lovin' You


Eboni Snoe - 1999
    There, beneath the hot sun of Magic Key, she begins to relax and renew...until she's summoned to the neighboring estate by it's enigmatic owner, Cay Ellis. The handsome millionaire's highhanded ways and infuriating demands awaken Sasha to emotions and a world available only in her imagination.From the moment Cay first lays eyes on Sasha he knows she's trouble. Not only does she refuse his claim on her property, but she insists in poking her nose in where it doesn't belong. For all is not what it seems on Magic Key, and though Cay would do anything to keep Sasha in his protective embrace, he knows that by falling in love with this beautiful woman he's taking the greatest chance of his life.

Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century


Jo Bonney - 1999
    Each artists' work is introduced by a journalist, artist, critic, agent, producer or educator who is intimately familiar with the material and its links to other forms such as vaudeville, theatre, cabaret, music, standup comedy, poetry, the visual arts and dance. In Bonney's words, "This anthology documents a part of our literary/stage history and offers the possibility of its being appreciated in a new context, for a new generation."Includes work by Beatrice Herford, Jackie "Moms" Mabley, Ruth Draper, Lord Buckley, Brother Theodore, Lenny Bruce, Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, Andy Kaufman, Ethyl Eichelberger, Laurie Anderson, Rachel Rosenthal, Spalding Gray, Eric Bogosian, Jessica Hagedorn, Diamanda Galás, Ann Magnuson, Rhodessa Jones, Tim Miller, John O'Keefe, Anna Deavere Smith, Danitra Vance, David Cale, Whoopi Goldberg, John Fleck, Reno, Heather Woodbury, Robbie McCauley, Lisa Kron, Brenda Wong Aoki, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Holly Hughes, Luis Alfaro, John Leguizamo, Josh Kornbluth, Deb Margolin, Roger Guenveur Smith, Anne Galjour, Danny Hoch, Marga Gomez, Mike Albo and Virginia Heffernan, Dael Orlandersmith and Dawn Akemi Saito.

Collected Works, Vol. 3: The Talley Trilogy


Lanford Wilson - 1999
    The third volume of Smith and Kraus publication of the complete works of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, this book includes:The Hot L Baltimore, Serenading Louise, The Mound Builders, and Angels Fall.

White Oleander


Janet Fitch - 1999
    Everywhere hailed as a novel of rare beauty and power, White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes--each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned--becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.

Over the River and Through the Woods


Joe DiPietro - 1999
    His parents retired and moved to Florida. That doesn't mean his family isn't still in Jersey. In fact, he sees both sets of his grandparents every Sunday for dinner. This is routine until he has to tell them that he's been offered a dream job. The job he's been waiting for - marketing executive - would take him away from his beloved, but annoying, grandparents. He tells them. The news doesn't sit so well. Thus begins a series of schemes to keep Nick around. How could he betray his family's love to move to Seattle for a job, wonder his grandparents? Well, Frank, Aida, Nunzio, and Emma do their level best, that includes bringing the lovely - and single - Caitlin O'Hare as bait.

Shakespeare For Dummies


John Doyle - 1999
    Brown" and "Shakespeare in Love" "What the film Shakespeare in Love has done to make Shakespeare the man accessible to a general audience, this book will do to make Shakespeare the writer enjoyable." --Charlotte J.Headrick, PhD, Professor and Director, Theater Arts, Oregon State UniversityDoes the thought of sitting through A Midsummer Night's Dream give you nightmares? Did Romeo and Juliet seem like a foreign film--without the subtitles? As John Doyle and Ray Lischner prove in this uniquely accessible guide, Shakespeare is not only the greatest writer who ever lived, he's also a great entertainer--once you get a handle on his wild plots and witty wordplay. Under their guidance, you'll:Go inside an Elizabethan theater--and find out how they managed with almost no seats, no roof and no women onstage Get a handle on Shakespeare's language--including all those racy puns and jokes Maximize your enjoyment of his plays and poetry Identify contemporary idioms and phrases that come from Shakespeare's plays Find Shakespeare festivals and performances in your area Catch ten of the best show ever made of the Bard's plays and meet ten of the greatest Shakespearean actors of all time In simple, straightforward language, this friendly guide eases you into the wild, wonderful world of Shakespeare. With the help of snappy summaries and scorecards that help you keep track of who's who, who's in love with whom, and who's killed whom in every play, it helps you:Understand Shakespeare the person, his life and times and what makes him so special Make sense of Shakespearean language and why it sounds the way it does Get the inside track on the kinds of stories, characters and settings found in Shakespeare's plays Appreciate Shakespeare's sonnets and other non-dramatic poetry A royal feast for the head and heart, Shakespeare's works have been thrilling audiences for four centuries, as they will four hundred years from now. Now let Shakespeare For Dummies help you to enjoy one the world's great literary treasures.

Arthur Schnitzler: Four Major Plays


Arthur Schnitzler - 1999
    His four dramatic works in this volume (La Ronde, Anatol, The Green Cockatoo, and Flirtation) are among the most celebrated plays of the 20th century. Much like his contemporary Sigmund Freud, Schnitzler's work is inextricable from the social and intellectual milieu, which accompanied the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This was the age of the "Viennese Secessionists", exemplified by composers such as Berg, Webern, and Schoenberg, painters Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, the foundations of modern architecture, and Zionism. To add to the ferment, Freud introduced his theories of sexuality. It was from within this maelstrom that Schnitzler wrote his plays. He wrote with charm and grace and with great compassion for the fraility of humankind. These plays are regularly performed throughout the world and are acclaimed as masterpieces of modern theater. Mueller's translations of plays include works by Brecht, Buchner, Wedekind, Hauptmann, Strindberg, and Sophocles.

Summer's Child


Diane Chamberlain - 1999
    Daria's parent's had adopted the infant, but now they are dead and she has accepted responsibility for Shelly--who has grown into a beautiful, slightly handicapped young woman. Without consulting Daria, Shelly contacts Rory Taylor, host of TV's True Life Stories, to ask his help in finding her birth mother. Rory has a personal interest in Shelly's story since he'd been one of the many teenagers hanging out on the beach the summer the baby was found. Daria, meanwhile, has been keeping to herself the crush she's had on Rory for years--along with Shelly's true story. Here, as in previous offerings, Chamberlain (Breaking the Silence) creates a captivating tale populated with haunting characters.

The Art of Kabuki: Five Famous Plays (Second Revised Edition)


Samuel L. Leiter - 1999
    Commentaries by critics and actors precede each work. Details on staging, movement, wigs, costumes, music. Prefaces. Introduction. Glossary. New Selected Bibliography. Index. 99 halftones.