Best of
Plays

1981

Chicago


Fred Ebb - 1981
    In roaring twenties Chicago, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband Amos to take the rap...until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another Merry Murderess Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the American Dream fame, fortune and acquittal. This sharp edged satire features a dazzling score that sparked immortal staging by Bob Fosse. 'A pulse racing revival that flies us right into musical heaven.-The New York Times Wildly entertaining...[with a] dazzling score.-New York Daily News

Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You & The Actor's Nightmare


Christopher Durang - 1981
    An unprepared actor in an unnamed play is forced to take the place of a leading actor.

Nuts


Tom Topor - 1981
    Set in a courtroom in New York's Bellevue Hospital, the story follows a high-priced call girl incarcerated on a charge for killing a violent "john". The State, represented by a court appointed psychiatrist and an aggressive prosecutor, say Claudia Faith Draper is unfit to stand trial. As testimony from experts, physicians and her parents unfolds, with her psyche and childhood dissected, she proves to the judge that she isn't "nuts" and stands legally sane at trial for manslaughter. "[Has] the audience rooting for the good guys and hating the bad guys, as if the whole event was the most beautifully professional wrestling match you have ever seen. Nuts is a play that moves you ... you are in court watching a woman fight for what she believes is her total future."-New York Post

The Verdict: A Screenplay (based on the novel by Barry Reed)


David Mamet - 1981
    

Halloween 2: A Screenplay


John Carpenter - 1981
    A Screenplay

No End of Blame: Scenes of Overcoming


Howard Barker - 1981
    

Romantic Comedy


Bernard Slade - 1981
    Enter Phoebe Craddock, Vermont schoolteacher and budding playwright. Quicker than a flash, Jason acquires a talented and adoring collaborator in the mousy Phoebe. Fame and success are theirs for ten years an

South Pacific


Richard Rodgers - 1981
    The New York Times described South Pacific, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and nine Tonys, as magnificent ... lively, warm, fresh and beautiful. Our deluxe revised Vocal Selections features 15 beloved songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein, a biography, plot synopsis, history of the show, and photos! Includes: Bali Ha'i * Happy Talk * Honey Bun * I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair * Some Enchanted Evening * There Is Nothin' like a Dame * A Wonderful Guy * and more.

Lanark: A Life in Three Acts, adapted from the novel by Alasdair Gray


David Greig - 1981
    

Flower Drum Song Edition: Vocal Selections


Richard Rodgers - 1981
    13 songs from the 1958 musical about Asian immigrants in San Francisco. Includes: Chop Suey * Don't Marry Me * A Hundred Million Miracles * I Enjoy Being a Girl * Love, Look Away * The Other Generation * Sunday * You Are Beautiful * and more.