Book picks similar to
The Color Purple: A Memory Book by Lise Funderburg
theater
authors-of-color
musicals
Zoot Suit
Luis Valdez - 1978
Latino/Latina Studies. This bilingual edition combines the original English-language version with the first-ever Spanish translation of the critically acclaimed play by Luis Valdez, a work that cracked open the depiction of Chicanos on the stage, challenging viewers to revisit a troubled moment in our nation's history. From the moment the myth-infused character El Pachuco burst onto the stage, literally cutting his way through the drop curtain with a switchblade, Valdez spurred a revolution in Chicano theater. Experimenting with brash forms of narration, pop culture of the war era, and complex characterizations, this quintessential exploration of the Mexican-American experience in the United States during the 1940s was the first, and only, Chicano play to open on Broadway.
Heroes and Saints and Other Plays: Giving Up the Ghost, Shadow of a Man, Heroes and Saints
Cherríe L. Moraga - 1994
Included are: "Shadow of a Man," winner of the 1990 Fund for New American Plays Award; "Heroes and Saints," winner of the Dramalogue, the PEN West, and the Critics Circle awards, as well as the Will Glickman Prize for Best Play of 1992; and "Giving Up the Ghost," first published by West End Press in 1986, and now presented here in its revised stage version.
Free Jazz
Ekkehard Jost - 1981
Jost studied the music (not the lives) of a selection of musicians-black jazz artists who pioneered a new form of African American music-to arrive at the most in-depth look so far at the phenomenon of free jazz. Free jazz is not absolutely free, as Jost is at pains to point out. As each convention of the old music was abrogated, new conventions arose, whether they were rhythmic, melodic, tonal, or compositional, Coltrane's move into modal music was governed by different principles than Coleman's melodic excursions; Sun Ra's attention to texture and rhythm created an entirely different big bang sound then had Mingus's attention to form.In Free Jazz, Jost paints a group of ten "style portraits"-musical images of the styles and techniques of John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, the Chicago-based AACM (which included Richard Abrams, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Anthony Braxton, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago), and Sun Ra and his Arkestra. As a composite picture of some of the most compelling music of the 1960s and '70s, Free Jazz is unequalled for the depth and clarity of its analysis and its even handed approach.
West Side Story
Leonard Bernstein - 1957
The complete vocal score to one of the most beloved American musicals of all time. Includes complete cast list, vocal ranges, instrumentation list plus an introduction about the famous collaboration that worked together on this project: Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, and Jerome Robbins.
1776
Peter Stone - 1972
From John Adams's opening diatribe to the signing of the document, 1776 is a classic musical play of mounting tension and triumph. Stone and Edwards have dramatically brought to life the legendary delegates: the ever-urbane Benjamin Franklin, the hot-blooded newlywed Thomas Jefferson, and the fiery Adams in conflict with the conservative John Dickinson. With stirring dialogue and colorful, evocative lyrics, 1776 lends an emotion and human dimension to the story that is unattainable in a history book alone.
Theatre of the Oppressed
Augusto Boal - 1977
Twice exiled, Boal is 'at home' now wherever he finds himself to be. He makes a skeptical, comic, inquisitive and finally optimistic theatre involving spectators and performers in the search for community and integrity. This is a good book to be used even more than to be read." - Richard Schechner"Augusto Boal's achievement is so remarkable, so original and so groundbreaking that I have no hesitation in describing the book as the most important theoretical work in the theatre in modern times - a statement I make with having suffered any memory lapse with respect to Stanislavsky, Artaud or Grotowski." - Goerge E. WellwarthOriginally basing himself at the Arena Stage in Sao Paolo, Brazil, Augusto Boal developed a series of imaginative theatre exercises which promote awareness of one's social situation and its limitations, individual attitudes, and even how our bodies are bound by tradition. Boal is continued his explorations in Paris, where he directed Le CEDITADE (Centre d'Etude et de Diffusion des Techniques Actives d'Expression - Methode Boal), in addition to traveling and lecturing extensively in other countries. On May 2, 2009, Boal died at age 78 in Rio de Janeiro.
Harvest
Manjula Padmanabhan - 2003
Guards arrive to make his home into a germ-free zone. When his brother Jeetu arrives unexpectedly, he is taken away as the donor. Om’s wife Jaya is left alone. Will she too be seduced into selling her body for use by the rich Westerners?
Gumbo A Celebration of African American Writers
Edwidge Danticat - 2002
Not since Terry McMillan's Breaking Ice have so many African-American writers been brought together in one volume. A stellar collection of works from more than fifty hot names in fiction, Gumbo represents remarkable synergy. Edited by bestselling luminaries Marita Golden and E. Lynn Harris, this collection spans new and previously published tales of love and luck, inspiration and violation, hip new worlds and hallowed heritage from voices such as: Edwidge Danticat , Eric Jerome Dickey, Kenji Jasper, John Edgar Wideman, Terry McMillan, David Anthony Durham, Bertice Berry, and many, many more. Also featuring original stories by Golden and Harris themselves, Gumbo heralds the debut of the Hurston / Wright Legacy Awards for Published Black Writers (scheduled for October 2002), and all advances and royalties from the book will support the Hurston/ Wright Foundation. Combining authors with a variety of flavorful writing, Gumbo will have readers clamoring for second helpings.
Boeing-Boeing
Marc Camoletti - 1967
This 1960's French farce adapted for the English-speaking stage features self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German, and American fiancees, each beautiful airline hostesses with frequent "layovers." He keeps "one up, one down and one pending" until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris and Bernard's apartment at the same time.
Fiddler on the Roof
Joseph Stein - 1964
"One of the great works of the American musical theatre. It is darling, touching, beautiful, warm, funny and inspiring. It is a work of art." -John Chapman, Daily News
ZooZical
Judy Sierra - 2011
So the animals are out of sorts—listless, grumpy, and no longer fun. All except two little friends, a very small hippo and a baby kangaroo. Their hip-hopping, toe-tapping, and rap-rocking soon has the other animals joining in the hip-aroo beat. "Racoons danced in pairs, baboons danced in troops, and snakes joined the dancers as live hula-hoops." Children's favorite songs get a funny new spin—seals bark out "The seals on the bus go round and round"—as the animals create their very own musical.Young readers and listeners will be amazed and delighted at how the animals chase the winter doldrums by getting along as friends, pooling their talents, and pushing themselves to new heights. After all, these are the same clever animals who learned to read in Judy Sierra's and Marc Brown's Wild About Books, an award-winning New York Times #1 bestselling picture book. ZooZical is sure to inspire some "can do" fun in kindergarten and primary grades.From the Hardcover edition.
The Yellow Boat
David Saar - 1997
They sailed far out to sea. The blue one returned to the harbor. The red one sailed home too. But the yellow boat sailed up to the sun." Benjamin always concluded his bedtime ritual by saying, "Mom, you can be the red boat or the blue boat, but I am the yellow boat." This remarkable voyage of Benjamin was extensively developed and widely produced in America for several years, always to ovations. Cast of 4 men and 3 women.THE YELLOW BOAT is based on the true story of David and Sonja Saar's son, Benjamin, who was born with congenital hemophilia, and died in 1987 at the age of 8 of AIDS related complications. A uniquely gifted visual artist, Benjamin's buoyant imagination transformed his physical and emotional pain into a blaze of colors and shapes in his fanciful drawings and paintings. The story of THE YELLOW BOAT Is a glorious affirmation of a child's life, and the strength and courage of all children. Recommended for children of age 8 and older, parents, families and adults.
Disasters in Dating
Danielle Allen - 2017
Dating online is hard. Dating online in your thirties is hard. Dating online in your thirties after being in a ten-year relationship is hard. What’s not hard? Meeting men who aren’t really single. Having your time wasted. Receiving unsolicited pictures of genitalia. Said genitalia. When did dating become so complicated? I just want to find a nice, good looking man who replies to my entire text message and doesn’t text me “WYD” every hour. I just want to find a fun loving, intelligent man who doesn’t have a Master’s Degree in Cheating, Shenanigans and Tomfoolery and isn’t fluent in lies. I just want to find a man who is actually the height he listed in his dating profile. I jumped back into the dating scene with tempered expectations. I didn’t think all the men I would meet were going to be amazing, but I didn’t think so many of them were going to be disasters.
Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight: A Comedy in Three Beds
Peter Ackerman - 2000
Ever been racially slurred in the sack? Ever been subjected to strangers yelling at you at 3am about the most intimate details of your life? Ever been to New York? Six characters from wildly different backgrounds make love, war and hysteria late one night in the cultural, sexual and generational smorgasbord that is Manhattan.
8 Seconds to Love
Monica Walters - 2019
She’s strong, smart, independent, and well-rounded. Her life has already been figured out, and she is living it to the best of her abilities, along with her year-long boyfriend, Zaire. Things seem to be going well until Harper is given some news that stuns her, leaving her angry with herself for being so naïve. Zaire isn’t the man she thought he was. Still reeling from that news, she decides to go and have a great time at the Houston Livestock Show. Her interest was only in the concerts happening, but a certain bull-rider steals her attention. Doing her best to resist him only makes her want him more. Legend Semien, bull-rider extraordinaire and a legend in the making, has made his passion a professional career. He loves the risk and suspense of it all. Being in the limelight of the rodeo circuit, he’s cocky and expects to be able to get whatever he wants. That expectation applies to women too. His conquests always approached him, and he was living the life he thought was meant for him to live. The moment he sees Harper, he knows that he wants her. There’s something different about her though. She doesn’t approach him. Destined to make her his, he steps out of his comfort zone in a quest to get what he wants. While Harper and Legend are like night and day, they are attracted to each other like magnets. Despite the baggage and complications of their past lives, they attempt to get to know one another. Will they be able to leave their old lives behind in pursuit of a life together?