Book picks similar to
Plays: . . . And How to Produce Them by David Carter
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producing-musical-theatre
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in the company of men
Neil LaBute - 1997
The story of two white-collar managers, Chad and Howard, who maliciously plot to jointly romance the lonely, deaf, beautiful office temp Christine before simultaneously dumping her, is cool and compelling in its depiction of the worst sorts of emotional abuse. What begins as a cat-and-mouse game of one-upmanship quickly escalates into full-scale psychological warfare. Only too late does this 'frat boy' prank reveal itself as deadly serious, with a struggle between the two men at the heart of the battle. The woman is only a means to an end, a pawn easily captured and tossed aside in a dark, wicked duel for corporate ascension.
Frank Langella's Cyrano
Frank Langella - 1999
Its lyrical scenes still etch a portrait of Cyrano as a man of uncompromising bravery except in matters of the heart. They come off beautifully in the intimate off-Broadway-size Roundabout Theater. To the open minded, Langella's work will hardly seem felonious and it may be a breakthrough!" --David Patrick Stearns, U S A Today"Frank Langella has abridged the text and given the play a bare-bones production shorn of extravagance. CYRANO is compelling enough in its characterizations, dialogue and situations to withstand minimalism." --Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter"Frank Langella's adaptation is relatively short, fast and intimate. The speed of the shortened version allows the ideas behind the play to emerge with great force and clarity. The result is a terrifically enjoyable and surprising thought-provoking piece of theater." --Fintan O'Toole, Daily News, New York
Our Man in Havana
Clive Francis - 2015
So when the British Secret Service asks him to become their ‘man in Havana’ he can’t afford to say no. There’s just one problem…he doesn’t know anything! To avoid suspicion, he begins to recruit nonexistent sub-agents, concocting a series of intricate fictions. But Wormold soon discovers that his stories are closer to the truth than he could have ever imagined… In Clive Francis’ adaptation, Graham Greene’s classic satirical novel becomes a wonderfully funny and fast-moving romp.
After the End
Dennis Kelly - 2005
Louise wakes up to find herself trapped with Mark, who has saved her life. Mark is always prepared for the worst and has everything he thinks they will need to survive; tinned chilli, Dungeons and Dragons and a knife - now all they need to do is to wait until it's safe to go outside. Can they survive the attack? Can they survive each other?After The End received its world premiere at The Traverse Theatre in August 2005.
boom
Peter Sinn Nachtrieb - 2009
But when a major global catastrophic event strikes the planet, their date takes on evolutionary significance and the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. Will they survive? What about the fish in the tank? And who is that woman pulling levers and playing the timpani? An epic and intimate comedy that spans over billions of years, boom explores the influences of fate versus randomness in the course of one's life, and life as we know it on the planet.
A Feminine Ending
Sarah Treem - 2009
But at the moment, she's living in New York City and writing advertising jingles to pay the rent while her fiancé, Jack, pursues his singing career. So when Amanda's mother, Kim, calls one evening from New Hampshire and asks for her help with something she can't discuss over the phone, Amanda is only too happy to leave New York. Once home, Kim reveals that she's leaving Amanda's father and needs help packing. Amanda balks and ends up (gently) hitting the postman, who happens to be her first boyfriend. They spend the night together in an apple orchard, where Amanda tries to tell Billy how her life got sidetracked. It has something to do with being a young woman in a profession that only recognizes famous men. Billy acts like he might have the answer, but doesn't. Neither does Amanda's mother. Or, for that matter, her father. A Feminine Ending is a gentle, bittersweet comedy about a girl who knows what she wants but not quite how to get it. Her parents are getting divorced, her fiancée is almost famous, her first love reappears, and there's a lot of noise in her head but none of it is music. Until the end. "Ending′ is a promising beginning...the playwright has a sense of humor that brings to mind a budding Wendy Wasserstein and a liberated sense of form that evokes a junior Paula Vogel."-Los Angeles Times "Darkly comic. FEMININE ENDING has undeniable wit." -New York Post. "Appealingly outlandish humor." -The New York Times. "Courageous. The 90-minute piece swerves with nerve and naivete. Sarah Treem has a voice all her own." -Newsday.
The Wood Demon: A Comedy in Four Acts
Anton Chekhov - 1993
The people, including five comic characters abandoned or greatly diminished in the later play, "Uncle Vanya," for which Chekhov borrowed his own characters and material, do not allow themselves to be daunted. This translation of The Wood Demon was produced by the Mark Taper Forum as a classics lab workshop production in 1992...
Goldberg Street: Short Plays and Monologues
David Mamet - 1985
From the Pulitzer Prize- winning author of Glengarry Glen Ross, here is a collection of thirty-two one-act plays and short dramatic pieces that David Mamet himself considers to be some of the best writing he has ever done.
Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales
Guy de Maupassant - 2004
You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.