Book picks similar to
Puffs the Play: or 7 Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School of Magic and Magic by Matt Cox
plays
realistic-fiction
dramatic-theatre
Brilliant Traces
Cindy Lou Johnson - 1989
As a blizzard rages outside, a lonely figure, Henry Harry, lies sleeping under a heap of blankets. Suddenly, he is awakened by the insistent knocking of an unexpected visitor who turns out to be Rosannah DeLuce, a distraught young woman who has fled all the way from Arizona to escape her impending marriage, and who bursts into the cabin dressed in full bridal regalia. Exhausted, she throws herself on Henry's mercy, but after sleeping for two days straight, her vigor and combativeness return. Both characters, it develops, have been wounded and embittered by life, and both are refugees from so-called civilization. Thrown together in the confines of the snowbound cabin, they alternately repel and attract each other as, in theatrically vivid exchanges, they explore the pain of the past and, in time, consider the possibilities of the present. In the end their very isolation proves to be the catalyst that allows them to break through the web of old griefs and bitter feelings that beset them both and to reach out for the solace and sanctuary that only hard-won understanding, self-awareness and compassion for the plight of others can bestow.
Point Dume
Katie Arnoldi - 2010
This too was a fixture on bestseller lists and earned her a wider audience.With Point Dume she has produced her most remarkable novel to dateA fast moving page- turner, with insights that Arnoldi has gleaned from years of on-the-ground research, this is a timely novel that seems timeless.
Twelve Angry Men
Reginald Rose - 1954
legal system. The play centers on Juror Eight, who is at first the sole holdout in an 11-1 guilty vote. Eight sets his sights not on proving the other jurors wrong but rather on getting them to look at the situation in a clear-eyed way not affected by their personal prejudices or biases. Reginald Rose deliberately and carefully peels away the layers of artifice from the men and allows a fuller picture to form of them—and of America, at its best and worst. After the critically acclaimed teleplay aired in 1954, this landmark American drama went on to become a cinematic masterpiece in 1957 starring Henry Fonda, for which Rose wrote the adaptation. More recently, Twelve Angry Men had a successful, and award-winning, run on Broadway.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Homebody/Kabul
Tony Kushner - 2003
Written before 9/11, Homebody/Kabul premiered in New York in December 2001 and has had highly successful productions in London, Providence, Seattle, Chicago and Los Angeles. This version incorporates all the playwright's changes and is now the definitive version of the text.
Things I Know to be True
Andrew Bovell - 2016
Now, with the kids ready to make lives of their own, it's time to sit back and smell the roses. But the change of the seasons reveals some shattering truths, leaving us asking whether it's possible to love too much.Things I Know To Be True is Andrew Bovell's complex and intense portrait of the mechanics of a family - and a marriage - through the eyes of four siblings struggling to define themselves beyond their parents' love and expectations.Beautifully touching, funny and bold, the play was premiered in Adelaide, Australia, as a co-production between Frantic Assembly and the State Theatre Company of South Australia. It received its British premiere in 2016, co-produced with Warwick Arts Centre in association with Chichester Festival Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith.
Married but Still Looking
Travis Hunter - 2002
He’s a good-looking, smooth-talking former pro-basketball player, but he has a problem: He has never been satisfied with just one woman. Then he meets Terri and everything changes. Sort of.Genesis knows that Terri is perfect for him, and they become engaged. But Genesis just can’t seem to stop cheating on Terri nearly every chance he gets. Genesis’s best friend, Prodigy, constantly warns him that he’s going to mess up the best thing ever to happen to him, but Genesis is not ready to listen.After dealing with a family crisis, Genesis realizes the importance of his relationship with Terri, and he begins to change his cheating ways. He knows that once he says, “I do,” everything will fall into place. But it may be too late, because one of his past indiscretions comes back to haunt him, and Terri has a few surprises of her own for Genesis.
The Normal Heart
Larry Kramer - 1985
It tells the story of very private lives caught up in the heartrendering ordeal of suffering and doom - an ordeal that was largely ignored for reasons of politics and majority morality.Filled with power, anger, and intelligence, Larry Kramer's riveting play dramatizes what actualy happened from the time of the disease's discovery to the present, and points a moral j'accuse in many directions. His passionate indictment of government, the media, and the public for refusing to deal with a national plague is electrifying theater - a play that finally breaks through the conspiracy of silence with a shout of stunning impact. As Douglas Watt summed it up in his review for the New York Daily News,THE NORMAL HEART is "an angry, unremitting and gripping piece of political theater. You are bound to come away moved."
Billy Elliot
Lee Hall - 2000
Instead, fascinated by the ballet class sharing the same building as his gym, Billy hangs up his gloves to pursue dreams of being a dancer. But even as he discovers his virtuoso gift for ballet he must hide his triumph from his father and brother -- both miners on strike struggling to keep food on the table. A hit at last years Cannes Film Festival and a smash success in the UK just one week into its premiere, "Billy Elliot" is being hailed as one of the best films of the year.
Dirty Jersey
Phillip Thomas Duck - 2008
Unfortunately, Eric is seriously uncool;unlike his popular sister, Kenya, who sings like an angel. But forget the choir; Kenya wants the fabulous life;bad boys and fly girls.A chance encounter with Fiasco, one of the hottest rappers around, gives Eric intro into the world of the "Dirty Jersey" crew, where he's introduced to everyone and everything. Suddenly, Eric is cool and has access to anything he's ever wanted. Never mind that Fiasco isn't exactly a good guy; so what? But so what has a price. And Fiasco has just named it: Kenya.
Master Harold...and the boys
Athol Fugard - 1982
A white teen who has grown up in the affectionate company of the two black waiters who work in his mother's tea room in Port Elizabeth learns that his viciously racist alcoholic father is on his way home from the hospital. An ensuing rage unwittingly triggers his inevitable passage into the culture of hatred fostered by apartheid."One of those depth charge plays [that] has lasting relevance [and] can triumphantly survive any test of time...The story is simple, but the resonance that Fugard brings to it lets it reach beyond the narrative, to touch so many nerves connected to betrayal and guilt. An exhilarating play...It is a triumph of playmaking, and unforgettable."-New York Post"Fugard creates a blistering fusion of the personal and the political."-The New York Times"This revival brings out [the play's] considerable strengths."-New York Daily News
West Side Story
Irving Shulman - 1961
Maria was young and innocent and had never known love—until Tony. And he, who had been seeking something beyond the savagery of the streets, discovered it with her. But Maria’s brother was leader of the Sharks and Tony had once led the rival Jets. Now both gangs were claiming the same turf. Tony promised Maria that he would stay out of it. Would he be able to keep his word? Or would their newfound love be destroyed by sudden death?
Between the Levees
Jonathan Olivier - 2016
Though with his parents deceased since he was a boy, and with no way of uncovering who they were, finding a sense of family is more than a daunting task-it seems impossible. Until he goes to Louisiana's Cajun country, with hopes of finding a man who perhaps knew them. After enduring blistering heat, torment from mosquitoes, venturing into eerie, backwater swamps, and fending off alligators, snakes, and a few sinister locals, Sam finds what he had sought all of his life. He's also given a second chance, one to leave behind a pained past that he would rather forget. But finding what he wants most means that he'll eventually have to lose it.
My Cowboys
Scarlett Water - 2017
A year later she was adopted and had high hopes of finally being part of a real family again. But the Walkers are abusive and their son Chad is a perv. He's always lying to his parents and getting her into trouble. Now she's about to start her senior year of high school, and thankfully Chad isn't there to bother her anymore. But even in her new school there are people that take an instant dislike towards her, even though she doesnt know why at first. At least she has the Campbell boy's, Xander and Clint. They quickly become protective of Rose and when they learn about what's happening to her at home they give her an ultimatum. Leave the Walkers or they are going to do something about it. But she can't just leave before she turns 18 or the police will just take her right back to the Walkers, who will punish her the moment the authorities arn't looking. What will happen, can Rose escape from the Walkers with the help of Clint and Xander, or will the Walkers punish her to far, ending her life before it can even really start.
The Raging Sea
Sonia O'Brien - 2004
Her boyfriend, Greg, is handsome, witty, and has his uncle's law practice practically in his back pocket. But when a tragic accident takes the life of someone close to her, it also takes away Kaitlyn's peace of mind. In an effort to comfort Kaitlyn, her best friend plans a Caribbean vacation. But relaxation soon gives way to intrigue and danger as their cruise ship is thrown into turmoil and they are forced to abandon ship. Kaitlyn and her friends join a young steward, Matthew, in a desperate attempt to survive. Thrown together by circumstances, Kaitlyn finds she is developing feelings for the attractive steward. But Matthew has just returned from a mission and has definite ideas about dating only Mormon girls. If she can find a way to survive, she knows she'll have to confront her feelings. Whatever she decides, her life will be changed forever.