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Showing 241 - 260 of 575 items
By Michel Tremblay. 1994
By James Shapiro. 2020
One of the New York Times Ten Best Books of the Year A New York Times Notable Book From leading…
scholar James Shapiro, a timely exploration of what Shakespeare&’s plays reveal about our divided land, from Revolutionary times to the present day The plays of William Shakespeare are rare common ground in the United States. They are read at school by almost every student, staged in theaters across the land, and long valued by conservatives and liberals alike. For well over two centuries, Americans of all stripes—presidents and activists, writers and soldiers—have turned to Shakespeare&’s works to explore the nation&’s fault lines, including such issues as manifest destiny, race, gender, immigration, and free speech. In a narrative arching across the centuries, from Revolutionary times to the present day, leading scholar James Shapiro traces the unparalleled role of Shakespeare's four-hundred-year-old tragedies and comedies in illuminating the many concerns on which American identity has turned. Reflecting on how Shakespeare has been invoked—and at times weaponized—at pivotal moments in our past, Shapiro takes us from President John Quincy Adams&’s disgust with Desdemona&’s interracial marriage to Othello, to Abraham Lincoln&’s and his assassin John Wilkes Booth&’s competing obsessions with the plays, up through the fraught debates over marriage and same-sex love at the heart of the celebrated adaptations Kiss Me, Kate and Shakespeare in Love. His narrative culminates in the 2017 controversy over the staging of Julius Caesar in Central Park, in which a Trump-like leader is assassinated. Deeply researched, and timely, Shakespeare in a Divided America reveals how no writer has been more closely embraced by Americans, or has shed more light on the hot-button issues in our history. Indeed, it is by better understanding Shakespeare's role in American life, Shapiro argues, that we might begin to mend our bitterly divided landBy Laurent Mauvignier. 2012
" À la mort de son père, un homme revient dans la maison où il a passé son enfance, près…
du bois où sa fille a disparu dix ans plus tôt. L'enterrement, les affaires familiales à régler : sa femme et lui veulent faire vite et ne pas s'attarder. Sauf que leurs souvenirs les attendent, que les morts ne le sont pas pour tout le monde et que, parfois, les disparus resurgissent. " -- 4e de couvBy Henrik Ibsen. 2013
Controversy and hidden pasts are suddenly and painfully exposed as wealthy widow Mrs Alving prepares to open a new orphanage…
in memory of her seemingly beloved husband. Her treasured son Oswald's return from Paris and her relationship with old friend Pastor Manders are no longer the source of joy they once were, as secrets are turned into a frightening and desperate reality"A lively, illuminating new biography...Wojczuk reveals the force and vitality of this woman, on the stage and off." —Nina MacLaughlin,…
The Boston Globe "Once the empress of the stage, the indomitable 19th-century superstar Charlotte Cushman has been lost to us. Tana Wojczuk resurrects her here, charisma and originality intact. A brisk, beautifully crafted life of a pioneering actor who—on and off the stage—indeed seems to have been, as Wojczuk puts it, 'a better man than most men.'" —Stacy Schiff, bestselling author of The Witches and Cleopatra For fans of Book of Ages and American Eve , this illuminating and enthralling biography of 19th-century queer actress Charlotte Cushman portrays her radical lifestyle that riveted New York City and made headlines across America. All her life, Charlotte Cushman refused to submit to others' expectations. Raised in Boston at the time of the transcendentalists, a series of disasters cleared the way for her life on the stage—a path she eagerly took, rejecting marriage and creating a life of adventure, playing the role of the hero in and out of the theater as she traveled to New Orleans and New York City, and eventually to London and back to build a successful career. Her Hamlet, Romeo, Lady Macbeth, and Nancy Sykes from Oliver Twist became canon, impressing Louisa May Alcott, who later based a character on her in Jo's Boys , and Walt Whitman, who raved about "the towering grandeur of her genius" in his columns for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle . She acted alongside Edwin and John Wilkes Booth—supposedly giving the latter a scar on his neck that was later used to identify him as President Lincoln's assassin—and visited frequently with the Great Emancipator himself, who was a devoted Shakespeare fan and admirer of Cushman's work. Her wife immortalized her in the angel at the top of Central Park's Bethesda Fountain; worldwide, she was "a lady universally acknowledged as the greatest living tragic actress." Behind the scenes, she was equally radical, making an independent income, supporting her family, creating one of the first bohemian artists' colonies abroad, and living publicly as a queer woman. And yet, her name has since faded into the shadows. Now, her story comes to brilliant life with Tana Wojczuk's Lady Romeo , an exhilarating and enlightening biography of the 19th-century trailblazer. With new research and rarely seen letters and documents, Wojczuk reconstructs the formative years of Cushman's life, set against the excitement and drama of 1800s New York City and featuring a cast of luminaries and revolutionaries who changed the cultural landscape of America forever. The story of an astonishing and uniquely American life, Lady Romeo reveals one of the most remarkable forgotten figures in our history and restores her to center stage, where she belongsBy Rébecca Déraspe. 2021
Combattre le why-why / C'est pas du théâtre / Mais c'est un peu du théâtre / Mais pas comme d'habitude…
/ Cest des mots qui ont existé dans un théâtre / Des poèmes ou quelque chose comme ça / Mais c'est pas de la poésie / Ou en tout cas / Pas comme d'habitude / C'est un témoignage d'amour peut-être / Mais à personne en particulier / Juste un gros JE T'AIME à la complexité humaine / Parce que c'est pas si facile / Vivre / Ou en tout cas / C'est pas du théâtre / C'est pas de la poésie / C'est un cri / Un genre de WHY-WHY lancé / La face vers le ciel / Les mains désespérément offertes à la pluie / WHY MEBy Lawrence Senelick. 2010
A wide-ranging collection of essays and works of criticism with contributions from playwrights, actors, directors, critics, and others who love…
the theater. Early writings include pieces by Mark Twain and Willa Cather, alongside more modern ones by David Mamet, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and more. 2010By David Mamet. 2016
David Mamet's gift for storytelling and forging poetry from both the plain-spoken and profane turns an ill-conceived scheme to steal…
a rare coin into a triumph of dramatic art. In a junk shop, three men of different generations plan their heist. But their fates, like the nickel's worn image of the beleaguered buffalo, may have been sealed long ago. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast production starring Rich Hutchman as Donny DuBrow, Josh Stamberg as Walter Cole (Teacher), and Maurice Williams as Bobby. Directed by Brian Kite and recorded before an audience by L.A. Theatre WorksProfessor of Jewish history and culture analyzes an 1849 German play, Deborah and Her Sisters; its productions over a sixty-year…
period; its adaptations, including Leah, the Forsaken and Naomi, the Deserted; the actresses catapulted to fame; depiction of Jews in theater; and more. 2018By Matthew Bevis. 2013
Scholar examines comedy, from the ancient Greeks to the present, through recurring elements and themes: the physical body, marriage, pain,…
the humdrum of existence, death. Discusses the idea that comedy and tragedy are not true opposites; comedy presupposes rather than precludes tragedy. 2013By Adrian Poole. 2005
Professor of English and comparative literature develops an eclectic survey of the subject, drawing not only on classic drama and…
literature but on visual art, philosophy, politics, and journalism as well. Addresses questions about belief, blame, mourning, revenge, pain, and irony. Questions the relevance of tragedy for today's world. 2005By Jack Thorne, John Tiffany, J. K. Rowling. 2016
Special rehearsal-edition script for a play that is based on an original story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and…
Jack Thorne. Nineteen years after the final battle at Hogwarts, Harry Potter's youngest son, Albus, struggles with his family's legacy. For grades 4-7 and older readers. 2016By Tina Landau, Anne Bogart. 2005
Theater directors Bogart and Landau explain the theory behind the acting style called Viewpoints. Describes exercises used to build an…
actor's awareness of movement through space and time, how to use the philosophy in the creation of a theater ensemble, and ways writers can utilize the techniques. 2005Cowriter for the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark chronicles its development and staging, which were plagued by cast…
injuries and other setbacks. Examines decisions made and relationships formed as cast and crew struggled with cost overruns and scathing reviews. Young adult appeal. 2013By Nora Ephron. 2013
Writings by the Oscar nominee Ephron (1941-2012) include essays, the screenplay for When Harry Met Sally, the novel Heartburn, and…
her last unpublished play Lucky Guy. Topics range from the personal to the political. Introduction by New Yorker editor Robert Gottlieb. Some strong language. 2013By Mani Soleymanlou. 2021
À l'enterrement dun ami et collègue, un groupe d'acteurs et dactrices se souvient, se confie, se questionne, se recueille et…
parfois s'emporte, réfléchissant au vieillissement et à la mort, aux transformations de la société, à leur jeunesse, à leurs combats. Entre bilan et mise à nu, Marc, Pierre, Mireille, Henri et Monique mettent de côté les nombreux personnages qui ont jalonné leur carrière, et se livrent et échangent sur ce qui les fait rager, les enthousiasme, les étonne ou continue de les désespérer. Reprenant dansNeuf (titre provisoire)sa méthode de prédilection, où la pièce s'écrit au fil des répétitions avec la complicité des interprètes, l'auteur et metteur en scène Mani Soleymanlou se joue des codes scéniques et dramaturgiques pour interroger les fondements de notre identité individuelle et collectiveBy William Shakespeare. 2005
Classic sixteenth-century romantic tragedy about Romeo and Juliet, two teenagers from rival families who fall in love. Romeo's sentence of…
exile and Juliet's impending arranged marriage separate the couple. A friar suggests a ruse to accomplish their union, but a miscommunication has dire consequences. Translated from English. Spanish language. 2007By Eve Ensler. 2010
Playwright of The Vagina Monologues creates fictional monologues that are interspersed with facts about girls and aimed at empowering young…
women to give voice to their emotions. Explores abuse, activism, self-image, sex, slavery, teen pregnancy, and more. Violence and some descriptions of sex. For senior high and older readers. 2010By August Strindberg. 1992
In Miss Julie, a willful young aristocrat, whose perverse nature has already driven her fiance to break off their engagement,…
pursues and effectively seduces her father's valet during the course of a Midsummer's Eve celebration. The progress of that seduction and the play's stunning denouement shocked Swedish audiences who first attended the play in 1889. Adult. UnratedBy Francine Pascal, Kate William. 2008
Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are identical twins at Sweet Valley High. They're both popular, smart, gorgeous and they both have…
a crush on Todd Wilkins. Meet the Wakefield twins, their guys, and the rest of the gang at Sweet Valley High in this book that started the Sweet Valley phenomenon. For junior and senior high readers