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Two Contrasting Plays
I continue my casual tromp through plays of the past, alternating reading from an anthology of early Pulitzer Prize-winners and an anthology of postwar African-American plays. The two most recent plays I’ve encountered, by coincidence, are about flawed Black authority … Continue reading
TROUBLE IN MIND — Alice Childress
I continue to read plays from the past I’ve never gotten to see. Mostly, as I’ve said before, I’m alternating between an anthology of plays that won the Pulitzer Prize early on and an anthology of post-war plays by Black … Continue reading
Another obscure Pulitzer Prize-winning play
Continuing my lackadaisical progress through Pulitzer Prize-winners of the past, hit Hell-bent Fer Heaven by Hatcher Hughes. As the “fer” in the title suggests, this is a play written in dialect about hill people in the South (reportedly based on … Continue reading
Posted in Broadway, drama, New York, playwriting, Pulitzer Prize, theater
Tagged dialect, George Abbott, Hell-bent fer Heaven, Miss Lulu Bett, Pygmalion, theater history, theatre history
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SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING — today
Watched the British postwar classic, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, written by Alan Sillitoe and directed by Karel Reisz, starring Albert Finney, Rachel Roberts and Sally Anne Field. The central character is Alan Seaton, who works as a machinist in … Continue reading
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Terrence McNally
I had the pleasure of knowing Terrence McNally from his off-off-Broadway period. Because I worked free in those days, I played keyboard for the 1973 production of his play WHISKEY at St. Clement’s on West 46th Street. Kevin O’Connor directed. … Continue reading
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Tagged 1973, Alexandra Billings, Chicago Shakespeare, Chicago theater, Chicago theatre, Dramatists Guild, Edward Albee, Hamlet the Musical, Jack McBreyer, Jeff Richmond, Kander and Ebb, off-off-Broadway, plays, Second City, Terrence McNally, The Visit, theater, Wendy Wasserstein
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THE BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN
Watched a documentary, THE BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN (available through Amazon for $3.99). It’s about a real estate developer named Bruce Ratner who uses all of his influence and connections to get the powers-that-be in New York to use eminent domain … Continue reading
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Maps of Different Orders
I’ve been listening to Jamie Bernstein read her book, Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein. Much of it is set in the Park Avenue apartment where she lived with her father, Leonard Bernstein. When she mentioned the … Continue reading
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Joan Littlewood and “Sparrows Can’t Sing”
The British Film Institute is offering a streaming channel called BFI Players Classics through Roku for $5.99 a month. Mostly on offer are things like Ealing comedies, Hammer horror films, costume dramas, etc. There are a few oddball discoveries though. … Continue reading
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Spoiler Alert
If you haven’t seen Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood and Yesterday and intend to, now’s the time to stop reading. If you have seen them, did you notice that both use the same plot gimmick for similar effect? … Continue reading
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Monstrous Women
“I think there’s something about monstrous women that’s fascinating. The villainesses. Villainesses are fantastic. We don’t see enough of them.” So said Moira Buffini in my conversation with her in my book, What Playwrights Talk About When They Talk About … Continue reading
