Staging Gay Lives: An Anthology Of Contemporary Gay Theater / Edition 1

by John M Clum

Overview

Created for general and scholarly audiences alike, this volume offers ten of the best recent plays by and about gay men, all of which have been successfully produced and critically acclaimed in the United States and England. The playwrights, who reflect multicultural origins ranging from Anglo to African American and Latino, have crafted powerful and insightful depictions of the roles gay men play in gender politics.Each play is explosive, politically and socially relevant, and enlightening, whether it be Martin Sherman's much-praised A Madhouse in Goa or the avante-garde Pomo Afro Homos' Dark Fruit. The first to offer such a diversity of voices, this collection also crosses generational borders. Included are two of the first and most important modern gay playwrights? Martin Sherman and Peter Gill—as well as exciting younger dramatists who have emerged in the 'gay nineties.' Illustrating the sexual politics and events that have swirled through mainstream society since the Stonewall rebellion in the 1960s—AIDS, homophobia, transgendering, discrimination, violence—these plays offer essential and direct articulation of the human lives involved. Each of these plays in its own unique way deeply investigates the pain, sorrow, joy, and beauty of being gay in a predominantly heterosexual world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813325057
Publisher:	Westview Press
Publication date:	02/09/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	488
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

John M. Clum is professor of English at Duke University and author of Acting Gay: Male Homosexuality in Modern Drama.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Notes Toward a Theater of the Fabulous — Preface — The Harvey Milk Show — What's Wrong with Angry? — Randy's House — Mean Tears — A Madhouse in Goa — Kissing Marianne — Dark Fruit — Porcelain — Men on the Verge of a His-panic Breakdown — In the Heart of America

Editorial Reviews

In his introduction, Clum (Acting Gay, LJ 3/1/92) writes that "this collection is evidence that the most vibrant drama written in English today is by gay playwrights." Certainly gay drama has entered the mainstream of contemporary theater with such recent award winners as Angels in America and Love! Valour! Compassion! reaching a much wider audience. Clum has selected plays (including two of his own) that touch all aspects of gay life. Included are The Harvey Milk Show, a musical; Dark Fruit, by the performance group Pomo Afro Homos; and In the Heart of America by Naomi Wallace, a protge of Tony Kushner. Wallace's work, a fictionalized version of the murder of gay sailor Allen Schindler, touches many nerves. Recommended for large contemporary drama and gay literature collections.Howard E. Miller, Alliance Blue Cross & Blue Shield Lib., St. Louis

Library Journal

A collection of ten plays by and about gay men, recently and successfully staged in the US and England and with introductions by the playwrights and the editor Clum (English, Duke U.). The writers' reflect multicultural origins from Anglo to African American to Latino, and the subject matter swirls in politics not limited to the sexual but certainly defined by the issues of AIDS and homophobia. Tony Kushner's foreword places an authentic stamp of approval on the collection. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews