The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights

by Tom Adler, Scott T. Cummings, Jochen Achilles, Ken Urban, Klaus Benesch

Overview

Unrivalled in its coverage of recent work and writers, The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights surveys and analyses the breadth, vitality and development of theatrical work to emerge from America over the last fifty years.
This authoritative guide leads you through the work of 25 major contemporary American playwrights, discussing more than 140 plays in detail. Written by a team of 25 eminent international scholars, each chapter provides:
· a biographical introduction to the playwright's work;
· a survey and concise analysis of the writer's most important plays;
· a discussion of their style, dramaturgical concerns and critical reception;
· a bibliography of published plays and a select list of critical works.
Among the many Tony, Obie and Pulitzer prize-winning playwrights included are Sam Shepard, Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, August Wilson, Paula Vogel and Neil LaBute. The abundance of work analysed enables fresh, illuminating conclusions to be drawn about the development of contemporary American playwriting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408134795
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/13/2014
Series:	Guides to Contemporary Drama
Pages:	504
Sales rank:	1,095,636
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Martin Middeke is Professor and Chair of English Literature at the University of Augsburg, Germany. Peter Paul Schnierer is Professor and Chair of English Literature at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Christopher Innes is a Professor of English at York University, Canada, and holds the Canada Research Chair in Performance and Culture. Matthew Roudané is Professor and Chair of English at Georgia State University, USA.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
1. EDWARD ALBEE
(Tom Adler, Purdue, USA)
2. MARlA IRENE FORNÉS
(Scott Cummings, Boston College, USA)
3. RICHARD GREENBERG
(Jochen Achilles, Wurzburg, Germany)
4. JOHN GUARE
(Ken Urban, Harvard, USA)
5. DAVID-HENRY HWANG
(Russell Vandenbroucke, Louisville, USA)
6. ADRIENNE KENNEDY
(Klaus Benesch, LMU Munich, Germany)
7. TONY KUSHNER
(James Fisher, North Carolina, USA)
8. NEIL LABUTE
(Christopher Innes, Toronto, Canada)
9. DAVID MAMET
(Toby Zinman, Philadelphia, USA)
10. DONALD MARGULIES
(Kerstin Schmidt, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany)
11. TERRENCE MCNALLY
(Peter Paul Schnierer, Heidelberg, Germany)
12. ARTHUR MILLER (post - 1970)
(Susan Abbotson, Rhode Island, USA)
13. MARSHA NORMAN
(Annalisa Brugnoli, University of Venice, Italy)
14. SUZAN-LORI PARKS
(Ilka Saal, Erfurt, Germany)
15. SARAH RUHL
(Deborah Geis, DePauw, USA)
16. JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY
(Annette J. Saddik, CUNY, USA)
17. WALLACE SHAWN
(Martin Middeke, Augsburg, Germany)
18. SAM SHEPARD
(Katherine Weiss, East Tennessee State University, USA)
19. CHRISTOPHER SHINN
(Stephen Bottoms, University of Manchester, UK)
20. LUIS VALDEZ
(Jorge Herta, UCSD, USA)
21. PAULA VOGEL
(Joanna Mansbridge, Nova Scotia, Canada)
22. NAOMI WALLACE
(Pia Wiegmink, Mainz, Germany)
23. WENDY WASSERSTEIN
(Frazer Lively, Weseleyan, USA)
24. AUGUST WILSON
(Sandra G. Shannon, Howard, USA)
25. WILLIAM S. YELLOW ROBE
(Birgit Daewes, Mainz, Germany)
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
INDEX

Editorial Reviews

One interesting phenomenon, emphasized in several chapters, is that while similar anthologies include only those plays that opened and ran on Broadway, this collection emphasizes many that opened off Broadway or in regional theatres across the country. The chapters are all interesting and leave the reader wanting more. ... It is highly recommended for inclusion in college and university libraries, as a supplementary reading source for courses and for anyone interested in an introduction to twentieth-century American playwrights and their plays.” —Sharon Marie Britton, Director, Mildred F. Sawyer Library, Suffolk University, Reference Reviews

From the Publisher