"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, Volpone, The Importance of Being Ernest, The Playboy of the Western World, The Glass Menagerie, Waiting for Godot...
Coach Bob knew it all along: you've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. You have to keep passing the open windows. (John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire)
I love how secluded North American theater is. Like there aren't tons of masterpieces from all over the world. This post will be filled with North American plays and the odd classic import.
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
A Doll's House Miss Julie Mary Stuart Faust Woyzeck
"In theater, the process of it is the experience. Everyone goes through the process, and everyone has the experience together. It doesn't last - only in people's memories and in their hearts. That's the beauty and sadness of it. But that's life - beauty and the sadness. And that is why theater is life." - Sherie Rene Scott
The Oresteia A Midsummer Night's Dream Death of A Salesman A Streetcar Named Desire Long Day's Journey Into Night The Cherry Orchard A Doll's House The School for Scandal Crimes of the Heart The Bald Soprano
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
ANGELS IN AMERICA TOP GIRLS THE CRUCIBLE THE GLASS MENAGERIE CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF A DOLL'S HOUSE HAMLET MOTHER COURAGE CAROLINE, OR CHANGE (yes,I know it's not a "play" per se) FENCES
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Hamlet Othello Oedipus Rex A Doll's House Long Day's Journey Into Night Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Fences Waiting for Godot The Glass Menagerie The Cherry Orchard
ETA: I forgot Angels in America! That makes it 11, but oh well. And I'm gonna add Rhinocerous, too.
"One no longer loves one's insight enough once one communicates it."
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Angels in America - Kushner Long Day's Journey Into Night - O'Neill Waiting for Godot - Beckett Hamlet - Shakespeare The Shape of Things - LaBute Rhinocerous - Ionesco August: Osage County - Letts The Weir - McPherson Spring Awakening - Wedekind Dr. Faustus - Marlowe
Does anyone else have a fetish for Irish playwrights?
'The Pillowman' - Martin McDonagh 'The Weir' - Conor McPherson 'Translations' - Brian Friel
That's just narrowing it down to one each by my three favourites. XP
Be careful with reading Shakespeare; he's hard work, and SO MUCH better performed! If you fancy cheating, rent Kenneth Branagh's 'Hamlet' and watch it with the subtitles. ;D
Actually, I was thinking about Shakespeare today, and I think the only way to experience him fairly would be to encounter at least six of his plays; two each of the Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. I think I worked out my personal ideal list would be:
'Comedy Of Errors' - silly Comedy 'Much Ado About Nothing' - romantic Comedy 'Henry V' - totally awesome best History 'Richard III' - awesome in a different way History 'Romeo & Juliet' - romantic Tragedy 'Hamlet' - long but fun Tragedy
Although you can work out your own list. But 'Henry V' is TOTALLY my favourite and my best. :3 But I figure if you go for the widest range of Shakespeare available to you, it's an easy way to work out if he's going to work for you. If you like 'Henry V', read 'Henry IV' (both parts) too. If you like 'Richard III', don't miss 'Henry VI' (at least the third part, but the second and even first are relevant too).
Damn, I'm too obsessed with the Histories. But srsly; I love them SO much better than the Comedies or Tragedies. :3
You should also read Edward Albee. I guess people will say "ooh, go for 'Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf'!", but I prefer 'The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia'. Read as much Albee as you can.
I'm sure I used to have a brain, but I'm blanking on a great many plays right now, I now. ;_;