Looking for funny modern play to read

[WaltG2]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 12:09pm

I'm looking for a good play to read--what do y'all think are some good modern comedies that are currently available in a published format?

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 12:19pm

Walt,

 

I'm not quite sure how you define modern. Do you mean later than Shakespeare, Congreve, Wycherly, or Molière? Later than fifty years ago?

 

In any case, if you mean the former, I would recommend Private Lives, Voice of the Turtle, Mary, Mary, Any Wednesday, Barefoot in the Park, Forty Carats.... You'll love them.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 12:21pm

Anything up to and including the work of your schoolmate, Mrs. Fiske, obviously.

[WaltG2]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 12:23pm

"Modern", with regard to theatre, generally seems accepted to mean "21st Century".

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 12:28pm

Fish in the dark

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 12:44pm

Okay, sure.  "Literally" means "figuratively" now so obviously a word can mean what we think it means.  But it's a good idea to explain your working definition when asking a question with words.

[WaltG2]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 12:50pm

FindingNamo said: "Okay, sure.  "Literally" means "figuratively" now so obviously a word can mean what we think it means.  But it's a good idea to explain your working definition when asking a question with words."

Words mean what they mean. With regard to theatre, in my experience, "modern" means "21st Century" and "contemporary" means "past 10 years". If you want to use the general dictionary definition, then modern and contemporary are synonymous (thus rendering your "correction" meaningless).

 

Anyway, I saw no reason to define the word, as I don't really care. In response to an indirect question about what I took "modern" to mean, I responded with the definition I was familiar with, but if the definition of modern means something different to someone else, then they're free to answer with their definition. If I wanted to ask for a list of plays "from the 21st Century", I would have done so.

[BakerWilliams]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 12:54pm

Those are oddly specific terms...

In any event, Alan Ayckbourn plays.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 12:57pm

 If I wanted to ask for a list of plays "from the 21st Century", I would have done so.

 

You just muddied this up for me.  Is that not exactly what your 12:23 post says you're asking?

[WaltG2]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 1:00pm

FindingNamo said: "You just muddied this up for me.  Is that not exactly what your 12:23 post says you're asking?"

 

Once again, no. In response to an indirect question of what I consider "modern" to mean, I replied with what it means in my experience.

 

But just as I didn't define what I consider "funny", I'm asking for opinions. If you consider, let's say, "Moose Murders" to be a funny, modern play, then that would be a viable answer to my question, regardless of whether it matches my definitions of "funny" or "modern".

 

The entire question is subjective and open to the interpretation of the respondents. That's why I'm asking real people instead of just Googling.

[wonkit]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 1:07pm

Ackbourne's NORMAN CONQUEST trilogy is fun. But 21st century - you mean the last 15 years? Can't think of any offhand.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 1:32pm

If you're looking for contemporary: Hand to God. 

[Tom5]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 1:32pm

If you're looking for "modern" in terms of the time it was written and the time period in which it is set (and also extremely successful)  "Fish In The Dark" would just about be your one and only choice  I haven't read it, but I found the play to be unapologetically "funny" without resorting to farce  Very rare nowadays.

[BakerWilliams]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 1:43pm

You can't buy Hand to God yet, I believe.

[WaltG2]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 2:55pm

BakerWilliams said: "You can't buy Hand to God yet, I believe."

 

It's up for preorder on Amazon (available in October) but the licensing company has a version currently available for $9.

 

Thanks, all!

[@z5]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 6:37pm

An Act of God or Fish in the Dark!

[A Director]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 7:42pm

WaltG2 -  Here's a list of good comic plays (Old and New)

You Can't Take It With You - Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman

The House of Blue Leaves - John Guare

Six Degrees of Seperation - John Guare

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike - Christopher Durang

The Language Archive - Julia Cho

Mr. Burns - Anne Washburn

In The Next Room - Sarah Ruhl

Dead Man's Cell Phone - Sarah Ruhl

The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler - Jeff Whitty

[bfreak]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 8:15pm

While I'm a huge Larry David fan, Fish in the Dark wasn't as great as I thought it would be (still kinda liked it though). I would recommend Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang like A Director said as that was a hysterical farce with some really funny characters and plot from a few years ago.

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 8:23pm

Lisa Kron's "Well" is very funny (and tender).

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 8:23pm

Broaden your definition to the past half-century and read anything by Joe Orton, Christopher Durang or John Guare.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 8:45pm

"Well" is one of my favorite plays ever.  It changed my life.

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 9:10pm

Well was one of the worst things I've ever had the misfortune to sit through. As was Mr. Burns. Dead Man's Cell Phone was dreadful. Why anyone would dredge up these horrors, let alone recommend them to another, is truly unfathomable.

 

Walt, I think you should stop worrying about whether something is "modern" or not. What's important is that it be good. So now you can read A Midsummer's Night Dream and The Misanthrope and be much the better for it.

[WaltG2]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 10:03pm

@z5 said: "An Act of God or Fish in the Dark!"

 

"Act of God" is still unpublished--the book by that title is just a rebranding of the source material.

 

It is available as a manuscript, but for that amount of money, I'm waiting for a polished version.

 

 

After Eight said: "Well was one of the worst things I've ever had the misfortune to sit through. As was Mr. Burns. Dead Man's Cell Phone was dreadful. Why anyone would dredge up these horrors, let alone recommend them to another, is truly unfathomable."

 

"Moose Murders" is on my reading list, so I'm open to terrible.

 

Do any of y'all recommend (or recommend against) the print copies "The Flick" & "Seminar"? Some Amazon reviews of "Seminar" mentioned some bad editing, but that was years ago, so they may have cleaned it up since?

 

Thanks again for the suggestions!

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 10:17pm

"Moose Murders" is on my reading list, so I'm open to terrible."

 

Moose Murders dates from 1983, which makes it, according to your definition, not "modern."

 

But it's good you have it on your list. It was outrageously, flamboyantly bad, but at the same time, hilariously so. I don't know if it will come off as funny on the printed page as it did on stage. But one thing is certain: it was a hell of a lot more enjoyable than some of the horrors suggested to you in this thread.

 

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 3/9/16 at 11:19pm

Martin McDonagh was a strong contender on the "most disturbing plays" thread, but I think he'd be equally at home in this one.

 

I've read his plays, and then seen them performed, and they were so much funnier onstage than I'd even imagined. Talented actors make all the difference, which is why I'm so looking forward to seeing Beauty Queen Of Leenane for the first time.

 

Original 1996 production coming to New York/Boston/Chicago/ L.A sometime 2016/17. -watch this space!

Updated On: 3/9/16 at 11:19 PM