Which plays would you recommend buying? — Page 2

I just want to mention how much I loved finding this thread. I used to think I was the only one who loved reading plays.

I've gone into eBay at times and purchased an individual's whole collection of plays for very little money. (I believe in most cases these were working copies of plays belonging to actors who had recently passed. Their families were disposing of the property). I would end up with a whole box of plays, many I'd never heard of before. A lot of times one particular character's lines would all be underlined or highlighted and notes on movement, etc. would be written in the margin. These always seemed to bring the old plays alive for me. I loved them and probably have over a hundred now.

Many of my favorites have already been mentioned, but let me also add a lot of the work of Sam Shepard, Tom Stoppard, and Noel Coward. All very different and all entertaining in their own right.

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Updated On: 12/26/06 at 08:54 AM

What does everyone think about The Goat or Who is Sylvia?

GYPSY by Arthur Laurents. It is helpful to read the stage directions for various scenes. I particularly like the lighting cues for the 2 spectacular uses of lighting by Jo Mielziner: the strobe lighting effect used to transform the younger kids to the older performers in the first act and the blinding of the audience with spot lights to turn the scene 180 degrees for Louise's first strip. Magical.

I have a collection of "Ten Great Musicals of the American Theatre", edited by Stanley Richards, copyright 1973. It contains the complete scripts and production information for:
Of Thee I Sing
Porgy and Bess
One Touch of Venus
Brigadoon
Kiss Me, Kate
West Side Story
Gypsy
Fiddler on the Roof
1776
Company

This might be hard to find; I received it(used) for Christmas 20 years ago. But it is worth looking for. Try Amazon and ebay, or the Drama Bookshop.

EDIT: I just checked Amazon.com and it is available starting at $8.50 for a used copy! That is a bargain.

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Updated On: 12/26/06 at 01:55 PM

I know Tom Stoppard has been mentioned already but I really like "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead"

I also really like "Our Town" by Thorton Wilder. It has a great message.

Or if your looking for more of a classic try "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. It's a classic everyone should read.