Who is the greatest American playwright of all-time? — Page 2

Tenn Williams is my favorite--even though his work seems to go sharply in and out of fashion witht he American public (thankfully it's southern melodrama is firmly *in* right now).

I tend to like his plays that some felt went a bit too extreme--Orpheus Descending (we need the Peter Hall revival with Vanessa Redgrave that was filmed for TV on DVD now--it's stunning) and Sweet Bird of Youth (which has yet to get a decent screen adaptation even though we have two films--the first with the great Broadway perforamnces of Newman and Geraldine preserved but the script so watered down that the happy ending is laughable and the second, from Nicholas Roeg of all people with Liz Taylor is just pure camp).

I think there's even a lot of greatness in some of his later, ill received plays--Vieux Carre (Which i believe had music by the composer of Hair) reads liek it would be damn impossible to stage well but it also reads like a beautiful, scary, dream and has a lot of great moments and I'm particularly fond of Small Craft Warnings (even if gay theorists seem distrubed by its two gay characters) which I did a student production of in college as the young runaway.

Anyway O'Neil probably deserves the name of greatest American playwright--historically especially-- but PERSONALLY (and I *love* O'Neil--was never as keen on Arthur Miller) for my buck it's Tenn Williams. I own the two volume collection of his plays published by Modern American Library and even the lesser ones still read spectacularly IMHO.

I wish some of the great productions of his plays were captured on film (I mean not fiolm adaptations but filmed versions of the stagings)--Elia Kazan's stagings particularly (it was no secret that Kazan helpd Tenn restructure his plays for the better and Tenn blamed Elia for the huge failure of Orpheus Descending on Broadway due to Elia choosing to work on Inge's Dark at the Top of the Stairs instead). To be able to see the Kazan productions of Streetcar, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (again so watered down for film) and of course Camino Real and his brilliant early multimedia take on Sweet Bird would be amazing--do any clips exist?

I also have a huge huge fondness for the undereappreciated WIlliam Inge (who also has a weird chunk of 60s plays that flopped that could stand with some re-evaluation even if Inge trying to be sexually blunt sometimes verges on parody there' sa lot of interest there)--who is often classified as a b level Williams thematically which is unfair. He also hasn't been served all that well by film (Josh Logan did Picnic on Broadway and then made it into a joke of a picture for movies--as Roger Ebert poitns out it seems liek 20 minutes are spent showing kids at the picnic playing--Logan seemed a great stage director--South Pacific as well--but often way too literal for films if Picnic, SPacific and Camelot prove anything). However Inge's output of major plays isn't enough to put him here...

I honestly want to look more into the work of Albee because I onlyr eally know his big 3-4 plays--I know he had a lean period of tremendous flops too

Albee has some truly fascinating flops and short one acts that are well worth reading, especially if you can recognize the heavy influence of Beckett in nearly all of his work -- Albee's body of work is really an example of Beckett filtered through an upper class WASP (gay) American perspective and sensibility.

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Updated On: 4/19/07 at 07:04 PM

Personal fave- August Wilson

Tennesse Williams.

Henry David Hwang loses all points with his rewrite of FLOWER DRUM SONG. I also think John Guarre belongs on that list, Margo.

Updated On: 4/19/07 at 08:23 PM

Funny you should mention Neil. He's my favorite! But some other contenders would be Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Lilian Hellman, Edward Albee, and Eugene O'Neill

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Having directed both A Moon for the Misbegotten and Anna Christie, I definitely think it's Eugene O'Neill, because no other playwright changes your life the way he does. As Colleen Dewhurst once said: "With every other playwright, you ride the rim of the hurricane. With O'Neill, you jump into the eye."

He gives actors and directors the most profound sense of professionalism, because the work becomes such a love affair.

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Fenchurch, i believe Wilson is named on the first page and also a couple other times.

as for me, I admire Wilson more than I actually enjoy his plays (frankly, I find some of them to be an overlong bore)

and Wasserstein is on my list and a few others, I believe. A classy woman with loads of talent.

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I stand corrected.

Excellent choices from Margo all around of course.

many people have mentioned O'Neil, I agree, but I have yet to see a good production of a Eugene O'Neil play, and I've seen quite a few.

Although I did see a fairly ok production of Ah, Wilderness at a Brooklyn high school, no less. It was truly excellent for a high school show.

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Updated On: 4/19/07 at 09:50 PM

Margo also mentioned Leroi Jones, Adrienne Kennedy and Douglas Turner Ward. Wilson isn't the only black American playwright.

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Neil Simon is one of the greates playwrights of all time. Why haven't I seen his name anywhere on this thread?

Also, Simon Gray is fantastic.

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Uh, no offense, but I don't think Simon is really "one of the greatest playwrights" compared to people like O'Neil, Miller, Albee, Wilson, etc.

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"Uh, no offense, but I don't think Simon is really "one of the greatest playwrights" compared to people like O'Neil, Miller, Albee, Wilson, etc."

None taken. And I see your point, but look at all of the classic plays and movies that he has written. The Odd Couple, The Goodbye Girl, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Sunshine Boys, Plaza Suite, California Suite, London Suit, Brighton Beach Mermoirs, Bioloxi Blues, Barefoot in The Park, Lost in Yonkers, Broadway Bound, They're Playing Our Song and many many others. All of those are well known and are all fantastic! I don't see why he wouldn't be considered to be one of the greatest American playwrights.

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