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Irish Drama, Modernity and the Passion Play
by Alexandra PoulainThis book discusses Irish Passion plays (plays that rewrite or parody the story of the Passion of Christ) in modern Irish drama from the Irish Literary Revival to the present day. It offers innovative readings of such canonical plays as J. M. Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World, W. B. Yeats’s Calvary, Brendan Behan’s The Hostage, Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, Brian Friel’s Faith Healer and Tom Murphy’s Bailegangaire, as well as of less well-known plays by Padraic Pearse, Lady Gregory, G. B. Shaw, Seán O’Casey, Denis Johnston, Samuel Beckett and David Lloyd. Challenging revisionist readings of the rhetoric of “blood sacrifice” and martyrdom in the Irish Republican tradition, it argues that the Passion play is a powerful political genre which centres on the staged death of the (usually male) protagonist, and makes visible the usually invisible violence perpetrated both by colonial power and by the postcolonial state in the name of modernity.
The Irish Repertory Theatre: Celebrating Thirty-Five Years Off-Broadway (New Directions in Irish and Irish American Literature)
by Maria SzaszThe Irish Repertory Theatre: Celebrating Thirty-Five Years Off-Broadway is the first book-length history of the multi-award winning Off-Broadway Irish Repertory Theatre Company, from its beginning in 1988 to its thirty-fifth season in 2023. The book considers how the Irish Rep’s plays and musicals reflect the Irish diaspora, the relationship between Ireland and America, and what it means to be Irish and Irish American, both historically, and in the twenty-first century, including how the Irish Rep is showcasing more diverse voices and experiences, from women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and Irish and Irish American people of color.
Irish Theatre in Transition
by Donald E. MorseThe Irish Theatre in Transition explores the ever-changing Irish Theatre from its inception to its vibrant modern-day reality. This book shows some of the myriad forms of transition and how Irish theatre reflects the changing conditions of a changing society and nation.
The Iron Lady (The secret story of James barry)
by Juan Carlos Arjona Ollero Claudia Elena ArredondoThis historical novel talks about Margaret Ann Bulkley, most famously known as James Barry, a doctor who served the British flag and for it sacrificed herself to become a man and be able to follow her dreams in pursuit of an education which was in fact forbidden to her gender.
Irony and the Modern Theatre
by William StormIrony and theatre share intimate kinships, not only regarding dramatic conflict, dialectic or wittiness, but also scenic structure and the verbal or situational ironies that typically mark theatrical speech and action. Yet irony today, in aesthetic, literary and philosophical contexts especially, is often regarded with skepticism - as ungraspable, or elusive to the point of confounding. Countering this tendency, Storm advocates a wide-angle view of this master trope, exploring the ironic in major works by playwrights including Chekhov, Pirandello and Brecht, and in notable relation to well-known representative characters in drama from Ibsen's Halvard Solness to Stoppard's Septimus Hodge and Wasserstein's Heidi Holland. To the degree that irony is existential, its presence in the theatre relates directly to the circumstances and the expressiveness of the characters on stage. This study investigates how these key figures enact, embody, represent and personify the ironic in myriad situations in the modern and contemporary theatre.
Irregular Unions: Clandestine Marriage in Early Modern English Literature
by Katharine ClelandKatharine Cleland's Irregular Unions provides the first sustained literary history of clandestine marriage in early modern England and reveals its controversial nature in the wake of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, which standardized the marriage ritual for the first time. Cleland examines many examples of clandestine marriage across genres. Discussing such classic works as The Faerie Queene, Othello, and The Merchant of Venice, she argues that early modern authors used clandestine marriage to explore the intersection between the self and the marriage ritual in post-Reformation England.The ways in which authors grappled with the political and social complexities of clandestine marriage, Cleland finds, suggest that these narratives were far more than interesting plot devices or scandalous stories ripped from the headlines. Instead, after the Reformation, fictions of clandestine marriage allowed early modern authors to explore topics of identity formation in new and different ways.Thanks to generous funding from Virginia Tech and its participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellopen.org) and other repositories.
A Is for Audra: Broadway's Leading Ladies from A to Z
by John Robert Allman"It's an incredible honor to be included in this amazing book of the greatest talent the Broadway stage has ever known!"—AUDRA McDONALD, six-time Tony Award-winning actressFrom Audra McDonald to Liza with a "Z," here is a showstopping alphabet book featuring your favorite leading ladies of the Broadway stage!Step into the spotlight and celebrate a cavalcade of Broadway's legendary ladies. Start with "A" for six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, then sing and dance your way through the alphabet with beloved entertainers like Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Lea Salonga, Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O'Hara, and Liza Minnelli! Broadway fans and theater lovers everywhere will give a standing ovation to this one-of-a-kind tribute full of toe-tapping rhymes, with illustrations as bright and beautiful as the shining lights on any marquee.AND DON'T MISS THE SEQUEL COMING IN OCTOBER: B IS FOR BROADWAY: ONSTAGE AND BACKSTAGE FROM A TO Z!THE RAVE REVIEWS ARE IN FROM THE STARS THEMSELVES! A wonderful, enriching, enlightening book for theater lovers of all ages . . . and all that jazz!"—CHITA RIVERA, two-time Tony Award-winning actress (The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman)"A to Z—awesome to zany—I'm thrilled to be a part of such an illustrious group."—CHRISTINE EBERSOLE, two-time Tony Award-winning actress (42nd Street, Grey Gardens)"I'm so honored to be included among these fierce ladies—brought to life with such fun illustrations—in this wonderful book for little divas like my own!"—LEA SALONGA, Tony Award-winning actress (Miss Saigon)"A is for Audra turns the alphabet song into a show stopper! It is literally a love letter to Broadway's leading ladies, and I am so honored to be memorialized alongside all of my sisters!"—RENÉE ELISE GOLDSBERRY, Tony Award-winning actress (Hamilton)"I'm honored to be included in this illustrious group. A to Z, they are all incredible!"—KRISTIN CHENOWETH, Tony Award-winning actress (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown)"What a fun and fabulous celebration of the females of Broadway! Imagine my joy just to be a part of it!"—KELLI O&’HARA, Tony Award-winning actress (The King and I)&“H is also for honored—because that&’s what I am to be included in this beautiful book. I can&’t wait to show my kids and tell them of all the brilliant leading ladies who have graced the Broadway stage.&” —HEATHER HEADLEY, Tony Award–winning actress (Aida)AND CRITICS LOVE IT TOO! "Women of the Broadway theater take center stage in this loving homage. . . . A lively introduction to a whole new cast of heroines."—Kirkus"this is a book all kids (and many adults) will enjoy as they learn about and fall in love with the theatre."—Playbill.com"A true necessity for any kid&’s bookshelf."—Entertainment Weekly&“a thorough, eye-catching introduction to women of the theater. . . . budding theater lovers will get a thrill.&”—Booklist"A sure hit for thespians of all ages."—School Library Journal"Emmerich&’s flattering caricatures, paired with [Allman&’s] verse, are colorful and slick, bringing Broadway&’s drama to the page&”—Publishers Weekly
Is My Microphone On?
by Jordan TannahillIn another life I was a small bubble of foam on a wave coming to shore, and the wave broke, and I burst, and that was it. Before that I was a small stream, for centuries. And in another life I was a mortal girl. Which is this life. After thousands of years, I have a mouth. So if you don’t mind, Mom, Dad, I’m going to speak. I’m going to shout. When I become a human I’m going to use some words. Can you still hear me? Is my microphone on?Young people have inherited a burning world. In this urgent and lyrical play, they reckon with the generations who have come before them, questioning the choices that have been made, and the ones that they will yet be forced to make. Is My Microphone On? is a play in the form of a protest song, in which a chorus of young performers hold the audience to account, and invite them to experience the world together anew.
Is Shakespeare any Good?: And Other Questions on How to Evaluate Literature
by Richard BradfordIs Shakespeare any Good? reveals why certain literary works and authors are treated as superior to others, and questions the literary establishment’s criteria for creating an imperium of “great” writers. Enables readers to articulate and formulate their own arguments about the quality of literature – including works that convention forbids us to dislike Dismantles the claims of academic criticism – particularly Theory – to tell us anything useful about why we like or appreciate literature Challenges and shatters many longstanding beliefs about literature and its evaluation Poses serious questions about the value of literature, and studying literature, and presents these in a lively and entertainingly provocative manner
Is Shakespeare Still Our Contemporary?
by John ElsomFirst published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Is the Real You Really You?
by John TobiasComedy / 2m, 2f /InteriorHarold arrives home one night, discusses the kids, what's for supper, etc. with his wife, Honey- until he realizes he is the wrong husband, she is the wrong wife and he is in the wrong apartment. So begins this hilarious comedy about love, the life force and the real you in this age of shifting sexual roles and future shock. Honey becomes entangled with Harold, with her tranquilized real husband, Henry- who instead of acting like a betrayed spouse tries to sell everyone life insurance- and with Harold's real wife, Gloria, who wins him back by reversing roles and emerging as the seductive other woman. The climax is a comic on stage fight in which everyone relieves their pent up frustrations.
Isabel: Taking Wing (Girls Of Many Lands)
by Annie DaltonIn 1592, twelve-year-old Isabel dreams of adventure and finds it, not only on her journey from her London home to her aunt's manor house in Northamptonshire, but also through the healing arts her aunt teaches her.
Ishmael Reed
by Ishmael ReedIshmael Reed's career as one of our great playwrights has long been eclipsed by his other work. Here published for the first time, Reed's plays follow the ancient tradition of using the theater as a forum in which the official versions of our history can be critiqued. Dealing with subjects that mainstream theatergoers might find disturbing-homelessness, the arbitrary entrapment of a black politician, the excesses of the radical feminist movement, the use of black conservatives to promote right-wing agendas, the exploitation of blacks and Africans as unsuspecting guinea pigs by the pharmaceutical industry, and the hypocrisy of the Christian church-Reed's plays are a pungent antidote to the watered-down world of contemporary pop culture, where, Reed argues, minority voices remain as marginalized and stigmatized as they were a hundred years ago.
Ishtyle: Accenting Gay Indian Nightlife (Triangulations: Lesbian/Gay/Queer Theater/Drama/Performance)
by Kareem KhubchandaniIshtyle follows queer South Asian men across borders into gay neighborhoods, nightclubs, bars, and house parties in Bangalore and Chicago. Bringing the cultural practices they are most familiar with into these spaces, these men accent the aesthetics of nightlife cultures through performance. Kareem Khubchandani develops the notion of “ishtyle” to name this accented style, while also showing how brown bodies inadvertently become accents themselves, ornamental inclusions in the racialized grammar of desire. Ishtyle allows us to reimagine a global class perpetually represented as docile and desexualized workers caught in the web of global capitalism. The book highlights a different kind of labor, the embodied work these men do to feel queer and sexy together. Engaging major themes in queer studies, Khubchandani explains how his interlocutors’ performances stage relationships between: colonial law and public sexuality; film divas and queer fans; and race, caste, and desire. Ultimately, the book demonstrates that the unlikely site of nightlife can be a productive venue for the study of global politics and its institutional hierarchies.
Isidlamlilo / The Fire Eater: A play
by Neil Coppen Mpume Mthombeni Kira ErwinIsidlamlilo / The Fire Eater is a one-woman play inspired by the true story of a woman who served as a political assassin in the build-up to South Africa’s first democratic elections. Zenzile Maseko, the protagonist, is a 60-year-old grandmother living in a women’s hostel in Durban. Falsely declared dead by the Department of Home Affairs, she finds herself cast into a Kafkaesque nightmare that forces her to confront her past. Flown in on the wings of the Impundulu (the lightning bird), in Zulu folklore a shapeshifting bird associated with witchcraft and the harbinger of storms and death, Zenzile’s story weaves a magical and terrifying tapestry. She draws on myth, religious symbolism and traditional beliefs as she shares the realities – at times brutal, at times forgiving – of survival in South Africa. Her story touches on what it means to live through political violence, the transition to democracy, the brutality of inequality, health epidemics like HIV/AIDS, patriarchy, and the apathetic bureaucracy of government departments. Ultimately, Isidlamlilo / The Fire Eater offers a critical and unflinching look at the eddying cycles of violence and revenge that play out across generations. Yet it is most of all a story about regeneration and redemption that speaks to both the country’s haunted past and its present-day complexities.Written with pathos and empathy, this playscript will appeal to teachers, high school learners, and tertiary students in theatre, drama and English studies.
Isla de Llamas: Solo el amor puede redimir el dolor
by Ellen Frazer-JamesonSOLO EL AMOR PUEDE REDIMIR EL DOLOR Tres generaciones de mujeres valientes y hermosas habitan el retorcido mundo de Isla de Llamas. Las mujeres comparten sus genes, su dolor y su predilección por seleccionar a los hombres equivocados. Los secretos más profundos de sus corazones se revelan a medida que un viaje emocional y de búsqueda sigue a Caitlin, Kathleen y Serena desde una casa de piedra rojiza de Brooklyn a las tumultuosas calles de Hell's Kitchen y, finalmente, a una gran mansión frente a la bahía de Miami Beach. La imagen es perfecta, pero la realidad se hace añicos, e incluso una estrella rica y famosa sigue siendo el objetivo del destino y los fantasmas del pasado. ¿El patrón de tragedia, conflicto e ira está grabado para siempre en su ADN? ¿Se puede romper el ciclo brutal? ¿Puede ser reemplazado por perdón, amor y redención? Como descubrirán los tres, solo el amor puede redimir el dolor.
Island of Anyplace
by Charles MarzPlay with Music / 4m, 3f / Unit Set / Since its first performance in 1990 at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, thousands have been enthralled by this fantasy that introduces children to the magic of live theatre with a yarn about a fantastic journey and mythical creatures.Running time: one hour. "Any kid would be delighted to travel to The Island of Anyplace."-- Boston Globe. "The perfect antidote for too much TV."-- Peggy Charren, Founder of Action for Children's Television. "The most engaging and amusing introduction to theatre that I know. Wonderful for children (and their parents!) of all ages."-- Robert Brustein, A.R.T. Artistic Director. Sheet music included in the book; optional music cassette available.
Isolated: Two Plays
by Greg MacarthurIsolated brings together two inventive, disturbing plays by one of Canada's most intriguing dramatic voices. In 'Recovery', people around the world are addicted to a mysterious substance. Large recovery centres are set up, promising refuge, treatment and healing to millions of addicts. But all is not what it seems. Following three residents of a facility in Antarctica, 'Recovery' is a subtle, quirky and unsettling play of Orwellian proportions about the commodification of fear, the oppression of the individual, and the blinding consequences of a medicalized society. In 'Get Away', a strange malaise is leaving people listless and apathetic. David escapes to a cabin in the woods where he discovers two hauntingly beautiful teenagers. Sensing that they might be the key to his survival, and wanting to protect them, he invites them in. The three become dangerously intertwined, and it becomes unclear who is the predator and who is the prey. Part fairy tale and part horror show, 'Get Away', is a haunting look at the destructive nature of longing and our desperate need for love.
Israel Horovitz's New Shorts
by Israel HorovitzDramatic Comedy / Flexible casting: 2-5m, 2-5f This brilliant collection of Horovitz's newest one-act plays can be mixed and matched to form several "theme" evenings. For example, nine of these plays formed the highly-successful off-Broadway show "Israel Horovitz's New Shorts": The Bridal Dance, Affection In Time (The Prologue), The Fat Guy Gets The Girl, Beirut Rocks, The Audition Play, The Hotel Play, Cat-Lady, Inconsolable and The Race Play . Additionally, six of these plays were joined to create an evening called "6 Hotels": Fiddleheads and Lovers, Speaking of Tushy, Beirut Rocks, (intermission), The Audition Play, The Hotel Play, 2nd Violin. Recently, an off-Broadway show was created by Barefoot Theatre Company entitled "The Middle-East (in pieces)", comprised of A Mother's Love *, Security *, Beirut Rocks, and What Strong Fences Make*. (*also available from Samuel French, Inc.)Plays include:BRIDAL DANCEFIDDLEHEADS AND LOVERSAFFECTION IN TIMETHE FAT GUY GETS THE GIRLBEIRUT ROCKSTHE AUDITION PLAYTHE HOTEL PLAYCAT LADYINCONSOLABLESPEAKING OF TUSHY2ND VIOLINTHE RACE PLAY
It
by Joseph RoachThat mysterious characteristic “It”—“the easily perceived but hard-to-define quality possessed by abnormally interesting people”—is the subject of Joseph Roach’s engrossing new book, which crisscrosses centuries and continents with a deep playfulness that entertains while it enlightens. Roach traces the origins of “It” back to the period following the Restoration, persuasively linking the sex appeal of today’s celebrity figures with the attraction of those who lived centuries before. The book includes guest appearances by King Charles II, Samuel Pepys, Flo Ziegfeld, Johnny Depp, Elinor Glyn, Clara Bow, the Second Duke of Buckingham, John Dryden, Michael Jackson, and Lady Diana, among others.
It Had to be You
by Joseph Bologna Renee TaylorComedy / 1m, 1f / This delightful comedy which starred the authors on Broadway is about Theda Blau, a failed actress, health food nut, analysand and would-be playwright who wants to find love and success in New York, and Vito Pignoli, a hugely successful TV commercial director. By holding him hostage in her apartment on a snowy Christmas Eve, she somehow manages to convince him to be her partner both in on the page and off.
It Is Solved By Walking
by Catherine BanksWhen Margaret learns of the death of her former husband, she recalls their earliest days together as Ph.D. candidates, beginning a journey through her past. Told through the sensations of Wallace Stevens's poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," the subject of her uncompleted thesis, Margaret evokes beautiful, ordinary and painful sexual memories from before, after and during their marriage. Stevens, a guiding voice in her head for twenty-five years, cajoles Margaret into unearthing the reasons she never became the poet, scholar, wife or mother she thought she would be. Bold and poetic, It is Solved by Walking is an intimate portrait of a writer making her way back to poetry one step at a time.
It Runs in the Family
by Ray CooneyFarce / 7m, 4f / Britain's master farceur ( Two Into One, Run For Your Wife, et al. ) is at it again. Set in a hospital, It Runs in the Family contains the usual assortment of farcical nuts running in and out of doors mistaking everybody for someone else, as Dr. Mortimore tries to fend off a paternity suit, an ex wife, a punkish daughter and various other lunatics so that he may, at last, deliver the Ponsonby Lecture in an international conference.
The Italian Commedia and Please be Gentle
by David GriffithsFocusing on Commedia Dell'Arte, this work provides a historical and critical commentary of the Commedia. It highlights common factors between this genre and that of the Japanese Noh theatre. The author proposes six similarities: characters familiar to their audience and masked, minimal properties and scenery with the focus on the actor, the "families" of performers, a sharp mind as well as an agile body, a professional living on these skills and patronage, and a knowledgeable audience. Complementing this book is the play "Please Be Gentle" which explores the various tricks and devices of Commedia Dell'Arte acting.
Italian Funerals and Other Festive Occasions
by John MirandaDramatic Comedy / 6m, 6f / Interior / This comic drama broke all box office records for straight plays at Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre. Faced with the impending loss of his mother to dementia and death, John clings to memories to postpone present decisions. He views his life in operatic proportions, feeling a kinship with Alfredo in La Traviata, with Rudolpho in La Boheme and with Tosca in Tosca because they too were unable to save the one they loved. The value of family unity and acceptance of death as an affirmation of life, twin themes in the play, emerge as John finds answers for the present in the past.