Contemporary | Raging Biblio-holism

In the Next Room or, the vibrator play

October 9, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: Sarah Ruhl’s Broadway debut, set at the dawn of electricity. Mrs. Givings is a new mother with a distracted doctor husband who specializes in curing women’s “hysteria”… by using a vibrator. Meanwhile, she finds herself just wanting to be loved – but finding it hard to find love in these rapidly changing times. The Review: I saw this beautiful play on Broadway, so reading it some two years later only brings back wonderful memories of the production. […]

Categories: Contemporary, Plays • Tags: Contemporary, In the Next Room or the vibrator play, Plays, Sarah Ruhl, the vibrator play

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Leaves

August 27, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: an Irish family deals with the return of their eldest daughter after her suicide attempt at school in London. The Review: I realize that my summary is a rather succinct and curt assessment of the plot… but also the most accurate way to describe it. There isn’t really anything else to this play than that plot – or, really, the family dynamic that springs from it. And this play is definitely a family play. It is an impressive […]

Categories: Contemporary, Plays • Tags: Contemporary, Leaves, Lucy Caldwell, Plays

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Yellow Face

August 14, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: David Henry Hwang’s semi-autobiographical play about what it means to be Asian-American – and whether or not titles like that should still even apply when we’re all just people who put on different ‘faces’ depending on the day. The Review: I love DHH’s writing. M. Butterfly was a curious and strange play that I’d have loved to’ve seen actually performed and his new play Chinglish should be… well, interesting to say the least. I was only vaguely aware of the […]

Categories: Contemporary, Plays • Tags: Contemporary, David Henry Hwang, Plays, Yellow Face

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Hitchcock Blonde

August 7, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: An academic and his student uncover pieces of a lost Hitchcock film while a parallel story of Hitch and Janet Leigh’s body double plays out with shocking Hitch-like twists. The Review: I love Hitchcock. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you, although I’ve rarely spoken on this forum of my non-literary preferences. Regardless, I believe Hitch to be one of – if not the most talented director ever to work in the medium. I took a class […]

Categories: Contemporary, Plays • Tags: Contemporary, Hitchcock, Hitchcock Blonde, Plays, Terry Johnson

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Two Plays by Jean Genet

June 4, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: “The Maids”, Genet’s classic tale of maids who fantasize about killing their mistress, and “Deathwatch”, a strange abstraction of a play. The Review: I actually don’t have a lot to say here. Maybe that’s because of a terrible encounter with a play supposedly based off of “The Maids” that I was in this past spring (it was called Play Nice! and despite the author’s illusions, it bore little resemblance to the classic play before me now). I will say that I found […]

Categories: Contemporary, Plays • Tags: Contemporary, Deathwatch, Jean Genet, Plays, The Maids, Two Plays by Jean Genet

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The Break of Noon

November 7, 2010 by Drew

Neil. Neil Neil Neil Neil Neil…. I hate to say it, I’m disappointed. This is the first LaBute play where I’ve truly found… well, nothing really redeeming. It feels half-baked. The dialogue, the plot, all of it just lacks something. LaBute seems truly, for the first time, to just be trying to push people’s buttons instead of creating a play that happens to have that effect. Except anyone with half a brain should be able to see through this attempt. […]

Categories: Contemporary, Plays • Tags: Contemporary, Neil LaBute, Plays, The Break of Noon

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Passion Play

September 17, 2010 by Drew

I’ve been waiting to read this play ever since I heard about it some three years ago. A sprawling three-part Passion Play, spread across history, written by my favorite playwright? I’m not even religious and that excites me. I missed the recent performance in Brooklyn, sadly – but the recent (and much-delayed) publication of the text was a suitable substitute. As with most of Ruhl’s plays, it can be difficult to get a handle on the imagery. “The Sky Turns […]

Categories: Contemporary, Plays • Tags: Contemporary, Passion Play, Plays, Sarah Ruhl

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Filthy Talk for Troubled Times and other plays

September 14, 2010 by Drew

Silence. Darkness. Neil LaBute has always been – and perhaps will always be – one of my favorite playwrights. Perhaps that’s due to my work in The Shape of Things my freshman year of college – I probably wouldn’t’ve discovered him, otherwise. I’ve read all of his plays – though, interestingly, I’ve only seen Wrecks and another performance of The Shape of Things – and the release of new LaBute is an important thing to me. So, imagine my surprise […]

Categories: Contemporary, Plays • Tags: Contemporary, Filthy Talk for Troubled Times and other plays, Neil LaBute, Plays

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The Atheist

July 10, 2010 by Drew

A delayed review – I was quite busy actually producing the show. This was the second-ever production by my theater company, Think Tank Theater, and the first full-scale one. I’d been introduced to Mr. Noone’s work my sophomore year of college when my playwriting professor Scott T. Cummings mentioned his name. A former friend later directed his The Blowin of Baile Gall in Los Angeles. So he’s been on my radar, but never in a wildly serious fashion. Then I […]

Categories: Contemporary, Plays • Tags: Contemporary, Plays, Ronan Noone, The Atheist, Uncategorized

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Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

standard Archives

In the Next Room or, the vibrator play

Leaves

Yellow Face

Hitchcock Blonde

Two Plays by Jean Genet

The Break of Noon

Passion Play

Filthy Talk for Troubled Times and other plays

The Atheist