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The Girl Who Loved Camellias: The Life and Legend of Marie Duplessis
by Julie KavanaghFrom the author of Nureyev, the definitive biography of the celebrated Russian dancer, now comes the astonishing and unknown story of Marie Duplessis, the courtesan who inspired Alexandre Dumas fils's novel and play La dame aux camélias, Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata, George Cukor's film Camille, and Frederick Ashton's ballet Marguerite and Armand. Sarah Bernhardt, Eleonora Duse, Greta Garbo, Isabelle Huppert, Maria Callas, Anna Netrebko, and Margot Fonteyn are just a few of the celebrated actors, singers, and dancers who have portrayed her. Drawing on new research, Julie Kavanagh brilliantly re-creates the short, intense, and passionate life of the tall, pale, slender girl who at thirteen fled her brute of a father and Normandy to go to Paris, where she would become one of the grand courtesans of the 1840s. France's national treasure, Alexandre Dumas père, was intrigued by her, his son became her lover, and Franz Liszt, too, fell under her spell. Quick to adapt an aristocratic mien, with elegant clothes, a coach, and a grand apartment, she entertained a salon of dandies, writers, and artists. Fascinating to both men and women, Marie, with her stylish outfits and signature camellias, was always a subject of great interest at the opera or at the Café de Paris, where she sat at the table of the director of the Paris Opéra, along with the director of the Théâtre Variétés, the infamous dancer Lola Montez, and others. Her early death at age twenty-three from tuberculosis created an outpouring of sympathy, noted by Charles Dickens, who wrote in February 1847: "For several days all questions political, artistic, commercial have been abandoned by the papers. Everything is erased in the face of an incident which is far more important, the romantic death of one of the glories of the demi-monde, the beautiful, the famous Marie Duplessis." With The Girl Who Loved Camellias, Kavanagh has written a compelling and poignant life of a nineteenth-century muse whose independent and modern spirit has timeless appeal.
The Girlfriend Act: Discover the swoony fake dating YA romance
by Safa Ahmed"Effortlessly charming and deeply moving, The Girlfriend Act has so much heart and humour" - Ann Liang, author of If You Could See The SunAspiring actress Farah Sheikh is tired of being in the background.Ex-child star Zayan Amin needs a break from the spotlight.And after a disastrous audition where she's told she doesn't "fit the aesthetic" for her university's play, Farah meets The Tragedies. A group of West London theatre kids rejected from the stage for similarly dubious reasons.Together, Farah and The Tragedies find themselves in the limelight and get the chance to perform. But, there's a catch. Recently disgraced child star, Zayan, will be involved.The deal: Zayan regains popularity via the publicity of his new romance, and in exchange, he'll star in (and more importantly, fund) a play for The Tragedies.Can Farah uphold her side of the bargain, and prove her critics wrong?"A heartfelt celebration of the communities we are born into and the families we choose for ourselves. A stunning debut with an everlasting impact." - Ananya Devarajan, author of Kismat Connection
The Glass Menagerie: Curriculum Unit (New Directions Book Ser.)
by Tennessee Williams Robert BrayNo play in the modern theatre has so captured the imagination and heart of the American public as Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie. <P><P>Menagerie was Williams's first popular success and launched the brilliant, if somewhat controversial, career of our pre-eminent lyric playwright. <P>Since its premiere in Chicago in 1944, with the legendary Laurette Taylor in the role of Amanda, the play has been the bravura piece for great actresses from Jessica Tandy to Joanne Woodward, and is studied and performed in classrooms and theatres around the world. <P>The Glass Menagerie (in the reading text the author preferred) is now available only in its New Directions Paperbook edition. <P>A new introduction by prominent Williams scholar Robert Bray, editor of The Tennessee Williams Annual Review, reappraises the play more than half a century after it won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award: "More than fifty years after telling his story of a family whose lives form a triangle of quiet desperation, Williams's mellifluous voice still resonates deeply and universally." <P>This edition of The Glass Menagerie also includes Williams's essay on the impact of sudden fame on a struggling writer, "The Catastrophe of Success," as well as a short section of Williams's own "Production Notes." <P>The cover features the classic line drawing by Alvin Lustig, originally done for the 1949 New Directions edition.
The Global White Snake (China Understandings Today)
by Liang LuoThe Global White Snake examines the Chinese White Snake legends and their extensive, multidirectional travels within Asia and across the globe. Such travels across linguistic and cultural boundaries have generated distinctive traditions as the White Snake has been reinvented in the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and English-speaking worlds, among others. Moreover, the inter-Asian voyages and global circulations of the White Snake legends have enabled them to become repositories of diverse and complex meanings for a great number of people, serving as reservoirs for polyphonic expressions ranging from the attempts to consolidate authoritarian power to the celebrations of minority rights and activism. The Global White Snake uncovers how the White Snake legend often acts as an unsettling narrative of radical tolerance for hybrid sexualities, loving across traditional boundaries, subverting authority, and valuing the strange and the uncanny. A timely mediation and reflection on our contemporary moment of continued struggle for minority rights and social justice, The Global White Snake revives the radical anti-authoritarian spirit slithering under the tales of monsters and demons, love and lust, and reminds us of the power of the fantastic and the fabulous in inspiring and empowering personal and social transformations.
The Globalization of Theatre 1870–1930: The Theatrical Networks of Maurice E. Bandmann (Cambridge Studies in Modern Theatre)
by Christopher B. BalmeBetween 1895 and 1922 the Anglo-American actor and manager, Maurice E. Bandmann (1872–1922) created a theatrical circuit that extended from Gibraltar to Tokyo and included regular tours to the West Indies and South America. With headquarters in Calcutta and Cairo and companies listed on the Indian stock exchange, his operations represent a significant shift towards the globalization of theatre. This study focuses on seven key areas: family networks; the business of theatrical touring; the politics of locality; repertoire and publics; an ethnography of itinerant acting; legal disputes and the provision of theatrical infrastructure. It draws on global and transnational history, network theory and analysis as well as in-depth archival research to provide a new approach to studying theatre in the age of empire.
The Globe Guide to Shakespeare: The Plays, the Productions, the Life
by Andrew DicksonIn celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death and fully endorsed by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, this is the ultimate guide to the life and work of the world's greatest playwright. With full coverage of the thirty-nine Shakespearian plays (including a synopsis, full character list, stage history, and a critical essay for each), this comprehensive guide is both a quick reference and an in-depth background guide for theatre goers, students, film buffs, and lovers of literature. Along with an exploration of the Bard's sonnets and narrative poems, The Globe Guide to Shakespeare features fascinating accounts of Shakespeare's life and the Globe Theater itself, with colorful details about each play's original performance. This comprehensive guide includes up-to-date reviews of the best films and audio recordings of each play, from Laurence Olivier to Baz Luhrmann, Kozintsev to Kurosawa. The Globe Guide to Shakespeare is the quintessential celebration of all things Shakespearian.
The Goat or Who is Sylvia?
by Edward AlbeeOn his 50th birthday, Martin, a world-famous architect prepares for a recorded interview by an old friend in the TV business; but in the course of the conversation a secret emerges that threatens to turn celebration to tragedy. The Goat is hugely enjoyable parable that plumbs the deepest questions of social constraints on the individual expression of love. "My plays are an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society, a condemnation of complacency, cruelty and emasculation and vacuity, a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy keen" - Edward Albee Winner of the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play Shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 2002
The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?: Broadway Edition
by Edward Albee“Four decades after Virginia Woolf sent shock waves through the mainstream theatre, Mr. Albee still asks questions that no other major American dramatist dares to ask." –Ben Brantley, The New York Times Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee’s most provocative, daring, and controversial play since Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Goat won all the major awards for best new play of the year (Tony, New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle). In the play, Martin-a hugely successful architect who has just turned fifty-leads an ostensibly ideal life with his loving wife and gay teenage son. But when he confides to his best friend that he is also in love with a goat (named Sylvia), he sets in motion events that will destroy his family and leave his life in tatters. The playwright himself describes it this way: “Every civilization sets quite arbitrary limits to its tolerances. The play is about a family that is deeply rocked by an unimaginable event and how they solve that problem. It is my hope that people will think afresh about whether or not all the values they hold are valid.”
The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?: Broadway Edition
by Edward Albee"Four decades after Virginia Woolf sent shock waves through the mainstream theatre, Mr. Albee still asks questions that no other major American dramatist dares to ask." -Ben Brantley, The New York Times Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee's most provocative, daring, and controversial play since Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Goat won all the major awards for best new play of the year (Tony, New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle). In the play, Martin-a hugely successful architect who has just turned fifty-leads an ostensibly ideal life with his loving wife and gay teenage son. But when he confides to his best friend that he is also in love with a goat (named Sylvia), he sets in motion events that will destroy his family and leave his life in tatters. The playwright himself describes it this way: "Every civilization sets quite arbitrary limits to its tolerances. The play is about a family that is deeply rocked by an unimaginable event and how they solve that problem. It is my hope that people will think afresh about whether or not all the values they hold are valid."
The God Of Isaac
by James ShermanAll Groups \ Comedy \ 3 m., 3 f., to play var. roles. \ Unit set. \ This hilarious and heartwarming play by the author of Beau Jest tells the story of a young man in search of spiritual identity. Isaac begins by informing the audience that "things may go a little differently tonight because my mother is in the audience" and, from the audience, his mother becomes a persistent presence in the play. Isaac tells how he learned about the threatened Neo Nazi demonstration in Skokie and he wonders how if this incident should concern him as an American Jew. Various characters that he encounters in funny and touching scenes offer a confounding array of possible positions to adopt and two women significantly affect the path of his journey. Intermittently, Isaac illustrates his inner conflict with fantastical parodies of old movies. \ "Hilarious, shrewd and touching." Chicago Sun Times.
The God of Ecstasy: Sex-roles and the Madness of Dionysos
by Arthur EvansOffers a new interpretation of Dionysian tragedy, analyzes Euripides' play, The Bacchae, and looks at what the play implies about the roles of men and women in society.
The God of Gods: A Critical Edition (Canadian Literature Collection)
by Carroll AikinsCarroll Aikins’s play The God of Gods (1919) has been out of print since its first and only edition in 1927. This critical edition not only revives the work for readers and scholars alike, it also provides historical context for Aikins’s often overlooked contributions to theatre in the 1920s and presents research on the different staging techniques in the play’s productions. Much of the play’s historical significance lies in Aikins’s vital role in Canadian theatre, as director of the Home Theatre in British Columbia (1920–22) and artistic director of Toronto’s Hart House Theatre (1927–29). Wright reveals The God of Gods as a modernist Canadian work with overt influences from European and American modernisms. Aikins’s work has been compared to European modernists Gordon Craig, Adolphe Appia, and Jacques Copeau. Importantly, he was also intimately connected with modernist Canadian artists and the Group of Seven (who painted the scenery for Hart House Theatre). The God of Gods contributes to current studies of theatrical modernism by exposing the primitivist aesthetics and theosophical beliefs promoted by some of Canada’s art circles at the turn of the twentieth century. Whereas Aikins is clearly progressive in his political critique of materialism and organized religion, he presents a conservative dramatization of the noble savage as hero. The critical introduction examines how The God of Gods engages with Nietzschean and theosophical philosophies in order to dramatize an Aboriginal lover-artist figure that critiques religious idols, materialism, and violence. Ultimately, The God of Gods offers a look into how English and Canadian theatre audiences responded to primitivism, theatrical modernism, and theosophical tenets during the 1920s.
The God of Hell: A Play
by Sam ShepardPulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard's latest play is an uproarious, brilliantly provocative farce that brings the gifts of a quintessentially American playwright to bear on the current American dilemma.Frank and Emma are a quiet, respectable couple who raise cows on their Wisconsin farm. Soon after they agree to put up Frank's old friend Haynes, who is on the lam from a secret government project involving plutonium, they're visited by Welch, an unctuous government bureaucrat from hell. His aggressive patriotism puts Frank, Emma, and Haynes on the defensive, transforming a heartland American household into a scene of torture and promoting a radioactive brand of conformity with a dangerously long half life.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The God of Vengeance
by Sholem AschB B C correspondent David Mazower (Sholem Asch’s great-grandson) described THE GOD OF VENGEANCE as “admired, translated, parodied, panned, banned, prosecuted, withdrawn, forgotten, revived, celebrated.” An international sensation after its 1907 world premiere in Berlin at Max Reinhard’s Deutsches Theater, Asch’s play quickly became the first Yiddish drama performed in translation across Europe and America. Notoriety was a key part of its success. Nearly every production sparked some level of controversy due to the script’s conflicting themes of hypocrisy and religious faith, rebellion and tradition, its brothel setting, graphic domestic violence, “gutter poetry” reminiscent of Wedekind, and an unprecedented erotic scene of lesbian seduction. This pre-Holocaust drama is today circumscribed by a very different post-Holocaust world, but THE GOD OF VENGEANCE remains one of the great urban dramas of the Yiddish Theatre repertoire.
The Golden Age Musicals of Darryl F. Zanuck: The Gentleman Preferred Blondes
by Bernard F. DickBeginning with The Jazz Singer (1927) and 42nd Street (1933), legendary Hollywood film producer Darryl F. Zanuck (1902–1979) revolutionized the movie musical, cementing its place in American popular culture. Zanuck, who got his start writing stories and scripts in the silent film era, worked his way to becoming a top production executive at Warner Bros. in the later 1920s and early 1930s. Leaving that studio in 1933, he and industry executive Joseph Schenck formed Twentieth Century Pictures, an independent Hollywood motion picture production company. In 1935, Zanuck merged his Twentieth Century Pictures with the ailing Fox Film Corporation, resulting in the combined Twentieth Century-Fox, which instantly became a new major Hollywood film entity.The Golden Age Musicals of Darryl F. Zanuck: The Gentleman Preferred Blondes is the first book devoted to the musicals that Zanuck produced at these three studios. The volume spotlights how he placed his personal imprint on the genre and how—especially at Twentieth Century-Fox—he nurtured and showcased several blonde female stars who headlined the studio’s musicals—including Shirley Temple, Alice Faye, Betty Grable, Vivian Blaine, June Haver, Marilyn Monroe, and Sheree North. Building upon Bernard F. Dick’s previous work in That Was Entertainment: The Golden Age of the MGM Musical, this volume illustrates the richness of the American movie musical, tracing how these song-and-dance films fit within the career of Darryl F. Zanuck and within the timeline of Hollywood history.
The Golden Country
by Francis Mathy Shusaku EndoThe events described in this exciting and provocative three-act play, a companion piece to Endo's highly acclaimed novel Silence, take place in 1633, nearly a hundred years after Christianity was introduced into Japan. By this time, Japanese Christians were being cruelly persecuted by the government; every Christian searched out was made to apostatize or suffer a slow, agonizing death.The central character of The Golden Country is Father Christopher Ferreira, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary. Given shelter by a Christian farming community, everyone looks to him for help, including one of his chief persecutors. When, after cruel torture, Father Ferriera apostatizes to the disbelief of his Japanese converts, the play reaches a climax that is later capped only by the courage, nobility and love of the martyrs. Father Francis Mathy's detailed Introduction to this tightly constructed drama, which poses basic questions about the meaning of faith, love and fate, provides valuable historical background.
The Golden Labyrinth: A Study of British Drama (Routledge Revivals)
by G. Wilson KnightFirst published in 1965, The Golden Labyrinth provides a coherent and readable history of the essential nature of British drama in a single volume. The treatment is philosophical and imaginative, and full of enthusiasm and clarity which have made Professor Wilson Knight’s works, of Shakespearian and other interpretations, so famous. The chapters in this book have been organized according to literary periods and will appeal to both students of literature and casual readers.
The Golden Thread and other plays
by translated by Margaret Sayers Peden Emilio CarballidoEmilio Carballido (1925–2008) was one of the most innovative and accomplished of Mexico's playwrights and one of the outstanding creators in the new Latin American theater. By his mid-forties he had already produced an impressive body of works in two very different veins. On the one hand, he mastered the techniques of the "well-made play. " On the other, he developed a richly rewarding vein of fantasy, sometimes poetic, sometimes comic, sometimes macabre—and sometimes all three. The plays in this volume are in the latter vein, ranging from surrealist farce in "The Intermediate Zone" to the grotesqueries of "The Time and the Place," from tragicomedy in "Theseus" to the dreamlike permutations of "The Golden Thread. " But even at his most fantastic, Carballido never loses his remarkable gift for characterization: his peevish Minotaur, his raffis Nahual (were-jaguar) are wholly believable monsters.
The Goldman Project
by Staci SwedeenDrama / 2f, 1m / It is 1994 and Naomi Goldman, recently widowed, is living in an apartment in upper Manhattan. Her son Tony, separated from his wife, lives with her. When Tony's old college girlfriend Aviva contacts him with the ulterior motive of interviewing and videotaping his mother for a Holocaust memorial project, Tony is appalled. Naomi, reluctant at first, eventually agrees to the interview. Though appearing to be forthright in her story Naomi clearly is hiding a devastating secret. When Aviva pushes her to admit the truth the consequences are life-changing. The Goldman Project is a play about family relations, the lingering legacy of the Holocaust and the catharsis of self-renewal. / "Introducing Naomi, a Romanian-born widow, as a lovably comic, more than a little stereotypical character...a smart decision on the part of Staci Swedeen" - Anita Gates, The New York Times
The Good Body
by Eve EnslerBotox, bulimia, breast implants, stomach tucks - Eve Ensler is back, with another round of poignant and hilarious stories about the secret lives of women. Here are our intimate obsessions laid bare - who hasn't hungered for shapelier thighs, a nip or tuck or just a little piercing? Ensler toured the world asking women about their anatomical obsessions and gives us their stories: a Puerto Rican's ruminations on fat and family, an Indian beauty's obsession with hair, an LA woman's ultimate concession to h...
The Good Egg
by Michael Lewis Maclennan Amy Lynn StrilchukThey're the ultimate downtown couple—attractive, smart, and successful. They have everything they could ever want. Except a child. When bad news points them to alternative methods of conception, they encounter a handsome young art model. He seems like the perfect solution to their problems. But as this unlikely trio gets more intimate, secret agendas surface and threaten to destroy not only their hasty deal, but everything they've so carefully built for themselves. From one of Canada's funniest playwrights, The Good Egg is a penetrating look at timely, controversial issues. Theatrically audacious, it's also an achingly real and hilarious portrait of three unpredictable people on the brink.
The Good Egg
by Michael Lewis MacLennanThey’re the ultimate downtown couple—attractive, smart, and successful. They have everything they could ever want. Except a child. When bad news points them to alternative methods of conception, they encounter a handsome young art model. He seems like the perfect solution to their problems. But as this unlikely trio gets more intimate, secret agendas surface and threaten to destroy not only their hasty deal, but everything they’ve so carefully built for themselves. From one of Canada’s funniest playwrights, The Good Egg is a penetrating look at timely, controversial issues. Theatrically audacious, it’s also an achingly real and hilarious portrait of three unpredictable people on the brink.
The Good German
by David WiltseFull Length, Drama \ 3 m, 1 f \ Int. \ Despite his prejudices, Karl Vogel offers refuge to a fugitive Jew during World War II to please his wife. Karl strongly dislikes Wilhelm Braun, but even after his wife dies he refuses to betray his devotion to her and her faith in his decency by evicting him. Karl's friend Siemi, a man who has anti-Semitic sympathies but does not agree with the German government's campaign to demonize Jews, has even become fond of Braun. Even so, Siemi becomes convinced he must betray Braun to the Gestapo in order to save Karl and himself. Karl is forced to decide whether his sense of decency is stronger than his sense of self preservation. Should he protect his unwanted guest or allow him to be turned over to a regime he finds repugnant? \ "Very powerful.''-Jewish Ledger
The Good Opera Guide (Phoenix Giants Ser.)
by Sir Denis FormanHere is an excerpt of what The Good Opera Guide has to say about Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur: “The one about the star of stage and screen whose rival sends her a bouquet of poison gas violets. She sniffs it: snuffs it.”The Good Opera Guide is not only for regular operagoers but also for people who are new to the world of opera, or indeed people who want to bluff their way through a performance! It is written with humor and is entertaining as well as informative. Where else would you find a “dagger count” for La Gioconda, and have Hansel and Gretel categorized as a “Gingerbread Opera”? From Adriana Lecouvreur to Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, for each opera, Sir Denis details the plot and cast of characters, awarding stars to parts that are “worth looking out for,” “really good,” or, occasionally, “stunning.” He goes on to tell the history of each opera and its early reception. Finally, each work is graded from alpha to gamma, and Sir Denis has no qualms about voicing his opinion. The guide also presents brief biographies of the great composers, conductors, and singers. A glossary of musical terms is included, as well as “Operatica,” or the essential elements of opera, from the proper place and style of the audience’s applause (and boos) to the use of subtitles.
The Good, the Bard and the Ugly: A funny, modern take on Shakespeare's best-known plays from the Bafta-winning Horrible Histories writer
by Susie Donkin'I can wholeheartedly confirm that Susie Donkin is funnier than Shakespeare' MEL GIEDROYC'Impeccably researched, contagiously enjoyable, highly recommended.' BRIAN COXImogen thinks she knows what Shakespeare's most famous plays are all about. Everyone does, right? Star-crossed lovers. Naughty Greeks getting up to mischief in the woods. Scottish kings losing their minds. Young men with daddy issues. Dads who just need some positive affirmation from their daughters*. (*Okay, that's maybe putting it a bit mildly) But when Imogen brings 14 amateur actors together to perform one of the Bard's great works in a bid to save their local community centre, it becomes apparent that she - or anyone who reads this book for that matter - will never see Shakespeare's greatest works in the same light again . . ."BAFTA-winning Horrible Histories writer Susie Donkin makes Shakespeare's greatest works even greater." Stan Lafski, Imogen's uncle "A very funny book. Would definitely not have been as funny if it was about Christopher Marlowe." Larry Fairfoul, troupe member