Best American Plays 3rd Series

by John Gassner

Contains the complete texts of 17 plays and biographical information about ea playwright with a critical appraisal of his works.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517509504
• ISBN13: 9780517509500
• Release Date: July 1987
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 707 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Compilation from 1945-1951

Some wonderful lengthy plays are in this series of Best American Plays edited by John Gassner. Reading a play, to me, is always far better than seeing any movie versions. The ultimate is to see some performed on stage by seasoned performers. Or, if not, the next best is film of the complete stage version. Read the play by William Inge "Come Back Little Sheba", which is far greater than the popular movie version. Here you develop a deeper grasp into the alcoholic and his wife. Arthur Miller's powerful lesser known drama "All My Sons" tells the story of a family and friends torn apart over an accident of the past. This is intriguing and with turns and revelations. Sidney Kingsley's "Detective Story" reads like a fast moving TV script. The play has no lengthy monologues and the action takes place in a day at the 21st Precinct Police Station, the Detective Squad in New York City. A detective suffers an emotional collapse. Another Kingsley play is "Darkness at Noon", a political drama based on a novel by Arthur Koestler. Included also are great plays - Arthur Miller "Death of a Salesman", Tennessee Williams' "Streetcar Named Desire", also better than the popular movie, and "Summer and Smoke"; Carson McCuller's "Member of the Wedding"; and Cox/Chapman's "Billy Budd" and "Anne of A Thousand Days" by Maxwell Anderson. Others in this book are: Robinson Jeffers "Medea"; Lindsay and Crouse "State of the Union"; Lillian Hellman "Autumn Garden"; Eugene O'Neill "Iceman Cometh" John Van Druten "Bell, Book and Candle"; Heggen and Logan, "Mister Roberts". Note: There is on DVD, the powerful and memorable performance of Jason Robards in Iceman Cometh. See this. "The Moon is Blue" by F. Hugh Herbert has minimal chracters, and begins as a young "actress" meets an architect and then at his apartment, she encounters the father of the architect's ex-girlfriend. This is a witty romantic/nonromantic comedy where young and old, naive and sophistication come together. Great fun dialogue. Before each play, info is given on the opening night original cast members and some other useful info on the play and playwrights. This is a great collection.... Rizzo