Books like Six Great Modern Plays
Six Great Modern Plays
This will not be a review of stunning creativity.Like most other reviewers, I felt that "great" was too strong an adjective for most of these plays. In order of preference:- The Glass Menagerie - Williams did a great job creating tension, atmosphere, hope, and devastation. I liked my mental image of the set and his insistence that dreamlike distortions must give insight into reality. - Mrs. Warren's Profession - an interesting and oblique take on prostitution and women's independence- The Master Builder - I don't think I got this completely - I couldn't tell what was mental illness versus dream or metaphor for inner turmoil. Anyway, Ibsen caught the tension between reality and aspiration, and how small-minded people can act when they have big dreams, and how dull duty can seem when inspiration calls. Parts of it seemed extraneous or poorly integrated, like the Builder's relationship with Kaia.- All My Sons - Miller somehow foreshadowed Joe's dishonesty so I stopped liking or trusting his good ol' boy facade well before I realized he actually was responsible for the cracked engine turbines that caused the death of 21 air force teams in Vietnam and for which his partner was wrongfully imprisoned. Regardless, the characters are all identifiable American types. And it's possible to empathize with all of them. Which is the real root of the tragedy: each has principles that are fundamentally at war with those of the others, in a way that drives the misery of all.- Three Sisters - I lacked enough historical anchor for this. The sisters are allegories for crumbling parts of the Russian aristocracy I think around the end of the 1800's. The action is somewhat disconnected. The dialogue is very disconnected. And nothing of significance really happens. It felt more like a character study than an actual finished work.- Red Roses for Me - This might be quite effective in an actual play instead of my head. A few of the images stuck, anyway, and I liked several of the characters. But again, nuances of how Ayamonn symbolized Ireland during the Troubles escaped me.