The Theater Of Terrence Mcnally

Times change, but life in the theatre remains the same: chaotic, sometimes brutal, but often euphoric, too. AND AWAY WE GO jumps through time from backstage in ancient Athens to a rehearsal at the Globe, from Versailles’ Royal Theatre to the first reading of a new play by Chekhov—with an unlikely stop in Coral Gables and the American premiere of Waiting for Godot along the way.

The Lisbon Traviata, is a powerfully moving tragicomedy about a crumbling homosexual marriage. And in Frankie and Johhnie in the Claire de Lune, a man and a woman, not young, not old, no great beauties, either one, come together in a fresh and witty display of emotional fireworks. McNally himself describes the final piece, the bitingly honest and uproariously funny It's Only a Play, as his attempt to describe what it was like to work in Broadway in the 1980s.

THE STORY: It's the opening night of The Golden Egg on Broadway, and the wealthy producer (Julia Budder) is throwing a lavish party in her lavish Manhattan townhouse. Downstairs the celebrities are pouring in, but the real action is upstairs

Contains fifteen short plays by playwright Terrence McNally.

Based on Eric Bentley's Brecht Memoir, as well as on extensive personal interviews with the writer himself, Marowitz has created an entertaining story that is simultaneously funny, perplexing and disturbing. Tossing in small bits of insight into both men THE AGONY & THE AGONY is proof, once and for all, that hard work, grit and determination almost compensate for a total lack of talent. --Jill Silver (the playwright's mother).

This first book-length work on Terrence McNally shows how his decades in the theater have refined his thoughts on subjects like growing up gay in mannish, homophobic Texas, Shakespeare's legacy in contemporary drama, and the life-giving power of forgiveness. McNally believes that the ability to forgive--a challenge to even the most high-minded--confirms our humanity because the wrongs done to us usually don't deserve to be forgiven. The author shows how McNally's impeccable timing, his instinct for a good laugh line, and his preference for physical sensation and character over plot helps him reveal both what's important to his people and why his people are important. These revelations can shake up audiences while providing a great evening at the theater.

THE STORY: The first act is set in the fussily ornate apartment of Mendy, a ferociously dedicated opera buff who begs and cajoles his friend Stephen to let him borrow his copy of the pirated Maria Callas recording of La Traviata made during

THE STORY: The most controversial and talked about play of the 1998 theatrical season begins: We are going to tell you an old and familiar story. But from that point on, nothing feels quite familiar again. What follows is a story that parallels t