The Revisionist Stage
American Directors Reinvent the Classics

Examines adaptations of classic dramatic works by controversial American directors.

Amy S. Green (Author)

9780521028929, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 November 2006

244 pages, 14 b/w illus.
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.374 kg

"...the book is a worthwhile addition to the study of production." Arnold Aronson, American Studies

This book explores the vision and talents of a controversial group of artists who, depending on one's perspective, either revitalised or disfigured the standard dramatic repertoire by adapting canonical dramas for the contemporary American stage. First setting out comprehensive overviews of the medium from a variety of perspectives, Amy S. Green goes on to present a critical history that features the bold directorial ventures of JoAnne Akalaitis, Lee Breuer, Liviu Ciulei, Richard Foreman, Joseph Papp, Lucian Pintilie, Richard Schechner, Peter Sellars, Andrei Serban, Robert Woodruff and Garland Wright. Green's critique ranges from Greek and Roman plays to plays by Shakespeare and Molière, and the operas of Mozart and da Ponte; she discusses such landmark theatrical events as Serban's Fragments of a Trilogy, Breuer's The Gospel at Colonus and Lear, and Peter Sellars's trilogy of Mozart operas. It provides a more informed reading of the business of theatrical revision, conducing a full-scale investigation of this rich and controversial genre.

List of illustrations
Preface
1. Reinventing classic theatre
2. Historical precedents in Europe and America
3. Greek and Roman plays
4. The plays of Shakespeare
5. The plays of Molière
6. Peter Sellar's Mozart-da Ponte trilogy
7. The classics, postmodernism, and the question of coherence
Notes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Theatre studies [AN]