Plays every big theatre fan should read?

Posted: 5/11/09 at 10:12pm

So it's the summer and my goal is to read 100 plays over the next couple of months. In your opinion, what are the major plays that I should read?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 10:13pm

Angels in America.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 10:19pm

That was going to be my first suggestion, as well. Great minds think alike, Em, as usual!

I can also suggest:

Mamet - Glengarry, Glen Ross; American Buffalo
Albee - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf; The Zoo Story; The Goat
Churchill - Top Girls; Cloud 9
McDonagh - The Pillowman; The Beauty Queen of Leeneane

Musical librettos, as well - Gypsy, Guys and Dolls, etc, etc.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 10:21pm

Our Town

[Rudy2]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 10:37pm

Absolutely, positively, you must read...

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, Tennessee Williams.

Stark, moving, profoundly beautiful. In my opinion, even better than Williams' more common works.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 10:38pm

SEASCAPE, THE PLAY ABOUT THE BABY - Albee

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 10:43pm

And some of the classics both older and more recent:
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE-Williams
A DOLL'S HOUSE-Ibsen
THE SEAGULL, IVANOV, UNCLE VANYA, THE CHERRY ORCHARD-Chekhov
MOTHER COURAGE-Brecht

Modern:
Extra votes for ANGELS IN AMERICA, TOP GIRLS, and CLOUD 9
DOUBT-Shanley
FROZEN-Lavery
SEVEN GUITARS-Wilson
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM-Wilson
THE HEIDI CHRONICLES-Wasserstein

Updated On: 5/11/09 at 10:43 PM

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 11:00pm

No Exit - Sartre

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 11:05pm

I guess it could go without saying, but HAMLET?

And, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (O'Neill).

WAITING FOR GODOT (Beckett)

[TheatreFreak05]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 11:10pm

"Doubt" is a definitely a must!

Also, if you are looking for musicals too, most of Sondheim's shows are published.

[A Director]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 11:15pm

1. The Zoo Story (195 - Edward Albee
2. The Sandbox (1959) - Edward Albee
3. The American Dream (1960) - Edward Albee
4. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) - Edward Albee
5. Three Tall Women (1991) -Edward Albee
6. Holiday (192 - Philip Barry
7. The Philadelphia Story (1939) - Philip Barry
8. Biography (1932) - S. N. Behrman
9. No Time For Comedy (1939) - S. N. Behrman
10. Him (1927) - e.e. cummings
11. The Little Foxes (1939) - Lillian Hellman
12. Toys in the Attic (1960) - Lillian Hellman
13. Waiting For Lefty (1935) - Clifford Odets
14. Awake and Sing (1935) - Clifford Odets
15. The Emperor Jones (1920) - Eugene O'Neill
16. The Hairy Ape (1922) - Eugene O'Neill
17. Desire Under The Elms (1924) - Eugene O'Neill
18. Ah. Wilderness! (1932) - Eugene O'Neill
19. The Iceman Cometh (1939) - Eugene O'Neill
20. Long Day's Journey Into Night (1941) - Eugene O'Neill
21. A Moon For The Misbegotten (1943) - Eugene O"Neill
22. What Price Glory? (1924) - Laurence Stallings & Maxwell Anderson
23. Trifles (1916) - Susan Glaspell
24. Broadway (1926) - Philip Dunning and George Abbott
25. The Front Page (192 - Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht
26. The Adding Machine (1923) - Elmer Rice
27. Street Scene (1929) - Elmer Rice
28. They Knew What They Wanted (1924) - Sidney Howard
29. Aria da Capo (1919) - Edna St. Vincent Millay
30. Bury The Dead (1936) -Irwin Shaw
31. Dead End (1935) - Sidney Kingsley
32. Of Mice and Men (1937) - John Steinbeck
33. Life With Father (1939) - Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
34. The Male Animal (1940) - James Thurber and Elliott Nugent
35. Three Men on a Horse (1935) - John Cecil Holm & George Abbott
36. Beggar on Horseback (1924) - Marc Connelly & George S .Kaufman
37. The Royal Family (1927) - Edna Ferber & George S.Kaufman
38. Once in A Lifetime (1930) - Moss Hart and George S.Kaufman
39. You Can't Take It With You (1936) - George S.Kaufman & Moss Hart
40. The Man Who Came To Dinner (1939) - George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart
41. The Time of Your Life (1939) - William Saroyan
42. Arsenic and Old Lace (1941) - Joseph Kesselring
43. The Petrified Forest (1935) - Robert E.Sherwood
44. Idiot's Delight (1936) - Robert E. Sherwood
45. Our Town (193 - Thornton Wilder
46. The Skin of Our Teeth (1942) - Thornton Wilder
47. The Matchmaker (1955) - Thornton Wilder
48. Mr. Roberts (194 - Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan
49. All My Sons (1947) - Arthur Miller
50. Death of a Salesman (1949) - Arthur Miller
51. The Crucible (1953) - Arthur Miller
52. The Glass Menagerie (1945) - Tennessee Williams
53. A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) - Tennessee Williams
54. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1955) - Tennessee Williams
55. Picnic (1953) - William Inge
56. Bus Stop (1955) - William Inge
57. The Sunshine Boys (1972) - Neil Simon
58. LUV (1963) - Murray Schisgal
59. Indians (196 - Arthur Kopit
60. Wings (197 - Arthur Kopit
61. A Raisin in the Sun (1959) - Lorranie Hansberry
62. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbows
Not Enuf (1976) - Ntozake Shange
63. Topdog/Underdog (2001) - Suzan-Lori Parks
64. Ceremonies in Dark Old Men (1969) - Lonnie Elder III
65. A Soldier's Story (1981) - Charles Fuller
66. Dutchman (1964) Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones)
67. Fefu and Her Friends (1977) Maria Irene Fornes
68. MUD - Maria Irene Fornes
69. Two Sisters and a Piano (1999) - Nilo Cruz
70. Anna in the Tropics (2002 ) -Nilo Cruz
71. Los Vendidos (1967) - Luis Valdez
72. Zoot Suit (197 - Luis Valdez
73. The House of Ramon Iglesia (1983) - Jose Rivera
74. Real Women Have Curves (198 - Josefina Lopez
75. Doubt (2004) - John Patrick Shanley
76. The Shape of Things (2001) - Neil Labute
77. Side Man (199 - Warren Leight
78. Sight Unseen (1991) - Donald Margulies
79. Dinner with Friends (2000) - Donald Margulies
80. Angels in America (Two Parts) (1993) Tony Kushner
81. Curse of the Starving Class (1976) - Sam Shepard
82, Buried Child (197 - Sam Shepard
83. True West (1980) - Sam Shepard
84. Getting Out (197 - Marsha Norman
85. 'night, Mother (1983) - Marsha Norman
86. Crimes of the Heart (1981) - Beth Henley
87. Miss Firecracker Contest (1984) - Beth Henley
88. M. Butterfly (199 - David Henry Wang
89. Hot (e) l Baltimore (1973) - Lanford Wilson
90. 5th of July (197 - Lanford Wilson
91. Talley's Folly (1979) - Lanford Wilson
92. American Buffalo (1977) - David Mamet
93. Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) - David Mamet
94. The Trip to Bountiful (1953) - Horton Foote
95. The House of Blood Leaves (1970) - John Guare
96. Landscape of the Body (1977) - John Guare
97. Six Degrees of Separation (1990) - John Guare
98. The Heidi Chronicles (1989) - Wendy Wasserstein
99. The Clean House (2006) - Sarah Ruhl
100. Eurydice (2003) -Sarah Ruhl
101. Fuddy Meers (1999) - David Lindsay-Abaire
102. Rabbit Hole (2006) - David Lindsay-Abaire
103. Proof (2001) - David Auburn
104. Living Out (2003) - Lisa Loomer
105. Distracted (2007) - Lisa Loomer
106. The Pittsburgh Cycle: Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner's Come and Gone,
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences,
Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, Radio Golf (1984-2006)
all by August Wilson
107. Doubt
108. Crumbs for the Table of Joy - Lynn Nottage
109. Intimate Apparel - Lynn Nottage
110. The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler - Jeff Whitty
111. Dead Man's Cel Phone - Sarah Ruhl

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 11:26pm

No order:
The Crucible- Miller
All My Sons- Miller
Pygmalion- Shaw
The Importance of Being Earnest- Wilde
Equus- Shaffer
Amadeus- Shaffer
August: Osage County- Letts
The Glass Menagerie- Williams
Antigone- Sophocles (but find a modern translation)
The School For Scandal- Sheridan
Blithe Spirit- Noel Coward (Also check out many of his one acts)
A Doll's House- Ibsen
Uncle Vanya- Checkhov
Rabbit Hole- Lindsay-Abaire
Doubt- Shanley

Some of my favorite Shakespeare:
Measure for Measure
King Lear
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Richard III
The Tempest

These are just some of my favorite plays that I've read, but for the most part they are all considered great ones.

Updated On: 5/11/09 at 11:26 PM

[Rudy2]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 11:26pm

If you're an English major, I heartily suggest becoming *specialized* in a particular writer by reading *all* his works. It's a good idea. If you want to specialize in literature it's a good idea to be the guy who knows all of Williams, or all of Wilson, or all of (insert name), you get the idea. :)

[willep]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 11:31pm

Thank you, IdinaBell for mentioning Equus :-P I couldn't believe A Director made a list of 111 shows and didn't mention it.

I definitely second both Equus and Waiting for Godot.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 5/11/09 at 11:42pm

THE GLASS MENAGERIE-Williams (the best play ever written)
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF- Williams
INHERIT THE WIND-Lawerence and Lee
MEDEA
OUR TOWN-Wildler
ALL MY SONS- Miller
LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT-O'Neil
WAITING FOR GODOT-Beckett
SPEED THE PLOW-Mamet (just cuz its fun)

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 1:10am

I say fine a spectrum of theater that interests you - realistic, classic, absurdist, and delve into it. Or start with all the Pulitzer Prize winning plays.

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 2:44am

I'll just repeat this... Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie, and A Streetcar Named Desire, all by Tennessee Williams. Also, read Summer and Smoke and The Rose Tattoo by him as well!

[A Director]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 2:52am

The plays I listed are all American plays; Equus is a British play. I wouldn't include it on ANY list because I think it's over-rated and a pile of horse droppings.

If you're an English major, I heartily suggest becoming *specialized* in a particular writer by reading *all* his works. It's a good idea. If you want to specialize in literature it's a good idea to be the guy who knows all of Williams, or all of Wilson, or all of (insert name), you get the idea. :)

I agree with this up to a point. Don't specialize too soon, wait until you have a good broad background in the works of many writers. Without this, you won't understand how one writers influenced another. For example, if you don't read Marlowe, you won't understand Shakespeare

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 2:54am

well, if you want anything that isn't American, I would go with Inspector General by Gogol. Seriously, it was so much fun to read.

[jagfkb]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 5:47am

Here's what iu've read for my highschool theatre class and liked:
Rabbit Hole- Abaire
Proof- Auburn
The Kentucky Cycle- Shenkman
*August: Osage County- Letts (Great show, GREAT read)
Angels in America- Kushner
Not About Nightengales- Williams
The Orphan's Home Cycle- Foote
The Pittsburgh Cycle- Wilson (Currently reading, I'm on Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)
The Norman Conquests- Ackbourne (Currently reading as well, I'm on Table Manners)

This summer, I'm planning on finally reading ALOT of plays as well (two a week at some points):
Long Day's Journey into Night
The Iceman Cometh
A Moon for the Misbegotten
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Inherit the Wind
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The Glass Menagerie
A Streetcar Named Desire
Spring Storm
Night of the Iguana
W;t
Seascape
Doubt
Frost*Nixon
Love, Valour, Compassion
The Coast of Utopia

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 6:29am

I know you already have an amazing list to choose from: but let me add a playwright I hadn't noticed on anyone's list

SAM SHEPARD
He has a number of collections but two of my favorites of his are:

Fool for Love
Curse of the Starivng Class
Buried Child
True West

[lightinthepizza2]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 3:52pm

I second NO EXIT. It's never been revived on Broadway. Someone needs to get on that asap.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 4:13pm

Unless i missed it im shocked nobody mentioned Master Harold...And the Boys by Athol Fugard. I read it in class a few weeks ago and thought it was brilliant. I agree with many of the ones that have been said so far so im not going to re list them. However Pillowman and Angels are favorites. Also you might wanna take a look at The Coast of Utopia and Rock n Roll by Tom Stoppard.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 4:18pm

Glass Menagerie

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 5/12/09 at 4:28pm

See, Master Harold was good, but it got a tad boring at times.