Book Description
From the "angry young man" who wrote Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 1962, determined to expose the emptiness of American experience to Tiny Alice which reveals his indebtedness to Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco's Theatre of the Absurd, Edward Albee's varied work makes it difficult to label him precisely. Bruce Mann and his contributors approach Albee as an innovator in theatrical form, filling a critical gap in theatrical scholarship.
Edward Albee (Casebooks on Modern Dramatists Series) FROM THE PUBLISHER
From the "angry young man" who wrote Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 1962, determined to expose the emptiness of American experience to Tiny Alice which reveals his indebtedness to Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco's Theatre of the Absurd, Edward Albee's varied work makes it difficult to label him precisely. Bruce Mann and his contributors approach Albee as an innovator in theatrical form, filling a critical gap in theatrical scholarship.
SYNOPSIS
The eleven chapters of this volume present various aspects of Edward Albee and his work, written mainly by professors of drama and English at American universities. The chapters feature analysis of Albee's plays, including All over, The lady from Dubuque, and Malcolm, as well as his more well known works; a retrospective of his career; and an interview with Albee from 1999. Distributed by Taylor & Francis. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Part of an extensive series of casebooks from the publisher, this ultimately unsatisfying collection was put together after Albee enjoyed a critical revival with Three Tall Women, originally written in 1991 and produced here in 1994. Mann (English, Oakland Univ.) commissioned ten new essays and conducted an interview with Albee, serving both literary and theatrical disciplines. Two pieces are devoted to Three Tall Women: one argues that Albee took his dramatic inspiration from Chekhov, Beckett, and others, and another documents a director's experience working on a summer production of the play. A strong entry on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? pushes historical analogies further than before, while one on The Zoo Story convincingly argues that the play mirrors Jerry's story in its effect. In addition, a retrospective by Albee critic Anne Paolucci has much to recommend it, especially as it explores the influence of Pirandello, but her essay devotes too much space to Albee's weak, middle-period plays. Although he has some important things to say regarding Malcolm and A Delicate Balance, Robert F. Gross (English & comparative literature, Hobart & William Smith Colls.) depends too much upon term coinage, rendering his contribution quite unappealing. On the whole, this collection needs a better, more sweeping overview and a good discussion of Tiny Alice. Recommended for academic and larger theater collections.-Thomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., MA Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
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