FROM THE PUBLISHER

A new collection by the Obie—award winning playwright-director hailed as "the top shaman in America's experimental theater." (Ben Brantley, The New York Times)

Richard Foreman's work continues to define American experimental theater, and this brand new collection reaffirms his status as "the reigning philosopher vaudevillian of the New York avant-garde." In addition to six new plays—"Paradise Hotel," "The Universe," "Permanent Brain Damage," "Risk It! Risk It!," "Pearls for Pigs," and "Benita Canova" (the last two of which won Obie awards for Best Play)—this collection also boasts two short essays on Foreman's singular approach to the art of playwrighting. "On My Plays" provides crucial insight into how the playwright assesses the motivation behind writing his own plays, and "Rules" offers a program for a kind of writing that liberates the mind and encourages faith in language that can abide in the struggles of any kind of writer.

Filled with Foreman's signature wit and vision, Paradise Hotel is a landmark collection from a true genius of American theater.

"I count Richard Foreman as one of my reasons for still living in New York City." — Spalding Gray

"Like Brecht, Foreman is a genius not only of the written drama and of directing, but of theory as well. . . . He makes theater free us, turn us on, and prepare us for action." — Eric Bogosian

Richard Foreman is the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater in New York City, an eight-time Obie—award winner, and recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. In addition he has designed and directed works by Brecht, Mozart, Moliere, Gertrude Stein, Philip Glass, Kathy Acker, Vaclav Havel, and Arthur Kopit.