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Overview
In this outstanding collection of critical writings, some published here for the first time, Gordon Rogoff tells the story of live theater in America over the past forty years. His view of modern drama and its performance is rich with the insights of both a discerning critic and an individual for whom the making of theater is a passion. As Rogoff explores the topics of acting, directing, playwriting, Shakespeare productions, opera, and theater criticism, he celebrates live theater's victories over new realms while deploring the threat of imitative repertories, acting styles, and playwriting. Throughout the book he underscores his conviction that dramatic literature and performance may be taken as a book of instruction for the way we lead our lives.Rogoff ranges widely in his discussions, considering the work of Peter Brook, Robert Wilson, Ariane Mnouchkine, Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams, Alban Berg, and Tony Kushner among others, and the performances of such actors as Laurence Olivier, Donald Wolfit, Judi Dench, Anthony Hopkins, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Lee J. Cobb, Vanessa Redgrave, and Geraldine Page. He registers dissenting notes about the accomplishments of Joseph Papp, Eugene O'Neill, and Arthur Miller. In his concluding essay, Rogoff contends that nostalgia—"our millennial nemesis"—may be a way of forgetting rather than remembering.
About the Author:
Gordon Rogoff is professor of dramaturgy and dramatic criticism at the Yale School of Drama and professor emeritus of Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is an Obie-award winning director and as one of America's most respected theater critics, he received the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism, and the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Synopsis
In this outstanding collection of critical writings, award-winning theater critic Gordon Rogoff tells the story of live theater in America over the past forty years. Rogoff ranges widely across topics from acting and directing to Shakespeare productions and theater criticism. Along the way he offers discerning insights into the work of artists Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams, Tony Kushner, Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench, Lee J. Cobb, Vanessa Redgrave, and many others."
Variety - Pamela Renner
Thoughtful and provocative.
Editorials
Pamela Renner
Thoughtful and provocative.— Variety
Library Journal
In this collection of 75 essays and short pieces, Rogoff, a professor of dramaturgy and dramatic criticism at the Yale School of Drama and winner of the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism, does not fail to provoke, confront, question, or defend. He is passionate and intelligent--always a good combination--and his love of theater informs every sentence. His obituary of Geraldine Page is remarkably insightful for something so short and stands as a model of how less can be more. Some may not agree with every one of his arguments. For instance, his proposition that the second act of Sunday in the Park with George is a failure is unconvincing. Still, he challenges readers to rethink their positions and therefore is a writer one does not easily forget. Recommended for all libraries with theater studies and/or performance programs.--Susan L. Peters, Univ. of Texas, Galveston Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.Arnold E. Aronson
Rogoff's diatribes against the philistinism of recent theater -- his barbs aimed primarily at conceptual directors and anyone who ignores language -- though often invigorating, leave one with little hope for the future. At the same time he writes with an eloquence that occasionally approaches that of the playwrights he loves...Surveying the current scene, one can't help agreeing with him, and wishing that if the theater can't be better, at least there could be more critics like Rogoff.—New York Times Book Review