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This study takes a different approach to the work of poet-playwright Clifford Odets. Rather than focusing on biographical and political factors surrounding his works, Cantor provides a close reading of 11 of Odets' plays as a whole, grounding his study within an analysis of themes common to each text. While granting emphasis to Odets' poetic style, Cantor gives due notice to Odets' achievements as both mythmaker and voice of the Jewish middle class. Included are reprints of 'Sum and Substance, ' an interview with the writer conducted by the late Herman Harvey, and a 1998 interview by Cantor with actress/director Joanne Woodward, who has directed recent revivals of four of Odets' plays. Cantor also gives an account of other noted productions in order to illuminate the ways in which this visionary's style has influenced contemporary American theatre. Drawing both from previous works and his own research, Cantor presents a quintessential study of a prolific and influential literary artist. It will prove a useful and timely volume for scholars of theatre and American social history alike.
(Applause Books). Clifford Odets through his plays, which include "Waiting for Lefty" and "Awake" and "Sing!", was the champion of the oppressed, avenger for the poor. He and his plays, as presented by the influential Group Theatre, were the conscience of America during the Depression. Author Margaret Brenman-Gibson, a respected psychoanalyst and close personal friend, penned what is considered the classic biography of Odets. Based on exhaustive research, including access to his personal papers, plus her own insights into the man and his career, it is at last back in prtin. The book is richly annotated, with a thorough bibliography, personal chronology, a list of Odets' works, published and unpublished, and a section of rare photographs.
THE STORY: The Acting Edition contains notes showing how nearly all scene changes may be made with a minimum of effort. People are inclined to laugh at Joe, a moody young Italian with cockeyed notions. At heart a musician--he has a real talent for
THE STORY: We witness the last few days of Charlie Castle, a top movie star and an idealist, whose years of compromise with his beliefs for the sake of a Hollywood career have resulted in the slow destruction of his personality. We see his struggle
THE STORY: The action of the play is comprised of a series of varied, imaginatively conceived episodes, which blend into a powerful and stirring mosaic. The opening scene is a hiring hall where a union leader (obviously in the pay of the bosses) is trying to convince a committee of workers (who are waiting for their leader, Lefty, to arrive) not to strike. This is followed by a moving confrontation between a discouraged taxi driver, who cannot earn enough to live on, and his angry wife, who wants him to show some backbone and stand up to his employer; a revealing scene between a scheming boss and the young worker who refuses to spy on his fellow employees; a sad/funny episode centering on a ...
Best known as a revolutionary playwright of the 1930s, Clifford Odets may have reached his zenith when four of his plays were produced on Broadway in 1935: Waiting for Lefty, Till the Day I Die, Awake and Sing!, and Paradise Lost. His plays, however, also show a romantic strain and are at least as much inimate and personal as they are political, often reflecting the isolation and loneliness of individuals in family settings. Never achieving the acclaim of Eugene O'Neill, who came before, or Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, who followed, Odets bridged the gap between earlier melodramatic theatre and the mature post-World War II drama on the American stage, creating rich and varied drama ...
This is a new release of the original 1935 edition.