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American Plays
American plays by playwright: B
TheatreBooks stocks plays in English from around the world and, of course, all
plays published in Canada. We stock and sell plays from Samuel French Ltd., Dramatists Play Service and Dramatic Publishing Co., and the leading play publishers
in Great Britain. We carry books on all aspects of theatre production, as well
as opera and dance.
If you don't find the title or playwright you are looking for, please stop by the
store and ask, or contact us at action@theatrebooks.com,
by phone at 416.922.7175, toll-free at 1.800.361.3414 or by fax at 416.922.0739.
Plays
are also listed by playwright, by last name.
A / B / C / D / E / F / G / H / I / J / K / L / M /
N / O / P / Q / R / S / T / U / V / W /
X / Y / Z
If you are unsure of the author's name, please to to our search
engine and enter the title of the work you are interested in.
 The Paris Letter
Jon Robin Baitz
Wall Street powerhouse Sandy Sonnenberg finds his personal and professional
life threatened by the unraveling of secrets of his past. A tragic
game of financial and moral betrayal is played out over four decades
and
between two friends at the cost of family, friendship, love, and
marriage. M-5, F-1 (doubling). Softcover, 55 pp. $9.99.
 A Very Common Procedure
Courtney Baron
New Yorkers Carolyn and Michael Goldenhersch are expecting, but when their child is born prematurely and dies, Carolyn is drawn to the doctor who attempted to save the baby's life. An affair between them ensues, uniting all three on a poignant journey of self-discovery. Smart and rich with humour, A Very Common Procedure explores both literally and metaphorically the frailties and mysteries of the human heart. Softcover, 51 pp. $10.99.
 Port Authority Throwdown
Mike Batistick
Pervez is a cab driver. He's also on the run from the FBI. While driving home yesterday, her discovered Bureau agents ransacking his house. Pervez just kept on driving; he knew they were looking for his brother, Nawaz. For the past twenty-four hours, he has been hiding out in his cab outside Port Authority. There, he will meet a Christian missionary and a homeless man, both searching for a connection from a world in which they feel alienated. Softcover, 58 pp. $10.99.
 Chicken
Mike Batistick
Wendell's wife, Lina, is pregnant. His wayward best friend, Floyd, sleeps nightly on their couch. And as if things weren't stressful enough, he's under constant pressure to "father" his messed up neighbors in the Bronx. In an effort to get some money together, Wendell takes in a rooster to train for an illegal cockfight. As they discover that training a bird for a deathmatch in Washington Heights is not for the faint of heart, this dysfunctional family comes to blows before the fight ever takes place. In this devilish comedy, playwright Mike Batistick investigates power, community and loss, and searches for grace in the most unlikely places. Softcover, 56 pp. $10.99.
 Ponies
Mike Batistick
Thousands of miles from his war-torn native Croatia, Drazen spends his days
betting on horses at a Lower East Side Off-Track Betting establishment. His
friend Ken, a Nigerian no longer welcome in his own country, joins him. Drazen
is going to help Ken win at the ponies -- and aid him in making payments on
his brand new livery cab. Both men quickly discover that no matter what part
of the world you come from, America can be a dangerous place. M-3, F-1. Softcover,
38 pp. $9.99.
 A Contemporary American's Guide to a Successful Marriage 1959
Robert Bastron
Set against the backdrop of the late 1950s and told in the style of the social guidance films of that era, this play follows two young couples from courtship to matrimony, and ultimately to what comes after. 5m, 6w (doubling). Softcover, 55 pp. $11.99.
 Iphigenia
P. Seth Bauer
King Agamemnon prepares to lead the greatest coalition of armies in the history of the world to retrieve Helen of Troy. But the seas have suddenly calmed in the Bay of Aulis, and Agamemnon becomes determined to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, to make the winds blow. Queen Clytemnestra and Iphigenia arrive at the soldiers' camp, lured by the lie that she will be married to Aquilles. Meanwhile, he and his comical army of sock puppets, "The Mighty Myrmidons," are getting antsy sitting around, waiting for the winds to rise. As the soldiers become more and more restless, Agamemnon realizes that he must make a decision that will echo through the ages, as his daughter's death becomes the catalyst for generations of bloodshed. This play raises questions about what makes a hero in the modern world and what price must be paid to satisfy a country's lust for revenge. 6M, 3W (doubling, flexible casting). Softcover, 52 pp. $10.99.
 The Little Dog Laughed
Douglas Carter Beane
Yes, we love the cinema for its great auteurs, its glorious faces and its daring images. But in this tabloid age where big stars go on Oprah and jump around like heartsick schoolboys, what we really love is all that dish! The players in Douglas Carter Beane's The Little Dog Laughed include a hard-driving Hollywood agent, her budding screen idol client, a sexy young drifter, and the drifter's naive, needy girlfriend. Softcover, 54 pp. $10.99.
 Geometry of Fire
Stephen Belber
In this play based on a true story, we find an investment-banker-turned-Marine-sniper recently returned from Iraq and a Saudi-American who just wants to get laid. In any other world, these two guys would be best friends. But when their lives collide in the one, each is forced to survive on the fly. 3m, 1w. Softcover, 54 pp. $11.99.
 Fault Lines
Stephen Belber
Stephen Belber's trademark style and brutally realistic dialogue that made his play TAPE such a success is on display here in full force. A contemporary comedy with an edge, Fault Lines explores the fragility of friendship and depths of betrayal. 3M, 1W. Softcover, 52 pp. $11.99.
 A Small, Melodramatic Story
Stephen Belber
In Washington D.C., a widow named O is trying to figure out whether life is worth re-engaging with. In her path are the 1968 riots, the first Gulf War, the Freedom of Information Act and herself. There's also an archivist named Keith, a cop named Perry and a kid named Cleo. And finally, there's the question of just how much about anything do we really need to know. Softcover, 50 pp. $10.99.
 McReele
Stephen Belber
When Delaware journalist Rick Dayne meets death row inmate Darius McReele,
the articles Rick writes lead to Darius' exoneration from a sixteen-year
murder conviction. Darius' sympathetic past and magnetic personality
make him a darling of the lecture circuit, leading to national attention
and political viability. With his past and future in the balance,
Darius walks the line, as Rick seeks to determine which way he'll
ultimately fall. M-3, F-2. Softcover, 69 pp. $9.99.
 All That I Will Ever Be
Alan Bell
Alan Ball's All That I Will Ever Be is a darkly funny tale of cultural provocation and our eternal search for belonging as seen through the relationship of two young men in contemporary Los Angelas: Dwight, a privelaged native Angeleno, and Omar, an enigmatic immigrant from the Middle East. Softcover, 62 pp. $10.99.
 Henry Flamethrowa
John Belluso
Inspired by real-life events, Henry Flamethrowa tells the story of sixteen-year-old Henry, a confused and emotionally isolated young man who writes letters to the devil, unbeknownst to his deeply religious father, Peter. As family drama grows, the characters must confront their own assumptions about faith, spirituality and the intrinsic value of human life. Softcover, 48 pp. $10.99.
 The Rules of Charity
John Belluso
Loretta thinks she is a machine. Her father, Monty, seeks independence and a place in history. Will Loretta learn the secret she needs to hear? Will Monty forgive her for a slap across the face that broke the rules? A play about the body, love and contradiction. Softcover, 58 pp. $10.99.
 A Nervous Smile
John Belluso
A wealthy New York couple, strained to the breaking point by caring for their severely disabled daughter, Emily, weigh their own happiness against that of their child - with shocking consequences. Emily's lyrical poetry, the couple's disintegrating marriage, and the appraisals of the outside world frame the narrative of this insightful play. A Nervous Smile is a brutal portrait of love, lust and despair set against Belluso's fiery brand of social satire. Softcover, 37 pp. $10.99.
 Pyretown
John Belluso
Louise is a divorced mother of three, getting by on welfare checks and child support in a depressed, industrial New England town. Harry is a handsome, clever young man, a wheelchair user since a childhood accident. Their paths cross in an emergency room as Louise seeks out care for her daughter's mysterious sickness. Yearning for connection beyond his online friends and his pile of Russian novels, Harry reaches out to help Louise navigate her daughter's care. More compatriots than lovers, they find solace with each other for a brief and intense interlude before their paths diverge. A frank and melancholy portrait of life on the frings of American society. 1M, 1W. Softcover, 43 pp. $10.99.
 The Revenger's Tragedy
Jesse Berger
Vindice, the "Revenger," sets off a chain reaction of havoc in a corrupt and decadent Venice, which exposes outrageous indulgences and government hypocrisy, and ends in a coup de theatre massacre of epic proportions. Part black comedy, part social satire, the play is a plot-twisting blender full of Shakespeare's greatest hits. 15M, 4W (flexible casting). Softcover, 114 pp. $10.99.
 Jerome Bixby's "Man from Earth"
Richard Schenkman
After history professor John Oldman unexpectedly resigns from the University, his startled colleagues impulsively invite themselves to his home, pressing him for an explanation. But they're shocked to hear his reason for premature retirement: he claims that he must move on because he is immortal, and cannot stay in one place for more than ten years without his secret being discovered. M-6, F-3. Softcover, 65 pp. $11.99.
 The Exonerated
Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen
What does it truly mean to be exonerated? The dictionary says
it is to be proclaimed innocent after having been convicted of a
crime. But what effect does it have on a person to have one's freedom
and self-respect stripped away and then returned years later, after
decades of incarceration? Through the words of six innocent men and
women who emerged from years on death row, compiled and edited by
Blank and Jensen, The Exonerated attempts to answer this question.
This is both a riviting work of theatre and an exploration of one
dark aspect of the American criminal justice system. Male: 7 Female:
3. Softcover, 76 pp. $19.50.
 Chesapeake
Lee Blessing
When conserative candidate Therm Pooley's crticism of Kerr's government-sponsored performance art lands him a Senate seat, Kerr seeks revenge. The centrepiece of Pooley's political career is his labrador retriever, Lucky, whose tricks ingratiate Pooley to voters. Kerr seeks to kidnap and retrain Lucky, but his attempt is foiled by a mysterious and supernatural transformation that brings him closer to Pooley than he ever imagined. 1m. Softcover, 41 pp. $11.99.
 A Body of Water
Lee Blessing
Moss and Avis, an attractive middle-aged couple wake up one morning in an isolated summer house high above a picturesque body of water. The weather's fine, the view's magnificent. There's only one problem - neither of them can remember who they are. When a young woman named Wren arrives, information starts to flood in. But will it help? Her explanations seem only to make Moss and Avis's world - as well as ours - more terrifying. Softcover, 51 pp. $10.99.
 Flag Day
Lee Blessing
A play in two plays, Flag Day examines white/black relations in our society with an unblinking eye. The first play, Good Clean Fun, is a darkly funny office commedy pitting two workers - one black, one white - against each other as they try to complete a high-pressure project. The office racism intensifies as we learn that one of them has stolen the other's wife. The second, Down and Dirty, evokes recent white-on-black and black-on-white killings in the American South. In a style poised carefully on the edge of absurdism, we discover a man dying in a car's windshield as people argue over whether or not to save him. Softcover, 47 pp. $10.99.
 The Winning Streak
Lee Blessing
Omar, a retired baseball umpire, receives a sudden phonecall from Ry,
a son he's never seen. Ry is the product of a one-night stand long
ago. Until now, he's never wanted to meet his absentee father. But
now in his mid-thirties and having made a life for himself in a distant
city, he feels it's time. Omar is not so sure. In a series of funny,
heartbreaking scenes, the two men negotiate every inch of a very
rocky road in trying to come together. Is there a common ground?
Can Omar ever master the skills to become a father, or Ry to become
his son? Will baseball help? The local major-league team has a winning
streak going. Meanwhile, these two men are just trying to win one
in a row. A bittersweet comedy about the need for family in us all.
M-2. Softcover, 49 pp. $11.99.
 Emma
Michael Bloom
A delightful adaptation for the stage of Jane Austen's classic novel. 6M, 6F (plus ensemble). Softcover, 94 pp. $11.99.
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The Drunken City
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
Red Angel
Griller
Humpty Dumpty and Other Plays
A Place at Forest Lawn
Southern Promises
Dawn
Elephant's Graveyard
The Women of Lockerbie
Franklin's Apprentice
Oohrah!
