Description
'In the region of Washington Square or Greenwich Village, or ... among the sand dunes of Cape Cod we must look for the real birthplace of the New American Drama.' So William Archer, first translator of Ibsen and the most influential critic of his day, acclaimed the Provincetown Players. This anthology brings together for the first time the best of the plays that merited his accolade. Founded by George Cram Cook and Susan Glaspell, the Provincetown Players was the first theatre group to generate an indigenous American drama. Modern American theatre would not exist in its present form but for the example set by the plays in this volume. Among the celebrated playwrights launched by the group were Eugene O'Neill, Susan Glaspell, Djuna Barnes, Edna St Vincent Millay, and Wallace Stevens. Exploiting uniquely American themes while making use of European avantgarde models established by the theatre artists Max Reinhardt, Jacques Copeau and Edward Gordon Grain, the Provincetown Players set the scene for playwrights such as Arthur Miller, Edward Albee and Marsha Norman. Experimental in stagecraft and subject matter, yet realistic in capturing the spirit of America, these plays deserve their place at the forefront of American drama.
