The Revisionist Stage: American Directors Reinvent the Classics (Cambridge Studies in American Theatre and Drama)

This book explores the vision and talents of a controversial group of artists who, depending on one's perspective, either revitalized or disfigured the standard dramatic repertoire by adapting canonical dramas for the contemporary American stage. Amy S. Green's critical history features the bold directorial ventures of JoAnne Akalaitis, Lee Breuer, Liviu Ciulei, Richard Foreman, Joseph Papp, Lucian Pintilie, Richard Schechner, Peter Sellars, Andrei Serban, Robert Woodruff, and Garland Wright. Green covers Greek and Roman drama, plays by Shakespeare and Molière, and the operas of Mozart and da Ponte, and discusses in detail many landmark theatrical events of the past thirty years. This versatile, insightful study provides an informed reading of the business of theatrical revision, and a full-scale investigation of this rich and controversial genre.