One Act: Eleven Short Plays of the Modern TheatreSamuel Moon These eleven one-act plays present the major figures of the modern theatre in an art form that demands from the dramatist the best in vigor, intensity, and precision. They conduct the reader on a historical tour of the modern play, from the naturalism of Strindberg to the intellectual drama of Pirandello; from the lyrical drama of Saroyan to the social drama of Arthur Miller and the psychological drama of Tennessee Williams; from the verse of Yeats and MacLeish to Ionesco's theatre of the absurd. Included in this volume are: Miss Julie, August Strindberg; Purgatory, William Butler Yeats; The Man With the Flower in His Mouth, Luigi Pirandello; Pullman Car Hiawatha, Thornton Wilder; Hello Out There, William Saroyan; 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, Tennessee Williams; Bedtime Story, Sean O'Casey; Cecile, Jean Anouilh; This Music Crept by Me upon the Waters, Archibald MacLeish; A Memory of Two Mondays, Arthur Miller; The Chairs, Eugene Ionesco. |
Contents
Introduction | |
MISS JULIE | 1 |
PURGATORY | 49 |
THE MAN WITH THE FLOWER IN HIS MOUTH | 59 |
PULLMAN CAR HIAWATHA | 71 |
HELLO OUT THERE | 91 |
27 WAGONS FULL OF COTTON | 113 |
BEDTIME STORY | 145 |
CECILE | 175 |
THIS MUSIC CREPT BY ME UPON THE WATERS | 215 |
A MEMORY OF TWO MONDAYS | 251 |
THE CHAIRS | 315 |
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Common terms and phrases
AGNES ALICE ANGELA ARAMINTHE BERT Cecile chair CHEVALIER CHUCK COLONEL comes curtain curtain pole darling dear desk door Eagle ELIZABETH everything exits eyes face father feel fire FLORA GIRL goes goin gone gonna HALIBUT HALSEY hand head hear heard HELEN Hello-out Honus Wagner invisible LADY JAKE JEAN JERRY KENNETH KEOGH kiss KRISTIN LARRY laughs Listen live look LOWER Majesty Meighan Miss Julie MISS MOSSIE MONSIEUR DAMIENS MONSIEUR ORLAS moon morning MULLIGAN never nice night OLD WOMAN echo OLIVER Orator PATRICIA Pause PETER PORTER Pullman Car Hiawatha RAYMOND SALLY Semiramis silence sleep smile speak STAGE MANAGER stands stares sure talk tell Thank There's thing Thornton Wilder toilet TOM KELLY Tommy Tommy Kelly tonight turns VICARRO VOICE wait walks What's wife WILLY window y'know Yeah YOUNG