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Recommendations... R.U.R.
by Karel Capek
Must-read play looks to a future in which all workers are automatons. They revolt when they acquire souls (i.e., when they gain the ability to hate) and the resulting catastrophe make for a powerful theatrical experience.
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| |  The Father
by August Strindberg
Highly emotional study of marital upheaval and a no-holds-barred struggle between man and woman. One of the most gripping psychological dramas of modern theater. Biographical Note.
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 Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare
Imaginative, exuberant comedy contrasts 2 pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful battle of the sexes. Filled with suspense, clever turns of plot, vivacious displays of wit, and charming songs.
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| |  Heartbreak House
by George Bernard Shaw
One of the distinguished comic dramatist's more somber plays, this entertaining allegory examines apathy, confusion, and lack of purpose as causes of major global problems, with larger-than-life characters representing the evils of the modern world. Written in 1913 and first produced in 1923, the work is a prime example of Shaw's unconventional and provocative style.
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 A Doll's House
by Henrik Ibsen
Ibsen's best-known play displays his genius for realistic prose drama. An expression of women's rights, the play climaxes when the central character, Nora, rejects a smothering marriage and life in "a doll's house."
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| |  Tartuffe
by Molière
Brimming with lively humor and satirical plot devices, this timeless comedy concerns the outrageous activities of a penniless scoundrel and religious pretender as he wreaks havoc among members of his benefactor's household.
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Products in Reading Books--Plays | | |  | All's Well That Ends Well
by William Shakespeare
The daughter of a renowned physician pursues her passion for an elusive bridegroom through a comic maze of mistaken identities, betrayals, repentance, and dramatic revelation. An extraordinary combination of romantic melodrama and outright farce.
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|  | Antigone
by Sophocles
Filled with passionate speeches and sensitive probing of moral and philosophical issues, this powerful and often-performed Greek drama reveals the grim fate that befalls the children of Oedipus. Footnotes.
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|  | Arms and the Man
by George Bernard Shaw
One of Shaw's most popular comedies, deflating romantic misconceptions of love and warfare. Reprinted from an authoritative early edition, complete with Shaw's preface to Volume II of Plays: Pleasant and Unpleasant.
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|  | As You Like It
by William Shakespeare
When forbidden romance enters their lives, two noblewomen assume disguises and flee to the Forest of Arden, where they encounter friendly outlaws and wise fools. This comedy features memorable characters and incomparable poetry.
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|  | Bacchae
by Euripides
Classic Greek tragedy concerns the catastrophe that ensues when the King of Thebes imprisons Dionysus and attempts to suppress his cult. Striking scenes, frenzied emotion, and choral songs of power and beauty.
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|  | The Beggar's Opera
by John Gay
A receiver of stolen goods informs on his chief supplier, setting in motion an increasingly absurd turn of events. This satirical 1728 play was to become the prototype for Threepenny Opera.
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|  | The Cherry Orchard
by Anton Chekhov
Classic of world drama concerns passing of semifeudal order in turn-of-the-century Russia, symbolized in the sale of the cherry orchard owned by Madame Ranevskaya. Showcases Chekhov's rich sensitivities as an observer of human nature.
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|  | The Comedy of Errors
by William Shakespeare
Two sets of identical twins provide the basis for ongoing incidents of mistaken identity, within a lively plot of quarrels, arrests, and a grand courtroom denouement. One of Shakespeare's earliest comedic efforts.
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|  | Coriolanus
by William Shakespeare
A military hero of ancient Rome attempts to shift from his career as a general to become a politician — a disastrous move that results in his leading an attack on Rome.
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|  | Cyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand
A quarrelsome, hot-tempered, and unattractive swordsman falls hopelessly in love with a beautiful woman and woos her for a handsome but slow-witted suitor. A witty and eloquent drama.
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| | A Doll's House
by Henrik Ibsen
Ibsen's best-known play displays his genius for realistic prose drama. An expression of women's rights, the play climaxes when the central character, Nora, rejects a smothering marriage and life in "a doll's house."
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|  | Dr. Faustus
by Christopher Marlowe
Classic tale of a man's sale of his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge, transformed by an Elizabethan playwright into an epic tragedy of psychological insights and poetic grandeur.
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|  | The Duchess of Malfi
by John Webster
The evils of greed and ambition overwhelm love, innocence, and the bonds of kinship in this dark tragedy concerning the secret marriage of a noblewoman and a commoner.
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|  | Electra
by Sophocles
Masterpiece of drama concerns the revenge Electra takes on her mother for the murder of her father. One of the best-known heroines of all drama and a towering figure of Greek tragedy.
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|  | The Emperor Jones: unabridged
by Eugene O'Neill
Bold, expressionistic drama describing the fall of a self-proclaimed, plundering monarch of a West Indian island. Powerful work established O'Neill's reputation as one of America's most important dramatists.
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|  | An Enemy of the People
by Henrik Ibsen
When the famous and financially successful baths in his home town are contaminated, the local doctor insists they be shut down for expensive repairs, causing upheaval among the townsfolk.
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|  | Everyman
by Anonymous
The most durable of medieval morality plays, along with 3 other classics: The Second Shepherd’s Play, Noah’s Flood and Hickscorner. All from standard texts.
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|  | Exiles
by James Joyce
This 3-act play first appeared in 1918 and presents an imaginative reconstruction of Joyce's own life. The protagonist, an Irish writer, has returned from abroad and experiences an estrangement from society.
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| | The Father
by August Strindberg
Highly emotional study of marital upheaval and a no-holds-barred struggle between man and woman. One of the most gripping psychological dramas of modern theater. Biographical Note.
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|  | Faust, Part One
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Enduring legend of the old philosopher who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power, profoundly retold in poetic form by one of the giants of literature.
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