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Informationen zum Autor Miriam Chirico is Professor of English at Eastern Connecticut State University, USA. She has published numerous articles on such playwrights as Eugene O’Neill, G. B. Shaw, Sophie Treadwell, Wendy Wasserstein, Beth Henley and John Leguizamo. She is a Board Member of the Comparative Drama Conference and on the editorial board of Text & Presentation. Zusammenfassung The Theatre of Christopher Durang considers the works of one of the foremost comedic writers for the American stage. From Durang’s early success with the controversial Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You (1974) to his recent Tony Award-winning play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2012), he has been an original theatrical voice in American theatre. Edith Oliver, long-time theatre critic for The New Yorker , described Durang as “one of the funniest men in the world.” Durang challenges traditional dramatic idioms with his irreverent comedies that are as shocking as they are prescient and compassionate . This volume provides the first comprehensive examination of Durang’s works and incorporates comedic theory to examine how laughter in performance subverts social conventions and hierarchies. Through a clear, detailed discussion of the plays, Miriam Chirico considers Durang’s use of black comedy, satire, and parody to explode such topics as: western literature, religion, dysfunctional families, and American social malaise. Robert Combs and Jay Malarcher provide additional critical perspectives about Durang’s works, detailing his use of alienation techniques and locating his place within the American parodic tradition. The book also includes a warm introduction by Durang’s former student, Pulitzer Prize-winner, David Lindsay-Abaire. The Theatre of Christopher Durang , in demonstrating how Durang has shaped contemporary theatrical possibilities, offers a valuable guide for students of American drama and comedy. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgements Preface : “Christopher Durang Explains It All For Me,” by David Lindsay-Abaire (Playwright, USA) Introduction: Christopher Durang’s Dark Comedy 1 Perverting the Classics The Idiots Karamazov The Vietnamization of New Jersey History of the American Film Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge Adrift in Macao 2 Seeking is Believing The Nature and Purpose of the Universe Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You Laughing Wild Sex and Longing Miss Witherspoon 3 One-Act Plays Durang/Durang 4 Family Dysfunction Titanic Death Comes to Us All, Mary Agnes ‘dentity Crisis Baby with the Bathwater The Marriage of Bette & Boo 5 American Anomie Beyond Therapy Media Amok Betty’s Summer Vacation Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike 6 Conclusion 7 Critical Perspectives We Laugh-Track People: Christopher Durang’s Drama of Audience Participation, Robert Combs (George Washington University, USA) The Marriage of Parody and Satire: The All-American Comedy of Christopher Durang, Jay Malarcher (West Virginia University, USA) List of Contributors Notes Works Cited ...
