The first comprehensive study of August Wilson's drama introduces the major themes and motifs that unite Wilson's ten-play cycle about African American life in each decade of the twentieth century. Framed by Wilson's life experiences and informed by his extensive interviews, this book provides fresh, coherent, detailed readings of each play, well-situated in the extant scholarship. It also provides an overview of the cycle as a whole, demonstrating how it comprises a compelling interrogation of American culture and historiography. Keenly aware of the musical paradigms informing Wilson's dramatic technique, Nadel shows how jazz and, particularly, the blues provide the structural mechanisms that allow Wilson to examine alternative notions of time, property, and law. Wilson's improvisational logics become crucial to expressing his notions of black identity and resituating the relationship of literal to figurative in the African American community. The final two chapters include contributions by scholars Harry J. Elam, Jr. and Donald E. Pease

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Yes, you can access The Theatre of August Wilson by Alan Nadel, Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr., Patrick Lonergan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Medios de comunicación y artes escénicas & Historia y crítica teatrales. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher

Methuen Drama

Year

2018

ISBN

9781472527646

Edition

Topic

Medios de comunicación y artes escénicas

Subtopic

Historia y crítica teatrales

Cover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Becoming August Wilson
2. History and/as Performance: The Drama of African American Historiography
3. Cutting the Historical Record, Recording the Blues: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
4. Beginning Again, Again: Gem of the Ocean and Jitney
5. The Boundaries of Property and the Properties of Humanity: Fences and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
6. The Properties of the Piano and the Legacy of Human Property: The Piano Lesson
7. Urban Renewal by Any Means Necessary: Two Trains Running
8. “Sad Stories of the Death of Kings”: Seven Guitars and King Hedley II
9. The Century That Can’t Fix Nothing with the Law: Radio Golf
10. Critical and Performance Perspectives
Notes
References
Notes on Contributors
Index