Synopsis
The Value of Names and Other Plays - Porch & American Enterprise & Stay Till Morning & Berlin '45 & Court-Martial at Fort Devens & The Action Against Sol Schumann
$29.99
Published by Northwestern Publishing
Sweet works with sensitivity and irony to confront both personal politics and the impact of historical change
These nine works, taken together, present a playwright who extends the struggles of his small circles of characters to his audience and humanity in general
The title work, first mounted in 1982, is a comedy-drama about the aftermath of the blacklist whose continued relevance makes it a frequently produced play today
The family drama Porch suggests larger social changes through the interaction of a small-town shopkeeper and his defiant daughter
The lauded American Enterprise, set in the Chicago of the robber barons, is a song-filled true story about a millionaire whose stubborn idealism leads to disaster
Stay Till Morning" is a rueful comedy about sex and accommodation in the Florida Keys
The three plays that grew out of his fascination with the effects of World War II - Berlin '45, Court-Martial at Fort Devens and The Action Against Sol Schumann - dramatize the ways in which that conflict transformed private fates
Each script is accompanied by an extended introduction from the playwright as well as complete performance notes
"I read a lot of plays, but these are rare: ballsy, surprising, and, most of all, funny. . . . These plays are eminently producible and alive" ~ Mike Nichols
"Jeffrey Sweet is not only a gifted writer, he is a protean chronicler of our times. His characters are complex, yet identifiable; his stories are moving, and provocative. Thank god we now have all these enlightening, entertaining plays within easy reach" ~ Tom Fontana
"Like Shaw and Ibsen, Jeff Sweet is a moralist who uses the dramatic form to explore crucial decisions we face at critical junctures ... Sometimes humorous, sometimes achingly painful, these are authentic people caught at a crossroad, and that makes for damn good drama" ~ Marshall W. Mason, author of "Creating Life on Stage"