1. Antigone (Anouilh, 1944)
Jean Anouilh’s adaptation of Sophocles’ original was written during the height of the Nazi occupation. The parallels are clear, even though the French pronunciation is on-tee-GONE.
2. Blithe Spirit (Coward, 1941)
This long-running comic play centers on a love trio between a man, his current wife, and his dead wife brought back accidentally by a wacky medium.
3. The Crucible (Miller, 1953)
A semi-fictional account of the Salem Witch Trials written as an allegory for McCarthyism.
4. The Duchess of Malfi (Webster, 1612)
A tragic, Jacobean play and one of the greatest English Renaissance dramas. A Duchess marries below her class. It does not end well.
5. An Enemy of the People (Ibsen, 1882)
An indictment of Victorian values (but in this era of climate change, disturbingly topical), this play features a stubborn doctor who endangers the economy of a seaside town by blowing the whistle on poisoned water.
6. Equus (Schaffer, 1973)
A multi-layered, controversial work in which a psychiatrist takes on the case of a disturbed young man who has a pathological, religious obsession with horses.
7. Fences (Wilson, 1985)
This Pulitzer-winning play examines a embittered African-American ex-baseball player in the 1950s as he struggles with his son and wife.
8. Flowers for Algernon (Rogers, 1969)
This adaptation of Daniel Keyes’s short story and novel is about a young mentally challenged man who undergoes a procedure to amplify his intelligence. It deals with ethical and moral issues regarding how we treat the mentally disabled.
9. Glengarry Glen Ross (Mamet, 1984)
This gritty Pulitzer Prize-winning play follows four desperate real estate agents who have been told they must produce sales or be fired. Coffee is for closers!
10. Hamlet (Shakespeare, 1599)
Shakespeare’s tragedy about a young prince set on avenging his father’s murder by the hands of his uncle is one of the crowning achievements of Western Literature and perhaps the most oft-quoted.
11. The Importance of Being Earnest (Wilde, 1895)
Wilde’s witty farce sending up Victorian values on class and marriage pivots on two young bachelors who maintain fictitious alter egos in order to escape social obligations.
12. King Lear (Shakespeare, 1605)
One of Shakespeare’s late works, King Lear is the tragedy of an older man who, after divesting himself of his estates and hoping to be taken care of in his old age, is subsequently betrayed by his children and sinks into madness.
13. The Little Foxes (Hellman, 1939)
Set in early 20th-century Alabama, siblings contend for control over a family business. A classic of 20th century drama.
14. Lysistrata (Aristophanes, 411 BCE)
In this classic comedy, the women of ancient Greece, tired of endless wars, commit to a sex-strike until the fighting stops. It’s notable for being one of the earliest plays featuring gender issues.
15. Macbeth (Shakespeare, 1606)
Shakespeare’s popular Macbeth centers on a valiant Scottish thane whose ambition to be king has been awakened by witches and an equally-ambitious wife.
16. A Man for All Seasons (Bolt, 1960)
Based on the true story of Sir Thomas More, who refused to endorse Henry VIII’s divorce of Catherine of Aragon, this tragedy portraying More as a man of conscience leans on the fourth wall.
17. Medea (Euripides, 431 BC)
One of the most performed Greek tragedies, Medea is the story of a willful princess, married by Jason and then subsequently abandoned by him. She exacts revenge on him and his new family.
18. The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare, 1600)
Technically a comedy, this challenging dramatic work is noted for its ambiguity regarding Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. It’s also noted for its heroine, Portia, who delivers one of the most famed speeches in Shakespeare.
19. The Misanthrope (Moliere, 1666)
This comedy of manners, a hallmark of French drama, satirizes the hypocrisy of French aristocratic society.
20. Murder in the Cathedral (Eliot, 1935)
This anti-fascist verse drama portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.
21. My Dinner with Andre (Gregory/Shawn, 1981)
Originally a film, My Dinner with Andre depicts the two actors as themselves simply conversing with each other over dinner. Roger Ebert, the film critic, called it a movie “entirely devoid of cliches.”
22. Oedipus the King (Sophocles, 429 BCE)
An Athenian tragedy with fate and free will at its heart. Often parodied and mined for psychological insight, it is a key work of Western Literature.
23. Othello (Shakespeare, 1603)
Othello features a card-carrying villain, Iago, who poisons the mind of his superior, a Moorish general, against his wife. Explorations of race has always been connected with the study or performance of this work.
24. Plaza Suite (Simon, 1968)
A three-act play that is really three one-act plays, all taking place in the same suite at the New York Plaza Hotel. The three acts vary in tone, from reflective to slapstick.
25. Pygmalion (Shaw, 1912)
The basis for My Fair Lady, this lampoon of British Edwardian society features a phonetics professor attempting to “class up” a simple Cockney flower girl. The various endings are still a matter of debate and study.
26. Rhinoceros (Ionesco, 1959)
A superb example of “Theater of the Absurd,” this social critique charts the travails of a slovenly everyman who resists turning into a rhinoceros, even as everyone around him begins to.
27. The Rivals (Sheridan, 1775)
This comedy of manners deals with a pair of young lovers who must overcome unscrupulous rivals and the bizarre Mrs. Malaprop, the origin of the term “malapropism.” Sheridan’s masterpiece.
28. The Revengers’ Tragedy (Middleton, 1608)
A Jacobean revenge tragedy, this highly cynical and violent work satirizes the workings of the Italian court of the time. Not for the faint of heart.
29. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Stoppard, 1966)
An absurdist, existentialist tragicomedy focusing on two minor characters from Hamlet as they wait in the wings and occupy themselves. If Hamlet is The Lion King, then this play is The Lion King 1 ½.
30. Six Degrees of Separation (Guare, 1990)
The origin of the popular game, in this play, a con man ingratiates himself with a wealthy Manhattan couple.
31. A Streetcar Named Desire (Williams, 1947)
This Pulitzer Prize-winner is often regarded as one of the 20th century’s finest works. It follows the descent of a fading beauty who has lost her family home and has to move in with her sister. Secrets are revealed. Things get worse. Fine example of the Southern Gothic genre.
32. The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare, 1591)
A comedy in which an obdurate young woman, refusing marriage, is “tamed” by a man. Debate still rages on whether this is a misogynistic work or not.
33. The Tempest (Shakespeare, 1611)
Perhaps Shakespeare’s farewell to theater, The Tempest depicts a sorcerer who has been exiled to an island by his brother. He contrives a storm to shipwreck his brother and restore his daughter to her rightful place as heiress. It lends itself well to a number of literary lenses.
34. Waiting for Godot (Beckett, 1953)
Perhaps an allegory for high school, Waiting is a play in which two characters wait for someone named Godot who never arrives. They occupy themselves with existential questions and slapstick.
35. You Can’t Take it with You (Hart/Kaufman, 1936)
A Pulitzer Prize-winning screwball comedy in which a normal young woman and her beloved try to figure out how to get married when the man’s stodgy family can’t bear the woman’s batty family.
36. The Cherry Orchard (Chekhov, 1903)
A classic of 20th century literature, Orchard is Chekhov’s last play. It depicts how an aristocratic Russian family deals with their changing circumstances.
Works in bold are works that are required and will be read as a group.
For your student selections, you must select one from both lists below:
Pre-20th Century
4,5,11,12,14,15,17,18,19,22,23,27,28,32,33
20th Century
1,2,3,6,7,8,9,13,16,20,21,24,25,26,30,31,35
You may argue for an alternate selection. I’m all ears; the work must be of substantial literary merit (e.g., by an accomplished playwright or have received a notable award) in order to be considered. Make your case, and I shall consider it.
Jean Anouilh’s adaptation of Sophocles’ original was written during the height of the Nazi occupation. The parallels are clear, even though the French pronunciation is on-tee-GONE.
2. Blithe Spirit (Coward, 1941)
This long-running comic play centers on a love trio between a man, his current wife, and his dead wife brought back accidentally by a wacky medium.
3. The Crucible (Miller, 1953)
A semi-fictional account of the Salem Witch Trials written as an allegory for McCarthyism.
4. The Duchess of Malfi (Webster, 1612)
A tragic, Jacobean play and one of the greatest English Renaissance dramas. A Duchess marries below her class. It does not end well.
5. An Enemy of the People (Ibsen, 1882)
An indictment of Victorian values (but in this era of climate change, disturbingly topical), this play features a stubborn doctor who endangers the economy of a seaside town by blowing the whistle on poisoned water.
6. Equus (Schaffer, 1973)
A multi-layered, controversial work in which a psychiatrist takes on the case of a disturbed young man who has a pathological, religious obsession with horses.
7. Fences (Wilson, 1985)
This Pulitzer-winning play examines a embittered African-American ex-baseball player in the 1950s as he struggles with his son and wife.
8. Flowers for Algernon (Rogers, 1969)
This adaptation of Daniel Keyes’s short story and novel is about a young mentally challenged man who undergoes a procedure to amplify his intelligence. It deals with ethical and moral issues regarding how we treat the mentally disabled.
9. Glengarry Glen Ross (Mamet, 1984)
This gritty Pulitzer Prize-winning play follows four desperate real estate agents who have been told they must produce sales or be fired. Coffee is for closers!
10. Hamlet (Shakespeare, 1599)
Shakespeare’s tragedy about a young prince set on avenging his father’s murder by the hands of his uncle is one of the crowning achievements of Western Literature and perhaps the most oft-quoted.
11. The Importance of Being Earnest (Wilde, 1895)
Wilde’s witty farce sending up Victorian values on class and marriage pivots on two young bachelors who maintain fictitious alter egos in order to escape social obligations.
12. King Lear (Shakespeare, 1605)
One of Shakespeare’s late works, King Lear is the tragedy of an older man who, after divesting himself of his estates and hoping to be taken care of in his old age, is subsequently betrayed by his children and sinks into madness.
13. The Little Foxes (Hellman, 1939)
Set in early 20th-century Alabama, siblings contend for control over a family business. A classic of 20th century drama.
14. Lysistrata (Aristophanes, 411 BCE)
In this classic comedy, the women of ancient Greece, tired of endless wars, commit to a sex-strike until the fighting stops. It’s notable for being one of the earliest plays featuring gender issues.
15. Macbeth (Shakespeare, 1606)
Shakespeare’s popular Macbeth centers on a valiant Scottish thane whose ambition to be king has been awakened by witches and an equally-ambitious wife.
16. A Man for All Seasons (Bolt, 1960)
Based on the true story of Sir Thomas More, who refused to endorse Henry VIII’s divorce of Catherine of Aragon, this tragedy portraying More as a man of conscience leans on the fourth wall.
17. Medea (Euripides, 431 BC)
One of the most performed Greek tragedies, Medea is the story of a willful princess, married by Jason and then subsequently abandoned by him. She exacts revenge on him and his new family.
18. The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare, 1600)
Technically a comedy, this challenging dramatic work is noted for its ambiguity regarding Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. It’s also noted for its heroine, Portia, who delivers one of the most famed speeches in Shakespeare.
19. The Misanthrope (Moliere, 1666)
This comedy of manners, a hallmark of French drama, satirizes the hypocrisy of French aristocratic society.
20. Murder in the Cathedral (Eliot, 1935)
This anti-fascist verse drama portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.
21. My Dinner with Andre (Gregory/Shawn, 1981)
Originally a film, My Dinner with Andre depicts the two actors as themselves simply conversing with each other over dinner. Roger Ebert, the film critic, called it a movie “entirely devoid of cliches.”
22. Oedipus the King (Sophocles, 429 BCE)
An Athenian tragedy with fate and free will at its heart. Often parodied and mined for psychological insight, it is a key work of Western Literature.
23. Othello (Shakespeare, 1603)
Othello features a card-carrying villain, Iago, who poisons the mind of his superior, a Moorish general, against his wife. Explorations of race has always been connected with the study or performance of this work.
24. Plaza Suite (Simon, 1968)
A three-act play that is really three one-act plays, all taking place in the same suite at the New York Plaza Hotel. The three acts vary in tone, from reflective to slapstick.
25. Pygmalion (Shaw, 1912)
The basis for My Fair Lady, this lampoon of British Edwardian society features a phonetics professor attempting to “class up” a simple Cockney flower girl. The various endings are still a matter of debate and study.
26. Rhinoceros (Ionesco, 1959)
A superb example of “Theater of the Absurd,” this social critique charts the travails of a slovenly everyman who resists turning into a rhinoceros, even as everyone around him begins to.
27. The Rivals (Sheridan, 1775)
This comedy of manners deals with a pair of young lovers who must overcome unscrupulous rivals and the bizarre Mrs. Malaprop, the origin of the term “malapropism.” Sheridan’s masterpiece.
28. The Revengers’ Tragedy (Middleton, 1608)
A Jacobean revenge tragedy, this highly cynical and violent work satirizes the workings of the Italian court of the time. Not for the faint of heart.
29. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Stoppard, 1966)
An absurdist, existentialist tragicomedy focusing on two minor characters from Hamlet as they wait in the wings and occupy themselves. If Hamlet is The Lion King, then this play is The Lion King 1 ½.
30. Six Degrees of Separation (Guare, 1990)
The origin of the popular game, in this play, a con man ingratiates himself with a wealthy Manhattan couple.
31. A Streetcar Named Desire (Williams, 1947)
This Pulitzer Prize-winner is often regarded as one of the 20th century’s finest works. It follows the descent of a fading beauty who has lost her family home and has to move in with her sister. Secrets are revealed. Things get worse. Fine example of the Southern Gothic genre.
32. The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare, 1591)
A comedy in which an obdurate young woman, refusing marriage, is “tamed” by a man. Debate still rages on whether this is a misogynistic work or not.
33. The Tempest (Shakespeare, 1611)
Perhaps Shakespeare’s farewell to theater, The Tempest depicts a sorcerer who has been exiled to an island by his brother. He contrives a storm to shipwreck his brother and restore his daughter to her rightful place as heiress. It lends itself well to a number of literary lenses.
34. Waiting for Godot (Beckett, 1953)
Perhaps an allegory for high school, Waiting is a play in which two characters wait for someone named Godot who never arrives. They occupy themselves with existential questions and slapstick.
35. You Can’t Take it with You (Hart/Kaufman, 1936)
A Pulitzer Prize-winning screwball comedy in which a normal young woman and her beloved try to figure out how to get married when the man’s stodgy family can’t bear the woman’s batty family.
36. The Cherry Orchard (Chekhov, 1903)
A classic of 20th century literature, Orchard is Chekhov’s last play. It depicts how an aristocratic Russian family deals with their changing circumstances.
Works in bold are works that are required and will be read as a group.
For your student selections, you must select one from both lists below:
Pre-20th Century
4,5,11,12,14,15,17,18,19,22,23,27,28,32,33
20th Century
1,2,3,6,7,8,9,13,16,20,21,24,25,26,30,31,35
You may argue for an alternate selection. I’m all ears; the work must be of substantial literary merit (e.g., by an accomplished playwright or have received a notable award) in order to be considered. Make your case, and I shall consider it.