Winter Passages: Reflections on Theatre and Society

by Robert Brustein (Editor)

Overview

Winter Passages is Robert Brustein's nineteenth book of criticism. It includes his considerations of culture and politics over the past four years of American life, demonstrating how the imperfections of the government and economy have plunged the country into an artistic winter in which there is a troubling lack of support for, and understanding of, America's arts and artists.

In a section on "Cultural Passages," Brustein includes chapters on compromised theatre institutions, auteur productions, the American musical, generational idiosyncrasies, and China's growing theatre culture, which contrasts with American culture. The second section, "Dramatic Passages," addresses twenty-seven great playwrights from Aeschylus to August Wilson and demonstrates how they have influenced our sense of history and human character.

In "Laudatory Passages," Brustein discusses great American artists, living and dead, who continue to influence our sense of self as a nation and as individuals. Brustein concludes that we will be judged, like all cultures, by the quality of our arts and artists, and by our willingness to allow their insights to influence our behavior.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412854733
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	10/30/2014
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.70(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Past is Prologue

1 Cultural Passages
The Institution as a Work of Art
More Masterpieces
Weill, Lenya, and the Broadway Musical
Thornton Wilder: The Paleface Who Wanted to Be a Redskin
Mel Brooks's America: Puttin' on the Spritz
The Like Generation
Return of the Booboisie
China Begins to Dream

2 Playwright Passages
Aeschylus
Edward Albee
Aristophanes
Alan Ayckbourn
Samuel Beckett
Anton Chekhov
Noel Coward
Gilbert and Sullivan
Lorraine Hansberry
Henrik Ibsen
Tony Kushner
Arthur Miller
Eugene O'Neill
Luigi Pirandello
Theresa Rebeck
Sarah Ruhl
Arthur Schnitzler
William Shakespeare
George Bernard Shaw
Sam Shepard
Sophocles
Tom Stoppard
Frank Wedekind
August Strindberg
Tennessee Williams
August Wilson

3 Commemorative Passages
F. Murray Abraham
Robert Woodruff
John Douglas Thompson
Oskar Eustis
Carmen De Lavallade
Christopher Durang
Philip Roth
David Wheeler
Stanley Kauffmann
Jeremy Geidt

Epilogue

Index

Editorial Reviews

Pretty irresistible.” —Gregory Wilkin, NY Journal of Books “Robert Brustein is the rarest of rare amphibians: a powerful theater practitioner who is also a powerful critic. . . . Savvy, fearless, opinionated, and fathomlessly curious, he is at once steeped in the classics and alert to the most recent tremors on the cultural seismograph. Bravo!” —Stephen Greenblatt, literary critic “On the basis of the record he keeps of inglorious theatre, he would certainly qualify as one of our most invaluable cultural commentators. What makes him to my mind the most important drama critic in America as well . . . is [his] strong moral concern for the quality of the lives we live.” —Philip Roth, novelist “One of Robert Brustein’s signal gifts as a critic is his ability to tell us a great deal, with surpassing insight and panache, in a remarkably brief compass. This is nowhere more evident than in the centerpiece of this book, a sequence of quick takes on more than two dozen major playwrights from Aeschylus and Aristophanes to Tony Kushner and Sara Ruhl. His deft overviews of their work and influence, grounded in vast knowledge and unerring critical judgment, turns this into a miniature history of the theater itself. His work, including valuable longer essays and warm personal tributes, is at once wonderfully readable and indispensable.” —Morris Dickstein, author, Dancing in the Dark and Why Not Say What Happened “Playwright, literary and cultural critic, founder and artistic director of two major repertory theaters and teacher, Robert Brustein has brought to every one of his roles intelligence and imagination of the highest order, literary cultivation, an intimate knowledge of our cultural life, high and low, a distinctive literary voice, at once incisive, witty and generous, and a charismatic presence. Winter Passages is at once a lament about the contamination of our cultural life by commercial values and a vivid celebration of writers past and present, colleagues and students who continue to inspire.” —Eugene Goodheart, Brandeis University “As a writer, Robert Brustein is America's most intelligent theatre critic/author.” —Robert Wilson, director “Robert Brustein is an artist and intellect who has done more to connect the life of the theater and delight mind than any thinker since Eric Bentley. Brilliant and infuriating, his criticism is indispensable and his voice is irreplaceable. He ennobles our sometime tawdry profession with his integrity and intelligence.” —Oskar Eustis, artistic director, Public Theater

From the Publisher