The purpose of theater; like magic; like religion . . . is to inspire cleansing awe. What makes good drama? And why does drama matter in an age that is awash in information and entertainment? David Mamet; one of our greatest living playwrights; tackles these questions with bracing directness and aphoristic authority. He believes that the tendency to dramatize is essential to human nature; that we create drama out of everything from todayrsquo;s weather to next yearrsquo;s elections. But the highest expression of this drive remains the theater.With a cultural range that encompasses Shakespeare; Bretcht; and Ibsen; Death of a Salesman and Bad Day at Black Rock; Mamet shows us how to distinguish true drama from its false variants. He considers the impossibly difficult progression between one act and the next and the mysterious function of the soliloquy. The result; in Three Uses of the Knife; is an electrifying treatise on the playwrightrsquo;s art that is also a strikingly original work of moral and aesthetic philosophy.
#1879570 in eBooks 2013-07-18 2013-07-18File Name: B00E1EMSR4
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Spotting a trend in the early 1950s of staging summer ...By CustomerSpotting a trend in the early 1950s of staging summer theater in the round under tents; Clevelander John L. Price Jr. decided to give it a try. Consulting a local statistician to determine the geographical center of the culturally inclined population; the bulls eye fell in Warrensville Heights; a Cleveland suburb that was also the home to Thistledown Race Track. Price opened his Musicarnival there; on the grounds of the race track; with a production of Oklahoma! in the summer of 1954. The Music Went Round and Around tells the story of this unique summer theater and of its ebullient founder John L. Price Jr. Prices venture was one of the last commercial legitimate theaters established in Cleveland. In its heyday the Musicarnival had a capacity of 2500 and presented an average of eight to ten shows1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The Music Went Round and Around: The Story of MusicarnivalBy Deanna M. GentileThis book is a very one-sided picture of Musicarnival. There is absolutely NO reference to the technical aspect of running Musicarnival. Many aspects of the tent are not mentioned and many people who were equally involved in the success of the tent and the shows .... that is before the packaged shows ... are completely left out of the book. The author obviously did very little additional research other than John Prices materials. If you want to read a true book about theatre in Cleveland in the 1938 to 1960s I suggest you read "Halcyon Days" by Dina Reese Evans.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The Music Went Round and AroundBy Gary DarrowThis book brought back so many memories for me. I was lucky enough to visit Musicarnival during the Production Years and the Concert Years. The book is easy to read and has many remarks by people who lived the "Musicarnival years". It is an easy book to pick up and read any particular section that piques your interest. I recommend it for any musical theatre fan; especially if you are in the Cleveland area.