Ebook: Realism and the American Dramatic Tradition

Any review of 20th-century American theatre invariably leads to the term realism. Yet despite the strong tradition of theatrical realism on the American stage, the term is frequently misidentified, and the practices to which it refers are often attacked as monolithically tyrannical, restricting the potential of the American national theatre. This book reconsiders realism on the American stage by addressing the great variety and richness of the plays that form the American theatre canon. By reconsidering the form and revisiting many of the plays that contributed to the realist tradition, the au.;Preface: American Dramatic Realisms, Viable Frames of Thought / William W. Demastes; 1. Introduction: The Struggle for the Real-Interpretive Conflict, Dramatic Method, and the Paradox of Realism / Brian Richardson; 2. The Legacy of James A. Herne: American Realities and Realisms / Patricia D. Denison; 3. Whose Realism? Rachel Crothers's Power ""Struggle in the American Theatre / Yvonne Shafer; 4. The Provincetown Players' Experiments with Realism / J. Ellen Gainor; 5. Servant of Three Masters: Realism, Idealism, and "Hokum" in American High Comedy / Robert F. Gross.