The 25 Best American Plays Since ‘Angels in America’ ?

[addictedtotheatre]

Fascinating article by the New York Times which is worth a read.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/31/theater/best-25-plays.html

I haven't seen quite a few of the 25 but of those I have 'August: Osage County' still stands as one of the most impressive plays I've seen.

Thoughts? Do you agree with this list? Any they've missed?

[Marwood]

I haven’t seen any of those, but then I’m just an ignoramus 😝

[lynette]

Seen 4 but none of the four are anything like as good as Angels or what came before, eg Miller at his best. I hated Osage as derivative and tedious, like the Archers stretched out. I liked Clybourne, neat but a great play? Er? Sad to say the American theatre like the British one - needs work.

[orchidman]

I would definitely have had The Nether. Can't be having Mr. Burns at all. This is Our Youth is my favourite from the list, surprised we haven't seen a London production of The Humans yet, I'm sure it would play.

J.T. Rogers can probably feel aggrieved not to have Oslo on there, and Joshua Harmon too, I would go for Admissions over Bad Jews.

Good People was a very very solid play, and for pure entertainment, Fish in the Dark was an excellent comedy.

[sf]

It's a predictable list, and there's not much on it I could argue with. I suspect that if The Inheritance had already been performed in the US, it would be on there - if you're making a list of the 25 best American plays of the last 25 years it probably should be on there, but America hasn't seen it yet. Other than that, I'm pleased to see the recognition for How I Learned to Drive, and equally pleased that Proof and Rabbit Hole aren't on the list. What I'd like to see is a little more out-and-out comedy - perhaps Christopher Durang's Betty's Summer Vacation (a sharply brilliant satire that packs at least as big a punch as most of the 'serious' plays on this list even though it runs out of steam in the final scene).

[Deleted]

The Nether, yes, but the US production didn’t have the stunning design that aided its case in London. Maybe Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman could be swapped in, and I’m hoping to have my appreciation that American playwriting is weak is challenged when seeing The Wolves (Stratford East) and Underground Railroad Game (Traverse, Edinburgh) later this year.

I wonder what people would put in their top 25 British/Irish plays over the same period?

[Deleted]

Any list of bests or favourites that includes Mr Burns is a-okay by me!

[couldileaveyou]

I'm surprised Doubt is not in the list

[foxa]

I've only seen a handful of those, but enjoyed the article and the bits where you can click on excerpts, etc (watched a very good clip of Laura Linney.)

[joem]

I've only seen Clybourne Park which was good but not life-changing.

I get the feeling British theatre still brings out more interesting new plays than American theatre and it all has to do with the relative importance of the stage in both countries.

[addictedtotheatre]

Jun 4, 2018 18:22:29 GMT @cardinalpirelli said:

The Nether, yes, but the US production didn’t have the stunning design that aided its case in London. Maybe Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman could be swapped in, and I’m hoping to have my appreciation that American playwriting is weak is challenged when seeing The Wolves (Stratford East) and Underground Railroad Game (Traverse, Edinburgh) later this year.

I wonder what people would put in their top 25 British/Irish plays over the same period?

Ooh, thank you for the tip about 'The Wolves'. I hadn't noticed it when I was booking for 'King Hedley II' last week which I've now rectified.

Underground Railway Game is coming to the Soho theatre too! sohotheatre.com/shows/underground-railroad-game/

[bordeaux]

It's an interesting read - I've seen eight of them. I'm hoping some of the others will make it over here soon. I hope Rufus Norris is planning on putting on Seven Guitars some time soon.

This, though, is the Guardian's Maddy Costa's original review of No. 1, which she still gave only three stars:

It's easy to forget the effect a theatre can have on a play. When Topdog/Underdog was performed on Broadway last year, it was in a huge space that swamped Suzan-Lori Parks's two-hander, making its flaws - clunky plotting and static, verbose dialogue - glaringly obvious. It didn't help that rapper Mos Def, playing Booth, muttered his way through the part. It is exactly the same production now playing at the Royal Court - but somehow, in this intimate room, Topdog/Underdog feels taut, involving and strange.

[harrietcraig]

A British theater journalist's riposte:

www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/theater/british-plays-are-better-there-i-said-it.html

[Deleted]

Jun 23, 2018 14:17:33 GMT harrietcraig said:

A British theater journalist's riposte:

www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/theater/british-plays-are-better-there-i-said-it.html

"well-crafted but unadventurous plays, several set at family dinners."

Cruel, but accurate.

[bordeaux]

This is some more about the plays that didn't quite make the list:

www.nytimes.com/2018/05/31/theater/best-25-plays-how-we-made-the-list.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

And this is readers' reactions:

www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/theater/best-25-plays-list-readers-respond.html

[orchidman]

"To get to 25, we eventually realized that we could only include one play by any given playwright, or risk being overrun by a medley of Annie Bakers or Suzan-Lori Parkses.

Conversely, we decided that we could not include veteran playwrights just because they wrote great plays before 1993."

Huh? With Albee on there?

[Deleted]

The keywords there are *just because* they wrote great plays before 1993. The play itself on the list must be great in its own right and post-Angels, rather than giving the playwright a pass on a mediocre piece just because they'd written good stuff before. Had Tennessee Williams been around to churn out some dross in the mid-1990s, the post-Angels dross would not get onto the list just because he's a great playwright with some previous great works. Had, however, Tennessee Williams been around in the mid-1990s and written a luminously exquisite piece of work that redefined theatre and surpassed everything he'd written before, then this work would be welcome on the list.