Looking for a little rest and time by herself, Betty rents a summer share at the beach. But Betty's luck turns to delicious lunacy when this sensible Everywoman gets drawn into the chaotic world of some very unsavory housemates - her friend Trudy, who talks too much; the lewd, seminaked Buck, who tries to have sex with everyone; and Keith, a serial killer who hides in his room with a mysterious hatbox. With sand between her toes, walking a thin line between sanity and survival, poor Betty will leave her summer vacation more terrorized than tan.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Durang Gets His Bite Back,
This review is from: Betty's Summer Vacation (Paperback)
It's been a rough decade for Christopher Durang. A handful of lukewarm scripts had people wondering if the vicious and yet strangely empathetic edge of his writing had been lost forever. Thankfully, with Betty's Summer Vacation, Durang is back with style. This bizarre allegory about our tendency to turn real-life tragedy into entertainment is right on the money and has all the earmarks of Durang's best scripts: A likeable but ineffectual central character fighting desperately for normality, an insane matriarch, and a cadre of strange characters imbued with an inhuman honesty that is unintentionally brutal, and completely hysterical. This will not be to everyone's taste; there are vile situations played for laughs (including a rape - possibly Durang's most disturbing writing since "The Nature and Purpose of the Universe"), and a healthy dose of absurdism and audience alienation. But if you like to think and laugh and be disgusted all at the same time, pick up Betty's Summer Vacation. If your idea of theatre comedy is, say Run For Your Wife, you best keep running.
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Comic or Perverse?,
This review is from: Betty's Summer Vacation (Paperback)
In this absurb comedy, Christopher Durang makes a bold statement about our violent society, our hunger for sensationlism, and how we have come to view human horror and tragedy as entertainment. Through characters that appear as stereotypes of dysfunction, Durang demonstrates the worst of human nature, amorality and a lack of personal responsibility. The audience is treated to rape, murder, maming, incest, sexual addiction...to name of few...all in the name of "comedy". I didn't find the play funny. Instead, it was very disturbing in the portrayal of a society obsessed with violence and horror...one not that far from the one in which we currently live.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Betty Wow. This house is great. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
freezer door Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Siezmagraff Well, Trudy Well, Betty Well, Trudy Mother, Buck Cool, Buck Well, People's Choice Award, End Scene, Enter Buck, Keith Well, Siezmagraff Trudy, Siezmagraff Darling, The Three Figures, Trudy Keith, Voices Don't, Betty All, Betty Really, Buck Keith, Buck Whatever, March of the Siamese Children, Trudy Momma, Trudy Really, Voices Please, Voices She, Voices That New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Betty Wow. This house is great. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
freezer door Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Siezmagraff Well, Trudy Well, Betty Well, Trudy Mother, Buck Cool, Buck Well, People's Choice Award, End Scene, Enter Buck, Keith Well, Siezmagraff Trudy, Siezmagraff Darling, The Three Figures, Trudy Keith, Voices Don't, Betty All, Betty Really, Buck Keith, Buck Whatever, March of the Siamese Children, Trudy Momma, Trudy Really, Voices Please, Voices She, Voices That New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
5
books
cite this book:
- Laughing Wild - Acting Edition by Christopher Durang in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- The Marriage of Bette & Boo by Christopher Durang in Front Matter
- Natural Born Killers: Tie-In by John August on page 85
- Cameron Diaz (Galaxy of Superstars) by Anne E. Hill on page 78
- The New York Times Theatre Reviews 1999-2000 (The New York Times Theater Reviews) by New York Times Theater Reviews on 4 pages
- Time Out New York 10 (Time Out New York, 10th ed) by Time Out on page 336
- American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1969-2000 by Thomas S. Hischak on page 434
- New Playwriting Strategies: A Language-Based Approach to Playwriting (A Theatre Arts Book) by Paul C. Castagno on page 125
- The Oxford Companion to American Theatre by Gerald Bordman on page 192
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