A Bright Room Called Day [Paperback]

Tony Kushner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 155936078X | ISBN-13: 978-1559360784 | Publication Date: May 1, 1994

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angels in America comes this powerful portrayal of individual dissolution and resolution in the face of political catastrophe.

“It’s brash, audacious and...intoxicatingly visionary.”—Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Even if Tony Kushner had not penned the prizewinning, epic gay fantasia, Angels in America, this earlier work would guarantee him a place in the pantheon of noteworthy living playwrights. Set in the dying days of Weimar Germany among a group of left-wing activists who slowly realize they are losing to the Nazis, the play is, like Angels, a genre-defying mixture of literate comedy, serious drama, and political-philosophical meditation. Again as in Angels, Kushner's remarkable eye for telling personal quirks and his ear for believable dialogue guarantee that every character, even the most minor, comes off as a fully realized, living, breathing entity. Further, the play is as compelling on the page as on the stage. It is based on the rather immature notion that the rise of Reagan and company parallels the rise of the Nazis, but happily, Kushner the artist outstrips Kushner the heavy-handed polemicist; the play easily transcends such simpleminded political thinking. Jack Helbig

About the Author

Tony Kushner's plays include A Bright Room Called Day and Slavs!; as well as adaptations of Corneille's The Illusion, Ansky's The Dybbuk, Brecht's The Good Person of Szecguan and Goethe's Stella. Current projects include: Henry Box Brown or The Mirror of Slavery; and two musical plays: St. Cecilia or The Power of Music and Caroline or Change. His collaboration with Maurice Sendak on an American version of the children's opera, Brundibar, appeared in book form Fall 2003. Kushner grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and he lives in New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155936078X
• ISBN-13: 978-1559360784
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony Kushner's plays include A Bright Room Called Day and Slavs!; as well as adaptations of Corneille's The Illusion, Ansky's The Dybbuk, Brecht's The Good Person of Szecguan and Goethe's Stella. Current projects include: Henry Box Brown or The Mirror of Slavery; and two musical plays: St. Cecilia or The Power of Music and Caroline or Change. His collaboration with Maurice Sendak on an American version of the children's opera, Brundibar, appeared in book form Fall 2003. Kushner grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and he lives in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright and Brilliant, January 1, 2006

By 

Kate K. (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Bright Room Called Day (Paperback)

Many plays have focused on groups of people fighting their many losing battles. In Tony Kushner's first well-known work, these people are the Communist Party in 1930's Germany; knowing full well that they live in turbulent times, they are fighting to stay standing. Agnes Eggling, unsure of even the philosophy to which she has ascribed, clings to her apartment. She pays her rent, and in return, she has this small "bright room called day," where she is temporarily safe.
"A Bright Room Called Day" displays all the characteristics of the more well-known "Angels in America." There is a great deal of political discussion, but also the painful and individual conflicts between characters. Lines are laced with wry irony, and characters often speak in poetic, beautiful language. I have not yet found another playwright whose characters are both so verbose and so real.
Neither is today's world left out; scenes from Germany are peppered with refreshing but unsettling monologues from a modern woman. She is very angry and a little lost - just as caught up in the tides of her times as the other characters are in theirs. Although, in the original version of the play, she ranted against Ronald Reagan, this copy contains a revised set of monologues prepared for an early 1990's performance. Three different decades in one play; that's a broad scope, and it makes a brilliant read. My one regret is that I have never seen "A Bright Room Called Day" performed.

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible book by an incredible author., February 25, 2000

By 

Ashley (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Bright Room Called Day (Paperback)

Tony Kushner, once again, has written an awesome book. This story of friends who live in Germany during the war is incredibly realistic and draws you in on the first page with it's realistic details and comic relief. A wonderful book I am more than willing to recomend.