Humpty Dumpty and Other Plays (Paperback)

by Eric Bogosian (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Eric Bogosian is one of our most singular and exhilarating commentators on American life. His award-winning solo performance works have been performed with acclaim all over the world. As the New York Times has pointed out, "Bogosian is a born storyteller with perfect pitch." That is never more evident than in his newest book, which collects his three most recent plays. In Humpty Dumpty, five friends gather for a holiday at a mountain getaway where unforeseen events bring them to the brink of the end of the world; Griller, set in a New Jersey backyard, where a barbecue gathering turns sinister and deadly; and Red Angel, Bogosian's riff on Von Sternberg's The Blue Angel, reset on a college campus in 1990s New England.

"I want theater to wake me up, not lull me to sleep. My theater is not about fantasy, it's not about seduction. My theater is not an outline for a film. It is not a TV sitcom onstage. I want my theater to be an event. I want it to push limits, bite the hand that feeds it and bang heads. It's about my fears, my ideas, my blind spots, my isolation."-Eric Bogosian

Eric Bogosian is the author of five plays including Talk Radio and subUrbia, as well as three Obie Award-winning solos: Drinking in America; Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll; Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead and his most recent, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, which was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. He wrote the screenplay adaptations of his first two plays, receiving the Berlin Film Festival's "Silver Bear" for his work in Talk Radio. Simon and Schuster will publish his second novel in 2005.

About the Author
Eric Bogosian is the OBIE-award winning writer and performer of "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll", and "Drinking in America", as well as his plays "Suburbia" and "Talk Radio", both made into major motion pictures.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group (October 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559362510
• ISBN-13: 978-1559362511
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #983,257 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, December 10, 2005

By	kevin d. (Albany, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Humpty Dumpty is like an f'd up fairy tale reminiscent of the film The Trigger Effect. I was fortunate enough to see it at Princeton's McCarter Theater when it premiered 3 years ago. Griller (which I have now read but have yet to see performed) is a fun backyard piece featuring a handful of personae Bogosian developed in his solos. But I think my favorite of the three is Red Angel. I had the great pleasure of seeing Bogosian perform in Angel in Williamstown 3 years ago and it's a very powerful play, sort of a postmodern Pygmalion. This edition also includes a bonus one-act, apparently commissioned by the McCarter. Buy this book, get the rights, and stage one of these shows!