In One Act (Exxon Lecture Series) [Paperback]

Adrienne Kennedy (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press; 1 edition (September 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816616922
• ISBN-13: 978-0816616923
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to Kennedy's nightmare, October 5, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In One Act (Exxon Lecture Series) (Paperback)

"Adrienne Kennedy in One Act" collects eight plays by this remarkable American playwright: six original pieces and two adaptions of Greek drama. The original plays are as follows: "Funnyhouse of a Negro" (which won an Obie Award for the 1964-65 theater season), "The Owl Answers," "A Lesson in Dead Language," "A Rat's Mass," "Sun," and "A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White." The Greek adaptations are "Electra" and "Orestes."

Kennedy's original work is surreal and nightmarish. Her most striking plays feature African-American female protagonists, and explore such topics as failed marriage, racial segregation, middle-class Black aspiration, sexual transgression, guilt, and the conflict between light- and dark-skinned African-Americans.

Kennedy often uses bizarre props and stage directions, as well as weird and unsettling dialogue. Her plays often employ iconic figures from Western culture: European royalty, classic Hollywood stars, and characters from Christian tradition. Kennedy has a sharp satiric eye, and her characters are frequently suffering from intense pain.

"A Lesson. . ." and "A Rat's Mass" feature grotesque half-human, half-animal figures. "A Movie Star. . ." has as its main character a Black female aspiring playwright, and incorporates references to other plays in this collection; this piece thus has a particularly reality-warping feel.

Adrienne Kennedy's drama has a boldly experimental and psychological quality. Although her experiments don't always work, when they do the result is stunning.