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The Illusion (Paperback)

~ (Author), Pierre Corneille (Author) "PRIDAMANT: Is this the cave of the magician Alcandre?..." (more)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Hardcover $22.50 Usually ships within 11 to 13 days. Published September 30, 1994	Hardcover, September 30, 1994	$22.50	$10.02	$10.02
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Best known for the ambitious, intellectually engaging though somewhat bloated Angels in America, Tony Kushner is capable of writing in lighter keys. Witness this witty adaptation of Corneille's seventeenth-century comedy, L'illusion Comique. Not content to merely translate the play, Kushner rehabs it, paring it down to two acts while adding several scenes of his own. The resulting Corneille-Kushner hybrid is a wonderful, postmodern work, at once a homage to and a send-up of the conventions and devices of neoclassical comedy: the long speeches, the play within a play, the formulaic plot. On one level, the play works as a two-act meditation on the power of theater and the importance of illusion and storytelling; on another, it is the genuinely moving story of an old man's search for his long-lost son. "The art of illusion," one of Kushner's characters quips, "is the art of love, and the art of love is the blood-red heart of the world." It is this heart that saves Kushner's Illusion from being merely an academic exercise. Jack Helbig --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

Paperback: 72 pages
Publisher: Broadway Play Publishing, Inc. (December 31, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0881452319
ISBN-13: 978-0881452310
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #413,280 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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PRIDAMANT: Is this the cave of the magician Alcandre? Read the first page

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 4 books:

Illusion Comique by Pierre Corneille in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Angels in America: Part Two: Perestroika: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (Pt. 2) by Tony Kushner in Back Matter
A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner in Back Matter
Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner in Back Matter

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	96% buy the item featured on this page: The Illusion 4.8 out of 5 stars (5) $8.95
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	1% buy The Theatre of Illusion 4.0 out of 5 stars (1) $12.00

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Adaptation is Phenomenal, January 21, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Illusion (TCG Translations) (Paperback)

This spring, we will be performing Tony Kushner's adaptation of "The Illusion" at my high school. I could not have asked for a better play. Besides the fact that I'll be playing Pridament (a wonderful boost to my ego), the play itself is genius. I was under its spell starting on page one, and didn't stop enjoying it until the twist ending and startling conclusion. It is the prime example of a perfect play: stylized, with your typical hero-heroine-rival-clown setup. Comic dialogue, a tragic, heartbreaking theme, and most of the sensual delights of a traditional sex farce.

The story outline is simple: a desperate, depressed, dying lawyer (Pridament of Avignon) visits the cave of the magician Alcandre. His dying wish is to find his only son, whom he had banished fifteen years before. With the help of Alcandre and his servant, the tortured deaf-mute Amanuensis, Pridament sees several visions of his son's life over the past years. He witnesses three different visions, all of which involve his son, a lover and her scheming maid, and a vengeful rival. Most of the action of the play takes place within these visions, with Alcandre and Pridament simply watching from the outside. But when this play really shines is within the short scenes between the father, magician, and servant. The characterizations of all three, especially of the Amanuensis (a mostly silent role), are key to the theme of the play.

The diction of this play is phenomenal. Written completely in free poetic verse, it has the most extensive vocabulary of any play I have read. Full of alliteration, allusion, rhyme and bizarre sentance structure, The Illusion truly lives up to its name.

"He doesn't speak because he has no tongue..."

"If not in this life, than in the next."

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5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, December 8, 2005

By	Ophelia "Stratford" (Stratford-Upon-Avon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Illusion (TCG Translations) (Paperback)

I loved this play! I first saw it in college, and it was very moving, funny, and interesting. It doesn't hurt that we had a fantastic cast. I love the spooky elements of Alcandre and Pridamant's meeting- I love the translation of this play, by the genius Tony Kushner. There's a timeless element of the Illusion of life in the theatre, as well as death and surprise and twist endings.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A highly performable translation of Corneille by an excellent playwright, March 12, 2008

By	Steven W. Bouler (Winona, MN, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Illusion (TCG Translations) (Paperback)

This is an excellent and very performable version of Corneille's play. It is an adaptation and not just a mere translation. It is an early work of Kushner, who most recently turned his translating and adaptation skills to a highly successful version of Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children, performed recently in a significant production in NY.

BTW, Mr. Helbig, what part of Angels in America is BLOATED? It might not be perfect, but dramaturgically it is VERY tightly constructed. Kushner maintains this while telling an epic and sweeping story in a highly theatrical manner that is consistently compelling and interesting. If anything, it's too brief, and that's after 7 hours!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Illusion- Great
It was in great condition, and arrived very fast. Thank you so much.

Published on September 6, 2005 by S. Stuart

5.0 out of 5 stars great adaptation
if you know pierre corneille and his work, you will admire kushner for adapting a play of him so successfully. theater full of illusions. what is real what's not. Read more

Published on April 28, 2000

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