Craig Wright is one of the most widely produced; consistently entertaining playwrights of his generation. The three plays gathered in this volumemdash;Melissa Arctic (winner of the 2005 Helen Hayes Award); Orange Flower Water; and The Pavilionmdash;are all set in the fictional town of Pine City; Minnesota. The plays share a focus on love and relationships and feature a consistent undercurrent of observation and speculation about the nature of time. Melissa Arctic brings Shakespearersquo;s The Winterrsquo;s Tale into the present; retaining the originalrsquo;s captivating mix of the comic and tragic. A brutally frank exploration of marriage; Orange Flower Water examines the irresistible lure and poisonous effects of unrealistic expectations within love; and portrays the inescapably compromised contours of relationships founded on adultery. The Pavilion; a lyrical and rueful homage to Our Town; is a meditation on dashed dreams and unquenchable hopes; set at a twenty-year high school reunion. In all three plays; Wright shows himself to be one of the most perceptive and engaging playwrights working today.
#3413957 in eBooks 2013-11-21 2014-04-01File Name: B00IA1NUKI
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This is one of the most beautiful books I have read about PhiladelphiaBy judybrownThis is one of the most beautiful books I have read about Philadelphia; written like a poem; reads like a song. Gives a haunting; vivid sense of a city falling; and its struggle to rise from the fragments of Americas dreams. Highly recommended.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. an intimate look at place/phillyBy Customerive been a resident of philadelphia for more than 20 years. ive seen it change in ways that sometimes makes the city unrecognizable to me; but ive never tied the city together from present to past to present again the way nathaniel popkin helps me study it; in this book or through his other works (e.g.; "the great experiment" documentary series and hidden city). his writing reveals not only a deep love and consideration of space (particularly philly; which he apparently loves as only a true philadelphian can); but an expansive and well-researched inquiry into people; culture; urban planning; and art.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Something for city-lovers to savorBy David S. BarnesNathaniel Popkin writes with intelligence and poignancy about the past; present; and future of Philadelphiamdash;and (by extension) of American cities in general. He wears his love for the city on his sleeve; and it is infectious. Far from a traditional academic history; Song of the City mixes the voice of a good storyteller with a moving literary sensibility. Anyone who loves cities and their rich tapestries of stories will appreciate this book.
