Word: playwrighting
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Anthony Drazen's Hurlyburly is not another disillusioned vision of Hollywood, nor a freakshow of selfish misogynistic jerks, nor just an ensemble performance showcase. Hollywood's output is its own best indictment, and playwright David Rabe, who adapted his play for this screen version, intended more than just to show what hateful souls guys or these guys can be when being just one of themselves...
...resided in Venice, the site of several plays. An able soldier, our earl would also be the nephew of a pioneer in the form of sonnet we now call Shakespearean; another uncle translated Ovid's Metamorphoses, the source of much Shakespearean allusion. He would be hailed as poet and playwright and become patron of an acting troupe. Finally, what if our nobleman had on his crest a lion that holds out a paw and, ah yes, shakes a spear...
Regardless of cast and set, Valparaiso is clearly and firmly Don DeLillo's play. Despite DeLillo's published statements that the play is much looser than his novels, the script is incredibly tight. Here, DeLillo's inexperience as a playwright shines through: as several reviews have evidenced, the play is too densely constructed for much of the audience to understand in a single viewing. DeLillo's brilliant use of words is wasted by the speed at which they are spoken. Repeated viewings, however, bring to light connective strands of the plot; the script is a sheer pleasure to read...
...desire to hunt for Stoppard's touch is understandable. The playwright, who was born in Czechoslovakia in 1937 and educated in India and England, catapulted to fame with a different Shakespearean work: the 1967 play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, an existential reimagining of two characters from Hamlet. Since then his work has been known for its wordplay and highbrow subject matter--such as chaos theory in Arcadia, or the life of poet A.E. Housman in The Invention of Love, now running in London. Many of his plays have been criticized for their emotional inaccessibility, but, says Stoppard...
...began rehearsing other Mamet works they say the publishers agreed to grant rights to, as they were gender nonspecific. But the day before opening night, the cast was ordered by Samuel French to cease and desist. The shows were canceled. Explanation? Samuel French has directed all questions to the playwright's publicist, who declined to comment...