THAR 281 1st Edition Lecture 25Outline of Last Lecture I. Asian American Theaters II. Stephen SondheimIII. CompanyIV. Andrew Lloyd Webber V. A Chorus Line VI. Sweeney ToddOutline of Current Lecture I. Theater in the 1980’s BackgroundII. StorefrontIII. Chicago Theater IV. Sam ShepardV. David MametVI. August WilsonVII. Wendy WassersteinVIII. The AIDS CrisisIX. William FinnX. British InvasionXI. Phantom of the OperaCurrent LectureI. Theater in 1980’s Backgrounda. Broadway is not safeb. Theater is not as relevantII. Storefrontsa. Start to emerge in 1970’sb. Non-New York equivalent to Off-Off Broadwayc. Smaller spaces, smaller budgets d. Keep audience and performers close to each other e. Playwrights begin to get noticed III. Chicago Theatera. Where Storefronts are started in 70’s b. Has a vibrant theater scenec. Companies get started here i. Steppenwolf1. Founded by 3 actors in 1974 in church basement2. In 1980’s moved into own space3. Has become one of Chicago’s best theaters; well-known4. Known as the place for actors ii. The Second City 1. Started in 19592. An improve comedy troop and school 3. Large number of well-known performers come from here iii. The Goodman 1. Been around since 1920’s; biggest/oldest theater in Chicagoiv. Looking Glass Theaterv. Victory Gardens IV. Sam Sheparda. Actor and Playwright; still aliveb. Won Pulitzer in 1989 c. Works deal with topics about family and connection of family bond; the American West; nostalgia d. Famous Works: “True West”; “Buried Child”; “Fool for Love” V. David Mameta. Playwright; still alive b. Won Pulitzer 1984 and 1988c. Outspoken about pretty much everything d. Aggressive in style; pretty profane; generally writes male characters e. Mamet Dialoguei. Instead of characters explicitly stating what they will do, characters will instead very quickly state their thoughts f. Famous Works: “Glen Garry, Glen Ross”; “Speed the Plow”; “Olenna”; ”American Buffalo”VI. August Wilsona. Playwright; won Pulitzer in 1987 and 1990b. Known for poetic realism of his works c. The Pittsburgh Cyclei. 10 plays that tells African-American experience over the course of the playsii. Tells stages throughout 20th century but all stories do not necessarily connect; might not be in chronological orderiii. Famous Works: “Ma Rainey’s”; “The Piano Lesson”; “Fences”VII. Wendy Wasserstein a. Playwright; won Pulitzer in 1989 b. Gave voice to pressures/frustrations of being a woman in 1980’s Americac. Famous Works: “Uncommon Women and Others”; “The Heidi Chronicles” VIII. The AIDS Crisisa. Seen in gay male population of San Francisco and NY; also because sharing of needlesb. Began affecting population in late 1970’s c. Originally known as GRID (Gay Related Immunodeficiency)d. 1986 is when they called if AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome)e. Artistic communities very much affected by AIDS because they had large number of gaysf. Spawned numerous artists into actioni. AIDS plays were being produced (“Rent”; “Ages in America”)IX. William Finna. Composer and lyricist; still aliveb. Works are highly specific ; usually about something that happened in his lifec. Themes about loss and struggled. Famous Works: “Falsettos”; “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”; “New Brain” X. British Invasiona. Starts the rebirth of Broadwayb. Where the “I Love NY” theme startsXI. Phantom of the Operaa. Debut in Broadway in 1988b. Music by Webberc. A love triangle about Christine and 2 men d. Gothic in style because of tone and contente. Original production staged by Hal Prince f. Longest Running Show on Broadway g. Known for its
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