The Theatre of Christopher Durang

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The Theatre of Christopher Durang considers the works of one of the foremost comedic writers for the American stage. From Durangs early success with the controversial Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You (1974) to his recent Tony Award-winning play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2012), he has been an original theatrical voice in American theatre. Edith Oliver, long-time theatre critic for The New Yorker, described Durang as one of the funniest men in the world. Durang challenges traditional dramatic idioms with his irreverent comedies that are as shocking as they are prescient and compassionate. This volume provides the first comprehensive examination of Durangs works and incorporates comedic theory to examine how laughter in performance subverts social conventions and hierarchies. Through a clear, detailed discussion of the plays, Miriam Chirico considers Durangs use of black comedy, satire, and parody to explode such topics as: western literature, religion, dysfunctional families, and American social malaise. Robert Combs and Jay Malarcher provide additional critical perspectives about Durangs works, detailing his use of alienation techniques and locating his place within the American parodic tradition. The book also includes a warm introduction by Durangs former student, Pulitzer Prize-winner, David Lindsay-Abaire. The Theatre of Christopher Durang, in demonstrating how Durang has shaped contemporary theatrical possibilities, offers a valuable guide for students of American drama and comedy.

Author Bio

Miriam M. Chirico specializes in dramatic literature and comedy studies at Eastern Connecticut State University, where she is Professor of English. Together with Kelly Younger, she edited How to Teach a Play: Essential Exercises for Popular Plays, also by Methuen Drama. She is most recently the author of Performed Authenticity: Narrating the Self in the Comic Monologues of David Sedaris, John Leguizamo and Spalding Gray, (Studies in American Humor 2016), and has written articles for Text and Presentation, Comparative Drama, and Shaw: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies. This is her first book.