THE STORY: An East Indian gets lost on his first day in New York as two teenage punks find him waiting at a lonely bus stop. He cannot understand English, and the boys have some fun with him-at least it starts out as fun. But little by little, as the minutes go by and the bus doesn't come, they get bored; then annoyed; then vicious. It is the very pointlessness of their brutality that makes the play-with its awful final image of the Indian jabbering into a dead phone-so disturbing. We are convinced that this is exactly what would happen at this particular bus stop on this particular night; we see, again, that violence in the big city is as much a child of ennui as of anger. And, as the nightmare spell of the play takes hold, and the boys torture their victim with increasing relish, we are brought to a shocking awareness of how thin the veneer of civilization can be-of how close beneath the surface of all men lurks the primitive impulse to hurt and humiliate those whose very helplessness and inability to communicate can only frustrate and enrage.

The bestselling author of Fast Fade reveals Pacino's turbulent and controversial personal life in this compelling portrait of a complex and fascinating actor--one of Hollywood's most glamorous anti-heroes. A must for film buffs.--Newsday. Ties in with release of new Pacino movie Glengarry Glen Ross. Fine.

Foremost stage directors describe their working process: JoAnne Akalaitis, Arvin Brown, René Buch, Martha Clarke, Gordon Davidson, Robert Falls, Zelda Fichandler, Richard Foreman, Adrian Hall, John Hirsch, Mark Lamos, Marshall W. Mason, Des McAnuff, Gregory Mosher, Harold S. Prince, Lloyd Richards, Peter Sellars, Andrei Serban, Douglas Turner Ward, Robert Woodruff, and Garland Wright.

One of our most passionate and gifted actors, Al Pacino has been riveting audiences for decades with performances in everything from The Godfather to Angels in America to Danny Collins. He has also appeared on the stage, tackling such difficult roles as Richard III, King Herod and Shylock, along with parts in contemporary dramas like Glengarry Glen Ross. Pacino has also directed two documentaries and two feature films. Aspects of Pacino's private life and film choices can be controversial. Often accused of a lack of subtlety or of "chewing the scenery," his mesmeric intensity galvanizes fans and divides critics, as do his Shakespearean interpretations. In its completely revised second edition, this book critically reevaluates his many onscreen and onstage roles. Pacino is an actor who cannot be ignored.

THE STORY: Although filled with modern references and a sense of present day attitudes, the pageant deals essentially with the accomplishments of the Second Continental Congress, and the singular, dynamic men who led it. One by one they are identified and commented on by the Narrator, as an oversized serpent is put together and paraded about. In the end the scope of their endeavor is made clear: a Declaration of Independence which will live on in history, and set a pattern to be emulated by all who struggle in the cause of freedom and human dignity. Particularly suitable for the nation's Bi-Centennial the pageant, with its brilliant theatricality, offers an exciting event for any number of other occasions as well.

Imagine experiencing life not as the gender dictated by birth but as one of your own design. In Trans Figured, Brian Belovitch shares his true story of life as a gender outlier and his dramatic journey through the jungle of gender identity. Brian has the rare distinction of coming out three times: first as a queer teenager; second as a glamorous transgender woman named Tish, and later, Natalia Gervais; and finally as an HIV-positive gay man surviving the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. From growing up in a barely-working-class first-generation immigrant family in Fall River, Massachusetts, to spinning across the disco dance floor of Studio 54 in New York City . . . from falling into military lock-step as the Army wife of a domineering GI in Germany to having a brush with fame as Natalia, high-flying downtown darling of the boozy and druggy pre-Giuliani New York nightclub scene, Brian escaped many near-death experiences. Trans Figured chronicles a life lived on the edge with an unforgettable cast of characters during a dangerous and chaotic era. Rich with drama and excitement, this no-holds-barred memoir tells it all. Most importantly, Brian's candid and poignant story of recovery shines a light on the perseverance of the human spirit.

Playwright Wendy Wasserstein (1950–2006), author of The Heidi Chronicles, wrote topical, humorous plays addressing relationships among women and their families, taking the temperature of social moments from the 1960s onward to debate women’s rightful place in their professional and personal lives. The playwright’s popular plays continue to be produced on Broadway and in regional theaters around the country and the world. Wasserstein’s emergence as a popular dramatist in the 1970s paralleled the emergence of the second-wave feminist movement in the United States, a cultural context reflected in the themes of her plays. Yet while some of her comedies and witty dramas were wildly successful, packing theaters and winning awards, feminists of the era often felt that the plays did not go far enough. Wendy Wasserstein provides a critical introduction and a feminist reappraisal of the significant plays of one of the most famous contemporary American women playwrights. Following a biographical introduction, chapters address each of her important plays, situating Wasserstein’s work in the history of the US feminist movement and in a historical moment in which women artists continue to struggle for recognition.

Not only is Al Pacino known as 'one of the greatest actors in all of film history', he is also considered 'one of Hollywood's most notorious bachelors' (imdb.com) as well as being one of the most enigmatic and private celebrities in the world. For the first time, AL PACINO offers a deeply personal and revealing window into everything from his growing up in the South Bronx, where he shared three rooms with nine people, to his fabled studies with Charles Laughton and Lee Strasberg, his father's absence, his mother's early death, and how he bounced through a series of odd jobs until his first paid role at the age of 26. He reveals his childhood dream of becoming a professional baseball player, describes his first drink at 13, and admits his once ate Valium like popcorn at the Academy Awards. Though he has been involved with women like Diane Keaton and Beverly D'Angelo, the mother of his three children, he has never married and here reveals why, and how his feelings have changed. Through it all, he has delivered some of the most seminal performances in film and theatre history and worked with most of its biggest stars. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards before winning Best Actor Oscar for Scent of a Woman. AL PACINO is an intensely personal look at a creative genius at the peak of his powers who, after all these years, still longs to learn more about his art. And for now, it's a close to a memoir as we are likely to get.

The one-act play stands apart as a distinct art form with some well known writers providing specialist material, among them Bernard Shaw, Tom Stoppard, Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill. Alan Ayckbourn, Edward Albee and Tennesee Williams. There are also lesser-known writers with plenty of material to offer, yet sourcing one-act plays to perform is notoriously hard. This companion is the first book to survey the work of over 250 playwrights in an illuminating A-Z guide. Multiple styles, nationalities and periods are covered, offering a treasure trove of compelling moments of theatre waiting to be discovered. Guidance on performing and staging one-act plays is also covered as well as essential contact information and where to apply for performance rights. A chapter introducing the history of the one-act play rounds off the title as a definitive guide.

The Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture is an extensively updated revision of the very successful Companion to Jewish Culture published in 1989 and has now been updated throughout. Experts from all over the world contribute entries ranging from 200 to 1000 words broadly, covering the humanities, arts, social sciences, sport and popular culture, and 5000-word essays contextualize the shorter entries, and provide overviews to aspects of culture in the Jewish world. Ideal for student and general readers, the articles and biographies have been written by scholars and academics, musicians, artists and writers, and the book now contains up-to-date bibliographies, suggestions for further reading, comprehensive cross referencing, and a full index. This is a resource, no student of Jewish history will want to go without.