Robert M. (shotokanchef) reviewed on + 813 more book reviews
"The American Dream" Ugh! Dont bother, unless you are one of those pseudo-literary critics who is neither talented enough to be a real writer nor an actor, but has somehow managed to pass themselves off as an authority. Reputed to be a comedy with a murder thrown in, it is so abstract as to resemble neither. Written in 1960, it is an apparent throwback to the late 40s or early 50s judging by the references to iceboxes. It is also supposed to be representative of middle-class mores. In the 40s? The 50s? Quite a stretch of the imagination! Actors and directors, though, impressed with their own egocentric sense of expertise in reality probably love it. At any rate, it would certainly not require much financing as there is hardly no set, only five in the cast, and little room for interpolation to make it interesting. So what is the American dream? Your guess is as good as mine is: hopefully better. Am I sounding like a critic yet?
The only thing worse must be The Zoo Story, a predecessor play, that seemed to be produced everywhere else before making ingress into the USA. On a park bench in NYC, two menstrangersengage in pointless conversation. Maybe not! Maybe, the one asking all of the questions is doing marketing research, or maybe he is an early version of an identity thief. About halfway through this one-acter they introduce themselvesmore inane conversationan ending supposed to shock the audience (at least it is unexpected). So, what happened at the zoo? Ha! Nada, nil, zilch! It is a pretext. ¿Is art attempting to imitate life? In the words of the Monty Python players, Say no more!
The only thing worse must be The Zoo Story, a predecessor play, that seemed to be produced everywhere else before making ingress into the USA. On a park bench in NYC, two menstrangersengage in pointless conversation. Maybe not! Maybe, the one asking all of the questions is doing marketing research, or maybe he is an early version of an identity thief. About halfway through this one-acter they introduce themselvesmore inane conversationan ending supposed to shock the audience (at least it is unexpected). So, what happened at the zoo? Ha! Nada, nil, zilch! It is a pretext. ¿Is art attempting to imitate life? In the words of the Monty Python players, Say no more!
