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Reimagining Greek Tragedy on the American Stage

Online ISBN:
9780520953659
Print ISBN:
9780520272446
Publisher:
University of California Press
Book

Reimagining Greek Tragedy on the American Stage

Published:
22 October 2012
Online ISBN:
9780520953659
Print ISBN:
9780520272446
Publisher:
University of California Press

Abstract

This book explores Greek tragedy on the American professional stage from the nineteenth century to the present. Despite the gap separating the world of classical Greece from our own, Greek tragedy has provided a fertile source for some of the most innovative American theater. Helene P. Foley shows how plays like Oedipus Rex and Medea have resonated deeply with contemporary concerns and controversies—over war, slavery, race, the status of women, religion, identity, and immigration. Although Greek tragedy was often initially embraced for its melodramatic possibilities, by the twentieth century it became a vehicle not only for major developments in the history of American theater and dance but also for exploring critical tensions in American cultural and political life. Drawing on a wide range of sources—archival, video, interviews, and reviews—Reimagining Greek Tragedy on the American Stage provides the most comprehensive treatment of the subject available.

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