I first saw this play at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in Scotland, which was the loftiest goal that its authors and performers had set for it. The world quickly recognized how small they were really thinking to have produced such a masterpiece, and the show had a run on the West End and then came to Broadway.

This is one of the funniest plays I've seen/read since Noises Off. Although it takes some imagination when reading the text, one can easily see how utterly comic and tragic the production is. I love this play because it allows actors to stretch, because it doesn't rely on big sets and fancy costumes to engage the audience, and because it's funny as hell. A good read, and a definite must-see.

This play is genius. It is hysterical, touching and heartbreaking. However, one cannot grasp this from the text. I rated this five stars because the show itself is unbelieveable, and the show is the exact text of the book. Regardless, one must see the show to comprehend the genius inherent here.

I had the privilege to see this play performed at the Duke of York's Theatre on St. Martin's Lane in London this January. I was rolling in the aisles and laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. Marie Jones' masterful understanding of the rural Irish makes for an incredibly funny and deeply authentic portrayal of two Kerrymen who are hired as extras on a big-shot Hollywood filmset. For a good laugh and a stunning view of real Irish people, read it. Then see it, if at all possible. Excellent.

i know more about radishes than i do of mans destiny...you have to read this book if you ever felt like you wanted to hear little anecdotes on Sam .It really is a lovely read and shows how private a being he was.I would love to hear his voice someday. RIP.

This collection of a series of interviews will give anyone interested in Miller's plays insight into his themes and thought processes, and how his personal life has impacted on his writing. The conversations are engaging and thought-provoking.

In a series of interviews between 1971 and 1993 Gussow (longtime _New York Times_ drama critic, who also coaxed a fascinating set of comments from Tom Stoppard) got Pinter to talk about how he works. Pinter refuses to comment on what his work "means," but is eager to clear the air about misperceptions about himself (such as being in a chronic state of outrage). Pinter comes across as generous as well as politically committed, suspicious of audiences, but grateful to (fellow) actors. And he clearly has a sense of humor (too rarely appreciated in his plays).

The plays contained in this volume are wonderful and interesting (especially in terms of his development) to any fan of Tennessee Williams... but I purchased the book believing it was the COMPLETE collected plays 1937-1955, which it is not. It is a group of "selected" plays. I bought it hoping to get more of the one-acts and historical oddities. It contains some of these, but mostly consists of his the more well-known plays, which anyone who would buy this book likely already has (e.g. Cat. Streetcar, Menagerie). Perhaps Amazon.com might want to place a line of explanatory commentary to that effect on the product description.

The new Library of America volume "Tennessee Williams: Plays, 1937-1955" is the first of two volumes. (The second volume covers the plays from 1957 to 1980.) This is a magnificent book, beautifully printed and bound. It is comprehensive (over 1000 pages) and has extensive notes and a complete chronology of Williams's life. Several of the plays are printed with commentaries by Tennessee Williams himself, essays that are very informative. This book belongs in the library of any fan of American theater.

If you have only seen the several movies made in the 1950's from his plays, reading these will prove a revelation for you. Because of the restrictions put on movies in the 50's, most of his works were deeply expurgated, especially any overt references to homosexuality. So reading the original plays here often reveals underlying previously obscure motivations/conflicts of some of the characters: why, for example, Blanche DuBois had fallen from being a privileged Southern Belle to the pathetic wretch who appeared on Stanley and Stella's doorstep.

Unlike many playwrights, Tennessee Williams tended to give long, detailed stage directions. This gives the reader of the plays a novel-like narrative, making them wonderful experiences for readers who do not ordinarily enjoy reading plays. The sensuous atmosphere, the classical -- almost Greek sense of tragedy that looms in almost all of these plays, and the exquisite use of language make this a unique reading experience. The writers who had influence over Williams's style are never named but seem apparent, at least to this reader. For example, when reading "The Rose Tattoo" I was reminded of the great Spanish poet/playwright Garcia Lorca's "House of Bernarda Alba." The cackling, vicious, vindictive neighbors, like some Greek Chorus, echoed many of the women in Lorca's work.

This volume even includes the play "Not About Nightingales", a play never performed in Williams's lifetime, but which was recently brought to Broadway in a Tony-winning run. "Not About Nightingales" is a stark prison drama that is quite different from the style he eventually developed. Among the "great" plays included here are "The Glass Menagerie", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Summer and Smoke", and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Like all volumes in the Library of America series, this book has been given first-class treatment. Beautiful bindings, ribboned marker, and fine acid-free paper for permanence. It is meant to be owned and treasured forever. You will love this book....

Tennessee Williams wrote plays exploring human passion with an unflinching and iconoclastic candor, shattering conventional proprieties and transforming the American stage of his day. This outstanding, two-volume series from The Library Of America showcases Williams' extraordinary range and achievement as a playwright with 32 of his works, including recently rediscovered plays of his early career (Spring Storm; Not About Nightingales). All of his works from the years 1937 through 1980 are here, including his world renowned plays The Glass Menagerie; A Streetcar Named Desire; Orpheus Descending; Suddenly Last Summer; Sweet Bird Of Youth; The Night Of The Iguana; and his Pulitzer- Prizing winning Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. This two volume collection is further enhanced with a chronology of Williams' life, explanatory notes, an essay on the tests of the plays, and cast lists of many of the original productions. Tennesse Williams: Plays, Volumes 1 & 2 is an essential addition to personal, scholarly, and theatrical history collections.

I like Tom Stoppard's work a lot, so I was curious to find out a little more about the man. I stumbled across this book, and picked it up on a lark. I recommend it to anyone curious about how the great playwright views his work.

I was particularly interested in hearing Stoppard's views on the role culture (and more specifically theatre) plays in shaping the world around us. Stoppard's background in and views about journalism lends an interesting perspective to some of the plays he's written (in particular I'm thinking of Night and Day).

I was surprised to find out how witty Stoppard is in his day to day life. This is most apparent when other people stop in to chat during the interviews. The banter between Stoppard and his acquaintances is very funny. I am also surprised at Stoppard's ego. He's been highly succesful, and is very good at what he does... unfortunately he is highly aware of this, and makes no bones about it (although he pays heavy tribute to Pinter and Beckett among others).

All in all a good read. His conversations with Gussow (and this is a testament to Gussow's ability as an interviewer) provide substantial insight into his motivation and attitudes. Rereading Stoppard after reading this book put much of his work in a new light for me. It makes me want to read conversations with Pinter.

Tom Stoppard is one of, if not the, most important living playwrights. His writings have covered a large range of subjects such as love, imperialism, chaos theory, horticulture, philosophy, theology, and literature among many, many others.

In this collection of interviews between Gussow and Stoppard, the reader is let into Stoppard's mind, and the playwright relates how he chooses subjects, his approach to writing, what art means to him, some of his philosophies on life, among much else. Stoppard is witty and pithy, and Gussow is a wonderful interviewer.

This book is a must for any Stoppard lovers, as it gives one complete access to his thoughts, and is highly recommended for anyone interested in the theatre or playwrighting.

I'm amazed at some of the one star reviews for this book. (Well, maybe not that amazed. Anyone concerned over whether Elaine Stritch or Carol Burnett won a Tony might best spend their time under a hairdryer reading Cosmo rather than a serious book like this.) Gussow, courtesy of his friendship with Albee, provides priceless insights into the source of many of his works, how they spring from his life, his relationship with his mother. He is even handed in evaluating Albee's plays, carefully explaining why many of his plays failed to please critics and audiences. Albee has been candid with Gussow, and his candor is of great value to aspiring writers. We see the links between personal life and artistic creation. This is a MAJOR study of an important playwright, required reading for all serious theatre folks. The one complaint: Gussow's closeness with Albee, while never seriously compromising the book, does make one sense kid gloves being used from time to time. That aside, this is a riveting look at one writer's life.

This is a competent rather than inspired biography. It offers much useful detail about Albee's plays and is especially good at tracking what critics, friends, cast members, and Albee himself have written about each one. This amalgam of views best illumates "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." Unfortuantely, the book offers little detail about Albee's lovers or the texture of his sexual and emotional life. For instance, in mid-career, he lived for years with Bill Pennington. We learn only that this man was an interior decorator. We never learn about his looks, background, personality, or influence on Albee; there's not even a photograph. Lacking such physicality, the book often seems arid. Instead of amassing such details, Mel Gussow often prefers to quote long letters. I wish he had gone deeper into Albee's sexuality, to understand how it helped determine the style and force and distinction of Albee's work.

Gussow has assembled excellent materials and extensively interviewed his subject (between 1994 and 1999), but I did not come away from his biography with a sharp or abiding sense of the playwright. Strangely, secondary figures such as composer William Flanagan and director Alan Schneider emerge as more luminous than Edward Albee.

With all due respect to Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Lillian Hellman and William Inge, Edward Albee is the most important American playwright to emerge since Eugene O'Neill. I don't say best because "best" is too subjective a term to be applied to the arts. Albee is important because of the influence his work has had on playwrights such as Arthur Kopit, Sam Shepard, John Guare and David Mamet. Mel Gussow has produced an indelible portrait of this artist. One revels in Albee's current success - The Tony Award for "The Goat or Who is Sylvia?" and a Pulitzer Prize for "Three Tall Women." However, what Mr. Gussow's biography illustrates brilliantly is that Albee hasn't staged a "comeback." Indeed, Albee never went anywhere - it was the audience and the critics that abandoned Albee. Throughout the past forty years Albee has continued to produce masterful plays - award winning plays - "A Delicate Balance," "All Over," "Seascape" and "The Lady from Dubuque" - plays which are finally gaining the recognition and stature they deserve.

The personal story is here as well. Albee was adopted and raised by people who were emotionally aloof to the needs of a gay adolescent. The relationships with Terrence McNally and Jonathan Thomas (his companion for the past thirty years), friendships with John and Elaine Steinbeck, Carson McCullers, William Flanagan, Alan Schneider and all those leading ladies from Uta Hagen, Colleen Dewhurst, Jessica Tandy and Irene Worth to Marian Seldes, Rosemary Harris, Elaine Stritch and Maggie Smith. The story of how the Pulitzer Prize board denied him the honor for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" even after the prize jury had voted unanimously for the play. It's all here - warts and all - best of all is the happy ending.