The Playgoer: addendum: Drama on Broadway

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Friday, June 10, 2005

addendum: Drama on Broadway

David Sheward's write-up on the Tonys in Backstage (in print, online soon, I expect) includes the following context no one else seems to have provided for Doubt: "Though he has been writing plays for 25 years and won an Academy Award for his screenplay for 'Moonstruck,' this is Shanley's Broadway debut." Wow.

Now, certainly, not many Shanley plays would make sense on Broadway. But when you consider the guy has written about 20 plays, is widely produced regionally and off-B'way, and has carved out a voice and energy all his own on the landscape... you realize not how unfair Broadway is but how irrelevant to American Drama.

Not to mention, the Tonys. The Nobel committee may wait until a Shanley, Mamet, or Shepard is of "lifetime achievement" age. The Tonys have no excuse.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I hardly think the Nobel committee will be waiting till Shanley is of lifetime achievement age -- unless they are waiting till hell freezes over.