Play Groups Books

Paul Rhymer was not merely one of the great American humorists, but perhaps one of the most important dramatic chroniclers of American folkways in the post-Depression years. In his characters, in his settings and plots, he captured the moods, the interests, the conflicts and concerns of small-town life in mid-America. Ogden Nash once compared him to Mark Twain. What the latter did for Hannibal, Missouri, Nash said, Rhymer did for Bloomington, Illinois and the entire Middle West.

When the first collection of Rhymer's Vic and Sade radio plays was published a few years ago, it touched something in the memories of readers everywhere. Time found the plays "gentle, funny, low-key, and as timeless as the telephone poles on U.S. 20"; The New Yorker welcomed "a most rare thing"; and the Chicago Daily News, close to Vic and Sade Country, called it "a very lovely and lovable book." This is the second volume of verbatim scripts for Vic and Sade the radio series for which Rhymer and the cast won national recognition.

Paul Mills Rhymer (1905-1964) who grew up in Bloomington, Illinois and attended Illinois Wesleyan University, spent his adult years in Chicago as a freelance writer. In the 1930s Chicago was the proving ground for radio dramas, and Paul Rhymer was in the right place at the right time to assist at the birth of script radio, as it was called. He quickly developed and became the foremost practitioner of what can be termed "pure radio," using one set (the small house), three voices (Vic, Sade, Rush - and later, Uncle Fletcher), and the imagination of his listeners to create a family, a neighborhood, a town, a world, and a time. Never was a community so magnificently peopled by verbal reference alone.

The vitality, accuracy, and vibrancy of Rhymer's portraits make Vic and Sade, their life and times, universally appealing to fans old and new. To dip into Vic and Sade, is not merely to take a nostalgic trip to a bygone era - it is to recognize that the people and pastimes of small-town America are flourishing today. They may be transplanted to new places and adapted to new circumstances, but still they flourish. Paul Rhymer's Vic and Sade scripts rescue them from the glass case of nostalgia and put them right smack where they belong - in that small house half-way up in the next block. If you listen, you can hear them now....

This book has all sorts of games in it from all around the world. I grew up with it and have continually referred to it for games that I hear which I don't know how to play...card games whether it be Poker or a foreign card game, it's here. Even Activity games and games from Africa, China, Japan and Europe. There are even games from the Middle Ages!

This book is different than other's I've read. It illuminated a truth that I feel is often overlooked by authors on the subject of wealth creation... What is professed to work by someone else may not work for me no matter how great the method or system proposed. The author of Wealth Inside Out took me through a process that allowed me to identify my own unique contribution to the matrix of life and how I can use this direct experience with my purpose to achieve wealth on many levels in my life.

This book has expanded my thought and awareness on how to create wealth in my life...right now! If you are serious about making a difference in your life and impacting the lives of those around you, then you need to read the book. If you want to get your unique purpose and your desire for wealth in sync, then you need to read the book. If you don't want to be another one of those people who go to the seminars, read the books, and nothing changes, then you need to read THIS book.

What I found truly liberating from reading Wealth Inside Out, is that I have a natural fit for achieving success that is uniquely mine. As I gain clarity around this, my inherent blueprint, which is already seeking self expression, will create wealth in my life- emotionally, spiritually, and financially!

Craig Lucas' amazing THE DYING GAUL is the centerpiece of his latest collection of full-length and one-act plays, WHAT I MEANT WAS. Lucas' provocative drama responds to the perils of cyberlife, one of contemporary drama's most recently popular subjects (as in Kopit's Y2K and Marber's CLOSER). However, Lucas delves deeply, chronicling the pain of a screenwriter who has recently lost his lover to AIDS. He has sold his script to a heartless producer, and enters an affair with him, even though the producer is both married and simultaneously attempting to rid his manuscript of any trace of its gay subject matter. As an outlet to his suffering, he surfs the loveless yet safe confines of the Internet. However, the series of events which ensue are both blazingly theatrical and a sobering statement on the capacities of the human spirit in the age of technology. Presented here with a number of other recent Lucas plays, the playwright exhibits a longing and passion which could not be seen in his earlier work PRELUDE TO A KISS. Readers cannot miss Lucas' introduction to the plays, which identifies the new found anger inherent in his "new" theatrical voice.

I don't review on Amazon, but since no one else is saying it here, I feel I should. Christopher Shinn is a damn good playwright. He talks about things relevant to our times w/o simplifying things. His characters are psychologically credible and complex. He has range (he doesn't simply write the same play over and over). He's not a writer who will hit you over the head, but his intelligence and subtlety can be even more rewarding. Also, he does have his own voice, and set of obsessions. He's a moralist in the tradition of all great writers, meaning not that he's moralistic but that he seems interested in bringing into question accepted mores and stereotypes. "Other People" and "Where Do We Live" are two of the best plays I've read recently (and I read a lot of plays). The other plays in the book are also really good. People who criticize him for writing naturalistic plays are way off. It's like criticizing someone for NOT writing naturalistic plays; it simply reveals more about the person's preferences than any actual shortcoming. Moreover, the plays are not really that naturalistic. "Long Day's Journey Into Night" is not really that naturalistic either. Like any good dramatic writing, Shinn's plays lend themselves to a variety of possible stagings. I recommend this book to anyone who loves theatre.

This book is an extremely quick read, but worthwhile. Margaret Edson does an excellent job of illustrating what it's like to experience cancer from the patient's perspective, diagnosis to death, and how patients can sometimes get lost in our focused agenda of tests, treatments, and paperwork.

The plays are funny, clever and inspirational without being "preachy!" The scipts were refreshingly substantial, not your typical Christian 'skits,' Thoughtfully written, they make the listener think about faith. The fifteen play scripts with permission to perform them are well worth the cost of the book. The additional suggestions for ways to use the sketches for discussions are helpful and unique. The dramas could be done by adults as well as teenagers.

This is a great father/son book. There are things in there that I was never taught to do, so both my son and I are learning. Great stuff to do together!

My nine year old twin girls love the book. Sure, they have no interest in hunting rabbits (they're vegetarians) or famous battles in history (at least not yet), but there's a lot in here for any kid who is not on too tight of a parental leash. Get this and the girls' book too. A lot of worthwhile bits in each.

I originally bought this book for my son, he's 11. He loves it. Unfortunately my husband and 6 brothers won't give it back to him, yet. They've enjoyed the 'projects' as much as my son has.

I bought this for my 9 year old grandson and he has really enjoyed it so far and will for years to come. I told him that since I hate to hear the words "I'm bored" he now has no excuse to say them around me again. He can pull out this book and find plenty of amusement!

My twin 12 year old boys came out to stay with me this summer. I just read them the Battle of the Alamo last night. I see why schools think kids have adhd and no focus. The schools have no focus! Giving background to the story I talked about Davie Crockett and Daniel Boone. When I was a kid these guys were mythical heros. My boys had not been familiar with either of these two. Schools complain that kids aren't interested in learning. Perhaps they have to teach something interesting. Kudos for this book.

Nobody could say the storyline in Much Ado About Nothing is particularly clever. In fact, despite some very witty lyricism you would have to say this is one of Shakespeare's weakest plays. Having said that, this interpretation by Kenneth Branagh makes the most of the material. The comic characters are completely over-the-top (including Michael Keaton of Batman fame, and Ben Elton, creator of the Young Ones) and the more serious ones are given a slightly modern interpretation. The main plot which deals with the importance of virginity in a new bride, has a gently mocking modern treatment. The whole play is, as its name suggests, a storm in a teacup and Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thomson make the most of the sarcastic interplay available to them. Even the charming Denzel Washington manages not to stumble over his lines.

After swearing that they will never marry anyone, let alone each other, two bickering "friends", Beatrice (Emma Thompson) and Benedick (Kenneth Branagh), end up falling in love after each is falsely led to believe that the other is in love with them.

Given the fact that neither of his most recent Shakespearean adaptations have received so much as a DVD release out here (Australia), let alone a cinema release, it is hard to imagine that there was once a time when Kenneth Branagh was hailed as being the next Laurence Olivier. However, back in the 1990's, Kenneth Branagh did manage to produce some of the best Shakespearean adaptations ever made, the best of which being the 4-hour "Hamlet" and this version of "Much Ado About Nothing".

"Much Ado About Nothing" is rare among Shakespeare's comedies in that it is actually funny, thus making it one of Shakespeare's most accessible plays, and Kenneth Branagh has a gift for making Shakespeare understandable to anyone, even someone who has never encountered "the Bard" before. Not all of the actors are up to the same standard as Branagh (Kate Beckinsale, in an early film role, is notably wooden), but this is more than made up for by Branagh and Thompson. Branagh and Thompson are both excellent actors in anything in which they appear, but they are at their best when appearing together. When this film was made, they were married to each other and the chemistry between them is something beautiful. I have always considered it to be a great tragedy that their marriage didn't last.

I consider this to be one of my favorite movies. It's a true chamer that proves that a good play of Shakespeare can be set at any time. The charming game of cat-and-mouse with lovers is only part of the wonder when it comes to the talented set of actors, each one perfect for their role. However, the best performances are demonstrated by Branagh and Emma Thomspon, whom we all know can do just about anything. The setting of the little villa is charming, and the classical score suits the story well. Even if you think Shakespeare is boring, you will adore this fun romp.

This movie has everything!! And in the end weather you want to or not , you're smiling!!

Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," adapted for film by Kenneth Branagh, is a myriad of quick wit and cheeky humor. Denzel Washington adeptly plays an upright and stately lord while Keanu Reeves was the reason it couldn't reach five stars. In the very beginning there is a shot in which you see the soldiers (Washington, Reeves, and company) riding to Messina, home of Leonato (Richard Briers). Washington leads, looking elegant and impressive, and to his left, Reeves rides exanimate. They are returning from battle and stop at Messina for rest and entertainment. They quickly become involved in love triangles, treachery, and tongue lashings from Leonato's niece Beatrice (Emma Thompson).

While this film holds true to the english of Shakespeare's writing, it is by no means difficult to understand. It is merely english used in a way we as a society are not used to, but are capable of. The humor is timeless as well since love and conniving, not to mention bickering, are parts of life we all laugh about when looking back at it.

The Cd begins with the powerful witches scene-great music-definitely causing my students to sit-up and listen.

The Dover Thrift Edition is a good choice for a reading text because it presents the entire, unabridged play, and has enough notes to be helpful to inexperienced readers without overwhelming or distracting them. The omition of a scholarly apparatus makes the Dover Edition more flexible and keeps it from becoming outdated.

This product was great. It helped my students and I read and comprehend Macbeth so much better than us trying to read it and comprehend it. The actors voices are great! I think they do a great job being the characters on tape!

Virtually all editions of Macbeth will have at least some annotations. Rummaging through five different editions, I preferred the Yale University Press version, edited by Burton Raffel, as having the most comprehensive and comprehensible notes, as well as an excellent introduction to Shakespeare's play. Raffel not only explains the meanings of obscure words, but also gives brief notes pertaining to relevant history, geography, stage directions, etc, that are rarely addressed as fully by other editors. In addition, Raffel frequently gives the proper way to stress the syllables in a line when reading it aloud, which can be extremely helpful. (However, in most places these stresses need to be very subtle, so that you don't sound like "taDUM taDUM taDUM".) And Yale's page layout is among the clearest that I've seen.

(To find this edition: at Avanced Search, enter ISBN 0300106548; or, enter Macbeth as title, and either Raffel as author or Yale as publisher.)

As a bonus, this edition includes at the back a long essay on the play by Harold Bloom. This is not an uninteresting commentary, but Bloom desperately needs a good editor. His essay is not only at least three times longer than it should be, but is startlingly repetitious. Yale would have been wise to have asked Bloom for a rewrite.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a dramatist whose genius is universally acknowledged, with a reputation as an actor, playwright and poet. He lived in an age of vast and significant changes characterised by the rise of the middle class and of a centralised government and the disappearance of medieval religious beliefs. England was transforming into a modern state. This was a time when self-realisation, self-respect and boldness of thought and action was idealised. Shakespeare's drama merely reflected the dramatic times of the age.

Shakespeare's genius can be reflected by the variety of his productions, where out of the 36 plays he has left, no two are alike and he managed to articulate the diverse subjects with exceptional expertise, handling both tragedies and comedies with ease.

Macbeth is a tragedy, intended to teach us a lesson about the human condition. The play is a tragedy about a wealthy Scottish noble called Macbeth who kills his king to gain the throne. During Shakespeare's time, this was a terrible thing to do, and from then on, Macbeth was doomed to die a tragic death.

The play starts with three witches confronting the great Scottish general Macbeth on his victorious return from a war between Scotland and Norway. The witches predict that he will one day become king. They also predict that another General called Banquo will be the father of kings, although he will not ascend the throne himself. The Scottish king, Duncan, decides that he will confer the title of the traitorous Cawdor on the heroic Macbeth. Macbeth, with the urging of his evil and ambitious wife murder King Duncan and ascends to the throne of Scotland.

Macbeth and his evil wife begin to do strange things, partly because of what they have done and also because they never get a whole night's sleep. Macbeth thinks he has to kill two of his former friends because he believes that they threaten his new throne. His efforts fail and he is eventually killed.