Random House New Releases - Drama - Between November 28, 2008 and December 28, 2009.

Five Modern No Plays by Yukio Mishima

2009-12-01T00:30:00-05:00

Five Modern No Plays
Written by Yukio Mishima

Japanese No drama is one of the great art forms that has fascinated people throughout the world. The late Yukio Mishima, one of Japan's outstanding post-war writers, infused new life into the form by using it for plays that preserve the style and inner spirit of No and are at the same time so modern, so direct, and intelligible that they could, as he suggested, be played on a bench in Central Park. Here are five of his No plays, stunning in their contemporary nature and relevance—and finally made available again for readers to enjoy.

Imaginary Friends by Nora Ephron

2009-11-25T00:30:00-05:00

Imaginary Friends
Written by Nora Ephron

Although Lillian Hellman and Mary McCarthy probably only met once in their lives, their names will be linked forever in the history of American literary feuds: they were legendary enemies, especially after McCarthy famously announced to the world that every word Hellman wrote was a lie, “including ‘and’ and ‘the.’” The public battle, and the legal squabbling, that ensued ended, unsatisfactorily for all, with Hellman’s death.

In Imaginary Friends, Nora Ephron brilliantly and hilariously resuscitates these two bigger-than-life women to give them a post-mortem second act, and the chance to really air their differences.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

As You Like It by David Scott Kastan

2009-10-28T00:30:00-05:00

As You Like It
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Master Harold and the Boys by Athol Fugard

2009-10-13T00:30:00-05:00

Master Harold and the Boys
Written by Athol Fugard

This play about a young white boy and two African servants is at once a compelling drama of South African apartheid and a universal coming-of-age story. Originally produced in 1982, it is now an acknowledged classic of the stage, whose themes of injustice, racism, friendship, and reconciliation traverse borders and time.

The Unseen Hand by Sam Shepard

2009-09-30T00:30:00-05:00

The Unseen Hand And Other Plays
Written by Sam Shepard

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

2009-09-16T00:30:00-05:00

The Comedy of Errors
Written by William Shakespeare

Henry V by David Scott Kastan

2009-09-16T00:30:00-05:00

Henry V
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

The Merchant of Venice by David Scott Kastan

2009-09-16T00:30:00-05:00

The Merchant of Venice
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Much Ado About Nothing by David Scott Kastan

2009-09-16T00:30:00-05:00

Much Ado About Nothing
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

2009-09-16T00:30:00-05:00

Romeo and Juliet
Written by William Shakespeare

In a society dominated by religion and bound by ties of strict family loyalty, two teenagers are trapped by their secret love. As a dangerous vendetta spills onto the streets, the young lovers are forced to risk all to be together in Shakespeare’s fast-paced tragedy of thwarted love.

Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars, this Modern Library series incorporates definitive texts and authoritative notes from William Shakespeare: Complete Works. Each play includes an Introduction as well as an overview of Shakespeare’s theatrical career; commentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designers; scene-by-scene analysis; key facts about the work; a chronology of Shakespeare’s life and times; and black-and-white illustrations.

Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first century.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Taming of the Shrew by David Scott Kastan

2009-09-16T00:30:00-05:00

The Taming of the Shrew
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Twelfth Night by David Scott Kastan

2009-09-16T00:30:00-05:00

Twelfth Night
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Faustus by David Mamet

2009-09-09T00:30:00-05:00

Faustus
Written by David Mamet

Having put his personal stamp on the contemporary theater, David Mamet now performs the supremely audacious feat of reinventing the theater of the past. He does so by telling his own ingenious and eerily moving version of the tragedy of Dr. Faustus.

Mamet’s Faustus—like Marlowe’s and Goethe’s before him—is a philosopher whose life’s work has been the pursuit of “the secret engine of the world.” He is also the distracted father of a small, adoring son. Out of the clash between love and intellect and the fatal operation of Faustus’ pride, Mamet fashions a work that is at once caustic and heart-wrenching and whose resplendent language marries metaphysics to conman’s patter. A meditation on reason and folly, fathers and sons, and a breathtaking display of magic both literal and theatrical, Faustus is a triumph.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

You Can Count on Me by Kenneth Lonergan

2009-09-02T00:30:00-05:00

You Can Count on Me A Screenplay
Written by Kenneth Lonergan

Acclaimed playwright Kenneth Lonergan’s You Can Count on Me is one of the most highly praised independent films of recent years, earning many of the major screenplay awards.

This is the lovingly drawn story of a sister and brother’s complicated, fragile, but somehow enduring bond. Sammy and Terry Prescott were orphaned as children. Sammy, now the single mother of a young son, has stayed in their hometown and is an officer at the local bank. Terry has become something of a drifter, surfacing only when he needs money. Sammy’s own life has its complications: she puts off an old boyfriend’s proposal and begins an affair with her new boss. Together in their family home, Terry’s charming irresponsibility collides with Sammy’s confusion over her own actions. What remains unspoken is what they’ve known since they were left with only each other sixteen years before.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Four Comedies by David Scott Kastan

2009-08-26T00:30:00-05:00

Four Comedies The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twel fth Night
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

The Taming of the Shrew
Robust and bawdy, The Taming of the Shrew captivates audiences with outrageous humor as Katharina, the shrew, engages in a contest of wills–and love–with her bridegroom, Petruchio, in a comedy of unmatched theatrical brilliance, filled with visual gags and witty repartee.

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Fairy magic, love spells, and an enchanted wood turn the mismatched rivalries of four young lovers into a marvelous mix-up of desire and enchantment, all touched by Shakespeare’s inimitable vision of the intriguing relationship between dreams and the waking world.

The Merchant of Venice
This dark comedy of love and money contains one of the truly mythic figures in literature–Shylock, the Jewish moneylender. The “pound of flesh” he demands as payment of Antonio’s debt has become a universal metaphor for vengeance. Here, pathos and farce combine with moral complexity and romantic entanglements, to display the extraordinary power and range of Shakespeare at his best.

Twelfth Night
Set in a topsy-turvy world like a holiday revel, this comedy juxtaposes a romantic plot involving separated twins and mistaken identity with a more satiric one about the humiliation of a pompous killjoy. The hilarity is touched with melancholy, and the play ends, not with laughter, but with a clown’s plaintive song.

Each Edition Includes:
• Comprehensive explanatory notes
• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

From the Paperback edition.

Four Tragedies by David Scott Kastan

2009-08-26T00:30:00-05:00

Four Tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Hamlet
One of the most famous plays of all time, the compelling tragedy of the young prince of Denmark who must reconcile his longing for oblivion with his duty to avenge his father’s murder is one of Shakespeare’s greatest works. The ghost, Ophelia’s death and burial, the play within a play, and the breathtaking swordplay are just some of the elements that make Hamlet a masterpiece of the theater.

Othello
This great tragedy of unsurpassed intensity and emotion is played out against Renaissance splendor. The doomed marriage of Desdemona to the Moor Othello is the focus of a storm of tension, incited by the consummately evil villain Iago, that culminates in one of the most deeply moving scenes in theatrical history.

King Lear
Here is the famous and moving tragedy of a king who foolishly divides his kingdom between his two wicked daughters and estranges himself from the young daughter who loves him–a theatrical spectacle of outstanding proportions.

Macbeth
No dramatist has ever seen with more frightening clarity into the heart and mind of a murderer than has Shakespeare in this brilliant and bloody tragedy of evil. Taunted into asserting his “masculinity” by his ambitious wife, Macbeth chooses to embrace the Weird Sisters’ prophecy and kill his king–and thus, seals his own doom.

Each Edition Includes:
• Comprehensive explanatory notes
• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

From the Paperback edition.

Henry IV, Part Two by William Shakespeare

2009-08-26T00:30:00-05:00

Henry IV, Part Two
Written by William Shakespeare

The stirring continuation of the themes begun in Henry IV, Part One again pits a rebellion within the State and that master of misrule, Falstaff, against the maturing of Prince Hal. Alternating scenes between bawdy tavern and regal court, between revelry and politics, Shakespeare probes at the sources, uses, and responsibilities of power as an old king dies and a young king must choose between a ruler's solemn duty and a merry but dissipated friend, Falstaff. The play represents Shakespeare at the peak of his maturity in writing historical drama and comedy.

From the Paperback edition.

Henry IV, Part One by David Scott Kastan

2009-08-26T00:30:00-05:00

Henry IV, Part One
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

A play alive with escapades and action, comedy and history, Henry IV, Part One begins the transformation of the madcap Prince Hal into the splendid ruler King Henry. In it a rebellion against King and State is juxtaposed with another rebellion–the riotous misbehavior of Hal and his companions, principally Falstaff. A superbly funny liar, coward, lecher, and cheat, the larger-than-life character Falstaff turns this great historical drama into a masterpiece of counterpoint and design.

Each Edition Includes:
• Comprehensive explanatory notes
• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

From the Paperback edition.

The Late Romances by William Shakespeare

2009-08-26T00:30:00-05:00

The Late Romances
Written by William Shakespeare

Pericles
The first of Shakespeare’s late romances moves spectacularly from one dramatic period to another as the hero, Pericles, sails off to adventure and love, and experiences what for him is a miracle.

Cymbeline
A favorite romantic drama, this play of a wife unjustly accused of faithlessness moves from a world of intrigue and slander to one of reconciliation and forgiveness, and contains two of Shakespeare’s most poignantly beautiful songs.

The Winter's Tale
From a darkly melodramatic beginning to a joyous pastoral ending, this romance of a jealous king and his long-suffering queen is superb entertainment, with revelations, plot twists, and a final compelling theatrical moment of discovery.

The Tempest
This tale of the exiled Duke of Milan, marooned on an enchanted island, is so richly filled with music and magic, romance and comedy, that its theme of love and reconciliation offers a splendid feast for the senses and the heart.

From the Paperback edition.

Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well that Ends Well by William Shakespeare

2009-08-26T00:30:00-05:00

Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well that Ends Well
Written by William Shakespeare

An exciting new edition of the complete works of Shakespeare with these features: Illustrated with photographs from New York Shakespeare Festival productions, vivid readable readable introductions for each play by noted scholar David Bevington, a lively personal foreword by Joseph Papp, an insightful essay on the play in performance, modern spelling and pronunciation, up-to-date annotated bibliographies, and convenient listing of key passages.

From the Paperback edition.

Random House New Releases - Drama - Between November 28, 2008 and December 28, 2009.

Five Modern No Plays by Yukio Mishima

Five Modern No Plays Written by Yukio Mishima

Imaginary Friends by Nora Ephron

Imaginary Friends Written by Nora Ephron

As You Like It by David Scott Kastan

As You Like It Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Master Harold and the Boys by Athol Fugard

Master Harold and the Boys Written by Athol Fugard

The Unseen Hand by Sam Shepard

The Unseen Hand And Other PlaysWritten by Sam Shepard

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

The Comedy of Errors Written by William Shakespeare

Henry V by David Scott Kastan

Henry V Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

The Merchant of Venice by David Scott Kastan

The Merchant of Venice Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Much Ado About Nothing by David Scott Kastan

Much Ado About Nothing Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet Written by William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew by David Scott Kastan

The Taming of the Shrew Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Twelfth Night by David Scott Kastan

Twelfth Night Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Faustus by David Mamet

Faustus Written by David Mamet

You Can Count on Me by Kenneth Lonergan

You Can Count on Me A ScreenplayWritten by Kenneth Lonergan

Four Comedies by David Scott Kastan

Four Comedies The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twel fth NightWritten by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Four Tragedies by David Scott Kastan

Four Tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, MacbethWritten by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Henry IV, Part Two by William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part Two Written by William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part One by David Scott Kastan

Henry IV, Part One Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

The Late Romances by William Shakespeare

The Late Romances Written by William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well that Ends Well by William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well that Ends Well Written by William Shakespeare

Five Modern No Plays
Written by Yukio Mishima

Imaginary Friends
Written by Nora Ephron

As You Like It
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Master Harold and the Boys
Written by Athol Fugard

The Unseen Hand And Other Plays
Written by Sam Shepard

The Comedy of Errors
Written by William Shakespeare

Henry V
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

The Merchant of Venice
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Much Ado About Nothing
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Romeo and Juliet
Written by William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Twelfth Night
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Faustus
Written by David Mamet

You Can Count on Me A Screenplay
Written by Kenneth Lonergan

Four Comedies The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twel fth Night
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Four Tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Henry IV, Part Two
Written by William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part One
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

The Late Romances
Written by William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well that Ends Well
Written by William Shakespeare