The Essential Bogosian: Talk Radio / Drinking in America / Funhouse / Men Inside

by Eric Bogosian

"What Lenny Bruce was to the 1950s, Bob Dylan to the 1960s, Woody Allen to the 1970s--that's what Eric Bogosian is to this frightening moment of drift in our history."--Frank Rich, The New York Times

Genres: Plays, Drama, Fiction, Theatre, American

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1994

About the author

Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian-American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and attended the University of Chicago and Oberlin College. His numerous plays include Talk Radio (1987) and subUrbia (1994), which were adapted to film by Oliver Stone and Richard Linklater, respectively, with Bogosian starring in the former.
Bogosian has appeared in plays, films, and television series throughout his career. His television roles include Captain Danny Ross in Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2006–2010), Lawrence Boyd on Billions (2017–2018), and Gil Eavis on Succession (since 2018). He also starred as Arno in the Safdie brothers' film Uncut Gems (2019). He has also been involved in New York City ballet production, and has written several novels as well as the historical nonfiction Operation Nemesis (2015).

Reviews

[Kris M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get my thoughts in order about this one, because with a collection of multiple scripts for theatre shows of course the quality will vary from play to play and of course it‘s always meant to be looked at, heard and felt rather than read.

With an actor of Bogosian‘s calibre who‘s performance lives from his high energy, strong delivery and sharp tongue it‘s especially hard to only judge the written text. However because of his presence as an actor and his very distinctive voice, which is very present in these plays I could imagine these productions quite well.

Some of these plays felt a bit jumbled while others impressed me with how well constructed they were. And overall even through their gloominess and strong (sometimes a little heavy-handed) criticism of American society (I couldn’t quite believe that this collection was published in 94 at first - because all of it still felt so extremely relevant and contemporary), they gave me a weird sense of hope.

I must admit to me personally this collection kind of felt the same as it does when my dad tells me he‘s sorry that I have to live through such tough and scary times but that the times used to be really scary when he was young as well and maybe there‘s some hope to find in that. (It always gives me hope.)

So yeah, I liked it.

[Thrift Store Book Miner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen videos of some of Eric Bogosian's performances and I've seen the movie "Talk Radio", so it was interesting to experience his work in text format. The writing works well on paper, it's a different experience. Instead of seeing Bogosian shift from one character to the next while alone on stage, one can get an alternate visualization of his various personas. Bogosian can really make his split personalities come to life in film, on stage, and in writing.

This collection covers a range of his work and a wide cross section of humanity. It opens with the stage version of "Talk Radio". He keeps the readers on their toes as radio talk show host Barry Champlain switches from one deranged caller to the next. It's shorter and tighter than the movie, and there's also monologues from some of the supporting characters.

After "Talk Radio", the collection goes through his various one man shows, "Drinking in America", "Funhouse", "Men Inside", "Voice in America", and an "Uncollected" section of B-sides. Throughout the collection, the reader is introduced to a wide cast of characters through monologues and one-sided conversations either with the main character talking on the phone or speaking to invisible people not shown on the stage/page. There's the homeless man on the street, the successful but lonely traveling ceramic tile salesman, the street hoodlum, the drug dealer, the crazy redneck, the fanatical preacher, the workaholic restaurant owner, the overzealous life insurance salesman, the coked up talent agent, the hypochondriac shut in, the suburban dad, and many others.

Overall, this is a great overview of Bogosian's work. Most of his characters are vivid and engaging, but some of the bits fall flat. The "Voices Of America" section was a weak point, mostly a collection of fictional ad reads. They were somewhat entertaining, but nowhere near as good as his character personifications. Still, this book as a whole is a great demonstration about how much can be delivered to the audience with only a short episode of one person speaking.

[Anthony D'Juan Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was at the beginning for me as a playwright. before this book i was familiar with Bogosian from the film "Talk Radio", which i saw when i was around eleven or so. from that moment on Bogosian (who i later discovered shares the same birthday as me) became a MAJOR influence for me (along side George C. Wolfe, Sam Shepard, and David Mamet). this book taught me the essence of truth.

[Billy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dude is awesome, and as a playwright, pretty vital.

[Rox · Rating 5 out of 5]

very funny. very very funny. very very very funny.

[artemis · Rating 4 out of 5]

De fato uma seleção de peças essenciais do Eric. Da para pegar muito a forma de escrita e o humor do autor e traz algumas que não estão disponíveis em outros meios. Realmente uma leitura muito gostosa, recomendo.

[alex valdes · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Talk Radio" was great -- the rest, while definitely fun, becomes samey after a short while, beating you over the head with dated tirade after dated tirade that leaves you feeling like you've just listened to a bad Offspring album. There are SO many characters with hyperbolically new york Italian accents who go on and on for pages and pages about fucking, guns, pizza, shopping malls, money, exercise, etc. We get it man! Things are fucked!

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Talk Radio" deserves all five stars, but the others are three's at best.

[John Trupiano · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really only enjoyed Talk Radio. The other three plays were kind of weird.

[Sean Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The four star rating is actually an average of two separate ratings.

The monologs are not my thing. I would say most are 2 to 3 stars.

But then there is Talk Radio, which most certainly is my thing, and what brought me here to start.


It is not the movie. It is better than the movie. The play is entirely focused on Barry's inevitable pending on-air meltdown and why it is happening. Nothing else. It is relentless. The ending in the play is also far more powerful than the movie. I see why they had to change it for the screen, but still...

Talk Radio not only holds up, but it seems to get more relevant with time. It is Bogosian's masterpiece and what he will be known for generations from now. 5 stars.

[Andrea Janov · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn't until I got to the last section of this book, the uncollected pieces, when I really stopped reading these as plays only, but as poetry. Just like poetry, they are a collection of small slices of life that add up to something more when they are put together, when they talk to one another, when they are juxtaposed. What a perfect format for writing about life, especially with a New York lens.

[Paul Triller · Rating 1 out of 5]

If this was supposed to be comedy...I missed it.
If this was supposed to be about real life...I wish I missed it.

Audible version

[Alyssa Parkhurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

He loves a neck

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay Devil’s Minion 👀

[Mikey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of me feels like the hard bitten, quick talking, speed takin’ kind of monologues in this collection feel dated. Real 80’s New York, coming up on a cigarette smoke choked media apocalypse. You can roll your eyes now. But I really actually enjoy them.

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like his work, this is... well... "essential", it would seem. I particularly liked reading the script of 'Talk Radio'.

[Dafreakyone · Rating 5 out of 5]

different ways to express yourself.

[Tobey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big fan of Bogosian. I like his live show and I find his monologues very funny.