In One Act

by Adrienne Kennedy

Gathers five one-act plays about Black women in society and two adaptations of classical Greek dramas.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre

184 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1988

Reviews

[Matthew Wilder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not always great line by line, but her strategy is to pit image against image. The literary effect is liturgical—what in the sixties was called ritual. The climax is her A MOVIE STAR HAS TO STAR IN BLACK AND WHITE, a mixture of family tragedy and cinephilic reverie that is like an American version of INDIA SONG.

[Brian Bergen-Aurand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up after a colleague recommended it to me as background for another project I am pursuing. It took a few starts and restarts to get into it, but after I learned to listen to Kennedy's language, the plays definitely sang to me.

[ronan · Rating 4 out of 5]

so much to think about...so much!!

[Gabriel Weaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was NOT what I expected. It was so abstract and . . . disturbing?!

I can see how she influenced Suzan-Lori Parks.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Euripides adaptations.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every decade, I come back to this collection and each time my bewilderment decreases and my respect increases. It's not that "Funnyhouse of a Negro" isn't insane. It is. And "A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White" was so ahead of its time that only now does it feel alarmingly contemporary in how it equates our inner longings with a romantic nostalgia for old Hollywood. I'd add that Adrienne Kennedy's adaptations of Euripides ("Electra," "Orestes") have got to be among the best out there.

[yarrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

black surrealist time-traveling spirit-work