Harm's Way

by Mac Wellman

In Mac Wellman’s black comedy, a very angry person attempts to make sense of his understanding of law and order in a world of other angry persons.“… this comic/horror story examines the legacy that the cowboy has wrought on American society — where exactly the shoot-first-ask-questions-later attitude has left us … a brilliantly funny opening scene …” —Scott Proudfit, Backstage West

58 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Rusty Thelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this in '93 after seeing a production at NYU and being intrigued by the story, characters, and language of the world. Just reread it (2008) and it only gets better; Santouche's anger at the world seems justified, being tied to the anger of the world, and the idea that violence begets violence rarely comes across more strongly than in this piece (maybe the Oresteia outshines it, barely). There is something akin to the more miserable worlds evoked by Brecht in, say, Mother Courage or Arturo Ui here...

[Michael]

any play that includes the line, "suck my dingus, bitch," is okay with me.