Women in Turmoil: Six Plays by Mercedes De Acosta (Theater in the Americas) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0809325101 ISBN 13: 9780809325108

Publisher: Southern Illinois University Pr, 2008

Synopsis

This book rediscovers the work of a gifted playwright and lesbian rights icon.With the publication of six plays by the uninhibited author, poet, and playwright Mercedes de Acosta (1893-1968), theater historian Robert A. Schanke has rescued these lost theatrical writings from the dusty margins of obscurity. Often autobiographical, always rife with gender struggle, and still decidedly stageworthy, ""Women in Turmoil: Six Plays by Mercedes de Acosta"" constitutes a significant find for the canon of gay and lesbian drama.The voice in these plays is that of a woman in turmoil, marginalized and ignored. Her same-sex desires and struggles for acceptance fueled her writings, and nowhere is that more evident than in the plays contained in this book. The women in these plays struggle with unfulfilling marriages, divorce, unrequited sexual desire, suppressed identity, and a longing for recognition.What notoriety remains associated with de Acosta has less to do with her writing than with her infamous romances with the likes of Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Isadora Duncan, Alla Nazimova, Eva Le Gallienne, Tamara Karsavina, Pola Negri, and Ona Munson. Through this collection of six powerfully poignant dramas, editor Robert A. Schanke strives to correct myths about Mercedes de Acosta and to restore both her name and her literary achievements to their proper place in history.

About this title

Review:

"Robert A. Schanke has rustled up a treasure trove of wonderfully hotheaded plays by Mercedes de Acosta. I hope that the discovery of these neglected and forgotten dramas will lead to rambunctious new productions and a celebration of this fantastic woman who haunted our theatrical landscape during the first half of the last century."--Ann Bogart, artistic director of the SITI Company and author of "A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art and Theatre"

"It is a pleasure to become better acquainted with Mercedes de Acosta. . . . Six of de Acosta's plays, now edited and made available by Robert A. Schanke, rescue her from a vague, shadowy existence, and allow her to assume a strong identity of her own. These plays, quite varied in their subjects and contexts, reveal a writer with strong dramatic sensitivity and emotional power."--Oscar Brockett, coauthor of History of the Theatre and The Essential Theatre

Robert A. Schanke has rustled up a treasure trove of wonderfully hotheaded plays by Mercedes de Acosta. I hope that the discovery of these neglected and forgotten dramas will lead to rambunctious new productions and a celebration of this fantastic woman who haunted our theatrical landscape during the first half of the last century. Ann Bogart, artistic director of the SITI Company and author of "A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art and Theatre" It is a pleasure to become better acquainted with Mercedes de Acosta. . . . Six of de Acosta s plays, now edited and made available by Robert A. Schanke, rescue her from a vague, shadowy existence, and allow her to assume a strong identity of her own. These plays, quite varied in their subjects and contexts, reveal a writer with strong dramatic sensitivity and emotional power. Oscar Brockett, coauthor of History of the Theatre and The Essential Theatre

About the Author:

Robert A. Schanke is a professor emeritus of theater at Central College, Iowa. His nine other books include "That Furious Lesbian": The Story of Mercedes de Acosta; Angels in the American Theater: Patrons, Patronage, and Philanthropy; and Shattered Applause: The Lives of Eva Le Gallienne. He is editor of the Southern Illinois University Press series Theater in the Americas.

About this edition

• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Pr
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0809325101
• ISBN 13: 9780809325108
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Schanke Professor Emeritus Robert A