Overview

For more than 150 years, Irish playwrights, beginning with Dion Boucicault, have been celebrated by American audiences. However, Irish theater as represented on the American stage is merely a sampling of the national drama, and the underlying causes of Irish dramatic success in America illuminate the cultural state of both countries at specific historical moments. """"Irish Theater in America"""" is the first book devoted entirely to the long history of this transatlantic exchange.Born out of the Irish Theatrical Diaspora project, this collection brings together leading American and Irish scholars with established theater critics. The contributors explore the history of Irish theater in America, from Harrigan and Hart to the recent productions of senior Irish playwrights such as Brian Friel and younger writers such as Martin McDonagh and Conor McPherson. Examining the complexity of the relationship between Irish theater and American audiences, this volume goes beyond analyses of plays to include examinations of company dynamics, tours of companies and actors, audience reception, and the production history of individual works.

Full Product Details

9780815631699

Table of Contents

Reviews

Diaspora and theater are two of the most flourishing areas of Irish and Irish American studies. It was an excellent idea of John Harrington, who has done so much already to illuminate the Irish theater experience both in Ireland and America, to assemble a star-studded cast to contribute these absorbing essays into so stimulating a collection. Irish Theater in America pushes back the frontiers of our understanding of these two fascinating phenomena.-- J. J. Lee, author of Ireland 1912-1985: Politics and Society

Diaspora and theater are two of the most flourishing areas of Irish and Irish American studies. It was an excellent idea of John Harrington, who has done so much already to illuminate the Irish theater experience both in Ireland and America, to assemble a star-studded cast to contribute these absorbing essays into so stimulating a collection. Irish Theater in America pushes back the frontiers of our understanding of these two fascinating phenomena. --J. J. Lee, author of Ireland 1912-1985: Politics and Society

Author Information

John P. Harrington is dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. He is author of several books including The Irish Beckett and The Life of the Neighborhood Playhouse on Grand Street, also published by Syracuse University Press.

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