{"product_id":"understanding-marsha-norman-9781643360027","title":"Understanding Marsha Norman","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBest known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning play \u003ci\u003e'night, Mother\u003c\/i\u003e and her acclaimed adaptations of \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Garden\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Color Purple\u003c\/i\u003e for musical theater, Marsha Norman has produced an impressive oeuvre that includes not only works for the stage but also a novel and several television screenplays. The first book on the Louisville-born writer in twenty years, \u003ci\u003eUnderstanding Marsha Norman\u003c\/i\u003e introduces readers to her life and work while making a persuasive case for her preeminence among America's leading dramatic artists.  \u003cp\u003eFollowing a biographical introduction, the book examines such early plays as \u003ci\u003eGetting Out, Third and Oak\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eCircus Valentine\u003c\/i\u003e, which, according to the playwright herself, taught her the skills she needed to write her more successful works--most notably the much-lauded two-character drama \u003ci\u003e'night,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eMother, which centers around an apparently rational young woman's choice to commit suicide. Subsequent chapters examine Norman's underrated novel The Fortune Teller\u003c\/i\u003e and three mid-career plays that rewrite the traditions of the Western, the biblical story of Sarah and Abraham, and the legend of Daniel Boone. Her more recent plays, including\u003ci\u003e Trudy Blue, 140\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Last Dance\u003c\/i\u003e, acknowledge the limitations of romantic relationships, while her forays into musical theater and television, including scripts for such programs as \u003ci\u003eLaw and Order: Criminal Intent\u003c\/i\u003e and the Peabody-winning HBO Series \u003ci\u003eIn Treatment\u003c\/i\u003e, signal a dramatist who is ever willing to take risks and venture into new genres.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt her best when writing about interesting and troubled women and their relationships with each other, Norman has received much less critical attention than male contemporaries such as Sam Shepard and David Mamet. This engaging and edifying book helps rectify that disparity.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of South Carolina Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53189256708439,"sku":"9781643360027","price":26.96,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/understanding-marsha-norman-9781643360027","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}