Books in Brief

1971 BOOK REVIEWS 125 BOOKS IN BRIEF DAVID HOLDEN BLACK IMAGE ON THE AMERICAN STAGE: A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PLAYS AND MUSICALS, 1770-1970, by James V. Hatch. New York: Drama Book Specialists, 1970. 162 pp. This book lists plays (including musicals, revues, operas, and dance dramas but not Ininstrel shows) that were written or produced in America between 1767 and 1970 and that 1) contain at least one Black character, 2) were written by a Black playwright, or 3) present a Black theme. The main entries are grouped chronologically by decades with the plays in alphabetical order by author within each decade. Entries include such information as the publisher of the play if it has been published, production and publication dates, and what library owns a copy of the book or manuscript. A Title Index and an Author Index are provided. The arrangement of entries by decades, though no doubt useful in roughly placing the play in the history of the American theater, does create awkwardness and confusion , especially since there are no headings at the top of the page to indicate which decade the reader is in. Hatch does not claim to be exhaustive nor even to have first-hand knowledge of all the plays listed. WE, THE LIVING THEATRE, ed. Aldo Rostagno with Julian Beck and Judith Malina. New York: Ballantine Books, 1970. 240 pp. $1.95. Photographs by Gianfranco Mantegna of the Living Theatre's European "voluntary exile" and their 1968·69 tour of the United States. The book includes a discussion by the Becks of "Theatre as Revolution," a description of their productions , and a selection of American reviews. THE LIVING THEATRE/USA, by Renfreu Neff. Indianapolis and New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1970. 254 pp. $7.50. Renfreu Neff, an "inside-outsider" who traveled with the Becks on their American tour, attempts to provide an account not only of the Living Theatre's productions , but also of the company's basic weaknesses and their virtual disintegration in the face of opposition from violent dissenters. THE MARCEL MARCEAU ALPHABET BOOK, by George Mendoza, photographed by Milton H. Greene. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1970. 59 pp. $5.95. Marceau, as his famous mime character Bip, illustrates the alphabet from A for "awakening" to Z for "zzzz snoozing." Between these two drowsy moments, Marceau creates a series of fascinating poses, pausing only at R, which is for "resting." "Marcel Marceau is a sea of faces ... his body bends an alphabet of spaces .••" LYNN RIGGS: SOUTHWEST PLAYWRIGHT, by Thomas A. Erhard. Austin, Texas: Steck-Vaughn, 1970. (Southwest Writers Series, No. 29.) 44 pp. A survey of the life and works of Lynn Riggs whose best play, Green Grow the Lilacs, provided the basis for Oklahoma! HAROLD PINTER: THE POETICS OF SILENCE, by James R. Hollis. Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, 1970. 143 pp. $4.95. Hollis' book is intended to introduce Pinter to American readers and to "educe 126 MODERN DRAMA May the linguistic and metaphoric patterns of the major plays." Considerable space is devoted to plot summaries and to summaries of various interpretations. Hollis' own rather superficial analyses emphasize the characters' inability to express themselves rather than their power to threaten and intimidate. FOUR FARCES, by Georges Feydeau, translated and with an introduction by Norman R. Shapiro. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. liv+346 pp. $12.00. Shapiro has translated four plays-"Wooed and Viewed" (Par la fenetre), "On the Marry-Go-Wrong" (Le Mariage de Barillon), "Not by Bed Alone" (Un Fil a la patte), and "Going to Pot" (On purge Bebe)-representing the principal stages of Feydeau's career. The introduction, which analyzes the development of the playwright, sees in the "mad, illogical antics" and cruelty of Feydeau's characters an affinity to the drama of the absurd. ...