Best Tragic Dramas & Plays

This is a story of dire happenstances that broke a mind and spirit, created beliefs that twisted innocence, ultimately morphing into a malicious brew that changed the world forever. My aim in writing The Secret Journals of Adolf Hitler was to meet Hitler in person through personal documents that have survived, then deconstruct and reconstruct him via the concept of his life being revealed in journal entries. Written from a detached, personal perspective, I attempt to convey a realistic portrait devoid of condemnation or glory, yet firmly acknowledging the crimes he promulgated. There are truths that will never be known, since the Nazis went to great lengths to cover their tracks, but in the absence of facts, there are plenty of rumors.

Robert Fagles's authoritative and acclaimed translation conveys all of Sophocles's lucidity and power: the cut and thrust of his dialogue, his ironic edge, the surge and majesty of his choruses and, above all, the agonies and triumphs of his characters. Aristotle called "Oedipus The King," the second-written of the three Theban plays written by Sophocles, the masterpiece of the whole of Greek theater.

For years, theater director Bryan Doerries has led an innovative public health project that produces ancient tragedies for current and returned soldiers, addicts, tornado and hurricane survivors, and a wide range of other at-risk people in society. His book interweaves tales from this journey with episodes from Doerries’s own life and moving discussions of the plays he cherishes—his ‘blueprints for felt experience,’ his conduits for connection and compassion… it is through that intensity of focus, Doerries convinces us, that we can find permission to feel our own pain. To see his productions today, or to see Greek tragedy through his eyes, is to become measurably healthier and more human.” —James Romm, The Daily Beast “The route Bryan Doerries describes in his memoir is as unique as the place it landed him. Such insights capture something essential about Greek tragedy: Unlike contemporary theater, these works aspired to serve religious, political, and even therapeutic functions in ancient Greek society. Across a gulf of two and a half millennia, the Greek tragedians can still help us know and cure ourselves.” — Nick Romeo, The Boston Globe “This heart-gripping book is not merely one of the best theater books I’ve read this year; it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. An early tragedy inspired [Bryan Doerries] to found a company dedicated to bringing the ancients—specifically lesser-known Greek plays — to groups experiencing trauma of some kind. He saw from these trials that there is a universal, timeless element to suffering, the psychological dimension of which can be alleviated through drama.” —Blake Seitz, The Weekly Standard “Doerries’ account of his performances with Theater of War is at once an impassioned history lesson, a manual of therapy for the afflicted and a deep analysis of the power of ancient Greek tragedy.” —Arlice Davenport, The Wichita Eagle. This is an admirable book about an admirable project.” —Andrew J. Bacevich, The American Scholar “ The Theater of War is an enthralling, gracefully written, and urgently important examination of the vital, ongoing relationship between past and present, between story and human experience, and between what the ancients had to report about warfare and human values and the desperate moral and psychological struggles that soldiers still undergo today. “Bryan Doerries's The Theater of War is a testament both to the enduring power of the classics and to the vital role art can play in our communal understanding of war and suffering.” —Phil Klay, author of Redeployment, recipient of 2014 National Book Award. Bryan Doerries asks: what lessons will we finally take to heart from these ancients? In this riveting narrative, simply but elegantly told, Doerries movingly resurrects the inner life of a people who lived 2,500 years ago, but whose struggles evoke our own familiar and damaged present, now endowed by this wonderful book with more drama, more tragedy, more compassion, more possibility. Here is the proof at last: our future depends on the gifts of the past.” —Ken Burns. “Bryan Doerries’s ongoing staging of Greek tragedies before U.S. military personnel and others processing trauma is an act of courageous humanism: a tribute to vanished lives and a succor to current soldiers and citizens. His capacious yet intimate book offers a privileged look into not only the psychological costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and other proximate disasters, but also the larger meaning of inhabiting an unpredictable and militarized world.” —Andrew Solomon, author of Far From The Tree “I have always thought of Greek tragedies as the earliest public service announcements. Through his translations and public readings, and now this powerful book, Doerries offers modern audiences access to these ancient PSAs. He has taken his elegantly reasoned thesis – that the main business of tragedy has always been catharsis – and created a theatrical experience that has lifted countless audiences out of isolation and into profound community.” —Garry Trudeau. “This book illuminates how Greek tragedy penetrates to the deepest of levels in us all.

Duke Frederick, younger brother to Duke Senior, has overthrown his brother and forced him to live homeless in the forest with his courtiers, including the cynical Jaques. These include primogeniture, passing property from a father to his oldest son. As You Like It depicts intense conflict between brothers, exposing the human suffering that primogeniture entails. Most of Orlando’s courtship of Rosalind takes place while Rosalind is disguised as a man, “Ganymede.” At her urging, Orlando pretends that Ganymede is his beloved Rosalind. The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.

This book contains some delicious schadenfreude in which I recall such humiliating debacles as breaking my shoulder while trying to impress a guy, coming very close to spending my life in a Guatemalan prison, and having my lacerated ear sewn back on by a deaf guy after losing it in a torrid love affair. “If having a quote from me might make you buy this book, you need to take a long hard look at yourself.”— James Corden “[An] honest, witty debut.”— Cosmopolitan “The comedian and creator of 2 Broke Girls spares no embarrassing details in this richly funny tell-all.”— InStyle “Hilarious.” -- People. Cummings uses borderline-insane life experiences...as a springboard for poignant self-reflection.”— Los Angeles Magazine “Provides an honest viewpoint on what it means to be a successful woman in the business world and the importance of facing insecurities straight on. “A zippy, unabashed narrative confronting personal adversity with an equal mix of humor and sincerity...[ I’m Fine...And Other Lies is] an extremely self-deprecating assault on a laundry list of proclivities, insecurities, and intimate fears many readers will easily relate to...Akin to the inner-critical narrative voice of Amy Schumer, Cummings’ observations expectedly tackle the uncomfortable and the embarrassing...with deflective humor and straight-up honesty, humility, and a keen sense of humanity.”— Kirkus Reviews “All hail the arrival of Whitney Cummings as a truly hilarious, keenly insightful and endlessly entertaining author. Her experiences will resonate deeply with those who battle low self worth and codependency.” – Publishers Weekly , starred review “If celebrity memoirs are high up on her list, this hilarious book set against touching and relatable lessons is just the one.” -- PureWow.

Do you know that the FIRST 9/11 attack actually occurred at Vienna on September 11-12 in 1683 when the Ottoman Empire stood poised at the gateway to Christian Europe with the intention of forcing Islam on the entire continent? After a months-long assault, the Turks were just hours away from bringing down the weakening citadel and imposing jihad. Aleksy, a Tatar raised by a Polish peasant family, holds in his heart the wish to become a Polish winged hussar, a Christian lancer who carries into battle a device attached to his back that holds dozens of eagle feathers. Historical Novels Review "This classic different-worlds love affair provides the human grounding for a larger story replete with well-researched period details about the struggle of 17th-century Europe against the forces of Islam, and Martin is a skilled enough storyteller to keep the whole narrative moving forward briskly to a very satisfying conclusion. He and she exchange words during a chance encounter; her brothers, though, don't take kindly to him, and a fight ensues, leading Aleksy and his family to fear Lord Halicki's wrath. Martin sets the stage so tidily that the plight of Aleksy and Krystyna, who desire to move beyond the social classes that keep them apart, transcends the historical moment. Kirkus Reviews "Amidst class and religious warfare, this alternately romantic and brutal love story is also a reminder that the struggle between Christianity and Islam is a great deal older than 2001. In an ethnically diverse Poland that is now long gone, the main characters struggle with loyalties to family, race, and country as they come to understand that no fear or evil is unchangeable." James Conroyd Martin is the award-winning author of PUSH NOT THE RIVER, a novel based on the diary of a countess in 1790s Poland; AGAINST A CRIMSON SKY, which continues the family saga into the Napoleonic era; and The WARSAW CONSPIRACY, detailing the young Polish cadets' rising against the mighty Russia.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. Praise for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts I and II * “Series fans can breathe easy knowing this play has been respectfully and lovingly wrought.

The playscript for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was originally released as a 'special rehearsal edition' alongside the opening of Jack Thorne's play in London's West End in summer 2016. When Albus hatches a plot to go back in time to save the life of Cedric Diggory—what Albus views as the biggest mistake his father made—time becomes distorted and Harry is left to examine his own life, his relationship with his son, and how love can sometimes be much more complicated than it seems. This is an interesting extension of the "Harry Potter" universe, but readers should go into it knowing that it's its own beast. Rowling didn't write it (much to the fury and vitriol of many fans), and it is in script form, so it loses some of the magic that won over millions of readers back when it all began.

It is a captivating read and filled with powerfully moving stories about men and woman who were saved, delivered, and literally rescued from certain death. Bonnke s God given vision of a blood washed Africa changed his life, and changed the world.

Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages--"since before this was even a show," according to Miranda--traces its development from an improbable perfor­mance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. This glorious, oversize testament to the multiple Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton is a joy to anyone who loves the sound track or who has been lucky enough to score tickets to the show.

Duke Frederick, younger brother to Duke Senior, has overthrown his brother and forced him to live homeless in the forest with his courtiers, including the cynical Jaques. These include primogeniture, passing property from a father to his oldest son. As You Like It depicts intense conflict between brothers, exposing the human suffering that primogeniture entails. Most of Orlando’s courtship of Rosalind takes place while Rosalind is disguised as a man, “Ganymede.” At her urging, Orlando pretends that Ganymede is his beloved Rosalind. The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.