Sakina's Restaurant by Aasif Mandvi

Sakina's Restaurant by Aasif Mandvi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was interesting and entertaining but I don't think it completely succeeded in being touching and funny like it was aiming to be.

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She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith

She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The central problem in this play is that Mr. Marlow believes himself to be too modest to speak to women of a high class. He states his trouble in this way, “[a]n impudent fellow may counterfeit modesty, but I’ll be hanged if a modest man can ever counterfeit impudence.” But we soon learn that he's a complete douchebag. But I think that's the point. Hilarity ensues! And it's actually pretty funny.

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Mala by Melinda Lopez

Mala by Melinda Lopez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is so unbelievably good. This is the (Cuban-American) Boomer/ Gen X Death of Ivan Ilyich. Also if you want an approximation of many of the things (but definitely not all) I personally experienced with my dad's and my mother's deaths this is eerily close. My parents were very young though, my dad was 61 and my mom was late 50s. They very much did not want to die and were very scared. Both fought to the end, though my mother did agree to hospice in what turned out to be her last month. She didn't call me "mala" but it was strongly implied any time I tried to restrict any of her choices which I avoided a great deal.

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The Respectful Prostitute by Jean-Paul Sartre

The Respectful Prostitute by Jean-Paul Sartre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Such an upsetting and accurate depiction of America.

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No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre

No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very dark and funny. Full of great lines exploring the simple tortures of everyday life.

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A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The actual plot in the story is a little overwrought, but I like the characters, their experiences, and Nora's moment of realization.

I'm also impressed with such early feminist perspectives.

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Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen

Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lots of amazing lines, especially, "It is the very mark of the spirit of rebellion to crave for happiness in this life." But it leaves everything a depressing mess... just like real life I guess.

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The Diary of a Hounslow Girl by Ambreen Razia

The Diary of a Hounslow Girl by Ambreen Razia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This story is full of high drama told in a British slang dialect. It feels messy and it's a lot to wade through.

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Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov

Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautiful writing, wonderfully sulky, surprisingly environmental.

A group of people are staying at a country estate together: there is an older country doctor Mikhail Lvovich Astrov (the main character as far as I could tell), a professor and his younger beautiful wife Yelena, the professor's plain daughter from his first marriage Sonya (who keeps up the estate) and her mother's brother Uncle Vanya, and his mother Maria. Everyone is in love with the wrong person, and everyone is extremely depressed. Enjoy!

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An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Unless I'm missing something deeper, it appears to just be about the ugliness of politics. The locals don't seem to understand the science of the local baths making people sick and they are so involved in their own power struggles that they don't care. We see this frequently in American politics. I still didn't connect to this play that well. Perhaps it was my particular translation that made the language or scenes seem somewhat awkward, but I didn't enjoy it.

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Camille: A Play in Five Acts by Alexandre Dumas fils

Camille: A Play in Five Acts by Alexandre Dumas fils
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lots of wonderful lines but the premise feels a little forced. The beginning starts off like a comedy. My favorite line at the beginning is, "My dear friend if I were to listen to all the people who are in love with me, I'd have no time for dinner!"

But then the play devolves into tragedy tragedy tragedy. Even so, it never fully gains a sense of realism.

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The Imaginary Illness by Molière

Le Malade Imaginaire by Molière
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A light-hearted comedy about hypochondria but the author’s disrespect for and distrust of doctors is really outdated.

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Medea by Euripides

Medea by Euripides
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So many amazing lines!

“Better a humble heart, a lowly life. Untouched by greatness let me live - and live. Not too little, not too much: there safety lies.”

“For of mortals, there is no one who is happy. If wealth flows in upon one, one may be perhaps Luckier than one’s neighbor, but still not happy.”

“And I do not fear to say that those who are held Wise among men and who search the reasons of things Are those who bring the most sorrow on themselves.”

And though this quote remains mostly true, I wonder how much Judaism and Christianity changed the balance of this:
“It's human; we all put self-interest first.”


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Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an easy fun Shakespeare play about love. There are two love stories, but I enjoyed the more comical one of Beatrice and Benedick the most. It's not terribly feminist, and I'm left feeling a bit cold for Claudio, who, in addition to jealousy and trust issues, doesn't seem to mind a replacement bride quite as much as he should.

"In brief, since I do
purpose to marry, I will think nothing to any
purpose that the world can say against it; and
therefore never flout at me for what I have said
against it; for man is a giddy thing, and this is my
conclusion." - Benedick

With Jaime at Much Ado at Shakespeare in the Park, Boston 2004

Much Ado at Shakespeare in the Park, Boston 2004

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Richard II by William Shakespeare

Richard II by William Shakespeare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found this one to be the most straightforward of Shakespeare's War of Roses plays that I've read so far. ( I previously read the three parts of Henry VI.) It was much easier to follow the action, though it was not the most interesting play. The entire scene with Duke York trying to turn his own son Aumerle in seemed a bit unlikely.

"GAUNT:
O! but they say the tongues of dying men
Enforce attention like deep harmony:
Where words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain,
For they breathe truth that breathe their words in pain.
He that no more must say is listen’d more
Than they whom youth and ease have taught to glose;
More are men’s ends mark’d than their lives before:
The setting sun, and music at the close,
As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last,
Writ in remembrance more than things long past:
Though Richard my life’s counsel would not hear,
My death’s sad tale may yet undeaf his ear.”

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Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw

Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Love all the feminism in this book, and it was funny and charming. Mostly it was little pointless and pretty harsh on marriage. It's easy to dismiss marriage if you've never had a good one.

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The Oresteia by Aeschylus

The Oresteia by Aeschylus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I recently reread this 20 years after my first reading in a college class, the details of which I cannot remember. I think we were studying the religion of mythology and their conception of justice? I don't remember what I thought the first time but on this reading at least, I am not impressed with that justice.

Part 1 "Agamemnon" is about Clytaemnestra murdering Agamemnon. I have a lot of sympathy for Clytaemnestra. Agamemnon killed their daughter Iphigenia. This is basically the most unforgivable crime I can imagine, but he's not in the least worried.

Clytaemnestra also killed Cassandra, which is maybe a little harsh, but Cassandra didn't seem especially worried about shacking up with a man who murdered his own daughter so maybe she has it coming a little bit too. Reading a more generalized Greek mythology in high school I loved the character of Cassandra, but Aeschylus doesn't really have a lot of patience for her, and that's fine.

Part 2 "The Libation Bearers" is about Orestes killing his mother Clytaemnestra to avenge his father's murder. This one is really intense, even compared to the first part.

Orestes kills his mother even after she begs him not to. Heartless. His motives are a bit dubious. Does he not know his father killed his sister Iphigenia? Is he actually just mad his mother sent him to live outside of the castle? Is he just a super religious opportunist who has to follow the Oracle or risk life-failure? Maybe all of these things.

Part 3 "Eumenides" is about Orestes's trial and is a travesty of justice.Orestes was either equally or *more* wrong in killing his mother Clytaemnestra than she was in killing her husband Agamemnon, Orestes's father.

The Gods spew total sexist nonsense that the child doesn't share the mother's blood. It's a ridiculous set-up having Athena, who didn't have a mother, judge the trial. The jury is obviously all male. Not to mention the irony that Agamemnon was such a bad father that he killed his own daughter, but he's considered the rightful parent.

My star math: 5 stars for part 1 and part 2, 2 stars for part 3. 12/3= 4 stars.

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All My Sons by Arthur Miller

All My Sons by Arthur Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Woah, super intense and very powerful denunciation of greed. Basically an essay on our responsibility for each other in this world. It was extremely dramatic, as in, very sensational.

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Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw

Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Talk about unreliable narrators! The characters' intentions are a muddle, and this is surely done intentionally. The debate about good versus evil and Christianity versus capitalism is crystal clear and deeply depressing. Nothing changes in history.

Andrew Undershaft is pretty explicitly an antichrist figure. The Jesus of the Bible is clear about morality vis-à-vis poverty and wealth. I think Barbara represents most people- knowing it's all wrong but drawn to the allure of it nonetheless. Not to mention that while Undershaft could make his arguments with wealth from any industry and be more convincing, Shaw makes his industry the weapons industry, the business of which is literally to kill as many humans as possible. This makes Undershaft's arguments almost impossible to accept. I think Shaw made that choice on purpose.

I don't really see the play as anti-Christian just because Andrew Undershaft appears to prevail. I thought of it as having characters presenting two views. The expression for presenting an argument you don't necessarily agree with is "Devil's Advocate" for a reason... there are always great arguments against goodness or God, not that those are always the same thing in a debate.

I guess between Andrew's argument, and Shaw's little sticky points- I'm not persuaded by Andrew. The little sticky points being: Andrew makes the tools of war, Andrew doesn't pretend to care about charity at the beginning but then later uses it to win Barbara to his side, Barbara seems moved to Andrew's side more by greed than a continued desire to do good (though I'm not completely certain here), and Cusin's general spinelessness. And at the end, we're uncertain if Barbara has lost her soul or not.

It might just be a spoof on both sides and on society in general. Perhaps Shaw's view is: You can live in wretched poverty or destroy everything with civilization. Pick your poison.

Definitely the kind of play that's worth rereading for me. Lots to think about.

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Candida by George Bernard Shaw

Candida by George Bernard Shaw
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very original play. Looks into the inner workings of a marriage through a strange love triangle (a bit of a love square even).

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