SIGHTS AND SPECTACLES

by Mary McCarthy ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 25, 1956

Her very perspicacious self, Mary McCarthy provides a directed play period for theatre lovers in this collection in tale of her dramatic critiques. The majority of the pieces, written from 1937 to 1955, appeared originally in Partisan Review, a few come from New York Times and London Observer assignments. In her introduction to the book, Miss McCarthy scores herself for the ""cocksure condescending cleverness"" of her critical youth when her pen was in part directed by the heavy Marxist aura that pervaded the intellectual realm. She notes the emerging themes of the plays -- heavy on economics, light on love. Within the critic's orbit come Maxwell Anderson, Thornton Wilder, William Saroyan, Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller, Eugene O'Neill, George Kelly, Tennessee Williams, Shaw, Ibsen, Chekhov. The Thespians who performed in their productions receive a share of the spot light -- the act of Cornell over-riding Chekhov or the actors of Shaw providing a dilemma other than the doctor's are cases in point. On or off Broadway, Miss McCarthy provides a coruscating commentary that is at times corrosive (her counterpoint to Tennessee Williams and Streetcar is perhaps an outstanding and amusing example), often discerning and always entertaining.

Pub Date: May 25, 1956

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Farrar, Straus

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1956

Categories: NONFICTION