Winners of Tonys, Pulitzer Prizes: Four Contemporary Plays of Note

People may have some misconceptions about contemporary plays: they're all existential, esoteric, or some other 'e' word that isn't "entertaining." Some people may also feel you can't get access to contemporary plays because they don't live near New York or can't fork over the sixty or seventy-five bucks to pay for the ticket. Others may not even know what plays are out there these days, as contemporary media doesn't publicize them the way they do movies and television. I have recently undertaken the challenge of reading some of today's most lauded plays, thanks to the wonders of public library exchange networking, and I'm happy to say each of them has been in one way or another a good experience. I might even want to see some of them live. If you, too, haven't been up on contemporary theatre but would like to know more, I recommend four plays to get you started.

Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog. This play focuses on two brothers - Lincoln and Booth. Yeah, I know, sound the symbolism alert. One brother is trying to make a life for himself with a legit (if bizarre) job. The other is a wannabe-be ace at "topdog/underdog" (that con-game people run on street corners; you know, with the fast shuffling of three cards and "where's the queen, where's the queen?"). This is a profession where his older brother previously succeeded. The story follows them over a very brief time wherein fights about family secrets, rivalries, women, money, and even race (the two men are African American) collide with heir loyalty and love for one another. As the story progresses and character is increasingly revealed, everything ends with a conclusion that won't disappoint. Parks, currently behind the nationwide "365 plays/365 days" project, writes in a distinct style, giving great attention to character voice, symbolic details, and story. While the vernacular and stylized dialogue may take extra effort to read, I didn't find it off-putting at all and the story and characters were very easy to follow and embrace. The play ran on Broadway with Mos Def and Don Cheadle. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2002.

Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman. When I read a review of Irish playwright McDonagh's 2005 play, I was instructed it was not for the faint-hearted. When I read it, I learned why. The play tells the story of the arrest and interrogation of Katurian, a writer of graphically (some would say horrifically) violent fairy tales featuring children- an arrest after those stories are copycatted in "real life". The story takes place in some unnamed fictional country where there's not a big emphasis on due process. It fluctuates between the "good cop/bad cop" interrogation of Katurian, Katurian's conversations with his mentally handicapped brother - who is accused of committing the crimes, and re-enactments of Katurian's gruesome fairytales. The Pillowman is a tense whodunit combining both dark humor and dark drama and blurring the lines between the story within the story and the actual story. It was Tony-nominated in 2005. Billy Crudup played Katurian. Jeff Goldblum co-starred as the so-called 'good cop.'

John Patrick Shanley's Doubt: A Parable. This play centers around a nun in the 1960s, but relates very much to contemporary issues. The nun, Sister Aloysius, has a suspicion that the priest attached to the school she runs is a child molester. She has suspicions, but is she right? The priest of course defends himself, creating, dare we say it: doubt. Read the play and see how it all turns out. Cherry Jones as Sister Aloysius and Adriane Lenox as the mother of a boy who may have been molested both won Tony's for their performances. Shanley won the Pulitzer Prize. His play starts off with his commentary on the state and need of doubt in today's society. I didn't really get it. But that didn't effect my reading of the play

David Auburn's Proof. I haven't seen the Gwyneth Paltrow-Anthony Hopkins film based on this play, but I can recommend reading the play. I won't say you will end up loving or even liking any of the characters, but you will likely be interested in how they work out their conflicts. Catherine, the main character, is still reeling from the death of her father, a math genius who suffered debilitating mental illness in the last years of his life. Her sister fears Catherine is also becoming mentally ill. A student of her father's, Hal, falls for her, but also questions whether she has the math aptitude she claims to. And Catherine, herself, must cope with her fears that she may have inherited her father's genius, but also his disease. Is she brilliant or crazy or both? Read the play and find out. Auburn won a Pulitzer Prize for the play in 2001. Mary Louise Parker starred in the original Broadway version.