Autobahn: A Short-Play Cycle

My copy arrived fairly quickly and in very good condition.Very well written and evocative, I'd love to see these plays performed.The only thing was, by the time I got to the last play, I found it slightly formulaic.Would highly recommend reading.

I've read all of Labute's plays, and this one is greater than the others in some new and interesting ways. I always read his introduction last, because it usually gives away some of the story. This intro said two really cool things.He introduces the first cool thing by a fellow playwright wanting to "see his play performed in living rooms, in front of audiences of ten or twelve people. I feel the same way. Theater is anywhere you make it. I hope that with this print edition of autobahn actors take the text and memorize it, gather their friends in their own cars, and take off down the road, filling those intimate interiors with my words and their emotions. That would be a pleasure to behold."This is really cool, because as I was reading one of the six acts in the play called "long division," I realized that was a play that I would enjoy memorizing and performing in front of friends. I'm not an actor at all, but this book contains a bunch of one person and two person stories that are short enough for the lay person to memorize. That's what I think is cool about this book, is I could picture high school drama classes using this, and it really is some of the best literature out there.It's also ironic, because all of his books have a warning about needing to arrange a royalty schedule for any public performance of his play.The second cool thing is about how plays encourage the imagination by having very scaled down and limited sets. I saw a local play that had a limited set about a week after reading this intro, and Labute's discussion on this aspect of theater accentuated my experience.About the actual stories...I keep using the word "haunting" to describe his work. It's extremely well written, and the stories just stick with me. I keep thinking of the story where the girl tells her mother "I know I'm gonna do everything within my power to use again." For some reason I can't get that out of my mind, and I think that it's kind of an allegory to a bunch of other things in life. The other one that sticks with me is where the husband tries to convince himself that the wife didn't do it again. "You didn't, did you? No, you didn't. I know you wouldn't do that again. Right? You would not...Honey? Angel?"The rest of the stories are like that...they haunt me because they stick with me.

Fantastic set of one acts. Versatile and riveting. This show could be done as a mainstage or in a blackbox with a large or small budget. I definitely recommend doing multiple stories from it if you're doing something small. Some of Labute's best work in my opinion.

Loved it!

Quick delivery, book was in great shape, would definitely purchase from this person again! Thanks so much!