Synopses & Reviews
No dramatist in the recent history of the American theatre has gained more celebrity than Sam Shepard. Exploring a career that includes fifty stage and screen plays, four books of nondramatic writings, and over a dozen appearances in feature films, this work traces Shepard's rise from an Off-Off-Broadway renegade to a Hollywood leading man, and explores his evolution from counterculture to cultural icon. The study situates Shepard's career within the shifting production modes and economic contexts of the American entertainment industry, and views his popularity against the identity politics of postwar American culture. Through an analysis of his life, plays and screen roles, this book investigates how Shepard's dramatic voice and film persona address issues of American consensus and community. The study argues that Shepard's popularity--in an era of cultural diversification and dissent--owes much to nationalism and nostalgia and begs important questions concerning American myths, media representations, and the construction of an American audience.
Review
Wade presents Shephard's career carefully and considers it in connection with the political, artistic, and social events of the period from the sixties to the 1990s. The author thus provides a good pictures of the development of Off- and Off-Off-broadway theater, the work of such artists as Schechner and Chaikin, the development of new forms of funding for the arts, and the decline of Broadway theater.... Like the other titles in the series, this volume contributes to the fuller understanding of the theater of past and present. All academic collectionsChoice
Review
Undergraduates with no knowledge of Shepard, his plays, or the culture of the Unted States from the sixties through much of the nineties will find the narrative extremely easy to follow. The notes listed at the end of each chapter are quite thorough and will lead students to most of the major studies of Shepard's work to date. The Chronology, Further Reading list, and the Index all provide easy access to discussions of individual plays, significant moments in Shepard's life and the major historical events and trends that inform the plays....Wade's book will be useful in introductory college courses.Modern Drama
Synopsis
Explores the rise of playwright Sam Shepard from and Off-Off Broadway renegade to a Hollywood leading man. It views Shepard's work and persona against the identity politics of postwar American culture and the production modes of the American entertainment industry.
About the Author
LESLIE A. WADE is Associate Professor of Theatre at Louisiana State University.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Josh Beer and Christopher Innes
Introduction: Sam Shepard and the Narration of Nation
Shepard and the Counterculture Challenge
Shepard and the Culture Industry
A Yankee at the Royal Court
The Return of the Native
Playwright, Patriot, and Prophet
Shepard and Reagan's America
Shepard Screened
The End of the Trail?
Chronology of Shepard's Life and Times
For Further Reading
Index