Man and Superman

Subtitled ‘‘A Comedy and a Philosophy,’’ George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman is a comedy of ideas: its characters discuss ideas such as capitalism, social reform, male and female roles in courtship, and other existential topics in long speeches that resemble arias in an opera. The play’s verbosity makes it unwieldy to produce full scale, so the Epistle in the beginning and the Revolutionist’s Handbook at the end are usually not performed, and the scene in Hell, although containing the bulk of the play’s philosophical musings, is often dropped. (from eNotes)

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The Bear

Although The Bear is one of Anton Chekhov’s lesser-known plays, this “Farce in One-Act,” as it is subtitled, is an excellent representative of its genre. Dedicating the play to N. N. Solovtsov, Chekhov is said to have been inspired by his friend’s boorish performance in a French vaudeville. Indeed, with its fast-paced, biting dialogue alluding to popular song lyrics, accidentally broken furniture, and exaggerated emotions that quickly turn into their opposite, this three-character drama resembles an act from a vaudeville. (From eNotes)

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Ghosts

Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts surprises modern audiences with some of the issues that it discusses, including out-of-wedlock children, venereal disease, incest, infidelity, and euthanasia. It is the story of a woman, Mrs. Alving, who is preparing for the opening of an orphanage in memory of her husband, Captain Alving, on the tenth anniversary of his death. The captain was an important and respected man in his community, and Mrs. Alving plans to raise this one great memorial to him so that she will not have to ever again speak of him. She wants to avoid the awful truth: that he was a cheating, immoral philanderer whose public reputation was a sham. Their son Oswald has come home from Paris with the news that he is dying of syphilis, which he contracted in the womb, and planning to marry the family’s maid. He hopes that she can nurse him as his illness progresses, and Mrs. Alving has to tell him that the maid is actually Captain Alving’s illegitimate daughter. (From eNotes)

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Julius Caesar

In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius plot to assassinate Rome’s most famous emperor, Julius Caesar. After they accomplish this in perhaps the most famous death scene ever written — “Et tu, Bruté?” — Antony and Octavius pursue the conspirators across Italy, climaxing in one final, epic battle. Julius Caesar is Shakespeare’s fascinating tale of political intrigue, betrayal, and vengeance — set against the rich tapestry of ancient Rome. (From Cliff’s Notes)

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Two American mice become lost in the winding streets of Prague where they make the acquaintance of an old Czech robot. The mice are desperate to find their way back to the main road so they can eat at their favorite chain restaurant – the robot desperate for someone to put it out of its misery. (1 man, 1 woman, 1 robot and 1 voice)

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