Recently, while sitting in my Drama Literature class, I began to consider how so many of the plays considered to be landmark were not written by Americans originally. Denmark, England, France... all are countries who have given us fantastic theatrical works. However, I decided to post this thread, so that we as a collective whole could banter back and forth, and create a list of the 20 greatest plays written in American theatre. If you want to post your own lists, that's fine... but more than anything, I'd like to come to a near-unanimous decision concerning what are thought to be the Greats.

Below is my first draft of the list:

01. "Our Town," by Thornton Wilder
02. "The Glass Menagerie," by Tennessee Williams
03. "Long Day's Journey Into Night," by Eugene O'Neill
04. "Death of a Salesman," by Arthur Miller
05. "A Streetcar Named Desire," by Tennessee Wiliams
06. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" by Edward Albee
07. "Glengarry Glen Ross," by David Mamet
08. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," by Tennessee Williams
09. "Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches," by Tony Kushner
10. "Buried Child," by Sam Shepard
11. "Iceman Cometh," by Eugene O'Neill
12. "A Delicate Balance," by Edward Albee
13. "M. Butterfly," by David Henry Hwang
14. "A Raisin in the Sun," by Lorraine Hansberry
15. "Fences," by August Wilson
16. "Brighton Beach Memoirs," by Neil Simon
17. "Waiting for Lefty" by Clifford Odets
18. "Picnic" by William Inge
19. "August: Osage County," by Tracy Letts
20. "'Night Mother," by Marsha Norman

In the wings: "Love, Valor, Compassion," by Terrence McNally; "12 Angry Men" by Reginald Rose; "Doubt" by Patrick Shanley; "Human Comedy" by William Saroyan

Let me know what you think. Did I put in something undeserving? Did I miss a crucial one? Did I place a play too high, too low?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dr. McPhearson,

Do you have these ranked in order so that #1 is what you consider the greatest? If so, I would personally rank "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches" much higher than 10. I would also add "Angels in America: Perestroika" to the list, as well as "Doubt" by John Patrick Shanley and "Love, Valor, Compassion" by Terrence McNally. Just initial thoughts off the top of my head. I'm sure more will come to mind as I cogitate.

Yes, #1 would be considered the Greatest in this case.

For me, the top six are pretty solid. Each one of those is loved and adored by a multitude of audiences and critics alike. However, past that, I don't know where to go. Plays like "'Night Mother" and "Miracle Worker" I'm not so sure about. I would actually probably take them off the list before "August," despite it being ranked lower than them.

"You Can't Take it With You" is somewhat dated, and does not necessarily have the universal feel that "Menagerie" and "Our Town" have been able to sustain over the years. I may fix this list up so that the undisputed rankings can hold firm, and those still open for discussion can be moved around.

Other than titles you would recommend adding, what rankings on this list do you disagree with? Should "Streetcar" top "Raisin?" Should "A Delicate Balance" be in "Virginia Woolf's" spot? Let me know what you think.

That's a pretty good list. Although The Glass Menagerie would rank number one for me.

Conspicuously absent from this list: a play by Clifford Odets, one of the American greats - probably "Waiting for Lefty", and something by Horton Foote, from his Orphans Home Cycle.

Lillian Hellman is also one of the most popular American playwrights of the 20th century - though I'm not sure she ever wrote a play that belongs in the Top 20 - if any, "The Little Foxes".

"A Raisin in the Sun" is definitely not the 5th best American play ever written. It's culturally iconic and a solid play but not a great one. "Streetcar" and "Virginia Woolf" surpass it by light years. Belongs closer to the bottom than the top of this list.

I think "Angels in America" is one of the more overpraised plays of the late 20th Century. Tony Kushner is a very intelligent writer, but I think more of him as a theorist than as a playwright.

For my money, "August: Osage County" is a much better play, probably - Albee aside - the best play on this list by a living playwright. Once it has some time to age it will creep its way up the list. While profoundly American, it is just beginning to prove its global relevance in productions around the world.

'12 Angry Men' written by Reginald Rose ??

quote:

Originally posted by dannyboy:
'12 Angry Men' written by Reginald Rose ??

If you'll notice, I actually mentioned that one on the bottom of my initial post. It is an iconic play, but I wasn't sure if anybody considers it a "great" one.

"Raisin" is one that I was worried about. Some applaud it as brilliant, while others push it aside as high school-level reading material. I think I will push it down and the others up.

I also agree about "August." The only reason it isn't higher on the list is because it is the most current on the list. I think in a decade, it will be considered even more of an American classic. It is, for me, the first great American play of the 21st century.

I'd have John Steinbeck somewhere on this list, at the very least for Of Mice and Men.

quote:

Originally posted by babypook:
I'd have John Steinbeck somewhere on this list, at the very least for Of Mice and Men.

I was actually attempting to stay away from adaptations. That's the only reason he isn't on the list.

Am surprised that William Saroyan (HUMAN COMEDY, TIME OF YOUR LIFE) and William Inge (PICNIC, BUS STOP) not included.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Vinny,

William Inge - yes, important. Though I don't think his plays have aged all that well, he's still widely performed and studied.

quote:

Originally posted by Vinny:
Am surprised that William Saroyan (HUMAN COMEDY, TIME OF YOUR LIFE) and William Inge (PICNIC, BUS STOP) not included.

I just knew I was forgetting someone big, and sure enough, William Inge is a man I have unjustly left off.

However, folks, when throwing out names of playwrights and plays, remember that I also need help knowing which plays to remove from the list. If I were to replace "Doubt" with "Picnic" for example, I know that I would have people saying that something like "Night Mother" should have been taken off instead.

So please. Help me not only add to the list, but subtract from it as well.

Thanks.

Also, while "Virginia Woolf" is definitely going to be Albee's higher-ranked piece of work, should "A Delicate Balance" be the second of his that appears on the list? Should I perhaps put "The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?" in its place? I was tempted to put "Zoo Story" in, but it is for me his most dated play.

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. McPhearson:

quote:

Originally posted by babypook:
I'd have John Steinbeck somewhere on this list, at the very least for Of Mice and Men.

I was actually attempting to stay away from adaptations. That's the only reason he isn't on the list.

Would 12 Angry Men qualify, then? It was a television production and a film before it was an actual play.

This is just me, but I'd have a cut off year of 2000. It's too soon to know if something from only a few years ago will stand the test of time. I'm skeptical "Doubt" will prove in the future to be among the top 20 greatest American play ever written, much less that it belongs there now.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: stevie,

Also: I'd rank "Mourning Becomes Electra" above any other O'Neill, but again that's just me.

Another also: There are a good half dozen Neil Simon plays better than "Brighton Beach Memoirs", including the two sequels. And I don't think any of them belong in a list of 20 greatest American plays. But if a Simon play must be included, I'd put "Broadway Bound" or "Lost in Yonkers".

This message has been edited. Last edited by: stevie,

To me, M BUTTERFLY is rather over-rated and can be dispensed with.

quote:

Originally posted by stevie:
Also: I'd rank "Mourning Becomes Electra" above any other O'Neill, but again that's just me.

And I don't think any of them belong in a list of 20 greatest American plays. But if a Simon play must be included, I'd put "Broadway Bound" or "Lost in Yonkers".

Quote: Another also: There are a good half dozen Neil Simon plays better than "Brighton Beach Memoirs", including the two sequels.


I agree with this statement.

Others that are worthy of this list, You Cant Take it With You, and perhaps The Crucible. Also I'd love to see a place for Little Shop of Horrors.

But I'm sorry Doc. I'm not sure if these would qualify or not.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: babypook,

A list by committee won't work, and probably shouldn't...it's objective but it's also personal. For what it's worth, here's my take. I think the suggestion to cut off the list at 2000 is a good one, and so I have made a separate list of the ten best plays of the last ten years.

20th Century
1. Long Day's Journey Into Night (O'Neill)
2. Death of a Salesman (Miller)
3. A Streetcar Named Desire (Williams)
4. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Albee)
5. The Glass Menagerie (Williams)
6. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Williams)
7. Our Town (Wilder)
8. The Iceman Cometh (O'Neill)
9. A Delicate Balance (Albee)
10. Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Wilson)
11. A Moon for the Misbegotten (O'Neill)
12. The Zoo Story (Albee)
13. You Can't Take It With You (Kaufman and Hart)
14. Buried Child (Shepard)
15. Waiting for Lefty (Odets)
16. Bus Stop (Inge)
17. The Night of the Iguana (Williams)
18. Lost in Yonkers (Simon)
19. A Raisin in the Sun (Hansberry)
20. The Trip to Bountiful (Foote)

(Yes, Mamet is absent, and not because I forgot about him.)

10 Best Since 2000 (worldwide):
1. August: Osage County, by Tracy Letts
2. Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley
3. The History Boys, by Alan Bennett
4. The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, by Edward Albee
5. Ruined, by Lynn Nottage
6. Blackbird, by David Harrower
7. Frozen, by Bryony Lavery
8. The Clean House, by Sarah Ruhl
9. The Pillowman, by Martin McDonagh
10. Shining City, by Conor McPherson

This message has been edited. Last edited by: R2684,