David Rabe

David Rabe has been a major voice and crucial force in American drama since 1971 when, in the midst of the Vietnam War, he startled the nation with The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel. The story of a native recruit's initiation into war, it is by turns brutal and hilarious. It won the young playwright an Obie and was hailed by The New York Times as "rich humor, irony, and insight." More than four decades later, Rabe continues to be one of our most...

Drawing on material from Undoing Depression by psychotherapist Richard O'Connor, Good for Otto explores the lives of a therapist and his many patients, all trying to navigate personal trauma. Visiting Edna, which premiered in September 2016 at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, is a drama about the bond between mother and son. As Edna faces a short future plagued by her many illnesses-and a cancer that looms so large it becomes another character-she...

David Rabe explores the struggle between hope and anguish in the human spirit in this story of two small-time jewel thieves united in a strangely unsettling friendship and the constant fight to prove to themselves and others how tough they are. But when their frantic scheming suddenly begins to betray them in mysterious ways, they find themselves trapped into a kidnapping and a murder over which they seem to have no control. Or do they? David Rabe's...

David Rabe is one of America's finest dramatists. In A Question of Mercy, he explores the controversial and emotional issue of euthanasia, delving deep into the ties that bind friends and lovers. Thomas and Anthony are lovers struggling with Anthony's final, exhausting battle with AIDS. Joined by their friend Susanah and a retired doctor, whose help Thomas has requested, they fashion a heartbreaking friendship as they work through the stages of a...

An acclaimed playwright's first work for children...A gentle and thoroughly original animal story. Young Jonathan finds a small, frightened squirrel on the road and brings it home tucked inside his sneaker. But, the squirrel named Mr. Wellington is weak and listless, and fearful of the unfamiliar surroundings. Told from alternating perspectives, Jonathan's and Mr. Wellington's, this beautifully written story, enhanced with pen-and-ink wash illustrations,...

One of today's most gifted and brilliant actresses, Jill Clayburgh, brings her special sensitivity to the role of Barbara Gordon, a successful television documentary producer who became hopelessly dependent on tranquilizers. But this is much more than a story of addiction and withdrawal; it is an examination of the success syndrome that affects the lives of people whose career triumphs are achieved at great personal sacrifice. It is the dramatic and...