|
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) | 
 enlarge | Author: Ann-marie Macdonald
Publisher: Grove Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $2.95
You Save: $11.05 (79%)
New (28) Used (23) from $2.95
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 65035
Media: Paperback
Pages: 88
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.4
ISBN: 0802135773
Dewey Decimal Number: 812.54
EAN: 9780802135773
ASIN: 0802135773
Publication Date: September 8, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In this exuberant comedy and original revision of Shakespeare's Othello and Romeo and Juliet -- Constance Ledbelly, a drab and dusty academic, deciphers a cryptic manuscript she believes to be the original source for the tragedies, and is transported into the plays themselves. She visits Juliet and Desdemona, has a hand in saving them, and finds out what these women are about. In true Shakespearean spirit, Constance plunders the plays and creates something new, all the while engaging in a personal voyage of self-discovery. With an abundance of twists, fights, dances, seductions, and wild surprises, the play is an absolute joy of theatricality.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
This book is 100% pure genius! August 20, 1999
Karen (San Francisco, CA)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
From all the non-musical plays I've heard, seen, or read, this play is the most inventive, most creative, most hilarious play I've ever read. Macdonald's unexpected twists and turns of Shakespeare's OTHELLO and ROMEO AND JULIET made me howl with laughter almost all the way through. Act I is a bit bland, but understanding that Macdonald wanted to set the whole story as to what would come ahead. But when Acts II and III come along, you'll howl with laughter when you see lots of sex jokes, cross dressing, and straight madness. I would compare it to Japanese anime's RANMA 1/2, to anyone who is familiar with it. I don't want to spoil the story, so I won't type a synopsis, but I will tell you, don't pass this play up because you won't know what you're missing!
ABSOLUTELY PEE-YOUR-PANTS FUNNY October 26, 2001
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
"Goodnight, Desdemona (Good Morning, Juliet)" is the funniest play I have ever read or seen. I am currently playing Constance in a high school production of the play, and the more we go along, the more we discover about the play. Upon first reading, it is an absolutely hilarious twist of Shakespeare's "Othello" and "Romeo and Juliet." But reading it a second, and even a third time will reveal subtle innuendos and wordings (warning: LOTS of sexual innuendos in this play!) that contain so much wit and humour that your respect for Anne-Marie MacDonald will grow with every scene. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. If you can familiarize yourself with the plots of both "Othello" and "Romeo and Juliet" before reading or seeing the play, then your enjoyment will increase, because you will have a basic understanding of how the characters have been re-interpreted. OH MY GOODNESS -- READ THIS PLAY!
THE MASSACRE OF SHAKESPERE DONE RIGHT May 2, 2004
Sarah (Vancouver, B.C.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Just finished a production of this at our school - absolutely halarious. Very, very much recommended for high school theater. Absolutely great
 Not Just High School Theater January 7, 2005
D. J. Cole (Morgantown, WV)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Two reviewers from HS drama clubs, and one comparison to Japanese anime. Don't let that mislead you into thinking this is some lightweight juvenile fluff. It is more in the line of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. As someone who has loved reading and watching Shakespeare's plays for over 35 years, I am delighted to see Ann-Marie MacDonald not only play with Shakespeare but do it intelligently. Amidst the linguistic and theatric whimsey there are some true and serious observations and the best explanation yet of why some characters in Shakespeare's tragedys are such idiots. Who says learning can't be great fun?
A Fantastic Read! March 19, 2007
J. Frost (Australia)
I love this play! I would love to have my students perform it, but alas there are one or two pages that are a little too suggestive for the innocents in our cohort.
I actually enjoyed this play more than I enjoyed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. It is witty and clever with just enough tongue-in-cheek.
|
|
|
|
| |
