To Have or Have Not : Essays on Commerce and Capital in Modernist Theatre

In a rapidly changing world, the ways in which economic forces affect both personal and global change can be difficult to track, particularly in the arts. This collection of twenty new essays explores both obscure and famous plays dealing with economic issues. Beginning with the Industrial Revolution, the text moves from Marx's theories to Wall Street speculation, nineteenth century immigration issues, the excesses of the Gilded Age and the 1920s, the Great Depression, World War II and millennial economic challenges. In A Rapidly Changing World, The Ways In Which Economic Forces Affect Both Personal And Global Change Can Be Difficult To Track, Particularly In The Arts. This Collection Of Twenty New Essays Explores Both Obscure And Famous Plays Dealing With Economic Issues--provided By Publisher. Introduction / James Fisher -- Friedrich Engels, Lewis Henry Morgan, Capitalism, And Theatre-making In Nineteenth-century America / Rosemarie K. Bank -- Money Is Our God Here: The Comedy Of Capital In Edward Bulwer-lytton's Money And Philip Barry's Holiday / James Fisher -- Amateur Economies: Widowhood And Marriage For Amateur Performers / Eileen Curley -- Gold Rush: Mcteague, Frank Norris, And Neal Bell / Robert F. Gross -- Money In Chekhov's Plays / Laurence Senelick -- Jacob Gordin And Jewish Socialism In America / Valleri J. Hohman -- The Music Master And The Money Makers / Felicia Hardison Londre -- Performing Amerikee: Rural Caricature And The George Washingtons Of Percy Mackaye And Jacques Copeau / Mark Evans Bryan -- I Am Your Worker/i Am Your Slave: Dehumanization, Capitalist Fantasy, And Communist Anxiety In Karel Tapek's R.u.r. / Paul Menard -- Home Away From Home: Greed In Marco Millions / Thierry Dubost --^ Babbitting Broadway: Satire, The Gospel Of Success, And Americanization Of Expressionism / James M. Cherry -- A New Approach To Revolution: Artef And Hirsch Leckert In The Third Period / Joshua Polster -- Television's Comin' In, Sure As Death: The Strange Consumer Paradise Of Clifford Odets' Paradise Lost / Christopher J. Herr -- Back-alleys To Basements: Narratives Of Class And (il)legal Abortion On The American Stage / Christine Woodworth -- Peter Weiss's The Investigation: The Marxist View Of The Holocaust / Gene A. Plunka -- Caryl Churchill's Top Girls: Postmodern Complicity And The Economics Of Thatcherism / Daniel Keith Jernigan -- Excessive Greed, Excessive Visions: Brenton And Hare's Brassneck And Pravda / John E. O'connor -- The Absence Of Wealth In Recent British Plays About Business / Amelia Howe Kritzer -- Between Want And Wealth: The Failure Of Upward Mobility In Jose Rivera's Early Plays / J. Chris Westgate --^ Jesus Hopped The 'a' Train And Under America: How Mainstream Reviews Represent The Guilty And Obscure The Cconomics Of The U.s. Prison Industry / Jacob Juntunen. Edited By James Fisher. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Table of Contents......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 Friedrich Engels, Lewis Henry Morgan, Capitalism, and Theatre-Making in Nineteenth-Century America......Page 18 “Money Is Our God Here”......Page 31 Amateur Economies......Page 50 Gold Rush......Page 66 Money in Chekhov’s Plays......Page 84 Jacob Gordin and Jewish Socialism in America......Page 95 The Music Master and the Money Makers......Page 105 Performing “Amerikee”......Page 118 I Am Your Worker/ I Am Your Slave......Page 130 Home Away from Home......Page 140 Babbitting Broadway......Page 152 A New Approach to Revolution......Page 166 “Television’s Comin’ In, Sure as Death”......Page 180 Back-Alleys to Basements......Page 193 Peter Weiss’s The Investigation......Page 204 Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls......Page 219 Excessive Greed, Excessive Visions......Page 234 The Absence of Wealth in Recent British Plays about Business......Page 253 Between Want and Wealth......Page 266 Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train and Under America......Page 288 About the Contributors......Page 304 Index......Page 308