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Title
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THE STAGE PLAYS OF NEIL SIMON: THE STRUGGLE FOR PERSONAL POWER AS CONTEMPORARY COMEDY.
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Identifier
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AAI8112758
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identifier
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8112758
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Creator
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KOVACS, GEORGE.
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Contributor
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Vera Mowry Roberts
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Date
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1980
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Theater
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Abstract
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Arguably, drama is conflict. This conflict is manifested in dramatic action as a struggle for power, a struggle for power of all kinds, from Oedipus' struggle for the power to know to Didi and Gogo's struggle for the power to comprehend. Neil Simon's original stage plays express the struggles for personal power (as opposed to political power, military power, etc.) that are most pertinent to contemporary life; the original stage plays of Neil Simon express these various struggles for personal power (i.e., parent/child, mate/mate, friend/friend, self/environment, self/self) as the essence of contemporary comedy. It is from his representations of these conflicts among, between and within individuals that Simon creates laughter and depicts the fundamental concerns of the segment of contemporary society of and for which he writes. Using a comprehensive analysis of the original stage plays of Neil Simon, buttressed by the contributions of some of the foremost comedy theorists, this study examines the original stage plays of Neil Simon as expressions of the struggle for personal power in various manifestations, resulting in the creation of contemporary comedy.;The playwright chooses not to deal with social and political conflicts; he delimits his work strictly to the presentation of personal and interpersonal struggles. The conflicts he does portray may be divided into the following categories, those categories subsuming the following plays (due to the nature of some of the plays, they may be considered under more than one heading): (1) Parent-versus-child: Come Blow Your Horn, the third, final playlet of Plaza Suite, entitled "Visitor from Forest Hills," and God's Favorite; (2) Mate-versus-mate: Barefoot in the Park, the first playlet of Plaza Suite, entitled "Visitor from Mamaroneck," the first three playlets of California Suite, entitled, respectively, "Visitor from New York," "Visitor from Philadelphia," and "Visitors from London," and Chapter Two; (3) Friend-versus-friend: The Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys, The Star-Spangled Girl, the second playlet of Plaza Suite, entitled "Visitor from Hollywood," and the fourth, final playlet of California Suite, entitled "Visitors from Chicago;" (4) Self-versus-fate (environment): Last of the Red Hot Lovers; The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and God's Favorite; (5) Self-versus-self: The Gingerbread Lady, and Chapter Two.;Simon claims that there are no villains in his plays; he says that life is the villain, and his plays reflect this contention. Although his plays are indubitably comedies, they don't always have "happy endings," they treat subjects of serious personal concern to Simon, his characters, and his chosen audience (middle and upper-middle class New Yorkers), and they often use the stuff of potential tragedy as a springboard for comedy.;Simon creates comedy from potential tragedy and serious issues by distancing the audience from his plays; he does this by using a plethora of wisecracks, jokes, and gag structures, by the purposeful trivializing and undercutting of the situations and characters in his plays, and by creating characters who attack their problems without objectivity and humor. The characters in the plays of the foremost comic playwright of our time share a singular lack of a sense of humor, except for their unique ability to make wisecracks at any time, even under the most trying of personal circumstances.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Theatre
