{"product_id":"the-kleist-variations-eric-bentley-9780810121157","title":"The Kleist Variations: Three Plays","description":"\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of 2006 International Association of Theatre Critics Thalia Prize \u003cbr\u003e Winner of 2006 Village Voice OBIE Awards Lifetime Achievement Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this collection, Eric Bentley presents \u003ci\u003eConcord\u003c\/i\u003e, a comedy adapted from Kleist's \u003ci\u003eThe Broken Jug;\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Fall of the Amazons, \u003c\/i\u003e a tragedy written in response to Kleist's \u003ci\u003ePenthesilea;\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWannsee, \u003c\/i\u003ea tragic-comedy which is Bentley's rendering of Kleist's \u003ci\u003eCathy of Heilbronn.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Bentley sets \u003ci\u003eConcord\u003c\/i\u003e in a courthouse during the early days of the Republic. Convened to discover who broke an irreplaceable jug symbolic of the chivalric age of Sir Walter Raleigh, Judge Adam's madcap court flounders in hilarious chaos induced by huge lies to cover comic lust. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFall of the Amazons\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of Achilles and the Amazon queen, Penthesilea. Through this pagan play, Bentley explores improbably love, which he exemplifies in the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac: \"In seeming to be cruel to both father and son, God has enabled them to find, in total vulnerability, total love,\" a theme that also pervades Wannsee. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Bentley's \u003ci\u003eWannsee\u003c\/i\u003e is a play of pageantry: emperors, counts, dueling knights, a young beauty of seemingly low birth, cherubs, and witches masked in loveliness. A fabulous love story ostensibly designed to dissuade Kleist from self-destruction, \u003ci\u003eWannsee \u003c\/i\u003edemonstrates with a flourish that, though devils roam the earth, there are also angels.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Eric Bentley\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0810121158\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780810121157\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Northwestern University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 210\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.04h x 6.08w x 0.49d","brand":"Eric Bentley","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48457726001407,"sku":"9780810121157","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_42b4bb18-819c-4e6b-bba8-a585e2a9b224.jpg?v=1777400672","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-kleist-variations-eric-bentley-9780810121157","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}