I should have updated more frequently here, but as I have not, I'll give a quick rundown with this. I've been looking at a lot of plays by a very little-known playwright named Lee Blessing, and so I'll list each and give a quick rundown.
A Walk in the Woods-- This is Blessing's most well-known play. In fact, if anyone has heard of him, it would be because of this play. The play is awesome! It's about two negotiators, one from Russia, one from America, who, over a long period, try to develop agreements for arms reductions. All the scenes take place while they walk in the woods after negotiations, which explains the title. The play was great-- very thinly disguised commentary, but great despite that. Recommended for people who like plays or talk about arms reduction.
Down the Road-- This one is not one of Blessing's well-known plays. This is easily the creepiest play I have read in a long time, but I found it extremely interesting. It's about a couple who interviews a serial killer for a book about him. The play concerns how our writing of such books from the murderers perspective glamorizes serial killing and other such crimes, though, for the most part, the play leads one to see how they might not be as different from serial killers as they might think. Scarrrrryyyyy. If you'd like something to make you really think, go for this one.
Fortinbras-- This was my favorite of all of them. The play takes place right after the death scene in Hamlet, and basically discusses what happens once Fortinbras takes over. The play is hilarious for the first part, and then interesting for the second part. The play flows nicely within the two, and so I found it to be ultra awesome, and I now yearn to play Fortinbras in this production some day. If you want to laugh, read this one.
Cobb-- This play is an interesting look at the first baseball player inducted into the hall of fame, Tyler Cobb. This play is the least distinctive of all of them, since it's mostly biographical, but it manages to tell Cobb's story in a way that really engages the reader (or audience, hopefully). Read this one if you want a quick read for fun and to learn a bit about Tyler Cobb.
Theater, admittedly, is meant to be performed, not read. I think all of these, however, lend themselves to reading, so take your pick. If any of them are performed near you, though, go for it and check it out. You will enjoy.
Gibson's novels deal extensively with the science of prediction, which he depicts as a kind of occult phenomenon or 6th sense (cf Laney with his uncanny nodal perception, or the Coolhunter Cayce). As usual, in exploring this theme, Gibson is masterfully extrapolating from current issues, such as the rise of and obsession with Big Data. My reading of this book, then, was driven by curiosity of the actual state of prediction today, especially as compared to its potential as envisioned by Gibson. Sounds like we have a ways to go! It was a very fast and enjoyable read, written in a fluent and conversational style. Recommend!
