Lectionary Scenes: 52 Vignettes in Cycle C Book

"The Unseen Hand" is wonderful absurdist/expressionist drama. Three brothers who are mythological incarnations of old west figures, are confronted by a contemporary urban youth who gets alien messages via an "Unseen Hand". Kid Blue, the Cisco Kid and the Sycamore Kid have to face the viability of their own existence as mythological figures in a modern world that contains enough schizophrenia as to make them seem tame.

This collection also contains three superb one-acts which won Obie awards, "Chicago," "Icarus' Children," and "Red Cross" all take on different aspects of contemporary suburban life, turning the ideas on their head in the face of unexpected situations. In "Red Cross" for instance, a man turns his back on a beautiful young wife when he suddenly and unexpectedly falls deeply in love with a sarcastic, depressed and out-of-shape cleaning lady whom he jsut met at a motel room. "Chicago" and "Icarus' Children" are also about young marrieds trying to cope with a contemporary life they find surreal. The surreal theatre of Sam Shepard fits these dark, angstful storeis wonderfully.