Plays for the End of the Century Book

A bit abstract for my taste.

If I interpreted this correctly, it seems as though the "character" are more human representations of fears, ethos, weaknesses. The freezing on the stage when they're not speaking, the dancing, the gas masks, the masturbation--I was puzzled when reading this and knew I would be even more puzzled seeing this performed on stage.

The Colonel, who wears so much paraphernalia it is hard to discern which war they're speaking of (there are gas masks in the play--WWII--but also a reference to Little Richard and the Cold War). He takes a wounded veteran named Stubbs to a family restaurant; Stubbs was shot trying in vain to save the Colonel's late son. In the beginning the Colonel wants to establish all the details of the moments leading up to his son's death, and Stubbs either can't or won't comply. As the play continues, as the white couple dining interject complaints or comments (I myself was unsure what to make of them) Stubbs maps out those final moments, but by then the Colonel is set on abandoning him, then cowing him to submission. Stubbs claims several times throughout the play that the Colonel invented his death, as in Stubbs is actually the Colonel's son. The play is rife with biblical references, which some of the characters try to denounce.

Like i said, I am unsure what to make of it, but Sam Shepard has intrigued me, and I would like to continue reading more of his work.