Reviews for Great Scenes from Women Playwrights: Classic and Contemporary Selections for One to Six Actors

The average rating for Great Scenes from Women Playwrights: Classic and Contemporary Selections for One to Six Actors based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-05-13 00:00:00 Kathryn Roche Written in 1941 and set in spring, 1940, in suburban Washington, DC, this play still resonates today. Of course it reflects Hellman's strong anti-Nazi stance, but while her views don't hit one over the head, they underline the cautionary tone. Wealthy Fanny Farrelly is awaiting the arrival of her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren from Europe where they've lived for the past 17 years. But Fanny has other guests--a impoverished Romanian count and his wife--and when the couples meet, violence ensues. Hellman brings home the situation in Europe and plays out the conflict in a sedate drawing room--and that makes the impact all the greater. It's a dark play, impassioned, and nightmare in tone. The excellent production by LA Theatre Works is a great way to appreciate the play.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-09-22 00:00:00 Jenny d Davis Dated now but would have been very powerful in 1941 when it was written and produced. Starts as a comedy of manners with dark undertones then intensifies to full-on suspense that brings the war in Europe into complacent U.S. drawing rooms.