The landmark American play—and its prequel—from the Tony Award–winning author of Sticks and Bones and In the Boom Boom Room. Nominated for the Tony Award when it was first produced in 1984, Hurlyburly was immediately hailed as a classic American drama. This edition is the definitive version of David Rabe’s most celebrated work, reflecting his continued exploration of the play through several productions—in particular the one he directed in 1988 at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles—and his latest thoughts regarding the text. With Those the River Keeps, the prize-winning playwright embarks on an intense psychological exploration of Hurlyburly’s most dangerous and enigmatic character. This edition contains the definitive versions of these works, a foreword in which Rabe examines the interwoven relationship of the plays, and an afterword in which he discusses the process of their construction. “Fresh, glittering, entertaining, full of wit and blisteringly funny. A stunning comic drama of contemporary life in the Hollywood hills and beyond.” —USA Today “Powerfully written . . . dazzling.” —The New Republic “Offers some of Rabe’s most inventive writing.” —The New York Times “Compelling . . . Those the River Keeps’ strength is its dialogue, which ranges from staccato nonsense to amorphous bursts of palooka philosophy and raw anguish . . . masterfully rendered.” —The Boston Phoenix Praise for David Rabe “Few contemporary dramatists have dealt with violence, physical and psychological, more impressively than Rabe.” —Kirkus Reviews “A remarkable storyteller.” —Chicago Tribune “Rabe’s mastery of dialogue is the equal of Pinter and Mamet put together.” —The Boston Globe

Phil, a supporting character in the author's Hurlyburly, takes center stage in this haunting drama about trying to escape the past. A former mob hitman, Phil is in Hollywood trying to make it as a television actor. He's had a few bit parts, but is hardly a success, and he is largely supported by his wife, Susie, a waitress. Unfortunately, Susie desperately wants something in return, something Phil is not prepared or eager to give: a child. Phil is going nowhere fast when Sal, a mysterious man fr

Four Hollywood men pursue the American dream in a cocaine-filled, sex-crazed culture.

David Rabe is one of America's finest dramatists. In A Question of Mercy, he explores the controversial and emotional issue of euthanasia, delving deep into the ties that bind friends and lovers. Thomas and Anthony are lovers struggling with Anthony's final, exhausting battle with AIDS. Joined by their friend Susanah and a retired doctor, whose help Thomas has requested , they fashion a heartbreaking friendship as they work through the stages of a plan to relieve Anthony of his illness and his life. Rabe creates a passionate depiction of four people confronted with the reality of a loved one's fight with death, and a compelling dramatic event that poses the question: "What would you do?"

"A savagely comic portrait of an archetypal, middle class family, Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky, falling apart. When David comes back from the war blinded, he is pursued by furies that haunt him. Wanting to return their son to normal, Ozzie offers camaraderie, while Harriet cooks and bakes the foods he once loved, and shares her faith in her beloved religion. But David grows even more vengeful. Ozzie feels the foundation of his world crumbling. In a darkly hilarious scene, a catholic priest called in to give his blessing is, ingeniously, rebuffed by David. Finally, Ozzie and Harriet break under the pressure, for it seems David is about to turn their home into his nightmare. It's up to guitar-playing, fudge-eating Ricky to save the day and allow the family to return their cherished status qua with a tidy, ritualistic atrocity all their own."--Publisher's description.

A searing portrait of a young dancer’s descent into hell—extensively revised and returned to the two-act structure originally intended by the author. Chrissy, a bright and not-quite-innocent woman with visions of a career as a dancer, finds herself in the Boom Boom Room, a disco/bar in Philadelphia meant to be her first step on the road to stardom. Instead, she finds herself fighting to keep her dreams intact amid the anesthetic sex and stimulation that surround her, the psychological residue of her parents’ betrayals, and the bizarre pack of suitors who follow her. In a desperate search for love and hope, Chrissy careens from the seductive mistress of ceremonies at the Boom Boom Room to the earnestly friendly gay man next door to a brutally passionate lover. In its compassionate look at Chrissy’s living nightmare, In the Boom Boom Room is a piercing look at a society dangerously close to our own lives, and a drama that captures both our hearts and our heads.