THE STORY: The first act is set in the fussily ornate apartment of Mendy, a ferociously dedicated opera buff who begs and cajoles his friend Stephen to let him borrow his copy of the pirated Maria Callas recording of La Traviata made during

THE STORY: The most controversial and talked about play of the 1998 theatrical season begins: We are going to tell you an old and familiar story. But from that point on, nothing feels quite familiar again. What follows is a story that parallels t

THE STORY: A gay community in Fire Island provides an unlikely setting for two straight couples who are discovered lounging poolside, staring out to sea. Sally, married to Sam, a New Jersey contractor, has inherited the house from her brother who died of

THE STORY: Maria Callas is teaching a master class in front of an audience (us). She's glamorous, commanding, larger than life--and drop-dead funny. An accompanist sits at the piano. Callas' first victim is Sophie, a ridiculous, overly-perky soprano, dre

THE STORY: The title character (who remains unseen) is the equine star of television's longest-running and most popular show, in which he is partnered with The Lush Thrushes, a cowboy troupe whose members bear the names of the various brands of booze they guzzle so copiously. The group makes a rare live appearance at the Houston Astrodome, only to flop disastrously, and then retreats to their hotel where each member then reveals his (or her) innermost thoughts in hilarious detail. When the hotel catches fire they are too far gone to notice, and the epilogue finds them all in heaven-dressed in white western finery, and lamenting the fact that Whiskey, who miraculously survived the inferno, is about to become the star of a new series.

It's opening night of Vincenzo Bellini's new opera I Puritani in Paris, and the Italian composer is determined to win the adulation of not only his audience, but his colleagues and rivals as well. When the curtain falls, will a thunderous ovation cement his prominence? Or has Bellini unwittingly composed his own swan song? Blending 21st-century language with the timeless beauty of 19th-century bel canto opera, GOLDEN AGE portrays the final act of an artist whose desire for greatness has eclipsed all else.

A collection of over a hundred scenes and monologues from plays from the Elizabethan period to contemporary Tony Award winners.