Description:
This book examines the impact of revolution, both historically and its more recent interactions with globalization/economics, as it is staged by playwrights in Cuba and in the United States. It closely investigates dramatic renderings of lived experiences and their significant effects on personal relationships for Cubans both on and off the island.
Review Quotes:
"A wonderfully succinct and yet profound meditation on the changing meanings of revolution in Cuba and how they have been brought to life on the stage. Truly an engaging and thoughtful book."--Ruth Behar, Perera Collegiate Professor of Anthropology and editor of Bridges to Cuba/Puentes a Cuba and The Portable Island: Cubans at Home in the World
"Only in the deft hands of Prizant could the history of Cuba's theatre come so vibrantly to life. In this tour de force journey that begins with the pre-colonial Taino areitos then moves through the ebbs and flows of colonial then post-revolutionary theatre arts production Prizant brilliantly shows the different social and historical contexts that led Cuban playwrights to their delicate dances between form and content to ensure creative innovation and expression. Resting her scholarly wings mostly in a post-1980s theatre scene, Prizant spins her on-the-grounds research (live productions and interviews in Cuba) into a dazzlingly colorful tapestry of how playwrights uphold Trotsky's dictum: all anarchy in art. Not since the great Mexican playwright and theatre historian, Rodolfo Usigli, have we had such a vital, comprehensive--thrilling even--story of theatrical production in the Americas. Showcasing Cuba's theatre of resistance from the inside out Prizant gifts us an alert erudite work."--Frederick Luis Aldama, Arts Humanities Distinguished Professor of English and author recently of The Routledge Concise History of Latino/a Literature.