Can we make a list of good productions of plays on DVD?

[Jane Elliot]

I would like to watch and read more of the plays listed on the WTM logic and rhetoric stage reading lists. We are in the Modern time period this year. Have you seen any really good productions of these plays on DVD?

[clementine]

Good question. I'm interested in the replies! :bigear:

[Lori D.]

Don't know which plays are listed in WTM for modern times, but I can recommend these versions of modern plays; we watched them last year on Netflix DVDs:

 

Our Town

(The 1977 version with Hal Holbrook as the Narrator is fine, too)

 

A Raisin in the Sun -- the three main actresses were incredible

 

This version of The Importance of Being Earnest was okay, but some of the acting felt a bit stiff for a comedy. I wonder how the 1986 TV version is...? I would avoid the most recent movie version, as it is a film adaptation and not the straight up play.

 

 

I have never been able to find it on VHS or DVD, but if you can EVER find "Play On!" -- get it! It is a wonderful musical, based on Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", set in 1920s Harlem, and filled with Duke Ellington's wonderful music. DH and I got to see this production LIVE! And then saw the PBS Great Performances televised edition. Wonderful!

 

Also nowhere that I can find, is the PBS televised stage version Les Miserables (the book was written in the 1800s, but the musical drama was written in the 1900s). I believe it was broadcast about 8 years ago. There is a "10th Anniversary in Concert" version -- but that is just highlight numbers being sung at a microphone, not the video of the musical being performed.

 

BEST of luck! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Jane Elliot]

Thanks, Lori. This is helpful. I had never heard of A Raisin in the Sun, but look forward to checking it out.

[Jane Elliot]

I thought it would be helpful if I posted the logic stage list. I was hesitant at first, not wanting to violate any copyright, but I found the list on the website and so thought it would be okay.

 

“The Importance of Being Earnest,†Oscar Wilde

“Pygmalion,†George Bernard Shaw

“The Crucible,†Arthur Miller

“A Man for All Seasons,†Robert Bolt

 

I found this list here: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/the-great-books-history-as-literature/

[choirfarm]

The Importance of Being Earnest with Colin Firth ( Judy Dench, Ropert Everett, Reese Witherspoon) in it is absolutely hilarious. My boys enjoyed it so much last year. (They also loved him in Pride and Prejudice.) http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Importance-of-Being-Earnest/60023794?strackid=742725e671ba2b83_0_srl&strkid=176491141_0_0&trkid=222336#height1692

 

For the Crucible use the one with Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Rider. If I remember correctly, Arthur Miller worked on the production. It is very faithful to the play except one added scene, which fits because Arthur Miller wrote it for the movie.

http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Crucible/60011075?strackid=27d0a9d02076764b_0_srl&strkid=1488476344_0_0&trkid=222336

 

I hope that helps.

 

Christine

 

PS- That Paul Newman's Our Town is WONDERFUL in that first post. If you get a chance, watch it.

[Jane Elliot]

The Importance of Being Earnest with Colin Firth ( Judy Dench, Ropert Everett, Reese Witherspoon) in it is absolutely hilarious. My boys enjoyed it so much last year. (They also loved him in Pride and Prejudice.) http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Importance-of-Being-Earnest/60023794?strackid=742725e671ba2b83_0_srl&strkid=176491141_0_0&trkid=222336#height1692

 

For the Crucible use the one with Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Rider. If I remember correctly, Arthur Miller worked on the production. It is very faithful to the play except one added scene, which fits because Arthur Miller wrote it for the movie.

http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Crucible/60011075?strackid=27d0a9d02076764b_0_srl&strkid=1488476344_0_0&trkid=222336

 

I hope that helps.

 

Christine

 

PS- That Paul Newman's Our Town is WONDERFUL in that first post. If you get a chance, watch it.

 

Yes, that helps very much. Thank you! We will definitely try Our Town, too. Thanks for mentioning it.

[emubird]

I know it's not what you're looking for, but this version of Antigone was pretty good:

 

Antigone [videorecording] / a BBC TV co-production in association with Bioscope, Inc. ; producer, Louis Marks ; directed by Don Taylor.

 

But I've had trouble finding any Greek tragedy at all. We found this at a local college library, and were glad our VCR is still operational. Greek plays don't seem to have made it onto DVD that I can find. I'm still hoping to find a Greek comedy.

 

My kids also enjoyed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which was put out as a movie in 1990. I can't remember if it's in WTM, but it is a sort of classic. We've also tried some Chekhov plays, but they weren't such hits here.