David Auburn (1) (1969–)

Sometimes it is difficult to decide if the plays from the late 20th century are brilliant or just pretentious. These plays are in that category; perhaps seeing them staged would help settle the question better than reading them. The title play is the longest, and has the most plot. Centered around the science of astronomy, it makes an effort to get the science right; still, the character of the scientist is unbelievable and stereotyped, at least for someone who knows scientists, indicating that the author settled for the lazy way out rather than doing the work to get the audience to buy into the scientist, or that the author wishes to paint scientists as asocial loners with no friends. Other than the title play, the best plays in the work were Miss You, a phone play about relationships, and Are You Ready?, a series of monologues that examine the same moment in time from the point of view of three vastly different people. The ending is an amusing twist.… (altro)