Have you ever seen Spoon River Anthology performed on stage?

Asked by Hawaii_Jake (37734

) March 15th, 2012

Spoon River Anthology was written by Edgar Lee Masters and published in 1915. Over 100 inhabitants of the cemetery of the fictional town of Spoon River speak in free verse.

Some poignant and some comical, many of the voices relive old wounds from life. Others inform us of true events covered up by the grave.

It is a seminal piece of American literature that has been adapted for the stage and performed all over the country.

If you have seen this work performed, what were your thoughts? Was it entertaining? Could you understand the sequence of characters and events? Did anything in particular strike you as outstanding about the production?

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6 Answers

No, I haven’t, but I would like to. The book has resonated with me from an early age, ever since I first read “George Gray” in lit class at age 14 and couldn’t wait to get my hands on the entire text.

lonelydragon (7770

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Never seen it perfomed but I would love to see that. The book is amazing.

Adirondackwannabe (36713

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Yes, in high school, more than #### years ago.

Tropical_Willie (31434

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@Tropical_Willie : Can you remember anything at all from your experience all those years ago? Were you bored? Could you understand the words? Were any of the actors any good?

Hawaii_Jake (37734

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Not bored, we had a really good drama club.
We had done a reading of Finnegans Wake in our English class and William Blake.

Tropical_Willie (31434

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I saw it done in American Sign Language at Gallaudet University—they did an excellent job of “braiding” the characters and it was easy to follow. Good direction and timing is the key.

linguaphile (14574

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