The Babylon Line
by Richard Greenberg

Name: The Babylon Line
Brand: Richard Greenberg
SKU: 9780822237167
Rating: 3.29 (1 reviews)

The Babylon Line Book Cover — The Babylon Line Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

Unit Set/Multiple Settings

What readers are saying

Readers have mixed feelings about the play, with some praising its sharp dialogue and character diversity, while others find the story predictable and lacking depth. The humor and writing style are appreciated, but criticisms highlight that the narrative may not resonate with a broader audience due to its focus on a creative writing class. Overall, it seems to elicit a range of opinions on its execution and themes.

Sharp dialogueCharacter diversityUnique writing stylePredictable storylineNot engaging for everyone

Synopsis

THE STORY: Levittown, 1967. It’s the first night of an adult-ed creative writing course in a classroom at the local high school.

The teacher, Aaron Port, lives in Greenwich Village and reverse commutes once a week on the Long Island Rail Road’s Babylon line.

His students are a mixed bag: Frieda Cohen, Anna Cantor, and Midge Braverman, housewives all, embrace each other on arrival, and update their running checklists on each other’s kids, husbands, and lawns.

Their opening gambit is to tell Aaron in no uncertain terms that they are only there because French Cooking and Flower Arranging are full.

The two men in the class, Jack Hassenpflug and Marc Adams, sit silently at their desks.

One final student, Joan Dellamond, rushes in late—but she actually does intend to be there.

An aspiring writer troubled by a failing marriage, Joan has little in common with her neighbors.

And yet, she does seek connection.

Maybe this class will bring her, and Aaron, something that neither quite expects.

Press Reviews

"What a beguiling and unpredictable play Richard Greenberg has written in THE BABYLON LINE, an elegiac look back on a period of evolving social attitudes…[The play] weaves subtle threads, conjuring a vivid world of cause and effect while harnessing the power of fiction as a means either to escape or to comprehend real life…an idiosyncratic pleasure.” —The Hollywood Reporter. “…wholly enjoyable…[an] unpretentious but thought-provoking play…” —Variety. “THE BABYLON LINE is by Richard Greenberg; barbed repartee, shiny epigrams, and baroque arias of loss and longing all come with the territory…when Greenberg’s creations babble on, you can’t help but lean in.” —Time Out New York. “…the quiet, funny script resonates with the evergreen themes of community, desire, and self-discovery. It’s a memorable ride."
— Entertainment Weekly