Shoppers: Two Plays
by Denis Johnson

Name: Shoppers: Two Plays
Brand: Denis Johnson
SKU: 9780060934408
Rating: 3.16 (125 reviews)

Shoppers: Two Plays Book Cover — Shoppers: Two Plays Cover

Highlights

American

What readers are saying

Readers have mixed feelings about the two plays in this collection. While many appreciate Denis Johnson's dialogue and character development, some find the overall organization and clarity lacking. There's a sense that Johnson's strengths as a novelist may not fully translate to the stage format, leading to a variety of interpretations and experiences among audiences.

Gripping and memorable character monologues Witty and clever dialogue Amusing take on familiar tropes Confusing overall organization Feels disjointed at times

Synopsis

"Perfection is not the basis of what I'm talking about," says a member of the Cassandra family, which forms the center of Denis Johnson's plays, Hellhound on My Trail and Shoppers Carried by Escalators Into the Flames.

The character could be speaking for his creator, because human imperfection is one of Denis Johnson's specialties -- in his critically acclaimed novels, short stories, and nonfiction, and, now, in two brilliant new plays.

These two works present a dramatized field guide to some of the more dysfunctional and dysphoric inhabitants of the American West: a sexual-misconduct investigator who misconducts herself sexually; a renegade Jehovah's Witness who supports his splinter Jehovean group by dealing drugs; the Cassandra Brothers and their father and their grandmother, thrown together at a family reunion/wedding/melee at their shabby homestead in Ukiah, California.

When Shoppers Carried by Escalators Into the Flames was performed in San Francisco in 2001, the Chronicle said, "There's an enormous appeal in Johnson's bleak-comic vision of a semi-mythic American West."

That appeal derives from the author's perfect vision of imperfection, embodied with such energy and courage in these marvelous pieces of theatre.

What happens when the lost souls of the American West collide?

Contemporary American Theatre: Experience two powerful plays from a master of American fiction, filled with the raw, energetic dialogue that made him a literary icon.

Gritty American West: Journey to a semi-mythic American West, from a shabby homestead in Ukiah, California to the outskirts of Houston, where Johnson’s characters grapple with their imperfect lives.

Fringe Society: Meet a cast of unforgettable characters, including a renegade Jehovah’s Witness dealing drugs and a sexual-misconduct investigator who can’t follow her own rules.

The Cassandra Family: Witness the collision of the Cassandra clan—brothers, father, and grandmother—thrown together in a family reunion that quickly spirals into a classic Johnson melee.