American Dreams (Frisch, Terkel)
by Peter Frisch, Studs Terkel

THE STORY: Made up of eighteen monologues and divided into six segments (fantasies, nightmares, hallucinations, sweet dreams, broken reveries and visions), the play uses the voices of real people to convey, with striking effectiveness, a sense of what America and its people are, both in truth and in fantasy.

Ranging from the rich and famous (Ted Turner, Arnold Schwarzenegger) to the obscure (a farmer, a bellhop, a Hare Krishna disciple) to hardbitten cynics and hopeful optimists, the diverse monologues weave an evocative tapestry out of the simple truths and cogent observations that emerge when people speak their minds with honesty and candor.

And, taken together, the various segments and speeches blend into a moving theatrical experience that is revealing, often very funny, frequently moving and sometimes disturbing—but one that always speaks from and to the heart of this great and singular nation in all its richness and diversity.