A Bright Room Called Day

By Tony Kushner

Book Overview

"One of the things that makes Kushner such a vibrant writer is the way he luxuriates in exuberance and sorrow, emotions that these intense Berliners have in spades. His intellectual characters are tremendously passionate and expressive, so it's hard not to care about what they care about, and what happens to them." -Washington Post

"A juggernaut of a play." -San Francisco Weekly

"Unabashedly political, thought-provoking, a little scary and frequently a good deal of theatrical fun... intoxicatingly visionary." -Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner's powerful portrayal of individual resolution, irresolution and dissolution in the face of political catastrophe, A Bright Room Called Day follows a group of artists and political activists struggling to preserve themselves in 1930s Berlin as the Weimar Republic surrenders to the seduction of fascism. Often exquisitely lyrical, always exhilaratingly intelligent, the poetic world of the play moves beyond the bounds of historical reality with the morally outraged outpourings of a contemporary New York woman. Her fury at the Reagan and British presidencies brings into stark relief the discomfiting similarities between then and now, and challenges us to remember that although evil may seem inevitable, it is never irresistible.

Tony Kushner's plays include Angels in America; Hydriotaphia, or the Death of Dr. Brown; The Illusion, adapted from the play by Pierre Cornelle; Slavs ; A Bright Room Called Day; Homebody/Kabul; Caroline, or Change, a musical with composer Jeanine Tesori; and The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols's film of Angels in America and for Steven Spielberg's Munich and Lincoln. His books include The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Present; Brundibar, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak; and Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, co-edited with Alisa Solomon.
Among many honors, Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier Award, an Emmy Award, two Oscar nominations, and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2012, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. He lives in Manhattan with his husband, Mark Harris.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 155936078X
• ISBN13: 9781559360784
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Bright and Brilliant

Many plays have focused on groups of people fighting their many losing battles. In Tony Kushner's first well-known work, these people are the Communist Party in 1930's Germany; knowing full well that they live in turbulent times, they are fighting to stay standing. Agnes Eggling, unsure of even the philosophy to which she has ascribed, clings to her apartment. She pays her rent, and in return, she has this small "bright room called day," where she is temporarily safe. "A Bright Room Called Day" displays all the characteristics of the more well-known "Angels in America." There is a great deal of political discussion, but also the painful and individual conflicts between characters. Lines are laced with wry irony, and characters often speak in poetic, beautiful language. I have not yet found another playwright whose characters are both so verbose and so real. Neither is today's world left out; scenes from Germany are peppered with refreshing but unsettling monologues from a modern woman. She is very angry and a little lost - just as caught up in the tides of her times as the other characters are in theirs. Although, in the original version of the play, she ranted against Ronald Reagan, this copy contains a revised set of monologues prepared for an early 1990's performance. Three different decades in one play; that's a broad scope, and it makes a brilliant read. My one regret is that I have never seen "A Bright Room Called Day" performed.

An incredible book by an incredible author.

Tony Kushner, once again, has written an awesome book. This story of friends who live in Germany during the war is incredibly realistic and draws you in on the first page with it's realistic details and comic relief. A wonderful book I am more than willing to recomend.