From Library Journal
The title play in this collection, from a noted poet and avant-garde playwright who draws on opera, poetry, and various dramatic forms for his inspiration, is a wonderfully witty dialog between two elderly Chinese monks exploring the absurdity of our monetary system and the value of money. All nine of the pieces represent a different style of drama and subject, e.g., The Construction of Boston is a lyrical verse play that was made into an opera. Though some of these pieces have been published in literary magazines, one work is based on the author's own short stories (Hotel Lambosa, Coffee House, 1993), and a 1973 collection included the title play and two others found here. A rich, single-volume resource, this highly readable collection is recommended for modern literature collections in public and academic libraries.Howard E. Miller, M.L.S., St. LouisCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Kenneth Koch's plays take what is best in opera, in Japanese Noh and Kabuki, in Renaissance and Jacobean drama, in every odd and suggestive dramatic form from the miracle plays to Jarry's Ubu Roi, and make of it something remarkable and new. Among his plays that have been staged Off- and Off-Off-Broadway, The Red Robins had a celebrated New York production, with sets by Red Grooms, Alex Katz, Jane Freilicher, Rory McEwen, and Roy Lichtenstein. The Construction of Boston, put on first as a play starring the three artists who did the sets - Niki de Saint Phalle, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jean Tinguely - was later an opera, with music by Scott Wheeler. George Washington Crossing the Delaware, a short classic of avant-garde theater, has been performed all over the country. This collection also contains new plays, among them Edward and Christine, a moving work about adventure and passion that takes place in about one hundred scenes.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal