Sherman Plays: 1: Cracks; Bent; Messiah; Rose by Martin Sherman
The first collection by a seminal contemporary gay playwright BENT (1979): A heroic myth ...It has the laughter which Yeats asserted lay at the heart of tragedy. (Listener) It is ...a play of importance, power and pathos which should concern us all. (Guardian) The play follows the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany. It received a Tony nomination for Best Play and won The Dramatists' Guild Hull-Warriner Award. CRACKS (1973): a comedy set in the gay scene in California of the 70s where an assassin is on the loose. MESSIAH (1982) is a moving drama about the life of a small Jewish community in the 17th century. ROSE (1999): Rose is a survivor of the Warsaw ghettos. She arrives on the boardwalks of Atlantic City, the Arizona canyons and salsa-flavoured nights in Miami beach. The play is sharply drawn reminder of some of the events that shaped the century.