Review by Booklist Review
A trio of one-acts by three-time Tony winner Fierstein maintains the high standards for dramatic literature about AIDS set by Hoffman's As Is (Booklist 82:727 Ja 15 86) and Kramer's Normal Heart (NAL, 1985). ``Manny and Jake'' and ``Safe Sex'' are both Albee-like abstract encounters between men who want to make love but are blocked from it by their fears of ``unsafe'' sex. In the former, the pair is two strangers out cruising; in the latter, two longtime but not sexually exclusive lovers. Through clever symbolic settings, sardonic dialogue, and cunning timing, these exchanges tellingly convey gay men's disorientation as they struggle to channel old impulses into new, possibly more loving if not more exciting modes of expression. The third and longest piece, ``On Tidy Endings,'' is a slice of the uncomfortably interwined lives of Arthur and Marion, ex-wife of his just-deceased lover. Each has claims on the dead man's memory that they nurse in jealousy of the other, and their meeting to divide his property occasions wrenching emotional crises and equally moving healing laughter. Difficult to read dry-eyed, it may well be overwhelming on stage. RO. 812'.54 [CIP] 87-11507
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Fierstein, author of such groundbreaking theatrical works about gays as Torch Song Trilogy and the book for La Cage aux Folles , turns his attention to the AIDS crisis. These three one-act plays are unconnected except in their exploration of the psychological ravages of the disease. Although none of the characters is actually ill, all have suffered radical changes in their relationships and view of the world; all find that the very concept of ``safe sex'' inhibits their ability to connect, not just sexually but also emotionally, with others. In dealing with a topical subject, Fierstein movingly depicts the age-old difficulties and joys of loving. Highly recommended. Susan Thach Dean, Chicago P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
