I chat with Amnon Kabatchnik , author of Bloody Broadway – Plays of Menace, Murder, and Mystery – Volume 1 1900-1930. Beginning in 1900, a number of prolific melodramatists whipped up various four-act plays featuring plays of crime and punishment populated by flamboyant villains, brawny heroes, and damsels in distress.
The book’s entries are presented chronologically and include a plot synopsis, production data, opinions by critics, and biographical sketches of playwrights and key actors-directors. The book contains works by William Gillette, Hal Reid, George M. Cohan, Damon Runyon, J.B. Priestly, and Eugene O’Neil, among many others.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from Amazon.com)
Amnon Kabatchnik holds a BS degree in theater and journalism from Boston University, where he won the Rodgers & Hammerstein Award, he holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. He has been a member of the director’s unit with the Actors Studio in New York and has been appointed professor of theater at the State University of New York at Binghamton, Stanford University, Ohio State University, Florida State University, and Elmira College.
Kabatchnik has directed numerous dramas, comedies, thrillers, and musicals for national road companies, resident theatres, Off Broadway, and summer stock. Kabatchnik’s directorial work in New York earned him the Lola D’Annunzio Honorary Citation for Outstanding Contribution to the Off-Broadway Theatre. Recently, Kabatchnk staged the hit off-Broaday revival of the 1940 Gothic drama “Ladies in Retirement.” Backstage.com raved “Amnon Kabatchnik’s confident production [is] treated with loving care in the hands of this worthy ensemble.”
Kabatchnik now shares his knowledge and love of the theatre with us through his writings. The three volumes in his BLOOD ON THE STAGE series covers seventy five years of plays written and produced during the respective eras. The plays covered had at least one public performance in the English language, with an emphasis on New York and London performances. Of course, each entry revolves around murder, theft, chicanery, kidnapping, political intrigue, or espionage.
The entries are arranged in chronological order, each consisting of plot summary (often including significant dialogue), production and performance data, opinions by critics and scholars, and other features.
Kabatchnik received an Agatha Award Nomination in 2010 from the Malice Domestic Committee for BLOOD ON THE STAGE: 1925-1950. His latest release in the series is BLOOD ON THE STAGE: 1950-1975.
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