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The Glass Menagerie © 1945 New Directions 140 pages The Glass Menagerie is a good mirror. It accurately reflects the selfishness of society. That’s not to say that it’s enjoyable—far from it! The dysfunction of the Wingfield family is painful to read. Whether it’s Amanda’s life in the past, Laura’s agonizing inability to interact with people, [...]

The Cocktail Party © 1950 Faber and Faber 195 pages The Cocktail Party: A Comedy is painfully tragic from a Christian perspective. A wife leaves her husband because he’s having an affair. Years later, the second woman becomes a Christian and is killed on the mission field. The husband and wife meanwhile have worked at [...]

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof © 1955 Signet: Penguin 158 pages I know I’m supposed to adore this book. It’s one of America’s premiere plays. “Winner of the Pulitzer Prize” is proudly stamped on the cover. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t seem to resonate with me. Perhaps it’s because I’m a minister, and this is [...]

The Crucible (Penguin Classics) © 1952 Penguin 152 pages There’s something refreshing about reading plays (something I don’t do nearly enough). It takes some serious literary wizardry to tell a compelling story within a mere few hours of dialogue. Dialogue is (obviously) the foundation of any play, and Miller’s is snappy and engaging. It doesn’t [...]

Peer Gynt Rolf Fjelde trans. © 1964 Signet Classic Edition xxx + 253 pages Music made me read this play. Have you ever heard these songs? They were written by Grieg, along with many other songs as the incidental music for Ibsen’s play. It’s a great experience to read the words that inspired those famous [...]