Rapid Transit (play)
Encyclopedia
Rapid Transit was a play by Lajos Egri
that premiered at the Provincetown Playhouse
, New York, in April 1927 and closed before the end of the month after 20 performances. Horace Liveright
had bought and produced this work. Egri's expressionist play was translated from his original Hungarian by Gustav Davidson
and Francis Edwards Faragoh, and adapted by Charles Recht.
Casting about for some adequate means of conveying a sense of the hectic pace of this machine age, Egri pictured a world in which all of life is compressed into twenty-four hours. Children grow to maturity in a few minutes; meals are eaten in split seconds; tabloid newspapers are issued at intervals of a second or two, and the loss of half a minute is a serious matter.
Realizing that this notion alone was not quite sufficient to carry a play, Egri broadened his vision to afford a comprehensive view of the world's front page. Wars and justice, taxes and public opinion: all of these Egri incorporated in a manner that was a hallmark of expressionistic drama. Rapid Transit had a prologue and six scenes. There were almost seventy cast members. The sets conveyed an impression of cogwheels, greasy steel pistons, chains, derricks, clanking, rumbling, thumping. The tempo was blinding.
The New York Times described the play as "chaotic at times, but sporadically interesting."
Lajos Egri
Lajos N. Egri was the author of The Art of Dramatic Writing, which is widely regarded as one of the best works on the subject of playwriting, though its teachings have since been adapted for the writing of short stories, novels, and screenplays.-Early years:Egri came to the US in 1906...
that premiered at the Provincetown Playhouse
Provincetown Playhouse
The Provincetown Playhouse is a theater in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. It is named for the Provincetown Players, who converted the former bottling plant into a theater in 1918. Much of the original building was torn down in 2009 as New York University School of Law planned a new building on the...
, New York, in April 1927 and closed before the end of the month after 20 performances. Horace Liveright
Horace Liveright
Horace Brisbin Liveright was an American publisher and stage producer. With Albert Boni, he founded the Modern Library and Boni & Liveright publishers. He published books from numerous influential American and British authors...
had bought and produced this work. Egri's expressionist play was translated from his original Hungarian by Gustav Davidson
Gustav Davidson
Gustav Davidson was a poet, writer, and publisher.Davidson attended Columbia University in New York City and worked for the Library of Congress.-Works:...
and Francis Edwards Faragoh, and adapted by Charles Recht.
Casting about for some adequate means of conveying a sense of the hectic pace of this machine age, Egri pictured a world in which all of life is compressed into twenty-four hours. Children grow to maturity in a few minutes; meals are eaten in split seconds; tabloid newspapers are issued at intervals of a second or two, and the loss of half a minute is a serious matter.
Realizing that this notion alone was not quite sufficient to carry a play, Egri broadened his vision to afford a comprehensive view of the world's front page. Wars and justice, taxes and public opinion: all of these Egri incorporated in a manner that was a hallmark of expressionistic drama. Rapid Transit had a prologue and six scenes. There were almost seventy cast members. The sets conveyed an impression of cogwheels, greasy steel pistons, chains, derricks, clanking, rumbling, thumping. The tempo was blinding.
The New York Times described the play as "chaotic at times, but sporadically interesting."
External links
http://www.how-to-make-a-film.com/#!__the-art-of-dramatic-writing- Rapid Transit on the Internet Broadway Database
- TIME review of Rapid Transit