Polish Joke and Other Plays - by David Ives (Paperback)

About the Book

This collection brings together four full-length plays from the same dazzling pen that produced the one-act comic masterpieces of All in the Timing: Polish Joke, a young Polish-American's trip through ethnic stereotypes; Don Juan in Chicago, in which a Renaissance innocent makes a deal with the devil, only to become a reluctant Latin lover; Ancient History, a comedy-drama about the holy war that breaks out when two people from two very different cultures fall in love; and The Red Address, the searing portrait of a man with a secret who is forced by tragedy into self-revelation.

Book Synopsis

This collection brings together four full-length plays from the same dazzling pen that produced the one-act comic masterpieces of All In The Timing:

Polish Joke is about a young Polish-American's trip through ethnic stereotypes. Nine-year-old Midwesterner Jan Bogdan Sadlowski, nicknamed, Jasiu, is told by his uncle that Poles are thought to be" backward, stupid, inept, and gloomy." The only way out is for Jaisu "to impersonate someone not Polish."

Don Juan In Chicago, called in which a Renaissance innocent makes a deal with the devil only to become a reluctant Latin lover.

Ancient History, this comedy-drama about the holy war that breaks out when two people from two very different cultures fall in love.

The Red Address, the searing portrait of a man with a secret who is forced by tragedy into self-revelation.

Review Quotes

"Mr. Ives is a pitcher with a great many tricks up his sleeve. He throws like an all-star. . . mixing comedic moods and styles with a dizzying assortment of changeups."