Book: Heliogabalus: A Buffoonery In Three Acts Written on a lark by Mencken, with only a little assistance from his friend and Smart Set co-editor George Jean Nathan, in order to prove to themselves how easy it was to write a successful play. The result bears an uncanny resemblance to Mel Brooks' hit, The Producers. Of it Mencken wrote in 1937: ..."the hero should be a man universally disreputable, and...there should be nothing in the play save time-honored theatrical buncombe. Every sort of novelty in the plot was to be barred, and the so-called psychology was to be as transparent as possible." Despite their deliberate artlessness, they received numerous offers to stage the play, turning down a $10, 000 bonus and later the entreaties of John Barrymore's agent.
Details of Book: Heliogabalus: A Buffoonery In Three Acts Book: Heliogabalus: A Buffoonery In Three Acts
Author: George Jean Nathan Henry Louis Mencken
ISBN: 0554813076
ISBN-13: 9780554813073
, 978-0554813073
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 20082008
Publisher: Bibliolife
Number of Pages: 188
Language: English