This is the first book in English to explore Italian grotesque theater in the twentieth century. Chiarelli'sTHE MASK AND THE FACE, Antonelli's A MAN CONFRONTS HIMSELF, and Cavacchioli's THE BIRD OF PARADISE have been widely staged in Europe and the Americas by prominent directors, including Pirandello. Michael Vena, who is also the translator of these plays, makes here a unique contribution to modern theater and literature. He highlights some of the significant innovations of the grotteschi in terms of ideas and in the relationship between author, actor, and the public. These playwrights exercised a pivotal role in stage renewal, forged links with the most avant-garde contemporary thinking and, some of them at least, set the pace for what becomes, much later, the theater of the absurd. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.