(Alexis Soloski’s article appeared in the Village Voice, 3/15.)
What would it take to cause a riot at the theater these days? Plays that once incited audiences now soothe or bore them. Spring Awakening appears on Broadway; Playboy of the Western World receives the dreary designation of a classic; Ubu Roi is assigned in high schools, while Victor Hugo's revolt-inducing Hernani isn't—only because it's too dull.