Books About the War>Creative Literature>Drama

Vietnam War Drama
A Selected Bibliography of Plays

Balk, H. Wesley. The Dramatization of 365 Days. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1972.

Berrigan, Daniel. The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. Boston: Beacon Press, 1970.

Berry, David. G. R. Point. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1980.

Clark, Sean. Eleven-Zulu. New York: Samuel French, 1984.

Coming to Terms: American Plays and the Vietnam War. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1985. Includes:

Cole, Tom. Medal of Honor Rag.
Gray, Amlin. How I Got That Story.
Mann, Emily. Still Life.
McNally, Terrence. Botticelli.
Metcalf, Stephen. Strange Snow.
Rabe, David. Streamers.
Weller, Michael. Moonchildren.

Christner, David W. Vietnam Trilogy:

American Pies, Happy Lives, Blue Skies and Other Lies. Vietnam Veterans Home Page, 1996.

Author will provide scripts for to interested parties in an MS Word or Adobe pdf format for the following plays:

The Wall--Second play of Vietnam Trilogy. A squad of young soldiers of misfortune is reunited at the Vietnam Memorial in D.C. with the only survivor of a VC ambush that took place 20 years ago in the Ia Drang Valley. Finalist in Stage 3 Internatinal Playwriting Competition. Finalist in University of Northern Kentucky National Playwriting Competition.

Biu-Doi: The Dust of Life--Third play of a Vietnam trilogy. In 1998, hack writer Taylor Munroe is confronted by his 30-year-old Chinese American son he didn't know existed. And Wei Chan has his mother in tow and is intent of arranging a marriage. Winner of Silver Medal in Harold Pinter International Playwriting Competition.

DiFusco, John, et al., eds. Tracers. New York: Hill & Wang, 1986.

Durang, Christopher. The Vietnamization of New Jersey: An American Tragedy. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1978.

Kubrick, Stanley, Michael Herr, and Gustav Hasford. Full Metal Jacket. New York: Knopf, 1987. (screeenplay)

MacDermot, Galt, Gerome Ragni, and James Rado. Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. New York: Pocket Books, 1969. Also in Richards, Stanley, ed., Great Rock Musicals. New York: Stein & Day, 1979, pages, 379-478.

Patrick, Robert. Kennedy's Children. New York: Random House, 1976.

Rabe, David. The Vietnam Plays. New York: Grove, 1993, 2 volumes. Includes:

The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel
Sticks and Bones
Streamers
The Orphan

Ribman, Ronald. "The Burial of Esposito." In Best Short Plays, 1971. Edited by Stanley Richards. Radnor, Pa.: Chilton, 1971, 157-70.

_____. "The Final War of Ollie Winter." In CBS Playhouse Presents "The Final War of Ollie Winter." New York: CBS Television Network, 1967. Also in Great Television Plays, edited by William I. Kaufman , New York: Dell, 1969, 259-301.

Staranowicz, Bob. Etchings--The Stories Behind the Wall. (Appropriate for high school production--contact bobstar101@comcast.net)

Stone, Oliver, and Richard Boyle. "Platoon." In Oliver Stone's"Platoon" and "Salvador": The Original Screenplays. New York: Vintage, 1987.

Terry, Megan. "Viet Rock." In "Viet Rock," "Comings and Goings," "Keep Tightly Closed in a Cool Dry Place," "The Gloaming Oh My Darling": Four Plays. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1967.

Tesich, Steve. "'The Speed of Darkness" American Theatre 6, #4-5 (1 July 1989):1-16.

Wenckheim, Nicholas. Twelve Hundred Hostages. Hicksville, N.Y.: Exposition, 1978.

Wilson, Lanford. The 5th of July. New York: Hill & Wang, 1979.

For additional information, see Wittman, Sandra. Writing About Vietnam: A Bibliography of the Literature of the Vietnam Conflict. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1989.

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