The Great Work Continues the Best Plays

50. The Weir (1997)

By Conor McPherson Irishmen in a provincial pub swap ghost stories — until a female newcomer upstages them. Buy it: Amazon iTunes

Credit: Henry Di Rocco/SCR

By Conor McPherson

Irishmen in a provincial pub swap ghost stories — until a newcomer from Dublin upstages them with her own haunting tale.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

49. Uncommon Women and Others (1977)

By Wendy Wasserstein Five Mount Holyoke grads gather for an impromptu reunion in Wasserstein's breakout play, an incisive look at educated women that holds up

Credit: Roger Greenawalt/Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections

By Wendy Wasserstein

Five Mount Holyoke grads gather for an impromptu reunion in Wasserstein's breakout play, an incisive look at educated women that holds up even better than The Heidi Chronicles.

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Amazon

48. The Piano Lesson (1987)

By August Wilson What do you do with your legacy? That question is at the heart of Wilson's 1936-set family drama about an heirloom piano.

Credit: Joan Marcus

By August Wilson

What do you do with your legacy? That question is at the heart of Wilson's 1936-set family drama about an heirloom piano carved with the faces of enslaved ancestors.

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Amazon

47. Awake and Sing! (1935)

By Clifford Odets A soulful Depression-era drama about a Jewish family in a cramped Bronx apartment. Buy it: Amazon

By Clifford Odets

A soulful Depression-era drama about a multigenerational Jewish family in a cramped Bronx apartment.

Buy it:
Amazon

46. What the Butler Saw (1969)

By Joe Orton This bone-dry farce packs in everything from adultery to cross-dressing to ''the missing parts of Sir Winston Churchill.'' Buy it: Amazon

Credit: Robbie Jack/Corbis

By Joe Orton

Set at a psychiatrist's clinic, this bone-dry farce packs in everything from adultery to cross-dressing to ''the missing parts of Sir Winston Churchill.''

Buy it:
Amazon

45. The Women (1936)

By Clare Boothe Luce An all-female cast paints the town red — jungle red — in Luce's deliciously vicious (and sometimes catty) send-up of Manhattan

Credit: Joan Marcus

By Clare Boothe Luce

An all-female cast paints the town red — jungle red — in Luce's deliciously vicious (and sometimes catty) send-up of Manhattan society.

Buy it:
Amazon

44. The Orphans' Home Cycle (1962–2009)

By Horton Foote Loosely based on the life of Foote's father, this sharply observed nine-play saga traces one small-town Texas man from the turn of

Credit: Gregory Costanzo

By Horton Foote

Loosely based on the life of Foote's father, this sharply observed nine-play saga traces one small-town Texas man from the turn of the 20th century through the Depression.

Buy it:
Amazon

43. The Odd Couple (1965)

By Neil Simon Simon spins comic gold from a simple premise: A fastidious newspaperman, Felix, moves in with his slovenly divorcé buddy, Oscar. The playwright's

Credit: Everett Collection

By Neil Simon

Simon spins comic gold from a simple premise: A fastidious newspaperman, Felix, moves in with his slovenly divorcé buddy, Oscar. The playwright's signature stage comedy spawned a hit film and TV series.

Buy it:
Amazon

42. Journey's End (1928)

By R.C. Sherriff Sherriff dives into the trenches of World War I for a mesmerizingly claustrophobic study of men in combat. The original London cast

Credit: George Karger/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

By R.C. Sherriff

Sherriff dives into the trenches of World War I for a mesmerizingly claustrophobic study of men in combat. The original London cast included a young Laurence Olivier.

Buy it:
Amazon

41. Picnic (1953)

Paul Newman | By William Inge Paul Newman made his Broadway debut in Inge's classically structured play about caddish guys and the middle-American women of all ages who

Credit: AP Images

By William Inge

Paul Newman made his Broadway debut in Inge's classically structured play about caddish guys and the middle-American women of all ages who love them in spite of their better judgment.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

40. Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1970)

By Dario Fo Fo's farce — based on a 1969 incident involving a Milan terror suspect — features a lethal bomb, a histrionic judge-impersonating criminal

Credit: Martha Swope

By Dario Fo

Fo's political farce — based on a 1969 incident involving a Milan terror suspect — features a lethal bomb, a histrionic judge-impersonating criminal known as the Maniac, and two alternate endings.

Buy it:
Amazon

39. The Front Page (1928)

By Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur Chicago journalists Hecht and MacArthur wrote what they knew: a comedy classic about tabloid reporters naturally inclined to hip-pocket

Credit: Everett Collection

By Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur

Chicago journalists Hecht and MacArthur wrote what they knew: a comedy classic about tabloid reporters naturally inclined to hip-pocket cynicism and rat-a-tat dialogue.

Buy it:
Amazon

38. Topdog/Underdog (2001)

By Suzan-Lori Parks Parks' magnificent two-hander focuses on hypercompetitive African-American brothers (initially played by Jeffrey Wright and Don Cheadle) portentously named Lincoln and Booth. Buy

Credit: Michal Daniel

By Suzan-Lori Parks

Parks' magnificent two-hander focuses on hypercompetitive African American brothers (initially played by Jeffrey Wright and Don Cheadle) portentously named Lincoln and Booth.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

37. Saved (1965)

By Edward Bond Bond's gritty, oft-censored look at impoverished young Londoners (which includes a notorious baby-stoning scene) influenced shock-and-awe purveyors such as Adam Rapp, Martin

Credit: Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty Images

By Edward Bond

Bond's gritty, oft-censored look at impoverished young Londoners (which includes a notorious baby-stoning scene) influenced shock-and-awe purveyors such as Adam Rapp, Martin McDonagh, and Sarah Kane.

Buy it:
Amazon

36. The Dybbuk (1920)

By S. Ansky On the eve of her wedding, a young woman is possessed by a malevolent spirit. Based on Jewish folklore, the play has

Credit: Robbie Jack/Corbis

By S. Ansky

On the eve of her wedding, a young woman is possessed by a malevolent spirit. Based on Jewish folklore, the play has become a Yiddish-theater staple.

Buy it:
Amazon

35. M. Butterfly (1988)

By David Henry Hwang Hwang's wistful drama is based on the true story of a French diplomat's romance with a Chinese opera diva — who's

Credit: Joan Marcus

By David Henry Hwang

Hwang's wistful drama is based on the true story of a French diplomat's romance with a Chinese opera diva — who's actually a man masquerading as a woman.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

34. The Bald Soprano (1950)

By Eugène Ionesco Pity the poor actors who must memorize Ionesco's string of absurdist non sequiturs. ''It's not that way. It's over here!'' Buy it:

Credit: Pierre Verdy/Getty Images

By Eugène Ionesco

Pity the poor actors who must memorize Ionesco's string of absurdist non sequiturs. ''It's not that way. It's over here!''

Buy it:
Amazon

33. The Norman Conquests (1973)

By Alan Ayckbourn There's never been a weekend in the country quite like the one six bed-hopping characters experience in this madcap comic trilogy. Buy

Credit: Joan Marcus

By Alan Ayckbourn

There's never been a weekend in the country quite like the one these six bed-hopping characters experience in this madcap comic trilogy.

Buy it:
Amazon

32. Machinal (1928)

By Sophie Treadwell A high point of expressionism, inspired by the true story of a woman executed after murdering her boss-turned-husband. Buy it: Amazon

Credit: Michael Fein

By Sophie Treadwell

A high point of expressionism, inspired by the true story of a woman executed in the electric chair after murdering her boss-turned-husband.

Buy it:
Amazon

31. The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001)

By Martin McDonagh Tarantino-like dialogue and bloodletting feature prominently in a pitch-black comedy about an inept Irish Republican Army splinter group and the killing of

Credit: Hardy Wilson/San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis

By Martin McDonagh

Tarantino-like dialogue and bloodletting feature prominently in a pitch-black comedy about an inept Irish Republican Army splinter group and the killing of a beloved cat named Wee Thomas.

Buy it:
Amazon

30. Marat/Sade (1964)

By Peter Weiss Weiss crafts a play-within-a-play directed by the notorious Marquis de Sade in Charenton Asylum. Buy it: Amazon

Credit: Robbie Jack/Corbis

By Peter Weiss

Weiss crafts a play-within-a-play directed by the notorious Marquis de Sade in Charenton Asylum that questions the catalyst for true revolution.

Buy it:
Amazon

29. Noises Off (1982)

By Michael Frayn Frayn elevates the door-slamming farce to high art in this three-act gem, which reveals the behind-the-scenes tensions in a hapless acting ensemble

Credit: Martha Swope

By Michael Frayn

Frayn elevates the door-slamming farce to high art in this three-act gem, which reveals the behind-the-scenes tensions in a hapless acting ensemble that continually bungles its cues and misplaces crucial plates of sardines.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

28. Present Laughter (1942)

By Noël Coward Few midlife crises are as uproariously funny as fortysomething actor Garry Essendine's in Coward's typically witty comedy. Buy it: Amazon iTunes

Credit: Joan Marcus

By Noël Coward

Few midlife crises are as uproariously funny as fortysomething actor Garry Essendine's in Coward's typically witty comedy.

Buy it:
Amazon

27. Top Girls (1982)

By Caryl Churchill The Thatcher-era look at women's achievements kicks off with an all-star dinner party including a ninth-century female pope, a British explorer, and

Credit: Martha Swope

By Caryl Churchill

The Thatcher-era look at women's achievements kicks off with an all-star dinner party including a ninth-century female pope, British explorer Isabella Bird, and Patient Griselda from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Buy it:
Amazon

26. Doubt (2004)

By John Patrick Shanley Far more nuanced than the 2008 film, Shanley's play centers on the fascinatingly ambiguous bond between a parish priest and an

Credit: Joan Marcus

By John Patrick Shanley

Far more nuanced than the 2008 film, Shanley's play centers on the fascinatingly ambiguous bond between a parish priest and an (unseen) altar boy — and the rigid nun on a crusade for what she believes is justice.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

25. Six Degrees of Separation (1990)

By John Guare In a wicked comedy of manners, a young man charms his way into Manhattan society by claiming to be Sidney Poitier's son.

Credit: Martha Swope

By John Guare

In a wicked comedy of manners, a young man charms his way into Manhattan society by claiming to be Sidney Poitier's son.

Buy it:
Amazon

24. Mother Courage and Her Children (1941)

By Bertolt Brecht Brecht created a complex survival-bent heroine in an antiwar epic set during the 17th-century Thirty Years' War. Buy it: Amazon iTunes

Credit: Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty Images

By Bertolt Brecht

An open response to the start of World War II, Brecht created a complex survival-bent heroine in an antiwar epic set during the 17th-century Thirty Years' War.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

23. Ruined (2008)

By Lynn Nottage Like Mama Nadi, the savvy brothel owner at the center of this portrait of Congo's civil war, Nottage doesn't choose sides between

Credit: Joan Marcus

By Lynn Nottage

Like Mama Nadi, the savvy brothel owner at the center of this portrait of Congo's civil war, Nottage doesn't choose sides between the government forces and the equally brutal rebels.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

22. The Homecoming (1965)

By Harold Pinter The dialogue pierces in Pinter's account of a young couple's visit to the hubby's all-male family. But the silences are just as

Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

By Harold Pinter

The dialogue pierces in Pinter's account of a young couple's visit to the hubby's all-male family. But the silences are just as explosive.

Buy it:
Amazon

21. ''Master Harold''... and the Boys (1982)

By Athol Fugard Once banned in South Africa, Fugard's play depicts a 17-year-old white boy's complicated ties to two middle-aged black servants. Buy it: Amazon

Credit: Martha Swope

By Athol Fugard

Once banned in South Africa, Fugard's apartheid-era play depicts a 17-year-old white boy's complicated ties to two middle-aged Black servants.

Buy it:
Amazon

20. The Real Thing (1982)

By Tom Stoppard The erudite Czech-born British wordsmith crafts an ingeniously clever play-within-a-play in which a Stoppard-like playwright reworks scenes from his actual life and

Credit: Martha Swope

By Tom Stoppard

The erudite Czech-born British wordsmith crafts an ingeniously clever play-within-a-play in which a Stoppard-like playwright reworks scenes from his actual life and his thorny relationships with women.

Buy it:
Amazon

19. The Little Foxes (1939)

By Lillian Hellman Who says women must always be demure little victims? In Hellman's Southern-fried domestic drama, Regina Giddens proves to be far more ruthless

Credit: Everett Collection

By Lillian Hellman

Who says women must always be demure little victims? In Hellman's Southern-fried domestic drama, Regina Giddens proves to be far more ruthless than her avaricious brothers in her quest for financial security and the family business.

Buy it:
Amazon

18. A View From the Bridge (1955)

By Arthur Miller In Miller's contemporary Greek tragedy, a Brooklyn longshoreman is driven to jealous distraction when his 17-year-old niece (and ward) falls for a

Credit: Gordon Parks/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

By Arthur Miller

In Miller's contemporary Greek tragedy, a Brooklyn longshoreman is driven to jealous distraction when his 17-year-old niece (and ward) falls for a newly arrived immigrant.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

17. Look Back in Anger (1956)

By John Osborne The first of British theater's Angry Young Men, Osborne produced a harshly realistic love triangle involving a working-class lad who marries an

Credit: Charles Hewitt/Getty Images

By John Osborne

The first of British theater's Angry Young Men, Osborne produced a harshly realistic love triangle involving a working-class lad who marries an upper-middle-class gal despite the scoffing of her haughty best friend.

Buy it:
Amazon

16. The Iceman Cometh (1946)

By Eugene O'Neill Stop us if you've heard this one before: A sober man walks into a bar, Harry Hope's sad-sack saloon in 1912 Greenwich

Credit: Joan Marcus

By Eugene O'Neill

Stop us if you've heard this one before: A sober man walks into a bar, Harry Hope's sad-sack saloon in 1912 Greenwich Village. Then O'Neill's confederacy of end-of-their-rope drunks struggle to cling to their delusions.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

15. True West (1980)

By Sam Shepard Such an actor's showcase that in a 2000 NYC revival John C. Reilly and Philip Seymour Hoffman alternated roles as a meek

Credit: Michael Brosilow

By Sam Shepard

Such an actor's showcase that, in a 2000 Broadway revival, John C. Reilly and Philip Seymour Hoffman alternated roles as a meek screenwriter and his volatile brother.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

14. August: Osage County (2007)

By Tracy Letts Pill-popping Oklahoma matriarch Violet Weston serves as hostess of a memorably snappish family reunion in Letts' barnstorming domestic drama. Buy it: Amazon

Credit: Joan Marcus

By Tracy Letts

Pill-popping Oklahoma matriarch Violet Weston serves as hostess of a memorably snappish family reunion in Letts' barnstorming domestic drama.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

13. Glengarry Glen Ross (1984)

By David Mamet In Mamet's kinetic, foulmouthed play about shady Chicago real estate salesmen, top agent Ricky Roma offers some sound advice: Always be closing.

Credit: Scott Landis/AP Images

By David Mamet

In Mamet's kinetic, foulmouthed play about shady Chicago real estate salesmen, top agent Ricky Roma offers some sound advice: Always be closing.

Buy it:
Amazon

12. The Glass Menagerie (1944)

By Tennessee Williams In this memory play, shrill, smothering Southern belle Amanda meddles in the stunted lives of her two misfit adult children. Buy it:

Credit: Everett Collection

By Tennessee Williams

In this memory play — which launched Williams into the public eye — shrill, smothering Southern belle Amanda Wingfield meddles in the stunted lives of her two misfit adult children.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

11. Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921)

By Luigi Pirandello Theater of the absurd has seldom been more cockeyed. Six strangers burst into a theater, interrupt a rehearsal, and demand that the

Credit: Rhodes College

By Luigi Pirandello

Theater of the absurd has seldom been more cockeyed. Six strangers burst into a theater, interrupt a rehearsal, and demand that the show's director complete the unfinished story of their lives.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

10. Our Town (1938)

By Thornton Wilder A Stage Manager leads a tour of all-American small town Grover's Corners in Wilder's no-frills play. It is typically staged with only

Credit: Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

By Thornton Wilder

A Stage Manager leads a tour of all-American small town Grover's Corners in Wilder's no-frills play. It is typically staged with only tables, chairs, and ladders for a set — and yet it's built for the ages.

Buy it:
Amazon

9. A Raisin in the Sun (1959)

By Lorraine Hansberry An African-American family living on Chicago's down-and-out South Side contend with how to improve their lot. In this compelling drama, the options

Credit: Gordon Parks/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

By Lorraine Hansberry

A Black family living on Chicago's down-and-out South Side contend with how to improve their lot. In this compelling drama, the options include embracing their African heritage and assimilating into white American culture.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

8. Pygmalion (1913)

By George Bernard Shaw More people know the musical My Fair Lady than Shaw's original play about phonetics professor Henry Higgins and his attempt to

Credit: Joan Marcus

By George Bernard Shaw

More people know the musical My Fair Lady than Shaw's original play about phonetics professor Henry Higgins and his attempt to pass off Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle as a proper lady. But wouldn't it be loverly if it were otherwise?

Buy it:
Amazon

7. Waiting for Godot (1953)

By Samuel Beckett The Irish playwright's bizarro existentialist classic features philosophizing, slapstick-loving tramps Gogo and Didi passing the time in a barren landscape where ''time

Credit: Roger Viollet/Getty Images

By Samuel Beckett

The Irish playwright's bizarro existentialist classic features philosophizing, slapstick-loving tramps Gogo and Didi passing the time in a barren landscape where ''time has stopped.''

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

6. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (1993–94)

By Tony Kushner In his seven-hour epic, Kushner (husband of EW columnist Mark Harris) grapples with gay identity in the midst of the AIDS crisis

Credit: Joan Marcus/Everett Collection

By Tony Kushner

In his seven-hour epic, Kushner (husband of EW columnist Mark Harris) grapples with gay identity in the midst of the AIDS crisis and depicts characters both straight and gay, fictional and real (including deeply closeted McCarthyist lawyer Roy Cohn).

Buy it:
Amazon

5. Fences (1985)

By August Wilson Wilson's 1950s-set drama is a memorable portrait of Negro League ballplayer-turned-trash collector Troy Maxson. He's a bundle of contradictions, demanding that his

Credit: Joan Marcus

By August Wilson

Wilson's 1950s-set drama is a memorable portrait of Negro League ballplayer-turned-trash collector Troy Maxson. He's a bundle of contradictions, demanding that his sons live practical, responsible lives even though he himself is a philanderer given to flights of fancy.

Buy it:
Amazon

4. Long Day's Journey Into Night (1956)

By Eugene O'Neill O'Neill recounts a fateful summer evening at the Tyrone family's seaside home, where members of the clan battle their addictions (to alcohol

Credit: Everett Collection

By Eugene O'Neill

O'Neill recounts a fateful summer evening at the Tyrone family's seaside home, where members of the clan battle their addictions (to alcohol and morphine) as well as one another.

Buy it:
Amazon

3. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962)

By Edward Albee The worst house party ever. In Albee's explosive play, which returned to Broadway last fall in a Tony-winning revival, an embittered, long-married

Credit: Everett Collection

By Edward Albee

The worst house party ever. In Albee's explosive play, which returned to Broadway in 2012 for a Tony-winning revival, an embittered, long-married academic couple host a much younger prof and his wife for an evening of brandy and verbal abuse. The older pair are named George and Martha — making them the first couple of American dysfunction.

Buy it:
Amazon

2. A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)

By Tennessee Williams Blanche DuBois, a fading Southern beauty with delusions of grandeur, may depend on the kindness of strangers — but she falls under

Credit: Everett Collection

By Tennessee Williams

Blanche DuBois, a fading Southern beauty with delusions of grandeur, may depend on the kindness of strangers — but she falls under the sway of her brutish, brooding brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski in Williams' searing tragedy. Marlon Brando, mumble-mouthed and T-shirted, made an indelible impression as the first Stanley on stage and on film, but the role still packs a punch today.

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Amazon

1. Death of a Salesman (1949)

By Arthur Miller Attention must be paid. Over the past six decades, Miller's drama about aging middle-class Everyman Willy Loman has become a classic evocation

Credit: Everett Collection

By Arthur Miller

Attention must be paid. In the decades since its debut, Miller's drama about aging middle-class Everyman Willy Loman has become a classic evocation of the dark side of the American dream. Willy struggles to compete in an economy that prizes youth and innovation over old-fashioned relationships. Weighed down by disappointment and false pride, he sees little hope of redemption in his two underachieving sons, whom he's taught to value superficial popularity over genuine accomplishment. In our Kardashian-saturated era, it's a message that seems even more urgent today.

Buy it:
Amazon
iTunes

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Source: https://ew.com/gallery/50-greatest-plays-past-100-years/

The Great Work Continues the Best Plays

50. The Weir (1997)

49. Uncommon Women and Others (1977)

48. The Piano Lesson (1987)

47. Awake and Sing! (1935)

46. What the Butler Saw (1969)

45. The Women (1936)

44. The Orphans' Home Cycle (1962–2009)

43. The Odd Couple (1965)

42. Journey's End (1928)

41. Picnic (1953)

40. Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1970)

39. The Front Page (1928)

38. Topdog/Underdog (2001)

37. Saved (1965)

36. The Dybbuk (1920)

35. M. Butterfly (1988)

34. The Bald Soprano (1950)

33. The Norman Conquests (1973)

32. Machinal (1928)

31. The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001)

30. Marat/Sade (1964)

29. Noises Off (1982)

28. Present Laughter (1942)

27. Top Girls (1982)

26. Doubt (2004)

25. Six Degrees of Separation (1990)

24. Mother Courage and Her Children (1941)

23. Ruined (2008)

22. The Homecoming (1965)

21. ''Master Harold''... and the Boys (1982)

20. The Real Thing (1982)

19. The Little Foxes (1939)

18. A View From the Bridge (1955)

17. Look Back in Anger (1956)

16. The Iceman Cometh (1946)

15. True West (1980)

14. August: Osage County (2007)

13. Glengarry Glen Ross (1984)

12. The Glass Menagerie (1944)

11. Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921)

10. Our Town (1938)

9. A Raisin in the Sun (1959)

8. Pygmalion (1913)

7. Waiting for Godot (1953)

6. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (1993–94)

5. Fences (1985)

4. Long Day's Journey Into Night (1956)

3. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962)

2. A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)

1. Death of a Salesman (1949)

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