Other Literary Forms
In addition to his dramatic works, Albert Innaurato has become a regular reviewer of, and commentator on, opera, publishing articles about directors and reviews of recordings in The New York Times. He has also written several teleplays, including Verna, USO Girl (1978), and Coming Out (1989).
Achievements
Albert Innaurato enjoyed enormous popularity with the simultaneous success of Gemini and The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie in 1977. Both plays received Obie Awards. Since then, Innaurato has struggled to fulfill the high expectations of his audience, and none of his subsequent efforts has met the high level of critical acclaim that the earlier plays enjoyed. Innaurato has received Rockefeller and Guggenheim grants and has served as resident playwright at the Circle Repertory Company and The Public Theatre. Coming of Age in Soho underwent a widely publicized revision during the course of its Public Theatre production and received a measure of praise, as did his next play Gus and Al. Nevertheless, Innaurato continues to be remembered for his first two New York productions, which established his place as an important contemporary dramatist.
Bibliography
Ahearn, Carol Bonomo. “Innaurato and Pintauro: Two Italian-American Playwrights.” MELUS 15, no. 3 (Fall, 1989): 113. Ahearn examines the ethnic identity conflicts in the works of Innaurato and Joseph Pintauro.
Freedman, Samuel G. “Reshaping a Play to Reveal Its True Nature.” The New York Times, February 24, 1985, p. B1. This article explains the process of revision that Coming of Age in Soho underwent as the gender orientation of the play changed and Beatrice displaced Giaconda as the central character.
Gussow, Mel. Theatre on the Edge: New Visions, New Voices. New York: Applause, 1998. Gussow discusses playwrights of modern theater, including Innaurato.
Innaurato, Albert. “An Interview with Albert Innaurato.” Interview by John Louis Digaetani. Studies in American Drama, 1945-Present 2 (1987): 87-95. Innaurato offers his opinions about the plausibility of several different critical perspectives on his work, in addition to describing his major personal concerns.
Rothstein, Mervyn. “For Angry Innaurato, No Self-Effacement.” The New York Times, March 20, 1989, p. C13. Innaurato explains his anger over the reviews he has received and how Gus and Al was conceived to prove to his critics that they were wrong to condemn his autobiographical tendencies.
Ventimiglia, Peter James. “Recent Trends in American Drama: Michael Cristofer, David Mamet, and Albert Innaurato.” Journal of American Culture 1 (Spring, 1978): 195-204. Favorably compares Innaurato’s early plays with the works of two other young writers, Cristofer’s The Shadow Box (pr. 1975) and the many plays by Mamet that were produced at that time.
See eNotes Ad-Free
Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
Already a member? Log in here.