George S. Kaufman Criticism
George S. Kaufman (1889-1961) was an influential American playwright, scriptwriter, and critic renowned for his sharp wit and satirical approach in theater. As a notable member of the Algonquin Round Table, Kaufman collaborated on over forty plays, deftly lampooning politics, the entertainment industry, and middle-class pretensions through incisive humor and clever dialogue. Dulcy (1921), written with Marc Connelly, and Once in a Lifetime (1930), his first collaboration with Moss Hart, are among his early successes that solidify his reputation.
Kaufman's works frequently explore themes of individualism and societal norms, often through eccentric characters and absurd situations. Notable pieces like You Can't Take It with You (1936) reveal his penchant for contrasting chaotic, unorthodox lifestyles with rigid social conventions, championing personal fulfillment over societal conformity. In collaboration with Moss Hart, Kaufman also penned The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939), a play inspired by Alexander Woollcott, which humorously critiques middle-class conservatism.
Kaufman's literary prowess extended into the realm of musical comedy. His work on Of Thee I Sing (1931), co-written with Morrie Ryskind, marked a historic moment as the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, drawing comparisons to Aristophanes' comedies as noted by Cleveland Harrison. Despite such accolades, critics like Joseph Wood Krutch observed a lack of warmth in his writing, while others such as Wilfrid Sheed and Eleanor Flexner acknowledged the wit in his plays despite their superficiality.
Kaufman's later work, including The Solid Gold Cadillac (1953) and Silk Stockings (1955), continued to engage audiences with humor, though some critics noted a decline in the impact and innovation of his earlier works. Contributing significantly to American theater, Kaufman's plays provide a window into the social history of his time, as argued by Russell W. Lembke.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Criticism: General Commentary
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The New Decade
(summary)
In the following essay, Quinn examines the Kaufman/Connelly collaborations and argues that neither wrote as well on an individual basis. Quinn also praises Kaufman's work with Edna Ferber in Dinner at Eight and with Hart in Merrily We Roll Along.
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George S. Kaufman: Master of the Technique of Good Theatre
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1939, Mersand discusses Kaufman's ability to satirize American character and culture.
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The George S. Kaufman Plays as Social History
(summary)
In the following essay, Lembke argues that Kaufman's plays offer an important survey of the American social history of his time.
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Tribute to George S. Kaufman
(summary)
In the following tribute, Hecht laments that by the time of Kaufman's death, the kind of irony and satire he wrote had become passé.
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Two Depression Plays and Broadway's Popular Idealism
(summary)
In the following essay, Kaplan explores the similarities between You Can't Take It with You and Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing.
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George S. Kaufman, 1889-1962
(summary)
In the following obituary, Freedley reviews Kaufman's career from his early days as a newspaperman through his collaborations with Moss Hart. This little essay will only be concerned with the earlier section of George Kaufman's long career as a playwright and director in one of the most exciting periods of our theater when American drama came of age in the period between the World Wars, roughly 1918-1939.
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Some Clever Collaborators
(summary)
In the following excerpted essay, Gould describes how Kaufman and Hart worked when they collaborated. For exactly a decade, from 1930, with Once in a Lifetime, to 1940, with George Washington Slept Here, two masters of comedic playwriting, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, contributed their combined wit and humor to the American theater in the form of six plays and two musicals. Three of the plays were outstanding works, one of which captured the Pulitzer prize. Their initial effort was an achievement in high comedy that ran for two years and won the Rio Cooper McGrue prize.
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Of Thee I Sing, Baby!
(summary)
In the following essay, Harrison argues that there are many similarities between Of Thee I Sing and the comedies of Aristophanes.
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The Wit of George S. Kaufman and Dorothy Parker
(summary)
In the following discussion, Sheed argues that the wit of Kaufman and Parker should not be thought of as a compensation for or expression of a psychoneurosis, but that as writers they deliberately created recognizable and marketable brands of wit.
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American Absurd: Two Nonsense Plays by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, and Ring Lardner
(summary)
In the following preface, Shyer discusses “nonsense plays” and Kaufman's contribution to the genre.
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The Fool and the Clown: The Ironic Vision of George S. Kaufman
(summary)
In the following essay, Mason examines Kaufman's use of fools and clowns, with particular focus on his use of the Marx Brothers in his comedies.
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George S. Kaufman's Exploitation of Women (Characters): Dramaturgy and Feminism
(summary)
In the following essay, Sauer gauges Kaufman's development as a dramatist by the development of his skill in drawing characters.
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The New Decade
(summary)
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Criticism: The Man Who Came To Dinner
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What Nothing Succeeds Like
(summary)
In the following review, Krutch objects to what he sees as a lack of warmth and merriment in The Man Who Came to Dinner although he recognizes that it is funny and skillfully crafted.
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The Man Who Came to Dinner
(summary)
In the following essay, Eustis describes Kaufman at work directing The Man Who Came to Dinner.
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What Nothing Succeeds Like
(summary)
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Fancy Meeting You Again
(summary)
In the following review, Nathan dismisses George S. Kaufman's play Fancy Meeting You Again—co-written with his wife Leueen MacGrath—as a trivial reincarnation comedy that relies on clichéd gags and conventional stage tricks, ultimately failing to engage audiences or achieve box-office success.
- Further Reading