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Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney

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( 167 ratings, 32 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney by Lucas Hnath is a darkly clever play centred on a reading of a stylised screenplay penned by Walt Disney himself, portraying his last days. The narrative unfolds in a corporate conference room where Walt, his brother Roy, his resentful daughter, and her ex-jock husband bring the story to life. Themes explore Walt’s ambition to control the future from beyond the grave, family tensions, and the building of a transformative city, blending myth and reality with sharp wit.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2999
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in arts and culture, fans of theatrical works and those intrigued by the complex legacy of Walt Disney and his family dynamics.

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“Enjoyably weird . . . nothing that ever came out of the Magic Kingdom was this animated.” —Time Out NY

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Lucas Hnath's darkly clever A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney centres on the reading, in a generic corporate conference room, of a stylised screenplay written by the great man himself, in the ultimate act of self-mythologising. It's being read by the people it's about—Walt himself, his brother/henchman Roy, and Walt's resentful daughter and her ex-jock husband.

It's about Walt's last days on earth. It's about a city he's going to build that's going to change the world. And it's about his brother. It's about everyone who loves him, and how sad they're going to be when he's gone.

Can Walt control the future from the grave? Why does his daughter hate him so much? Were thousands of lemmings harmed in the making of a famous Disney nature film? Stay tuned...

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Charles Isherwood of The New York Times describes it as a "superb meditation on the human desire to aspire to the status of a god, and the corrupting influence of this wish on the spirit and the flesh." Time Out NY calls it "enjoyably weird" and notes "nothing that ever came out of the Magic Kingdom was this animated."

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781468310825

Publisher: Overlook Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 February 2020

Country: United States

Imprint: Overlook Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 8.0mm

Width: 139.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 160g

Pages: 112

About the Author

Lucas Hnath is a resident playwright at New Dramatists, and his plays have been produced or developed at Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Culture Project, Ontological-Hysteric Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Raddlestick Playwrights Theatre, among others. His play A Doll’s House, Part 2 premiered on Broadway in 2017 and received eight Tony nominations including Best Play and an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding New Broadway Play.

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