Books by Anthony Clarvoe

"Elegantly written…it evolves into a moving argument for that eternal gamble with terrible odds: taking a chance on love. The pleasure…is its unexpected depth. The intimacy of the conversation draws the audience in; before LET'S PLAY TWO is over, you may find yourself in tears over Grace's delicate emotional condition and, more significantly, Phil's capacity for acceptance and goodness."Peter Marks, The New York Times "LET'S PLAY TWO hits a home run…. Anthony Clarvoe pulls off a difficult feat and makes it look easy. At a time when romance is often cynically treated onstage as some sort of poisoned folly, he makes us care about two ordinary, likable people trying to connect…. LET'S PLAY TWO is a genuine date play. Clarvoe turns us all into fans and gets us rooting for both sides at once."Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle "LET'S PLAY TWO…should please anybody who enjoys a tender, rueful, well-acted romantic comedy…. The play is not really about baseball-it's about a turning point in the romance between two baseball fans. Clarvoe never glorifies, nor condescends to, his average guy and gal characters. He always observes them with clear eyes, but affectionate humor and respect…. LET'S PLAY TWO is highly engaging, and surprisingly, it lingers with a sweet poignancy long after it's over."Matthew Surrence, Oakland Tribune "Clarvoe writes exceptionally clever dialogue. He knows how to map out the psychological journeys of Grace and Phil so that we remain eager to travel along for two acts and two hours. And he's created two characters at once familiar and endearingly oddly matched. The further you travel with Grace and Phil, the more you end up liking-and rooting for-both of them."Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Examiner "Clarvoe is more interested in the human comedy than the comedy of errors. Baseball anecdotes and metaphors abound, but they're never belabored. The lovers are an appealing pair, fighting against love as hard as they fight for it, and their simultaneous win and loss is sweet to see."Judith Green, San Jose Mercury News

"Beautifully written… There is light of understanding cast on the human condition in this play. That light concerns the simple heroism of people who do not abandon their fellows in the dark hours."Marilynne S. Mason, Christian Science Monitor "Set in London as the Black Plague sweeps the city claiming more than 100,000 lives, THE LIVING is not about death. Rather this remarkable, riveting drama is a compelling confirmation of life." Sandra Dillard-Rosen, The Denver Post "Fascinating… THE LIVING is a play both clever and thoughtful…. With a fine wit and a keen irony."Richard Christiansen, Chicago Tribune "Haunting revives the plague time with often chilling vividness… The drama would be interesting even if there were no modern parallel. The play remains intellectually engrossing and, ultimately, gut-wrenchingly affecting."Aileen Jacobson, Newsday "This intelligent and cumulatively affecting drama…discovers the hope and humanity shining inside the black shroud."Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle "Aided by Clarvoe's enticing dialogue and grim humor…we see that beneath all the turmoil and death, there exists a simple humanity that saves souls and restores faith."Mary Houlihan-Skilton, Chicago Sun-Times "A rich, dynamic play…laced with oddly beautiful metaphors for tragedy…. Do heed this reminder to keep breathing during the full force of the action.Patricia Corrigan, St Louis Post-Dispatch "As much a drama of ideas as it is a drama of passion and compassion, it unfolds in a series of Shakespeare-like scenes that follow a handful of characters through the darkest months of the plague.… Clarvoe writes with wit and intelligence."Marion Garmel, Indianapolis Star "As a tale of human heroism and cowardice, pitilessness and compassion, medical sleuthing and political expediency, it cannot be beat…. Clarvoe's most potent idea has been to prohibit the characters from touching one another. Not even a piece of paper is handed directly from one person to another; everything is arranged to prevent human contact. So the ending is really miraculous." Judith Green, San Jose Mercury News

"As Gunpowder Joe begins, Mary Priestley urges her world-famous husband to flee as a mob approaches their home in Birmingham, England. But the scientist, whose political writings have inflamed his foes previously, isn't perturbed. `It will be fine', Joseph Priestley tells his worried wife. `They have been content to hang me in effigy for years.' `They may be done pretending', Mary retorts. Thus, the world premiere of Anthony Clarvoe's historical drama- `Gunpowder Joe: Joseph Priestley, Pennsylvania and the American Experiment' -gets off to a fast start… In the end, the Priestleys flee, and the rioters torch their residence, which contains the scientist's laboratory and library.… It quickly establishes how well connected Priestley became after settling in Pennsylvania. He soon had friends-and foes-in high places. In one scene, he and President John Adams are having tea when Priestley suggests that Adams appoint Thomas Cooper, another English expatriate who has settled in Northumberland, to a federal post. The president reacts sharply. `I would never give such a position to a foreigner', Adams declares, adding that such appointments should be given only to `loyal Americans'.… Animated, occasionally humorous and always enlightening, Clarvoe's drama shatters any notion that Priestley, internationally known for discovering oxygen in 1774, spent his last decade living quietly in Northumberland content to pursue new discoveries. It shows how he helped strengthen our First Amendment right to say things about our government that even the president may not like."John L Moore, The Daily Item

This literary masterpiece by one of the world's greatest authors is brought to vibrant life in this new adaptation. Four estranged brothers unexpectedly come together in their father's village, knowing that one intends to commit a terrible crime, but not knowing which of them will do it. Every fact, every motive, every belief about human nature, faith and redemption are questioned in this dynamic quest for truth."Anthony Clarvoe's adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov is a grand achievement, a reminder of how good theater can be. This excellent show satisfies and impresses in equal measure." -Terry Morgan, Variety"THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV has been my steady companion since opening night. It's a dazzling, existential whodunit about patricide, the existence of God and the anatomy of human nature. Clarvoe is among contemporary American dramatists pioneering a different path along common ground, that uses American experience, language that is both rich and familiar, behavior that is both complex and identifiable, to find a non-threatening yet provocative and challenging way into the classics." -Jackie Demaline, The Cincinnati Enquirer"Clarvoe's carefully wrought play is richly layered, with bold comedic touches leavening the serious themes. THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV addresses the mind, the spirit and the funny bone, and will not quickly be forgotten." -Patricia Corrigan, St Louis Post-Dispatch"Clarvoe's ability to take moments of the past and make them highly magnified, slightly unfocused and yet strangely rational views of today, has been shown before; his plays THE LIVING and SHOW AND TELL had successful productions …" -Joe Pollack, Variet

Couplehood and infidelity are subject to scrutiny in Anthony Clarvoe's oblique ode to LA RONDE. "Mr Clarvoe, previously represented in New York by PICK UP AX, a comedy about corporate intrigue in Silicon Valley that got good reviews when it was produced by 29th Street Rep in 1995, finds himself in an unusual position for a young playwright: two of his works are running concurrently in Manhattan. Besides LET'S PLAY TWO, which he wrote several years ago, his newest play, WALKING OFF THE ROOF, is being presented by the Signature Theater Company, the estimable Off-Broadway troupe that devotes each season to the work of one living American playwright. John Guare is the company's featured writer this year; Mr Clarvoe's play has been shepherded to production through a separate program for mid-career playwrights. Like LET'S PLAY TWO, WALKING OFF THE ROOF is an attempt to clear the spoiled air between men and women, only Mr Clarvoe's concern in this case is the end of relationships, not the beginning. With a nod to Harold Pinter's BETRAYAL, the play details a roundel of infidelities committed by a pair of couples, one married, the other not."Peter Marks, The New York Times "Anthony Clarvoe's fine ear for dialogue, and the sputterings of men and women ensnared by longing, juices his nervous, edgy roundelay depicting several couples and their bed manners. Sadness and disconnectedness reign with poignance, wit, and credibility."Laurie Stone, Village Voice

Ibsen's 1881 masterpiece finds a fresh interpretation in Anthony Clarvoe's taut adaptation in which a woman has to face her legacy of religious and sexual repression when her grown son comes home to tell her that he has an incurable sexually transmitted disease and asks her to help him die with dignity.

Three generations of a family move ever westward, restless, seeking. As they migrate from Croatia, through Wyoming, and on to Japan, the land of opportunity keeps moving, and the past keeps catching up. This unforgettable family provides an exquisitely rendered commentary on the human condition. "Smart, funny, provocative, a bit elliptical ... Anthony Clarvoe's account of the immigration experience, with a heavy shading of his own family's story of leaving Croatia, is an admirable new American play ... AMBITION FACING WEST is the story of three generations of Croatians and their determination to better themselves by facing constantly west. This gives the play a nicely circular construction both in space and time. Not only are the characters constantly on the move, but Clarvoe ... gracefully maneuver[s] the characters back and forth in time. Most of the actors play two parts, usually two generations apart, which is another intriguing touch ..." -Ed Siegel, The Boston Globe "A moat surrounds the semicircular stage of AMBITION FACING WEST. It's a striking symbol of both containment and freedom, the two opposing images at the heart of this sprawling, yet wonderfully spare play ... AMBITION FACING WEST manages to cover enormous territory without overwhelming ... The title, AMBITION FACING WEST, refers to the dreams of opportunity that have sent people westward throughout this century. Using the far-flung path of one family as his frame, Clarvoe opens in turn-of-the-century Dalmatia, but swiftly slips back and forth between 1940s Wyoming, 1980s Japan and 1910 Croatia. Throughout the journey, we see the eternal pull between parents and children - the desire to hold them close struggling with the drive to offer them something better ... AMBITION FACING WEST resonates with impressive depth, and his words continue to ripple long after that moat water becomes quiet again." -Terry Byrne, Boston Herald

An American chess master returns home for a defining emotional match with his challenging and unpredictable father, who years ago coached him to success. A taut, true and ultimately forgiving play about the negotiations we all make as parents and children, this intricate drama beautifully delineates the complexity that exists within the strict boundaries of a chessboard or a family. "An interesting mind bender that examines the love-hate relationship that a father and son have with each other and with the war game that defines them." -Jan Nargi, broadwayworld.com

"PICK UP AX…has a smart, sassy script that's studded with bright, funny dialogue… Clarvoe's very hip script centers on the fortunes of two bright young men, Keith Rienzi and Brian Weiss, who have bootstrapped themselves from a free-wheeling, penny-ante operation into a multi-million dollar computer software corporation through Keith's inventive brilliance and Brian's business instincts. But at twenty-seven, Keith is losing some of his whiz-kid brain, Brian's financial pipeline is drying up, and their supplier is refusing to deliver vital microchips to them. Just when these two aging wunderkind are facing disaster, in walks…Mick Palomar, a slick operator armed with an M B A and a flair for old-fashioned extortion…" Richard Christiansen, Chicago Tribune "PICK UP AX is a fast, funny, entertaining play about a fascinating subject: the growing pains of the personal computer industry… PICK UP AX is likely to be an audience-pleaser because of the sheer exuberance and wit of the script…" Brin., Variety