cover graphic by Lamont O’Neal, art by Felicien Rops
“This seems to be Arthur Schnitzler’s year in the English-speaking world. In THE
BLUE ROOM, we saw all of Nicole Kidman…in a daring adaptation of one of his most
dazzling works for the stage, REIGEN (LA RONDE, ROUND
ONE). Ten couples pair up for the ultimate
pleasure. One of each continuing with a different partner until in the last
scene the prostitute, who has appeared in the first sketch, appears once more.”
Peter Gay, The New York Times Book Review
“The original play,
REIGEN, was kept from the general public by Schnitzler. First, he printed it
only privately. Second…he withheld it from production. In 1920-1 he did allow it
to be performed but when the Vienna production resulted in anti-semitic
outbursts against the author, he withdrew it once again. He died in 1931 but
when I translated REIGEN in the Fifties, his son and heir Heinrich still wanted
the play withheld, to protect his father’s good name and avoid the ugly protests
against the show that he thought would inevitably accrue. However, the play was
not protected by U S copyright, and I allowed Circle in the Square to produce
it. José Quintero, as director, had no difficulty showing that this play has
little to do with an actress’s nudity but much more to do with the Western
world’s mores and moralitynot
forgetting that the story is shot through with irony and humor.”
Eric Bentley, The New York Times Book Review
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