> "Archangels Don't Play Pinball" Dario Fo (this one is older - 1959 - but the production I saw was amazing)

A number of Fo's plays, when translated into English, have been substantially changed in order to make the transition from one cultural context to another, in fact, he often collaborates closely with his translators in the process, such as in the case of Richard Jenkins.

However, if you want a more recent example, I would mention Fo's "Johan Padan and the Discovery of the Americas" which is for a solo performer.

I recenly saw "The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow" and loved it.

> Read or see anything by Stephen Adly Guirgis.
> I've only recently discovered him and I think he's brilliant.

I recently saw Stephen Adly Guirgis' "Last Days of Judas Iscariot" and found that while he can write some witty dialogue, he seems to have a fetish for vulgarity, and no sense of plot or structure. In addition, I found the play to be misogynist throughout and the last act took a profoundly antisemitic turn.

I have no grasp as to why he is so highly praised. He's great when writing for the mafia characters from HBO's "The Sopranos" but he seems not to have the intelligence to deal with theological themes he chooses to stage, or the craft to actually deliver a finished product for the stage.

(Note #1: I'm hardly a conservative-- I just praised Dario Fo's work elsewhere in this thread.)

(Note #2: I just wrote a letter to the editor of my local alternative weekly, whose theatre writer picked "Last Days..." as one of her best of 2006-- so my critique is very fresh on my mind.)