English drama the stage. Again In the 1950s, the absurdist play "Waiting for Godot" (1955) (originally "En attendant Godot", 1952), by the French resident, Irishman Samuel Beckett profoundly affected British drama. The Theatre of the Absurd influenced Harold Pinter (1930-2008), (The Birthday Party, 1958), whose works are often characterised by menace or claustrophobia. Beckett also influenced Tom Stoppard (1937-) ("Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead",1966). Stoppard's works are, however, also notable for their high-spirited wit and the great range of intellectual issues which he tackles in different plays. Both Pinter and Stoppard continued to have new plays produced into the 1990s. Michael Frayn
Rich and Famous (play) Stephen DeRosa and Gregory Wallace. The reviewer for "sfgate.com" wrote: "Written as a vaudeville - complete with snappy, tuneful songs by Guare and musical director Laura Burton providing accompaniment on an old upright piano - 'Rich' follows the downward spiral of playwright Bing Ringling (Brooks Ashmanskas) on the opening night of the off-off-Broadway premiere ("in a toilet on Death Street") of his first produced play...The problem with these characters isn't in the over-the-top performances but in the dated quality of much of the humor, and their cumulative effect doesn't take us on much of a journey." Rich and Famous (play)