"Six Characters in Search of an Author" by Luigi Pirandello; adapted by Robert Brustein

Luigi Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author" is a play mentioned in many books about drama and Modernist literature that I have come across. The version that I just read was published in 1998, adapted by Robert Brustein. Adapted, not translated--this means that the text isn't merely translated from Italian to English, but that the context of it is altered at the hand of Brustein. There is an implication that certain things might have been updated, supplied to, and subtracted from the original text to create this version. As I have not read the translation of the original Italian, I have no idea how much different this version is from the original play. Overall, I find it an easy read, but not very impressive. The format of the play is interesting and must have been innovative in the Modern period, but the plot is typical and predictable. It might not have been so in 1921, but it certainly is now. I can't envision how this play can be staged today that would make it appealing to the audience, but it seems like a good material for a Modernism class.