About the Book

Five new plays from an acclaimed rising star in contemporary American playwriting.

Book Synopsis

Samuel D. Hunter's plays are populated with characters from the bleak side of the American economy. Laced with poetic images yet drawn with meticulous realism, Hunter's plays linger in franchise restaurants, retirement facilities, mountain camps and struggling businesses. The five plays collected here, all set in Hunter's home state of Idaho, demonstrate this writer's knack for exposing, without condescension or easy moralizing, the pathos in marginalized lives.

Review Quotes

"Skillful and moving, Pocatello is another of Hunter's explorations of community and isolation in Idaho, humanely rendered and shrewdly structured. Hunter's writing achieves a new level of technical complexity from the opening scene." --David Cote, Time Out New York

"The Few is a compassionate, gently hued drama about lonely lives. Mr. Hunter writes with unusual insight into, and empathy for, people whose lives have settled into sad stasis, or strategic withdrawal." --Charles Isherwood, New York Times

"A Great Wilderness is an affecting drama that strengthens its hold on you bit by unpredictable bit...The playwright's wide-angle view of humanity is evident again, as is his willingness to upend our expectations." --Don Aucoin, Boston Globe

"Hunter is a welcome theatrical voice from the American West. In Rest, Hunter mixes quirkiness with poignancy in a drama that elicits steady laughter by juxtaposing stark facts of mortality with existentialist aches and neurotic pains. Hunter has a gift for capturing the fine-grained textures of daily interaction." --Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

"A Permanent Image totters at the edge of realism, a fusion of Midwest Gothic, with clattering notes of absurdism. Hunter is adept at coming up with striking images. You'll be sustained not just by the question of where this play is going, but also by the empathy you'll find yourself feeling for the characters." --Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune


"Skillful and moving, Pocatello is another of Hunter's explorations of community and isolation in Idaho, humanely rendered and shrewdly structured. Hunter's writing achieves a new level of technical complexity from the opening scene." --David Cote, Time Out New York

"The Few is a compassionate, gently hued drama about lonely lives. Mr. Hunter writes with unusual insight into, and empathy for, people whose lives have settled into sad stasis, or strategic withdrawal." --Charles Isherwood, New York Times

"A Great Wilderness is an affecting drama that strengthens its hold on you bit by unpredictable bit...The playwright's wide-angle view of humanity is evident again, as is his willingness to upend our expectations." --Don Aucoin, Boston Globe

"Hunter is a welcome theatrical voice from the American West. In Rest, Hunter mixes quirkiness with poignancy in a drama that elicits steady laughter by juxtaposing stark facts of mortality with existentialist aches and neurotic pains. Hunter has a gift for capturing the fine-grained textures of daily interaction." --Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

"A Permanent Image totters at the edge of realism, a fusion of Midwest Gothic, with clattering notes of absurdism. Hunter is adept at coming up with striking images. You'll be sustained not just by the question of where this play is going, but also by the empathy you'll find yourself feeling for the characters." --Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

About the Author

Samuel D. Hunter's other plays include The Whale, A Bright New Boise, The Healing and The Harvest. He is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, a Whiting Writers Award, an Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award. He holds degrees in playwriting from NYU, The Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and Juilliard. He holds an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Idaho.