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Street Scene: A Play in Three Acts
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781025392264
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 252
Weight: 0.79
Height: 0.53 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Street Scene is a powerful and groundbreaking three-act play by Elmer Rice that captures the gritty reality of life in a New York City tenement during the late 1920s. Set entirely on the sidewalk and stoop of a brownstone building, the drama unfolds over the course of twenty-four hours, offering a vivid portrait of a diverse group of neighbors navigating the pressures of urban existence.
The play centers on the Maurrant family, whose domestic tensions reach a breaking point amidst the stifling summer heat. Through a series of vignettes, Rice masterfully interweaves the lives of various residents-ranging from hopeful young lovers to cynical gossips-creating a mosaic of the immigrant experience and the socio-economic struggles of the working class. As a seminal work of American naturalism, Street Scene explores themes of infidelity, ethnic prejudice, and the desperate search for connection in an indifferent city.
Renowned for its technical innovation and emotional depth, this work won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1929. It remains a poignant exploration of the human condition, providing a hauntingly realistic look at the aspirations and tragedies that define the lives of those living on the margins of society.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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