Voices of the Chicago Eight: A Generation on Trial

Description

The explosive protests and police riots outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the ensuing conspiracy trial gave voice to the tumultuous politics of the time. Frank Condon and Ron Sossi have crafted a dramatically gripping playscript from a careful selection of actual court transcripts, accompanied here by an introduction and historical reflections written by Tom Hayden, one of the original defendants. This potent book captures the trial's original energy, its confrontational and sometimes theatrical tactics, and its absolute outrage.

"Tom Hayden changed America", the national correspondent of The Atlantic, Nicholas Lemann, has written. He created "the blueprint for the Great Society programs", according to presidential assistant Richard Goodwin. He was the "single greatest figure of the 1960s student movement", according to a New York Times book review. Forty years later he was described as "the conscience of the Senate" Frank Condon has directed all five of the professional productions of The Chicago Conspiracy Trial to date, including the original production at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. That production garnered him Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Awards for both directing and playwriting. RON SOSSI, Artistic Director of the ODYSSEY THEATRE ENSEMBLE, received a BA in Theatre from the University of Michigan where he won the Avery Hopwood Playwriting Award, and an MA in Film from UCLA, where he was awarded the Samuel Goldwyn Creative Writing Award.

a tremendous rush of emotion . . . a jolting evocation of a dark, disturbing moment in our history.--Chicago Tribune powerful . . . can't help but touch raw nerves . . . wildly theatrical.--USA Today This skillfully edited recreation of the 1969 Chicago Eight conspiracy trial makes spectacular dramatic use of court transcripts to present a drama in which the participants are as intense as the political atmosphere. . . . contains a surprisingly large dose of humor . . . superb . . . powerful production--Variety . . . beautifully realized . . . a taut, exciting script . . .--The Nation