Why is Romeo and Juliet on twice?

Sorry for the duplication of "R&J", the 100th play should be "Coriolanus" by Shakespeare.

Alrighty, I'll make it "remove duplicates," and that should solve the problem.

OK, I have combined duplicates about five times and it won't stick. CJ, could you remove the one with the portrait of William Shakespeare on it, which is the duplicate?

Thanks very much, Susanna.

I take it this is a DO NOT ADD BOOKS TO THIS LIST type of list, only if it doesn't say that up top you know what'll happen

:O)

No problem! Let's just hope it sticks this time.

Bettie wrote: "I take it this is a DO NOT ADD BOOKS TO THIS LIST type of list, only if it doesn't say that up top you know what'll happen

:O)"

Good point. You might want to consider if you want to add that notice, David.

Agreed. Done. Thank you, Bettie.

I see one's crept on already - you want me to remove Merchant of Venice, David?

Yes, please.

Dear CR,
No worries. It's a very fine play. The challenge for our Serious Literature Group was not to add every Shakespeare play but rather to give a chance to a broad array of worthy playwrights.

#96 and #98 both are Gorky, and list the same play, The Lower Depths, although one is an anthology.

Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie is superior to any other Williams play and a good many on this list. Just saying.

If you can't think of 100 better plays than ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, you need to think harder.

I see some outliers have crept on - you want me to remove them, David?

Do you think the "outliers" can't hear you? This is listopia. Make a shelf if you want it private.

I'm merely asking the list creator, who wanted a closed list, if he wanted that respected or not.

I doubt the outliers can hear me; they are plays. Which didn't have ears, the last time I checked.

Susanna wrote: "I'm merely asking the list creator, who wanted a closed list, if he wanted that respected or not.

I doubt the outliers can hear me; they are plays. Which didn't have ears, the last time I checked."

Touche!

Kathrina wrote: "Do you think the "outliers" can't hear you? This is listopia. Make a shelf if you want it private."

A list maker isn't allowed to create the "rules of the game" because this is listopia???

Reese wrote: "Kathrina wrote: "Do you think the "outliers" can't hear you? This is listopia. Make a shelf if you want it private."

A list maker isn't allowed to create the "rules of the game" because this is ..."

The Outliers are restless tonight.

Dear Goodreaders,
This list has been open for discussion for nearly four weeks by the Serious Literature Group of Goodreads, which has also recently published Top 100 lists on literary novels and poems. This group is comprised of a highly diverse group of Goodreaders. I have agreed to publish the consensus of our group. The purpose of this list is to promote discussion about great stage plays. I'm glad to see that you have strong opinions and favorites as they will help to point readers to Goodreads. Please vote for your favorites and voice your agreement or disagreement with the list. There were so many great plays it was a challenge to identify only 100 -- Shakespeare properly occupies a significant section of the list and a strong argument could well be made that every one of his plays should be on this top 100 list. I don't agree with all the selections myself and haven't read all of them. Nevertheless, I do plan to indulge in reading and seeing new stage plays from this list. So please keep your comments coming on this list and feel free to build your own on Listopia: that's why it's there for you.

David,

Thank you for explaining the purpose of this list and the process that led to its creation.

My own list of the top 100 stage plays would not match this list, but I realize that this list is not an invitation to the entire GR community to turn the list into an unlimited number of "top" plays. I hope that your message (#23) will encourage GR members to vote only for works on the Serious Literature Group's list and discourage voters from attempting to make the list something other than it was meant to be.

David - do you want the titles not on the original list removed?

Dear Susanna,
Yes, please -- Chaucer's "Miller's Tale" from the Canterbury Tales is not a stage play, for example, but appears in our Top 100 Poems List and does belong there as it is great. But Mel Brooks in the Top 100 Stage Plays of All Time? Or Neil Simon, really? "The Frogs" by Aristophenes is on our group's original list and should stay. A few of the other adds are quite interesting and I wish we had them earlier. Thank you for your help, Susanna.

David wrote: "Or Neil Simon, really?"

David,
I'm, of course, not among those who have voted for plays that are not on the Serious Literature Group's list; and I think that the members who voted for a few of Neil Simon's plays did not select his best works. But in response to your comment in message #26, I want to say: "No Neil Simon, really?"

The Serious Literature Group may well be guilty off being a little too serious. I'm loving your repartee.

David wrote: "The Serious Literature Group may well be guilty off being a little too serious.

You took the words right out of my mind. Seriously. Thank you -- seriously.

CORIOLANUS -- seriously?

I love the list; thank you for making this! And I'm for Coriolanus haha! However, I think Peter Pan should be added as the greatest piece of children's theatre. Also, I think the time is ripe to re-evaluate Ibsen. A Doll's House and The Master Builder, as utterly excellent as they are, are more period pieces. Although they still work very well on stage, they were specific to controversies of the day. An Enemy of the People is so well done, its relevance can still rile and enlighten audiences far better than plays being written about current affairs. Also, Peer Gynt has become a more and more relevant play as theatre techniques have evolved. Both plays were hugely impactful on contemporary playwrights such as Arthur Miller. The plays that made Ibsen iconic may no longer be his best works, now that we can see them from a distance.

Colin wrote: "I love the list; thank you for making this! And I'm for Coriolanus haha! However, I think Peter Pan should be added as the greatest piece of children's theatre. Also, I think the time is ripe to re..."

Dear Colin,
I think that Tayyab is building a children's book top 100 list on which "Peter Pan" rightfully belongs. I totally get your point on Ibsen and agree with it. He did have a great influence on theatre in his day and thereafter but some may pale as period pieces. Thank you for your insight and sharp perspective.

Reese wrote: "David wrote: "The Serious Literature Group may well be guilty off being a little too serious.

You took the words right out of my mind. Seriously. Thank you -- seriously.

CORIOLANUS -- serio..."

There's just no accounting for taste, Reese. I mean, Shakespeare? Seriously?

Colin & David,

I have enjoyed reading the comments posted by each of you. And Colin, I'm with you on the place that AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE deserves to get before spots are given to ADH and TMB. I have an imagination deficiency, so I can't imagine what it would take to get me to support the inclusion of CORIOLANUS on a list of the top 100 stage plays "of all time."

David wrote: "Dear Reese,
This ship has sailed after four weeks of serious discussion about what should be on the list: the list is the list. I encourage you to start your own list -- honestly. I have voluntaril..."

David,

I believe that you may have misunderstood my intention. In responding to Colin's comments, I was simply engaging in an exchange of opinions. Your remarks in message #23 seemed to encourage discussion of the list. I wasn't attempting to get the Group to modify the list, nor am I interested in starting a new list. The site has a Best Plays or Musicals list and a Best American Plays list, and I've already voted for works on both lists.

Haha Coriolanus is a strange play that always seems to be making a comeback. It's raw and has essentially no likeable characters, keeping it from ever become a mainstream staple,but the very real, pulsating arguments and fascinating character portrayal always spark the minds of deep Shakespeare diggers, the way something like All's Well that Ends Well does not.Olivier had massive success with it, T.S. Eliot called it Shakespeare's best tragedy, and now it's a gold star for Ralph Fienes both on stage and screen. I call it the great underdog play.

Colin wrote: "Haha Coriolanus is a strange play that always seems to be making a comeback. It's raw and has essentially no likeable characters, keeping it from ever become a mainstream staple,but the very real, ..."

Dear Colin,
Very astute and well said. Thank you.

Colin wrote: "Haha Coriolanus is a strange play that always seems to be making a comeback. It's raw and has essentially no likeable characters, keeping it from ever become a mainstream staple,but the very real, ..."

Colin,
I have to admit that your passionate remarks about CORIOLANUS have shaken the scale in my head that, for many years, has had almost nothing but tedious scholarly articles sitting on it. I should see Ralph Fienes and forget "The Dialectic of Transcendence in CORIOLANUS" etc. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.

Let's open this excellent list to gain the benefit of the intellectual capital of all Goodreaders based upon our list of Top 100 Stage Plays recommended by the Serious Literature Group. I'll take off the "Please Do Not Add Books" notation and see where this accessibility takes our list.

How about Copenhagen by Michael Frayn?

Importance of Being Earnest #3? I read a play the other night called MURDER WITH GRACE that was as good as Wilde's overrated play.