Playing Underground - A Critical History of the 1960s Off-Off-Broadway Movement

"In his elegaic history of the 1960s off-off-Broadway movement, Bottoms focuses on New York's four leading "OOB" theaters: Caffe Cino, the Judson Poets' Theater, La Mama and Theatre Genesis

The author emphasizes that there was never a core leadership and scarcely a discernible movement, but simply a swelling desire among primarily young people for freedom of expression in the "geographic proximity" of Manhattan's Greenwich Village and East Village. He cheers the restored importance of the playwright

Featured players in this countercultural phenomenon include playwright Edward Albee, eccentric actress Julie Bovasso, the amiable coffee-house proprietor Joseph Cino, the wonderful Ellen Stewart and her La Mama Troupe

An appendix lists notable productions and events of the period

"While this study will be of most interest to older theater lovers, younger fans will also appreciate this comprehensive look at a significant chapter in recent American theater history" ~ Publishers Weekly