ABSTRACT
Kushner severel y test s hi s fait h i n hop e i n A Bright Room Called Day, a dark , despairing work illuminating issue s of political engagemen t (pas t and present) , survival, and fea r i n a n er a o f grea t socia l evil-i n thi s case , the ris e o f Adol f Hitler. Kushner presents this period o f time as an unstoppable wave of political upheaval and sets the political upheavals against the life of a lone woman unable to cop e with a social madnes s sh e can barel y comprehend . Employin g a n epi c structure an d expande d b y Kushner' s abundan t theatricality , lyricism , and , a s Harold Bloo m writes , "authenti c gif t fo r fantasy " (109) , Kushner' s pla y leap s into the darkest of dark nights, an era he described in 199 1 as like few others in history. Written a t a point i n American history-th e heigh t o f Ronald Reagan' s presidency-that h e considered a s bleak as the early days of the Nazi regime in Germany, Bright Room highlight s German y i n 193 3 an d Americ a i n 198 5 i n ways tha t generate d considerabl e controvers y an d critica l divisio n whe n th e play was performed.
