Essential Self-Defense

In "Essential Self-Defense," disgruntled misfit Yul Carroll takes a job as an attack dummy in a women's self-defense class and finds himself mysteriously drawn to Sadie, the repressed bookworm mercilessly honing her skills on him. Meanwhile, all's not well on the unassuming Midwestern streets of Bloggs: with local children vanishing at an alarming rate, our hero, his lady friend, and a motley assortment of poets, butchers, and punk librarians prepare to battle the darkness on the edge of town. Adam Rapp is the author of numerous plays, most notably "Nocturne "(Faber, 2002) and "Red Light Winter "(Faber, 2006) which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. In "Essential Self-Defense," disgruntled misfit Yul Carroll takes a job as an attack dummy in a women's self-defense class and finds himself mysteriously drawn to Sadie, the repressed bookworm mercilessly honing her skills on him. Meanwhile, all's not well on the unassuming Midwestern streets of Bloggs: with local children vanishing at an alarming rate, our hero, his lady friend, and a motley assortment of poets, butchers, and punk librarians prepare to battle the darkness on the edge of town. "Rapp . . . is a gifted storyteller. He makes demands on his audience, and he rewards its close attention with depth and elegance."--John Lahr, "The New Yorker" "Rapp . . . is a gifted storyteller. He makes demands on his audience, and he rewards its close attention with depth and elegance."--John Lahr, "The New Yorker
""Few dramatists today write more pungent dialogue."--Robert Brustein, "The New Republic
""Rapp is very gifted, and . . . he has something to say."--Bruce Weber, "The New York Times
""An ambitious and prodigiously talented writer."--Charles Isherwood, "Variety"