The Paradise Circus

Set in the farm country near a Midwestern village in 1919, Purdy investigates the dramatic effects of a father's sale of his two younger sons to a circus owner for ten thousand dollars. The play owes less to Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge and more to Marlowe's Dr. Faustus in its outrageous and vivid depiction of the corruption of a man's soul by money. The father's tardy quest for redemption makes for high drama, as Purdy brings in fire and witchcraft to create explosive scenes amongst vividly eccentric characters. The two women in the play provide foils of stability and self control to the male-dominated action and foster the play's suggestion of a better future ahead for some. The conclusion is muted and subtle and pays respect to the serious themes woven into the comedic edge of this drama. In Selected Plays by James Purdy