Theater: Loony Bin

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman

The screwball as saint is a national fantasy figure cherished by U.S. playgoers. In Harvey, the pixilated hero is the only one who can see his imaginary 6-ft. rabbit of the same name. The play's message appears to be that all would be right with the world if more people could emulate happy drunks with benign hallucinations. In Saroyan's The Time of Your Life, the bar's sugar daddy dispenses intellectual chewing gum, yet the play's credo—"In the time of your life, live"—is...

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