Given the ever-increasing population and limited funds of US prisons, why would administrators encourage theater programs behind bars? Tocci (theater, speech communications, English literature, Salem State College) goes beyond the therapeutic platitudes by closely examining the workings of three programs and how they benefit inmates in very real ways. He examines the roots of New York's Theater for the Forgotten, which grew from rebellion over Vietnam on the outside and developed a powerful performer-audience dynamic on the inside over its three-decade history; New Jersey's Cell Block Theater, which came to specialize in therapeutic theater for young offenders through a system of workshops and performances, and Missouri's Prison Performing Arts Program, which emphasized inmate performances and encompassed both inmates and their families. He shows how classical theater production as well as showcasing prison playwrights worked, how programs aided inmates after release, and how, sometimes, theater was not the perfect solution. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
