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Dolly Gray Landon
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Nothing is More: a High Black Comedy in Verse with Music for Six Actors Paperback – January 29, 2019

by Dolly Gray Landon (Author), Gary Lloyd Noland (Author), Lon Gaylord Dylan (Illustrator)
4.6 out of 5 stars 35 ratings
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Landon’s subversively hilarious six-hour play is a high black comedy in doggerel verse with music for six fiercely opinionated and outspoken characters with radically different perverspectives apropos of what constitutes “art,” ranging from the commercially pragmatic to the philosophically effete. The opinions expressed are in no ways frivolous but evolve into transcendental matters verging on Life and Death. The setting is Pimpleton State Luniversity, which offers a post-doctoral degree called a “stool” for scholars specializing in absurdly arcane areas of research (e.g., Primaeval Linguistics, Feline Transgender Studies, and Astromusicology). Amongst the stool program’s leading contenders is a bombastically pretentious charlatan named Phangbang Bonation, who is the prolific progenitor of a post-postmodernist aesthetic known as “Nadaism,” which espouses the submicrominimalist credo that producing zilch (i.e., nothing at all) is a legitimate form of artistic expression. This deranged ideology draws a huge cult following amongst critics of all artistic genres and earns Phangbang untold wealth in the sales (thru auctions) of various non-opuses from his Nadaistic oeuvre. Two of his fellow stool candidates—Pelvin Penisovich and Purvel Schlignatz—are so violently repelled by Phangbang’s grandiose pretensions (especially subsequent to his diverting the amorous attentions of their main squeezes exclusively to himself), that they spare no effort in forging an elaborate scheme to expose him for the cunning impostor they adamantly believe him to be in the hopes of not only irrevocably invalidating him and his cockamamie ideas about art but also of obliterating him and his Nadaistic movement from the face of the earth. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing turns out the way Pelvin and Purvel envisioned it ought to have subsequent to carrying out their nefarious enterprise, as they learn, to their utmost dismay, that they have unwittingly opened a whole new (and even more appalling) Pandora’s box of depraved theoretical dogmas as to what constitutes an authentic form of creative expression. Thus, their foiled attempt to subvert what they perceive as the unholy aesthetic crusade of their rodomont adversary ends up backfiring upon them in the form of a new post-postmodernist school of thought that blindly enthused critics coin as “revisitationism,” which engenders in its turn the unleashing of a plague of criticastically acclaimed, up-to-the-minute, pseudo-artistic horrorshows all across the land. The following caveat should not be construed as a spoiler alert but rather as a friendly heads-up to prospective explorers of this text. Readers and audients are duly advised of the very palpable likelihood that they will be rendered speechless—even dumb—when they find out what the aforementioned revolutionary artistic innovation embodies. Be forewarned: This play is not intended for weak-kneed invertebrates or the squeamish of heart.
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  1. Print length
    218 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    January 29, 2019
  4. Dimensions
    8.5 x 0.5 x 11 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1795387513
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1795387514
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Some of the longer sections of dialogue had much philosophical meat on them and some fascinating insights into the way we view and cherish the opinions of 'artists' and 'experts,' often at the expense of our own common sense or gut feelings ... In many ways I was reminded of a much more extreme FlashHeart from Blackadder, morphing to the extreme pragmatism and cynicism of Blackadder himself ... 'and now for something completely different!'"--Grant Leishman, READERS' FAVORITE

"...a mix between Shakespeare and Joe Dirt ... uniquely written ... hard to put down ... fast pace ... unusual environment ... unique."--Anthony Elmore, READERS' FAVORITE

"... philosophically challenging work ... As many conspire to rebuke ... and uncover the nonsense artist for what he truly is, the schemes take twists and turns to a startling and unusual climax ... Students of both art and philosophy are sure to get a lot out of the ideas discussed by playwright Dolly Gray Landon ... for those who appreciate a critical challenge with plenty of dark laughter, ... sure to bring smirks to lips ... recommended as a powerful intellectual work for a select audience."--K.C. Finn, READERS' FAVORITE

From the Author

I initially completed NOTHING IS MORE in the spring of 2008, after having written another play--LOVE THEORY 101--that I had originally intended as an opera libretto but which had transmogrified, whilst in the depths of its generative process, into something altogether different and unexpected. I was motivated to write these two plays after having received a performance of my "comic book opera" CAFE RITARDANDO Op. 89 by Opera Vista in Houston in 2007. I am delighted to be able to offer this newly revised edition of NOTHING IS MORE to a potentially wider readership. The text of my play, though in free verse, draws some of its inspiration from the rhyming couplets (not to mention certain thematic elements apropos of our shallow, fragmented culture) of David Hirson's masterfully written farce "La Bête" (which harkens back to Molière), as well as some of the philosophical questions raised by the dialogues and interactions between the three characters in Yasmina Reza's play "Art." I was also stirred by Terry Zwigoff's luminously perceptive (and sorely underrated) film "Art School Confidential," what with its poignantly accurate portrayal of "art" as practiced in the academy. The title of my play is drawn from the minimalistic credo that "less is more," and from my own unique experiences as a "maximalist" composer in a mostly unsympatico and inattentive culture consisting of flat harmonies and ubiquitous soundbites. On one occasion some fifteen years ago, when I gave a brief lecture on my unique and all-encompassing method of harmony to members of a university music faculty on the West Coast, I tried to compress my ultra complex theory into a half-hour long talk, which proved to be disastrous--not a single member on the faculty seemed to understand or appreciate what I was talking about. (William Gass is attributed as having said something to the effect that a great book judges its readers, not the other way around. The author Alexander Theroux once said that he takes a "Schadenfreude-like delight" in the inaccessibility of his books, which he views as a condemnation not of his books but of the readers who don't "get" them). One particularly cringeworthy criticism to my talk from a music theorist on the faculty was that I was trying to compress too much material into too small of a time frame. (He was right in one sense: my harmonic method can easily be extended into a four-year course.) He said something to the effect that (a-hem!) "less is more." I took his point well but ultimately begged to differ with his minimalistic outlook, which seemed to celebrate indolence over industry. I have always favored the rigors entailed by the pursuit of complexity in creative works and thus remain indifferent to anything that doesn't meet such exacting standards. I would like to believe that my play has the potential to act as a countervailing buttress against such minimalistic notions in more ways than can be described in a sentence. For readers who enjoyed NOTHING IS MORE, I would beg to draw their attention to my book JAGDLIED: a Musically & Graphically Enriched Eroto-Neurotically Supercharged Psychopathological Supense-Thrilling Chamber Novel about the Artfully Revengineered Conspiratorial Undoing of a Complacent, Over-Coddled, Trust-Funded Teenage Entitlement Princess for Narrator, Musicians, Pantomimists, Dancers & Culinary Artists. It is currently available for purchase at Amazon and other book retailers.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (January 29, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 218 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1795387513
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1795387514
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.14 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.5 x 11 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

About the author

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Dolly Gray Landon

Dolly Gray Landon

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Award-winning author and acclaimed composer Gary Lloyd Noland, also known by the pen name Dolly Gray Landon, was born in Seattle in 1957 and grew up on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley called People's Park, a hub of civil unrest. He studied music at UC Berkeley, the Boston Conservatory, and Harvard, earning a PhD in Music Composition in 1989. Noland's prolific catalogue includes piano, vocal, chamber, orchestral, and experimental works, as well as full-length plays and chamber novels. His award-winning, 77-hour-long gesamtkunstwerk JAGDLIED was named the number one book of 2018. His monumental 39 Variations on an Original Theme in F Major has been praised as a "titanic achievement" in the literature for solo piano. His most recent novel, "The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor" won the LITERARY TITAN BOOK AWARD in December, 2024.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
35 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book incredibly well-written and enjoy its humor, with one noting the writer's talent for satire. They appreciate its dark tone and unique creativity, with one review highlighting how it tackles questions of aesthetics.

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8 customers mention "Humor"8 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's humor, with one noting the writer's talent for satire and another praising the amazing lyricism of the text.

"...There were some humorous parts, for sure, and most of the characters were well-developed...." Read more

"...I'd love to see it performed. The book is funny as hell, but also incredibly well-written and darker than I expected it to be...." Read more

"...This work requires patience as you read through it, but rewards the reader with wit, an interesting storyline, and humor...." Read more

"...The redeeming factor is that the writer has a talent for satire and a lively imagination...." Read more

5 customers mention "Enjoyment"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable, with one describing it as a six-hour black comedy play.

"...gave it a 5 star for skill and story, but feel it would make a very entertaining play should someone ever adapt it. I would go see it." Read more

"...Definitely! So good to have come across Nothing Is More. A grand experience with great depth that will require many visits & immersions on my part...." Read more

"...That said, this is a fun read - I say 'read' because I wouldn't dare attempt to perform this - if you like dark comedies and plays in general...." Read more

"This is a six-hour black comedy play. The author did a great job writing this piece with much humor. The script is well structured...." Read more

4 customers mention "Story quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers praise the book's writing, with one noting its well-structured script and another highlighting its interesting storyline.

"...The book is funny as hell, but also incredibly well-written and darker than I expected it to be...." Read more

"...as you read through it, but rewards the reader with wit, an interesting storyline, and humor. There is a philosophical message as well...." Read more

"This is a six-hour black comedy play. The author did a great job writing this piece with much humor. The script is well structured...." Read more

"Well written story keeping your attention gripped by the jm a gjnstive telling of the e story. Exciting to read. Fun to reaf." Read more

3 customers mention "Creativity"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's unique creativity and authentic artistic expression, with one customer noting how it tackles questions of aesthetics.

"I give this 5-Stars for its unique creativity, which I look upon as a stroke of genius...." Read more

"...factor is that the writer has a talent for satire and a lively imagination...." Read more

"...on speed, a bonanza of ideas, a linguistic outpouring, -tackling questions of aesthetics, philosophy, and what constitutes an authentic form of..." Read more

3 customers mention "Dark tone"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the dark tone of the book.

"...The book is funny as hell, but also incredibly well-written and darker than I expected it to be...." Read more

"...A very dark room with bright lights sucking on a painfully rotting molar across the hours of the night. Most enjoyable." Read more

"Dark, twisted, satirical, ironic and marvelous!!!..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Steven B .
    5.0 out of 5 stars A bit laborious but good
    Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I am giving it a 5 star because of the skill it takes in writing a piece like this and actually doing it well. I must admit, I haven't really read a script for a play like this before, and can't help but feel it would do the tale more justice to actually see it performed live. There were some humorous parts, for sure, and most of the characters were well-developed. Maybe it is just because I am not used to reading things in this format, but I did have a little trouble at times and there were parts were it was a bit wordy and the flow was interrupted. Still, if you are good at visualizing what you read, and enjoy reading scripted-format/plays, give this is a read. Like I said, I gave it a 5 star for skill and story, but feel it would make a very entertaining play should someone ever adapt it. I would go see it.
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  • Andrew Rivas
    5.0 out of 5 stars A hilarious, well-written piece.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I have to admit I haven't read a play in book form since college, but I loved Nothing is More. I'd love to see it performed. The book is funny as hell, but also incredibly well-written and darker than I expected it to be. I kept finding myself reading lines out loud to see how they'd sound, and the lyricism of the text is amazing. I rarely reread or revisit texts, but this book is dense and I enjoyed it enough that I might have to. Highly recommended.
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  • John Munch
    5.0 out of 5 stars Most enjoyable: a very dark room with bright lights sucking on a painfully rotting molar.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Did I understand this? Absolutely not. Did I feel it? Definitely! So good to have come across Nothing Is More. A grand experience with great depth that will require many visits & immersions on my part. And can you even divine what Joyce could have done with Finnegans Wake had he had the medium of YouTube, or the Web in general at his disposition? But then Joyce did have that bit of an affair with the cinema, so perhaps, & here too author & composer Noland claims that this is a stage play . . NOT! A film perhaps & with many asides into media diverse, so perhaps e-pub with all allowable links to the auditory & the visual is IT. A very dark room with bright lights sucking on a painfully rotting molar across the hours of the night. Most enjoyable.
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  • Ivan
    4.0 out of 5 stars A play with a dark sense of humor
    Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    The story of six people all with wildly different ideas on what constitutes art butt heads trying to prove their own perspective to be the right one. Crazy hi-jinks, music, and dark humor abound and this is definitely not going to be for everyone. I'm not too keen on the play format - reading Shakespeare and Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' kind of killed off my enthusiasm. That said, this is a fun read - I say 'read' because I wouldn't dare attempt to perform this - if you like dark comedies and plays in general. Not really my cup of tea but it was fun. Check it out and see what you think.
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  • William N. Weiss
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Work of Unique Creativity
    Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I give this 5-Stars for its unique creativity, which I look upon as a stroke of genius. This work requires patience as you read through it, but rewards the reader with wit, an interesting storyline, and humor. There is a philosophical message as well. If the play comes out, I will be first in line to see it!
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  • Mary Sheeran
    3.0 out of 5 stars Genuine talent - eventually!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    First, the reader has to make it through long explanations and long descriptions of characters and props and things. It's as if the writer was afraid of me getting to the actual first page! By the time I got to the actual play, I was exhausted at being told what I was going to read. The redeeming factor is that the writer has a talent for satire and a lively imagination. The play in the end did not appeal to me - it might appeal to you -- but there is a genuine talent here once one cuts through all the brush. Give it a try, but whiz through those first pages.
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  • Rosetta
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great script with humor
    Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This is a six-hour black comedy play. The author did a great job writing this piece with much humor. The script is well structured.

    This is not the first script like this. However, many details exceeded my expectations, like costume descriptions and songs!
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  • Chandler Kitching
    5.0 out of 5 stars Dark, twisted, satirical, ironic and marvelous!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This book had me laughing HARD from the first page to the last. I can't get enough. If this book got transformed into a play near me, I would definitely go watch it now. Do yourself a favor and check out this book!
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