This collection investigates the evolution and thematic preoccupations of modern Italian drama through a curated selection of seminal plays and critical essays. Editor Robert W. Corrigan compiles works from influential playwrights to illustrate the shift in Italian theatrical conventions during the twentieth century. By pairing dramatic texts with authorial prefaces and theoretical reflections, the volume provides a framework for understanding the transition from traditional structures to the experimental forms of the modern era.

Scholars and students of drama frequently utilize this anthology as a foundational resource for accessing key texts in the Italian modern canon. Readers often note the academic utility of the included prefaces in clarifying the complex theoretical underpinnings of the plays.