Critical stage

SAM SHEPARD: playwright or politician? [“Truth, Justice vs. America’s Way,” June 25]

There’s a saying in the theater, “If I want to know about politics, I’ll read a newspaper.”

I have worked in Theater Genesis in Manhattan, a theater group that Shepard initiated with playwright colleagues. His work was remarkable for its Americana take on the people he portrayed in his plays. Has he now, as a middle-aged artist, become totally political instead of insightful?

I hope that Shepard will stay with dark comedy instead of “The Message!”

GABY RODGERS

Los Angeles

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Rodgers is an actress who appeared with Ralph Meeker in the film “Kiss Me Deadly.”