The Rock Garden (1964) is a one-act play that, along with Cowboys, launched Shepard's play wrighting career. A series of strange conversations between a teenage boy and his mother and father, the play ends with a sexually explicit speech from the boy that some have considered obscene. Shepard says that "Rock Garden is about leaving my mom and dad."

The Tooth of Crime (1972) is a very unconventional two-act play with music that has often been called Shepard's "masterpiece." It portrays a battle for dominance in the popular music industry between an established country music idol and the newest rock singer sensation. Their battle resembles a Western "shoot-out," as well as urban "turf wars," and investigates our culture's need for celebrity status.

Angel City (1976) is a two-act play by Shepard that even more clearly than True West attacks the Hollywood film industry...