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A R GURNEY (1930 - ) |
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Nationality: USA Email: Click here to contact Website: Click here to visit |
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Literary Agent: William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC |
Please send me a biography and information about this Playwright
xxx doollee
Plays by A R Gurney |
Ancestral Voices | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1999 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14946 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | If the family is the key theme of American drama, A R Gurney's ANCESTRAL VOICES: A FAMILY STORY is a beautiful chamber work in that great tradition. The short play is staged as a concert work, with five performers sitting on chairs in front of music stands, where they've laid their scripts. The five are playing membersgrandfather, grandmother, father, mother, sonof a rich WASP family in Buffalo NY between 1935 and 1942, with a brief coda from the 1960s. The son, Eddie, who goes from age eight to twelve, is our narrator, guide and point of view. . .. This lovely play unites the microcosm of family to the macrocosm of America at war. On Eddie's first date he brings his girl a paper `war-sage'. It's also about something in betweena city. It's an elegy for Buffalo, a once-glorious place whose fortunes are declining. The texture of life in Buffalo is heartbreakingly evoked in ways reminiscent of The Magnificent Ambersons. . .. This is a magical play, not a mere exercise in uncritical nostalgia, but a nuanced reminiscence full of time and change and loss and suffering--as well as joy. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Another Antigone | ||
| 1st Produced: | Old Globe Theatre, San Diego | 1986 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1988 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14947 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | After many years of teaching the classics at a New England university, Henry Harper is not surprised by much - and particularly not by precocious students who want to re-write his beloved Greek masterpieces to reflect current socio-political concerns. So when a gifted young Jewish student, Judy Miller, announces that she intends to submit an updated, anti-nuclear version of ANTIGONE in place of the formal paper which he has assigned to her, Henry is adamant in his refusal. Unfortunately Judy (who needs the credit from his course to graduate) is as stubborn as her professor, and when she resolves to defy him and produce her play on campus, tensions begin to mount. Judy also lodges a complaint with the university grievance committee, which elicits a visit from the dean not only to plead with Henry to soften his stand, but also to warn him that accusations of anti-Semitism (however unfounded) have arisen. Before long it is evident that what is at issue, for Henry, is not just a matter of academic integrity, but | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Big Bill | ||
| 1st Produced: | Williamstown Theatre Festival | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #40618 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | several ball-boys | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | bio of famous gay tennis star | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Black Tie | ||
| 1st Produced: | 59E59 Theaters | 08 Feb 2011 | ||||
Company: | Primary Stages | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, Inc (2011) | ISBN/ASIN: | 978-0-8222-2526-3 | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #124189 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Father of the groom Curtis simply wants to make a memorable toast. But before he is able to raise his glass, he must defend the time-honored ways of his past, including his attire. Cultures clash when a surprise guest is announced, threatening to throw convention out the window. Curtis finds that balancing the standards of his late father and the needs of his future family may prove too messy for a black tie affair. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Bridal Dinner, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 1962 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14948 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Buffalo Gal | ||
| 1st Produced: | Theatre Festival Williamstown | 2001 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14949 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | It's always a pleasure to watch a master craftsman at work. A.R. Gurney is such an artist and for over 50 years he has been offering us well crafted plays at the rate of one every year or two. His latest, Buffalo Gal, is a reworking of one he wrote in 2001 for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He saw it staged again in 2002 in Buffalo which is the play's setting at the Studio Arena. Now, reshaped for 2008, it finally arrived in New York on August 5th, via Primary Stages. Why did it take eight years and three versions? Second thoughts about the structure (it was in two acts, now it's in one, which required some tinkering), about the ending (the original endings were not satisfying to its audiences, he's finally found one that pleases him), and commitments to other plays that kept popping out of him. | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Cheever Evening, A | ||
| 1st Produced: | Playwrights Horizons, Off Broadway, NY | 1994 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14950 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy/Drama Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | John Cheever, master chronicler of America's post-war angst and alienation, and how it affected a burgeoning suburban class, left a storehouse of dramatic possibilities in his fiction, largely unexplored purely by dint of his chosen artistic medium: prose. In A CHEEVER EVENING, A.R. Gurney brings to light these possibilities through his mastery of stagecraft. Adapting no less than seventeen of Cheever's most funny and moving of stories, Gurney probes the affairs of that set of people (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) who once felt in the majority but soon found themselves in the twilight of their power and at the mercy of a changing world. Seen through the lens of A.R. Gurney's dramatic sensibility, Cheever's separate stories of a fragmented and lonely universe combine into a whole and resonant portrait-that of a culture which, while teetering on the brink of extinction, combats loss with humor, wit and feeling. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Children | ||
| 1st Produced: | London | 1974 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14951 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | suggested by the story "Goodbye, My Brother" by John Cheever | |||||
Synopsis: | The action takes place in the summer home of a wealthy "WASP" family on a resort island off the New England coast. In residence are a middle-aged but still attractive widow; her divorced daughter; and her prep school teacher son and his wife. Their pleasant regimen is interrupted by two jarring events: the mother's announcement that she plans to marry an old family friend (which means that the house will then pass to her children); and the unexpected arrival of her younger son and his family. The younger son, "Pokey," has always been out of step with the rest of the family, and while he remains a shadowy offstage figure throughout, it is quickly evident not only that (for reasons of his own) he objects to his mother's remarriage and to the plans which his siblings have hatched for the house, but also that he can, and will, stop them. As the others lash back at Pokey much that has been repressed in them rises to the surface, and they are forced to painful (yet often funny) examinations of their own rather sterile lives. In the end, however, their resistance crumbles, and they are resigned again to things as they are and, most likely, will continue to be until the ways of the world truly change. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Cocktail Hour, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | San Diego | 1988 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14952 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | The time is the mid '70s, the place a city in upstate New York. John, a playwright, returns to his family's house, bringing with him a new play which he has written about them. His purpose is to obtain their permission to proceed with production, but his wealthy, very proper parents are cautious from the outset. For them the theatre is personified by the gracious, comforting era of the Lunts and Ina Claire, and they are disturbed by the bluntness of modern plays. And there is also John's sister, Nina, to contend with, although her reservations have to do with the fact that John has given her character such a minor role. Their confrontation takes place during the ritual of the cocktail hour, and as the martinis flow so do the recriminations and revelations, both funny and poignant. In the end it is evident that what John has written is closer to the truth than his family has heretofore been willing to admit, and that beneath their WASP reserve his parents and siblings are as beset with uncertainties and frustrations as their presumed "inferiors." But while they seem shackled by the past, and tantalized by an alien future, the ties which bind them do prevail-surmounting disputes and disappointments and, with unfailing warmth and humor, converting pained resignation into cautious but hopeful anticipation. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Comeback, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 1965 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1967 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14953 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | As outlined in the Boston Traveler: "While director Paul John Austin, portraying a reporter later identified as Homer, waits for the story to 'jell,' it's like a gay party except for the brooding Telemachus, grousing like Hamlet at his mother's wedding feast. The 100 suitors of his mother, Penelope, have cocktails in the rumpus room, only Antinous emerging now and again to goad the youth about his reading Kafka and Dostoyevsky all summer. Then enters Penelope to send him to the cellar for a big barrel of wine and paper cups, to chide him about dreaming. And finally the return of Odysseus, or rather the 're-entry' since it represents a problem, this returning home. Mr. Gurney has a lot of fun superimposing sailing and skiing, cocktail parties and servant problems, such appurtenances to modern life as bongo boards and Madras dinner jackets. It's all fun, with an underlying but glancing blow at deeper thought." But a blow that is felt-as out of the biting wit comes a perceptive and telling commentary on the way people were, are and always will be. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Crazy Mary | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2007 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing, 2007 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #66647 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | In an attempt to account for the family inheritance, the scion of a wealthy Buffalo, NY clan and her willful, college-aged son visit their long lost cousin Mary. The catch: Mary is living in an asylum for the wealthy insane and has barely spoken in years, forcing mother and son to employ radical ends to get through. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Darleene | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #40619 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Short play | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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David Show, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Tanglewood, Massachusetts | 1966 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, NY, 1968 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14954 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Fantasy One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | David, Bathsheba, Saul and Samuel are transported to a day TV studio for David's coronation. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Dining Room, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Playwrights Horizons, Off Broadway, NY | 1982 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14955 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | playing 57 characters | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | The play is set in the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, the place where the family assembled daily for breakfast and dinner and for any and all special occasions. The action is comprised of a mosaic of interrelated scenes-some funny, some touching, some rueful-which, taken together, create an in-depth portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class WASP. The actors change roles, personalities and ages with virtuoso skill as they portray a wide variety of characters, from little boys to stern grandfathers, and from giggling teenage girls to Irish housemaids. Each vignette introduces a new set of people and events; a father lectures his son on grammar and politics; a boy returns from boarding school to discover his mother's infidelity; a senile grandmother doesn't recognize her own sons at Christmas dinner; a daughter, her marriage a shambles, pleads futilely to return home, etc. Dovetailing swiftly and smoothly, the varied scenes coalesce, ultimately, into a theatrical experience of exceptional range, compassionate humor and abundant humanity. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Far East | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1998 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14957 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | The hero of Far East is Sparky Watts, scion of a well-to-do Midwestern American family, a young naval officer stationed in Japan just after the close of the Korean War. Sparky is fresh and confident and eager: he is here to see the world and to have lots of interesting experiences: to find himself, he hopes, and as far away from his conventional, narrow-minded family as possible. Sparky is viewed with annoyance and then with avuncular bemusement by his commanding officer, a career military man named James Anderson, a pioneer flyboy grounded after the death of his son. Anderson's wife Julia also takes a very personal interest in handsome Sparky, especially when he reveals that he is in love with a Japanese woman, and that he intends to marry her. Julia is an old friend of one of Sparky's aunts, and her bitter, racist reaction to this news prompts her to inform Sparky's family of his wayward behavior. Running parallel to the story of Sparky's Michener-esque love affair is another, sadder one, also of betrayal, involving Sparky's roommate Bob. While preparing to take a week of vacation, Bob turns over custody of some classified documents to Sparky. Sparky discovers that some items are missing; Bob eventually admits that he is being blackmailed by a man who was his lover but has turned out to be a Communist spy. Sparky's naive honesty compels him to turn his friend in; effectively ending Bob's career, of course, but also prompting a crisis of conscience for himself that he never satisfactorily resolves. Near the end of Far East, Sparky and Bob reconcile and talk about their futures. Sparky speaks romantically of a life with his Japanese fiancee, away from the strictures of his youth and his family. Bob, meanwhile, is entirely uncertain of what lies ahead: rejected by the Navy and by his mother, he literally has nowhere to go, nothing to do. Sparky says he understands; Bob replies, quietly, that he cannot. But we know that Bob is going to flourish wherever he finally lands, because he also tells Sparky that he is not going to deny his | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Fourth Wall, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14958 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Peggy has redecorated the living room and her husband, Roger, can't stand it. Peggy's usual exquisite taste was overcome by a mysterious lapse which caused her to redo the room as if it were a stage set. Everything faces one wall, the "fourth wall," which she's left bare and which is really the audience. Unable to cope any further, and needing someone to talk to, Roger asks their old, dear friend, Julia, to fly up from New York. Julia agrees that something strange is going on, especially since everyone who enters the room begins to behave as if they were acting in a play, or even a musical when occasionally someone feels the urge to sing a Cole Porter song. Julia, affected by the room, suggests Roger call "976-NUTS" and have Peggy put away, which would allow the two of them to have the affair they've never before thought about. Roger can't do that and explains that he's got one hope left: Floyd, a local theatre professor. Roger asks Floyd to come over in hopes that he can "Doctor" Peggy's play and bring it to a close, thus allowing him and Peggy to resume their happily married life. But that doesn't work either as Floyd sees what's going on and is in complete agreement with Peggy. Peggy, following in St. Joan's footsteps at Floyd's urging, decides she must do what she must do and sets out to break the fourth wall in order to connect with her feelings. Roger rushes after her, leaving Julia and Floyd with a final Cole Porter tune. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Golden Age, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Greenwich, London | 1981 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1985 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14959 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | story The Aspern Papers by Henry James | |||||
Synopsis: | The play takes place in a once elegant townhouse in Manhattan, the home of Isabel Hastings Hoyt, an aging but still charming recluse who had been a glittering figure in the literary salons of the 1920s. Now short of money, Mrs. Hoyt is concerned about the future of her granddaughter, Virginia, a twice-divorced near-alcoholic whom she hopes to see securely married before she herself, as she puts it, "kicks the bucket." In earlier years, Mrs. Hoyt was friend and confidante of many world figures, especially F. Scott Fitzgerald who, it is rumored, used her as the model of Daisy in The Great Gatsby. This fact leads Tom, an ambitious young academic, to seek her out. Tom believes that Mrs. Hoyt possesses an unpublished chapter from Gatsby which depicts passionate lovemaking between Gatsby and Daisy, a literary treasure which he is determined to procure no matter how devious the means. It is this obsession that sets up the increasingly complex and perilous relationship which develops between the three protagonists-a relationship that, inexorably, leads to the startling and ironic denouement of the play. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Golden Fleece, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1968 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, NY, 1967 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14960 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Fantasy One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Couple face audience and claim to be in contact with Jason and Medea. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Grand Manner, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Mitzi Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023 >>> | 27 Jun 2010 | ||||
Company: | Lincoln Center Theater | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, Inc (2011) | ISBN/ASIN: | 978-0-8222-2514-0 | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #115035 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | drama comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | In 1948 playwright A.R. Gurney, then a young boarding school student, traveled to New York where he attended a performance of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, going backstage afterwards to meet the production's star, the great stage actress Katharine Cornell, who was dubbed "The First Lady of the American Stage" by the legendary critic Alexander Woollcott. A mix of remembrance and imagination, The Grand Manner is a love letter to this fabled actress and a heartfelt look back at the glorious heyday of the Broadway theater. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Guest Lecturer, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | George Street Playhouse, New Jersey | 1998 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #13505 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Human Events | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14956 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Based on the novel "Entertaining Strangers" by A R Gurney | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Indian Blood | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2006 | |||||
Company: | Primary Stages | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #55766 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | about family and coming-of-age. Young Eddie uses his Indian ancestry as a cause and an excuse for his adolescent attacks on the genteel world around him. Was it his ties to the Seneca tribe or his talent as a budding artist that caused his privileged world to turn upside down? | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Labor Day | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1998 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14962 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | John is an established older playwright recovering from a bout with cancer. His latest work, which he views as his best, if possibly his last, has gained the interest of a major regional theatre, the Shubert Organization, and a possible Hollywood star. Dennis, the bright young director to whom John has given the play, shows up on the Labor Day holiday at the writer's house in rural Connecticut to ask for essential changes. Dennis feels the play has been adversely affected by the playwright's illness, becoming too inverted and sentimental. John's family has gathered for the holiday, and when they find out the play is primarily about them, they also criticize the enterprise. It is soon obvious that the playwright-and aging father-doesn'treally know either his family or himself. LABOR DAY reveals the age-old conflict between art and life and the hard labor it takes to reconcile the two. In the end, life wins, hands down. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Later Life | ||
| 1st Produced: | Westside Theatre (Upstairs), Off Broadway, NY | 1993 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14963 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Comedy Drama Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Austin has spent his entire life convinced that something terrible is bound to happen to him. One night, at a party, overlooking Boston harbor, he has the pleasure of rekindling a romance begun almost thirty years ago with Ruth. Now a multiple divorcee, Ruth's personal life is in such turmoil that mutual friends look to Austin as Ruth's last shot at normalcy. At the same time, these friends are hoping the wildly unpredictable Ruth will help loosen Austin from the grip of years of depression and lifelessness. Comically, and sometimes painfully, these two people rediscover each other and themselves while a bevy of free-spirited other guests rally behind them and remind them of the infinite possibilities that life holds, should one only choose to pursue them | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Light Lunch, A | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2008 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Plays (2009) | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #93006 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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| ||||||
Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | a post-Bush cautionary tale about the price paid for legacy. When a young lawyer from Texas invites a literary agent for lunch in a New York City restaurant, more than a production is on the table. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Love Course, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Boston | 1970 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "Best Short Plays 1970", ed Stanley Richards,Chilton, Philadelphia, 1971 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14964 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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| ||||||
Genre: | One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | also part of Public Affairs | |||||
Synopsis: | A university literature course on love is taught by male and female professors with different views on life. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Love In Buffalo | ||
| 1st Produced: | New Haven, Connecticut | 1958 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14965 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Love Letters | ||
| 1st Produced: | New Haven, Connecticut | 1988 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14966 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner, both born to wealth and position, are childhood friends whose lifelong correspondence begins with birthday party thank-you notes and summer camp postcards. Romantically attached, they continue to exchange letters through the boarding school and college years-where Andy goes on to excel at Yale and law school, while Melissa flunks out of a series of "good schools." While Andy is off at war Melissa marries, but her attachment to Andy remains strong and she continues to keep in touch as he marries, becomes a successful attorney, gets involved in politics and, eventually, is elected to the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, her marriage in tatters, Melissa dabbles in art and gigolos, drinks more than she should, and becomes estranged from her children. Eventually she and Andy do become involved in a brief affair, but it is really too late for both of them. However Andy's last letter, written to her mother after Melissa's untimely death, makes it eloquently clear how much they really meant, and gave to, each other over the years-physically apart, perhaps, but spiritually as close as only true lovers can be. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Middle Ages, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Los Angeles | 1977 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14967 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | The action takes place in the trophy room of a rather stuffy men's club in a midwestern city. As the play begins we meet Barney, the son of the club president, as a teenager-and already a rebel against the WASP-ish virtues so dear to his family. He is infatuated with Eleanor, a local girl of good background, but she is wary of his wildness, and opts to date, and then marry, his stolid brother, Billy. In a series of flashbacks we encounter Barney at various stages of his life: as he runs away to join the Navy during the Korean war; as a campus activist in California; as a graduate student; and ultimately, as a successful producer of porno films. The flashbacks take Barney and Eleanor from youth to middle age-and throughout Barney, to his father's growing distress, continues to profess his love for Eleanor and to challenge the validity of the lifestyle she has chosen. He remains the zany, charming, unpredictable rebel, shocking family and friends alike with his outrageous behavior until, at his father's death, a kind of reconciliation is reached-as changing times and fading youth soften Barney's belligerency and offer the promise of quieter, but happier, years to come. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Mrs Farnsworth | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #40617 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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| ||||||
Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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O Jerusalem | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing, New York, 2003 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14961 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | &Gurney's play manages to reach beyond its topical premise to pack a big, heartbreaking wallop. This is not a story about anything so cold as politics. Above all, it's about a man struggling to balance his ideals and personal relationships against a high-pressure career. . .. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Office Hours | ||
| 1st Produced: | Flea | 30 Sep 2010 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, Inc (2011) | ISBN/ASIN: | 978-0-8222-2515-7 | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #119160 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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| ||||||
Genre: | drama comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 7 | Female | 5 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Out with the old and in with the new. Across college campuses in the '70s, teachers and students engaged in a battle of their own-making education relevant. Written specifically for The Bats, this world premiere tackles the Great Books curriculum and puts dead white men to the test. The show features two rotating casts of Bat Company Members, and follows in the performance style of Gurney's classic The Dining Room. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Old Boy, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1991 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14968 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Sam, a successful politician and diplomat, is invited to speak at the dedication of a new building named for his old school friend, Perry, and paid for by Perry's wealthy mother. The knowledge that Perry died of AIDS galvanizes Sam as memories of his own homophobic response to Perry's sexuality are played out in flashback. Sam's solution had been to arrange a marriage between Perry and one of Sam's discarded girlfriends, Alison. Faced now with the embittered Alison and a dawning sense of his own complicity in Perry's fate, Sam must decide whether or not to speak out on the issue of tolerance and jeopardize his chance for the governorship. He has to choose between his conscience and the old boy network which has served him so well. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Old One-Two, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Waltham, Massachusetts | 1973 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, NY, 1971 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14969 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | a love affair between two academics | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Open Meeting, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Boston | 1969 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, NY, 1968 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14970 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Avante-Garde Comedy One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | also part of Public Affairs | |||||
Synopsis: | A surprise ending reveals what has happened to missing member of meeting. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Overtime | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1996 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1997 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14971 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Portia, a once-rich society girl, is about to celebrate her victory in the recent trial and her marriage to Bassanio. As the party is beginning, however, she is reminded of her own financial difficulties by her accountant, Salerio, who is secretly in love with her. She shrugs off his warnings, but her wedding reception begins to fall apart on its own. Antonio, who turns out to be gay, is knocked down by Bassanio, who blames his impulsiveness on his Irish background. Gratiano, who is African-American, and Nerissa, who is Latina, become impatient playing subservient roles and seek out the company of their own people. Lorenzo discovers that his attraction to Jessica is based on a kind of reverse stereotyping, while Jessica decides to liberate herself from her traditional upbringing. Shylock arrives with some surprises of his own. He persuades Portia to try to put the community back together, and after a number of twists and turns, the evening ends with a tentative attempt to celebrate a new kind of Venice on a more open and diverse basis. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Perfect Party, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Tambellini's Gate Theatre, Off Broadway, NY | 1969 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1986 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14972 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Tony, a professor of American literature (and a quintessential WASP), has given up his teaching post to stage a party to end all parties. He has invited people from all walks of American life to attend, as if to demonstrate that even if the WASP ruling class can no longer lead America, it must, at least, teach them to entertain properly. Tony has also invited a svelte critic from the New York Times in the hopes of getting a perfect review for his perfect party, but trouble arises when the critic says the evening lacks the "essential element of danger" that makes all parties worthwhile. Improvising, Tony warns the reporter about his twin brother, a foul-mouthed and hugely endowed womanizer, whom he has invited to attend. Piqued by the chance to meet such a man, the reporter opts to stay, and here the funny heart of the play takes over. Tony, you see, is going to have to play his own fictitious twin brother if the evening's to be a success. In a fake mustache, and with an even faker Italian accent, Tony aggressively woos the reporter while trying to avoid the unavoidable and hilarious misunderstandings between both him and his skeptical wife and an obliging (if sensitive) Jewish couple from next door. In the end, the party falls apart, only to be triumphantly resurrected as Tony's rigid structure gives way to a free-for-all which may not be perfect, but is as vital and rewarding as the idea of democracy itself. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Post Mortem | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2006 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #57124 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Post Mortem is set in the not-too-distant future when the Christian Right hold sway. Alice, a lowly lecturer in drama at a faith-based state university in the Midwest, and Dexter, an enthusiastic student more interested in his teacher than the theatre, become embroiled in the discovery of a play by an obscure late 20th century playwright named A.R. Gurney. When the authorities destroy the script, these two must piece together the play and with it the future of the world gone mad. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Problem, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Boston | 1969 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French Inc, NY, 1968 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14973 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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| ||||||
Genre: | One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Couple play psychological games revolving around a seemingly unsolvable problem. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Public Affairs | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #40621 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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| ||||||
Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Rape Of Bunny Stuntz, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 1966 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, London, 1976 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14974 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | The first Town Council meeting to be chaired by Bunny Stuntz. However, she has forgotten to bring the key to open the box that has the agenda in it. A man she claims not to know throws her the key and then she slinks off with him | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Richard Cory | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1976 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1976 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14975 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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| ||||||
Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | aka Who Killed Richard Cory | |||||
Synopsis: | Comprised of a series of vignettes and interrelated scenes, presented with a minimum of props and scenery and flowing together with resourceful theatricality, the story of Richard Cory is that of a wellborn young man who seems to have everything the world can offer. He is handsome, rich, successful in his law practice, respected in the community and an idealized husband and father. And yet, as we move ahead through the various episodes of his life, it is apparent that his good fortune has also brought him growing dissatisfaction and unease. He is disturbed by the crassness of the changes taking place in his city; by the eroding standards of his lifelong friends; by the alienation he feels from his wife and children. Seeking fulfillment he takes a mistress; he becomes involved in good works; he tries to expand his intellectual capacities-while, throughout, continuing to protect the "good name" which family and position have thrust on him. He is, and must always be, a gentleman. But perhaps, as the play so poignantly suggests, it is this very fact that leads Richard Cory, the glittering paragon so envied by all, to go home one fine day and put a bullet through his head. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Scenes From American Life | ||
| 1st Produced: | Tanglewood, Massachusetts | 1970 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, NY, 1970 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14976 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Social Satire | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | 36 vignettes on American life from the Depression to the 1980's | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Screen Play | ||
| 1st Produced: | 2005 | |||||
Company: | The Flea | |||||
| 1st Published: | Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #75263 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Snow Ball, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1991 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14977 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
|
| ||||||
Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 8 | Female | 8 | ||
Parts other: | doubling | |||||
Notes: | adaptation of own novel | |||||
Synopsis: | Cooper Jones is a middle-aged realtor whose failing marriage and uninspiring job have left him prey to feelings of nostalgia. Over the objections of his wife Liz, a pragmatic, no-nonsense advocate for the homeless, he is persuaded by his old friend Lucy to revive a winter dance which was the high point of their youth. To crown the evening, they plan to invite back Jack Daley and Kitty Price, everyone's vision of a bygone dream couple. In flashback, and in even more ghostly interludes, we see Jack and Kitty as they once were: young, beautiful and oblivious to the passage of time while they waltz through Cooper's memory. In other flashbacks, Cooper and his companions play themselves as teenagers in the 1950s, when cotillions and excruciatingly funny dance classes first brought these awkward, young adults together. In the course of their collaboration, Cooper and Lucy begin an affair. Meanwhile, Jack and Kitty have accepted their invitations, but neither is the person Cooper remembers: Jack is an ambitious politician struggling for the governorship of Indiana while Kitty is on her third marriage and in the throes of cancer. The gala finally arrives and, for Kitty especially, the night proves one of spiritual healing as she and Jack, in an intricate slow dance, trade partners with their young counterparts, reliving the span of years that have separated and changed them with a new eye for forgiveness and a redeeming resolve-shared by all at the dance-to live their lives for today. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
|
Strawberry Fields | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #40622 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | libretto | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Sweet Sue | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1986 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1987 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14978 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy Drama Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | The action of the play is set in Susan's home in a New York suburb-Susan being a romantically-minded, divorced mother of three, and a very successful artist and designer of greeting cards. It is summer and Jake, the Dartmouth roommate of her son, Ted, has taken up temporary residence with Susan while doing house painting to earn money for his college expenses. Susan is drawn to the handsome, lively Jake, while he, in turn, is hopeful of finally establishing a meaningful relationship with a member of the opposite sex-although what he has in mind is someone of his own age. But, as the two begin to draw closer to each other, what adds a special quality to their relationship is that Susan is played by two actresses and Jake by two actors-offering two distinct perspectives on both characters and allowing the playwright to conceive a wide array of clever and inventive combinations and situations. Susan (and Susan Too) wants Jake (and Jake Too) to pose in the nude for a life study, and while there is initial reluctance, Jake (both of him) finally acquiesces, leading to the bittersweet ending of the play in which desire and convention are both touchingly accommodated before Susan and Jake return, as they know they must, to their separate worlds | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Sylvia | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1995 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14979 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after twenty-two years of child-raising in the suburbs. Greg's career as a financial trader is winding down, while Kate's career, as a public-school English teacher, is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a dog he found in the park-or that has found him-bearing only the name "Sylvia" on her name tag. A street-smart mixture of Lab and Poodle, Sylvia becomes a major bone of contention between husband and wife. She offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of this job and the unknowns of middle age. To Kate, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection. And Sylvia thinks Kate just doesn't understand the relationship between man and dog. The marriage is put in serious jeopardy until, after a series of hilarious and touching complications, Greg and Kate learn to compromise, and Sylvia becomes a valued part of their lives. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Three People | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "The Best Short Plays 1955-56", ed Margaret Mayorga, Beacon Press, Boston, 1956 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14980 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Turn Of The Century | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "The Best Short Plays 1957-58", ed Margaret Mayorga, Beacon Press, Boston, 1958 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14981 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Wayside Motor Inn, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1977 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1978 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14982 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | The scene is a motel outside of Boston: a depersonalized, antiseptic environment into which, one after the other, come five sets of travelers. There is a well-to-do couple on a visit to their married daughter; a lonely salesman looking for a bit of romance to temper the boredom of a business trip; an overbearing father and his latently rebellious son en route to a Harvard interview; a pair of liberated college students intent on a weekend of passion; and an embittered doctor in the process of getting a divorce. Although the various occupants of the motel room are often on stage at the same time, they neither see nor hear each other, and it is quickly evident that their shared location is, in reality, five different rooms. But, as each of the individual dramatic situations is developed, the irony, humor and pathos which they evoke is heightened by the silent proximity of the other characters-building, in the end, to a kaleidoscopic pattern in which their separate stories blend and re-blend into a subtle but telling indictment of the shortcomings, large and small, of life in contemporary America. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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What I Did Last Summer | ||
| 1st Produced: | Roundabout Stage I, Off Broadway, NY | 1975 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1983 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14983 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | The setting is a well-to-do vacation colony on the shores of Lake Erie, the time 1945, during the final stages of World War II. Charlie, an incipiently rebellious fourteen-year-old, is summering with his mother and sister (his father is fighting in the Pacific) before going off to an expensive boarding school in the fall. Although he intended to spend the summer loafing and socializing with his friends, the need for spending money forces him to take a job as handyman for an iconoclastic, bohemian art teacher, Anna Trumbull, a former member of the "upper crust" who has lost both her fortune and her regard for the ideals of her upbringing. Sensing a kindred spirit in Charlie, she tries to stretch his mind by teaching him painting and sculpture-and exposing him to "radical" ideas about life and love which, in time, persuade Charlie to reject the notion of going back to school. The result is a family crisis and, more specifically, a showdown between Anna and Charlie's conservative mother, a clash of philosophies which raises as many questions as it answers and, in the end, stimulates the self-awareness which will shape the man Charlie is destined to become. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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White Walls | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1988 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14984 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | in Urban Blight | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Who Killed Richard Cory? | ||
| 1st Produced: | Circle Theatre, Off Broadway, NY | 1976 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1976 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #14985 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | aka Richard Cory | |||||
Synopsis: | Comprised of a series of vignettes and interrelated scenes, presented with a minimum of props and scenery and flowing together with resourceful theatricality, the story of Richard Cory is that of a wellborn young man who seems to have everything the world can offer. He is handsome, rich, successful in his law practice, respected in the community and an idealized husband and father. And yet, as we move ahead through the various episodes of his life, it is apparent that his good fortune has also brought him growing dissatisfaction and unease. He is disturbed by the crassness of the changes taking place in his city; by the eroding standards of his lifelong friends; by the alienation he feels from his wife and children. Seeking fulfillment he takes a mistress; he becomes involved in good works; he tries to expand his intellectual capacities-while, throughout, continuing to protect the "good name" which family and position have thrust on him. He is, and must always be, a gentleman. But perhaps, as the play so poignantly suggests, it is this very fact that leads Richard Cory, the glittering paragon so envied by all, to go home one fine day and put a bullet through his head. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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