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ADRIENNE KENNEDY (1931 - ) |
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Nationality: African-American Email: Click here to contact Website: Click here to visit |
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Literary Agent: n/a |
Adrienne Kennedy. Since Funnyhouse of a Negro blazed a trail in the American Theatre, Adrienne Kennedy's work has had a profound influence on American playwrights. Her plays The Owl Answers, Ohio State Murders, A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White, and her remarkable short plays: An Evening With Dead Essex, The Film Club, A Lesson in Dead Language, She Talks to Beethoven, and A Rat's Masshave enriched our concept of the possible on stage for the past thirty years and given us a vocabulary of dramatic technique no other writer has explored: the fragmentation of identity, the haunting use of repetition, the creation of elegiac language, an alienation of/and from canonical literature, and the journeys of race, gender, and sexual ruptures from the scripted and policed behaviors that a dominant culture has enforced. But her dream logic, her steadfast persistence, her witnessing to a vibrancy beneath the surface, feels triumphant. With a passion, a courage, a personal investment and visibility in her work, Ms. Kennedy continues to change the landscape of American drama with a wealth of plays whose importance will continue to inspire all in this field. Ms. Kennedy is a three time Obie-award winner. Among her many honors are the Guggenheim fellowship, the American Academy of Arts and Letters award, PEN/Laura Pels Award for Master American Dramatist, and Anisfield-Wolf Book's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Plays by Adrienne Kennedy
Beast's Story, A | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1965 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "Cities in Bezique", French, New York, 1969 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19045 | |||
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: | symbolic drama One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | 4 characters | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Dead baby is born to black woman raped by black man and then again by her father. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Black Children's Day | ||
| 1st Produced: | Providence, Rhode Island | 1980 | ||||
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 | #19046 | |||
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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Boats | ||
| 1st Produced: | Los Angeles | 1969 | ||||
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 | #19047 | |||
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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Cities In Bezique | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1969 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, NY, 1969 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19048 | |||
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: | Two 1 Act Plays One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | The Owl's Answer & A Beast Story | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Dramatic Circle, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "Moon Marked and Touched By the Sun", Hern, London, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19049 | |||
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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Evening With Dead Essex, An | ||
| 1st Produced: | America Place Theatre, New York | 1973 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Contained in: "An Adrienne Kennedy Reader" published by University of Minnesota Press | ISBN/ASIN: | 978-0816636037 | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19050 | |||
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: | Mark Essex was called up and served with the navy. For two years he suffered violent racial abuse. He was discharged and later went on a killing spree in New Orleans. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Film Club, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1992 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19051 | |||
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 | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | The Alexander Plays | |||||
Synopsis: | a lyrical monologue delivered by Suzanne (during her husband's imprisonment in Ghana in 1961) recounting the activities of a film club that has been organized to view Bette Davis's movies. With action shifting between Legon and London, Kennedy explores the power of popular culture, the movies in particular, and Bette Davis most specifically. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Funnyhouse Of A Negro | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1964 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, NY, 1969 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19052 | |||
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: | symbolic drama One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 5 | ||
Parts other: | chorus | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | The white fixations of an educated black girl lead to guilt and identity problems | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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June And Jean In Concert | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in The Adrienne Kennedy Reader intro by Werner Sollors, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #59958 | |||
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: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Lancashire Lad, A | ||
| 1st Produced: | Albany, New York | 1980 | ||||
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 | #19053 | |||
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: | Childrens Youth Audience | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Lennon Play, The: In His Own Write | ||
| 1st Produced: | London | 1967 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Cape, London, 1968 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19054 | |||
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: | Adaptation | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | written with John Lennon and Victor Spinetti, book by Lennon | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Lesson In Dead Language, A | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1968 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "Collision Course", Random House, New York, 1968 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19055 | |||
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: | Theatre of the absurd One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | 10 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Non-sequiters prevail as a class of girls are taught by a white dog. | |||||
Further Reference: | National Library of Scotland ref: Traverse - Dep.256/Box 37/8 | |||||
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Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles? | ||
| 1st Produced: | Public Theater, NY | 2008 | ||||
Company: | LAB Series | |||||
| 1st Published: | ISBN/ASIN: | 978-0-573-66352-9 | ||||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #80523 | |||
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 | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Written by Adrienne and Adam P Kennedy | |||||
| about Adrienne Kennedy's search for fame and fortune in 1960s London, where she encountered Laurence Olivier, James Baldwin, Ricki Huston, various British writers and, of course, The Beatles. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Motherhood | ||
| 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 | #51543 | |||
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 | 4 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White, A | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York Shakespeare Festival (New YorK, NY, United States) | 1976 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "Wordplays 3". Performing Arts Journal Publications, New York, 1984 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19056 | |||
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: | 35-45 min Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 5 | ||
Parts other: | 5 males, 5 females | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A young black writer embarks on a voyage through her life: her parents' marriage, her brother's accident, her romance, then marriage and its subsequent collapse. The voyage takes place within three movies that dominate her mind; Now Voyager, Viva Zapata, and A Place in the Sun. Her voice inhabits three movie stars as she becomes a bit player in her own life. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Ohio State Murders | ||
| 1st Produced: | Great Lakes Theater Festival | 1992 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1993 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19057 | |||
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 One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | 6 performers | |||||
Notes: | part of The Alexander Plays. also published by Samuel French, Inc - New York (2008) >>> | |||||
Synopsis: | Suzanne has returned to lecture at Ohio State University, her alma mater. Presented in a series of flashbacks that recall her student days in Columbus, the play is a shocking portrayal of a young African-American woman's struggles in the racially charged America of the late 1940s and early 1950s. The narrative structure melds past and present, allowing various repressions to be articulated on stage. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Orestes And Electra | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1980 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "In One Act", University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1988 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19058 | |||
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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Owl Answers, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Westport, Connecticut | 1965 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "Cities in Bezique", French, New York, 1969 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19059 | |||
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: | symbolic drama One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | music | |||||
Synopsis: | Race, identity, colour and lineage form the backdrop to this piece. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Rat's Mass, A | ||
| 1st Produced: | Rome | 1966 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "New Black Playwrights", Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1968 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19060 | |||
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: | Theatre of the absurd One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 7 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | extras | |||||
Notes: | see entry for Cecil Taylor | |||||
Synopsis: | Comment on the absurdities of the catholic religion in the confusion of today. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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She Talks To Beethoven | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1994 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19061 | |||
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: | The Alexander Plays | |||||
Synopsis: | Suzanne's attempts to write about and speak with Beethoven are continuously punctuated by radio broadcasts about her husband who is missing under mysterious circumstances. Mediated throughout by snatches of Ghanaian string music juxtaposed against strains of Beethoven's Fidelio, the drama exists within a displacement of time and space, fluctuating between Vienna, Austria, in 1803 (Eurocentric space), and Legon, Ghana, in 1961 (colonized African-American space). | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Sleep Deprivation Chamber | ||
| 1st Produced: | New York | 1996 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Theatre Communications Group, New York, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19062 | |||
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 | 9 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | doubling, flexible cast | |||||
Notes: | Contains Motherhood 2000. Written by Adrienne and Adam P Kennedy | |||||
Synopsis: | Brutal beating of young black man by American police | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Sun | ||
| 1st Produced: | London | 1969 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "Scripts 1", New York, London, 1971 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #19063 | |||
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: | Monologue Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A Poem For Malcolm X Inspired By His Murder showing a man being shattered and whirled in cosmic forms. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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