Part of the series, “…by Nancy”
TPT Commentary: This very palatable comedy has excellent comic writing born of the practiced and award winning pedigree of its playwright. Sarah Treem’s a feminine ending succeeds in educating and entertaining its audience and extending its title metaphor to a satisfying turning point for its leading actor. One review remarked that audiences of “mostly women” were on their feet at curtain call after the West Coast Premiere. In counterpoint, my 20-year-old daughter read the synopsis provided on the back cover of the Samuel French Acting Edition and remarked, “It sounds like the plot of a Hallmark movie.” Which begs the question, “Will the 30 and under crowd sympathize with a woman who gives up her dreams to support her male partner even if she ends up having an epiphany at the 13th hour?” Knowing my market, they would LOVE this play… if we could lose 20 dirty words and a bloody tampon.
Recommendation: Good, for College and Professional productions. Language may be too strong for community theatres outside of urban areas. However, with appropriate public notice, it may be produced as a non-season added performance. Ensemble cast, Non-Traditional casting, Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle). Remote venues may have difficulty finding the multi-talented star.
Summary: A surreal tragicomic tale in which an aspiring composer navigates societal norms and institutional oppression to find her own voice
Themes: feminism, opportunity, prejudice,cultural oppression, search for happiness, sacrifice, art v. making money
Cast: 2 f, 3 m. 3 characters ages 20-29. 2 characters ages 50-59.
AMANDA – Mid 20s, oboist, aspiring composer.
JACK – Mid 20s, singer, up-and-coming pop star.
KIM – Early 50s, Amanda’s mother. Homemaker.
DAVID – Early 50s, Amanda’s father. Insurance salesman.
BILLY – Mid 20s, Postman.
Amanda (lead) should be skilled enough to play, on the piano proficiently, Chopin’s Nocturne No.2 in E flat as well as “very high tin sounding notes“ and “low chords“ and produce an A flat on an oboe. Jack: must “sing something to the audience “ approximately 30 seconds in length. This should be of the pop vernacular and of professional quality. This guy has “it.”
Expired casting call: https://www.backstage.com/casting/a-feminine-ending-12463/
Running Time: 90 minutes without an intermission: http://www.curtainup.com/feminineending.html.
If a theater should decide and have permission to have an act break, this writer suggest after Movement 4. 66% of the play would have been completed at this point. (1 hour). This choice would make the play one hour and 45 minutes with a 15 minute intermission. (I know my math skills are shocking!)
Rights (professional): $100 per performance https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2598/a-feminine-ending
Sets: Flexible set suggesting several locations. Small space requirements.Will require a talented creative team to suggest 4 locations seamlessly.
Costumes: 6-10 contemporary costumes, male USPS Mail Carrier costume with bag
Props: practical oboe, practical piano (tuned) with bench, Murphy bed, door with mail slot, sofa/chair, loveseat. Furniture is that of a poor artist and a home not remodeled since 1995.
Lighting: Essential to suggest locations minimally. Director’s Note: “Scene title should appear on the set between movements.” This would likely require a digital projector and an operator.
Provenance:
Playwright:
Golden Globe Winner, Writer/Producer, Showtime: The Affair
Playwright in Residence, The Sundance Institute and The Ojai Playwriting Conference
Fellow, Lark Playwrights’ Workshop.
Writer/Producer, HBO: In Treatment; Mark Wahlberg’s How To Make It In America
Writer, House of Cards, Netflix.
Graduate, Yale University and the Yale School of Drama.
Play:
Premiered in New York City at Playwrights Horizons in October 2007 under the direction of Blair Brown, South Coast Repertory and Portland Center Stage in 2008, and in Los Angeles in 2017.
Purchase: $9.95 https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2598/a-feminine-ending/
Reviews:
New York 2007:
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/theater/reviews/18femi.html
https://variety.com/2007/legit/reviews/a-feminine-ending-2-1200555273/
Portland 2008:
https://www.oregonlive.com/performance/2008/02/a_feminine_ending_is_catchy_bu.html
Costa Mesa, Ca 2008:
https://www.presstelegram.com/2008/01/14/youll-be-rooting-for-the-good-girls-in-a-feminine-ending/
Los Angeles 2017:
Drinking: Brandy, one scene
Smoking: None
Sex: No physical interplay but man and woman are in bed. She leaves bed wrapped in bedsheet. Implied after-scene coitus. Implied man and woman coitus outside marriage and a committed relationship in an orchard in winter
Language: fuck (11), bitch (2), herpes, shit, get laid, have sex with me, bloody tampon (may or may not be a prop at director discretion)
Violence: Comic, but realistic, stage violence: Woman slaps a man hard in the head.
Other possibly controversial subject matter: Divorce
Rating: If this were a movie, it would be rated PG-14. (see Language).
Format inspired by the sadly suspended operations of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (then enhanced by TPT)
willitplayhere 