ALL HAIL HURRICANE GORDO BY CARLY MENSCH , AN ANALYSIS FOR PRODUCTION

Gordo: This other time, we stapled bologna to all the trees in the neighborhood. Oscar Mayer All American beef. Because we were so sick of having to eat the same crappy bologna and Kraft sandwiches everyday for lunch. See, our mom didn’t know how to cook. Or didn’t believe in it. It wasn’t like a feminist thing. It was like a nurturing thing. She was anti-nurturing in general.

Summary: Concord Theatricals: The routines of daily life get blown apart when two brothers take in a plucky young houseguest. While India is running away from her relatively normal family, Chaz is struggling to find normalcy in the one he already has. Is it possible to be your brother’s keeper and have a life too?

TPT Commentary: “There are, however, those who need more than we can or should be willing to provide.” Who wrote that? Oh yeah, it was me. Imagine 2 plays that were presented in the same Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville in 2008, and both with slightly different takes on our responsibility to those who are less prepared to face the cruel world than others. To what extent do we give up our dreams so that another might feel safe? Do we deserve our own life and dreams when family needs us? Do we “owe it to ourselves” to fulfill our destiny regardless of a cultural commitment?

The “Hurricane Gordo” of the title is a manchild in his early 20s with epic self-control issues. Is he intellectually disabled? Stunted by trauma? Mentally ill? The story leaves that open to interpretation. If he were depicted more precisely the audience might quickly make up their minds about whether he should be in a group home, psych ward, or frat house. This conundrum also gives us permission to laugh instead of being horrified or saddened when Gordo (Gordon) aggressively assaults his brother or voices fears that the luxury car on the street may be child protective services coming to take him away 5 years into his adulthood.

The three landmasses are in the path of Hurricane Gordo: 1) His brother, Chaz, with whom he was mutually abandoned by his parents. Chaz gave up his college tennis scholarship to return to the family home and keep Gordo out of trouble. Now, forced to sell most everything to get by, we eventually find that the stacks of phonebooks are part of a grossly ineffective letter-writing campaign to locate said lost parents, 2) India, a teen rebel who may or may not be trying to run away from home with a rabbit in a French horn case, and inspires Chaz to ruminate on freedom, and 3) Oscar, India’s annoyed and wealthy father who did run away from home at 17, but it sucked so he went back home.

Compared to Becky Shaw, it seems that moving to the suburbs makes New Yorkers curse substantially less. They still use some coarse language, but only a fraction of the latter. Some characters might be lackluster, but no one is offensive.  To paraphrase one reviewer, this quirky play will have some audience members asking themselves, “What am I watching and why are we here?” and others, laughing so hard they wet themselves. All gathered to watch this play will get more than they predicted at first glance. 

Recommendation:  Highly recommended, but in a very balanced season. Audiences seem to accept coarse language more readily when the plotlines have more gravitas. In my area it is difficult to find enough actors to cast a non-musical. Finding those actors who appear to be in their early 20’s may be easier in college towns. Hopefully your company has built a reputation for doing good work and a good marketing plan to combat the plays obscurity. This play will not sell based on its title or the playwright’s credits for writing the Showtime original series, Weeds.

Themes: family/belonging, protectiveness of adult siblings, wanderlust/destiny, How earnest are about getting what you want?

Cast: 1f, 3m: 

1 Female, 17 but passes for early 20s

2 Males, mid/early 20s

1 Male, late 50s

Culturally conscious casting opportunities: All characters are non-specific to ethnicity. The two males in their 20s are brothers. The young female and older male are father and daughter. All characters are specific to gender.

Running Time: Coates Theatre, San Antonio (2021) “The performance runs 95 minutes. There is no intermission.” There is however an act break opening on a scene “a few minutes later.”

Sets: 1 location: “A ranch-style house in a waning suburb of New York. The living room has been converted into a makeshift office.” The absence of a PC/laptop, substitution of electric typewriters, and lack of presence of cell phones may have less to do with the period and more to do with the fact that Chaz has sold off nearly everything to support himself and his brother. 

Costumes: Contemporary: Adult size San Diego Chargers football helmet. India has unnaturally colored hair. Oscar needs to portray casual wealth (stage directions: “cashmere blazer”)

Props: office furniture and a couch that have seem better days, 2 electric typewriters, odd toys/fidgets, lots of phonebooks, a French horn case that carries a live white rabbit that is said to be a Polish dwarf

Period notes: Contemporary, early 2000s? If Oscar were 17 when he ran away from home (to a commune) in 1967, he would be 56 in 2007. A setting later than this might make running away to a commune  less likely.

Playwright:

Biography:  https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/4523/carly-mensch 

Reviews: 

Cleveland 2008:  here, here and here

Louisville, 2008:

Substance use: None 

Sex: None

Violence: In emotional fits, Gordo throws himself at walls, objects and his brother. A fight choreographer would be a safee hire.  

Coarse language and other possibly controversial subject matter: “Fuck. Shit. Motherfucker shit-pant ass-face” is spoken all at once by one actor in a single breath and “Fucking” is used twice as a modifier. Other topics: Parental abandonment, teen runaway, harboring a runaway, running with teen in this manner and crossing state lines as suggested but never committed would constitute a federal crime as well as ethical quagmire, tolerance of unsafe behavior

Rating: PG-13 for some coarse language and mild adult themes

TPT Source: Humana Festival 2008: The Complete Plays, Adrien-Alice Hansel & Amy Wegener, Editors, Playscripts, Inc., NY, NY, ISBN 0970904681, on loan from Harper College Library, Palatine, IL

Purchase: Acting Edition $9.95

Royalties: 

Minimum Fee: $100 per performance

Format inspired by the sadly suspended operations of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre then enhanced by TPT 

Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo, an analysis for production

Part of a series, “By Nancy”

Max: Unless you’re Gandhi or Jesus, you have a limited sphere of responsibility. You have a plot of land and the definition of a moral life is tending to that plot of land. 

TPT Commentary: Having spent my time as a psychotherapist, I have seen my patients improve their lives by acknowledging their feelings, and understanding and modifying their thoughts and behaviors. I challenge those who claim that their offensive, selfish behaviors are just them being “real” or pragmatic. I do, however, encourage them to balance the risk of interpersonal vulnerability with healthy boundaries. In the play, Suzanna says, “I know what goodness is. It’s kindness that asks nothing in return.” There are, however, those who need more than we can or should be willing to provide. That’s a very good rule for both the giver and receiver. Crudely put, there’s a happy medium between being an asshole and an idiot. 

Gina Gionfriddo’s Becky Shaw presents five imperfect people who drift about this asshole-idiot continuum.  All are poor mixtures of raw vulnerabilities, poor boundaries, and irregular self-awareness who meet the catalyst of the too-broken, too-needy titular character that agitates and activates this often harsh and acerbically funny two-hour solution. 

Recommendation:  Highly recommended, but probably not for our local season ticket patrons. Language, situations, and multiple settings, which must be changed quickly and effortlessly, may make this play best for companies with receptive adult audiences and ample budgets. If your theatre has a “off-season” offerings which might push the envelope, try it out. The craftsmanship required to bring this production to the stage requires more than three performances and spare ticket sales.

Summary: Dramatists Play Service (edited): A newlywed couple fixes up two romantically challenged friends. When an evening calculated to bring happiness takes a dark turn, crisis and comedy ensue in this wickedly funny play that asks what we owe the people we love and the strangers who land on our doorstep.

Themes: self-awareness, intimacy v. safety, compassion v. healthy boundaries, adult dating and relationships, grief, length of mourning, family/belonging, unhealthy family dynamics, protectiveness of adult parents, financial stability, legitimacy of psychotherapy, racism, interracial relationships

Cast: 3w, 2m: 

Centenary Stage Company,  Hackettstown, New Jersey, casting call (exp. 12/7/2015)

2 Females, 30-39

1 Female, 60+ (with multiple sclerosis, yet ambulatory) 

2 Males, 30-39

Culturally conscious casting opportunities: All characters are non-specific to ethnicity; however, a character recounts being in interracial relationships with black men and (offstage) is a victim of a crime perpetrated by a black man. 2 characters are mother and daughter. All characters are specific to gender. 

Running Time: Acts: 2, Scenes: 9

2 hours, 20 minutes with intermission, Round House Theatre, Bethesda, MD

Sets: 7 locations with swift changes: Act 1: NY hotel room (3-star) with an entry door; apartment in Providence, RI with a door to a bedroom and an office; Act 2: nondescript street scene (no set? Drop only?); Providence, RI apartment (reasonably priced); Boston hotel room (4-star); cafe (table/chairs?); RI Apt. again; living room of a nice middle class home (a character has stage directions to look out a window to see someone after they have left the house, and there seems to be a door to the street). These settings, if poorly executed, would detract from character and story clarity. Reviews have given hints to streamlining of settings using minimal props and rear projections or drops. 

Costumes: Contemporary to 2008: urban professional, urban/suburban casual, fancy cocktail dress, nice evening dress

Props: Nothing unusual: contemporary to minimally furnish above

Period notes: The Iraq war (2003-11) is discussed. Some phone calls appear to be from landlines. Smartphone apps (maps/reviews) are not used when it would be currently common: “…print out that Federal Hill map.” 

Playwright:

Biography:  IN THE BALANCE, 12/15/2021,

Awards and Nominations:

Theatre:

The Pulitzer Prize for Drama (finalist) – 2013. Rapture, Blister, Burn

Drama Desk Awards – 2009 – Outstanding Play, Becky Shaw

Outer Critics Circle Awards – 2009 – John Gassner Playwriting Award Gold Star, Becky Shaw

The Pulitzer Prize  for Drama (finalist) – 2009, Becky Shaw

Outer Critics Circle Awards – 2005 – John Gassner Playwriting Award, After Ashley

Television:

Online Film & Television Association, Best Writing in a Drama Series (TV)- 2013, House of Cards

Writers Guild of America, Best New Series-2014, House of Cards

Writers Guild of America, Drama Series (nominee)- 2014, House of Cards

Writers Guild of America, Drama Series (nominee)- 2012, Boardwalk Empire

Reviews: 

New York, 2009

London, 2011

Urbana, IL (home of University of Illinois), 2011

San Francisco, 2012:

Knoxville, TN, 2018: photos may give some inspiration for setting solutions

St. Paul, MN, 2020

Substance use: Wine is served to and used responsibly by adults. A character says, “going for a nightcap.” 

Sex: Discussions about pornography, man/woman kissing on bed with suggestion of suggestion of inevitable intercourse, “getting laid,” suggestion that offstage characters were formerly in a homosexual relationship, “underground sex-torture dungeon” used sarcastically, “NAMBLA” used sarcastically, revelation that two sets of characters had one night stands, talk about a mature mother’s sexual relationship with a younger man

Nudity: none

Violence: (offstage) Characters are robbed at gunpoint. A character says, “I get pictures in my mind of black men…being tortured” and, “I think about cutting myself with a knife.” A man grabs a woman’s arm roughly.  Offstage non-suicidal self-injury is discussed. 

Coarse language and other possibly controversial subject matter: 75% of the coarse language is from one character: frequent variations of “fuck” and “shit” which are seldom used for sexual intercourse or defecation, a remark based on a racial stereotype (Japanese objectivity over emotionality), suggestion that a character when a child was dressed like a “gay hustler,” (offstage) characters are robbed at gunpoint, character reflects on a being a victim of crime perpetrated by a black man and failed relationships with black men, racism, “pictures in my mind of black men…being tortured,” 

Rating: R for coarse language, mature topics, and sexual references 

TPT Source: Humana Festival 2008: The Complete Plays, Adrien-Alice Hansel & Amy Wegener, Eds., Playscripts, Inc., NY, NY, ISBN 0970904681, on loan from Harper College Library, Palatine, IL

Purchase: $13.00

Royalties: All inquiries concerning rights, including amateur rights, should be addressed to, Olivier Sultan, Creative Artists Agency, 162 5th Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10010 (as of 2009 printing). 

FEE: $105 per performance

Format inspired by the sadly suspended operations of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre then enhanced by TPT 

Freedomland by Amy Freed: an analysis for production

Part of a series: “…by Nancy.”

SIG: She says — it’s a punishment. I’m like this because I’m being punished. God doesn’t exist for people like me. I’m leaving the church. Those people are so angry and repressive.

NOAH. The Unitarians? 

p. 60, Acting Edition, Dramatists Play Service (1999)

TPT Commentary: Amy Freed’s Freedomland  skewers the folly of extremes in both intellectual liberalism and survivalist libertarianism. Searching for meaning, a family of generational privilege has abandoned the norms and mores of religion, morality, hierarchy, and sentimentality.  Inevitably, these idealistic and impractical characters are complicit in their own annihilation. Freed’s extreme dialogue which invokes shock and laughter in Act One, evolves in Act Two into some beautiful commentaries on the human condition. At first, we may be impressed by and laugh with the characters intelligence, insight and iconoclasm. Then, we might be repulsed by their vulgarity and depravity. Ultimately and unfortunately, we pity or are even angered by how futile and impotent they have become. 

Recommendation:  Will It Play Here? Improbable.

I am looking forward to reading more by this playwright (my second Freed analysis), but am not recommending this work for production by my readers. First, we again have the trope of a family of Northeastern intellectual elites. Second, the play warrants a visual realism in its very specific and realistic sets (2 of them) which are filled with highly unusual and problematically practical props (see below). Third, vulgarity is frequent and some sexual references will be beyond acceptable to local standards. Finally, my audiences, whose lives are by necessity far more pragmatic, would see the indulgences of Freed’s characters as offensive, repulsive, and improbable before they would see an allegory of privilege gone misdirected and unfettered. In short, the “Underfingers” are far too removed from my audience’s life experience. Princess musicals (a genre of but not my audience’s sole lexicon) have beasts and fairy godmothers, but these characters have clearly defined moral arcs and are, at outset, presented as parables. 

For a playwright who is female, I laud that this is a farce written from the perspective of a member of a generation and tells its story with no prerequisite to be particularly representative of a gender voice. It is plainly a voice. Perhaps that is my prejudice and privilege exposed. Women should write all sorts of plays, they need not all be about the female experience of repression. Most of the women in this play transcend or ignore that repression. Not all women have that opportunity. 

Summary: Three lost adult children converge on their eccentric family’s Upstate New York home dragging two others and the audience deep into an impromptu and dysfunctional family reunion 

Themes: Intellectual esotericism; privilege unfettered. If we abandon conventional  standards, how do we know what we value and if we have succeeded? Is the world actually going to hell in a handbasket? 

Cast: 4f, 3m

Culturally conscious casting opportunities (new to WIPH?): 4 characters compromise a biological family with American colonial heritage. A step-mother, a male writer, and a girlfriend have no restrictions or guidance on ethnicity. All characters are gender-specific. 

Running Time: 2 HOURS, 15 MIN https://variety.com/1997/legit/reviews/freedomland-1200451296/

Royalties (professional): $105 per performance. https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=2862 

Sets: 2

1. “An eerie urban painting studio. There are forms of clowns, heads, faces, dummies, circus fragments.” p.5 This set is present for only three pages of dialogue.
2. “The great room of a colonial dwelling… vintage post-and-beam construction…large fireplace…multi-paneled windows…trap door to the roof…part of the sky is always visible” (p.8), artifacts from religions around the world, bookshelves filled with “thousands of books.” This set is present for 57 pages of dialogue; the remainder of the play. An outdoor theatre actually had the audience “hiking to different stages.” https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2008/07/23/theatre-in-the-woods-stages-freedomland- 

Costumes: All contemporary. Specialty items: Artist’s smock indicating regular use. Bondage mask, practical. Some characters wear towels briefly and slightly disrobe. No reviews have mentioned nudity. 

Props: COUNTLESS: “forms of clowns, heads, faces, dummies, circus fragments,” painted canvases (with realistic hobo clown paintings?), many pieces of religious iconography, a ceramic “Babylonian god” statuette that is smashed at every performance, bloody venison haunches and tools for practical butchering of same momentarily onstage, “thousands of books,” part of an improvised pipe bomb, a practical rack repurposed from antique stocks

Provenance:

Playwright: 

Representative: Charles McArthur Playwriting Award (D.C.), The New York Art’s Club Joseph Kesserling Award, LA Critic’s Circle Award (several), Pulitzer Prize Finalist. Several prestigious theatres have produced plays around the country (especially, in New York, DC, and California). 

More complete and impressive: https://profiles.stanford.edu/amy-freed.

Play:  1998 Finalist for The Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Purchase:

$11 Acting Edition https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=2862 

From $6.99, used https://www.amazon.com/Freedomland-Acting-Amy-Freed/dp/0822217198

Availability at I-Share libraries in Illinois: 

ISU, Normal, IL (my copy, Thank you)

SIU, Carbondale

EIU, Charleston

UIUC, Champaign/Urbana

Reviews: 

New York, 1998

http://www.curtainup.com/freedom2.html

https://variety.com/1997/legit/reviews/freedomland-1200451296/

DC, 1998

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/09/22/freedomland-shaking-the-nuts-from-the-family-tree/891109dd-a069-4043-a855-e7eb1e7c463f/

Drinking: Yes, especially a type of moonshine coined “whistel.”

Smoking: none.

Sex: Implied between a 27 year old man and a 50 plus year old married woman who pretends to be his mother (really), bondage mask worn, talk of bondage wear, talk of orgasms in the presence of multiple partners. A man is groped under a table as his voice modulates in pitch. Later, this same man is stretched on a “rack.” All of the former are instigated by the same character.

Language: “Fuck” in all its forms, and countless times, yet never about sex. “Shit” frequently as in feces, fool, and useless information

Nudity: None.  

Violence: Male posturing, pushing and shoving. A character bombs a “Quaker meeting hall,” offstage. No deaths or injuries are implied.

Other possibly controversial subject matter: A “Babylonian” god statuette is smashed. A crucifix is present and discussed for its value as a purchase. 

Rating: PG-13/R  for language and sexual and violent themes. There is no nudity nor are overt sexual acts performed onstage.

Format inspired by the sadly suspended operations of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre then enhanced by TPT 

Photo credit: compilation by author of

8a3ad3e738426d96b760f0953ea8f3d8.jpg (564×387) (pinimg.com)

&

https://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-religions/eden-there-was-hesperides-ancient-greek-religious-art-presents-different-021562

Analysis for production: 100 Saints You Should know

100 Saints You Should Know by Kate Fodor

Part of a series: “By Nancy…”

TPT Commentary: As a psychotherapist, this writer knows the primary stimulus resulting in his currently robust patient census. The global pandemic has reminded us that we are by nature a gregarious species. When deprived of an essential, a species may persist, but it will not thrive. To compensate for this deficit we seek connection both sensual and spiritual. Both are elusive and confusing. 100 Saint You Should Know by Kate Fodor is a beautiful, flawed, and incomplete work that reflects the beautiful, flawed, and incomplete characters who inhabit it. The title is a misdirect as there are no saints portrayed, only sinners in need of a savior who may be coming or may be “just a nice story that makes some people happy to hear.”

Speaking as a producer, 100 Saints… is rather inexpensive to produce but needs strong talented actors from teens to 60s. Urban companies will easily present the content without incident. Even the Roman Catholic Church and sacramental celibacy are handled fairly and without cliche. Remote/rural community theatres may have difficulty casting the younger roles who wrestle with provocative, adult content (no exploitation). These companies may also find it difficult to find an audience unless they are known for lab/niche productions.  

Recommendation:  As this blog is titled “Will It Play Here?,” the answer is “No.” Production is recommended, but only in professional theatres in suburban/urban areas. See reviews for a suggested, but not endorsed edit. 

Summary: 

from https://www.dramatists.com: Theresa is estranged from her family and working as a cleaning woman when she finds herself surprised by the unexpected desire to learn how to pray. Matthew, the priest whose rectory she cleans, is stunned and heartbroken by the realization that he no longer knows how to talk to God. When he disappears one day, Theresa feels compelled to track him down, and her search changes both of their lives (the last phrase is hyperbole, TPT). 

from https://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/plays/100-saints-you-should-know/ 

Theresa cleans the rectory of the local parish to support her unruly teenage daughter. When its priest is forced to leave the church under uncertain circumstances and return home to his protective mother, Theresa finds herself compelled to pursue him.  One eventful night joins them all, forcing a reckoning with the broken memories and shaken faith that divides them – and the discovery of a shared, yet tenuous, common ground.

Themes: loneliness, connection, spirituality, physical intimacy (complex and not necessarily sexual), existential morality, appreciation for the physical reality of self 

Cast: 3W (30s, 60s, 16), 2M (30s, 16)

Culturally conscious casting note: The priest and his mother are scripted as a first generation Irish American and Irish native, respectively. All other roles may be cast without specific cultural requirements.

Running Time: 2h, 15m (nytimes.com), 2 acts

Royalties (professional):$100 per performance. https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3923 

Sets: Several locations to be quickly shifted and suggested: traditional home bathroom, teenager’s bedroom, living room of an apartment, street out front of latter, hospital waiting room. It is scripted that there are projections of photographs by George Platt Lynes.

Costumes:Modern (2007 specific)

Props: Nothing unusual

Period Note: This play needs to remain set in 2007 as the action of the play is dependent on the absence of ubiquitous presence of cell phones

Playwright:

Kate Fodor’s plays have been produced by Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, Epic Theatre Ensemble, San Jose Repertory Theatre, London’s Courtyard Theatre, and Chicago’s TimeLine Theatre Company, among others. Kennedy Center’s Roger L. Stevens Award, a Joseph Jefferson Citation, and an After Dark Award. Kate is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and a fellow at The Playwrights Center. https://www.dramatists.com/dps/bios.aspx?authorbio=Kate+Fodor. Kate Fodor is a writer and producer, known for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017), March and Living with Yourself (2019). https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7052164/bio .She was recently named one of “Eight to Watch” in the theater world by The New York Times. https://www.steppenwolf.org/artists/kate–fodor/ 

Play:  

National Theatre Conference’s Stavis Award 

One of the 10 Best Plays of the Year (2007) “Entertainment Weekly” and “Time Out New York.” 

Purchase: $10

Reviews: 

New York, original run (2007): 

Variety https://variety.com/2007/legit/reviews/100-saints-you-should-know-1200556238/

TheaterMania https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/100-saints-you-should-know_11601.html

NYTimes https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/theater/reviews/19saints.html

CurtainUp http://www.curtainup.com/100saintsyoushouldknow.html 

Vancouver, BC (2012):

• https://www.convergemedia.org/100-saints-theatre-review/ 
• http://www.reviewvancouver.org/th_100saints2012.htm 

Los Angeles (2017):

• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/100-saints-you-should-kno_b_871601
• https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/06/theater-review-100-saints-you-should-know-at-elephant-space.html
• https://www.stageandcinema.com/2011/06/10/100-saints/ 

Drinking: Teens drink alcohol irresponsibly and to excess with dire consequences

Smoking: One fleeting occurrence 

Sex: None: Some discussion of pregnancy, teen sexuality, adult phsyical intimacy, and homosexuality 

Language: Several instances of “shit:” as feces, in frustration, and as a replacement for “stuff.” Several uses of “fuck/fucking:” mostly casual use, all without implication of a sexual act, once used by a teen to offend her mother, and all almost exclusively used by a 16 year-old female. “Fag” and “gay” are used by a 16 year-old unsophisticated male to indicate homosexual men.

Nudity: Projections of art photos featuring male nudity (George Platt Lynes)

Violence: A 16 year-old male appears badly injured after a fall which had occurred offstage

Other possibly controversial subject matter: mentioned or as themes, yet not depicted: homosexuality, sacramental celibacy, extra-marital sexual relations, teen sexuality, sexual abuse of a minor by clergy. Refreshingly, a Catholic priest is NOT depicted as an abuser, deviant, fool, or hypocrite.

Rating: PG-13

Format inspired by the sadly suspended operations of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (then enhanced by TPT)   

A privileged white “intellectual” walks into a bar…

In April 2018, I wrote Color-Blind? as my first attempt at discussing the “race issue” in relation to the theatre in my resident demographic. In the current climate (June 26, 2020), I enter into the subject area not sure where I am headed. So, please forgive me as I ramble. By vocation, I want to advocate. As an artist,  I desire to reach new audiences with integrity while acknowledging that our theatres are a victim of, a servant to, and an artistic advisor for its patrons.

In the following paragraph I simply state statistics. I’m not applying for sainthood or praying a mea culpa:

I have added ONE actor of color in a color-blind casting (a sailor in Mister Roberts). He was a collaborator on another project who has since moved on (and a leading man type dammit). I strongly encouraged POC to audition for my production of Next to Normal in our media push. I personally invited 2 of the 3 people of African descent who were regular performers at our theatre to audition. At auditions, I had 2 non-white actors participate. Neither had the vocal skill for the roles that met their age-respective/ appropriate character (Diana/Henry).  One actor did both join my ensemble and build my light cues (all while suffering an unexpected life-threatening condition, no less).

In the short list of POC in our area, there are many Latinx families that have been here for 100 years and many of whom are first generation Mexican mestizo. A smattering of the latter regularly perform at our theatres, but in much lower numbers than the demographic percentage. The 3 black actors who are regular participants are:

1. a 19 year old ethnic Nigerian woman raised in US,
2. a biracial man in his early 20s,  and
3. a mid-forties black woman in a biracial marriage who moved here from Louisiana via DC.

I am unaware if  these actors are active members of the local Black community, however, my area is far more diverse than my audition pool. It is my estimation that there is far more talent than that to which I have been introduced. My question:

How do I encourage more POC to join us… OR start something of their own so that we might support them with our patronage, and maybe even someday and join THEM? 

Nobody needs my help. If POC in my community aren’t interested in theatre (or the work which our area theatres have produced), that is our fault for not appearing or being welcoming, or perhaps not being attractive or interesting. Unfortunately, I can’t dream of getting Lynn Nottage’s Ruined or Sweat produced in our theatres unless I can guarantee 1) a cast and 2) an audience.

Black Playwrights You Should Know:  I’ll be honest, I read about 6-10 plays per year (most are from playwrights who identify as female) and I haven’t heard of any of the listed playwrights or titles (maybe Moonlight?).

Ten Major African American Playwrights: I’ve done a great deal of reading and research on Langston Hughes, know who Lorainne Hansberry, George Wolfe, and Ntozake Shange are and what they wrote, and have seen August Wilson’s Fences and Two Trains Running in their NYC premieres. Vinette Carroll was a visiting professor at my university (the latter 3 name-drops say more about my privilege than my scholarship). Zora Neale Hurston was one of the few famous residents of my home town. I have purposefully left these names without links to force you to do the research.  Again, I write this not to garner respect or credibility but so that you might appreciate my ignorance.

I doubt I’ll get more than some “likes” from my white friends on this post so, here’s a helpful but pessimistic take on what we pale-faced empaths might do:

Things white people can do to advocate for racial equality (without pretending they’re black)

Some more ideas: “What can I do?”

And here’s a great reading list of books (not plays):

An Antiracist Reading List

First Lady Suite by Michael John LaChiusa: an analysis for production

Primary analysis: guest, Steven Zumbrun

Editor and additional material: The Pleasantville Thespian

“We are not any one of us happy to be where we are but there’s nothing to be done about it except to do our best — and forget about the sacrifices and many unpleasant things that bob up.”

Bess Truman, First Lady 1953-1961

In my continuing search for challenging theatre that meets local production budgets, patronage demographics, local ideologies, desire for challenging material, and existing talent pool, I discovered First Lady Suite. At first glance, it seemed an ideal choice. The musical has an (all-ish) female cast, an orchestra of one or two pianos, and a flexible, surrealistic set. I had anticipated buying the album, reading the script, and then inviting a music director to comment on the details in which I am not as informed or fully educated. In my search for a co-writer/ collaborator, I discovered my friend Steven Zumbrun* was far more qualified to be the primary author. What follows are primarily his words, and my occasional editorial. The work has been edited to mirror what has become the typical format of analyses on TPT. I look forward to future collaborative work with both Steve and other artists and encourage submissions.

Note: TPT’s familiarity and opinions on this work are based entirely on reviews, summaries and Steve’s commentary and experience with the work as written for the 1993 book and score, since revised. I hope to return to this analysis at a future date having, at minimum, obtained and analyzed the current libretto if not the music (I am NOT a musician).

Guest Commentary (Steven Zumbrun): 

First Lady Suite, a musical by Michael John -LaChiusa (music, book, lyrics), with its haunting moments, is alternately intriguing and challenging, yet also very, very weird and uneven. As a whole, it is a bit like Sondheim, yet without the playfulness.  It tends to bewilder and sometimes anger audiences because it depicts the first ladies as flawed individuals, yet it isn’t always clear how we are supposed to feel about them, or what the point is. I music directed a production of First Lady Suite in Baltimore in the 1990s (previous to the 2004 revision). Years later, I am still sorting out how I feel about it. 

In the first skit, JFK’s plane is about to land at Love Field before the fateful motorcade. Musically, it is a lot of impressionism and recitative.The second skit depicts a drunken and lonely Mamie Eisenhower, left alone on her birthday. Mamie is given Ethel Merman-type brass while opera singer Marian Anderson gets a couple of gorgeous arias. It’s probably the one audiences like best. It’s essentially an “I Love Lucy” episode with time travel, adultery, and alcoholism.The third is a dumb throwaway where Margaret Truman gives a vocal recital while her mother does distracting things upstage.The last skit is the most daring and successful.  Amelia Earhart is flying Eleanor Roosevelt and her secretary/friend/lover Lorena Hickok over Washington. This is structured as a sort of Brechtian cabaret act by the bitter, sardonic Hickok.  At one point Hickok climbs out onto the plane’s wing and tap dances.In another, Eleanor and Hickok are depicted as lovers who sing a real love duet.

Note: Dramatist Play Service sells both a two-piano and a one-piano arrangement. The piece is referred to as a “chamber musical.”  Whereas the term “chamber musical” is in broad use, it has no Merriam-Webster, or even industry-standard definition:

Christopher Smith,: “Chamber musical” is a term borrowed from “chamber music”, where the forces required are less than a full symphony orchestra. It generally refers to a piece of musical theatre that is smaller in scale, suitable for a smaller theatre rather than requiring a large Broadway-size theatre. There is no set limit for the term to be used; it’s just a convenient way to refer to a less-elaborate production. 

Recommendation: Mixed: Steve: The music is eclectic and difficult to learn. There were nights our cast of six and out numbered the audience. One time, we sold out the house to a patriotic group that thought we were doing a musical tribute to the first ladies. They wanted their money back. TPT: First Lady Suite may be a challenge for my red-county-in-a blue-state patronage. As for  casting: I only have one actress in my current cadre who might be able to pull off Marian Anderson. Our black actors in the tri-county area are barely engaged in theatre outside of a region which is a 45-minute commute from where I sit.

Summary: see above 

Themes: femininity, fulfillment, love equality, living in the shadow of a man, gender roles 

Cast: Flexible: The New York production used an ensemble of 1 man and 6 women playing 13 women and 1 man. Casting requires at least one black actress to play Marian Anderson. The original New York production cast an African-American woman as a nurse/Lorena Hickok. Later productions have added a Michelle Obama character.

Running Time: 90 minutes with no intermission; however, there are an even number of vignettes, so…1 hour and 40 minutes (1 hour first part, 40 minutes second), plus one intermission

 

Royalties (professional):Apply here

 

Sets: one flexible set capable of depicting several locations, including the wing of an airplane 

Costumes: 13 period costumes depicting historical characters  

Suite One: 1963

Suite Two: 1953-1960 /1945 (period uniforms)

Suite Three:1945-1953

Suite Four:1933-1945; one is Amelia Earhart in pilot uniform 

Props: Sparse, but important to indicate, mood, location and period

Provenance:   

Playwright:  

Awards: 

Nominated for over 20 combined Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel, and Drama Desk Awards 

1994 Obie Award Special Citations (2) for the books of Hello, Again and First Lady Suite

Play:  

1994 Obie Award, Performance, Alice Playten, actor 

 

1994 Obie Award, Special Citation, Michael John LaChiusa, book

Purchase/Rental: 

Script $12.00

Complete Set of Scores: 2 Two-Piano Arrangement, 8 One-Piano Arrangement.

Deposit: $350

Rental Fee: $35

First Lady Suite – A Musical (Premiere Recording): 

 

Download: $8.99, 

Audio CD: $7.80 + $3.99 shipping

Reviews:

New York, NY Times, 1993: “Mr. LaChiusa’s ambitions for his musical are more bracing than the musical itself.”

New York, Backstage, 2002 “… more contemplative than theatrical. Most exquisite, however, is LaChiusa’s music, which floats us through the fairly static stories with a sinister grace that is often transcendent.”

NY, Variety, 2002 “melodious but substance-deprived sojourn…convoluted, unfulfilling libretto.”

New York, 2004, The Transport Group, (Michelle Obama, “a nameless, African American First Lady” had been added to the book) “it has taken an all too long eleven years for audiences to once again have a chance to experience it. But why waste time on should’aves when (this) terrific production has so much to cheer about…,remarkably effective simplicity that puts the focus …on the music and the superb cast.”

NY, 2004:  “By the time it occurs to you that Michael John LaChiusa isn’t saying very much about the famous characters who populate his mid-20th-century-grounded First Lady Suite, you’ve been so consistently entertained that lack of substance seems a ho-hum consideration.”

Chicago, 2005: “Presidents’ wives are whining, inconsequential ninnies with few thoughts of their own.”

London, 2009 “First Lady Suite needs to be cut by half an hour so, if you’re tempted, I recommend you go for the performances and not solely for the piece itself.”

London, 2009  “The score becomes discordant and is jarring at times. The writing however intrigues and some astute insights have been crafted into the dialogue.”

Houston, TX, 2012 “audiences can celebrate the struggles of womanhood-especially womanhood under public scrutiny”

LaDue, MO, 2014 “3.5 on a scale of 1-to-5.” “a book that is curious at best and offensive on the outside.”

Chicago, 2016: “features some strong vocal and comedic performances…It lacks compelling enough substance to have one care or empathize with the female protagonists”

Drinking: “The second skit depicts a drunken and lonely Mamie Eisenhower.”

Smoking: This script has not yet been read by TPT (5/4/2020)

Sex: dialogue discussing infidelity and homosexuality 

Language: This script has not yet been read by TPT (5/4/2020)

Violence: This script has not yet been read by TPT (5/4/2020)

Other possibly controversial subject matter:  At one point Lorena Hickok proclaims,”Do you know where Eleanor sleeps?  Eleanor sleeps here” as she gestures to herself. 

Rating: PG-13

Format inspired by the sadly suspended operations of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (then enhanced by TPT)   

*Steven Zumbrun hails from Maryland but has made music in nearly every state in the country (and bits of Canada) with such productions as Sweeney Todd, Ruthless!, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Songs for a New World, Barnum, Gypsy, Bat Boy, Merrily We Roll Along, and Forever Plaid. He also writes, tap dances, and plays the accordion (sort of).

Cover image (edited)

Horseshoes and Hand grenades…in Pleasantville

“Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”

To whoever might consider producing the featured shows in this series:

As I look back at my past directorial efforts, it is my goal for others to learn from both my masterstrokes and missteps. Based on my original analysis of Almost, Maine  from 2015, our local production was a prime example of both. 

“All I ask is: Please….let me direct it first!” 

Win: November 23, 2012: A local professional company had already mounted the show before I had written my original analysis. I am still however, the first (and shockingly the last) area community theatre director to have mounted the show since November 2016. I worked with some of my most beloved local actors and collaborated on many touching, true performances from dedicated local amateurs (in the true sense of the word). 

What I learned: The show is tighter with 4 actors. I used 9. However, having 4 actors create 19 characters and learn the lines while maintaining jobs and family responsibilities may be too daunting. Suggestion: Use either 4 or 19 actors. The latter makes for a great high school production (perhaps using the approved rewrites). Upbeat music may also help bind transitions and create stronger dramatic movement from scene to scene. 

“The settings should be simple with implied locations on a versatile fixed common playing area.” 

Fail: I attempted a design with skewed dimensions and a cartoonish feel. The set pieces, many double-sided and folding for an intended “magical” reveal, ended up being too heavy to be gracefully moved around the stage. This slowed the action in a show that already has very soft transitions from scenes with slow-burn endings rather than strong buttons. The finishes and colors were very creative, but not indicative of my original design concept (fairy tale meets rural Maine). 

What I learned: Use fewer, simpler, lighter set pieces capable of being moved by very few people. Stay away from overt technology.  

“The lighting or a transparency must allow for an Aurora Borealis effect (HIGHLY IMPORTANT).”

Fail: With my great gratitude, the theatre purchased an $8000 projector. That cost was folded into the theatre’s physical plant budget and has continued to be useful for several shows four years  after “Maine” closed. I got my beautiful moving GIF of a Aurora Borealis with some glorious projections to indicate locations, but in hindsight, most were pulling the focus from the acting. The learning curves for hanging, throw distance, shadows, angles, cooperation and color integrity with lights, digital design, and an unskilled and multi-tasking operator were great distractions from the heart of the play: the actor’s performances.

What I learned: Stay away from overt technology. Get people on your team who are highly skilled with technology and let them do their jobs. 

Costumes (not mentioned in the original analysis): I wanted some fantasy elements to work with my “fairy tale meets rural Maine” idea. This would mean clothing that seemed “rural Maine-ish” but with more vests and brocade. 

What I learned:  Most “pulled from the actor’s closet” costume items were sufficient. There is no reason to add freshly whipped cream to already delicious canned pudding.

In summation, trust your material. As you become more “brilliant” and “artistic,” learn to stick with “less is more.” Trust your material. Ask yourself, “Does this tell the story?” more often than you ask “Does this enhance the audience experience?” or “Is this MY vision?” 

Normalizing…in Pleasantville

April 5, 2019, I opened my production of the 2009 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical Next to Normal with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. I was beyond proud of my mostly agricultural MidWestern community for promoting, producing, performing, attending and supporting this groundbreaking and difficult step forward in their main stage subscriber season.

2010 Census Statistics for the county of the production*:  Population: 100,000; 45,000 households/30,000 families; Racial makeup: 93.2% White, Latino, 8.0%, 1.9% Black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 2.5% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races; Median age: 41.0; Median household income: $52,000 ; Population below the poverty line: 10.8%; Largest industries: Manufacturing (7,000), Health Care & Social Assistance (7000), Retail Trade (7000); Highest paying industries: Utilities ($95,000), Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($63,000), Public Administration ($57,000); Political lean: Republican; High school or higher: 89%; Bachelor’s degree or higher: 18%; Religious: 61%; Catholic: 41%; Christian, other:. 22%; Jewish: 0.11%; Islam: 0.00%

*numbers are rounded to leave the county anonymous

As I was (edit TPT 7/18/21) a member of an area summer stock’s season think-tank and the writer of this blog, I am deliberately educated in new works, and was already enamored of Next to Normal. The theatre where I directed the show sponsors a “Director’s Workshop” in January of the year before it’s January-December season. A director must submit an application, and elect a predetermined time slot in which to produce the show. The board reads/audits and votes for submissions. Winning submissions are welcomed in Winter, Spring, Summer, off-season, and Fall. Imagine my thrill when the new voices on the selection committee offered this choice in a stack of “shows they’d like to see at our theatre!” Despite in-script approved language substitutions, I agreed to do the show only if using all the original dialogue and lyrics. I was not going to repeat a previous mandate from the same theatre to make substitutions. I believe the result was something of which I and our production team, actors, theatre, and our patrons and community should be proud. What follows is a review of that success, production challenges, and “wish-I-wouldas” from my contemplation of the show after its closing. 

My direction: A director at this theatre gets approximately 9 weeks to mount a show. You are practically building and directing the show on the same stage simultaneously.   I believe an environment was created in which actors, and technical staff felt empowered to be part of the creative work and honored each other‘s decisions. Critically, it would’ve been best for me to take more time before rehearsals began to create blocking. I have become very accustomed to an improvisational directing style with a three-day (approximately 7 hours) rehearsal week. The show demanded more dictated decisions supported by pre-planning, for which I had not prepared. Choreography should have been created before the first rehearsal by a choreographer who was on the production team months earlier. That choice would have given me more time to spend on acting, my forte. I had four rehearsals per week and could have used more. I would, in the future, probably only attend 2 to 3 per week, and let the choreographer and/or music director do their job while I used the night for family or for planning for my blocking and acting rehearsals. My actors did a fine job, but they would have benefited from more intensive work. Diana, especially and others had to create far too much of their own stage business. Summoning my internal Ivo van Hove, I controversially added an ensemble, 4 actresses dressed in scrubs who made the scene changes move quickly and seamlessly.. They acted as invisible commentators and metaphorical puppeteers, and most often added to the involvement of our audience in the action.I wish I had given them more to do in Act 2. You may remind me that the show won awards without them. 

Casting: We were stretched at auditions by a production of Mamma Mia casting at the same time. As always, we were short on MALES, MALES, MALES. I seriously wanted to have a more diverse cast (mixed race family, non-white Henry, Doctor), but turnout and area demographics won out again to the overwhelming whiteness of our area. During my rehearsal process, I was hampered by the loss of two ensemble members, who left the production for personal emotional health reasons, and the recurring health concerns of another. This made some of the choral work (and direction) more difficult to manufacture and I had to make some changes, even near opening. I had a marvelous cast. They bonded and often made up for my occasional lack of planning and vision. My Dan was a former professional dancer who saved my unplanned heiny. We brought several new voices and talent to our theatre who were inspired to continue their association with other area theatres. 

Music: I could never have had a better musical director! Development of the choral work was inspired. All I needed to do was say, “…and the ensemble sings here.“ At this point, she created the vocal parts. DO NOT do this show without a separate music director who works in collaboration with the primary director. Vocally, this show must be mic’d. The vocal dynamics are too demanding for non-professionals with demanding day-jobs to safely attempt without them. Due to the ever-present difficulty and labor of finding volunteer musicians, I made the decision to go with an excellent pre-recorded score by ROCS. The show would have been richer with a live band. We have no pit, so I would have put them in full view somewhere. As a result, my music director ran the score with one hand while conducting with a small flashlight in the other!

Lights: For the most part the decisions (colors, fades, intensity) for lighting were mine based on instruments hung by a technician who is ahead of me in understanding the board. I know what I like, but I’m not skilled enough to achieve it., The second level was constantly underlit, and used too few instruments. The stairs should’ve had at least two more lighting instruments alone since there was so much action on them. Unfortunately,  my operator’s health made it impossible for us to develop the design fully.

Set: We had a horrendous time getting a set design and could get no crew to assist us. This is not anybody’s fault but it was highly unfortunate. I ended up designing the set myself. The paneled rustic modern cross section of a home was gloriously executed by a community member in the skilled trades. The “paneling” was his interpretation of a fleeting idea of mine, and the slider doors were all his. He even encouraged me to use more color upstage and underneath. The pipe and board stair rail was his, as was the rolling crate/table. I wish that we would have built the consoles and the benches for the second level to make them more integrated into the set. Stylized windows and an arch from the original design were omitted for time constraints but would have seriously reinforced the “house“ design. It would’ve been nice to create a way to “fly“ the roofline in and out because it blocked lights. I had many, many compliments on the ease of having characters appear and scene changes occur because of these barn doors. An upstage “mountain mural” was a late thought. I wish the clouds had been painted more realistically and the entire work executed in only shades of brown. It would’ve been nice to hang black curtains in such a way that we had a larger mural. The stairs that were exposed to the audience upstage center were functional. However, I wanted to achieve floating stairs for a more high-style architectural design. 

Sound: We had to bring in several monitors and it was barely enough. From an audience perspective, it really sounded like the singing was coming directly from the stage and allowed a great deal of subtlety and range for the actors. I’m glad that we chose to mic everyone. Again, I wish I had been brave enough and worked early enough to have a live band. 

Costumes: As with many community theatres mounting contemporary shows, most items were pulled from the actor’s own closets. I wish we had taken more time. It worked, but we needed more details for Natalie, and Gabe. This would have been helpful for the audience to understand more about their characters.

Production team: My producers were responsive, supportive and involved. Because there are so few producers who work with our theatre, they were involved with other shows and weren’t available to me as early as I would’ve liked. An ensemble member was fabulous at doing double duty. Many directors love to have their hands in all the pies. I would rather have people with creative opinions and experience that only require me to say yes and no and “great, but more purple.“ 

Production facilities: The theatre in which it was produced is a dream for a company like ours when it comes to her physical plant. I learned far too late how versatile the second floor was for rehearsals. I had never realized it was so large and fitting for blocking rehearsals. The theatre: Converted two-screen movie theater; Classic proscenium; Playing space approximately 30” deep, 100: wide; Stage right: a corridor Stage left deck is ¾ the size of the playing space; 166 seats; Sound and lights: fairly modern; Pit: none; Greenroom; 2 moderate community dressing rooms; Storage for costumes, props and stock set pieces; 2nd floor: storage, makeup tables, rehearsal space, offices, lighting booth; Lobby with seating and a refreshments bar; On-street and rear parking; Located in an active business district with stores, restaurants, and bars

Board support: As I have mentioned before, I am very proud of our area community theatre for putting this in their main season. It was a bold step. Some improvements: I asked a couple of email questions of board members. They were group emails, and both went unanswered. Perhaps because they were group emails, possibly because some people may not have have my email address in their contacts so the messages never got to him and went straight to junk. Perhaps, I didn’t follow the correct protocol. 

Concert Show: My emails were about, and I would still like to consider, “concert productions“ of this work if we could still get the cast together. This is probably  moot point one year later. I suggested that we appeal to surrounding theaters and ask them to pay royalties, and provide sound and lights. They would collect the ticket sales themselves to offset costs. I would have  liked to offer a premium per performance to actors, and musicians if we need them. Music would be a problem. The show needs at least a piano, guitar, and a drummer, or one would need to pay for the digitized music again. This would add far more expense to the “concert venues“ and may make this too expensive for other theaters to undertake for one night performances. I still believe investigation of the concept is worthwhile even if it is never successful for Next to Normal. 

In summation, thank you to the universe for this absolutely wonderful opportunity to work on a beautiful piece. Hopefully, it has emboldened theatre community and new and young directors, brought new people to the theater who have never been there before, and given our community something they can sink their teeth into and be inspired.

Soldier’s Wife by Rose Franken: an analysis for production

Part of the series: “By Nancy”

TPT Commentary: As a social worker trained in counseling and reintegrating returning veterans and their families, I found one scene especially telling and timeless despite its age: The wife, living alone and raising an infant, has learned to rewire a lamp. Her husband (and his wife) are almost disappointed that it actually works. Soldier’s Wife challenges audiences with an all-to-often retold and enacted parable of a soldier’s return to home only to find that the world moved on without him, and the wife who must decide to relinquish or share her new-found agency (and in this case, celebrity). Who should be celebrated, the humble soldier who enlisted, leaving a white collar well -paying job, to witness atrocities being repaid by an injury which prompts his discharge, or the overnight success and media darling who never asked for the attention?   Soldier’s Wife by Rose Franken is a pleasant and straightforward play that perhaps moves too quickly in its conceits, but with delightfully modern dialogue and round characters. The play ends with a stereotypical acceptance of the status quo and a return to traditional gender roles but, this time, by choice.

Recommendation: Strong: All theatres, most especially those outside larger cities and in more conservative markets. This writer is aware that this play breaks two of his own guidelines: the play is 80 years old and is set in Manhattan. My recommendation supersedes these guidelines because the themes are too universal and the medium too inviting and effective to ignore.  

Summary: An officer returns from the war to find his wife has become a self reliant, successful writer, turning their world topsy turvy. 

Themes: self-reliance, women’s rights/place in society/gender expectations, horror of war, reunification, literary/media ethics 

Cast: 3f, 2m

Running Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes, includes 2 intermissions, 3 acts

Royalties (professional): Minimum Fee: $90 per performance 

Sets: One set,pre-war NYC apartment  living room with implied exits to the kitchen common hall, and at least one bedroom, and a window

Costumes: Approximately 15: Period 1944: Women: simply dresses, high fashion business dresses, overcoats, hats. Men: Suits: overcoats, hats 

Props: Acquirable: fresh flowers in a variety of “freshness,” “antique/used” furniture for 1944, period baby items (pram, diapers), radiator, boxed long-stem roses (yellow), period cigarettes (possibly cases)

Provenance:   

Playwright: Rose Dorothy Lewin Franken was a celebrated Broadway playwright and director, a Hollywood screenwriter and a popular novelist whose fiction touched a sympathetic chord in American women. Although influenced by the domestic dramas of Sidney Howard, she was essentially a self-taught playwright who learned dramatic construction from textbooks. Another Language, her third play, opened at the Booth Theatre, New York, on April 25, 1932, and ran for 453 performances. After her husband’s death from tuberculosis in 1932, the playwright relocated to Hollywood and began the second phase of her writing career as a sought-after screenwriter. While still in Hollywood, Franken began to publish the Claudia short stories. After an absence of nine years from the theater, Franken returned with Claudia, a dramatization of her fiction. Dissatisfied with the casting choices, Franken took over the direction. It opened in London at St. Martin’s Theatre, on September 17, 1942, and returned to the St. James Theatre, New York, on May 24, 1942. The film (1943) starred McGuire and Robert Young, who were paired again in Claudia and David, a 1946 movie sequel based upon another Franken novel.Although an assimilated Jew, Franken was sensitive toward discrimination.Outrageous Fortune, Franken’s most daring play, takes a hard look at antisemitism and homosexuality. Despite their considerable wealth and talent, many of the characters are hiding, living in conformity to the dominant culture. Rapid literary construction, a denial of any revisions—which is not borne out by her manuscripts— and an emphasis on her feather-brained helplessness and domesticity became characteristics of Franken’s public persona.

Play:  Opening in October of 1944, with Martha Scott and Myron McCormick in the lead roles, with favorable notices and running a respectable 253 performances at the John Golden Theatre, Soldier’s Wife closed less than a week after V-E Day, and was included in that season’s Burns Mantle Best Plays annual.

Purchase: $9.95 

Reviews:  

Modern: New York, 2006

CurtainUp, TimeOut(harsh), Village Voice, Variety(not impressed), Time (must subscribe),  NYTimes, Broadway World

Drinking: Scotch neat, up to 3 times

Smoking: none, but cigarettes are shared

Sex: implied relations between wife and husband, playful spanking (inappropriate by modern standards)

Language: bitch, bitches (up to 3 times)

Violence: playful spanking (inappropriate by modern standards)

Other possibly controversial subject matter: Implied horror of war and its lasting effects on the psyche of those affected by it; Divorce and remarriage 

Rating: PG, for brief language

Format inspired by the sadly suspended operations of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (then enhanced by TPT)   

cover photo: collage of Mint Theater Company Production Photos,NYC Broadway Playbill John Golden Theatre January 1945

THESE SHINING LIVES by Melanie Marnich: an analysis for production

Part of the series, “..by Nancy…”

CATHERINE: I want to know what it feels like to make eight dollars a week. I want to know. Just once. I want to be that person. For a while. p.13

TPT Commentary: The humor and sweetness of Marnich’s early dialogue slowly set the audience up for a sucker punch. The patron will assume that they are getting a nostalgic memory play about women entering the workforce. They will fall in love with Catherine, laugh with Charlotte, and be charmed by Tom. Soon after, that dream will be silently and slowly stolen and replaced with a hard reality still being played out in worldwide manufacturing: Must I give my life to raise my family? The show is deceptively simple but requires a brisk pace, an excellent ensemble cast, and evocative costumes, makeup, and hair hopefully elevated by creative lighting and projections.

Recommendation: STRONG

Summary: “Catherine and her friends are dying, it’s true; but theirs is a story of survival in its most transcendent sense, as they refuse to allow the company that stole their health to kill their spirits—or endanger the lives of those who come after them.” 

A young woman joins the workforce to support her family finding identity, pride, and friendship only to discover that that the work is killing her and and her coworkers. TPT

Premiere:  April 30, 2008,  Center Stage, Baltimore

Themes: corporate greed, women’s rights/liberation, women’s work/pay, occupational health conditions, worker’s rights, friendship, marriage, gender norms

Cast: 4 women/ 2 men: It is worth noting that Dramatist Play Service, I assume by its standard format, lists the number of male roles first,  followed by the number of women’s roles. This is clearly a play led by and about women. Perhaps a revision of the standard format is in order.

Running Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes; there is no indication of an intermission. The play is referred to as “a play in one act by Melanie Marnich,” though DPS indicates “Full Length, Comedy/Drama.” There are several scene breaks, if your theater insists on an intermission, and there is no author’s note prohibiting one. 

Royalties (professional):$120 per performance. 

Rights: apply here

Sets: A single flexible set indicating several locations, and screens for suggested projections

Costumes:. Period men’s and women’s costumes (1920’s), approximately 17. Some may be suggested (lab coat/suit jacket/trench coat over base costume). Many must have phosphorescent treatments. Phosphorescent makeup details.

 Props: chairs, tables, clock faces of multiple sizes, paint brushes: nothing difficult to find or necessary to build

Provenance:   

Playwright:  Melanie Marnich is a Golden Globe-winning writer and an internationally produced, award-winning playwright. Her episode for Big Love, “Come, Ye Saints,” earned her a Writers’ Guild nomination and was named Best Television Episode of 2009 by Entertainment Weekly, rated third in TIME Magazine’s list of 10 Best Episodes of 2009, and ranked in TV Guide’s Best TV Episodes of All Time. Her plays have premiered at The Kennedy Center, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Baltimore Center Stage and The Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Humanitas Foundation.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Melanie Marnich 

Purchase: $10 

Reviews:  

Baltimore, MD, 2008 

London, 2013: 

Chicago, 2018: 

Chicago, 2009:

Boston area, 2013: 

Latham, NY, 2013: 

San Francisco/North Bay, 2019

Drinking: gin from a flask

Smoking: suggestions in dialogue

Sex: implied offstage after a scene between a married man and woman

 Language: nothing questionable 

Violence: none

Other possibly controversial subject matter: cancer, death

Rating: G, with serious themes

Format inspired by the sadly suspended operations of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (then enhanced by TPT)