Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams (1955)

Summary:  Adult brothers Brick and Gooper, accompanied by their wives and (in Gooper's case) children, are visiting their parents at the family plantation situated on 28,000 acres in Mississippi.  Big Daddy, their father, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and the brothers must find a way to relay the bad news to both of their parents, while each jockeying for a larger portion of the family inheritance (over ten million dollars in liquid assets alone).

While the circumstances create a tense situation; the primary tension of the play surrounds Brick's sexuality. Brick has been married to Maggie for years, though the two have never produced a child.  Maggie (the highly sexualized cat on a hot tin roof) and Big Daddy both accost Brick about his sexuality and the drinking problem that began when his best "friend" Skipper died.  

Early in the play, Maggie tells Brick, "Later tonight I'm going to tell you I love you an' maybe by that time you'll be drunk enough to believe me" (38).  In the final scene of the play, Maggie announces to the family that she is pregnant with Brick's child, thus making "Big Daddy's dream come true" and securing their larger portion of the family fortune (168).  In the final moments of the play, the family leaves the room and Maggie tells Brick that she has locked up the liquor and won't give it back until he has sex with her.  She states, "Tonight we're going to make the lie true, and when that's done, I'll bring the liquor back here and we'll get drunk together, here, tonight, in this place that death has come into" (173).  She adds that she loves him, and the play concludes with Brick's final statement, "Wouldn't it be funny if that was true?" (173).  

Thoughts:  For months, I've been thinking that I had read this play before and simply didn't remember it, but that is not the case.  This was definitely my first read of this play and I greatly enjoyed it.

Seven years after winning his first Pulitzer for A Streetcar Named Desire, this play involves many of the same subject areas (dysfunctional family, tension with in-laws, gay issues, alcohol, fighting).  Earlier in the project, I wrote about being in awe of Edward Albee's fight scenes...and this is an area where Tennessee Williams also excels, particularly within the confines of a very tense family situation.  While Maggie is constantly complaining about the children being vaguely annoying, they have little effect on the play with one exception.  When she is attempting to scold one of her nieces, the child (named Dixie) says to her, "You're jealous!  You're just jealous because you can't have babies!"  (62).  Williams' stage direction before Dixie's line reads, "With a precocious instinct for the cruelest thing."  Even the children at the periphery of this family know how to throw trump cards in a fight.

While Williams' plays are favorites of actors, he also uses stage directions to make the texts highly readable.  Instead of using stage directions simply for the most basic of blocking and emotional cues, he includes a great deal of information about his characters in these italicized pieces of text.  Moments after Big Daddy has suggested that Brick's relationship with Skipper was, "not, well, exactly normal", the stage directions note: 

"Brick's detachment is at last broken through.  His heart is accelerated; his forehead sweat-beaded, his breath becomes more rapid and his voice hoarse.  The thing they're discussing, timidly and painfully on the side of Big Daddy, fiercely, violently on Brick's side, is the inadmissible thing that Skipper died to disavow between them.  The fact that if it existed it had to be disavowed to "keep face" in the world they lived in, may be at the heart of the "mendacity" that Brick drinks to kill his disgust with.  It may be the root of his collapse.  Or maybe it is only a single manifestation of it, not even the most important.  The bird that I hope to catch in the net of this play is not the solution of one man's psychological problem.  I'm trying to catch the true quality of existence in a group of people, that cloudy, flickering, evanescent--fiercely charged!--interplay of live human beings in the thundercloud of a common crisis.  Some mystery should be left in the revelation of character in a play, just as a great deal of mystery is always left in the revelation of character in life, even in one's own character to himself.  This does not absolve the playwright of his duty to observe and probe as clearly and deeply as he legitimately can:  but it should steer him away from "pat" conclusions, facile definitions which make a play just a play, not a snare for the truth of human experience.  

[The following scene should be played with great concentration, with most of the power leashed but palpable in what is left unspoken.]" Act 2, 116-117). 

Buried Child by Sam Shepard (1979)

Summary:  Vince is driving across the country with his girlfriend Shelly and stops in Illinois to see his grandparents.  Immediately after arriving at their house, it becomes clear that something is not quite right:  his grandfather does not recognize him, his uncle is putting his fingers in Shelly's mouth and his grandmother is nowhere to be found (we later find out that she is probably having a sexual relationship with the local priest).  Vince informs Dodge (his 70 year-old grandfather) that they are on their way to see New Mexico to see his father.  Dodge replies that  Tilden is no longer in New Mexico, but has moved back to Illinois after "some trouble" and is, once again, living at the family farm home. 

As the play progresses, outsider Shelly unearths some of the family history and repeatedly states that she knows that there is a secret and she plans to find out what it is is.  The secret is finally revealed in the last few pages of the play when Dodge enters into a long monologue revealing that a baby that is buried in the backyard.  The baby is not his, but instead the child of his son Tilden and his wife Halie.  After revealing this familial incest and reading his makeshift will aloud, Dodge dies.  The final scene of the play involves Halie talking about the growth of new surprise crops while Tilden enters holding the corpse of a baby that he has presumably just exhumed from the backyard.

Thoughts:  Well, that just happened.   

I have now read this play twice, both times very quickly because I was compelled to reach the climax and learn the secrets of this family.  While the major secret of the play obviously involves incest and murder, each of Shepard's seven characters have both a secret and a personality quirk that creates a general feeling of unease throughout the entire play.  Usually, these quirks are not explained...they just happen.  For example, Bradley sticks his fingers in Shelly's mouth moments after meeting her and cuts his fathers hair while he sleeps--leaving a bloody scalp and, by all description, a terrible haircut.  Regardless, no one seems to question either of these choices--including Shelly, who has no familial obligation to put up with these bizarre antics.  

Shepard makes extensive use of monologues to reveal the exposition of the play--usually from Halie and Dodge, the oldest members of this family.  While I initially criticized this dramatic technique, I also think it is a deliberate choice to indicate that the family has stopped interacting with each other through meaningful dialogue, so monologues directed at strangers are the only effective way of revealing these family secrets. 

This play won the Pulitzer Prize twenty years before August:  Osage County was given the award, and the parallels between these scripts border on uncomfortable.  Clearly, they are both "about" dysfunctional families who have their share of secrets involving incest; but they also start the same way (the patriarch sits in darkness while the matriarch rambles upstairs).  Further, the dramatic action is dependent on the reactions of an outsider--Shelly here, Johnna in August:  Osage County.

Rent by Jonathan Larson (1996)

Summary:  The lives of seven young Bohemian friends in New York intersect over the course of a year as they attempt to find (or keep) love in a world where many of their friends are dying of AIDS.  None of the friends seem to have stable jobs and all are just trying to find some way to pay the rent.  The quasi-narrator of the story is Mark, a documentary filmmaker who is rarely seen without his camera.  Accordingly, Mark concludes the play by showing footage that he has gathered over the course of a year. 

Thoughts:  Another play that is difficult to summarize because so much of it is dependent on Larson’s depiction of individual characters and their relationships to each other.  Again, my reading of this play was enhanced by the fact that I am familiar (by familiar I mean I know every word) with the score…but, unlike Next to Normal and A Chorus Line, some of the songs in this text are memorable without their accompanying music ("Seasons of Love," for example, reads like a list-poem). 

Victoria Hoffman’s Introduction to the text reveals some of the now well-known stories about Jonathan Larson, namely that he died after the final dress rehearsal of Rent from a brain aneurysm that two emergency room physicians failed to diagnose.  Interestingly, Hoffman (Larson’s best friend) also writes that he was directed towards a career in composition after Stephen Sondheim wrote to him, “I know a lot fewer starving composers than I do actors” (vii).  Indeed, Sondheim is lyrically thanked in the text and his influence is evident in Larson’s structure and heavily rhyming lyrics. 

Rent is certainly a different kind of musical…and one that paved the way for the critical and popular success of things like Next to Normal (Anthony Rapp, a lead in Rent wrote the introduction to Next to Normal).  While musicals like 42^nd Street, My Fair Lady and South Pacific may have been an entry-point into the world of musical theatre for my parents' generation, Rent was my entry-point.  Though the thought of how many times I listened to the orange discs makes me cringe now, the subject matter and artistic choices were unlike anything else that my ninth grade self had experienced.

The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer (1977)

Summary:  Three individuals are separately living at a hospice for the terminally ill.  As each struggles with their impending death, their familial relationships are explored.  The dying individuals stay in their own cottages and never interact with other patients or families.  They are, however, questioned about their feelings by a nondescript "Interviewer."

In cottage one, Joe is joined by his wife Maggie and son Steve.
In cottage two, dying Brian and his partner Mark are joined by his ex-wife Beverly.
In cottage three, Felicity cares for her dying mother Agnes.

Thoughts:  Though the summary is straightforward, the play is actually quite ambiguous about it's given circumstances.  The stage directions do not reveal that it is a hospice, but rather a hospital that contains "cottages."  Early in the play, Joe reminds Maggie that he will not be coming home, and that they need to find a way to tell Steve.  He does not explicitly state that he will die at the hospice, but attempts to convey that he has come to terms with death and that Maggie should attempt to follow suit.  Death is talked about very indirectly; and typically, the relatives are more emotional than the patients in the cottages.

Though the play details the relationships of three individuals, each scene has a very intimate tone and clear objective.

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner (1993)

Summary:  After being diagnosed with AIDS, Prior Walter is visited by the voice of an angel who ominously announces that "Millennium Approaches."  As Walter deals with the angel and his own relationship to Louis, other individuals and relationships are explored.  These include:
Joe and Harper--a transplanted Mormon couple drawn to homosexuality and Valium, respectively.
The very real Roy Cohn--attempting to hide the fact that he has full-blown AIDS by saying that it is Liver Cancer.
Belize--a sometimes drag queen, sometimes nurse who is loyal in his friendship to Prior and therefore skeptical of Louis.
The lives of these characters intertwine throughout the full-length play (set in the mid-80s in New York City) until finally, The Angel (no longer just a voice) bursts through Prior's ceiling proclaiming, "Greetings, Prophet.  The Great Work begins:  The Messenger has arrived."  The play ends and audiences are left to anticipate and speculate about Part Two:  Perestroika.

Thoughts:  I dreaded writing the plot summary above for days because so much happens in the first installment of Kushner's epic two-part drama.  However, though the play is expansive, the exploration of character is generally more important than the advancement of a very broad plot.

Very recently, my friend Katelyn Wood attended a lecture given by Meryl Streep (who won an Emmy for her work in Mike Nichols' filmed adaptation of the play) in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas at Austin.  Katelyn asked Streep about Tony Kushner and the continued relevance of Angels in America in a world where the play is increasingly less controversial.  Streep referred to Kushner as "the playwright of our time" and remarked extensively about the characters he creates, all extremely flawed in their humanity. 

All of the central characters in Angels in America are important to the advancement of plot; but moreover, they have their own flaws and personal struggles that do not always depend on interactions with others.  Often in the dramatic literature of the 20th century, rich characters are unveiled primarily through depictions of their interactions with others.  Kushner instead makes use of extensive monologues about emotions rather than argument scenes (which are often used to propel dramatic action).  While these monologues could quickly become whiny, redundant or simply boring...Kushner's ability to create multidimensional human characters makes us wonder what these characters are going to say, feel and do next.

Beyond the Horizon by Eugene O'Neill (1920)

Summary:  In Act 1, the Mayo family is preparing for the departure of their son Robert who plans to go on a three year sea-voyage with his uncle.  Because he has never been one for farming, his mother and father feel that the trip will be a great way for him to find himself while his younger brother Andrew (a natural farmer) stays at home and possibly starts a relationship with Ruth (the girl he spends most of his time with).  Hours before he is supposed to leave, Robert reveals to Ruth that he has always loved her; because she elatedly reciprocates, he decides to stay.  Andy, angry and heartbroken, hastily decides he will go on the voyage instead--a distressing revelation to both of his parents.

Act 2 opens three years later.  Robert and Ruth are decidedly unhappy, have an infant child and the farm is steadily declining.  In a moment of intense anger, Ruth reveals to Robert that she has always loved Andrew.  Moments later, Andrew enters--back from a successful journey.

Five years later, Act 3 begins and things have gotten markedly worse.  The infant has died, the marriage is miserable and Robert has a terminal illness.  Andrew returns with a specialist to take care of Robert, and Robert makes his wife and brother promise to marry after his death.  They try to argue with him as he draws his dying breath.  The play ends with Ruth and Andrew looking at each other, not sure what to do.

Thoughts:  I have put off reading this play for weeks because it is one of the longest, but I really enjoyed it.  While it is another in a long line of plays about unhappy families, O'Neill's writing stands alone (meaning:  I don't think I necessarily need to see this play to fully appreciate the story/characters).

As a sickly young child, Robert spent much of his time looking "beyond the horizon" and imagining what was "out there" waiting for him.  Because he chose to stay at home, he never got to discover the world and was left with a pile of what-ifs and might-have-beens.

Icebound by Owen Davis (1923)

Summary:  The Jordan siblings have gathered to await the death of their mother, but it rapidly becomes clear that they are actually eagerly anticipating the reading of her will.  They are all surprised to discover that she has (spitefully) left the sizable family fortune to second-cousin Jane.  The plot thickens when Jane is presented with a letter from Mrs. Jordan that details her dying wish:  for her youngest son Ben to be taken care of--by any means necessary.  Though Ben is a fugitive and widely believed to be "good for nothing" Jane falls in love with him--with some ambiguity about whether this newfound love is due to his charm or her loyalty to Mrs. Jordan.  Ben has some inappropriate relations with another "almost relative" named Nettie, but ultimately ends up proposing to Jane.  The two will live "happily ever after" on the farm and fortune left by Mother Jones.

Thoughts:  The summary of this play is likely more detailed than the actual plot.  No one seems to care that a borderline incestuous marriage is about to take place, nor are they outwardly grieving the death of their family matriarch.  At various points throughout the play, each character displays their propensity for greed at the expense of their relationships with each other.  It is never clear that Jane and Ben actually love one-another, but both seem ready to settle and stay in one place.  Yet another play about a family whose "problems" could likely all be solved...if anyone actually cared enough to solve them.

All The Way Home by Tad Mosel (1961)

Summary:  The Follet Family is spread out across Tennessee and meet together in Act One for an annual picnic where familial tensions and allegiances are explored for the first time. The family quietly notes that this will probably be the last time they see their Great Grandma. In Act 2, a phone call summons Jay home because his own aging father (John Henry) is in some sort of medical trouble. He makes the trip and subsequently calls home to say that he will be back home soon because it was a false alarm. When he doesn't come home, the phone eventually rings again to inform his pregnant wife Mary that he has been instantly killed in an accident. The third and final act of the play is set in the hours before the funeral, and once again explores how families interact with each other in times of both normalcy and tragedy.

Thoughts:  This play is an adaptation of James Agee's novel A Death in the Family (which also won a Pulitzer Prize). Though the play is set in 1915 and contains references to the "war between the states" and repeated usages of the N-word, it retains timeless appeal because it examines the way that normal families interact--strained individual relationships and a common bond. I think that this play will continue to retain much of its timelessness because of the central idea that families (consciously or unconsciously) prepare for certain deaths, but not others.

Alison's House by Susan Glaspell (1931)

Summary:  On the last night of the 1800s (December 31, 1899), a family has gathered to pack up their family estate, where only ailing Aunt Agatha currently resides.  Agatha will move in with her brother (male protagonist Mr. Stanhope) and the home will likely be sold to a couple who will transform it into a summer boarding house.  Aunt Alison is the unseen title character of this play--a poet of national acclaim who died many years ago.  Regardless, she is still the main topic of conversation in the house, especially after a reporter from Chicago visits, hoping to see her room and get an answer to the question, “Have all of her poems been published?”

Thoughts:  This play did a really excellent job of holding my interest in the two essential questions of the text:  1.  Have all of Alison’s poems been published?  and 2.  Why does everyone keep talking about her as if there is some sort of secret surrounding her?  The obvious answer to the first question is no, which becomes a pivotal issue in the third act; but the second question led me to a number of different hypotheses while reading.  A suicide?  A lesbian?  Incest?  Inquiring minds want to know! 

From the outset, it is clear that Aunt Agatha does not want to move because she feels closest to her sister Alison in the family mansion; and the strain of moving eventually results in her death—but not before she can hand over a satchel of unpublished poems to a recently returned niece (Edna).  Edna is the source of family scandal and not entirely welcomed at home because she recently ran off with a married man.  Eventually, it becomes clear that both old Mr. Stanhope and Alison experienced the same sorts of pining toward married people…but they didn’t act on their feelings.  Instead, Alison wrote poetry that ultimately both united and divided her family.  Most of the characters in this play, seen and unseen, have dealt with unrequited love and find themselves sharing stories (and poems) that have long been buried on New Years Eve, 1899.

“And then—all of a sudden—We had been dancing; we stopped by the door.  We just looked at each other—stared, rather, and he said—“Why, Elsa!”  We stood there, and then he said, “It is Elsa.”  And we went out to the veranda, and everything was different, because he was Bill and I was Elsa.  And everything we had together in the past—when we used to slide down hill together—was there, alive, giving us a past we hadn’t known we were making for ourselves.”  

(Act 3)

Three Tall Women by Edward Albee (1994)

Summary: Three actresses play a character (not named) at different points in her life—around late 80s, 52 and 26. The actress playing the 26 year-old version is often dismissive of the advice given by older versions of herself. As such, they are both hyper-critical towards this young version of themselves. The oldest incarnation of this character is literally on her deathbed during the second act and repeatedly speaks in vague terms about an estranged son possibly coming to visit her. He does eventually visit, but never speaks.

Thoughts: In his Introduction, Albee explains, “I did not want to write a revenge piece.” However, he also makes it very clear that this play is about his adoptive mother, with whom he had a very troubled relationship (“I did not like her much, could not abide her prejudices, her loathings, her paranoias.”) With this set up, Albee creates three separate characters (though they are actually the same person), each deeply flawed. At times when they are delivering their major monologues, they paint themselves as completely unlikeable—only to later be redeemed by a different version of themselves.

Because of his extraordinarily personal introduction (he never claims that the play is not autobiographical) parts of this play made me feel like I know much more about Edward Albee than I actually do. One of the most heightened moments happens when the mother character graphically describes having adulterous sex in a barn with a stable hand, then stating that her son confronted her about it. As retaliation, she reflects on the incendiary comments made about his homosexuality that caused his abrupt premature departure from home.

"People often ask me how long it takes me to write a play, and I tell them 'all of my life.'"
-Edward Albee in the Introduction to Three Tall Women

Wit by Margaret Edson (1999)

Summary:  Fifty year-old Dr. Vivian Bearing is suffering from stage-four ovarian cancer, after having dedicated her life to the study of 17th century poetry, specifically the work of John Donne.  She struggles through an eight-month course of chemotherapy alone; but we know from page three that she will be dead by the final curtain.

Thoughts:  Perhaps the most stunning part of this play came after the end of the text in the author’s biography.  There, I learned that Margaret Edson is a kindergarten teacher from Atlanta and that Wit is her first (and only) play. 

This play could easily be cut into a one-woman show and staged productions likely depend entirely on the prowess of the actress playing Vivian.  Edson succeeds at capturing Bearing’s stiff lecturer persona while using the elegiac language of Donne partially because this language is balanced with a few actors speaking the most plain and mundane English.