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THE MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO | SYNOPSIS AND TONE SYNOPSIS Bette and Boo is the work of Christopher Durang (Beyond Therapy, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You, Laughing Wild, Baby with the Bathwater...), a master of comedy with a mordant, absurd and often heartbreaking edge. This is a memory play—a child’s coming to terms with his parents’ life story. It’s effectively Durang’sGlass Menagerie. And it deals with many of his pet issues: the seeming impossibility of relationships, the contradictions of the Catholic Church, the search for order and meaning in a chaotic and often cruel existence. Matt, a young graduate student, narrates and participates in the story of the marital life of his parents, Bette and Boo, who begin as two young people with a bright and picture-perfect future in front of them. Over 33 quick scenes, we go through three decades in the lives of the Brennan family (Bette, her parents, Paul and Margaret, and her two sisters, Joanie and Emily) and the Hudlocke family (Boo and his parents, Karl and Soot)—ever guided by the family priest, Father Donnally—as they experience marriage, divorce, alcoholism, nervous breakdowns and death. The Marriage of Bette and Boo is a hilarious tragedy to be played by an ensemble cast with expert comic timing and complete dramatic honesty. TONE Christopher Durang’s writing can be hard to pin down in terms of tone. His comic dialogue may read as outrageous and over-the-top, but he is in fact writing about very human, often tragic events. The intention is never to make light of these events or to make fun of the people experiencing them. Over the course of the play, for example, Bette loses several children, Paul lives in the aftermath of a stroke, Emily is institutionalized for “nerves....” The humor comes from the desperate lengths that these very real characters are forced to go to in order to preserve themselves and get through these situations. It also comes from the largely unsuccessful attempts of these characters to communicate with one another. But no one in this play is stupid. No one in this play is ridiculous. In terms of acting the parts, then, we’re not looking for “stylized” performances. We’re not looking for stagy or campy acting, and we’re not looking for any self-consciousness on the part of our performers. What this play needs is for the clear, straightforward emotions of each scene to be played out honestly. The stakes and energy are incredibly high for these characters. And that’s how you make what might be a movie-of-the-week into a play that leaves you both heartbroken and crying with laughter..

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TACT 2013-14 Brochure
Photo by Stephen Kunken Stephen by Photo Cynthia Harris in in Harris Cynthia Lost in Yonkers in Lost - WALL STREET JOURNAL STREET WALL - “COMPANY OF THE YEAR!” THE OF “COMPANY 2013/2014 SEASON 2013/2014 New York, NY 10003 NY York, New 900 Broadway, Suite 905 905 Suite Broadway, 900 2013/2014 SEASON PLAYS AS TIMELYAS THEY ARE TIMELESS “COMPANY OF THE YEAR!” - WALL STREET JOURNAL Lovers Cameron Scoggins & Justine Salata in Photo by Hunter Canning In its 20th anniversary season, TACT is named the Wall Street Journal’s “COMPANY OF THE YEAR!” HOW ou top that by picking an astounding roster of provocative Yand entertaining plays, you pack them with brilliant talent, DO and invite New York City’s smartest and most discerning theatre-goers to attend (that’s you, by the way). Our Mainstage season opens in September with a rare look at a YOU lost classic; William Inge’s intense and startlingly contemporary Natural Affection. Rarely seen anywhere since its brief Broad- way run in 1963, this urban domestic drama created controversy with its underlying incestuous and homosexual insinuations and TOP its dark implications of a dawning sexual revolution. We can’t think of a better way to kick-off our season than by celebrating the centennial of an iconic American playwright with the redis- THAT? covery of this overlooked and undervalued gem. We’re pairing this daring drama with an early masterpiece from the hilarious and outlandish Christopher Durang, whose most re- cent work, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play.
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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE BY CHRISTOPHER DURANG DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE INC. VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE Copyright © 2014, Christopher Durang All Rights Reserved CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that performance of VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE is subject to payment of a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union (including the Dominion of Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth), and of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention, the Universal Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention, and of all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights, including without limitation professional/amateur stage rights, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound recording, all other forms of mechanical, electronic and digital reproduction, transmission and distribution, such as CD, DVD, the Internet, private and file-sharing networks, information storage and retrieval systems, photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed upon the matter of readings, permission for which must be secured from the Author’s agent in writing. The English language stock and amateur stage performance rights in the United States, its territories, possessions and Canada for VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE are controlled exclusively by DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE, INC., 440 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. No professional or nonprofessional performance of the Play may be given without obtaining in advance the written permission of DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE, INC., and paying the requisite fee.
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2013-14Season Therapy Beyond
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Miss Witherspoon
Otterbein University Digital Commons @ Otterbein 2007-2008 Season Productions 2001-2010 5-1-2008 Miss Witherspoon Otterbein University Theatre and Dance Department Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/production_2007-2008 Part of the Acting Commons, Dance Commons, and the Theatre History Commons Recommended Citation Otterbein University Theatre and Dance Department, "Miss Witherspoon" (2008). 2007-2008 Season. 4. https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/production_2007-2008/4 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Productions 2001-2010 at Digital Commons @ Otterbein. It has been accepted for inclusion in 2007-2008 Season by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Otterbein. For more information, please contact [email protected]. OTTERBEIN COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE Presents Christopher Durang’s Miss Wither spoon Directed by Ed Vaughan Scenic and Lighting Design Rob Johnson Costume Design Sound Design Wes Jenkins Peter Sichko May 1-3, 9&10, 2008 Campus Center Theatre cast Veronica.......................................................................................Caitlin Morris Maryamma............................................................................. Selina Verastigui Mother 1& Mother 2................................................................ Clare Schmidt Father 1& Father 2, Sleazy Man, Dog Owner, Wise Man.....Lucas Dixon Teacher, Woman in Hat............................................................Ayaunna Bibb production team
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Anton Chekhov
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Durang, Christopher (B. 1949) by Brandon Hayes
Durang, Christopher (b. 1949) by Brandon Hayes Encyclopedia Copyright © 2015, glbtq, Inc. Entry Copyright © 2005, glbtq, inc. Reprinted from http://www.glbtq.com Christopher Durang is an openly gay playwright, screenwriter, and actor whose works have been produced on and off-Broadway and regionally since the late 1970s. A fiercely satirical comic dramatist, Durang often incorporates gay themes and gay characters in his plays. Durang was born on January 2, 1949 in Montclair, New Jersey. He attended Harvard, where he earned a B.A. in English in 1971, and the Yale School of Drama, from which he received an M.F.A in Playwriting in 1974. At Yale he collaborated on several projects with fellow students Albert Innaurato, Wendy Wasserstein, Meryl Streep, and Sigourney Weaver. In 1976, Durang's musical revue A History of the American Film, for which he wrote both lyrics and music, won a spot at the national Eugene O'Neill Playwriting Conference and was presented in Hartford, Los Angeles, and Washington. The next year it was produced on Broadway, earning Durang a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. In 1979, Durang and Sigourney Weaver presented Das Lusitania Songspiel, a parody of contemporary Broadway musicals performed in the style of a Brecht-Weill cabaret. Durang and Weaver both received Drama Desk nominations for their performances. Durang's breakthrough in achieving critical and financial success came in 1981 with the Off-Broadway production of his scathing one-act play, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You (written in 1979), which has over the years become a popular vehicle for actresses as diverse as Nancy Marchand, Cloris Leachman, Lynn Redgrave, and many others.
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Vanya and Sonya and Mash and Spike: the Study Guide
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Performing Arts Collection Coll2007.016
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FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5 S E A S O N HISTORIC ARCADE THEATRE • FORT MYERS RIVER DISTRICT ROBERT CACIOPPO, PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PRESENTS BY CHRISTOPHER DURANG SPONSORED BY DR. ALEXANDER M. EATON & DR. HUSSEIN WAFAPOOR OF THE RETINA HEALTH CENTER STARRING VIKI BOYLE*† • MICHELLE DAMATO*† • COURTNEY FEIMAN RYAN GEORGE* • KIM OSTRENKO* • GRAHAM SMITH* DIRECTED BY ROBERT CACIOPPO**† SET DESIGNER LIGHTING DESIGNER COSTUME DESIGNER RICHARD CROWELL† ROBERT ROBINS ALEXANDRIA HOFFMAN SOUND DESIGNER ASST. TO THE DIRECTOR ASST. STAGE MANAGER JOHN KISELICA RACHEL BURTTRAM† JOSHUA BROWN PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER AMY L. MASSARI*† Originally produced on Broadway by: Joey Parnes, Larry Hirschhorn, Joan Raffe/Jhett Tolentino, Martin Platt & David Elliot, Pat Flicker Addiss, Catherine Adler, John O’Boyle, Joshua Goodman, Jamie deRoy/Richard Winkler, Cricket Hooper, Jiranek/Michael Palitz, Mark S. Golub & David S. Golub, Radio Mouse Entertainment, Shawdowcatcher Entertainment, Mary Cossette/Barbara Manocherian, Megan Savage/Meredith Lynsey Schade, Hugh Hysell/Richard Jordan, Cheryl Wiesenfeld/Ron Simons, S.D. Wagner, John Johnson in association with McCarter Theater Center and Lincoln Center Theater. Originally commissioned and produced by McCarter Center Theater, Princeton, N.J. Emily Mann, Artistic Director; Timothy J. Shields, Managing Director; Mara Isaacs, Producing Director; and produced by Lincoln Center Theater, New York City under the direction of Andre Bishop and Bernard Gersten in 2012. 2014-15 GRAND SEASON SPONSORS GE Foundation The Fred & Jean Allegretti Foundation • Bruce & Janet Bunch • Cheryl & David Copham Gholi & Georgia Darehshori • Ed & Ellie Fox • John & Marjorie Madden • Sue & Jack Rogers • Arthur Zupko This entire season sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
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Christopher Durang
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