Ursina's Shelf - Plays to read at home
Issue 15
Hello Readers,
Living in and near New York gave me the enormous privilege to experience world-class theater from visiting theater companies performing at SUNY Purchase to Broadway. Among many activities I look forward to, I am excited for the opportunity to visit live music, theater, and arts events again, and also for all the live performers and crews to be able to return to their work. Today, I would like to share three plays I have loved since high school and that are also good reads for at home.
Three plays
Doubt, a Parable by John Patrick Shanley (2004)
Description: The setting is a catholic school in the Bronx in the 60s. The school’s principal, a devout and conservative nun, comes to suspect that Father Flynn may have engaged in sexual conduct with a student, specifically the school’s first African American student. She shares her suspicions and is at first rebuked by both the boy's mother and the priest. The original production was at the Manhattan Theater Club and the play was later transferred to the Walter Kerr Theater on Broadway. The play won several awards, including the Pulitzer for Drama and the Tony for Best Play.
My Take: This play is still timely as sexual scandals continue to plague the Catholic church, but what particularly intrigues me is the nuanced examination of the suspicions, accusations, and doubt and uncertainty about what may or may not have happened. With only four main characters—the principal, the priest, a younger nun, and the boy’s mother—we get to know the characters and the different sides and perspectives through a sharp dialogue.
Bonus Fact: The film adaptation stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis and is directed by the author.
Proof by David Auburn (2000)
Description: After the death of her father, who was a famous mathematician, Catherine grapples with his death and proving the authorship of the game-changing proof discovered in his office. She struggles with her grief, genius, and mental health, while trying to convince her sister and her father’s graduate student that she authored the proof.
My Take: As a math nerd, I was predestined to love this play, but it’s Catherine’s struggle that really wows me, as well as the close look we get at her relationships, including with her father through the flashbacks featuring him.
Bonus Fact: This play also debuted at the Manhattan Theater Club and transferred to the Walter Kerr Theater, and its multiple awards also include the Pulitzer for Drama and the Tony for Best Play. Notable actors on stage included Mary Louise Parker, who also won a Tony for the role, and Neil Patrick Harris. There is a 2005 film adaptation with Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (1895)
Description: A true farcical comedy, first performed at London’s St. James Theatre, centers around two friends who secretly make use of pretend personae to escape their tedious social engagements and visit their lovers… only soon they start discovering each other’s secrets and unravel each other's schemes.
My Take: This classic comedy will make you laugh again and again, whether through the hilarious plot or the witty lines. Even a joke about cucumber sandwiches are on the menu. You will also be treated to a love story or two and deep satire of Victorian social norms along the way.
Bonus Fact: The play has been adapted for film and television several times. I highly enjoy the 2002 adaptation starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Reese Whiterspoon, and Judi Dench.
What’s your favorite book to recommend? Please tell me here.
Currently still reading: Goldstein by Volker Kutscher.
As always thank you for reading. Please share this newsletter with any family or friends who may enjoy it. Have a lovely weekend!