Monkey Monkey Bottle of Beer, How Many Monkeys Have We Here? (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1974) Review

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(More customer reviews)The title for this play originates from a counting nursery rhyme that indicates who is "it" or "out", so, it may seem apropropriate for the theme of the play. Five women arrive separately to the basement of a hospital to learn the results of an experiment conducted on their mentally challenged 8-year olds. Little is known to the women regarding the experiment, except that it is "needle to the brain with no pain." So, no one knows how the experiment turned out, which of their sons could be improved or worse. Therefore, the title of counting rhyme may indicate one or another's son may have a different outcome.
The setting is the basement of a hospital, and we listen as the five woman sit in a circle, taking her place, and waiting to be called for the doctor. As they wait in closeness, the women's personalities are soon revealed, why they are in the program, their personal issues, attitudes, doubts, finances, fears, etc. There is some dramatic confrontation. So, the gist of the play is mostly that, sitting, chatting, confronting, while waiting.
The character roles are well-defined in the short time we learn about them, and, the acting is well-done. Toward the end, one woman meets with her 8-year old, and realizes he is changed. However, the kid, about 8 years old is not a good actor and unfortunately he had more than enough lines. His acting was so forced and on the brink of noticeable and irritating. It was highly distracting to the work.
Other than that, the play was nothing too memorable. Playwright Marsha Steiness, who has written about 5 plays, is new to me. ........Rizzo.


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The title for this play is taken from a little known nursery rhyme, which involves a game between mother and child. The drama opens in the elegant reception room of a clinic where five women await a first reunion with their children from who they have been separated for two months. As the scene proceeds, their discomfort escalates; the tension, now palpable, suggest there are more complicated issues at play. It seems the children have been participants in an unusual experiment - never fully revealed. The women continue to wait...collective pawns in a situation over which they have no control. Their personal reactions to the stress reveal much about their characters. By Marsha Sheiness.

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Uncommon Women and Others (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1979) Review

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(More customer reviews)Wendy Wasserstein's debut play, directed by Merrily Mossman and Steven Robman, is brought to hilarious life in this finely cast production starring Swoosie Kurtz, Jill Eikenberry, and Meryl Streep. Setting the play in 1970 at Mount Holyoke College, Wasserstein focuses on six young women who are about to graduate and go out into a world newly sensitized to feminist goals. Caught between traditional values of home, hearth, and finding a husband, and sexual liberation, women's liberation, and personal liberation, these women are on the cusp of a whole new way of life. The play opens a few years after graduation as the women meet to reminisce about their lives in college, where "milk-and-crackers" teas and "gracious living" have dominated.
Filmed on location, the play dramatically illustrates every aspect of life in a women's college in 1970. An Emily Dickinson-reading "housemother" works to make these students into "ladies" while they explore options never before open to them. Both sympathetic and satiric, the author also includes discussions of Women's History courses, snapshots of Father-Daughter Weekend, and interactions among the various women as they explore who they are and who they will become. Swoosie Kurtz, as Rita, is the dominant figure in the action, a promiscuous and iconoclastic woman who wants to write the great American novel and who refuses to bend to convention.
In contrast to her is Streep, playing a minor role as Leilah, a shy student who plans to study anthropology in Iraq after graduation. Other characters include Jill Eikenberry, as Kate, who plans to attend law school; Ann McDonough as Samantha, who is in love and believes her primary role is to be as wife and mother; Alma Cuervo as Holly Kaplan, who is not sure what she wants her role to be; and Ellen Parker as Muffet, who becomes "partly liberated" but has yet to define her ultimate goals. Throughout the play, the voice of Anthony Scourby narrates a promotional film for the college, illustrating the gap between what is real (as we see it onstage) and what is ideal (as we hear the college PR).
Wonderfully poignant pictures of the social, sexual, and personal conflicts faced by these bright students in 1970 evolve as the students fumblingly make the transition between traditional expectations and unlimited possibilities. The humor is broad but to the point, and anyone who has attended a similar college in the same time period will identify with the conflicts experienced by these "uncommon women" on the cusp of true "liberation." Mary Whipple


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Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein's first play. A t a reunion seven years after their graduation from Mount Holyoke College, five former classmat es assess whether they have achieved their youthful goals. In a flashback, the women, all part of a group dubbed "uncommon"--because they were expected to be "amazing" before they reached 30 --relive their senior year and examine the influences that shaped them. "A remarkable first pla y by Wendy Wasserstein." --The New York Post.With Meryl Streep, Jill Eikenberry, Swoos ie Kurtz, Ann McDonough, and Alma Cuervo.

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Out of Our Fathers' House (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1978) Review

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(More customer reviews)This 70s production was enlightening, and it took me a couple of views to grasp the characters identities. The play, done in a nonconventional format, is about six women with remarkable and notable lives during our history. The six women come together to share their thoughts, dreams, struggles, bravery, movements, privileges, hardships, etc.
The storyline is based on a book by Eve Merriam, Growing Up Female in America (Beacon paperback). Although the book has 10 women, only 6 are present for the play. The title, From Our Father's House, theme derives from the clutches of their father, imposed or instilled. Better yet, the play is not hand-written; the text generates from the works of their journals, letters, diaries, etc. The six women who come together, take turns sharing and listening to one another are...
Dr. Anna Howard Stern (1847-1919), the first ordained women's preacher, doctor and leader of the sufferage movement. Listen, as she determined she overcame her father's message that reading was a waste of time, and she would make nothing of her life. She chose the pulpit over her own family.
Maria Mitchell (1818-1889), the first professional astronomer, whose father was an astronomer. She learned all about astronomy, but at that time, experienced that it was not as valued by the public for a woman with that knowledge.
Elizabeth Southgate (1783-1909), a young girl of privilege, went to finishing school, adored and respected her parents. She writes about finding the right man, marrying, becoming sick, (presumably TB). She died in her mid 20s. There is an interesting collection of her letters available in book form. A Girl's Life Eighty Years Ago: Selections From The Letters Of Eliza Southgate Bowne (1887).
Elizabeth Gertrude Stein (1890-1950), writer, journalist, feminist, shares when husband became sick, she worked in a department story, had a promotion, then went back home. Later, she became a profitable writing earning much.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902), founder of the Women's Suffrage movement. She tells of her age at 12, when her brother in college died, and how he was the pride of her father's heart. She tried to match up to being a male, learning Greek, Latin, etc. Struggling to do it, her father said, "you should have been a boy!"
"Mother" Mary Jones (1830-1930), prominent labor organizer and powerful voice of the underprivileged. Wonderful story telling about her child labor movement. The most mature actress portraying Mary Jones has done a superb job.
Enjoyable, informative, educational, hear the voices of the past, similar to the present.....Rizzo


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This play presents the true stories of women who sought independence at any cost. The compelling text is taken entirely from the diaries, journals and letters of the characters portrayed, among them: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the powerful founder of the women's suffrage movement; the famous labor organizer "Mother" Mary Jones; and Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, a frontier minister who protected herself by carrying a fully-loaded pistol at all times. Stars two-time Oscar famous labor organizer "Mother" Mary Jones; and Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, a frontier minister who protected herself by carrying a fully-loaded pistol at all times. Stars two-time Oscar® - winner Dianne Wiest (Hannah and Her Sisters) and two-time Emmy® - winner Carol Kane (Taxi).

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Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1982) Review

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(More customer reviews)Lanford Wilson is the modern day Chekhov, and while "Fifth of July" isn't the absolute best example of this, it comes pretty darned close. The only thing really out of place is William Hurt as Kenneth, here portrayed by Richard Thomas. Throw away all preconceptions of Thomas's from his most famous earlier work (involving a family drama), and you'll find yourself very satisfied with his performance, as he is able to play the typically reserved, held-back Wilson-esque character of Kenneth with greath verve and conviction. He seems to be having so much fun, always smiling and giggling, but you can see in Thomas's performance that there's deep emotional baggage stirring, and even though William Hurt would've been able to more thoroughly convey Kenneth's complex character, Thomas does a very good job and it doesn't affect the quality of the production at all. Just don't stare directly at that mole-thingie on his face!
Swoozie Kurtz won the Tony for best actress, and you can see why clear on screen. Gwyneth Landis is one of the great characters of stage. . . outrageous, yet not Roberto Begnini level crazy. It's very pathological (the good meaning) and motivated. You'll enjoy it very much.
The production also features great performances from Jeff Daniels as Judd, and looking back now, after all the comedies that he's become so well-known for, you'll realize that he's an even better dramatic actor (on Stage and Film). He and Thomas seem to have a good affinity. The rest of the cast, save Cynthia Nixon, is from the Broadway cast, and they're all excellent.
Speaking of Cynthia Nixon, even at such a young age, she gives a truly excellent performance as June Talley, the last of the Talleys. Her part really isn't a large one . . . she's a supporting character, but she fulfills much more than her supporting part offers, and her eyes are magnetic, if not hypnotic in their intensity. She's young and naive, yet still she possesses
a great sense of maturity, and her ending speech, about how she is the last of the Talley's, is great. If you're a fam of the Talley Trilogy, you'll very much like the little resonances here and there in "Fifth of July."
I don't think "Fifth of July" would be as enjoyable for younger people as opposed to older ones. The subject matter alone dictates that, so if you're reading this now, you're probably be just fine. If you lived during the turbulent Sixties, then this production will definately be of interest to you. If you're a fan of good drama, not matter the medium, you'll find a lot to enjoy in "Fifth of July."
If you're a fan of Lanford Wilson, and have seen or read "Talley and Son," and "Talley's Folly," the other two plays in the Talley Trilogy, then this is a no-brainer. We're very lucky that finally, Wilson's great works have begun to emerge into the video mass media. Now many more people can experience his magic.
Bravo!!!

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College friends, who once agitated for a better world, find themselves looking for a way to revive their dreams in Lanford Wilson's acclaimed Broadway play. Set in the American South in the post-Vietnam era, this television production stars stage and screen's Richard Thomas and Swoosie Kurtz recreating her Broadway role, which earned her the 1981 Tony Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play.

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