Humpty Dumpty and Other Plays

Eric Bogosian

• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781559367400
• Topic: Littérature
• Subtopic: Théâtre américain

Eric Bogosian is one of our most singular and exhilarating commentators on American life. His award-winning solo performance works have been performed with acclaim all over the world. As the New York Times has pointed out, “Bogosian is a born storyteller with perfect pitch.” That is never more evident than in his newest book, which collects his three most recent plays. In Humpty Dumpty, five friends gather for a holiday at a mountain getaway where unforeseen events bring them to the brink of the end of the world; Griller, set in a New Jersey backyard, where a barbecue gathering turns sinister and deadly; and Red Angel, Bogosian’s riff on Von Sternberg’s The Blue Angel, reset on a college campus in 1990s New England.

“I want theater to wake me up, not lull me to sleep. My theater is not about fantasy, it’s not about seduction. My theater is not an outline for a film. It is not a TV sitcom onstage. I want my theater to be an event. I want it to push limits, bite the hand that feeds it and bang heads. It’s about my fears, my ideas, my blind spots, my isolation.”—Eric Bogosian

Eric Bogosian is the author of five plays including Talk Radio and subUrbia, as well as three Obie Award-winning solos: Drinking in America; Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll; Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead and his most recent, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, which was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. He wrote the screenplay adaptations of his first two plays, receiving the Berlin Film Festival’s “Silver Bear” for his work in Talk Radio. Simon and Schuster will publish his second novel in 2005.

HUMPTY
DUMPTY

I wanted to write a play for my brilliant wife and director, Jo Bonney.

Humpty Dumpty began as something to do with the millenium fears of total tech breakdown, what was known at the time as “Y2K.” We workshopped it at the McCarter and by the spring of 2001 Emily Mann decided that the play would be part of the following year’s schedule. In the fall, the attack on the World Trade Center occurred. Emily decided to press on with the play, now resonant with the fears we felt at that time. I made adjustments as best I could.

—E.B.

Production History

Humpty Dumpty received its world premiere at McCarter Theatre Center (Emily Mann, Artistic Director; Jeffrey Woodward, Managing Director) in Princeton, New Jersey, on March 26, 2002. It was directed by Jo Bonney; the set design was by Robert Brill, the costume design was by Ann Hould-Ward, the lighting design was by Ken Posner, the sound design was by John Gromada; the producing director was Mara Isaacs, the dramaturg was Janice Paran, the director of production was David York and the production stage manager was Cheryl Mintz. The cast was as follows:

NICOLE	Kathryn Meisle
MAX	Bruce Norris
TROY	Patrick Fabian
SPOON	Reiko Aylesworth
NAT	Michael Laurence

The Princeton workshop actors were Brienin Bryant, Evan Handler, Marcy Harriell, Jessica Hecht, Danny Hoch, Paul Marcarelli, Zak Orth, Martha Plimpton, Christopher Even Welch and C. J. Wilson.

Humpty Dumpty was subsequently produced at San Jose Repertory Theatre (Timothy Near, Artistic Director; Alexandra Urbanowski, Managing Director) in San Jose, California, on March 28, 2003. It was directed by John McCluggage; the set design was by Douglas Rogers, the costume design was by B. Modern, the lighting design was by Lap-Chi Chu, the sound design was by Steve Schoenbeck and the stage manager was Jenny Friend. The cast was as follows:

NICOLE	Elizabeth Hanly Rice
MAX	Saxon Palmer
TROY	Louis Lotorto
SPOON	Amy Brewczynski
NAT	Andy Murray

Characters

NICOLE, a book editor, thirties

MAX, her husband, a novelist, thirties

TROY, Nicole and Max’s friend, a screenwriter, thirties

SPOON, his girlfriend, an actress, thirties

NAT, the caretaker, fifties

Setting

A vacation home in upstate New York. The present.

ACT ONE

Scene 1

Late afternoon light pours into a roomy vacation home that had once been a barn. The spacious room is furnished with collectible pottery, bookcases and kilim throw rugs. Comfy armchairs, a couch and an oak table face an enormous bluestone fireplace. Elevated about two feet above the space is the kitchen. Behind it, a windowpaned door leads to a glass “mudroom,” porch and the outdoors. An upstage balcony leads to three bedrooms.

Nicole enters from outside wrestling luggage and groceries. She is on her cell phone. Her tone is clipped and brash.

NICOLE (To phone): Right. Uh-huh. No, business-class is fine, I don’t need first. But get me priority check-in no matter what. And did you give them the frequent-flyer number? Oh shit, you’re breaking up . . . damn!

(Nicole puts down the groceries and luggage and finds a good signal for her cell phone. Max arrives with a box of books.)

No there, OK. You ordered the special meal? What? No. That’s not the same. No, cheese is not the same as tofu, Sara. Tell them it has to be totally nondairy. And make sure they have bottled water. If not . . . Hold on Sara. (To Max) What?	MAX: Did you take my laptop out of the car?
	I can’t find my laptop.
It’s on your shoulder. (To phone) We just got here. Literally just walked in. It’s nice. It’s . . .	(Sees it) Oh, right.

(Max drops the box of books and heads back out for luggage. Nicole wanders.)

. . . a little weird. But I guess all new places are weird. That’s the definition of weird, ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• PREFACE
• GRILLER
• HUMPTY DUMPTY
• RED ANGEL
• NON-PROFIT BENEFIT