A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Tru

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1m

Jay Presson Allen, Truman Capote

Winner! 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show

Adapted from the words and works of Truman Capote, Tru takes place in the writer's New York City apartment during the week before Christmas 1975. An excerpt from Capote's infamous novel Answered Prayers has recently been published in Esquire and the author's friends, recognizing the characters as thinly veiled versions of themselves, have turned their back on the man they once considered a close confidant.

Tru

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Not Applicable
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show

Details

Summary
Adapted from the words and works of Truman Capote, Tru takes place in the writer's New York City apartment during the week before Christmas 1975. An excerpt from Capote's infamous novel Answered Prayers has recently been published in Esquire and the author's friends, recognizing the characters as thinly veiled versions of themselves, have turned their back on the man they once considered a close confidant. Alone and hurting, Capote soothes himself with pills, alcohol, and chocolate truffles while musing about his checkered life and career.
History
Tru was first presented on Broadway, on December 14, 1989, at the Booth Theatre in New York City, by Lewis Allen, David Brown, Suntory International Corporation, and The Shubert Organization, in association with The Landmark Entertainment Group, by arrangement with The Truman Capote Estate. It was directed by the author. The actor Robert Morse appeared in the title role.
Keywords
Performing Groups
TRUMAN CAPOTE
VOICE OF JAN
VOICE OF OPERATOR
VOICE OF MRS. FERGUSON
VOICE OF THE SECRETARY

Characters include four additional female voices, but the play is performed by a single male actor.

  • Time Period 1970s
  • Setting Truman Capote's New York apartment at 870 United Nations Plaza. One week before Christmas, 1975.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Drugs
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"We have glimpsed the interior man...The writing is wry, economical, skillfully indirect, acerbic and when called upon, judiciously vulgar." - Los Angeles Times

"It is two hours spent on the edge, balancing precariously between comedy and tragedy, between laughter and tears, between the raucousness of exuberant performance and the quiet whimpers of inner torment...Any who remember Capote's look-at-me flamboyance...would have to wonder if he would continue to exist without an audience. That you are watching Capote face the prospect of such a life while you are a member of an audience just adds a touch of surreality...The only real problem is that, as must have been the case with most evenings spent in Capote's presence, it ends all too soon." - The Baltimore Sun

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Jay Presson Allen

Jay Presson Allen

Jay Presson Allen (1922-2006), Oscar-nominated screenwriter, was born Jacqueline Presson in San Angelo, Texas on March 3, 1922. At the age of 18, she decided to become an actress in New York City. The charms of the profession soon paled and she married in the early 1940s, mov ...

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Author

Truman Capote

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