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Diary of Lights: New York About 1955

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4w, 6m

Adrienne Kennedy

Part dramatic literature, part dance, and part musical theatre, Diary of Lightsis a window into a part of American culture expressed through the unique voice of one of America's most formidable dramatists.

Diary of Lights: New York About 1955

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 6m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period, Experimental
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14-18)

Details

Summary
Adrienne Kennedy has been a force in the American theatre since the early 1960s, influencing several generations of playwrights with her hauntingly fragmentary lyrical dramas. Diary of Lights: New York About 1955 is a series of scenes which depict a group of friends during one evening in New York City, in the mid-50s. Part dramatic literature, part dance, and part musical theatre, Diary of Lights is a window into a part of American culture, expressed through the unique voice of one of America's most formidable dramatists.
History

Diary of Lights: New York About 1955 premiered at the Jane Addams Theatre in Chicago, IL in May 1978 under the direction of June Pyskacek.

Keywords
Performing Groups
BILLIE - comic, sweet, and ultimately very serious; Macy-type cotton dress, white wedgies.
EDDIE -  very serious; has on a V-neck sweater and khakis.
AARON - seersucker jacket and trousers.
MARGO - very intellectual and bohemian; Mexican wedding shirt, very long straight hair; smokes cigars, wears sandals.
MAVIS - very pretty; white dress and red stole, very wavy black hair piled on top of her head in curls.
ROY - frank; seersucker suit.
ELLEN'S BOYFRIEND - very well read
AISHA & MOHAMMED - a couple from Egypt; shy

All are dynamic and alive, and you wish you were with them that night. Margo Aaron and Mel are white. Aisha and Mohammed are from Cairo, Egypt.

  • Time Period 1950s
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

REVIEWS

"To many, Ms. Kennedy has blended the surreal and the social to invent a new dramatic form." - The New York Times

"[Kennedy creates] hauntingly fragmentary lyrical dramas [that powerfully explore] the violence racism visits on people’s lives.” - Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

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by Becca Schlossberg
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Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £30 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

    Please submit a license request to determine availability.

Scripts

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Authors

Adrienne Kennedy

Adrienne Kennedy

Award-winning playwright, lecturer and author Adrienne Kennedy was born in Pittsburgh in 1931 and attended Ohio State University. Her plays include Funnyhouse of a Negro (Obie Award, Petit Odeon directed by Jean Marie Serreau), June and Jean in Concert (Obie Award), Sun (Comm ...

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