The Sound Inside

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Sound Inside

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 1m

Adam Rapp

A brilliant Ivy League writing professor. A talented yet mysterious student. An unthinkable favor. Everyone has a story – the question is how it ends.

Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Jeremy Daniel)

The Sound Inside

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 1m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades

  • Nominated for six 2020 Tony Awards, including Best Play
    2019 New York Times Critic’s Pick
    Listed among “Best of the Year” in Time, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Daily News and The Hollywood Reporter

Details

Summary

When Bella Baird, an isolated creative writing professor at Yale, begins to mentor a brilliant but enigmatic student named Christopher, the two form an unexpectedly intense bond. As their lives and the stories they tell about themselves become intertwined in unpredictable ways, Bella makes a surprising request of Christopher that neither knows if he can fulfill. Brimming with suspense, Rapp’s riveting play explores the limits of what one person can ask of another.

History

The Sound Inside premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2018, and opened on Broadway at Studio 54 on 17 October 2019, directed by David Cromer and starring Mary-Louise Parker and Will Hochman. The Broadway production ran for 100 performances, closing on 12 January 2020.

Keywords
Performing Groups

BELLA LEE BAIRD – Middle-aged professor of creative writing at Yale; recently dignosed with stage 2 cancer
CHRISTOPHER DUNN – A freshman at Yale; a socially awkward but talented young writer

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting

    New Haven. Recently.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“A gripping mystery. An astonishing new play.” – The New York Times

“Beautifully and enthrallingly written.” – The Scotsman

“Rapp’s text is impeccably measured.” – The Stage

“Engrossing” – TimeOut

“A tight, coiling text.” – WhatsOnStage

“Adam Rapp's new play is a stunning character study of someone you’d like to know.” – Variety

“A gorgeous piece of theatre.” – New York Daily News

“Accessible and entertaining... On the surface, Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside seems like a straightforward two-character play that tells an ensnaring story. But the drama itself is a series of puzzle boxes. Open one and you’ll find another — each leading deeper into the mystery of art’s relationship to reality.” – Los Angeles Times

“90 uninterrupted minutes of tension... it’s about writers: the kind of people who in weaving stories are often in danger of unraveling themselves.” – The New York Times

“An intensely quiet play of two lonely people circling one another, each as wary of the other and both seeming to reach out more as instinct than plan.” – Deadline

“A gripping stunner!” – Chicago Tribune


Videos

  • The Sound Inside Trailer youtube thumbnail

    The Sound Inside Trailer

  • Theatremania Feature on The Sound Inside youtube thumbnail

    Theatremania Feature on The Sound Inside

Photos

  • The Sound Inside

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Jeremy Daniel)

  • The Sound Inside

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Jeremy Daniel)

Licensing & Materials

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

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Adam Rapp

Adam Rapp

Adam Rapp is the author of numerous plays, which include Nocturne (American Repertory Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop), Finer Noble Gases (26th Humana Festival), Stone Cold Dead Serious (A.R.T.), Blackbird (The Bush, London), Essential Self-Defense (Playwrights Horizons/Ed ...

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