A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Precious Little

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  3w

Madeleine George

Brodie, a gifted linguist, learns unsettling news about the baby she carries. Unable to get comfort from her girlfriend, she finds it in the two least likely sources imaginable: the elderly speaker of a vanishing language… and a gorilla at the zoo.

Precious Little

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Suggested Use
    • Cutting Approved for Competition
    • Scene Work
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • WINNER - 10 Best Plays of 2011, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Details

Summary
Brodie, a gifted linguist, learns unsettling news about the baby she carries. Unable to get comfort from her girlfriend, she finds it in the two least likely sources imaginable: the elderly speaker of a vanishing language…and a gorilla at the zoo. Madeleine George’s irreverent and charming new play reveals the beauty and the limits of human language.
History

Precious Little was first produced in June 2009, as part of the Summerworks series, by Clubbed Thumb, under artistic director Maria Striar, where it was directed by Hal Brooks. The play received its Chicago premiere in March 2011 by Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, where it was produced by Tara Mallen and Mary Cross and directed by Julieanne Ehre. The play was subsequently produced in April 2011 by City Theatre in Pittsburgh, under artistic director Tracy Brigden, directed by Tracy Brigden, and in August 2012 by Shotgun Players in Berkeley, under artistic director Patrick Dooley, where it was directed by Marissa Wolf.

Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
A - female, 60s, plays THE APE, DOROTHY, CLEVA, and THE BABY
B - female, 40s, plays BRODIE
C - female, 20s, plays THE ZOO GOERS, RHIANNON, EVELYN, DRE, and GLORIA

The Ape does not wear an ape suit. The Zoogoers are a single character - the multivoiced character of a crowd - rather than one actor playing many roles.

  • Time Period New Millennium/21st Century
  • Setting Institutional enclosures: counseling room, office, ultrasound room, audio booth, zoo.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media




REVIEWS

"A crisp, fast-moving, tough-minded but often comic play about love, language, memory, culture and commitment." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Just sit in your chair and let George's ideas and words flood over you and raise you up. Her use of language is at the same time incredibly economic and hugely expansive." - Pittsburgh City Paper

"An 80-minute little gem that makes a big impression." - San Francisco Chronicle

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Music

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

Licensing & Materials

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

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Madeleine George

Madeleine George
Madeleine George’s plays include Hurricane Diane (Obie Award), The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence (Pulitzer Prize finalist; Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award), Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England (Susan Smith Blackburn finalist), Precious Little and Th ...
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