Goodnight Children Everywhere and Other Plays

Richard Nelson

• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781559362443
• eBook ISBN: 9781559368285
• Topic: Literatura
• Subtopic: Arte dramático americano

Goodnight Children Everywhere
"Richard Nelson’s new play announces itself almost as if it were Chekhovian . . . the play, like all plays of discovery and purgation, has a translucency and a density that nag, hurt and heal."—London Sunday Times

New England
"Smart, sharp, acridly funny . . . in the sweetest of all ironies, it’s an American writer at the peak of his form who has given London’s RSC the major new play that has eluded them all year."—Variety

Some Americans Abroad
"A sequel to The Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain’s caustic view of pretentious Americans abroad: both works indict the well-educated American middle-class for its supine and superficial relationship to Old World culture."—New York Times

Two Shakespearean Actors
"Nelson’s provocative account of the deadly rivalry between two great 18th-century actors."—Variety

Franny’s Way
"Boundaries warp and melt in the dense urban heat that pervades Franny’s Way, Richard Nelson’s sensitively drawn portrait of love in the age of J.D. Salinger."—New York Times

A prolific and varied writer, Richard Nelson is also the author of a screenplay, a television play, the books for musicals and plays for young audiences, as well as a string of radio plays and powerful adaptations from the classic European repertory of Beaumarchais, Brecht, Chekhov, Goldoni, Molière and Strindberg, all of which have influenced the development of his own craft. Among his many awards include the London Time Out Award, two OBIEs, two Giles Cooper awards and numerous grants and fellowships. He is an honorary associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

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TWO SHAKESPEAREAN ACTORS

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For Anton Lesser and Roger Michell

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Two Shakespearean Actors was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company. It opened at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, on August 29, 1990. It was directed by Roger Michell, with assistant direction by Clarissa Brown; the set design was by Alexandra Byrne, the lighting design was by Rick Fisher, the music was composed by Jeremy Sams and the stage managers were Jondon Gourkan, David Mann and Liz Lawrence. The cast was as follows:

EDWIN FORREST	Anton Lesser
MISS JANE BASS	Polly Kemp
MISS HELEN BURTON	Catherine White
MISS ANNE HOLLAND	Georgiana Dacombe
TILTON	George Raistrick
THOMAS FISHER	George Anton
ROBERT JONES	Ken Shorter
MR. BLAKELY	Arnold Yarrow
SCOTT	Trevor Martin
JOHN RYDER	Paul Jesson
WILLIAM CHARLES MACREADY	John Carlisle
CHARLES CLARK	Michael Gardiner
MRS. POPE	Penny Jones
GEORGE BRADSHAW	John Warnaby
FREDERICK WEMYSS	Alfred Burke
JAMES BRIDGES	Vincent Regan
JOHN SEFTON	Michael Bott
MR. CHIPPINDALE	Bill McGuirk
PETER ARNOLD	Andrew Havill
CATHERINE FORREST	Mary Chater
MISS WEMYSS	Rowena King
DION BOUCICAULT	Ciaran Hinds
AGNES ROBERTSON	Yolanda Vazquez
WASHINGTON IRVING	John Bott

Two Shakespearean Actors was subsequently produced by Lincoln Center Theatre (Gregory Mosher, Director; Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer) at The Cort Theatre on December 17, 1991. It was directed by Jack O’Brien; the set design was by David Jenkins, the costume design was by Jane Greenwood, the lighting design was by Jules Fisher, the sound design was by Jeff Ladman, the original score was by Bob James; the fight director was Steve Rankin, the production stage manager was Alan Hall and the stage manager was Deborah Clelland. The cast was as follows:

EDWIN FORREST	Victor Garber
MISS JANE BASS	Jennifer Van Dyck
MISS HELEN BURTON	Judy Kuhn
MISS ANNE HOLLAND	Hope Davis
TILTON	Tom Lacy
THOMAS FISHER	Graham Winton
ROBERT JONES	John Wojda
MR. BLAKELY	Richard Clarke
SCOTT	Jeffrey Allan Chandler
JOHN RYDER	Zeljko Ivanek
WILLIAM CHARLES MACREADY	Brian Bedford
CHARLES CLARK	Alan Brasington
MRS. POPE	Le Clanché Du Rand
GEORGE BRADSHAW	Michael Butler
FREDERICK WEMYSS	Bill Moor
JAMES BRIDGES	Tim MacDonald
JOHN SEFTON	James Murtaugh
MR. CHIPPINDALE	Mitchell Edmonds
PETER ARNOLD	Ben Bodé
CATHERINE FORREST	Frances Conroy
MISS WEMYSS	Katie Finneran
DION BOUCICAULT	Eric Stoltz
AGNES ROBERTSON	Laura Innes
WASHINGTON IRVING	Tom Aldredge

Other actors and servants were played by: David Andrew MacDonald, Katie MacNichol, Susan Pellegrino and Thomas Schall.

CHARACTERS

Actors at the Broadway Theatre

(in parentheses, the parts they play)

EDWIN FORREST (Macbeth; Metamora), early forties

MISS JANE BASS (1st Witch), twenties

MISS HELEN BURTON (2nd Witch; Goodenough), twenties

MISS ANNE HOLLAND (3rd Witch; Nahmeokee), twenties

TILTON (Porter; Church), sixties

THOMAS FISHER (Young Siward; Kaneshine), late twenties

FANNY WALLACK (Lady Macbeth); forties

ROBERT JONES (Banquo, Malcolm; Annawandah), early thirties

MR. BLAKELY (Duncan; Errington), fifties

SCOTT (normally plays Macduff, but is injured), thirties

JOHN RYDER (fills in as Macduff), English ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Some Americans Abroad
• Two Shakespearean Actors
• New England
• Goodnight Children Everywhere
• Franny’s Way
• About the Author