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Melancholy Play

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  3w, 3m

Sarah Ruhl

Tilly’s melancholy is of an exquisite quality. She turns her melancholy into a sexy thing, and every stranger she meets falls in love with her. One day, inexplicably, Tilly becomes happy, and wreaks havoc on the lives of her paramours...

Melancholy Play

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Farce
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Sarah Ruhl is the 2003 recipient of the Whiting Award for Drama
Also Available
Melancholy Play: a chamber musical

Details

Summary
Tilly’s melancholy is of an exquisite quality. She turns her melancholy into a sexy thing, and every stranger she meets falls in love with her. One day, inexplicably, Tilly becomes happy, and wreaks havoc on the lives of her paramours. Frances, Tilly’s hairdresser, becomes so melancholy that she turns into an almond. It is up to Tilly to get her back.
History
Melancholy Play was first produced at the Piven Theatre under the Artistic Direction of Joyce Piven, opening on June 28, 2002, in Evanston, IL, directed by Jessica Thebus, music by Greg Hirte.
Keywords
Performing Groups
FRANK - a tailor
TILLY - a bank teller
FRANCES - a hairdresser
JOAN - a British nurse
LORENZO THE UNFEELING - a psychiatrist
JULIAN - a cello player

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media



REVIEWS

"A rumination on love in relation to a kind of existential tristesse, a romantic sadness more embraced by Europeans than us think-positive Americans, 'Melancholy Play' bears the markings of a young dramatist, laying the groundwork for themes and effects she will revisit often...as her career continues." - Seattle Times

"...a gentle misery-loves-company fable of high wit" - Chicago On the Aisle

"If you’ve never experienced Sarah Ruhl’s work before — or if you’ve wondered what all the fuss over the lauded American playwright is about — Melancholy Play is a good place to start. This early work...is whimsical, surrealistic, even absurdist somewhat in the mode of Eugene Ionesco. You worry that bad things happen to good people? Here really strange things happen to all people...Giddy as it is, Melancholy Play actually affords considerable psychological insight." - Dallas News

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Videos

  • Melancholy Play Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Melancholy Play Trailer

  • Melancholy Play - Promo Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Melancholy Play - Promo Trailer

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl’s plays include In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, The Clean House, Passion Play, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Melancholy Play, For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday, The Oldest Boy, Stage Kiss, Dear Elizabeth, Eurydice, How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, Orlando, Late ...

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