The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds | |
---|---|
Written by | Paul Zindel |
Characters | Beatrice Tillie Janice Vickery Nanny Ruth |
Date premiered | 12 May 1965 |
Place premiered | Alley Theatre Houston |
Original language | English |
Genre | Drama |
Setting | the home of Beatrice |
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a play written by Paul Zindel, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for the work.
The play's world premiere happened in the 1964/1965 season at the Alley Theatre in Houston.[1]
The play premiered Off-Broadway at the Mercer Arts Center on April 7, 1970, and closed on May 14, 1972, after 819 performances. Directed by Melvin Bernhardt, the cast featured Swoosie Kurtz (Janice Vickery), Amy Levitt (Ruth), Judith Lowry (Nanny), Pamela Payton-Wright (Tillie), and Sada Thompson (Beatrice).[2]
A touring production produced by Theatre Now and directed by Leland Ball, starring Teresa Wright (Beatrice), Alexandra Stoddart (Tillie), Robin Nolan (Ruth), Helen Ross (Nanny), and Carol Potter (Janice Vickery), toured from October 13, 1972, until February 8, 1973.[3]
The play was presented on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre, from March 9, 1978 (previews) to March 26, 1978. Directed by A. J. Antoon, the cast included Shelley Winters (Beatrice), Carol Kane (Tillie), Lolly Boroff (Janice Vickery), Isabella Hoopes (Nanny), and Lori Shelle (Ruth).[4]
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival also produced the play in 1978 at its intimate Black Swan theater, directed by William Glover.[5]
It was adapted for the screen in 1972, directed by Paul Newman and starring his wife Joanne Woodward, daughter Nell Potts, and Roberta Wallach, daughter of Eli Wallach. Woodward won the award for Best Actress at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival.[6]
The play revolves around a dysfunctional family consisting of single mother Beatrice and her two daughters, Ruth and Tillie, who try to cope with their abysmal status in life. The play is a lyrical drama, reminiscent of Tennessee Williams' style.[citation needed]
Shy Matilda Hunsdorfer, nicknamed Tillie, prepares an experiment involving marigolds raised from seeds exposed to radioactivity for her science fair. She is, however, constantly thwarted by her mother Beatrice, who is self-centered and abusive, and by her extroverted and unstable sister Ruth, who submits to her mother's will. Over the course of the play, Beatrice constantly tries to stamp out any opportunities Tillie has of succeeding, due to her own lack of success in life. As the play progresses, the paths of the three characters diverge: Ruth has a nervous collapse while attempting to stand up to Beatrice, who, driven to the verge of insanity by her deep-seated enmity, impulsively kills the girls' pet rabbit Peter and wallows in her own perceived insignificance. Tillie meanwhile (much like her project's deformed yet beautiful, hardy marigolds) wins the science fair through sheer perseverance.
Main article: The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (film) |
Paul Newman produced and directed a film adaptation of the play from a screenplay by Alvin Sargent. Newman cast his wife, Joanne Woodward, and one of their daughters, Nell Potts, in two of the lead roles.
The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for 1971.[10]