Characters:
Murray Burns | Used to write for Chuckles the Chipmunk TV show, unemployed because five months ago he hated that he was chugging the same path everyday to work- feeling empty and just going through the motions of day-to-day life- so he quit, doesn’t take any crap from anyone, lives his life how he wants to live it and doesn’t want anyone telling him what to do or how to live, collects old machinery, yells spontaneously at people to wake up, very intuitive, very funny by nature, Peter Pan Syndrome (a socially immature adult) |
Nick Burns | 12 years old, smart kid, knows what the Social Workers are there to do and puts up a façade, hates living with his uncle but loves him nonetheless and plays his games, in search of identity and a new name, bastard child who doesn’t know his real parents and it doesn’t phase him, wants his uncle to get a job and be normal |
Albert Amundson | Social Worker, in a relationship with Sandra at the beginning off the play, dominant one in the relationship, all business, professional |
Sandra Markowitz | Social Worker, in a relationship with Albert at the beginning of the play, as the play progresses she’s not in a relationship with Albert, takes things very personal in her work, loves to help people, just finished grad school, younger than Albert, sleeps with Murray and takes a liking to him, forgetful- or always leaving her files at Murray’s place- on purpose? |
Arnold Burns | Murray’s brother, earns $30,000 a year, every time Murray visits him- his office is higher and higher (has been moving up in the business), has a wife and kids, softspoken, brings fruit to Murray everyday |
Leo Herman | The new voice of Chuckles the Chipmunk, not funny but earns $1,500 per week, bad listener, thinks everything he does is funny and that all the kids love him |
Time: | mid1900s. A time when $30,000 was a lot of money to comfortably raise a family |
Setting: | Manhattan- lower west side |
Mode: | Comedy |
Form: | Modernism |
Themes: - What is normal vs. what people perceive as normal - Does age matter or is it intelligence? Nick, a 12 year old boy acts more grown up than his uncle; Leo earns a living acting like a child |
| |
|
Quotes:
Murray | Now the moral question for me here, is this: When one is faced with life in the bare-assed, job-hunting raw on the one hand, and eleven fifty-cent double features on the other, what is the mature, sensible, and mentally healthy step to take? I.i.14 |
Murray | Look, if Nick has to leave if he goes, he goes, and my life stays about the same. But its no good for him, see, not for a couple of years anyway. Right now he’s still ashamed of being sharper than everybody else, he could easily turn into another peeled and boiled potato. II.i.51 |
Murray | I just want him to stay with me till I can be sure he wont turn into Norman Nothing. I want to be sure he’ll know when he’s chickening out on himself. I want him to get to know exactly the special thing he is or else he wont notice it when it starts to go. I want him to stay awake and know who the phonies are, I want him to know how to holler and put up an argument, I want a little guts to show before I can let him go. I want to be sure he sees all the wild possibilities. I want him to know it’s worth all the trouble just to give the world a little goosing when you get the chance. And I want him to know the subtle, sneaky, important reason why he was born a human being and not a chair. I will be very sorry to see him go. That kid was the best straight-man I ever had. He is a laughter, and laughters are rare. II.i.52 |
Arnold | You came into my office like George God; everybody’s supposed to come and audition for Human Being in front of you. Aw, Murray, today, one day, leave the dragons alone will ya? And look at the dragons you pick on…III.i.73 |
Murray | You got that wide stare that people stick in their eyes so nobody’ll knows their heads asleep. III.i.75 |
Murray | Arnold, five months ago I forgot what day it was. I’m on the subway on my way to work and I didn’t know what day it was and it scared the hell out of me. I was sitting in the express looking out the window same as every morning watching the local stops go by in the dark with an empty head and my arms folded not feeling great and not feeling rotten, just not feeling, and for a minute I couldn’t remember, I didn’t know, unless I really concentrated, whether it was a Tuesday or a Thursday- or a-for a minute it could have been any day- in the dark through any year- Arni, it scared the hell out of me. You got to know what day it is. You got to know what’s the name of the game and what the rules are with nobody else telling you. You have to own your days and name them, each one of them, every one of them, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you. III.i.75-76 |
| |
What does Chuckles the Chipmunk represent? How can you own the days? Are you going through life with your head asleep, just going through the motions and not stopping to celebrate Irving R. Feldman’s birthday? Why do we look down upon those who are living a “free spirited lifestyle”? Is it because we are jealous or because they are different for not living a “normal lifestyle?” Especially relevant for today because just coming out of the recession where 10% of the population was unemployed. The play is not a struggle of trying to find a job and support your kid, it’s the struggle of how to live your life fruitfully, whether employed or not Sandy’s character is the weakest. She is not grounded in anything- her career, her motives, etc. She randomly appears throughout and tries to help Murray “get his life back on track” but her version of helping is not the same as Murray’s. Could be played very comedic (or farcical), could be played very serious. I think if played seriously, the little quips are comedic relief; however, if played comedic, not sure if the audience will realize the seriousness of the issues at hand. Very Neil Simon especially Barefoot in the Park-ness. |
Playwright:
|
|
Other Work:
1958 | A Piece of Action- an autobiographical novel |
1968 | The Goodbye People- starred Milton Berle, closed after 7 performances |
1971 | Who is Harry Kellerman, and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?- screenwriter |
1974 | Thieves |
1980 | One Night Stand (a musical co-written by Jule Styne)- closed after 8 performances before officially opening |
1985 | I’m Not Rappaport- Tony for best play in 1985, Judd Hirsch won a Tony for best actor, made into a movie in 1986, revived in 2002 with Judd Hirsch and Ben Vereen |
1992 | Conversations with My Father- autobiographical, Judd Hirsch won a Tony, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize |
No comments:
Post a Comment