Collected Stories (play)
Encyclopedia
Collected Stories is a play by Donald Margulies
which premiered at South Coast Repertory
in 1996.
It premiered on Broadway
in a limited engagement production by the Manhattan Theatre Club
with previews having started April 9, 2010, opening April 28, 2010, through June 2010. This production of the two character play stars Linda Lavin
and Sarah Paulson
, with direction by Lynn Meadow, scenic design by Santo Loquasto
, costume design by Jane Greenwood
, and lighting design by Natasha Katz
.
finalist (shortlisted in April 1997). The Manhattan Theatre Club
presented the play off-Broadway
, at Manhattan Theatre Club Stage I, from May 20, 1997 through July 27, 1997. That production, again directed by Peterson, starred Debra Messing
as Lisa Morrison and Maria Tucci as Ruth Steiner. It received the Drama Desk Award
nomination for Best Play, and a was a finalist for the Dramatists Guild/Hull-Warriner Award for Best Play. It was then produced at the off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre, running for 232 performances, from August 13, 1998 through February 29, 1999. Directed by William Carden, the cast starred Uta Hagen
as Ruth and Lorca Simons as Lisa. It was produced in Los Angeles
at the Geffen Playhouse, Westwood, in May 1999, with direction by Gil Cates and starring Lavin as Ruth and Samantha Mathis
as Lisa. It received the Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play. The West End
premiere opened in November 1999 and closed February 5, 2000 at the Royal Haymarket Theatre with Helen Mirren
as Ruth and Anne-Marie Duff as Lisa and directed by Howard Davies
.
It was produced by Shakespeare and Company, Lenox, Massachusetts
from July 14, 2001 through August 2, 2001, with Annette Miller and Christianna Nelson.
A film ran on PBS "Hollywood Presents: Collected Stories", premiering on January 16, 2002, starring Linda Lavin and Samantha Mathis.
In March 2010, the Manhattan Theatre Club gave the show its first Broadway run, starring Linda Lavin and Sarah Paulson.
in his New York Times review of the 1998 production, wrote "... the emotional current between the performers takes on a sweeping, electric life of its own. You find yourself paying less attention to the dialogue than to the finely graded code of gestures and vocal inflections with which these women chart the rise and fall of a friendship ... you may be hard pressed after the play ends to remember anything specific that Ms. Hagen's character has said. But you won't forget the blend of pride and vulnerability that infuses her every moment onstage. You'll remember the way she holds her head back to keep the tears from rolling off her face ... and, above all, the elegiac poetry, equal parts defeatedness and hope, that Ms. Hagen brings to the basic act of bolting and unbolting a door in the play's final scene."
Donald Margulies
Donald Margulies is an American playwright and a professor of English and Theater Studies at Yale University...
which premiered at South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
in 1996.
It premiered on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in a limited engagement production by the Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
with previews having started April 9, 2010, opening April 28, 2010, through June 2010. This production of the two character play stars Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin is an American singer and actress. She is best known for playing the title character in the sitcom Alice and for her Broadway performances.After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Compass Players in the late 1950s...
and Sarah Paulson
Sarah Paulson
-Career:She was a series regular on the cult television show American Gothic and the WB series Jack & Jill , playing the character "Elisa Cronkite"...
, with direction by Lynn Meadow, scenic design by Santo Loquasto
Santo Loquasto
Santo Richard Loquasto is a Sicilian-Italian-American production designer, scenic designer and costume designer for stage, film, and dance. He is a descendant of Libertino lo Guasto of Serradifalco, Caltanissetta, Sicily. Indy race car driver Al Loquasto was his first cousin...
, costume design by Jane Greenwood
Jane Greenwood
Jane Greenwood is a costume designer for the stage, television, film, opera, and dance. Born in Liverpool, England, she works both in England and the United States. She has been nominated for the Tony Award for costume design seventeen times.-Biography:Greenwood attended Liverpool Art School and...
, and lighting design by Natasha Katz
Natasha Katz
Natasha Katz is a lighting designer for the theatre, dance, and opera. She was educated at Oberlin College and did an internship with Roger Morgan....
.
Plot summary
Ruth Steiner is a teacher and respected short story writer. Her student and protégée is Lisa Morrison. Over the course of 6 years, Lisa journeys from insecure student to successful writer. After publishing a well-received collection of short stories, Lisa writes a novel based on Ruth's affair with poet Delmore Schwartz. The women deal with the moral dilemma of whether a person's life events are suitable for another to use in their own creative process.Production history
The play was commissioned and premiered by South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California in October, 1996, directed by Lisa Peterson. The play was a Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
finalist (shortlisted in April 1997). The Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
presented the play off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
, at Manhattan Theatre Club Stage I, from May 20, 1997 through July 27, 1997. That production, again directed by Peterson, starred Debra Messing
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress, voice artist, and comedienne. She is perhaps best known for her role as Grace Adler in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace and as Molly Kagan in the mini-series The Starter Wife....
as Lisa Morrison and Maria Tucci as Ruth Steiner. It received the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nomination for Best Play, and a was a finalist for the Dramatists Guild/Hull-Warriner Award for Best Play. It was then produced at the off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre, running for 232 performances, from August 13, 1998 through February 29, 1999. Directed by William Carden, the cast starred Uta Hagen
Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagen was a German-born American actress and drama teacher. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee...
as Ruth and Lorca Simons as Lisa. It was produced in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
at the Geffen Playhouse, Westwood, in May 1999, with direction by Gil Cates and starring Lavin as Ruth and Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis is an American actress. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in Pump Up the Volume , opposite Christian Slater...
as Lisa. It received the Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play. The West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
premiere opened in November 1999 and closed February 5, 2000 at the Royal Haymarket Theatre with Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
as Ruth and Anne-Marie Duff as Lisa and directed by Howard Davies
Howard Davies
Howard Davies is the name of:* Howard Davies , Wales rugby union international* Sir Howard Davies , Former Director of the London School of Economics and former British financial regulator...
.
It was produced by Shakespeare and Company, Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...
from July 14, 2001 through August 2, 2001, with Annette Miller and Christianna Nelson.
A film ran on PBS "Hollywood Presents: Collected Stories", premiering on January 16, 2002, starring Linda Lavin and Samantha Mathis.
In March 2010, the Manhattan Theatre Club gave the show its first Broadway run, starring Linda Lavin and Sarah Paulson.
Response
Ben BrantleyBen Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
in his New York Times review of the 1998 production, wrote "... the emotional current between the performers takes on a sweeping, electric life of its own. You find yourself paying less attention to the dialogue than to the finely graded code of gestures and vocal inflections with which these women chart the rise and fall of a friendship ... you may be hard pressed after the play ends to remember anything specific that Ms. Hagen's character has said. But you won't forget the blend of pride and vulnerability that infuses her every moment onstage. You'll remember the way she holds her head back to keep the tears from rolling off her face ... and, above all, the elegiac poetry, equal parts defeatedness and hope, that Ms. Hagen brings to the basic act of bolting and unbolting a door in the play's final scene."