Spinning Into Butter
Encyclopedia
Spinning Into Butter is a play by American
playwright
Rebecca Gilman
. The play
debuted at the Goodman Theatre
in Chicago
in 1999. It was later produced at the Lincoln Center and the Royal Court Theatre
, was named one of the best plays of 1999 by Time, and eventually became the third-most-produced play of the 2000-2001 season.
school in Belmont, Vermont
. The curtain opens on Sarah Daniels, Dean of Students, talking with sophomore Patrick Chibas. Wanting Patrick to receive a scholarship for minority students, Sarah convinces him to mark his ethnicity as Puerto Rican, even though he considers himself to be "Nuyorican
," which is not a university-recognized ethnicity at Belmont.
The next scene shows Professor Ross Collins, Head of Humanities Burton Strauss, and Dean Catherine Kenny waiting to have a meeting with Sarah. When Sarah comes in, she tells them that freshman Simon Brick, one of the few African-American students, has started receiving hateful, racist notes. The all-white administration scrambles to contain the problem and reassure parents that everything is under control. He proposes scheduling a meeting to discuss racism. Ross and Kenny agree that this is a good idea. However, Sarah wants to talk to Simon before holding a campus-wide meeting. She suspects that he would be embarrassed if other students knew about the notes.
Two weeks later, senior Greg Sullivan comes to Sarah's office. He has been inspired by the race forum and asks her about forming a student group called "Students for Tolerance." Sarah thinks this is a great idea.
Ross informs Sarah that there will be a second meeting to discuss race. She found the first meeting unproductive and suggests that the next one have some effect beyond a lot of white people discussing how bad racism is. Burton comes in and informs them that Greg Sullivan has asked him to sponsor the Students for Tolerance organization.
Simon receives another racist note beginning, "Little Black Sambo
." Sarah decides to talk to Simon, but before she can get away, Patrick comes to see Sarah and informs her that when he received the scholarship, his financial aid was taken away. She reassures him that she will get it back. Patrick is still upset and tells her that the race forum was insulting and patronizing. Sarah convinces him to bring this up at the next forum.
The next day, Sarah meets with Patrick to discuss his editorial in the school newspaper. She reads from Patrick's article discussing Burton's patronizing outburst at the second race forum; when Patrick and other students tried to speak out about their feelings, Burton yelled at them. The article describes racism being widespread throughout the administration. It tells of Patrick being offered a scholarship before the college even knew his ethnicity, which he understands to be tokenism that insults the entire student body. He informs her that he, the Black Student Union, and almost everyone he knows is boycotting the next race forum and that he is going to another school in the spring because he hates Belmont. Sarah is sorry and says she was not paying attention to who he was.
The president of the school receives a letter from Patrick and is upset about the racial discord. So Catherine asks Sarah to write a ten-point plan of how to eliminate racism at Belmont. Sarah stays late at school to work on the plan. Ross comes by and Sarah, in a controversial scene, reveals to him her not-so-latent racism. She tells Ross that before working at Belmont, she worked at Lancaster, a mostly black college. She calls blacks lazy, stupid, scary, loud, belligerent, abusive, and rude. She says of Lancaster, "There were plenty of nice kids, but they weren't the ones you noticed." Sarah also reveals that when choosing a seat on the bus, she looks first for a seat by a white person, then a yellow person, and lastly a black person. Ross says, "Most people are just racists. They don't know they're racists."
Sarah learns that Simon wrote the notes to himself. While she is away visiting him, Kenny goes into Sarah's office and discovers racist remarks written on Sarah's notebook. Sarah tells Ross about her visit with Simon. She explains that the boy said he saw himself writing the notes but felt like someone else was doing it. Sarah says she told him, "Stop hating yourself."
Sarah, Ross, Kenny, and Burton meet in Sarah's office to discuss Simon. Kenny thinks that he wrote the notes for attention and Sarah says that Simon did not know what he wanted. Burton remembers that Simon referred to himself as "Little Black Sambo
" in one of the notes. Burton tells Sambo's story, which the play's title comes from. Burton uses this story to explain the behavior of Simon. Burton thinks that Simon is a "little con artist" who got the administration all whirled up just like Sambo got the tigers.
Kenny asks Sarah to explain the discriminatory remarks written in her notebook. Sarah refuses to and puts in her resignation. She dealt with Simon differently than the administration; she was much more sympathetic to his circumstances. But it was her exposed racism that led to her resignation.
Greg Sullivan meets with Sarah as she is packing. He says that Students for Tolerance invited the Black Student Union to a meeting to discuss racism and that the students really opened up about it. They wondered why Simon wrote the notes, but could not conclude why he did it. Because Simon lied to the administration, he is expelled from school. Mr. Meyers drives him home and Sarah calls him. She tells Simon not to be too hard on himself.
criticized the play, calling it racist and clumsy. But other critics defend the play, arguing that it exposes rather than perpetrates racism.
The play's treatment of political and social issues in an academic context have prompted comparisons to David Mamet
's play Oleanna
(1992).
in Chicago on May 16, 1999.
The New York premiere was produced by the Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on July 27, 2000, in association with Lincoln Center Festival 2000.
A film version of the play was released in 2007. It was directed by Mark Brokaw and stars Sarah Jessica Parker
, Miranda Richardson
, and Beau Bridges
. Parts of the film were shot at Brooklyn College
and Drew University
(in Madison, NJ).
in 1987, and went on to earn two master's degrees from the University of Virginia and the University of Iowa. She has been named one of 100 people who "represent the future of entertainment" by Entertainment Weekly magazine. Her most famous work, Spinning Into Butter, is in film adaptation with a prestigious cast including Sarah Jessica Parker, Beau Bridges, Miranda Richardson, and Mykelti Williamson. Gilman herself adapted the play for the screen.
She now lives in Chicago. She received the Roger L. Stevens Award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays as well as a Jeff Award for Spinning into Butter. According to Chris Jones, this play made her "One of America's most talked-about and sought-after playwrights."
She has won several awards for her play The Glory of Living
(2001) including the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. It was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Gilman won the Scott McPherson Award and an Illinois Arts Council playwriting fellowship. She likes to discuss issues in her plays. The Glory of Living is about a mother brutally killing runaways and hitchhikers in an attempt to please her husband. Boy Gets Girl
(2000) looks at the power and violence in gender relations. Blue Surge (2001) looks at class like Spinning into Butter looks at race.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Rebecca Gilman
Rebecca Gilman
Rebecca Gilman is an American playwright. She attended Middlebury College, graduated from Birmingham-Southern College, and earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop at the University of Iowa...
. The play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
debuted at the Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1999. It was later produced at the Lincoln Center and the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, was named one of the best plays of 1999 by Time, and eventually became the third-most-produced play of the 2000-2001 season.
Plot synopsis
The play takes place at fictional Belmont College, a mostly-white liberal artsLiberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
school in Belmont, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. The curtain opens on Sarah Daniels, Dean of Students, talking with sophomore Patrick Chibas. Wanting Patrick to receive a scholarship for minority students, Sarah convinces him to mark his ethnicity as Puerto Rican, even though he considers himself to be "Nuyorican
Nuyorican
Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Rican diaspora located in or around New York State especially the New York City metropolitan area, or of their descendants...
," which is not a university-recognized ethnicity at Belmont.
The next scene shows Professor Ross Collins, Head of Humanities Burton Strauss, and Dean Catherine Kenny waiting to have a meeting with Sarah. When Sarah comes in, she tells them that freshman Simon Brick, one of the few African-American students, has started receiving hateful, racist notes. The all-white administration scrambles to contain the problem and reassure parents that everything is under control. He proposes scheduling a meeting to discuss racism. Ross and Kenny agree that this is a good idea. However, Sarah wants to talk to Simon before holding a campus-wide meeting. She suspects that he would be embarrassed if other students knew about the notes.
Two weeks later, senior Greg Sullivan comes to Sarah's office. He has been inspired by the race forum and asks her about forming a student group called "Students for Tolerance." Sarah thinks this is a great idea.
Ross informs Sarah that there will be a second meeting to discuss race. She found the first meeting unproductive and suggests that the next one have some effect beyond a lot of white people discussing how bad racism is. Burton comes in and informs them that Greg Sullivan has asked him to sponsor the Students for Tolerance organization.
Simon receives another racist note beginning, "Little Black Sambo
Little Black Sambo
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children's book written and illustrated by Helen Bannerman, and first published by Grant Richards in October 1899 as one in a series of small-format books called The Dumpy Books for Children....
." Sarah decides to talk to Simon, but before she can get away, Patrick comes to see Sarah and informs her that when he received the scholarship, his financial aid was taken away. She reassures him that she will get it back. Patrick is still upset and tells her that the race forum was insulting and patronizing. Sarah convinces him to bring this up at the next forum.
The next day, Sarah meets with Patrick to discuss his editorial in the school newspaper. She reads from Patrick's article discussing Burton's patronizing outburst at the second race forum; when Patrick and other students tried to speak out about their feelings, Burton yelled at them. The article describes racism being widespread throughout the administration. It tells of Patrick being offered a scholarship before the college even knew his ethnicity, which he understands to be tokenism that insults the entire student body. He informs her that he, the Black Student Union, and almost everyone he knows is boycotting the next race forum and that he is going to another school in the spring because he hates Belmont. Sarah is sorry and says she was not paying attention to who he was.
The president of the school receives a letter from Patrick and is upset about the racial discord. So Catherine asks Sarah to write a ten-point plan of how to eliminate racism at Belmont. Sarah stays late at school to work on the plan. Ross comes by and Sarah, in a controversial scene, reveals to him her not-so-latent racism. She tells Ross that before working at Belmont, she worked at Lancaster, a mostly black college. She calls blacks lazy, stupid, scary, loud, belligerent, abusive, and rude. She says of Lancaster, "There were plenty of nice kids, but they weren't the ones you noticed." Sarah also reveals that when choosing a seat on the bus, she looks first for a seat by a white person, then a yellow person, and lastly a black person. Ross says, "Most people are just racists. They don't know they're racists."
Sarah learns that Simon wrote the notes to himself. While she is away visiting him, Kenny goes into Sarah's office and discovers racist remarks written on Sarah's notebook. Sarah tells Ross about her visit with Simon. She explains that the boy said he saw himself writing the notes but felt like someone else was doing it. Sarah says she told him, "Stop hating yourself."
Sarah, Ross, Kenny, and Burton meet in Sarah's office to discuss Simon. Kenny thinks that he wrote the notes for attention and Sarah says that Simon did not know what he wanted. Burton remembers that Simon referred to himself as "Little Black Sambo
Little Black Sambo
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children's book written and illustrated by Helen Bannerman, and first published by Grant Richards in October 1899 as one in a series of small-format books called The Dumpy Books for Children....
" in one of the notes. Burton tells Sambo's story, which the play's title comes from. Burton uses this story to explain the behavior of Simon. Burton thinks that Simon is a "little con artist" who got the administration all whirled up just like Sambo got the tigers.
Kenny asks Sarah to explain the discriminatory remarks written in her notebook. Sarah refuses to and puts in her resignation. She dealt with Simon differently than the administration; she was much more sympathetic to his circumstances. But it was her exposed racism that led to her resignation.
Greg Sullivan meets with Sarah as she is packing. He says that Students for Tolerance invited the Black Student Union to a meeting to discuss racism and that the students really opened up about it. They wondered why Simon wrote the notes, but could not conclude why he did it. Because Simon lied to the administration, he is expelled from school. Mr. Meyers drives him home and Sarah calls him. She tells Simon not to be too hard on himself.
Controversy
The play's treatment of racism has sparked some controversy. Several productions include a forum at the end for audience members to discuss the issues raised. The well-known novelist Ishmael ReedIshmael Reed
Ishmael Scott Reed is an American poet, essayist, and novelist. A prominent African-American literary figure, Reed is known for his satirical works challenging American political culture, and highlighting political and cultural oppression.Reed has been described as one of the most controversial...
criticized the play, calling it racist and clumsy. But other critics defend the play, arguing that it exposes rather than perpetrates racism.
The play's treatment of political and social issues in an academic context have prompted comparisons to David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
's play Oleanna
Oleanna (play)
Oleanna is a two-character play by David Mamet, about the power struggle between a university professor and one of his female students, who accuses him of sexual exploitation and, by doing so, spoils his chances of being accorded tenure...
(1992).
Premieres/Production History
The world premiere was presented by the Goodman TheatreGoodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
in Chicago on May 16, 1999.
- Artistic Director: Robert Falls
- Executive Director: Roche Schulfer
- Director: Les Waters
- Assistant Director: Jerry Curran
- Set Design: Linda Buchanan
- Costumes: Birgit Rattenborg Wise
- Lighting: Robert Christen
- Sound Design and Music: Rob Milburn and Larry Schanker
- Cast: Mary Beth Fisher (Sarah), Andrew Navarro (Patrick), Jim Leaming (Ross), Robert Breuler (Dean Strauss), Mary Ann Thebus (Dean Kenney), Matt DeCaroMatt DeCaroMatt DeCaro is a film and stage actor. He appeared in the film Mr. 3000 as a reporter and in Victory Garden’s production of Symmetry. He is arguably best known for his role as Correctional Officer Roy Geary on the hit series Prison Break....
(Mr. Meyers), and Bruch Reed (Greg).
The New York premiere was produced by the Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on July 27, 2000, in association with Lincoln Center Festival 2000.
- Director: Daniel Sullivan
- Set Design: John Lee Beatty
- Costumes: Jess Goldstein
- Lighting: Brian MacDevitt
- Original Music and Sound: Dan Moses Schreier
- Cast: Hope DavisHope DavisHope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland....
(Sarah), Jai RodriguezJai RodriguezJai Rodriguez is an actor and musician best known as the culture guide on the Bravo network's Emmy-winning American reality television program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He has also co-authored a book with the other Queer Eye hosts.-Biography:Rodriguez is of Puerto Rican and Italian descent,...
(Patrick), Daniel Jenkins (Ross), Henry Strozier (Dean Strauss), Brenda Wehle (Dean Kenney), Matt DeCaroMatt DeCaroMatt DeCaro is a film and stage actor. He appeared in the film Mr. 3000 as a reporter and in Victory Garden’s production of Symmetry. He is arguably best known for his role as Correctional Officer Roy Geary on the hit series Prison Break....
(Mr. Meyers), and Steven Pasquale (Greg).
Film Version
- Main article: Spinning Into Butter (film)Spinning Into Butter (film)Spinning Into Butter is a 2007 drama film, written by Rebecca Gilman and loosely based on her play of the same title. It was directed by first-time director Mark Brokaw and produced by Sarah Jessica Parker, who also stars in the film. Spinning Into Butter premiered at the Cannes Film Market on...
A film version of the play was released in 2007. It was directed by Mark Brokaw and stars Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
, Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
, and Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
. Parts of the film were shot at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
and Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
(in Madison, NJ).
About the author
Rebecca Gilman is originally from Alabama. She graduated from Birmingham-Southern CollegeBirmingham-Southern College
Birmingham–Southern College is a 4-year, private liberal arts college located three miles northwest of downtown Birmingham. Founded in 1856, it is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Approximately 1400 students from 30 states and 23 foreign countries attend the college...
in 1987, and went on to earn two master's degrees from the University of Virginia and the University of Iowa. She has been named one of 100 people who "represent the future of entertainment" by Entertainment Weekly magazine. Her most famous work, Spinning Into Butter, is in film adaptation with a prestigious cast including Sarah Jessica Parker, Beau Bridges, Miranda Richardson, and Mykelti Williamson. Gilman herself adapted the play for the screen.
She now lives in Chicago. She received the Roger L. Stevens Award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays as well as a Jeff Award for Spinning into Butter. According to Chris Jones, this play made her "One of America's most talked-about and sought-after playwrights."
She has won several awards for her play The Glory of Living
The Glory of Living
The Glory of Living is a 1998 play by Rebecca Gilman. The play received its first production at the Circle Theater in Forest Park, Illinois. The play has won many awards and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.-Plot:...
(2001) including the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. It was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Gilman won the Scott McPherson Award and an Illinois Arts Council playwriting fellowship. She likes to discuss issues in her plays. The Glory of Living is about a mother brutally killing runaways and hitchhikers in an attempt to please her husband. Boy Gets Girl
Boy Gets Girl
Boy Gets Girl is a 2000 play by Rebecca Gilman. The play received its first production at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.Boy Gets Girl uses the story of what happens when a blind date turns into a living nightmare to examine stalking, sexism and the nature of the idea of romantic pursuit...
(2000) looks at the power and violence in gender relations. Blue Surge (2001) looks at class like Spinning into Butter looks at race.