The Rimers of Eldritch
Encyclopedia
The Rimers of Eldritch is a play by Lanford Wilson
. Set in the mid-20th century in Eldritch, Missouri
, a decaying Bible Belt
town that once was a prosperous coal mining
community, it focuses on the murder of aging hermit Skelly by a woman who mistakenly thought he was committing rape
when he actually was trying to prevent one. Presiding over the trial is the sanctimonious local preacher, a hypocrite who instills the fear of hellfire and eternal damnation in his diminishing flock.
The play was staged for the first time by the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
in July 1966. On February 20, 1967, a production directed by Michael Kahn
opened at the Cherry Lane Theatre
, where it ran for 32 performances. The cast included Dena Dietrich
, Don Scardino
, Helen Stenborg
, Susan Tyrrell
, and Bette Henritze, who won the Obie Award
for Distinguished Performance.
Wilson adapted his play for a television movie
broadcast by PBS
as part of its Great Performances
series on March 20, 1974. Directed by Davey Marlin-Jones
, it stars Roberts Blossom
, Susan Sarandon
, Rue McClanahan
, K Callan
, Will Hare
, Kate Harrington, Frances Sternhagen
, and Ernest Thompson.
Mark Brokaw
directed a revival at the Second Stage Theatre
that opened on November 8, 1988 and ran for 43 performances. The cast included William Mesnik
, Adam Storke
, and Amy Ryan
. In reviewing the production for the New York Times, Mel Gussow
cited the playwright's "sensitivity and his gift for language."
Lindsay High School in Lindsay, Texas produced the show for the 2009 One Act Play State Meet, where it won.
Also,the Milton High School Theatre Company (Vermont) produced this show, and won the Vermont State One Act competition with it in 2010.
Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson was an American playwright who helped to advance the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters...
. Set in the mid-20th century in Eldritch, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, a decaying Bible Belt
Bible Belt
Bible Belt is an informal term for a region in the southeastern and south-central United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a significant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's average.The...
town that once was a prosperous coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
community, it focuses on the murder of aging hermit Skelly by a woman who mistakenly thought he was committing rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
when he actually was trying to prevent one. Presiding over the trial is the sanctimonious local preacher, a hypocrite who instills the fear of hellfire and eternal damnation in his diminishing flock.
The play was staged for the first time by the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is an off-off Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, and named in reference to her. Located on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the theatre grew out of Stewart's tiny basement boutique for her fashion designs; the boutique's space acted as a theatre for...
in July 1966. On February 20, 1967, a production directed by Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn (theatre director)
Michael Kahn is the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., USA. He held the position of Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School from 1992 to 2006....
opened at the Cherry Lane Theatre
Cherry Lane Theatre
The Cherry Lane Theatre , located at 38 Commerce Street in the borough of Manhattan, was New York City's oldest, continuously running off-Broadway theater...
, where it ran for 32 performances. The cast included Dena Dietrich
Dena Dietrich
Dena Dietrich is an American actress.Born in Pittsburgh, her television credits include recurring roles on The Practice , The Ropers, and Philly. She made guest appearances on Life Goes On, NYPD Blue, Murphy Brown, and The Golden Girls...
, Don Scardino
Don Scardino
Don Scardino is an American television director and producer and a former actor.-Acting:Born in New York City, Scardino began his career as an actor. His first Broadway credit was as an understudy in The Playroom in 1965. Additional Broadway acting credits include Johnny No-Trump, Godspell, and...
, Helen Stenborg
Helen Stenborg
Helen Joan Stenborg was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She occasionally acted with her husband, actor Barnard Hughes , to whom she was married from 1950 until his death in 2006; they had two children.-Career:Stenborg appeared on stage in revivals of A Doll's House, A Month...
, Susan Tyrrell
Susan Tyrrell
Susan Tyrrell is an American actress of Irish descent, known for her role as Ramona Rickettes in the film Cry-Baby.-Background:...
, and Bette Henritze, who won the Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for Distinguished Performance.
Wilson adapted his play for a television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
broadcast by PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
as part of its Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
series on March 20, 1974. Directed by Davey Marlin-Jones
Davey Marlin-Jones
Davey Marlin-Jones was an American stage director, as well as a local television personality. He was born in Winchester, Indiana, and was known as a tireless advocate for the local stage and theatrical scene in the many places he lived during his long career.From 1970 to 1987, he was a film and...
, it stars Roberts Blossom
Roberts Blossom
Roberts Scott Blossom was an American theater, film and television actor and poet. He is best known for his roles as Old Man Marley in Home Alone and as Ezra Cobb in the horror film Deranged...
, Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
, Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanahan was an American actress, best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on Maude, Fran Crowley on Mama's Family, and Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1987.-Early life:McClanahan was born Eddie Rue...
, K Callan
K Callan
K Callan is an American actress known for playing Clark Kent's mother Martha in the ABC television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman....
, Will Hare
Will Hare
Will Hare was an American actor who appeared on television and films, often playing old crusty figures and father/grandpa roles.Hare was born in Elkins, West Virginia, the son of Frances Laetitia and George Thomas Hare.-Career:He had appeared on stage, screen, and television since he was 17...
, Kate Harrington, Frances Sternhagen
Frances Sternhagen
Frances Hussey Sternhagen is an American actress. Sternhagen has appeared on and off Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.-Personal life:...
, and Ernest Thompson.
Mark Brokaw
Mark Brokaw
Mark Brokaw is a stage director. He won the Drama Desk Award, Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Director of a Play for How I Learned to Drive.Brokaw was raised in Aledo, Illinois and graduated from the Yale Drama School...
directed a revival at the Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre is an award-winning contemporary Off-Broadway theater company.-Mission:The theatre's mission is to give new life to contemporary American plays and to produce the world premiers of new plays by both established and emerging playwrights...
that opened on November 8, 1988 and ran for 43 performances. The cast included William Mesnik
William Mesnik
William Mesnik is an American character actor, musician and playwright who appeared in numerous films and television series of the 1990s and 2000s....
, Adam Storke
Adam Storke
Adam J. Storke is an American actor who has starred in television and film. He is best known for playing Julia Roberts' love interest in the 1988 hit film Mystic Pizza and as Larry Underwood in the 1994 hit Stephen King mini series The Stand.-Biography:Storke was born in New York City, New York,...
, and Amy Ryan
Amy Ryan
Amy Ryan is an American actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Gone Baby Gone and is also known for her roles in the HBO series The Wire, playing Port Authority Officer Beadie Russell; In Treatment, playing psychiatrist Adele Brousse; and The...
. In reviewing the production for the New York Times, Mel Gussow
Mel Gussow
Melvyn H. Gussow was an American theater critic, movie critic, and author who wrote for The New York Times for 35 years.-Biography:...
cited the playwright's "sensitivity and his gift for language."
Lindsay High School in Lindsay, Texas produced the show for the 2009 One Act Play State Meet, where it won.
Also,the Milton High School Theatre Company (Vermont) produced this show, and won the Vermont State One Act competition with it in 2010.