''All the Way Home'' is a play written by the American playwright
Tad Mosel
Tad Mosel (May 1, 1922 – August 24, 2008) was an American playwright and one of the leading dramatists of hour-long teleplay genre for live television during the 1950s. He received the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' All the Way H ...
, adapted from the 1957
James Agee novel ''
A Death in the Family
''A Death in the Family'' is an autobiographical novel by author James Agee, set in Knoxville, Tennessee. He began writing it in 1948, but it was not quite complete when he died in 1955 (with reputedly many portions having been written in the hom ...
''. Each author received the Pulitzer Prize for their separate works.
Productions
''All the Way Home'' was premiered on Broadway at the
Belasco Theater
The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Originally known as the Stuyvesant Theatre, it was built in 1907 and ...
on November 30, 1960, and closed on September 15, 1961, after 333 performances. Directed by
Arthur Penn
Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010)
was an American director and producer of film, television and theater. Closely associated with the American New Wave, Penn directed critically acclaimed films throughout the 19 ...
, the cast featured
Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Rose Dewhurst (3 June 1924 – 22 August 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early drama ...
(Mary Follet),
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...
(Catherine Lynch),
Arthur Hill (Jay Follet),
Clifton James
George Clifton James (May 29, 1920 – April 15, 2017) was an American actor known for roles as a prison floorwalker in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), Sheriff J.W. Pepper alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond films '' Live and Let Die'' (19 ...
(Ralph Follet), Dorrit Kelton (Aunt Sadie Follet),
Aline MacMahon (Aunt Hannah Lynch), John Megna (Rufus) and
Jeff Conaway
Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conaway (October 5, 1950 – May 27, 2011) was an American actor. He portrayed Kenickie in the film '' Grease'' and had roles in two television series: struggling actor Bobby Wheeler in ''Taxi'' and security offic ...
(a Boy).
The play was revived Off-Broadway at the Equity Library Theatre in October 1979, directed by Jamie Brown.
The play was revived off-off-Broadway by the Transport Group in November 2006. Directed by Jack Cummings III, the cast featured Patrick Boll (Jay Follett), Monica Russell (Mary) and Chandler Frantz (Rufus). The ''TheaterMania'' reviewer wrote, "The achingly moving play is Tad Mosel's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation of James Agee's autobiographical 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'A Death in the Family', and in reviving the piece, director Jack Cummings III confirms that both prizes are deserved."
Plot
The play takes place in summer 1915 in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the extended families of the Folletts and the Lynches live. Jay Follet and his pregnant wife Mary have a six-year-old son named Rufus, who takes great joy in being with his father. Jay's brother, Ralph, is an undertaker. Ralph appears to have a drinking problem and mistreats his wife Sally. Mary's parents are Joel Lynch and Catherine Lynch, and her brother is Andrew. The play unfolds over a period of four days.
During the first act, the Folletts leave Jay and Mary's home to visit their 104-year-old great-great-grandmother and Aunt Sadie Follet. Returning later that evening, Jay receives a frantic call from his brother Ralph that their father Jim-Wilson is in declining health. After Mary warns Jay about driving too fast, Jay leaves to find out what happened.
In the second act, it is revealed that Jay is killed in an automobile accident. The remainder of the play deals with the family coming to terms with his death. It becomes uncertain if Jay had been driving drunk or if it had been a suicide.
The third act takes place on the day of Jay's funeral. Mary tells Rufus, for the first time, that she is pregnant and that he may have a little brother or sister on the way.
Film and television
The play was made into a film, directed by
Alex Segal
Alex Segal (July 1, 1915 – August 22, 1977) was an American television director, television producer, and film director.
Segal directed more than 25 different television programs, including ''The United States Steel Hour'' and ''Celanese The ...
and starring
Jean Simmons (Mary Follett),
Robert Preston (Jay Follett),
Pat Hingle (Ralph Follet),
Aline MacMahon (Aunt Hannah),
Thomas Chalmers
Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...
(Joel Lynch),
John Cullum
John Cullum (born circa 1930) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including '' Shenandoah'' (1975) and ''On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Mus ...
(Andrew) and Michael Kearney (Rufus Follett). The screenplay was by Philip Reisman Jr. It was released in 1963.
A television movie was broadcast in December 1971 in a ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame
''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...
'' presentation. Directed by
Fred Coe
Frederick Hayden Hughs Coe (December 23, 1914 – April 29, 1979) was an American television producer and director most famous for '' The Goodyear Television Playhouse''/''The Philco Television Playhouse'' in 1948-1955 and ''Playhouse 90'' from 1 ...
, the cast starred
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...
(Mary),
Richard Kiley
Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...
(Jay) and Pat Hingle (Ralph).
A live presentation of the play was broadcast on NBC on December 21, 1981. Directed by
Delbert Mann
Delbert Martin Mann Jr. (January 30, 1920 – November 11, 2007) was an American television and film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Marty'' (1955), adapted from a 1953 teleplay of the same name which h ...
, the cast featured
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...
(Mary),
William Hurt
William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor.
...
(Jay),
Ned Beatty (Ralph),
Ellen Corby
Ellen Hansen Corby (June 3, 1911 – April 14, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. She played the role of Esther "Grandma" Walton on the CBS television series ''The Waltons'', for which she won three Emmy Awards. She was also ...
(Great-Gandmaw),
Betty Garrett
Betty Garrett (May 23, 1919 – February 12, 2011) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer. She originally performed on Broadway, and was then signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She appeared in several musical film ...
(Catherine),
Murray Hamilton (Joel Lynch),
Polly Holiday
Polly Dean Holliday (born July 2, 1937) is a retired American actress who has appeared on stage, television and in film. She is best known for her portrayal of sassy waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry on the 1970s sitcom ''Alice'', which s ...
(Aunt Hannah) and Jeremy Licht (Rufus). This was a stage production broadcast live from the Bing Theatre at the
USC School of Dramatic Arts
The USC School of Dramatic Arts (commonly referred to as SDA)—formerly the USC School of Theatre, is a private drama school at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is ranked one of the top 10 dramatic arts schools ...
.
Awards and nominations
;
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
* 1961 Featured Actress in a Play (Colleen Dewhurst), winner
* 1961 Costume Design of a Play (Raymond Sovey), nominee
* 1961 Direction of a Play (Arthur Penn), nominee
* 1961 Play, nominee
* 1961 Scenic Design of a Play, (David Hays) nominee
; New York Drama Critics' Circle
* 1961 Best American Play (Tad Mosel), winner
;1961
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
References
Further reading
Articles
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Books
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External links
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{{Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1951-1975
1960 plays
Broadway plays
Pulitzer Prize for Drama-winning works
Plays based on novels
Plays set in Tennessee
Fiction set in 1915
American plays adapted into films