''Ideal'' is a
play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
written by
Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
. It follows Kay Gonda, a movie star suspected of murder, as she seeks support from various fans, most of whom disappoint her. Written in the 1930s, it was never produced or published during Rand's lifetime. Since her death it has since been published multiple times and produced twice, in 1989 and 2010.
History
Rand originally wrote the story as a novelette in 1934, and revised it to a stage play around 1936. The text of the play was first published in 1984 as part of ''
The Early Ayn Rand
''The Early Ayn Rand: A Selection from Her Unpublished Fiction'' is an anthology of unpublished early fiction written by the philosopher Ayn Rand, first published in 1984, two years after her death. The selections include short stories, plays, an ...
'', an anthology of Rand's previously unpublished fiction. It was re-published in 2005 in ''Three Plays'', alongside her plays ''
Night of January 16th
''Night of January 16th'' (sometimes advertised as ''The Night of January 16th'') is a theatrical play by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, inspired by the death of the "Match King", Ivar Kreuger. Set in a courtroom during a murder trial, an ...
'' and ''Think Twice''.
In 1989,
Michael Paxton
Michael Paxton (born March 29, 1957) is an American filmmaker and writer. He has directed, produced, and written several films, both live action and animated, as well as plays and books. His feature documentary '' Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life'' r ...
staged the play at the Melrose Theater, a 99-seat venue in Los Angeles, California. The production opened on October 13, 1989, and closed on November 19, 1989. A video of the production was released in 2004.
In 2010, it was produced as an
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
show at the
59E59 Theaters
59E59 Theaters is a curated rental venue located in New York City that consists of three theater spaces or stages. It shows both off-Broadway (in Theater A) and off-off-Broadway plays (in Theaters B and C). The complex is owned and operated by ...
in New York. Karina Martins produced and Jenny Beth Snyder directed. It opened on June 17, 2010, and closed on July 3, 2010.
On July 7, 2015,
Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.
On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...
published an edition featuring the novelette version of ''
Ideal
Ideal may refer to:
Philosophy
* Ideal (ethics), values that one actively pursues as goals
* Platonic ideal, a philosophical idea of trueness of form, associated with Plato
Mathematics
* Ideal (ring theory), special subsets of a ring considere ...
'' along with the play version.
Reception
The story is generally regarded as a poor fit for theater. In his preface for its publication, Rand's heir
Leonard Peikoff
Leonard Sylvan Peikoff (; born October 15, 1933) is a Canadian-American philosopher. He is an Objectivist and was a close associate of Ayn Rand, who designated him heir to her estate. He is a former professor of philosophy and host of a natio ...
described the play as "unavoidably somewhat static" and lacking a "developed plot structure". Ronald Merrill said it would have been better left as a novelette because it is "not well suited to the stage".
The 1989 production received mixed reviews. The reviewer for the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' disliked the play's "clunky structure", but complimented the staging, scenery, costumes and other elements for bringing life to the production. In ''
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
'' magazine, the reviewer complimented Rand's writing skills and the "remarkable production design", but found the lighting and direction lacking.
The 2010 production received negative reviews from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', and ''
Backstage
Backstage most commonly refers to backstage (theatre), also in motion picture and television production.
Backstage may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Back Stage'' (1969 film), a silent film starring Oliver Hardy
* ''Back Stage'' (1942 fil ...
''.
References
External links
*
{{Ayn Rand, state=autocollapse
1989 plays
Plays based on novels
Plays by Ayn Rand