''Line'' is a 1967

one-act play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...

Israel Horovitz Israel Horovitz (March 31, 1939 – November 9, 2020) was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979. He served as artistic director until 2006 and later served on the board, ex officio an ...

, his first play produced. It is an absurdist drama about 5 people waiting in line for an event (what event it is, is never made clear—several of the characters' stated expectations contradict the others). Each of the characters uses their wiles in an attempt to be first in line, getting more and more vicious as the play continues. A revival of ''Line'' is the longest-running

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...

show on the boards, having played continuously at the 13th Street Repertory Theatre from 1974 to 2018. After 43 years of the revival (the original production opened at LaMama in 1967), the show closed January 1, 2018 at the 13th Rep in a production directed by Jay Michaels and produced by Mary Elizabeth Micari.

Characters

* Fleming - A

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

fan, he has been waiting all night at the front of the line (apparently for tickets to a baseball game). He is rather slow-witted and easily manipulated out of first place. * Stephen - A young handsome man who looks like

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

(according to Molly). He is an obsessive fan of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

. He is very verbal and confuses people (especially Fleming) with doubletalk. * Molly - The lone female of the piece, a voluptuous woman. She uses her sexuality to lure the men out of the front spot. This is stylized by her dancing and singing with each man. * Dolan - A philosopher who only looks out for himself. He puts forth his "Under''dog''" theory- when you're under the dog, that's the easiest time to kick him in the balls. * Arnall - Molly's

cuckold A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife; the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not genetically his offspring. A husband who is aw ...

husband. A

milquetoast Caspar Milquetoast was a popular American cartoon character created by H. T. Webster. The term “milquetoast” has since come to be used for a meek or timid person. Milquetoast may also refer to: *Dr. Milquetoast, a character in "The Pacifist" ...

who is afraid of germs. The one time in the play he actually gets to the front of the line, he abdicates in favor of another so he won't be hurt. He claims his parents and grandmother made up his name because they couldn't decide whether to name him ARthur, NAthan, or LLoyd.

Notable former cast members

* Stephen - Liche Ariza /

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), ''Close Encounters of the T ...

/ Jonathan Harper Schlieman / Ben Davis / Michael Mercandetti / Emmanuel Todorow / Jason Rosette / Darin Guerasio / Gavin Walker Smith/ Kyle Cassady / Cory Moreno / Gary Clare * Molly - Eloise Ayala / Ruthellen Cheney / Amy Hoerler / Duvall O'Steen / Deidre Schweisow / Sarah Wolfman-Robichaud / Jennifer Johnson / Naheed Khan / Heather Knox / Therese Fretwell / Hella Bel / Lowrie Fawley
Giulia Martinelli
* Arnall - Kevin Herbst / Travis Pappy / Timothy J. Cox / Roy Aaron / Gavin Walker Smith / Blake Catherwood / Neil Feigeles / Dirk Burns
Eric Paterniani
/ Freddie Stevens / Trip Collins / Mark Koenig / Steven F. Samuelian * Fleming - Joe Wortman /

Brian Lang Brian Andrew Lang (born 2 December 1945) is a Scottish social anthropologist who served as deputy chairman of the British Library and Principal of the University of St Andrews 2001–2008. He was Chair of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra 2 ...

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an American ...

/ Jeremy Rosen / Patrick Maloney/ David Cochrane / E Gavin Walker Smith / Kristian Leavy / Brad Holbrook
Jose Antonio
/ Nick Luna / Jeffrey Hahn/ Ed Crane * Dolan -

John Cazale John Holland Cazale (; August 12, 1935 – March 13, 1978) was an American actor. He appeared in five films over seven years, all of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: ''The Godfather'' (1972), '' The Conversation'' (19 ...

Christopher Meloni Christopher Peter Meloni (; born April 2, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC legal drama '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' for its first 12 seasons and its spin-off ' ...

/ Reinhard Lentes / David Cochrane / Nixon Cesar / John Palotta / Gavin Walker Smith / Timothy J. Cox / Kenneth McKenzie / Tom O'Neil
Jose Antonio
/ Mikal Saint George / Alex Falcao /John Fitzgerald/ Greg Vorob

Cast notes

* Playwright

appeared as Stephen in the first production of the play at

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...

, when another actor had to drop out at the last minute. * This was

' first play as an actor.

References

{{reflist 1967 plays Plays by Israel Horovitz One-act plays Theatre of the Absurd

Characters

Notable former cast members

Cast notes

See also

References