''Sticks and Bones'' is a 1971 play by
David Rabe. The
black comedy focuses on David, a
blind
Blind may refer to:
* The state of blindness, being unable to see
* A window blind, a covering for a window
Blind may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop
* ''Blind' ...
Vietnam War veteran who finds himself unable to come to terms with his actions on the battlefield and alienated from his family because they neither can accept his disability nor understand his wartime experience. Rabe explores the conflicted feelings of many civilians during the era by
parodying the ideal
American family as it was portrayed on the
television sitcom ''
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. Beneath the perfect facade of the
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
's
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
al Nelson family are layers of
prejudice,
bigotry, and self-hatred that are peeled away slowly as they interact with their physically and emotionally damaged son and brother.
History
''Sticks and Bones'' was the second play in Rabe's Vietnam trilogy, following ''
The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel'' and preceding ''
Streamers''. A veteran himself, he wrote it while a graduate student at
Villanova University, where it was staged in 1969. The
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 ...
production, directed by
Jeff Bleckner, opened on November 7, 1971 at
Joseph Papp's
Public Theater, where it ran for 121 performances. The cast included
David Selby
David Lynn Selby is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for playing Quentin Collins on the daytime soap ''Dark Shadows'' (1968–71) and Richard Channing on the prime-time soap ''Falcon Crest'' (1982–90). ...
as David,
Tom Aldredge as Ozzie,
Elizabeth Wilson as Harriet (played later by
Rue McClanahan),
Cliff DeYoung as Rick, and
Charles Siebert as Father Donald.
Critical reaction and audience response were positive, and Papp decided to move the play uptown. With Drew Snyder replacing Selby but the rest of the cast intact, the
Broadway production opened on March 1, 1972 at the
John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 246 performances.
In 1973, David Rabe wrote the
teleplay for and Robert Downey Sr. directed a
CBS television movie based on Rabe's play. The cast included DeYoung as David, Aldredge as Ozzie, and
Anne Jackson as Harriet. The subject matter was so controversial half of the network's affiliates refused to broadcast the film.
''Sticks and Bones'' at the British Film Institute website
/ref>
Awards and nominations
;Awards
*1972 Tony Award for Best Play
*1972 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play (Elizabeth Wilson)
*1972 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Tom Aldredge)
*1972 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play (Jeff Bleckner)
*1972 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design (Santo Loquasto)
*1972 Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...
for Best Play
;Nominations
*1972 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (Jeff Bleckner)
*1972 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (Tom Aldredge)
Influence
The play was parodied by Christopher Durang in his 1977 play ''The Vietnamization of New Jersey
''The Vietnamization of New Jersey'' (subtitled "A American Tragedy" ) is a 1976 play written by American playwright Christopher Durang.
The play was written on commission from the Yale Repertory Theatre as a parody of the Tony Award-winning 197 ...
''.
Revival
In 2014, ''Sticks and Bones'' was revived at The Pershing Square Center, with the production opening November 6.
References
External links
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{{TonyAwardBestPlay 1947-1975
1971 plays
Broadway plays
Plays by David Rabe
Drama Desk Award-winning plays
Tony Award-winning plays
Vietnam War fiction