''Steambath'' is the second play by American author

Bruce Jay Friedman The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

. It was first performed

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 ...

at the Truck and Warehouse Theater where it opened on June 30, 1970, closing on October 18, 1970 after 128 performances. This play presents the

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

as a

steam bath A steam bath is a steam-filled room for the purpose of relaxation and cleansing. It has a long history, going back to Greek and Roman times. History The origins of the steam bath come from the Roman bath, which began during the height of the R ...

, in which recently deceased souls (who may not in every case realize that they are dead) continue to obsess about the same petty concerns that obsessed them in their lives. Ultimately, they are cast into another room offstage which is represented by a dark void by

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

, the steambath's Puerto Rican attendant, and with the help of his assistant Gottlieb. In the play, the new arrival Tandy at first refuses to accept what's happened, and when he finally does, he pleads to be allowed to return to his life. ''Steambath'' was controversial when first produced for its obscene language (which was softened for its television version), its satirical take on religion, and some brief

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

. Friedman claims to have been inspired to write the play in part because of a "bad experience with the food at a

Chinese restaurant A Chinese restaurant is an establishment that serves a Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese style, due to the history of the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora and adapted to local taste preferences, as in t ...

" that had him contemplating mortality.

Cast

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influential ...

directed the original production which starred Perkins as Tandy,

Hector Elizondo In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

as the Attendant (God), Marvin Lichterman as Bieberman, Annie Rachel as Meredith,

Conrad Bain Conrad Stafford Bain (February 4, 1923 – January 14, 2013) was a Canadian-American comedian and actor. His television credits include a leading role as Phillip Drummond in the sitcom ''Diff'rent Strokes'', as Dr. Arthur Harmon on '' Maude'', ...

as Old Timer, Mitchell Jason as Broker, Jere Admire as Young Man, Teno Pollick as 2nd Young Man,

Eileen Dietz Eileen Dietz is an American actress who is best known for her appearances in many horror films such as the face of the demon in ''The Exorcist'' and for her portrayal of characters on the soap operas ''Guiding Light'' and ''General Hospital''. ...

as Young Girl,

Alfred Hinckley Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

as Flanders, Gabor Morea as Gottlieb, Jack Knight as Longshoreman, and William Walsh as 2nd Longshoreman.

Miguel Piñero Miguel Piñero (December 19, 1946 – June 16, 1988) was a playwright, actor and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was a leading member of the Nuyorican literary movement. Early years Piñero was born on December 19, 1946, in Gura ...

would later play God. Elizondo won an

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

for his performance. Initially

Charles Grodin Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including '' The Virginian''. After a small part ...

was cast in the role of Tandy, but was replaced by Perkins. Coincidentally, Grodin soon landed his breakthrough role as a comedy actor in the film '' The Heartbreak Kid'', based on a short story by ''Steambath'' author Friedman.

Other media

The play was then produced for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''

Hollywood Television Theater KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV ...

'' in 1973 with José Pérez playing

, Bill Bixby playing Tandy, and

Valerie Perrine Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is an American actress. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film ''Lenny'', she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Bes ...

as the blonde bombshell Meredith. Only 24 PBS affiliates carried the program. ''Steambath'' became a

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

for six weeks on the

cable network Networking cables are networking hardware used to connect one network device to other network devices or to connect two or more computers to share devices such as printers or scanners. Different types of network cables, such as coaxial cable, op ...

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

in 1984 starring

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in ''Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on ''The Wonder Years'', Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series ''China Beach'', the Doctor on '' Star ...

in the Tandy role, Janis Ward as Meredith,

Al Ruscio Al Ruscio (June 2, 1924 – November 12, 2013) was an American character actor who appeared in numerous television shows and films. Early life Ruscio was born in Salem, Massachusetts on June 2, 1924. He graduated from Salem High School, after ...

as DaVinci,

Rita Taggart Rita Jean Taggart (born December 19, 1949) is an American film and television actress. She is known for playing Carla Bouvier on ''Night Court''. Biography Taggart was born in Salinas, California. She studied special education at San Francisco ...

as Blanche and Allen Williams as Gottlieb. José Pérez reprised his role as God, Neil J. Schwartz & Patrick Spohn reprised their roles as "The Two Young Men," and

Burt Brinckerhoff Burton Field Brinckerhoff (born October 25, 1936) is an American actor, director, and producer. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Igor in the play '' Cactus Flower'' (1965–1968), a Daytime Emmy Award for directing an episode of ...

returned to direct half of the episodes. Along with ''

Oh! Calcutta! ''Oh! Calcutta!'' is an avant-garde, risque theatrical revue created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in the West End in 1970. It ran in Lond ...

'', the play was spoofed as "Bathtub" in ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

'' episode "What Does a Naked Lady Say to You?" In '' Fame'', Ralph performs an excerpt from ''Steambath'' as part of his audition for the

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was m ...

. We do not see the audition itself, only Ralph's introduction: "I'm God, see? And God is Puerto Rican, you got that? Now, God works in a casa de steam, you know. It's a steam bath, right? . . . I'm God, see? That's why I'm standing on this chair, you got that? Good."

References

Sources

Interview with Bruce Jay Friedman
by Derek Alger, '' PIF'' magazine

External links

* {{imdb title, id=0167415, title=Steambath (1973 TV version)
''Steambath'' at the Off-Broadway database
Plays by Bruce Jay Friedman 1970 plays Off-Broadway plays