''The Mineola Twins'' is a play by

Paula Vogel Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright who received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''How I Learned to Drive.'' A longtime teacher, Vogel spent the bulk of her academic career – from 1984 to 2008 – at Bro ...

with music by

David Van Tieghem David Van Tieghem (born April 21, 1955) is an American composer, percussionist and sound designer, best known for his philosophy of utilizing any available object as a percussion instrument and for his collaborations with the experimental artists ...

, which premiered

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 ...

in 1999.

Overview

The story satirically examines women's experience and the

women's movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such is ...

over more than three decades in post-World War II America, as seen through the life of identical twins, Myra and Myrna, from

Mineola, New York Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village". ...

, who are played by one actress. The twins' contrasting personalities are presented in often extreme and comic ways. For example, one is a rebellious radical, while the other is an uptight conservative.Sommer, Elyse
''The Mineola Twins''
CurtainUp.com, 1999, accessed November 28, 2012Canby, Vincent

''The New York Times'', February 28, 1999, accessed November 28, 2012 The play takes place during the Eisenhower Administration; then at the start of the Nixon Administration; and finally during the Bush Administration. In an author's note, Vogel suggests that female singers of the time, such as

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

and Vicki Carr be used.

Characters

*Myrna, the "good" twin *Myra, the "bad" twin *Jim, Myrna's fiancé *Kenny, Myrna's son *Ben, Myra's son *Sarah, played by the actress who also plays Jim *Two psychiatric aides/Federal agents

Productions

The play was first produced by the Perseverance Theatre in

Juneau, Alaska The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...

, in November 1996. It was then produced at the

Trinity Repertory Company Trinity Repertory Company (commonly abbreviated as Trinity Rep) is a non-profit regional theater located at 201 Washington Street in Providence, Rhode Island. The theater is a member of the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1963, the thea ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

in February to March 1997, again directed by

Molly Smith Molly Smith is an American theatre director and the artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. She was formerly artistic director of the Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska, which she founded in 1979 and led until 1998. Biography S ...

(former artistic director of Perseverance) and starring

Anne Scurria Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. ''The Mineola Twins'' opened

on February 18, 1999, after a month of previews and closed on May 30, 1999, at the

Laura Pels Theatre The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizab ...

in a

Roundabout Theatre The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizab ...

production. Directed by

Joe Mantello Joseph Mantello (born December 27, 1962) is an American actor and director known for his work on Broadway productions of ''Wicked'', '' Take Me Out'', and ''Assassins'', having gained notoriety in the 1993 cast of ''Angels in America''. Early li ...

with musical staging by Ken Roberson, the cast included

Swoosie Kurtz Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Kurtz made her Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony ...

as the twins,

Mo Gaffney Maureen E. Gaffney (born November 5, 1958, in San Diego, California) is an American actress and activist. Career Gaffney hosted two of her own television talk shows: ''Women Aloud!'' (which was shown on the Comedy Central network) and ''The Mo ...

as Myrna's boyfriend Jim and later Myra's lesbian lover Sarah, Mandy Siegfried as the twins' sons, Kenny and Ben. Additional cast included Jimmy Holder and Daniel Stewart Sherman. ''

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 ...

'' critic

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

wrote, "Working lightly, surely and always in sync ... Vogel ... Mantello ndKurtz and a dream supporting cast are cheering up a mostly dreary season with ''The Mineola Twins,'' the exhilarating Roundabout Theater Company entertainment." Subsequent productions have included a 2004 run at the

Straz Center for the Performing Arts The Straz Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue in Tampa, Florida, United States. It opened in 1987 as the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and was renamed in 2009. The Straz Center is located downtown on a site along the e ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, and a 2012 production at The Arts Square Theatre in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Awards and nominations

Source: Lortel.org *

Lucille Lortel Awards The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

(1999) for: Outstanding Scenic Design, Robert Brill and

Scott Pask Scott Pask is an American scenic and costume designer. He has worked primarily on stage productions in the United States, on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre, as well as in the United Kingdom. He has won Tony Awards for his work ...

(winner); Outstanding Costume Design,

Jess Goldstein Jess Goldstein is an American costume designer. He has designed over 30 Broadway shows, including ''Jersey Boys'', '' Take Me Out'' and ''Proof''. He received a Tony Award for Best Costume Design for his work on the play '' The Rivals'', in 20 ...

(winner); Outstanding Lighting Design,

Kevin Adams Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

(winner)"Awards History, Lucille Lortel Awards and Obie Awards"
roundabouttheatre.org, accessed November 29, 2012 *

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 ...

(1998–1999): Performance, Swoosie Kurtz (winner) *1999

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

, Outstanding Actress in a Play, Swoosie Kurtz (nomination) * Henry Hewes Design Awards: (1999) for: Scenic Design, Robert Brill and Scott Pask (winner); Costume Design, Jess Goldstein (winner)"Hewes Design Awards, 1999"
americantheatrewing.org, accessed November 29, 2012 *

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 ...

nominations for: Outstanding Off-Broadway Play; Outstanding Actress in a Play, Swoosie Kurtz; Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, Mandy Siegfried

References

External links

*
Study Guide
to the play from the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medica ...

Department of Theater {{DEFAULTSORT:Mineola Twins 1999 plays Off-Broadway plays Plays by Paula Vogel