''Conversations with My Father'' is a play by

Herb Gardner Herbert George Gardner (December 28, 1934 – September 25, 2003), was an American commercial artist, cartoonist, playwright and screenwriter. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gardner was the son of a bar owner. His late brother, Rober ...

. The play, which ran on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1992 to 1993, was a finalist for the 1992

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

Overview

The play focuses on Eddie Ross (born Goldberg), who is a Russian

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

. Eddie is a bartender at the Homeland Tavern on Canal Street in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. His son Charlie narrates the story, as a series of

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

s spanning the years between 1936 and 1976. Charlie yearns to establish - at the very least - a peaceful co-existence with his angry, remote, and verbally and emotionally abusive father, who has spent forty years in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

melting pot The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throug ...

trying to reject his

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

. While exploring the relationship between the two, Gardner presents the saga of a first generation of American

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

who came of age in the Depression and were assimilated at a high price during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The play contains recorded music, including

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

Music Hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

songs "Rumania" and "In Odessa", as well as "

Santa Claus is Coming to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was then ...

" and others.

Productions

The play premiered at the

Seattle Repertory Theatre Seattle Repertory Theatre (familiarly known as "The Rep") is a major regional theatre located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. It is a member of Theatre Puget SoundDaniel Sullivan and starring

Judd Hirsch Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS series ...

. The play opened on

at the

Royale Theatre The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (formerly the Royale Theatre and the John Golden Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 242 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theate ...

on March 22, 1992 and closed on March 14, 1993, after 402 performances and 30 previews. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, the cast included Judd Hirsch (Eddie),

Tony Shalhoub Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; born October 9, 1953), is an American actor. His accolades include five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, six Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award nomination. He played Adrian Monk in the USA Net ...

(Charlie),

David Margulies David Joseph Margulies (February 19, 1937 – January 11, 2016) was an American actor. Early life Margulies was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Runya ('' née'' Zeltzer), a nurse and museum employee, and Harry David Margulies, a l ...

(Zaretsky), William Biff McGuire (Nick), Marilyn Sokol, John Procaccino, Richard E. Council,

David Krumholtz David Krumholtz (born May 15, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He played Mr. Universe in '' Serenity'', Charlie Eppes in the CBS drama series ''Numb3rs'', and starred in the ''Harold & Kumar'' and ''The Santa Clause'' film franchises. Ear ...

(Young Charlie), and

Jason Biggs Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Jim Levenstein in the '' American Pie'' comedy film series and Larry Bloom in the Netflix original series '' Orange Is the New Black''. He al ...

(Young Joey)." 'Conversations with My Father' Broadway"
playbillvault.com, accessed November 12, 2015

Jason Woliner Jason Woliner is an American director, writer and a former child actor who directed the 2020 movie '' Borat Subsequent Moviefilm''. He was the non-performing member of the comedy group Human Giant and directed the bulk of their output. After th ...

replaced Krumholtz for the second half of the run, and

James Belushi James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009). His other television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' Total Security'' ...

replaced Hirsch in the second week of February 1993, for the final month before the play closed ("The actor, whose first performance was last Tuesday..." written on February 17, 1993.). The play was a finalist for the 1992

. The play was presented by the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre at the James A. Doolittle Theatre, Hollywood, California from October 14, 1993 to December 19. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, the cast featured Judd Hirsch (Eddie), James Sutorius (Charlie) and William Biff McGuire (Nick).

Critical response

Ross Wetzsteon, in an article prior to the official Broadway opening, in the ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' magazine noted: "Gardner alternates...between the hilarious and the horrific. A sweeping and anguished epic with jolts of aching laughter his new departure contains edgily dimensioned characters, provocatively unresolved themes and deeply, directly engaged feelings."Wetzsteon, Ross
''Conversations with My Father''
''New York Magazine'', March 30, 1992, Vol. 25, No. 13, ISSN 0028-7369, pp 50-55

Awards and nominations

Source: PlaybillVault *

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for Best Actor in Play (Hirsch, winner) *Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (Shalhoub, nominee) *Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (nominee) *1992 Pulitzer Prize for Drama (nominee)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conversations With My Father 1992 plays Broadway plays Plays by Herb Gardner Plays set in New York City