''Getting Out'' is a play by

Marsha Norman Marsha Norman (born September 21, 1947) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play '' 'night, Mother''. She wrote the book and lyrics for such Broadway musicals as ''The Se ...

. The play was produced at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre in October 1978 and then

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 May 1979. The play concerns a female prisoner just released from prison, who returns to her home in Kentucky. Although she tries to have a normal life, her past experiences keep intruding.

Production history

''Getting Out,'' a play by Marsha Norman, was presented by the Phoenix Theatre at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre from October 19, 1978 to November 5, 1978. It was then produced by

Lester Osterman Lester is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname and given name. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name * Lester Bangs (1948–1982), American music critic * Lester W. Bentley (1908–1972), American artist from Wisc ...

Lucille Lortel Lucille Lortel (née Wadler, December 16, 1900 – April 4, 1999) was an American actress, artistic director, and theatrical producer. In the course of her career Lortel produced or co-produced nearly 500 plays, five of which were nominated for ...

, and Marc Howard at the

Theatre de Lys The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse at 121 Christopher Street in Manhattan's West Village. It was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse. The interior is largely unch ...

, opening on May 15, 1979 and running to December 9, 1979.''Geting Out''
Internet Off-Broaway Database, accessed September 6, 2014 The cast: *Arlene -

Susan Kingsley Susan Kingsley was an American actress, with roles in films such as Popeye (1980), Steel (1979) and Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). Early life and education Kingsley studied drama at the University of Kentucky and at the London Academy of Music ...

*Arlie -

Pamela Reed Pamela Reed (born April 2, 1949) is an American actress. She is known for playing Arnold Schwarzenegger's hypoglycemic police partner in the 1990 movie ''Kindergarten Cop'' and as the matriarch Gail Green in ''Jericho''. She appeared as Marlene ...

*Guard Evans - John C. Capodice *Bennie - Bob Burrus *Guard Caldwell - Fritz Sperberg *Doctor - William Jay *Mother - Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood *School Principal - Anna Minot *Ronnie -

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*Carl -

Leo Burmester Bernard Leo Burmester (February 1, 1945 – June 28, 2007) was an American actor. Burmester worked for director John Sayles several times, including in ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' Lone Star'' (1996), and also for directors such as John Schl ...

*Warden -

Hansford Rowe Hansford Herndon Rowe Jr. (May 12, 1924 – September 5, 2017) was an American film, stage and television actor. Early life and education Rowe was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Virginia Isabel (née Willis) and Hansford Herndon Rowe, ...

*Ruby - Joan Pape The creatives: *Directed by:

Jon Jory Jon Jory is a theatrical director instrumental in the development of Actors Theatre of Louisville; he is also widely rumored to be the writer behind the pseudonym Jane Martin. Childhood Jory is a child of Hollywood character actors as his father ...

*Associated producers: Spencer H. Berlin and Marilyn R. Strauss *Scenery/Lighting:

James Tilton James Tilton (June 1, 1745 – May 14, 1822) was an American physician and soldier from Dover, Delaware. He was a delegate for Delaware in the Continental Congress of 1783 and 1784 and served as Surgeon General of the United States Army duri ...

*Costumes: Kurt Wilhelm ;Other Productions The world premiere was held at the Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

on November 2, 1977. The

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premiere was produced by the

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at the

Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighboring ...

Setting and original performance conditions

"Both acts are set in a dingy one-room apartment in a rundown section of downtown

. There is a sink, an apartment-size combination stove and refrigerator, and a counter with cabinets above. Dirty curtains conceal the bars on the outside of the single window. There is one closet and a door to the bathroom. The door to the apartment opens into a hall." "A catwalk stretches above the apartment and a prison cell, Stage Right, connects it by the stairways. An apron Downstage and Stage Left completes the enclosure of the apartment in playing areas for the past. The apartment must seem imprisoned." (Dramatists Plays Service Inc.)

Synopsis

"Released from prison Arlene returns to a run-down apartment in Louisville, intent on starting her life over. Rebellious and disruptive as a young girl, she has found strength in religion and wants to put her youth (as Arlie) behind her. But her struggles to find her way in the present (as Arlene) is counterpointed by flashbacks of her past (as Arlie), her two personalities being represented by two performers, who sometimes appear onstage simultaneously. We meet the guards and prison officials with whom Arlie waged a running battle; and the unfeeling, slatternly mother, the lecherous former prison guard, the pimp ex-boyfriend, and the touchingly friendly neighbor with whom Arlene is confronted in the present. Ultimately, the play, like life, offers no simple answers---but it conveys, with heart-rending honesty and compassion, the struggle of someone fighting for her life against incredible odds" (Dramatists Play Service Inc.)

Character summaries

*Arlene: a thin, drawn woman in her late twenties, who has just served an 8-year prison term for murder *Arlie: Arlene at various times in her life *Bennie: an Alabama prison guard in his 50s *Evans: a prison guard *Doctor: a psychiatrist in a juvenile institution *Caldwell: another prison guard *Mother: Arlene's mother *School Principal *Ronnie: a teenager in a juvenile institution *Carl: Arlene's former pimp and partner in various crimes; in his late 20s *Warden: Superintendent of Pine Ridge Correctional Institute for Women *Ruby: Arlene's upstairs neighbor; a cook in a local diner; also an ex-con, in her late 30s

Text

*''Getting Out'', A Play in Two Acts (Dramatists Play Service)

Awards and recognition

Marsha Norman won the 1979

Outer Critics Circle 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 ...

John Glassner Award,"Marsha Norman Awards"
playbillvault.com, September 7, 2014 and Susan Kingsley won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Talent. The play was a 1979 Selection, The Burns Mantle Theater Yearbook, ''The Best Plays of 1978-1979''

References

{{reflist 1979 plays Plays by Marsha Norman Plays set in Kentucky