Happy Birthday, Wanda June
Encyclopedia
Happy Birthday, Wanda June is a play by Kurt Vonnegut
, and a 1971 film adaptation, directed by Mark Robson
.
Big-game hunter, war hero, and famous soldier Harold Ryan returns home to America, after having been presumed dead for several years. During the war he killed over 200 men and women, and countless more animals - for sport. He was in the Amazon Rainforest
hunting for diamonds with Colonel Looseleaf Harper, a slow-witted aviation hero who had the unhappy task of dropping the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Harold finds that his wife Penelope has developed relationships with men very much unlike himself, including a vacuum salesman called Shuttle and a hippie
doctor called Dr. Woodly, who later becomes Harold's foe. Harold also finds that his son, Paul, has been pampered and grown unmanly. Harold Ryan, the prolific killing machine, is very unsatisfied. It is set during 60's America and Harold feels the country has become weak, all the heroes have been replaced by intolerable pacifists
, and that in post-war America there is no proper enemy for him to vanquish. This is the story of his tragic attempt to find one.
The "Wanda June" of the title is a young girl who died before she could celebrate her birthday. She was run over by an ice cream truck, but she is very pleased with her situation in Heaven
, and feels that dying is a good thing and everyone in Heaven loves the person who sent them there. Her birthday cake was subsequently purchased by one of Penelope's lovers, for a celebration of Harold's birthday in his absence. Wanda June and several other deceased connections to Harold Ryan (including his ex-wife Mildred who drank herself to death because she couldn't stand Harold's premature ejaculation
, and Major Von Koningswald, The Beast of Yugoslavia, Harold Ryan's most infamous victim) speak to the audience from Heaven, where Jesus Christ, Adolf Hitler
, Albert Einstein
, and Judas Iscariot
are happily playing shuffleboard
.
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
, and a 1971 film adaptation, directed by Mark Robson
Mark Robson
Mark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
.
Plot
The opening of this play is "This is a simple-minded play about men who enjoy killing, and those who don't."Big-game hunter, war hero, and famous soldier Harold Ryan returns home to America, after having been presumed dead for several years. During the war he killed over 200 men and women, and countless more animals - for sport. He was in the Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
hunting for diamonds with Colonel Looseleaf Harper, a slow-witted aviation hero who had the unhappy task of dropping the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Harold finds that his wife Penelope has developed relationships with men very much unlike himself, including a vacuum salesman called Shuttle and a hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
doctor called Dr. Woodly, who later becomes Harold's foe. Harold also finds that his son, Paul, has been pampered and grown unmanly. Harold Ryan, the prolific killing machine, is very unsatisfied. It is set during 60's America and Harold feels the country has become weak, all the heroes have been replaced by intolerable pacifists
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
, and that in post-war America there is no proper enemy for him to vanquish. This is the story of his tragic attempt to find one.
The "Wanda June" of the title is a young girl who died before she could celebrate her birthday. She was run over by an ice cream truck, but she is very pleased with her situation in Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, and feels that dying is a good thing and everyone in Heaven loves the person who sent them there. Her birthday cake was subsequently purchased by one of Penelope's lovers, for a celebration of Harold's birthday in his absence. Wanda June and several other deceased connections to Harold Ryan (including his ex-wife Mildred who drank herself to death because she couldn't stand Harold's premature ejaculation
Premature ejaculation
Premature ejaculation is a condition in which a man ejaculates earlier than he or his partner would like him to. Premature ejaculation is also known as rapid ejaculation, rapid climax, premature climax, or early ejaculation....
, and Major Von Koningswald, The Beast of Yugoslavia, Harold Ryan's most infamous victim) speak to the audience from Heaven, where Jesus Christ, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, and Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
are happily playing shuffleboard
Shuffleboard
Shuffleboard, more precisely deck shuffleboard, and also known as shuffle-board, shovelboard, shovel-board and shove-board [archaic], is a game in which players use broom-shaped paddles to push weighted pucks, sending them gliding down a narrow and elongated court, with the purpose of...
.
Debut
Happy Birthday, Wanda June was first performed at the Orleans Arena Theatre in Orleans, Massachusetts.Cast
- Rod SteigerRod SteigerRodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
as Harold Ryan - Susannah YorkSusannah YorkSusannah York was a British film, stage and television actress. She was awarded a BAFTA as Best Supporting Actress for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for the same film. She won best actress for Images at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival...
as Penelope Ryan - George GrizzardGeorge GrizzardGeorge Cooper Grizzard, Jr. was an American actor of film and stage. He appeared in more than 40 films, dozens of television programs and a number of Broadway plays.-Life and career:...
as Dr. Norbert Woodley - Don MurrayDon Murray (actor)Donald Patrick "Don" Murray is an American actor.-Early life and career:Murray was born in Hollywood, California on July 31, 1929, the only child of Dennis Aloisius, a Broadway dance director and stage manager and Ethel Murray, a former Ziegfeld performer...
as Herb Shuttle - William HickeyWilliam Hickey (actor)William Edward Hickey was an American actor. He was best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Don Corrado Prizzi in the John Huston 1985 film Prizzi's Honor, as well as the voice of Dr...
as Looseleaf Harper - Steven PaulSteven PaulSteven Paul is an American film producer and manager for Jon Voight, Gene Wilder, Michael Cimino, and Bob Clark . He is also an occasional writer, director, actor, and visual effects producer.-External links:...
as Paul Ryan - Pamelyn FerdinPamelyn FerdinPamelyn Ferdin is a former American television and film child actor, active both in live action and as a voice actress in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s and has since appeared in several voice acting roles as late as 2009...
as Wanda June - Pamela Saunders as Mildred Ryan
- Louis TurenneLouis TurenneLouis Turenne is a Canadian movie and television actor whose career has spanned over 20 years.Turenne is of French Canadian descent, having been born in Montreal, Quebec. Most recently, Turenne was known for his work on the Babylon 5 television series. Turenne played the Minbari Draal in the first...
as Major von Koningswald - C.C. Whitney as Mrs. Kestenbaum
- Lester Goldsmith as Mr. Kestenbaum