Sweet Sue (play)
Encyclopedia
Sweet Sue is a play by A. R. Gurney
. It premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival
, and later enjoyed a Broadway production at the Music Box Theatre
during the 1986-87 season.
The play requires four actors for its two characters, Susan Weatherhill, a repressed and uncertain woman in her late forties, and Jake, a young man who is the college roommate of Susan's son. Each of these characters is played simultaneously by two actors, who give expression to the tensions and ambivalence within the characters. The script refers to them as: "Susan," "Susan Too," "Jake," and "Jake Too." This technique of dividing a single character between two actors is not unique to Sweet Sue; it can also be found in Overtones by Alice Gerstenberg, Getting Out
by Marsha Norman
, and Passion
by Peter Nichols
. Here, Gurney uses it to create an atmosphere of light romantic comedy
, punctuated by moments of unease.
Gurney has explained that the play was initially meant to be a modern treatment of the classical tale of Phaedra
and her desire for a younger man, but turned into a summer romance, with Susan struggling with problems of self-esteem, artistic integrity, and sexual attraction to a man young enough to be her son. Reviewers tended to dismiss the play as superficial and far from Gurney's best, but it ran for six months on Broadway, due in part to the casting of the two Sues with the popular actors Mary Tyler Moore
and Lynn Redgrave
.
A. R. Gurney
A. R. Gurney is an American playwright and novelist. He is known for works including Love Letters, The Cocktail Hour, and The Dining Room. Gurney currently lives in both New York and Connecticut....
. It premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival
Williamstown Theatre Festival
The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a regional summer stock theatre on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, founded in 1954 by Williams College news director, Ralph Renzi, and drama program chairman, David C. Bryant. The theatre was conceived as a way to use the Adams...
, and later enjoyed a Broadway production at the Music Box Theatre
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
during the 1986-87 season.
The play requires four actors for its two characters, Susan Weatherhill, a repressed and uncertain woman in her late forties, and Jake, a young man who is the college roommate of Susan's son. Each of these characters is played simultaneously by two actors, who give expression to the tensions and ambivalence within the characters. The script refers to them as: "Susan," "Susan Too," "Jake," and "Jake Too." This technique of dividing a single character between two actors is not unique to Sweet Sue; it can also be found in Overtones by Alice Gerstenberg, Getting Out
Getting Out
Getting Out is a play by Marsha Norman.-Production history:Getting Out was presented by Lester Osterman, Lucille Lortel, and Marc Howard at the Theatre de Lys in New York City, on 15 May 1979. The cast was as follows:*Arlene - Susan Kingsley...
by Marsha Norman
Marsha Norman
Marsha Norman is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play night, Mother...
, and Passion
Passion (play)
Passion Play is a 1981 play by British playwright Peter Nichols dealing with adultery and betrayal. It was originally intended to open the Royal Shakespeare Company's new Barbican Theatre but was produced by them at the London's Aldwych Theatre in 1981...
by Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols FRSL is an English writer of stage plays, film and television.Born in Bristol, England, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and served his compulsory National Service as a clerk in Calcutta and later in the Combined Services Entertainments Unit in Singapore where he...
. Here, Gurney uses it to create an atmosphere of light romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
, punctuated by moments of unease.
Gurney has explained that the play was initially meant to be a modern treatment of the classical tale of Phaedra
Phaedra (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Phaedra is the daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus and the mother of Demophon of Athens and Acamas. Phaedra's name derives from the Greek word φαιδρός , which meant "bright"....
and her desire for a younger man, but turned into a summer romance, with Susan struggling with problems of self-esteem, artistic integrity, and sexual attraction to a man young enough to be her son. Reviewers tended to dismiss the play as superficial and far from Gurney's best, but it ran for six months on Broadway, due in part to the casting of the two Sues with the popular actors Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
and Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE was an English actress.A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
.