''And Things That Go Bump in the Night'' is a play by

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," ...

. It premiered on February 4, 1964, at the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and 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 1965 for 16 performances. McNally was awarded a

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

grant to write this play.

Background

McNally received a Rockefeller Foundation grant,Harbin, Billy J.; Marra, Kim and Schanke, Robert A.
"McNally, Terrence"
''The Gay and Lesbian Theatrical Legacy: A Biographical Dictionary of Major Figures in American Stage History in the Pre-Stonewall Era'' (books.google.com), University of Michigan Press, 2005, , p. 273 and wrote ''And Things That Go Bump in the Night''. McNally had the understanding that the play would receive a public performance at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. However, the University of Minnesota said that, in a misunderstanding, "the project did not necessarily involve production or public performance" according to Donald Smith, Assistant Vice President for Academic Administration. McNally planned on presenting the play for "himself and the director,

Lawrence Kornfeld Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

" from February 3 through February 6. The University of Minnesota did finally permit the production to take place with an invited audience in February 1964.

Production

''And Things That Go Bump in the Night'' premiered on Broadway on April 26, 1965, 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 ...

. Directed by

Michael Cacoyannis Michael Cacoyannis ( el, Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης, ''Michalis Kakogiannis''; 11 June 1922 – 25 July 2011), sometimes credited as Michael Yannis, was a Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot theatre and film director, writer, produce ...

, the cast starred

Susan Anspach Susan Florence Anspach (; November 23, 1942 – April 2, 2018) was an American stage, film and television actress, who was best known for her roles in films during the 1970s and 1980s such as ''Five Easy Pieces'' (1970), '' Play It Again, Sa ...

(Lakme),

Robert Drivas Robert Drivas (born Robert Choromokos; November 21, 1935 – June 29, 1986) was an American actor and threatre director. Life and early career Drivas was born Robert Choromokos in Coral Gables, Florida, the son of Hariklia (née Cunningham-W ...

(Sigfrid),

Eileen Heckart Anna Eileen Heckart ( Herbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years. Early life Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert in Columbus, Ohio. The daughter of Esther (), w ...

(Ruby),

Clifton James George Clifton James (May 29, 1920 – April 15, 2017) was an American actor known for roles as a prison floorwalker in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), Sheriff J.W. Pepper alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond films '' Live and Let Die'' (197 ...

(Fa), Ferdi Hoffman (Grandfa) and

Marco St. John Marco St. John (born Marco John Figueroa, Jr.; May 7, 1939) is an American actor who has appeared in films and television programs. He is known for his role as the horny truck driver in the 1991 film '' Thelma & Louise'' and for playing Sheriff ...

(Clarence). The play closed on May 8, 1965, after 16 performances and six previews.

Critical reception

''And Things That Go Bump in the Night'' was the first McNally play to be produced at a legitimate theater. The Broadway production opened to generally negative reviews. One review said, "It would have been better if Terrence McNally's parents smothered him in his cradle." McNally recalls, "Actually, two reviews of my first play mentioned my death." Nevertheless, the production ran to sold-out houses for three weeks after the producer lowered the price of tickets to one and two dollars. Before it was over twenty thousand people saw the play in New York. Moreover, the play garnered enough favorable notice for McNally to receive a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 1966. A second review in the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' was generally favorable, as quoted in the Samuel French acting edition: "…the most impressive new American play I have seen this season…" by the Village Voice.

Plot summary

The play depicts a vaguely apocalyptic and futuristic family transformed by fear, living in their basement, and treating each other with suspicion, threats, and contempt. Family loyalty has been destroyed and everyone engages in dark and disturbing games. The mother Ruby, a faded opera diva, is egotistical and manipulative. Thirteen-year-old daughter Lakme engages in malicious sibling rivalry with her brother Sigfrid, charming but unfeeling. The father Fa spends most of his time sleeping in his chair ignoring the chaos around him. Into this mix a friend named Clarence visits for the evening. Since Clarence is hopeful and idealistic, the family feels compelled to destroy him. Clarence fights a losing battle against the culture of fear surrounding him aided sometimes by crotchety Grandfa who remembers when the family was not ruled by fear." 'Bump in the Night' at the Bug Theatre shows effect of culture of fear"
''North Denver Tribune'', February 28, 2012

References

External links