''America Hurrah'' is a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

by Jean-Claude van Itallie, which premiered at the Pocket Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on November 7, 1966. Directed by

Jacques Levy Jacques Levy (July 29, 1935 – September 30, 2004) was an American songwriter, theatre director and clinical psychologist. Early life and education Levy was born in New York City in 1935 and graduated from the City College of New York in 19 ...

and Joseph Chaikin, the play was an early expression of the burgeoning

1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is oft ...

, expressing discontent with American

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

and involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. ''America Hurrah'' consists of three

one-act play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...

s: "Interview"; "TV"; and "Motel".

Production history

New York City

Two of the one-acts were first presented at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in 1964 and 1965. ''Interview'' was directed by Peter Feldman, and ''Motel'' was directed by Michael Kahn. ''Interview'' had begun as an exercise at Chaikin's Open Theater. When the trilogy premiered in 1966, ''Interview'' was directed by Chaikin, and ''TV'' and ''Motel'' were directed by Levy. Stephanie Sills produced the trilogy, and

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

was composed by Marianne de Pury and Fred Cantor. Ken Glickfeld was the

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

technical director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. They are responsible for overseeing and coordinating all of the technical aspect ...

, and lighting designer, and Tania Leontov designed the costumes with assistance from Beckie Cunningham. The cast included Cynthia Harris, Conard Fowkes, James Barbosa, Ronnie Gilbert, Brenda Smiley, Henry Calvert, Bill Macy, and Joyce Aaron. ''Motel'' featured actors wearing large doll heads constructed by Robert Wilson. The Pocket Theatre production closed on May 5, 1968, after 634 performances.

Australia

The show was performed in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

by the New Theatre in Sydney in 1968, causing police action to be taken against the acting company. After 13 performances, ''Motel'', in which two big dolls scrawl obscenities on the walls of a motel room, was banned on moral grounds by the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Chief Secretary. While the production continued, with the banned segment replaced by a satire about the ban, a committee called "Friends of America Hurrah" prepared plans for a one-night performance of the original version. This played to a full house in the Teachers Federation auditorium while thousands of people waited outside on Sussex Street, hoping to get in. Audience excitement was high at the end of ''Motel'', when police attempted to arrest the two heavily disguised dolls in the cast as they ran for the auditorium door. The actors appeared to vanish, but protected by fellow cast members, they actually shed their costumes and returned to mingle with other cast members who were trying to stop the police from tearing apart the set to take as evidence. There were no prosecutions, and the confiscated pieces of the set were eventually returned. The cast at the New Theatre in Sydney included Maggie Kirkpatrick, John Hargreaves, and Carole Skinner.

Publication

''America Hurrah'' was first published by Coward-McCann in the United States and by

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

in Great Britain. It was subsequently published in

mass market paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...

, then by

Grove Press Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United S ...

.''America Hurrah and Other Plays'' ( Grove/Atlantic, 2001). Acting edition: Dramatists Play Service.

Awards

* 1966–1967

Outer Critics Circle Award 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 news ...

for Best Production * 1966–1967

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

References

External links

* * {{OL work, id=OL15158732W 1966 plays American plays Off-Broadway plays