''Prairie du Chien'' is a play in one act by

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

. It was originally conceived of as a

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

and was premiered on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

in 1978. The work was first performed on stage in December 1985 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater,

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

in a double bill with Mamet's '' The Shawl'' with

Gregory Mosher Gregory Mosher (born 1949) is an American director and producer of stage productions at the Lincoln Center and Goodman Theatres, on and off-Broadway, at the Royal National Theatre, and in the West End. He is also a film director and television di ...

directing both plays. The cast included

Jerry Stiller Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American comedian and actor. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 20 ...

as the Storyteller,

Tom Signorelli Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

as the Card Dealer,

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is a two-time Emmy Award and four-time Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award winner, and has been nominated for an Acade ...

as the Gin Player,

Brad Hall William Bradford Hall (born March 21, 1958) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He appeared on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1982 to 1984. He was also known for manning the ''Weekend Update'' (then rebranded as ''Saturday Night News'') ...

as the Listener, Christopher Jennings as the Listener's son, and Paul Butler as the Porter. In 2011 the play was staged at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalston, houses two studio ...

in London in a double bill with Mamet's ''

Lakeboat ''Lakeboat'' is a semi-autobiographical play by David Mamet, written in 1970 and first produced in 1980 (revised version, with the help of John Dillion of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater). Plot As he would later do with ''Glengarry Glen Ros ...

''.

Plot

Setting: A train traveling from Chicago to Duluth at night. The play revolves around to separate pairs on a train who initially do not interact. The first is the Card Dealer and the Gin Player who are absorbed in their game of gin. The other is the Storyteller and the Listener; the latter of which is accompanied by his son who is fast asleep. The storyteller tells a tale of murder with supernatural undertones. Meanwhile, the Gin Player becomes convinced the Card Dealer is cheating, and a violent altercation ensues finally bringing both groups into the scene together. The play ends with a gun shot executed by the Gin Player.

References

Bibliography

* {{David Mamet 1978 plays Plays set on trains Plays by David Mamet One-act plays