''The Adding Machine'' is a 1923
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
Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice (born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein, September 28, 1892 – May 8, 1967) was an American playwright. He is best known for his plays '' The Adding Machine'' (1923) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of New York tenement life, '' Street Sce ...
; it has been called "... a landmark of American
Expressionism
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, reflecting the growing interest in this highly subjective and nonrealistic form of modern drama."
Plot
The author of this play takes us through Mr. Zero’s trial, execution, excursion, and arrest going into the afterlife. During the whole series of this episodic journey, Mr. Zero is surprisingly oblivious to his deepest needs, wants, and desires. The story focuses on Mr. Zero, an accountant at a large, faceless company. After 25 years at his job, he discovers that he will be replaced by an adding machine. In anger and pain, he snaps and kills his boss. Mr. Zero is then tried for murder, found guilty, and hanged. He wakes up in a heaven-like setting known as the "
Elysian Fields." Mr. Zero meets a man named Shrdlu, then begins to operate an adding machine until Lieutenant Charles, the boss of the Elysian Fields, comes to tell Zero that he is a waste of space and his soul is going to be sent back to Earth to be reused. The play ends with Zero following a very attractive girl named Hope off-stage.
Success
Though the play has been critically regarded as a classic, it ran for just two months on Broadway for 72 performances in 1923. It has never been revived.
The play was an influence on the
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...
play ''
Stairs to the Roof''. Years later, it was adapted into a
1969 film of the same name, written and directed by Jerome Epstein and starring
Milo O'Shea
Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ''Staircase'' (1968) and '' Mass Appeal'' (1982).
Early life
O'Shea was born and ...
,
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, Actor, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric stage persona, Self-deprecation, se ...
,
Billie Whitelaw and
Sydney Chaplin.
In 1989, Chicago's Hystopolis Productions adapted Rice's play for puppets; the production was hailed for its visual design. In September 1992, this production went on to be featured at the First International Festival of Puppet Theater presented at
The Public Theater
The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...
in New York which was a co-production of
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classi ...
and the
Jim Henson Foundation. ''The Adding Machine'' remains part of Hystopolis' professional repertoire.
Musical adaptation
In 2007, the play was adapted into a musical entitled ''
Adding Machine
An adding machine is a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations. Consequently, the earliest adding machines were often designed to read in particular currencies. Adding machines were ubiquitous office ...
'' with a score by Joshua Schmidt and a book by Jason Loewith and Schmidt. The musical debuted in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
at the Next Theatre Company in 2007. It then opened
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at the Minetta Lane Theatre on February 25, 2008, after previews that started on February 8. In September 2016 the musical was produced at the Finborough Theatre in London England.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adding Machine, The
1923 plays
Plays by Elmer Rice
Broadway plays
Expressionist plays