''Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright'' is a dramatic

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

written by American playwright

Peter Feibleman Peter Feibleman (August 1, 1930August 23, 2015) was an American author and screenwriter. He won critical acclaim for his novels and received multiple awards for his writings, including a Guggenheim Award in 1960 and a Golden Pen Award in 1983. He ...

. The play premiered on Broadway at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the It ...

in 1962.

Claudia McNeil Claudia Mae McNeil (August 13, 1917 – November 25, 1993) was an American actress known for premiering the role of matriarch Lena Younger in both the stage and screen productions of ''A Raisin in the Sun''. She later appeared in a 1981 produ ...

was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a Broad ...

for her performance in the production. Critically acclaimed, the play closed after only 33 performances, which was blamed on the

1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike The 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike was a strike action within the newspaper industry of New York City which ran from December 8, 1962 until March 31, 1963, lasting for a total of 114 days. Besides protesting low wages, the unions wer ...

. The play is a stage adaptation of Feibleman's novel ''A Place Without Light'', first published in 1958. The title is taken from the poem by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

first published in 1794, titled '' The Tyger''.

Characters

*Mama Morris: the family matriarch, a widow *Clarence Morris: her son, aged 23 *Dan Morris: her younger son, aged 19 *Lucille Morris: her daughter, aged 18 *Adelaide Smith: a friend of the family, aged 23 *Sittre Morris: uncle, and deacon of the Riverview Baptist Church, late forties *Celeste Chipley: the girl who lives next door, aged 19 *Dewey Chipley: Celeste's brother, aged 21 *Mr. Keres: a white man, late thirties *Sergeant Jameson: a soldier *First Neighbor : neighbor of the Morris family *Second Neighbor : neighbor of the Morris family

Original casts

Production history

The show opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on December 22, 1962, and closed on January 19, 1963, after 33 performances. The play was nominated for one

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Claudia McNeil for Best Lead Actress in a Play. The show was directed by

Joshua Logan Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American theatre and film director, playwright and screenwriter, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical '' South Pacific'' and was involved in writing ...

and costumes were designed by Lucinda Ballard. Ruth Attaway and

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...

were understudies in the production. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, the play was "fatally wounded by the newspaper strike in New York", which played a major role in the show closing early despite critical acclaim. The play was published in book form in 1963 following the Broadway production.'' In 2012, the play was performed in Los Angeles by the

Stella Adler Studio of Acting The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.

References

External links

* {{IBDB title, 2973 American plays Broadway plays 1962 plays African-American plays Plays set in New Orleans