And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little
Encyclopedia
And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 play written by Paul Zindel
Paul Zindel
Paul Zindel Jr. was an American playwright, author, and educator.-Early years:Zindel was born in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York to Paul Zindel,Sr., a policeman, and Beatrice Frank, a nurse; his sister, Betty Hagen, was a year and a half older than he. Paul Zindel, Sr...

 and published by Dramatists Play Service
Dramatists Play Service
Established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild and the Society for Authors' Representatives, Dramatists Play Service, Inc. is a theatrical publishing and licensing house...

.
The story surrounds three sisters: Catherine, an alcoholic; Anna, a hypochondriac and Ceil, an attention-starved socialite.

History

Paul Zindel
Paul Zindel
Paul Zindel Jr. was an American playwright, author, and educator.-Early years:Zindel was born in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York to Paul Zindel,Sr., a policeman, and Beatrice Frank, a nurse; his sister, Betty Hagen, was a year and a half older than he. Paul Zindel, Sr...

 wrote this play in the late 1960s. The show was first produced in 1967 in Los Angeles, but was not published until 1971 when the Dramatists Play Service
Dramatists Play Service
Established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild and the Society for Authors' Representatives, Dramatists Play Service, Inc. is a theatrical publishing and licensing house...

 in New York picked it up. On February 2, 1971, And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little made its Broadway debut. It ran for a total of 108 performances and was directed by Melvin Bernhardt. The original Broadway Cast included Julie Harris
Julie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...

 as Anna Reardon, Estelle Parsons
Estelle Parsons
Estelle Margaret Parsons is an American theatre, film and television actress and occasional theatrical director.After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program Today and made her stage debut in 1961...

 as Catherine Reardon, Rae Allen
Rae Allen
Rae Allen is an American stage, film and television actress.-Biography:Allen was born as Raffaella Julia Theresa Abruzzo in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Julia and Joseph Abruzzo...

 as Fleur Stein, Bill Macy
Bill Macy
Bill Macy is an American television and stage actor.Macy was born in Revere, Massachusetts, to Mollie and Michael Garber, a manufacturer...

 as Bob Stein, Nancy Marchand
Nancy Marchand
Nancy Marchand was an American actress, whose career encompassed both stage and screen. She appeared in various theatre productions throughout the early 1950s, before being offered roles on film and television....

 as Ceil Adams, Paul Lieber
Paul Lieber
Paul Lieber is an American stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for playing Eric Dorsey in the television series Barney Miller in 1980.He also appeared in other television series including:* Californication* St...

 (in his Broadway debut)as Delivery Boy and Virginia Payne
Virginia Payne
Virginia Payne was an American radio actress, best known for her 27-year role as Ma Perkins. In 1939, in addition to Ma Perkins, she took over the role of Mrs...

 as Mrs. Pentrano. Estelle Parsons was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 for her role as Catherine Reardon and Rae Allen won for her portrayal of Fleur Stien.

Plot

Paul Zindel's dark comedy explores the relationship between three very different sisters after the death of their mother in the early 1960s. Having been abandoned by their father in early childhood, Catherine, Ceil and Anna Reardon were raised in a small apartment by their mother. The three ladies are educated and become members of their local school community. Anna Reardon becomes a chemistry teacher, Catherine Reardon the assistant principal and Ceil (Reardon) Adams is the superintendent of schools.

The scene of the play is in the Reardon family apartment and the story begins after sisters Catherine and Anna Reardon are living following the death of their mother. Several months of caring for her sick mother only to see her pass has left Anna suffering a severe nervous breakdown. She has become a complete hypocondriac, obsessed with animals and rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...

. She is also on an extended break from school for allegedly molesting a male student. Catherine's reaction to both her mother's death and her sister's ailment has been to drink a little. She is consistently drunk throughout the show. Ceil did not have any sort of contact with the family while her mother was suffering, but rather ran off to marry her sister Catherine's boyfriend, Edward Adams (who never appears on stage).

Ceil has come to the Reardon home to coax Catherine into having Anna committed. Neither Anna nor Catherine is interested in anything their sister has to say. Half-way through dinner, which consists of zucchini and kiwi, Fleur Stein invades the family conversation. Fleur works in guidance at Anna and Catherine's school, and wishes to butter up Mrs. Adams in attempt to gain a better salary. She is very colorful and somewhat obnoxious, which her husband, Bob makes perfectly clear once he arrives.

After a humorous, but often bitter evening, Ceil demands that Anna be locked up. Catherine refuses this demand, and Ceil essentially abandons the two women to take care of each other.

Performances

While not widely known outside of theater aficionados, And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little has been produced across the country at least once a year since its Broadway debut. Most recently, it can be seen in South Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 performed by the Actor's Playhouse. Soon after in a small town of norwell Ma, lead by soon to be great actor www.facebook.com/ty.sheedy. He grew to know and feel like he finally belonged to something good, something fun, and something new. He felt how he did before getting hit while walking by the snow plow, how he did when he use to be a star football player and a great athlete. God took away his athletic ability in return opened a door to acting. November 2007 it was staged in Saint Louis, Missouri by Stray Dog Theatre as well as Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. In May 2010, it will be performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

by Ocelot on a Leash Theater Company.

And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little was Steppenwolf Theatre Group's first production.
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