Landscape of the Body
Encyclopedia
Landscape Of The Body is a two-act play by John Guare
, written in 1977.
, after having been sent to fetch her sister Rosalie, who has been acting in porn films. Incidentally, Rosalie gets hit by a bicycle and dies, so Betty takes Rosalie's place in life: she takes her job as both a worker for a Honeymoon Agency and a porn actress, dates Rosalie's Cuban boyfriend Raulito, and lives in New York with Bert. Bert, with his group of friends (Donny, Margie and Joanne) become hoodlums to some extent, as he and Donny lure men into their house and hit them over the head with a wrench so they can steal their watches. A childhood friend, Durwood Peach, confronts Betty after years of non-communication, claiming that his doctor said it would be best for him to propose to Betty, being that she has been the true love of his life his whole life. She goes with him down south, just to find that Durwood's parents just needed Durwood to return, and that she is not wanted. She goes back up to New York to find that Bert and Raulito both have been killed (the latter killed as a result of an inadvertent bank-robbery prank pulled by Bert). The audience finds that the whole play is the previous happenings of the first scene of the play.
at the Academy Festival Theatre, in Lake Forest
, Illinois
, in July, 1977. It was directed by John Pasquin
, and Shirley Knight
starred as Betty, F. Murray Abraham
as Holahan, Paul McCrane
as Bert, Rex Robbins as Durwood Peach, Jay O. Sanders as the Bike Messenger/Dope King/Bank Teller, Bonnie Deroski as Margie, Alexa Kenin as Joanne, Anthony Marciona
as Donny, Richard Bauer as Raulito, and Peg Murray
as Rosalie.
The show was also presented in New York City
, by Joseph Papp
, at the Public Theatre, on October 12, 1977. The lead roles were played by the same actors with Remak Ramsay as Durwood Peach, and Tom Klunis as Bike Messenger/Dope King/Bank Teller.
John Guare
John Guare is an American playwright. He is best known as the author of The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and Landscape of the Body...
, written in 1977.
Synopsis
The play is episodic and non-linear, as it travels back and forth in time. The plot centers around a woman named Betty, whose son, Bert, was recently murdered and decapitated in lower Manhattan. The first and last scenes are the same. They take place on a boat, with Betty, who throws bottles filled with notes overboard, and an absurdly disguised Detective Holahan. Initially, Holahan accuses Betty of killing her son, but Betty insists this is not true. The audience later finds out, indeed, this is not true, as it is revealed that Bert's friend, Donny, killed him. Betty, whose past is dramatized in chunks, came to New York from Bangor, MaineBangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
, after having been sent to fetch her sister Rosalie, who has been acting in porn films. Incidentally, Rosalie gets hit by a bicycle and dies, so Betty takes Rosalie's place in life: she takes her job as both a worker for a Honeymoon Agency and a porn actress, dates Rosalie's Cuban boyfriend Raulito, and lives in New York with Bert. Bert, with his group of friends (Donny, Margie and Joanne) become hoodlums to some extent, as he and Donny lure men into their house and hit them over the head with a wrench so they can steal their watches. A childhood friend, Durwood Peach, confronts Betty after years of non-communication, claiming that his doctor said it would be best for him to propose to Betty, being that she has been the true love of his life his whole life. She goes with him down south, just to find that Durwood's parents just needed Durwood to return, and that she is not wanted. She goes back up to New York to find that Bert and Raulito both have been killed (the latter killed as a result of an inadvertent bank-robbery prank pulled by Bert). The audience finds that the whole play is the previous happenings of the first scene of the play.
Performance History
Landscape Of The Body was first produced by William GardnerWilliam Gardner
William Gardner VC DCM was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
at the Academy Festival Theatre, in Lake Forest
Lake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, in July, 1977. It was directed by John Pasquin
John Pasquin
John Pasquin is a American director of film, television and theatre.-Career:An alum of Beloit College and Carnegie Mellon University, Pasquin began directing Broadway theatre plays in the early 1980s. He moved on to television directing episodes of the series Family Ties, Growing Pains, Alice,...
, and Shirley Knight
Shirley Knight
Shirley Enola Knight is an American stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, in 1960 for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and in 1962 for Sweet Bird of Youth....
starred as Betty, F. Murray Abraham
F. Murray Abraham
Fahrid Murray Abraham is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men and Scarface...
as Holahan, Paul McCrane
Paul McCrane
Paul David McCrane is an American film, television and theatre actor, as well as an occasional television director. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Montgomery MacNeil in the 1980 film Fame and Dr. Robert Romano on the NBC medical drama television series ER.-Early life:McCrane was...
as Bert, Rex Robbins as Durwood Peach, Jay O. Sanders as the Bike Messenger/Dope King/Bank Teller, Bonnie Deroski as Margie, Alexa Kenin as Joanne, Anthony Marciona
Anthony Marciona
Anthony Marciona is an American film, Broadway and television actor, singer and dancer from New York City. Marciona began his acting career at the age of five playing Kirk Douglas' godson in The Brotherhood.-Biography:...
as Donny, Richard Bauer as Raulito, and Peg Murray
Peg Murray
Margaret L. "Peg" Murray is an American actress of stage, musical theatre and television.Murray won a Tony Award for her performance as the vile "Fraulein Kost" in the original production of Cabaret, directed by Hal Prince...
as Rosalie.
The show was also presented in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, by Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
, at the Public Theatre, on October 12, 1977. The lead roles were played by the same actors with Remak Ramsay as Durwood Peach, and Tom Klunis as Bike Messenger/Dope King/Bank Teller.