The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures
Encyclopedia
The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures is a 2009 play by American playwright Tony Kushner
. The world premiere was directed by Michael Greif
at the Guthrie Theater
in Minneapolis, opening on May 15, 2009 in previews and running through June 28. The title was inspired by George Bernard Shaw
's The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism
and Mary Baker Eddy
's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
.
and the Signature Theater Company co-produced a somewhat rewritten version of the play, which premiered Off-Broadway
at the Public Theater on March 23, 2011 in previews, with opening on May 5 and closing on June 12. The play was directed by Michael Greif
and featured Michael Cristofer
, Linda Emond
, Michael Esper and Stephen Spinella.
, only local critics were encouraged to review the play. National critics like Ben Brantley of The New York Times
, who was originally invited to review the play, were asked to wait for a future production. The reviews that have been published have been somewhat mixed, acknowledging that the play is in early stages, while praising many of its positive moments. The Star Tribune
ran a review stating "The lines sound great in the actors' mouths, their performances are excellent and Greif dances this show across the Guthrie stage with humor and muscular strokes. It is a very American work - a dense rush of ideas." While going on to observe that the "operatic cacophony at times skates precipitously close to the razor's edge of incoherence."
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...
. The world premiere was directed by Michael Greif
Michael Greif
Michael Greif is a stage director and producer, born in Brooklyn, New York. He has received three Tony Award nominations and won the Obie Award....
at the Guthrie Theater
Guthrie Theater
The Guthrie Theater is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the result of the desire of Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Oliver Rea, and Peter Zeisler to create a resident acting company that would produce and perform the classics in...
in Minneapolis, opening on May 15, 2009 in previews and running through June 28. The title was inspired by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism
The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism
The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism is a book written by the famous Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. This book employs socialist and Marxist thought. It was written in 1928, and later re-released as the first Pelican Book in 1937....
and Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of Christian Science , a Protestant American system of religious thought and practice religion adopted by the Church of Christ, Scientist, and others...
's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is the central text of the Christian Science religion. It was written by Mary Baker Eddy, inspired by studies of the Bible she undertook in 1867 following a healing experience....
.
Production history
The Public TheaterPublic Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village...
and the Signature Theater Company co-produced a somewhat rewritten version of the play, which premiered Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at the Public Theater on March 23, 2011 in previews, with opening on May 5 and closing on June 12. The play was directed by Michael Greif
Michael Greif
Michael Greif is a stage director and producer, born in Brooklyn, New York. He has received three Tony Award nominations and won the Obie Award....
and featured Michael Cristofer
Michael Cristofer
Michael Ivan Cristofer is an American playwright, filmmaker and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for The Shadow Box in 1977....
, Linda Emond
Linda Emond
Linda Emond is an American stage, film and television actress.-Training and career:Emond graduated with an MFA from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington in Seattle...
, Michael Esper and Stephen Spinella.
Plot
The play looks at the life of a 20th-century thinker, retired longshoreman Gus Marcantonio, who's feeling confused and defeated by the 21st century. In summer 2007, his sister, who has been staying with him for a year, invites Gus' three children (who in turn bring along spouses, ex-spouses, lovers and more) to a most unusual family reunion in their Brooklyn brownstone.Original Guthrie Theater cast
- Mark Benninghofen as Adam Butler
- Kathleen ChalfantKathleen Chalfant-Life and career:Chalfant was born as in San Francisco, California and raised in her parents' boarding house in Oakland. Her father, William Bishop, was an officer in the Coast Guard...
as Benedicta Immacolata Marcantonio (Bennie) - Sun Mee Chomet as Sooze Moon Marcantonio
- Michael CristoferMichael CristoferMichael Ivan Cristofer is an American playwright, filmmaker and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for The Shadow Box in 1977....
as Augusto Giuseppe Garibaldi Marcantonio (Gus) - Linda EmondLinda EmondLinda Emond is an American stage, film and television actress.-Training and career:Emond graduated with an MFA from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington in Seattle...
as Maria Teresa Marcantonio (M.T.) - Michael Esper as Eli Wolcott
- Charity Jones as Maeve Ludens
- Ron Menzel as Vito Marcantonio (V, Vic, Vinnie)
- Michelle O'Neill as Shelle O'Neill
- Michael Potts as Paul Pierce
- Stephen Spinella as Pier Luigi Marcantonio (Pill)
Early reception
According to an article in the St. Paul Pioneer PressSt. Paul Pioneer Press
The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the eastern metro region, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, along with western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota and Anoka County,...
, only local critics were encouraged to review the play. National critics like Ben Brantley of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, who was originally invited to review the play, were asked to wait for a future production. The reviews that have been published have been somewhat mixed, acknowledging that the play is in early stages, while praising many of its positive moments. The Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
ran a review stating "The lines sound great in the actors' mouths, their performances are excellent and Greif dances this show across the Guthrie stage with humor and muscular strokes. It is a very American work - a dense rush of ideas." While going on to observe that the "operatic cacophony at times skates precipitously close to the razor's edge of incoherence."