The Vietnamization of New Jersey
Encyclopedia
The Vietnamization of New Jersey (subtitled "A American Tragedy" ) is a 1976 play written by American playwright Christopher Durang
.
The play was written on commission from the Yale Repertory Theatre
as a parody of the Tony Award
-winning 1971 David Rabe play Sticks and Bones
. The play also sends up the 1950s American TV series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
(as did Sticks and Bones), with characters named "Ozzie Ann", "Harry" and "Et" serving as the mother, father and son of the play's central family. The play's title refers to the Richard Nixon
administration's "Vietnamization
" policy of training and supporting the South Vietnamese military while reducing the presence of U.S. troops in Vietnam.
. The family maid, Hazel (scripted by Durang to be played by an African-American man) argues with the family and throws the contents of the kitchen table to the floor. Meanwhile, Et eats cereal from his pants, which greatly disturbs his mother.
David returns, blind and traumatized, from Vietnam, accompanied by his new Vietnamese wife, Liat, a former prostitute who is also blind. In order to provide "reparations
" for Liat and force his family to empathize with her, David demands that they allow Liat to "vote" on whether to unite North and South Vietnam, and turn out the lights and let David and Liat fire guns and break tableware. Eventually Liat reveals that she is not Vietnamese at all but is instead Irish, and from Schenectady, New York
, which sends David into a depression.
As the play continues into 1974, father Harry also falls into a depression – prompted by his job loss and the foreclosure of the walls of the house – and he commits suicide. He is immediately replaced by his drill sergeant-like brother Larry, who brings a boot camp atmosphere to the home, demanding obedience and verbally abusing David, whom he holds in contempt for his liberal philosophies. Eventually David succumbs to the abuse and commits suicide, while Ozzie Ann, Hazel and Liat (now using her real name, "Maureen O'Hara") commiserate.
Near the end of the play, a priest appears to give comfort to the family, explaining why God allows wars: "God looks down from heaven and he sees a poor country with too many people and he says to himself, 'Oh dear, think how much poverty and degradation these people are going to face because there are so many of them,' and then he whispers into the President's ear at night, and then in the morning there is a war." The priest also explains, to the family's discomfort, that homosexuality is another of God's ways of keeping the population in check.
in New Haven, Connecticut
. This production was directed by Walt Jones, and featured Kate McGregor-Stewart as Ozzie Ann, Charles Levin as Harry/Larry, Richard Bey
as David, and Ben Halley, Jr. as Hazel, with Stephen Rowe, Anne Louise Hoffmann and Jeremy Geidt.
Vietnamization made its off-Broadway premiere in New York City
on January 2007, at the Alchemy Theatre Company of Manhattan. This production was directed by Robert Saxner, and featured Blanche Baker
as Ozzie Ann, Frank Deal
as Harry/Larry, and Corey Sullivan as David, with Nick Westrate, James Duane Polk, Susan Gross and Michael Cyril Creighton.
Vietnamization has also been performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, Pittsburgh and, according to Durang, Russia
, which he speculates is due to the play's title.
, which simultaneously promulgates and parodies anti-CIA politics." Williams cites the David Rabe plays The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel
(1972) and Streamers
(1976) as other sources of inspiration for Vietnamization.
Variety
also noted the parallels to the Iraq War in its review of the 2007 Alchemy revival. Nonetheless, reviewer Marilyn Stasio found the play to be dated, writing that the play was not well-suited to being revisited outside its 1970s context. Stasio credits the Thornton Wilder
plays Our Town
and The Skin of Our Teeth
as inspirations with the militant Hazel being based more closely on Skin of Our Teeth Sabina than her 1960s TV namesake
, and the play itself being more closely inspired by Saturday Night Live
-style 1970s sketch comedy than any theatrical source.
The New York Times
described the 2007 Alchemy revival as "a bracingly entertaining production", praising the play's "prescience" as a prototype for late-20th-century American sitcoms such as Married... with Children
. Reviewer Ginia Bellafante singled out director Saxner's quick pacing and James Duane Polk's "terrifically droll performance" as Hazel for praise.
Christopher Durang
Christopher Ferdinand Durang is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s.- Life :...
.
The play was written on commission from the Yale Repertory Theatre
Yale Repertory Theatre
The Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of the Yale School of Drama in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented students. In the process it has become one of the...
as a parody of the 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...
-winning 1971 David Rabe play Sticks and Bones
Sticks and Bones
Sticks and Bones is a 1971 play by David Rabe. The black comedy focuses on David, a blind Vietnam War veteran who finds himself unable to come to terms with his actions on the battlefield and alienated from his family because they neither can accept his disability nor understand his wartime...
. The play also sends up the 1950s American TV series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...
(as did Sticks and Bones), with characters named "Ozzie Ann", "Harry" and "Et" serving as the mother, father and son of the play's central family. The play's title refers to the Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
administration's "Vietnamization
Vietnamization
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard M. Nixon administration during the Vietnam War, as a result of the Viet Cong's Tet Offensive, to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnam's forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S....
" policy of training and supporting the South Vietnamese military while reducing the presence of U.S. troops in Vietnam.
Plot
Act I begins in the kitchen of a middle-class Piscataway, New Jersey home where mother Ozzie Ann (a "cheerful ignoramus"), mild-mannered but ineffectual father Harry and "perpetually horny and hungry" teenaged son Et await the return of older brother David, who is fighting in the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The family maid, Hazel (scripted by Durang to be played by an African-American man) argues with the family and throws the contents of the kitchen table to the floor. Meanwhile, Et eats cereal from his pants, which greatly disturbs his mother.
David returns, blind and traumatized, from Vietnam, accompanied by his new Vietnamese wife, Liat, a former prostitute who is also blind. In order to provide "reparations
War reparations
War reparations are payments intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.- History :...
" for Liat and force his family to empathize with her, David demands that they allow Liat to "vote" on whether to unite North and South Vietnam, and turn out the lights and let David and Liat fire guns and break tableware. Eventually Liat reveals that she is not Vietnamese at all but is instead Irish, and from Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, which sends David into a depression.
As the play continues into 1974, father Harry also falls into a depression – prompted by his job loss and the foreclosure of the walls of the house – and he commits suicide. He is immediately replaced by his drill sergeant-like brother Larry, who brings a boot camp atmosphere to the home, demanding obedience and verbally abusing David, whom he holds in contempt for his liberal philosophies. Eventually David succumbs to the abuse and commits suicide, while Ozzie Ann, Hazel and Liat (now using her real name, "Maureen O'Hara") commiserate.
Near the end of the play, a priest appears to give comfort to the family, explaining why God allows wars: "God looks down from heaven and he sees a poor country with too many people and he says to himself, 'Oh dear, think how much poverty and degradation these people are going to face because there are so many of them,' and then he whispers into the President's ear at night, and then in the morning there is a war." The priest also explains, to the family's discomfort, that homosexuality is another of God's ways of keeping the population in check.
Productions
The play was first performed on January 28, 1977, at the Yale Repertory TheatreYale Repertory Theatre
The Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of the Yale School of Drama in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented students. In the process it has become one of the...
in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
. This production was directed by Walt Jones, and featured Kate McGregor-Stewart as Ozzie Ann, Charles Levin as Harry/Larry, Richard Bey
Richard Bey
Richard Wayne Bey is an American talk show host. He was popular in the 1990s as host of The Richard Bey Show, a daytime talk show containing ordinary people's personal stories incorporated into entertaining competitive games....
as David, and Ben Halley, Jr. as Hazel, with Stephen Rowe, Anne Louise Hoffmann and Jeremy Geidt.
Vietnamization made its off-Broadway premiere 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...
on January 2007, at the Alchemy Theatre Company of Manhattan. This production was directed by Robert Saxner, and featured Blanche Baker
Blanche Baker
-Personal life:Born Blanche Garfein in New York City, she is the daughter of actress Carroll Baker and director Jack Garfein. She attended Wellesley College from 1974 until 1976.-Career:...
as Ozzie Ann, Frank Deal
Frank Deal
Frank Deal is an American actor and acting teacher based in New York City. He has a successful career in television, theatre, and film, as well as steady teaching jobs at Juilliard and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.-Career:...
as Harry/Larry, and Corey Sullivan as David, with Nick Westrate, James Duane Polk, Susan Gross and Michael Cyril Creighton.
Vietnamization has also been performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Pittsburgh and, according to Durang, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, which he speculates is due to the play's title.
Reception
In reviewing a 2006 performance of the play, Chicago Reader reviewer Albert Williams described it as a "dark farce" with themes that "ring loud and clear today" as parallels to America's involvement in Iraq, including "American jingoism [and] racial injustice". Williams commended Durang's "take-no-prisoners approach [which] gives the play a brash, youthful quality reminiscent of Fox's American Dad!American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, which simultaneously promulgates and parodies anti-CIA politics." Williams cites the David Rabe plays The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel
The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel
The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel is a play by David Rabe.Rabe's first play in his Vietnam War trilogy that continued with Sticks and Bones and Streamers, its story is bracketed by scenes depicting the death of the emotionally stunted and mentally disturbed title character, who mindlessly grabs at...
(1972) and Streamers
Streamers
Streamers is a play by David Rabe. After premiering at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut in 1975, the production transferred to Broadway, opening on April 21, 1976 at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, where it ran for 478 performances...
(1976) as other sources of inspiration for Vietnamization.
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
also noted the parallels to the Iraq War in its review of the 2007 Alchemy revival. Nonetheless, reviewer Marilyn Stasio found the play to be dated, writing that the play was not well-suited to being revisited outside its 1970s context. Stasio credits the Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...
plays Our Town
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...
and The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth is a play by Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, 1942...
as inspirations with the militant Hazel being based more closely on Skin of Our Teeth Sabina than her 1960s TV namesake
Hazel (TV series)
Hazel is a Screen Gems television series about a fictional live-in maid named Hazel Burke and her employers, the Baxters. The five-season, 154-episode series aired in primetime from September 1961 until April 1966...
, and the play itself being more closely inspired by Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
-style 1970s sketch comedy than any theatrical source.
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...
described the 2007 Alchemy revival as "a bracingly entertaining production", praising the play's "prescience" as a prototype for late-20th-century American sitcoms such as Married... with Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
. Reviewer Ginia Bellafante singled out director Saxner's quick pacing and James Duane Polk's "terrifically droll performance" as Hazel for praise.