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The Time of Your Life

January 01, 1970

This article is about the play. For other uses, see Time of Your Life.

The Time of Your Life is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened on Broadway in 1939.

The Time of Your Life
First edition 1939
Written byWilliam Saroyan
Date premieredOctober 25, 1939
Place premieredBooth Theatre
New York City, New York, United States
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
SettingSan Francisco bar, October 1939

Characters edit

 
Eddie Dowling as Joe in the original Broadway production of The Time of Your Life (1939), which he also directed
Main characters
  • Joe, a loafer with money and a good heart
  • Tom, his admirer, disciple, errand boy, stooge and friend
  • Kitty Duval, a young streetwalker who longs for a better life
  • Nick, owner of Nick's Pacific Street Saloon, Restaurant and Entertainment Palace
  • Arab, an Eastern philosopher and harmonica-player
  • Kit Carson, a teller of tall tales who looks like an old Indian-fighter
  • McCarthy, an intelligent and well-read longshoreman
  • Krupp, his boyhood friend, a waterfront cop who hates his job but doesn't know what else to do instead
  • Harry, a natural born hoofer who wants to make people laugh but can't
  • Wesley, a young colored man who plays a mean and melancholy boogie-woogie piano
  • Willie, a marble-game maniac
  • Dudley, a young man in love
  • Elsie, a nurse, the one he loves
  • Lorene, an unattractive woman
  • Mary L., an unhappy woman of quality and great beauty
  • Blick, a heel
Minor characters
  • A Newsboy
  • A Drunkard
  • Nick's Ma
  • Sailor
  • Killer, a streetwalker
  • Killer's sidekick
  • Society Gentleman
  • Society Lady
  • Cops

Plot edit

The play is set in Nick's Pacific Street Saloon, Restaurant and Entertainment Palace, a run-down dive bar in San Francisco. Much of the action of the play centers around Joe, a young loafer with money who encourages each of the bar's patrons in their eccentricities. Joe helps out a would-be dancer, Harry, and sets up his flunky, Tom, with a prostitute, Kitty Duval. The bar is frequented by a number of colorful characters, including a frenetic young man in love, an old man who looks like Kit Carson, and a wealthy society couple.

Nick's saloon is based on the café operated by Izzy Gomez in San Francisco, which Saroyan frequented.[1]

Productions edit

The play was produced by the Theatre Guild. It premiered on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on October 25, 1939, closed on January 27, 1940, and re-opened at the Guild Theatre on January 29, 1940 to April 6, 1940 and September 23, 1940 to October 19, 1940, for 249 performances.[2] Direction was by Eddie Dowling, who also starred as Joe, and William Saroyan. The cast featured Julie Haydon (Kitty Duval), Celeste Holm (Mary L.), Charles De Sheim (Nick), and Gene Kelly (Harry).[2][3]

The Time of Your Life has been revived three times on Broadway: in 1940 with Dowling and Saroyan directing again, in 1969 directed by John Hirsch and in 1975 directed by Jack O'Brien.

The play was revived on March 17, 1972 at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles where Henry Fonda, Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Thompson, Gloria Grahame, Strother Martin. Jane Alexander, Richard X. Slattery and Pepper Martin were among the cast with Edwin Sherin directing.[4]

Adaptations edit

Main articles: The Time of Your Life (film) and The Time of Your Life (Playhouse 90)

The play was adapted for film in 1948 with H. C. Potter directing James Cagney as Joe and his sister, Jeanne Cagney as Kitty Duval. In 1958 an adaptation by A.J. Russell was presented in a live television broadcast directed by Tom Donovan with stars Jackie Gleason, Jack Klugman, and Dick York for the Playhouse 90 series.

Awards and nominations edit

Awards
  • 1939 New York Drama Critics' Circle Best Play
  • 1940 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

References edit

  1. ^ Landau and Heidi Coleman, Tina. "Time of Your Life Interview—Steppenwolf June 2002". Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  2. ^ a b "'The Time of Your Life' 1939" playbillvault.com, accessed December 22, 2015
  3. ^ Saroyan, William (1939). The Time of Your Life. New York City: Harcourt. p. 247. OCLC 34643576.
  4. ^ WorldCat. Worldcat.org. OCLC 611053954.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
time, your, life, this, article, about, play, other, uses, time, your, life, 1939, five, play, american, playwright, william, saroyan, play, first, drama, both, pulitzer, prize, drama, york, drama, critics, circle, award, play, opened, broadway, 1939, first, e. This article is about the play For other uses see Time of Your Life The Time of Your Life is a 1939 five act play by American playwright William Saroyan The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award The play opened on Broadway in 1939 The Time of Your LifeFirst edition 1939Written byWilliam SaroyanDate premieredOctober 25 1939Place premieredBooth TheatreNew York City New York United StatesOriginal languageEnglishGenreDramaSettingSan Francisco bar October 1939 Contents 1 Characters 2 Plot 3 Productions 4 Adaptations 5 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External linksCharacters edit nbsp Eddie Dowling as Joe in the original Broadway production of The Time of Your Life 1939 which he also directed Main characters Joe a loafer with money and a good heart Tom his admirer disciple errand boy stooge and friend Kitty Duval a young streetwalker who longs for a better life Nick owner of Nick s Pacific Street Saloon Restaurant and Entertainment Palace Arab an Eastern philosopher and harmonica player Kit Carson a teller of tall tales who looks like an old Indian fighter McCarthy an intelligent and well read longshoreman Krupp his boyhood friend a waterfront cop who hates his job but doesn t know what else to do instead Harry a natural born hoofer who wants to make people laugh but can t Wesley a young colored man who plays a mean and melancholy boogie woogie piano Willie a marble game maniac Dudley a young man in love Elsie a nurse the one he loves Lorene an unattractive woman Mary L an unhappy woman of quality and great beauty Blick a heel Minor characters A Newsboy A Drunkard Nick s Ma Sailor Killer a streetwalker Killer s sidekick Society Gentleman Society Lady CopsPlot editThe play is set in Nick s Pacific Street Saloon Restaurant and Entertainment Palace a run down dive bar in San Francisco Much of the action of the play centers around Joe a young loafer with money who encourages each of the bar s patrons in their eccentricities Joe helps out a would be dancer Harry and sets up his flunky Tom with a prostitute Kitty Duval The bar is frequented by a number of colorful characters including a frenetic young man in love an old man who looks like Kit Carson and a wealthy society couple Nick s saloon is based on the cafe operated by Izzy Gomez in San Francisco which Saroyan frequented 1 Productions editThe play was produced by the Theatre Guild It premiered on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on October 25 1939 closed on January 27 1940 and re opened at the Guild Theatre on January 29 1940 to April 6 1940 and September 23 1940 to October 19 1940 for 249 performances 2 Direction was by Eddie Dowling who also starred as Joe and William Saroyan The cast featured Julie Haydon Kitty Duval Celeste Holm Mary L Charles De Sheim Nick and Gene Kelly Harry 2 3 The Time of Your Life has been revived three times on Broadway in 1940 with Dowling and Saroyan directing again in 1969 directed by John Hirsch and in 1975 directed by Jack O Brien The play was revived on March 17 1972 at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles where Henry Fonda Richard Dreyfuss Ron Thompson Gloria Grahame Strother Martin Jane Alexander Richard X Slattery and Pepper Martin were among the cast with Edwin Sherin directing 4 Adaptations editMain articles The Time of Your Life film and The Time of Your Life Playhouse 90 The play was adapted for film in 1948 with H C Potter directing James Cagney as Joe and his sister Jeanne Cagney as Kitty Duval In 1958 an adaptation by A J Russell was presented in a live television broadcast directed by Tom Donovan with stars Jackie Gleason Jack Klugman and Dick York for the Playhouse 90 series Awards and nominations editAwards 1939 New York Drama Critics Circle Best Play 1940 Pulitzer Prize for DramaReferences edit Landau and Heidi Coleman Tina Time of Your Life Interview Steppenwolf June 2002 Retrieved 12 April 2012 a b The Time of Your Life 1939 playbillvault com accessed December 22 2015 Saroyan William 1939 The Time of Your Life New York City Harcourt p 247 OCLC 34643576 WorldCat Worldcat org OCLC 611053954 External links edit The Time of Your Life at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp The Time of Your Life at the Internet Off Broadway Database nbsp The Time of Your Life at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Time of Your Life amp oldid 1186447276, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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