Mr. Burns and Other Plays. Anne Washburn
verve. And everyone who has tackled the play since—it is not an easy show to make and the willingness and invention which so many have brought to it have been unspeakably moving.
Thank you Jon Vitti!
Special thanks to Mark Rucker.
Two of these plays were produced in Clubbed Thumb’s crucial Summerworks. A real debt of enthusiastic gratitude to Maria Striar for producing both plays as well as so many other great shows which have been ongoing sources of pleasure and inspiration and juice thoughout the years.
Soho Rep. has everything to do with how and why I have been able to make theater in New York. A very deep thanks to Sarah Benson and Daniel Aukin—and for the very great pleasure of working on 10 Out of 12. Additional thanks to Meropi Peponides and Cynthia Flowers as well as to director Les Waters, the cast, and the creative team—no play is easy to make, but this play was an unusual challenge to which everyone involved rose gloriously! Extra special thanks to Bray Poor and Sam Kusnetz for sound design ultra-heroics, and to Amanda Spooner for stage management ultra-heroics.
Very large thanks to Val Day for years of support and encouragement.
For inspiration, assistance, conspiracies and collaboration, special thanks to:
Craig Clinton, Anne de Mare, Emily DeVoti, Bret Fetzer, Ana and Nicolae Golici, Madeleine George, Rob Handel, Anne Kauffman, Todd London, Matt Maher, Johanna McKeon, Michelle Memran, New Dramatists, Ken Rus Schmoll, Jenny Schwartz, Maria Striar, Mark Subias, Les Waters, Barb Wiechmann, Mac Wellman, Gary Winter.
As well as to my family for their ongoing, and at times, improbable enthusiasm for my weird profession.
And, always, to Gordon Dahlquist.
A fond fond good-bye to the late and lamented Ohio Theatre, and to Walker Space.
CONTENTS
I Have Loved Strangers
The Small
Mr. Burns
10 Out of 12
PRODUCTION HISTORY
I Have Loved Strangers was developed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival (Roger Rees, Artistic Director) in the summer of 2005 in Williamstown, MA, as part of the leapFROG project with the Act 1 Company. It was directed by Johanna McKeon. The set design was by Lara Fabian, the costume design was by Luke Brown, the lighting design was by Driscoll Otto, original music was by Berke Marye, the sound design was by Dave Sanderson, the choreography was by Danny Mefford, and the fight choreography was by Ian Unterman. This play owes a great deal to the talent, commitment, interests, and spirit of the acting company and director. The cast was:
| JEREMIAH | Danny Deferrari |
| HANANIAH | Danny Mefford |
| THE NON-PROPHET | Greg Hildreth |
| RUTHIE | Sara Montgomery |
| EMILY | Xanthe Elbrick |
| PT | Randolph Adams |
| BARUCH | Jenny Gammello |
| THE KING | Lance Rubin |
| EBEDIAH | Lindsey Gordon |
| THE WHORE OF BABYLON | Lisa Birnbaum |
I Have Loved Strangers was originally produced by Clubbed Thumb (Maria Striar, Artistic Director) in Summerworks 2006 at the Ohio Theatre in New York City. It was directed by Johanna McKeon. The set design was by Michael Carnahan, the costume design was by Carol Ann Pelletier, the lighting design was by Driscoll Otto, the sound design was by Emily Wright, and the choreography was by Karinne Keithley; the production stage manager was Colleen Danaher. The cast was:
| JEREMIAH | T. Ryder Smith |
| HANANIAH | James Stanley |
| THE NON-PROPHET/THE KING | Jay Smith |
| RUTHIE | Jennifer Ruby Morris |
| EMILY | Laura Flanagan |
| PT | Jeff Biehl |
| BARUCH/EBEDIAH/THE WHORE OF BABYLON | Elliotte Crowell |
CHARACTERS
| JEREMIAH | a prophet |
| HANANIAH | a prophet |
| THE NON-PROPHET | not a prophet |
| RUTHIE | a wife |
| EMILY | several people |
| PT | master of the unexpected |
| BARUCH | the one who wroteitalldown |
| THE KING | the king |
| EBEDIAH | an assistant to the king |
| THE WHORE OF BABYLON | as described |
| THE CITIZENS OF NEW YORK | delineated by letters |
SETTING
Ancient New York.
NOTE
This play was initially developed with ten actors. Through double-casting the number of actors can be reduced to seven.
Included in the play are excerpts from the King James translation of the Book of Jeremiah, and material overheard on the streets of New York by the playwright and by members of Williamstown’s 2005 Act 1 Company.
This play is inspired by the Book of Jeremiah, and the activities of the Weather Underground. In understanding this play it is not necessary, or even helpful, to have read the book of Jeremiah, or to be familiar with the activities of the Weather Underground.
NOTES ON NOTATION
Words or phrases in square brackets are thought/implied, but not said.
Sentences which don’t end in periods are thoughts which have come to a close but not been entirely concluded or dropped.
A slash ( / ) indicates the moment when the next line begins.
Long sections of text with minimal punctuation are not an invitation to speed forward.
Withhold thy foot from being unshod
and thy throat from thirst:
but thou saidst: there is no hope,
no: for I have loved strangers,
and after them will I go.
—Jeremiah 2:25
CHAPTER 1
The citizens of Ancient New York, on the streets of Ancient New York. Prophets roam among them.
ALL (Sung, lightly):
(Be ye astonished oh ye heavens, be ye horribly afraid)
BARUCH: It was—already in the morning—it was a day of astounding light busting out everywhere: bright, bright! Not yet noon
D: What a fascinating sunshine; lustrous and pitiless (I must return my video soon)
F: And so we had this whole discussion. And then he emailed me.
C: Wireless technology is what I like to call bleed-over technology, it’s a commercial civilian application—
E: —over in the corner, where there’s that chunk of ivy . . .
F: It’s the classic tale—every man you speak to over thirty-five: “can’t eat like I used to”
A: Forget about it, I lost
F: I’m babbling right now—
A: I lost about forty-thirty, forty dollars
There is a change of light, or a shift in sound.
JEREMIAH:
A dry wind bears down
from the high rocks
a hot wind from hard places
He is heard, but not heard.
C: Well it was after an NA meeting, and we were all waiting to go out to dinner to celebrate one of the, well it was some sort of anniversary
B: See what I was telling you? It’s so cute!
A: It’s just a big dog.
B AND F: It’s so