Marilyn

NOBODY DIES ON FRIDAY

Performed in a special return engagement September 30 - October 10, 1998 at the Hasty Pudding Theatre

written by Robert Brustein
directed by David Wheeler
set design by J. Michael Griggs
costume design by Catherine Zuber
lighting design by John Ambrosone
sound design by Christopher Walker

Cast - Synopsis - Articles/Reviews - Photos - More_Photos

When Marilyn Monroe quarrelled with her husband or felt the need for private acting lessons, she would seek asylum at the house of her acting coach Lee Strasberg, founder of the Actor's Studio and guru of "the Method." This heartfelt new play charts the impact of Monroe on the Strasberg family during one day in their life. An examination of the poisoning effect of celebrity on human relationships, Nobody Dies on Friday dramatizes the emotional and intellectual tensions among the four Strasbergs, whose quarrels over art, theatre, and the purpose of acting threaten to tear the family apart.

This play was first produced in April-May, 1998 at the Hasty Pudding Theatre and appeared at the Singapore Festival of Arts in June.

 

Cast

Lee Strasberg,
Head of the Actor's Studio

... Alvin Epstein

Paula Strasberg,
née Miller, his wife, an acting coach

... Annette Miller

Paula Strasberg,
his daughter, an actress of 21

... Emma Roberts

John Strasberg,
his son, a young man of 18

... Robert Kropf

Marilyn Monroe, an actress

... Karen MacDonald

 

Synopsis

It is the morning after one of Lee Strasberg's famous annual parties, where the greatest stars of stage and screen mingle to celebrate the New Year. John Strasberg, Lee's son, has spent the night on the sofa, because Marilyn Monroe, his fatherŐs illustrious pupil, has taken over his bedroom.

The events of the party, and Marilyn's presence in the apartment, have a profound impact on the volatile Strasbergs. Lee, his wife Paula, and their two children John and Susan, are drawn into a whirl of accusation and self-recrimination that threatens to tear the family apart and leads to inevitable tragedy.

 

Articles, Reviews, and Production Photos

American Repertory Theatre
This page updated October 13, 1998
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