Mary Page Marlowe (TCG Edition). Tracy Letts

      

      BOOKS BY TRACY LETTS AVAILABLE FROM TCG

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      Mary Page Marlowe is copyright © 2016 by Tracy Letts

      Mary Page Marlowe is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc.,

      520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4156

      All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

      Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights, including but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this book by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the author’s representative: Ron Gwiazda, Abrams Artists Agency, 275 Seventh Avenue, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10001, [phone].

      Joan Didion, “On Keeping a Notebook,” copyright © 1961, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1961. “Saloon: Mock Ballad,” Lyrics by George Whiting, Music by Roland E Llab, © 1921 M Witmark & Sons. “Tammy,” Words and Music by Jay Livingston and Raymond B. Evans, copyright © 1956 by Jay Livingston Music, Inc. and St. Angelo Music (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

      The publication of Mary Page Marlowe by Tracy Letts, through TCG’s Book Program, is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

      TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.

      Library of Congress Control Numbers:

      2016039122 (print) / 2016045560 (ebook)

      ISBN 978-1-55936-855-1 (ebook)

      A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

      Book design and composition by Lisa Govan

      Cover design by John Gall

      Cover photo by Serge Giotti/Millennium Images

      First Edition, December 2016

       FOR MOM

      I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at four A.M. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends.

       —Joan Didion

      CONTENTS

Production History

Characters

Scene 1

      Scene 2

      Scene 3

      Scene 4

      Scene 5

      Scene 6

      Scene 7

      Scene 8

      Scene 9

      Scene 10

      Scene 11

       PRODUCTION HISTORY

      Mary Page Marlowe received its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Anna D. Shapiro, Artistic Director; David Schmitz, Managing Director) on April 10, 2016. The production was directed by Anna D. Shapiro. The scenic design was by Todd Rosenthal, the costume design was by Linda Roethke, the lighting design was by Marcus Doshi, the sound design was by Richard Woodbury, and the original music was by Diana Lawrence; the production stage manager was Malcolm Ewen. The cast was:

      MARY PAGE MARLOWE

Ages 59, 63, 69	Blair Brown
Ages 27, 36	Carrie Coon
Age 50	Laura T. Fisher
Age 12	Caroline Heffernan
Age 19	Annie Munch
Ages 40, 44	Rebecca Spence
LOUIS GILBERT	Jack Edwards
WENDY GILBERT	Madeline Weinstein
LORNA	Tess Frazer
CONNIE	Ariana Venturi
ANDY	Alan Wilder
ED MARLOWE	Stephen Cefalu, Jr.
ROBERTA MARLOWE	Amanda Drinkall
SHRINK	Kirsten Fitzgerald
NURSE	Sandra Marquez
RAY	Ian Barford
DAN	Gary Wilmes
BEN	Keith D. Gallagher

       CHARACTERS

      MARY PAGE MARLOWE

      Age 10 months

      Age 12

      Age 19

      Ages 27, 36

      Ages 40, 44

      Age 50

      Ages 59, 63, 69

      LOUIS GILBERT

      WENDY GILBERT

      LORNA

      CONNIE

      ANDY

      ED MARLOWE

      ROBERTA MARLOWE

      SHRINK

      NURSE

      RAY

      DAN

      BEN

      NOTE

      Wendy Gilbert, ages 16 and 20, should be played by the same actor. Roberta Marlowe, ages 19 and 32, should be played by the same actor.

      SETTING

      Various locations in Ohio and Kentucky.

       SCENE 1

       1986.

       Mary Page Marlowe is forty.

       Her son, Louis, is twelve.

       Denny’s. Dayton, Ohio.

      LOUIS: I get all these mixed up. (Pause) Can you keep these straight? I can’t remember how they go. (Pause) Mom.

      MARY PAGE: What.

      LOUIS: Tell me how these go.

      MARY PAGE: You don’t know your states.

      LOUIS: I always get these mixed up.

      MARY PAGE: Do you have a geography class?

      LOUIS: