PLAY OF THE DAY! Today's Play: CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS by Sam Shepard
By: Chloe Rabinowitz May. 18, 2020
During this time when productions all over the world have been put on pause, we are coming together to celebrate plays that have left their mark on theater history.
This week we will be focusing on the plays of Sam Shepard.
Today's play, Curse of the Starving Class!
Curse of the Starving Class initially premiered in London in 1977. It has been considered to be a part of a trilogy including Shepard's Buried Child and True West, though it has also been considered to be a part of a quintet that includes Fool for Love and A Lie of the Mind. The play follows the Tate family as they struggle through the challenge of dealing with change in their lives.
Curse of the Starving Class premiered Off-Broadway in 1978 starring Ebbe Roe Smith, Olympia Dukakis, Pamela Reed, Kenneth Welsh, James Gammon and more. The production won the 1976-77 Obie Award for Best New American Play.
Curse of the Starving Class was revived Off-Broadway in 1985 starring Kathy Bates as Ella and Bradley Whitford as Wesley. Kathy Bates revived her role for the 1994 film adaptation of the play.
A Signature Theatre production was presented in 2019 starring Lizzy DeClement as Emma, Flora Diaz as Sergeant Malcolm, Gilles Geary as Wesley, Esau Pritchett as Ellis, Andrew Rothenberg as Taylor, Maggie Siff as Ella, and David Warshofsky as Weston.
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