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Ira Levin

IRA LEVIN

  (1929 - 2007)
Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Gersh Agency, NY  

Born in New York City on august 27, 1929. B.A. from New York University. Ira Levin, playwright and author of the suspense classics Rosemary's Baby, the Boys from Brazil, and the Stepford Wives, has died at his home in Manhattan following a heart attack. Levin, 78, who also wrote for television and Broadway, saw his novels - and their cinematic interpretations - gain cult followings, paving the way for the modern popularity of the horror genre. His best known work, Rosemary's Baby, a tale of modern day satanism in Manhattan's upper west side, was made into a film starring Mia Farrow and directed by Roman Polanski. the Stepford Wives, published in 1972, is a satire that depicts the lives of a group of submissive, fawning wives in suburbia and has twice been made into a film. Four years later, the Boys from Brazil, became one of the earliest works of science fiction to deal with the issue of cloning when it focused on an attempt to replicate adolf Hitler. His 1978 play Deathtrap was also made into a Sidney Lumet-directed film, starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. Stephen King described Levin as "the Swiss watchmaker of suspense novels", adding: "He makes what the rest of us do look like cheap watchmakers in drugstores." Levin is survived by three sons and three grandsons.
- Lee Glendinning, Guardian

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

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below is a list of Ira Levin's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Break A Leg         Cantorial         Chinese Coffee         Critic's Choice         Deathtrap         Dr Cook's Garden         Drat! the Cat!         General Seeger         Interlock         No Time For Sergeants         Veronica's Room

Break A Leg

Synopsis:
concerns the efforts of a theatrical producer to thwart a critic who has been particularly virulent in condemning his shows

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Palace Theatre, NY    1979

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1981   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cantorial

Synopsis:
a ghost singing in a former synagogue move a Yuppie couple to investigate their roots

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1984

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1990   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Chinese Coffee

Synopsis:
a novelist is desperate to get hold of some money. He goes to his best friend - but he too is strapped for cash. the novelist had left a copy of his latest book with his friend. the friend has read it realised it is about their life and that it is a work of genius. He is jealous

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatist Play Service   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Critic's Choice

Synopsis:
the New York Times outlines: "the hero is a Drama critic. . .What is the most searching way to test this paragon's integrity? Have his wife write a play. a stinker, naturally. . .He heckles the little woman, tells her she won't finish the play, and, when it is completed, candidly informs her that it's awful. and what's worst of all, he insists that on opening night he will do his duty like a man; he'll review the play himself. there you have the beginnings of the problem. there are complications. . .Our hero, Parker Ballantine, has a flock of them. . . His first wife, Ivy, played Helen of Troy, and he panned and lost her. there is a son by this marriage, a saucy, precocious lad who evidently will come to no good-the poor shaver, heaven save the mark, is a critic in embryo. . .But Parker Ballantine does not let his son-or his tremulous fellow-critics-down. He gets looped with the charm and wit possible only to a critic. He invites his first wife, the sexy Ivy, to rub his back while he goes through his searing crisis. and then, leaving the TV dinner of Beef Stroganoff to burn, he pulls himself together, dashes to the theatre and writes the review. . ." Its effect is to send his wife into her understanding director's arms, at least until our hero redeems himself by admitting that he's been pretty nasty about the whole thing all along. But as for her play-well, it is a stinker, and he'll never yield his integrity on that.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NY    1960

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Evans Bros, London, 1962   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  1b

Further Reference:
-

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Deathtrap

Synopsis:
play within a play as lead actor decides murder plot is too good to waste

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Music Box Theatre,, New York    1978

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1979   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Thriller. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dr Cook's Garden

Synopsis:
a doctor in idyllic Vermont village will even commit murder in an attempt to preserve the status quo

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Belasco Theatre, NY    1967

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1968   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
MeloDrama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Drat! the Cat!

Drat! the Cat!
Fin de Siecle New York and there is a cat burglar on the loose. When the investigating policeman dies, the Keystone Cops call in his dumb son. the cat burglar is the daughter of the wealthiest man in New York and our invesitagator falls in love with her - and she tries to kill him

Notes:
Music by Milton Schafer; Lyrics by Ira Levin; Book by Ira Levin

1st Produced:
Martin Beck Theater, New York    10 Oct 1965

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York,    -

Music:
Original cast recording: Blue Pear (1005) 1965

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  6            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

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General Seeger

Synopsis:
as described by Thomas R. Dash: "This hot and humid Saturday in July is a great day for General Seeger. a new recreation building on an army post in a New england State is to be dedicated to the memory of his heroic son, Lieutenant Seeger, who was killed by saving two green recruits from an exploding hand grenade. But just before the ceremonies are to commence, the Lieutenant's widow, Helena, arrives from San Francisco, as tragic as electra from the Greek tragedy, ominous-sounding, and determined to reveal truth. the truth, as she sees it, is that her husband was no hero, that the ceremony would be a sham and a mockery, and that the lieutenant killed himself to escape the army. She blames it all on the domineering, selfish Father who dictated every step for his son and who is making it a ceremonial for himself rather than one for his allegedly heroic son. Under Helena's remorseless logic and flinty resolve to expose the truth, the General begins to wilt. He, in turn, takes up the investigation, probing the captain who was his son's friend at the Point and the colonel who was an eye witness to the tragedy. Now a new area of conflict opens up. General Seeger, after learning the bitter truth, insists on calling off the dedication. the army brass is just as insistent that the program go through as scheduled." His ultimate decision, which goes against that of his superiors, means the destruction of a lifetime career but, with it, the triumph of a noble spirit.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Lyceum Theatre, NY    1962

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  2            Other:  many bits

Further Reference:
-

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Interlock

Synopsis:
Hilde, a young German refugee, works as companion to Mrs. Price, a wealthy and beautiful invalid. Hilde's fiancee is a pianist, now employed at a bakery and practicing at night for what he hope will be a great career. Hilde brings Paul and Mrs. Price together, in the hope that Mrs. Price will take an interest in the young musician and she does. But Hilde's plans go awry as Mrs. Price's interest in Paul grows to an extent where she does not want to share him with Hilde. Mrs. Price, seemingly so charming and pitiful, begins to reveal herself as an unpleasant, self-centered and headstrong woman. But it is only when Hilde has cooperated with Mrs. Price in a plan to bring Paul into the house to live, that she realizes that there is no place for her in Mrs. Price's schemes. as Hilde sees Mrs. Price's true nature, Paul remains conveniently blind to what is going on.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Anta Playhouse, NY    1958

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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No Time For Sergeants

Synopsis:
NO TIMe FOR SeRGeaNTS' central figure is a husky and good-natured hillbilly who finally gets into the air Force despite his father's propensity for tearing up his draft papers. His determination to be transferred to the infantry soon spells trouble among generals and sergeants, his fellow service men and, in particular, a military psychiatrist. Thus begins the desperate efforts of the air Force to classify this highly unclassifiable mountain boy. Not miffed, our hero is soon sent off on what becomes a comic voyage, in an airplane manned by some weary flying officers, most suffering from hangovers. even though the plane does get lost and heads towards an atomic explosion in Yucca Flats, the hilarity of the play's endearing hero leaves few moments to contemplate the ensuing disaster.

Notes:
novel by Mac Hayman

1st Produced:
Alvin Theatre, NY    1955

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  22            Female:  1            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

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Veronica's Room

Synopsis:
a young college student is persuaded to impersonate a long dead girl.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Music Box Theatre,, New York    1973

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Joseph, London, 1975   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Mystery

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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