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James Prideaux

JAMES PRIDEAUX

  (1935 - )
Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

Born in South Bend, IN on August 29, 1935. Educated Ball State University, Muncie, IN and University of Michigan. Regular contributor to Playboy Magazine. Writer of CBS's Secret Storm for two years. TV credits include Mrs. Lincoln's Husband on NBC's Sandburg's Lincoln; Lemonade; the Last of Mrs. Lincoln on Hollywood Television Theatre and Return Engagement, Hallmark Hall of Fame. Recipient: New York Drama Desk Award as "Most Promising Playwright 1972-73.'

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

         Abraham Lincoln Dies At Versailles         Ain't It Awful About Marie Antoinette?         American Sunset, An         Autograph Hound, The         Bench, The         Elephants         Housekeeper, The         Jane Heights         Last Of Mrs Lincoln, The         Laughter In the Shadow Of the trees         Lemonade         Librarian, The         Lyndon         Mixed Couples         Orphans, The         Postcards         Requiem For Us         Stuffings         Under MacDougal Street

Abraham Lincoln Dies At Versailles

Synopsis:
the sixteen-year-old grandson of the late President Lincoln, named after his grandfather, meets a girl in the gardens of Versailles. But it is her mother, who, upon discovering the young man's identity, relates the story of her being at Gettysburg as a young girl on the day the president delivered his famous speech. She has never forgotten that moment when he kissed her lightly on the forehead, as she now does to the young man, passing his grandfather's kiss on to him. What she doesn't know is that the boy with the famous name and such promise will die in France within a few days.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Laughter in the Shadow of the Trees and Other Plays, Dramatists Play Services, 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:
Comedy One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ain't It Awful About Marie Antoinette?

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Sniffen Court Comedy Club    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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American Sunset, An

Synopsis:
In her many years as membership secretary at Grassy Acres Country Club, Miss Potter has worked with dedication to limit applications to the "right people" only. So she and Mrs. Stonewell (head of the admissions committee) have no qualms about interviewing young Mr. Upton, who has impeccable family and social credentials to recommend him. But while he passes muster easily, Mr. Upton then flabbergasts them by announcing that his mission is not to get into the club but to stay out! In fact he is opposed to all that the club stands for. the penalty for this breach is, of course, death, which the well-bred Upton accepts with obedient calm. But here too a surprise is in store, as he shortly rises from the "dead," leaving Mrs. Stonewell in shock and the chastened Miss Potter to long thoughts as to who the right people, and what the best values, really are.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Lincoln Center Library Theatre, NYC    -

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:
comedy/Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Autograph Hound, The

Synopsis:
As the Associated Press describes "the AUTOGRAPH HOUND is. . .so funny and unphony that an old hand playwright could be proud of it. the play, at the Off-Broadway Jan Hus theatre, is funny in a comfortable way. It bases its humor on human and domestic foibles. the playwright's views seem to be that some faults are completely ridiculous and in no way admitting of praise and yet, reassuringly, they spring from an unquenchable human spirit to be celebrated rather than censured. the wife in the three-character play is a full-blown eccentric who stands for hours outside every possible celebrity gathering place to get autographs. One night when she's out, standing in the snow, her husband tears up the treasured collection housed in three living room filing cabinets, bests her in a strangling contest when she gets home, sends their daughter out to find her own apartment, and declares a turning point. But what way will they turn? She's the one, after all, with the 'thrill of the chase' as she expresses it. they find their togetherness-he joins her hobby."

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Off Broadway, Albee-Barr-Wilder Playwrights Unit    -

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:
Comedy One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bench, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Sniffen Court Comedy Club    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Elephants

Synopsis:
In 108 A.D., in the city of Rome, a rich young man, Domitian, finds his friend Arcadius drunk in an alley and insists upon hearing what caused such a sensitive and meticulous young man to come to this. Arcadius sadly relates how he was forced by the Emperor to attend "the games" in the coliseum. there he witnessed elephants prodded by fire to trample Rome's enemies, among them a golden-haired child, strapped to the ground. It was horrible, but when Domitian comforts him and reminds him it's over, Arcadius replies that he has been back to the games every day, because he has lost his soul.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

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 One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Housekeeper, The

Synopsis:
Foundering a bit after the death of his aged (and domineering) mother, Manley Carstairs, a self-styled literary artist, engages a housekeeper, Annie Dankworth, to look after his large Victorian house (and himself). When Annie first arrives, wearing sneakers and carrying her belongings in a grocery cart, Manley is taken aback, but she seems so eager to please that he relents-after which their relationship progresses rapidly from initial reserve to active hatred. Annie is one of the world's great oddballs, who insults her employer, denigrates his writing, admits she forged her references, accuses Manley of lusting after her and, in general, makes his life a hell. Eventually Manley can take no more, but when he advances on Annie with strangulation in mind, he trips, falls into her arms, they embrace, and the rest is history. Conveyed in a series of fast-paced, juxtaposed scenes-some in the present, some in the past-the play covers all these unlikely events with lively wit and biting humor, becoming funnier and funnier as it builds toward its unexpected and thoroughly delightful conclusion.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Optioned For Broadway    -

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:
full legth Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Jane Heights

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Coronet Theatre, Los Angeles, Ca    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Last Of Mrs Lincoln, The

Synopsis:
Impulsive, imperious and foolish in money matters, Mary Todd Lincoln was beset by a series of unhappy events in the years following her husband's tragic assassination. Disturbed by still persistent rumors that she, as a Southerner, had hampered the Union cause; frustrated in her attempts to obtain a pension from Congress; and deeply grieved by the untimely death of her beloved son Tad; she was, for a brief time, committed to a mental institution by her sole surviving son, Robert. But, as the play so eloquently makes clear, Mary Lincoln was also a woman of great courage and compassion, who grew in stature as she came to accept the vicissitudes of her life-and her ultimate reconciliation with her remaining son is a moment of deep emotion and human understanding. Told through a sequence of varied and theatrically brilliant scenes, the play is both a true and touching portrait of a remarkable and much maligned woman, and an ironic statement on the misconstructions which history so often imposes on the truth.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Broadway; Hollywood Television Theatre    -

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:
Drama, full length

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  5            Other:  2b

Further Reference:
-

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Laughter In the Shadow Of the trees

Synopsis:
Martin, a brilliant, distinguished critic, is rapidly falling into a state of dementia. His wife, Felicia, remains the epitome of the supportive wife and loyal fan, even in the face of his insults and peevish behavior. their daughter Jan tries to persuade her mother to put Martin into a home, but a silver thread of hope and affection makes it impossible for Felicia to let him go.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

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 One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lemonade

Synopsis:
As outlined in Show Business: "LEMONADE features Jan Miner and Nancy Coleman as a pair of Peoria matrons who seek respite from the doldrums of middle age by selling spiked lemonade to highway travelers. the dialogue is hilarious as the two trade drinks and the fantasies they have concocted to brighten their dull lives. But the two strong performances really emerge when we find there is no sale. Miss Miner's Mabel has not raised a crippled son; Miss Coleman's Edith has not seen her children burn to death. their lemonade grows tepid; their fantasies lose lustre. Prideaux's theme is the desperation with which we seek to evade the mundane, the illusions small people live by, and the emptiness which can exist beneath the veneer of supposed well-being."

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Hollywood Television Theatre    -

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:
comedy/Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Librarian, The

Synopsis:
In a mental institution, a librarian, driven to the edge of madness, is questioned by a doctor. She tells him of her bewilderment that libraries could close, in such a great country, due to a lack of funding, revealing that the closing of her beloved library has caused her to resort to violence. She finds comfort only in the voices of the great artists of the past, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Shakespeare and, above all, Vincent Van Gogh, and from them, she clings to hope.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

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 One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lyndon

Synopsis:
Lyndon Johnson 1968. He has just announced that he will not stand for President again and looks back over his life

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
John Houseman Theatre, New York    1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
In Village Voice, 2/5/91.   -

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:
Monolgue play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Resources/Bibliographies/VN_drama_bib.php

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Mixed Couples

Synopsis:
the time is 1927, the place an airplane hangar in New Jersey where two couples wait for the fog to lift so their chartered plane can fly them to Washington. their meeting is quite by chance, but also ironic, as it develops that the four had switched partners twenty-five years earlier, and haven't seen each other since. One couple has settled into suburban bliss, he a professor, she a housewife and mother; the other couple are Park Avenue types, he a rich, hard-driving businessman, and his wife (after all these years) still an aspiring actress. Cautious and civil at first, their conversation turns gradually bitchier (and funnier) as time hangs heavy, bootleg liquor flows, and old enmities are revived. As their veneers crumble, it is clear that neither couple has benefited as much as they had expected from their marital switch, and that beneath their pretense lies aridity, albeit tempered by the witty hijinks they go through to convince themselves (and us) that all's well in their reordered worlds.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York    23 Dec 1980

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Orphans, The

Synopsis:
For the past 25 years Lily and Catherine Spangler have lived in seclusion in their hotel room, their only visitor being their lawyer, who delivers (in cash) the profits from the steel mill they inherited from their father. When they first moved into the Chalfont it was the best hotel in town, but the years have taken their toll, and now (although the sisters are not aware of it) it is rundown, almost deserted, and limping along with a skeleton staff. the clientele has suffered too; their next-door-neighbor is a prostitute with a heart of gold, and the bellhop, Herman, is a con artist who schemes to cheat the sisters out of the six million dollars he knows they have tucked away in a trunk by passing himself off as a long-lost cousin. Lily, the older sister, who has persuaded Catherine that she has protected her from "all the cares of the world," is guarded and suspicious about all this, but the gentle, warm-hearted Catherine, who is aching to know more of life and the outside world, falls easily into Herman's trap. Inevitably their isolation must end, but facing reality, and the truth, proves to be a great deal easier-and funnier-than either sister had ever imagined.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Youngstown Playhouse    -

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Postcards

Synopsis:
For thirty years Margaret and Leonardo have sat each day at adjoining desks, writing postcards to famous people, without ever getting any answers. Having run out of live personages to write to they decide to address their cards to the famous dead-but, suddenly, much to their consternation, a reply does arrive. Its effect is shattering, and brings on a poignant revelation of the unspoken feelings which have, through all the years, lay dormant beneath the calm surface of their very correct relationship.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Belasco Theatre, New York    16 Mar 1970

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:
comedy/Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Requiem For Us

Synopsis:
In this abstract play, an adult couple, very sophisticated and dressed in formal attire, sit idly, fully aware that the minutes are narrowing down to the end of time. they attempt to recall what has been meaningful to them and what should be saved as their lives-and that of the planet-approach their final moments. In the end, there is nothing more to be said except a casual "goodbye."

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

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 One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Stuffings

Synopsis:
After seven years of working in Edgar's taxidermy shop, Gladys has become his full-fledged assistant and shares his excitement at the good fortune that has befallen them-the arrival of a moosehead for stuffing. But their elation is marred by the appearance of Gladys' betrothed, George, who makes it clear that he finds taxidermy a repulsive occupation and delivers an ultimatum demanding that Gladys abandon the shop for a job in a nice clean, spacious office. Forced to choose between George and her career, the resolute Gladys finds that she cannot give up her work, even for love. As the defeated George leaves, Gladys and Edgar turn back to their moosehead-and to the growing promise of still other joys to be shared in the future.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Lincoln Center Library Theatre, NYC    -

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:
Comedy One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Under MacDougal Street

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Playwrights Horizons, 3/16-18 The Cubiculo, 414 W 51St, , NYC    16 Mar 1972

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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