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David Rabe

DAVID RABE

  (1940 - )
Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Gersh Agency, NY  represented by Joyce Ketay

Born in Dubuque, IA on March 10, 1940. Attended Loras College and Villanova University for M.A. in Theatre. Recipient: Obie Award; Variety Award; Drama Desk Award; Elizabeth Hull-Kate Warriner Drama Guild Award (twice); John Gassner Outer Critics Circle Award; New York Drama Critics Award for Streamers; Tony Award for Sticks and Bones.

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

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

         Basic Training Of Pavlo Hummel, The         Black Monk         Boom Boom Room         Burning         Chameleon         Corners         Crossing, The         Dog Problem, The         Early History Of Fire, An         Good For Otto         Goose And Tomtom         Hurlyburly         Orphan, The         Question of Mercy, A         Recital of the Dog         Sticks And Bones         Streamers         Those the River Keeps         Visiting Edna
Basic Training Of Pavlo Hummel, The

Basic Training Of Pavlo Hummel, The
U.S. soldier Pavlo Hummel is relaxing in a brothel in Vietnam when a grenade is thrown through the window. He is mortally wounded. Ardel a black soldier in a strange uniform appears and together they look back on Pavlo's military career

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York Shakespeare Festival, NYC     1971

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Viking Press, New York, 1973   

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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

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Black Monk

Black Monk
Escaping from the demands of the city Kovrin goes to the estate owned by Pesotsky where he spent his childhood. He is visited by an emissary of the legendary Black Monk

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in "the Black Monk/the Dog Problem   

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:  6            Female:  3            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

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Boom Boom Room

Synopsis:
Chrissie a go-go dancer was abused as a child. She drifts into unsuitable relationships with both men and women. Her new neighbour, Guy, who is gay tries to befriend her but she is on a downward spiral.

Notes:
aka In The Boom-Boom Room

1st Produced:
Joseph Papp At Vivian Beaumont Theater New York     08 Nov 1973

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Knopf, New York, 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

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Genre:
Play/Drama. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  dancers

Further Reference:
-

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Burning

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York     1974

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

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Chameleon

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1959

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

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Corners

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
World Premiere

1st Produced:

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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Crossing, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1975

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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Dog Problem, The

Dog Problem, The
When Teresa tells her brother that her boyfriend did something to her in bed with a dog - everything spirals out of control

Notes:
Based on "Corners"

1st Produced:
Atlantic Theater Company, New York     06 May 2001

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in "the Black Monk/the Dog Problem   

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:
Black comedy

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  1            Other:  1 dog

Further Reference:
-

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Early History Of Fire, An

Early History Of Fire, An
Longing and confusion. Hearts pounding, time ticking away. Early 1960s in a Midwestern town. Danny Mueller's working class life is one of fierce loyalty to childhood friends, Jake and Terry. But the bigger world is stirring once he meets Karen, back from college in the east and alluring because of what she knows, and unsettling for that same reason. The grip of Danny's past is intensified by his father, a German immigrant mourning a vanished world of lost prestige. For Pop the question is how to let go of a son and life he never quite had now that the future has shrunk to almost nothing. While Danny hopes to change without betraying the bonds that have sustained him, Karen, a whirl of brilliance, looks to J.D. Salinger for answers and to Danny for a simplicity he does not possess. To fall in love, to have a destiny, to know what it is. That's what they all want, even Benji hanging onto Pop, and Shirley, too, adrift in a way she could not have foreseen. old look backward and the young look ahead, while we watch from the future they long to inhabit. And it's all about to burn in the heat of whatever's coming. The way it always does.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Acorn Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036     05 Apr 2012

Organisations:
the New Group

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:
dramatic comedy

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Good For Otto

Synopsis:
A psychologist tries to keep the health center he runs in rural Connecticut afloat, battling insurance companies and his own demons, while ministering to the distressed souls who find their way to his door.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Giff Theatre, Chicago     05 Oct 2005

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. 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

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  9            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Goose And Tomtom

Synopsis:
struggle between hope and anguish in the human spirit as two small time jewel thieves are united in a strange unsettling friendship

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York     1982

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York, 1986   

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:  7            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hurlyburly

Hurlyburly
What happens to the American post Vietnam generation amongst the insouciant jet set of Los Angeles

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Chicago     1984

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Grove Press, New York, 1985   

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:
Dramatic Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Orphan, The

Synopsis:
uses Oriesta as its framework and makes connections between Charles Manson violence and that in Vietnam

Notes:
Part 3 of Vietnam trilogy

1st Produced:
New York     1973

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, NY, 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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  6            Other:  extras

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

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Question of Mercy, A

Synopsis:
Stricken with AIDS, Anthony's life has become a myriad of endless symptoms and hopeless desperation. With the help of his lover and caretaker, Thomas, and friend, Susanah, Anthony seeks the guidance of an understanding doctor who will put an end to his suffering. He finds Dr. Chapman, a retired surgeon, who is at first unwilling, but is soon persuaded by Anthony's sympathetic charm and dignity to assist in the mercy killing. When Anthony acquires the pills and sets a day for his suicide, Dr. Chapman devises a methodical plan that must be meticulously followed. Suddenly realizing that Dr. Chapman could be convicted of murder, Susanah insists that he not be involved, and soon the doctor is left to confront his own misconceptions of life, death, law and medicine. They all wait helplessly until the hour of Anthony's planned suicide, comforted only by their hope that the wishes of a terminally ill friend will be fulfilled, but, as the time comes and passes, all their wishes and plans are swept aside by a force that proves stronger than any of their desires or decisions.

Notes:
From Richard Selzer

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Long Wharf

1st Published:
American Theatre Magazine, NY - July, 1997
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. 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. - - AIDS, full length

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Recital of the Dog

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1993

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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Sticks And Bones

Sticks And Bones
portrait of a foolish, intolerant, religious, middle class American family who persuade son, blinded in Vietnam, to commit suicide

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Villanova, Pennsylvania     1969

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Viking Press, New York, 1973   

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:
Modern American Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

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

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Streamers

Streamers
An American soldier en route to Vietnam is killed in a dispute over sexuality

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Long Wharf Theatre, Ct     1976

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Knopf, New York, 1977   

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. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  -            Other:  extras

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

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Those the River Keeps

Synopsis:
a former mob hitman attempting to become a TV actor is tempted back much to the disgust of his supportive wife

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Princeton, New Jersey     1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Grove Weidenfeld, New York, 1991   

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:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Visiting Edna

Synopsis:
Edna has suffered losses as she has aged, and now she faces a late-life cancer diagnosis. Ednas son, Andrew, is home for a visit. Together they try to bridge the gulf between the love they shared in his childhood and the polite but baffling relationship they now live with. Mother and son stumble toward honesty as they wrestle with the phantomsboth mundane and profoundthat keep them from real connection.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. 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:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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