The Clean House Sarah Ruhl 9780573633980 Books
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Comedy / Casting 1m, 4f / Scenery Int. with inserts
This extraordinary new play by an exciting new voice in the American drama was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. After its acclaimed run at Yale Repertory Theatre it was done to equal acclaim at several major theatres coast to coast before winding up off Broadway at Lincoln Center, where it had an extended run. The play takes place in what the author describes as "metaphysical Connecticut", mostly in the home of a married couple who are both doctors. They have hired a housekeeper named Matilde, an aspiring comedian from Brazil who's more interested in coming up with the perfect joke than in house-cleaning. Lane, the lady of the house, has an eccentric sister named Virginia who's just nuts about house-cleaning. She and Matilde become fast friends, and Virginia takes over the cleaning while Matilde works on her jokes. Trouble comes when Lane's husband Charles reveals that he has found his soul mate, or "bashert" in a cancer patient named Anna, on whom he has operated. The actors who play Charles and Anna also play Matilde's parents in a series of dream-like memories, as we learn the story about how they literally killed each other with laughter, giving new meaning to the phrase, "I almost died laughing". This theatrical and wildly funny play is a whimsical and poignant look at class, comedy and the true nature of love.
"Fresh, funny ... a memorable play, imbued with a melancholy but somehow comforting philosophy that the messes and disappointments of life are as much a part of its beauty as romantic love and chocolate ice cream, and a perfect punch line can be as sublime as the most wrenchingly lovely aria." - NY Times.
"A rich work about big themes from a young playwright with an original and audacious voice." - Variety.
The Clean House Sarah Ruhl 9780573633980 Books
I really enjoyed Clean House! Ruhl's writing is easy to follow, and I love the simplicity of her writing. Her stage directions are also great, something that Ruhl is famous for. I like the simplicity of the comedy and would definitely recommend reading this play!Product details
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Tags : The Clean House [Sarah Ruhl] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Comedy / Casting: 1m, 4f / Scenery: Int. with inserts This extraordinary new play by an exciting new voice in the American drama was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. After its acclaimed run at Yale Repertory Theatre it was done to equal acclaim at several major theatres coast to coast before winding up off Broadway at Lincoln Center,Sarah Ruhl,The Clean House,Samuel French, Inc.,0573633983,American - General,DRAMA American General,Performing ArtsTheater - General,Plays Drama,Plays, playscripts
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The Clean House Sarah Ruhl 9780573633980 Books Reviews
Sarah Ruhl is emerging as an important voice in contemporary theater, and anyone who has read one of her scripts or seen a production of her work can understand why. Her voice is quirky and refreshing, and yet it doesn't become a gimmick or lose itself by being unrelatable. Cleanliness, the subject of this work, weaves its way through the lives of the characters as they struggle with family and relationships, grief, and the meaning of true love.
The two main characters, Lane and Virginia, are sisters with very different ideas about cleaning. The play opens with Lane talking about her Brazillian housekeeper, Matilde, who has given up trying to clean. Lane is infuriated; a successful doctor, she makes it clear that she did not go to medical school and work all of the hours that she has worked just to clean her own house. For her, cleaning is menial work, beneath her. Virginia on the other hand can't believe that anyone would give up cleaning their own house. How do you know progress, she asks the audience, if you don't know how quickly dust accumulates under your bed. For Virginia, cleaning is a refuge from the "dirtiness" of everyday living, of a world that isn't perfect and certainly isn't fair.
There are other characters and complex interactions, but the heart of this show is Lane's depressed housekeeper, Matilde. Determined to become a comedian and write the perfect joke, she is haunted by memories of her parents her mother "died laughing" (because if you've heard the perfect joke, why would you continue to live?) and her father killed himself directly after. Her attempts to construct witty and ribald jokes, usually in her native tongue, are humarous; their juxtaposition with her memories of her parents and their magical love are heart-breaking. Matilde is one of the great tragic characters of contemporary theater.
Fans of magical realism will enjoy the playful use of space actions on a balcony (imagined as another apratment) affect the characters below and disembodied words appear on the walls (translations of jokes, explanatory words, etc). Though not as spectacular as the staging of Ruhl's other great work EURYDICE (it's hard to compete with an elevator car filled with rain), the interplay between spaces helps reinforce the actions and consequences of characters and their decisions.
I would heartily recommend anything written by Ruhl, but this one is a special treat. Though not as emotionally-impactful as EURYDICE, it is a tender and often surprising meditation on love, and all of the clean and dirty emotions that it entails.
I had to read this for a theater course at Ohio State, and I enjoyed every single word of it!
Great
I love this edition of the play, although I believe I did detect a few typos. The pages are easy to turn and the formatting makes it very easy to read. I had no idea Samuel French published plays in this style. And it's a great play! Very original and funny.
I really enjoyed Clean House! Ruhl's writing is easy to follow, and I love the simplicity of her writing. Her stage directions are also great, something that Ruhl is famous for. I like the simplicity of the comedy and would definitely recommend reading this play!
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