Selected Theater Productions, 1965 to Present

Homesick
by Joyce Carol Oates

The Actors Studio
Strindberg Theatre, Stockholm, Sweden
January 2007

Reprinted in New Plays

Photos: Kevin Stapleton: "Mr. America" and Bo Corre: "Pinktoes"

The Tattooed Girl
by Joyce Carol Oates

Theater J
D.C. Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW
Premier: February 3, 2005

Director, John Vreeke; scenery, Dan Conway; costumes, Sue Chiang; lighting, Colin K. Bills. CAST: Michael Russotto (Joshua Seigl), Michelle Shupe (Alma Busch), Christopher Browne (Dmitri Meate) Cam Magee (Jetimah Seigl), Karl Miller (Jeremy Essler)

Bad Girls
by Joyce Carol Oates

The Directors Company
November 10, 2003

Director, Susana Tubert; CAST: Sarah Hyland, Merrit Wever, Anastasia Webb, Deborah LeCoy, David Sims Bishins.

Miss Golden Dreams
by Joyce Carol Oates

ACT Theatre, Seattle
August 3, 2001

Director, Kurt Beattie; scenery, Scott Weldin; costumes, Carolyn Keim; lighting, Ann Ciecko; sound, Aaron Welch; fight direction, Geoffrey Alm; stage manager, Michael B. Paul. CAST: Carolyn Baeumler (Norma Jeane), Frank Corrado (Magi; others), Peter Crook (Otto; others), Hilary Scheibert (Young Norma Jeane).

Miss Golden Dreams: A Play Cycle
by Joyce Carol Oates

Contemporary American Theater Festival
Premier: July 5, 2000

Directed by Ed Herendeen; sets, Markas Henry; lights, Micheal Foster and James Fulton; sound, Kevin Lloyd; costumes, Anne Kennedy and Moe Schell. CAST: Stacey Leigh Ivey, Greg Baglia, Lee Sellars, Michael Goodwin, Anderson Matthews.

The Passion of Henry David Thoreau
by Joyce Carol Oates

The Vineyard Playhouse, Martha's Vineyard, MA
Premier: July 15 - August 1, 1999

Reprinted in New Plays

BLACK WATER (Opera)
by Joyce Carol Oates

Radio Production. L.A. Theater Works, Los Angeles, CA
July 8-9, 11-12, 1998

Composer, John Duffy; Libretto, Joyce Carol Oates (adapted from the novel); Director, Gordon Edelstein; Conductor, Alan Johnson; Producer, Susan Albert Loewenberg. Featuring: David Lee Brewer, Reid Bruton, Stephanie Buckley, Karen Burlingame, Kimberly Graham, Linda Kerns, Erin Langston, Patrick Mason, John Savarese, and Rob Shacklett.

Reprinted in New Plays

Earthquake
by Elinor Renfield and Joyce Carol Oates

Ensemble Studio Theatre, EST One-Act Play Festival, New York, NY
Premier: June 3-6, 10-13, 1998

Directed by Elinor Renfield.

Duet
by Joyce Carol Oates

Turnip Theatre Company, Featured Artist Series, New York, NY
1998

Reprinted in New Plays

Homesick (later version)
by Joyce Carol Oates

12 Miles West Theatre, Montclair, NJ
October 1997

Reprinted in New Plays

Good To Know You
by Joyce Carol Oates

Ensemble Studio Theatre
October 1997

Reprinted in New Plays

Poor Bibi
by Joyce Carol Oates

Ensemble Studio Theatre
October 1997

Reprinted in New Plays

No Next of Kin
by Joyce Carol Oates

Ensemble Studio Theatre
October 1997

Reprinted in New Plays

When I Was A Little Girl And My Mother Didn't Want Me
by Joyce Carol Oates

Ensemble Studio Theatre
October 1997

Reprinted in New Plays

BLACK WATER (Opera)
by Joyce Carol Oates

American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia, PA.
Premier: April 24 to May 4, 1997

Composer, John Duffy; Libretto, Joyce Carol Oates (adapted from the novel); Director, Gordon Edelstein; Conductor, Alan Johnson; scenery, Douglas Stein; costumes, Candice Donnelly; lighting, Scott Zielinski; sound, David Meschter/Applied Audio Technologies. CAST: Karen Burlingame (Kelly Kelleher), Erin Langston (Sarah Connor), Stephanie Buckley (Buffy St. John), Wilbur Pauley (Roy Annick), David Lee Brewer (Lucius Smith), Patrick Mason (The Senator), Kent Smith (Dwight Murphy), Tara Venditti (Michelle Ravel), Kimberly Graham (Jenny O'Brien), John Savarese (Graeme Winthrop).

Reprinted in New Plays

The Passion of Henry David Thoreau (later version)
by Joyce Carol Oates

Reading Performance. New Dramatists, New York, NY
March 1997

Reprinted in New Plays

Cry Me A River
by Joyce Carol Oates
(Revised version of BLACK)

Cambridge Theater Company, Hasty Pudding Theatre, Cambridge, MA.
Premier: January 10, 1997

Director, Gordon Edelstein; scenery, Kark Eigsti; costumes, Paul Tazewell; lighting, Beverly Emmons; composer and sound, Johnna Doty; produced in association with Louise Westergaard, Mark S. Schwartz, and William J. Condren. CAST: Julia Gibson (Debra O'Donnell), Victor Slezak (Jonathan Boyd), Tony Todd (Lew Claybrook).

Photograph: Victor Slezak, Julia Gibson, Tony Todd.

Bad Girls (later version)
by Joyce Carol Oates

Contemporary American Theater Festival, Shepherdstown, WV
Premier: July 10-28, 1996 (9 performances)

Photograph: Penny Balfour as Orchid, Melinda Wade as Icy, Terace Yeatts as Crystal. (Jennifer Rolston photo)

Reprinted in New Plays

The Passion of Henry David Thoreau (early version)
by Joyce Carol Oates

Reading Performance. McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ
June 1996

The Adoption
by Joyce Carol Oates

Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon '96: Annual One-Act Play Festival
Premier: June 5-16, 1996

Director: Kevin Confoy

From Theatre Week, September 9, 1996:

". . . Written in the tragicomic idiom of our century, Oates's play is a seamless amalgam of tragedy and farce. It presents with sorrow and profound understanding the goodness and generosity of the people of this country, and yet, in abstract terms, treats an unsolvable geopolitical problem. It is a problem which confronts us at the end of the millennium, and in this sense The Adoption is a signpost along the road. A one-acter, it opens upon the immensity of human suffering. It is undoubtedly one of the important American plays of our time. The EST must be congratulated for staging this work, and for its significant Marathon Series." —Rosette C. Lamont

Poor Bibi
by Joyce Carol Oates

Northwestern University Theatre Department, Evanston, IL
October 1995

Reprinted in New Plays

The Woman Who Laughed
by Joyce Carol Oates

Sharon Stage, Sharon CT
Premier: August 15-27, 1995

Director, Don Amendolia; scenery, Eric Lowell Renschler; costumes, Lee J. Austin; lighting, Susan Chute. CAST: Luci Arnaz (Nell Ryder), Jack Koenig (Gil Pollack), Bill Lewis (Clive Tuttle), Lianne Kressin (Madge Harkness), Ken Parker (Jim Towers), Edith Meeks (Mrs. Eaton), Mitchell Greenberg (Randolph Pitts), Jordan D. Gochros (Joey Eaton), Francine Hughes (Waitress), Audra White (Young Woman); Harry Colley II, Ed Hayden, Sandra Sherrard, Mindy Utay (party guests); Michael Baldwin, Eleanor Casson, Ashleigh Lynn Catsos, Jason Kassirer, Ryan Jones, Alison Levitch, Katharine Luckinbill, Chelsea Miller, Katie Spero, Jillian Sprance, Virginia Sprance (students).

HomeSick (early version)
by Joyce Carol Oates

McCarter Theatre
Premier: June, 1995

Reprinted in The Perfectionist

Bad Girls (early version)
by Joyce Carol Oates

Georgia Repertory Theatre, Athens GA
Premier: May 1995

The Sacrifice
by Joyce Carol Oates

Philadelphia Festival Theatre of New American Plays
Premier: April, 1995

Reprinted in The Perfectionist

Negative
by Joyce Carol Oates

Philadelphia Festival Theatre of New American Plays
Premier: April, 1995

Reprinted in The Perfectionist

Here She Is!
by Joyce Carol Oates

Philadelphia Festival Theatre of New American Plays
Premier: April, 1995

Reprinted in The Perfectionist

Here I am
by Joyce Carol Oates

Philadelphia Festival Theatre of New American Plays
Premier: March, 1995

Reprinted in New Plays

The Truth Teller
by Joyce Carol Oates

Circle Repertory Company
February 9 - 26, 1995 (22 performances)

Director, Gloria Muzio; Scenery, Stephan Olson; Costumes, Ellen McCartney; Lighting, Peter Kaczorowski; Sound, Janet Kalas; Production Stage Manager, Denise Yaney. CAST : Lynn Hawley (Hedda Culligan), Andrew Polk (Saul Schwartz), John Seitz ("Tiny" Culligan), Kathleen Widdoes (Nora Culligan), Barbara Gulan (Maggie Culligan), Craig Bockhorn (Biff Culligan), Richard Seff ("Nelly" Rockefeller).

Photograph : Kathleen Widdoes (foreground), Craig Bockhorn, Barbara Gulan, John Seitz, Lynn Hawley, Andrew Polk. (Best Plays photo)

Greensleeves
by Joyce Carol Oates

Commons Theatre, Drew University, Madison, NJ (Amateur production)
Fall 1994

Director, Elizabeth Klett
Photo: "Joyce Carol Oates talks to the student director and cast of her play Greensleeves, produced in the commons theatre this fall."

Reprinted in Twelve Plays

Black
by Joyce Carol Oates

The Women's Project and Productions
March 8 to April 3, 1994 (28 performances)

Director, Tom Palumbo; Set, David Mitchell; Lighting, Jackie Manassee; Costumes, Elsa Ward; Sound, Bruce Ellman; Fights, Ellen Saland; CAST: John Wojda (Jonathan Boyd), Kristin Griffith (Debra O'Donell, Jonathan Earl Peck (Lew Claybrook).

Photograph : John Wojda, Kristin Griffith. (Martha Holmes photo)

Reprinted in Twelve Plays , and The Perfectionist.

The Interview
by Joyce Carol Oates

McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ
Premier: January, 1994

Director, Adam Arkin. CAST: Allen Swift (The Immortal), Richard Thompson (The Interviewer), Karen Garvey (Kimberly)

Reprinted in The Perfectionist

The Perfectionist
by Joyce Carol Oates

McCarter Theatre
Premier: September 28, 1993

Director, Emily Mann; Music, Lucia Hwong; Set, Thomas Lynch; Costumes, Jennifer Von Mayrhauser; Lighting, Pat Collins. CAST: David Selby (Tobias Harte), Betty Buckley (Paula Harte), Dina Spybey (Kim Harte), Josh Hamilton (Jason Harte), Peter Maloney (Willy Rebb), Shareen Mitchell (Nedra Minsk).

Photo : David Selby, Peter Maloney.

Reprinted in The Perfectionist

The Rehearsal
by Joyce Carol Oates

Ensemble Studio Theatre
Premier: June, 1993

Director, Kevin Confoy.

Reprinted in The Perfectionist

Black
by Joyce Carol Oates

Williamstown Theatre Festival
Premier: July 21, 1992

Director, Gordon Hunt; Scenery, Tom Baker; Costumes, Kimberly Schnormeier; Lighting, Betsy Finston; Sound, Richard Allison, Andrea Hoffman. CAST: Anthony Edwards (Jonathan Boyd), Felicity Huffman (Debra O'Donnell), Victor Love (Lew Claybrook).

Reprinted in Twelve Plays and The Perfectionist

Gulf War
by Joyce Carol Oates

Ensemble Studio Theatre
Marathon '92 (Festival of one-act plays). Premier: May, 1992

Director, Christopher A. Smith.

Reprinted in The Perfectionist

Tone Clusters
by Joyce Carol Oates

Soho Rep
May 14 - June 7, 1992 (20 performances)

Director, Julian Webber; Sets, Kyle Chepulis; Costumes, Mary Myers; Sound, David Schnirman; Lighting, Don Holder; Video/Stage Manager, Mark Frankel; Press, Jonathan Slaff. CAST: John Nacco (Frank Gulick), Black-Eyed Susan (Emily Gulick), Richard Adamson (Voice), Kathryn Langwell.

Photograph: Black-Eyed Susan. (Jonathan Slaff photo)

Reprinted in Twelve Plays

Procedure
by Joyce Carol Oates

ACTORS THEATER OF LOUISVILLE
Festival of New American Plays, February 18 - March 22, 1992

Director, William McNulty; Scenery, Paul Owen; Costumes, Hollis Jenkins-Evans; Lighting, Casey Clark; Sound, Darron West. CAST: Margarette Robinson (A), Stacey Leigh Ivey (B), James Wright Jr. (Body).

Greensleeves
by Joyce Carol Oates

Actors Studio
Premier: May, 1991

Reprinted in Twelve Plays

How Do You Like Your Meat? (Including How Do You Like Your Meat?, The Anatomy Lesson, Friday Night, and Darling, I'm Telling You)
by Joyce Carol Oates

Long Wharf Theatre
April 12 - May, 1991

Director, Gordon Edelstein; Sets, Hugh Landwehr; Costumes, David Murin; Lighting, Arden Fingerhut; Sound, John Gromada; Stage Manager, Denise Winetr, Ruth M. Feldman. CAST: Michael Dolan (Son), Elisabeth Fay (Child/Daughter), Lou Ferguson (Driver), Julia Gibson (Stacey), Ribert Kerbeck (Bin/Hillard), Lily Knight (Sandy/Chloe/Dancer), Rob Kramer (Limousine Driver/Polo), Christopher Scott Mazur (Son), Gary McCleery (Limousine Driver/Luther/Man's Voice), Ann McDonough (Mother/Woman).

Photograph: Julia Gibson, Robert Kerbeck, Lily Knight, Rob Kramer, Gary McCleery. (T. Charles Erickson photo)

Reprinted in Twelve Plays

The Key
by Joyce Carol Oates

L. A. THEATRE WORKS
Premier: January, 1991

Reprinted in Twelve Plays

The Secret Mirror
by Joyce Carol Oates

Manhattan Theatre Club
Premier: 1991

Reprinted in Twelve Plays

American Holiday (later version)
by Joyce Carol Oates

Ensemble Studio Theatre
1991

Reprinted in Twelve Plays

I Stand Before You Naked
by Joyce Carol Oates

AMERICAN PLACE THEATRE
November 11, 1990 -

Director, Wynn Handman; Design, Bill Stabile; Lighting, Andrew James Meyer; Costumes, Sally J. Lesser; Stage Manager, Lloyd Davis, Jr. CAST: Bronwen Booth (Little Blood Button/Orange), Marguerite Kuhn (Wife of/Good Morning Good Afternoon), Penny Templeton (The Boy/Slow Motion), Nancy Barrett (Wealthy Lady/Nuclear Holocaust), Annie McGreevey (Darling I'm Telling You-Angel Eyes), Elizabeth Alley (Pregnant).

Reprinted in Twelve Plays

American Holiday (early version)
by Joyce Carol Oates

Los Angeles Theatre Academy
Premier: November, 1990

Final version reprinted in Twelve Plays

In Darkest America (2 one-act plays: Tone Clusters and The Eclipse)
by Joyce Carol Oates

Actors Theatre of Louisville
1990

Photograph: Madeleine Sherwood, Beth Dixon. (David Talbott photo)

Reprinted in Twelve Plays

The Triumph of the Spider Monkey
by Joyce Carol Oates

Los Angeles Theatre Center
1985/1986 Season

Director, Al Rossi; Music Score/Arrangements/Direction, Fredric Myrow; Songs: Music, Shaun Cassidy, Fredric Myrow; Lyrics, Joyce Carol Oates; Music Produced & Recorded by Michael Lloyd. CAST: Shaun Cassidy (Bobbie Gotteson), Dudley Knight (Voice of Judge), Paul Makley, Thomas Nixon (Baliffs), Rick Hamilton (Defense Attorney), James Siering (Prosecutor), Molly Cleator (Woman), Jonathan Palmer (Man), Doris Dowling (Melva), Kerry Noonan (Doreen), Peggy Schoditsch (Therapist), Gerald Hiken (Danny Minx), Paul Mackley, Thomas Nixon (College Boys), Allan Kolman (Vlad J), Patricia Estrin (Louise), Christine Avila (Rosalind). Standbys: Paul Mackley, Jonathan Palmer, Laura Skill, Hunt Burdick, Marily Alex, Molly Cleator, Al Rossi.

Reprinted in Three Plays

[Faustus in Hell with] The Show of the Seven Deadly Sins
by Edward Albee (Envy), Christopher Durang (Sloth), Amlin Gray (Greed), John Guare (Gluttony), Romulus Linney (Wrath), Joyce Carol Oates (Lechery), Jean Claude van Itallie (Pride)

McCarter Theatre
Premier January 23, 1985

Director, Nagle Jackson; Set, Elizabeth K. Fischer; Costumes, Kathleen Blake; Lighting, Richard Moore. CAST: Harry Hamlin, Barry Boys, Jay Doyle, Stacy Ray, Bruce somerville, Mario Arrambide, Keith Curran, Dan Diggles, Danielia Fulmer, Jason P. Jones, Henson, Keys, Randy Lilly, Mary Martello, Janine Santana, Greg Thornton, Kerry Waters.

Presque Isle
by Joyce Carol Oates

Theater of the Open Eye
Premier March 22, 1984 (24 performances)

Director, Sallie Brophy; Music, Paul Shapiro; Scenery, Thomas Stoner; Lighting, Matt Ehlert; Costumes, Linda Vigdor. CAST: Bridget Brophy, Douglas Day, Graeme Malcolm, Elizabeth Perry, Meg Van Zyl.

Daisy
Adapted by Victoria Rue from the Joyce Carol Oates Story

The Cubiculo
February, 1980

Director, Victoria Rue; CAST: Karen Ludwig, Stephen Joyce, Joel Colodner.

The Triumph of the Spider Monkey
by Joyce Carol Oates

A Phoenix Playworks Production at the Playhouse Theatre
Premier: December 19, 1979

Director, Daniel Freudenberger; CAST: Philip Casnoff (Bobbie Gotteson, The Spider Monkey), William Duell (Judge, Danny Minx), Jonathan Hogan (Prosecutor, College Boy, Vlad J.), James Rebhorn (Defense Attorney, Man, College Boy, Juror), Alma Cuervo (Rosalind, Louise D., Doreen B.), Sylvia Miles (Therapist, Melva).

Reprinted in Three Plays

Psychiatric Service
by Joyce Carol Oates

Hartley House
Premier September 30, 1976

Director, Jane Hoffman.

Miracle Play
by Joyce Carol Oates

Manhattan Theater Club
January 6, 1974

Director, Dan Freudenberger.

Reprinted in Miracle Play

The Sweet Enemy
by Joyce Carol Oates

The Cubiculo
March 9 - April 1, 1973 (12 performances)

Director, Maurice Edwards; Producer, Nicholas John Stathis; Music, Jacob Stern; Set, Richard Hoover; Lighting, Peter M. Ehrhardt; Costumes, Nancy Baron; Props, Sue Kaplan. CAST: Robert Judd, Toni Kalem, Rich Partlow, Norman Sample, Gary Baker, Lynne Moss, Anthony Neat.

Photograph: Robert Judd, Rick Partlow, Toni Kalem. (Conrad Ward Photo)

Miracle Play
by Joyce Carol Oates

New Phoenix Repertory Company
Premier: December 30, 1973

Director, Daniel Freudenberger; Scenery/Projections/Lighting, James Tilton; Production Stage Manager, Ellen Barry. CAST: Marcella Lowery (Beatie Roscoe), Robert Guillaume (Titus Skinner), Ernest Thomas (Mason Skinner), Donny Burks (Earl Roscoe), Ralph Wilcox (Rollie), Jaison Walker (Bob Skinner), Louise Stubbs (Mrs. Skinner), John Benson (Prosecutor), F. Murray Abraham (Kidd), David Connell (Conroy Roscoe).

Photograph: Donny Burks, Ralph Wilcox, Robert Guillaume (standing). (James Tilton photo)

Reprinted in Three Plays and Miracle Play.

Ontological Proof of My Existence
by Joyce Carol Oates

The Cubiculo
February 3 -19, 1972 (12 performances)

Director, Maurice Edwards; Music, George Prideaux; CAST: Eileen Dietz (Shelley), Ray Cole (Peter V), Jess Adkins (Shelley's Father), Dan Lutzky (Martin Raven).

Photograph: Raymond Cole, Eileen Deitz. (Conrad Ward photo)

Reprinted in Three Plays and The Perfectionist

Sunday Dinner
by Joyce Carol Oates

American Place Theatre
St. Clement's Church
November 2 - 28, 1970 (49 performances)

Director, Curt Dempster; Scenery, Kert Lundell; Costumes, Willa Kim; Lighting, Roger Morgan; Music, Kirk Nurock; Production Assistant, Judy Metskas; Technical Director, Bill Ostrowski; Press, Howard Atlee, David Roggensack, Irene Gandy; Stage Managers, David Sell, Grania Hoskins. CAST: Jacqueline Brookes (Estella), Lois Smith (Mary), Brooks Morton (Jake), Jerome Dempsey (Jack), Martin Shakar (Leroy), Patrick McVey (Census Taker). UNDERSTUDIES: Ruth Livingston, Don Plumley, James Evans Nichols.

Photograph: Martin Shakar, Lois Smith, Brooks Morton, Jerome Dempsey, Jacqueline Brookes, Patrick McVey (seated). (Martha Holmes photo)

The Sweet Enemy
by Joyce Carol Oates

Actors Playhouse
February 15 - 21, 1965 (8 performances)

Director, Frank Cosaro; Scenery and Costumes, Peter Harvey; Lighting, V.C. Fuqua; Press, Betty Lee Hunt; Stage Manager, D.S. Wilson. CAST: Bill Moor (Wolf), Richard Ward (Emanuel), Alexandra Holland (Eva), Michael Hadge (Rhone Lee), Larry Dove, Shelby Hiatt, Patrick Sullivan (Halloween Children). UNDERSTUDIES: Arnold Johnson, Larry Dove, Shelby Hiatt, Patrick Sullivan.

Photograph: Richard Ward, Alexandra Holland, Bill Moor. (Martha Holmes Photo)

Page address:
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