BWW Celebrates 'The Play That Changed My Life' Day 2 - Beth Henley

A new book by The American Theatre Wing, The Play That Changed My Life, poses the following questions, "What was the play that changed your life? What was the play that inspired you, that showed you something entirely new, that was so thrilling or surprising, breathtaking or poignant, that you were never the same?" In revelatory conversations, nineteen of today's most gifted playwrights respond sharing personal anecdotes and experiences.

BWW celebrates the launch of The Play That Changed My Life by bringing you excerpts of the book from noted playwrights who discuss the play that influenced them and had a lasting impact on their career and personal lives.

See below for an excerpt from Beth Henley, author of the Pulitzer Prize Winner Crimes of the Heart.

The Play That Changed My Life is edited by Ben Hodges, published by Applause Books and presented by the American Theatre Wing, founder of The Tony Awards. Pulitzer Prize winner playwright Paula Vogel penned the book's introduction.

Excerpt from Beth Henley,

"It was like a dream being in a production with real adult actors. Miss Alma, played by Jane Petty, was a vision with her pale skin, clear blue eyes, and steady gaze.

She taught me to shut my eyes tightly as soon as I turned upstage at the end of the scene. That way my vision could adjust enough so that I could make my way offstage in the blackout. Emulating Jane Petty, I would twist the ring on my finger around and around. How well the gesture revealed Miss Alma's otherworldliness, her nervous sensitivity. I wondered if Jane Petty was my doppelganger.

Things went wonderfully until the night Scott Cook (Young John) pulled my hair ribbon with such force that the fake braid came flying off my head and was left clutched in his fist.

After banging offstage in the blackout, I ran tearfully down a hallway to hide my humiliation. Scott got yelled at by a grown-up and he was sent after me to apologize. He promised he was sorry.

"I only pulled it hard once, to see what would happen."

I nodded my head, pretending to be fine.

"I won't do it again."

We stood silently in the dark hall.

There was a moment in the scene where Young John quickly kisses young Alma on the cheek.

Scott pondered what it would be like to kiss for real? On the mouth?

I wondered as well.

We kissed on the lips in the dark hallway.

I ran away. Heart pounding, believing my reputation was forever ruined because I had kissed on the lips while only in fifth grade elementary.

Kisses seemed to be a theme in the theatre. I imagined with rehearsal I could get used to them."

From the book's description, "From Edward Albee's 1935 visit to New York's Hippodrome Theatre to see Jimmy Durante (and an elephant) in Rodgers and Hart's Jumbo, to Diana Son's twelfth-grade field trip in 1983 to see Diane Venora play Hamlet at The Public Theater, from David Henry Hwang's seminal San Francisco encounter with Equus to a young Beth Henley's epiphany after seeing her mother in a Green Bean Man costume, The Play That Changed My Life offers readers a unique peek into the theatrical influences of some of the nation's most important dramatists. The book is filled with tributes, memories, anecdotes and other insights that connect past to present and make this volume an instant must-have for anyone who adores the theatre. Also in the book are pieces by David Auburn, Jon Robin Baitz, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Charles Fuller, A. R. Gurney, Tina Howe, David Ives, Donald Margulies, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Sarah Ruhl, John Patrick Shanley, ReGina Taylor, and Doug Wright, as well as an introduction by Paula Vogel. All together, the playwrights featured here have won more than 40 Tony Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, Obies, and MacArthur genius grants."

Click here to purchase The Play That Changed My Life: America's Foremost Playwrights on the Plays that Influenced Them on Amazon.com.

 

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