Gien's The Syringa Tree Novel Published July 3; Show to Tour

Pamela Gien's novelization of her acclaimed one-woman play The Syringa Tree will be published by Random House on July 3rd.

"Beautifully deepened and vastly expanded in scope, this new novel is based on the epic story of her phenomenally successful play, which opened Off-Broadway to unanimous critical acclaim, winning the prestigious OBIE Award for Best Play of 2001," state press notes on the novel, which will be Gien's first. "The Syringa Tree is the story of an abiding love between two families, one black, one white, and the two children who are born into their shared household in the early 1960's in South Africa. Seen first though the eyes of a six-year-old child as she tries to make sense of the chaos and magic of her world, the novel follows their destinies through four generations, from early apartheid to the present day free South Africa. Set in the heart of Africa, and in America, the profound universal themes of this story have had a powerful and emotional resonance with audiences around the world."

In the play, Gien portrayed 24 characters, winning both the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for Outstanding Solo Performance, and a nomination for the John Gassner Playwriting Award. Since then, The Syringa Tree has had many productions all over the world. Gien herself has performed the play at the Royal National Theatre in London, in Seattle, Toronto, Los Angeles, Boston, Vancouver, and she fulfilled her longtime dream of taking The Syringa Tree to South Africa in a wildly acclaimed, sold out production in Cape Town in 2005. Her performance has also been filmed for television on the Trio Network.

Following the July 3rd publication of the book, Gien will embark on a multi-city tour, making personal appearances in which she will read selections from the novel, The Syringa Tree.