A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Water Engine

Short Play, Drama  /  2w, 6m

In a two-play volume with Mr. Happiness.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 6m

Details

Summary

In The Water Engine, actors, an announcer, and a sound effects man present a radio play during the 1930s with unerring authenticity. The “play within the play” reveals the story of a young inventor who’s found a way to run an engine on distilled water. At first ridiculed, he is courted by crooked lawyers attempting to buy the invention from him on behalf of “certain business interests.” After refusing, he is threatened, and when he attempts to give his story to the newspapers, he is murdered along with his sister. The engine is destroyed, but the inventor has mailed the blueprint to a young student scientist who will configure and reveal the invention to the world.

Published with Mr. Happiness.

History
Broadway premiere at the Plymouth Theatre on March 6, 1978.
CHARLES LANG
RITA
MORTON GROSS
LAWRENCE OBERMAN
MRS. VAREC
MR. WALLACE
BERNIE
DAVE MURRAY
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

REVIEWS

"Extraordinary […] verbal brilliance." - The New York Times

"A vivid theatrical experience." - New York Daily News

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $75 per performance
    $125 with other plays in collection

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Authors

David Mamet

David Mamet is the author of the plays: Race, Keep Your Pantheon, School, November, Romance, Boston Marriage, Faustus, Oleanna, Glengarry Glen Ross (1984 Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle Award), American Buffalo, The Old Neighborhood, A Life in the Theatre, Sp ...
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