A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Between Now and Then

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  2w, 6m

This drama is about the Tates, a middle class Black family living in the suburbs. Denny owns his own construction business. He has definite ideas about how his children should conduct their lives, particularly his sons. Much of this is a reaction against his own upbringing.

Between Now and Then

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 6m
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
This drama is about the Tates, a middle class Black family living in the suburbs. Denny owns his own construction business. He has definite ideas about how his children should conduct their lives, particularly his sons. Much of this is a reaction against his own upbringing, as his father was not around very much. We learn about Denny's relationship with his father in a series of scenes between the two men which occur in Denny's mind, since his father is deceased. Eventually, Denny realizes that he must find a happy medium, neither laissez faire nor authoritarian, which will allow his children to go their own ways in life. Between Now and Then was a hit with audiences at Brooklyn's Billie Holiday Theatre.
History

Between Now and Then opened March 25, 1988 at the Billie Holiday Theatre, Brooklyn's Professional Resident Black Theatre. Directed by Marjorie Moon.

Cast Attributes
DENNY TATE - black male, about 45
JO TATE - his wife, about 42
DARBY - their daughter, 20
GILBERT - their son, 19
JONATHAN - their son, 17
JIM CALDWELL - a doctor, Denny's best friend, 45
DAN TATE - Denny's dead father, in his late 60's, appearing as a part of Denny's memory
LINWOOD RAGLAND - black male, 19, a neighbor
  • Time Period 1980s
  • Setting The home of Denny and Jo Tate in Westbury, Long Island. October, 1982.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes

Media

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

Scene Study and Classroom Reading: Plays for Colleges and Universities
by Becca Schlossberg
August 23, 2019

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

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Authors

Leslie Lee

For the stage, Leslie Lee is the author of numerous plays that have been produced in New York City and regionally. His plays include: The War Party, Colored People’s Time, Blues in a Broken Tongue, The Rabbit’s Foot; Black Eagles, Hannah Davis; a new version of the musical ...

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