A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Pride's Crossing

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  3w, 4m

Finalist! 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 4m
Accolades
Accolades
  • Finalist! 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
    Winner! 1997 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Best American Play

Details

Summary
At ninety, Mabel Tidings Bigelow insists on celebrating her daughter and granddaughter’s annual visit with an archaic croquet party. As it unfolds, she relives vignettes from the last eighty years that subtly interleave past and present to reveal the precise moments of opportunity lost and love rejected that define her life. A vibrant portrait of Mabel takes shape: her flashes of wit and humor, resilience, disappointments, youthful spunk, and geriatric willfulness. Her Boston blue-blood family expected daughters to applaud from the sidelines, but Mabel had one shining moment of achievement: she was the first woman to swim the English Channel. However, her willfulness did not extend to rejecting a socially ideal fiancé for love. Pride’s Crossing is a rewarding challenge for a talented cast.
History

Pride's Crossing premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA in January 1997 under the direction of Jack O'Brien.

MABEL TIDINGS BIGELOW - A swimmer
VITA BRIGHT - Mabel's housekeeper
CHANDLER COFFIN - An old friend of Mabel's
WEST BRIGHT - Vita 's son
GUS TIDINGS - Mabel's father
MAUD TIDINGS - Mabel's mother
FRAZIER TIDINGS - Mabel's brother
PHINEAS TIDINGS - Mabel's brother
JULIA RENOIR - Mabel's granddaughter
MINTY RENOIR - Julia's daughter
MARY O'NEILL - The Tidings's cook
PRU O'NEILL - The Tidings's serving girl and Mary's daughter 
ANTON GUREVITCH - Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orcchestra
PORTER BIGELOW - Mabel's husband
EMMA BIGELOW - Mabel's daughter
KITTY LOWELL - An old friend of Mabel's
PINKY WHEELOCK - An old friend of Mabel 's
WHEELS WHEELOCK - Pinky 's husband
DR. PEABODY - A Unitarian minister
DAVID BLOOM - A doctor and swimmer

One actress plays Mabel from 10 to 90 and others portray two or more characters.

  • Setting Multiple locations
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

REVIEWS

"A play you will remember and forever cherish. " - New York Post

"Infused with Ms. Howe's lyrical sense of mortality [...] The dramatist's ear for the music in everyday conversation is obvious." - The New York Times

"A lovely achievement." - Variety

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

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Authors

Tina Howe

Tina Howe (1937-2023) was a prolific and influential American playwright. Her most produced plays include Birth and After Birth, Museum, The Art of Dining, Painting Churches, Coastal Disturbances, Approaching Zanzibar and Pride’s Crossing. These and other works premiered at t ...

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