ISBN 978-0-573-69815-6George BrantWinner of the 2008 Keene Prize for LiteratureWinner of the 2008 David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award10m, 3f, flexible casting (Roles may be played by any race or gender except when specified.)DramaElephant’s Graveyard is the true tale of the tragic collision of a struggling circus and a tiny town in Tennessee, which resulted in the only known lynching of an elephant. Set in September of 1916, the play combines historical fact and legend, exploring the deep-seated American craving for spectacle, violence and revenge. “The script—based on a true story about a traveling circus that, in 1916, stumbled into gory disaster in a muddy Tennessee town—is, like the best art, microscopically specific with echoes that radiate outward across time. It conjures a world with its own atmosphere and terrible internal logic. It’s mesmerizing... symphonic in its emotional variations on a tragic theme. Elephant’s Graveyard buzzes with truth about the consequences of misunderstanding, the invisible but enormous gap between artists and their audiences, and the infernal beauty of vaudeville.” -The Stranger, Seattle“A theatrical masterpiece.” – Columbia City Paper“The most striking production in the (NSDF) festival.” – Times of London“Deeply moving…has the audience in stitches at the open and tears at the close.” – TheSunCoast.comFEE: $75 per performanceCharacter Descriptions: The Circus
RINGMASTER – obsessed with the bottom line
TRAINER – loves his work
BALLET GIRL – a showgirl in control
TOUR MANAGER – bit of a bully
STRONGMAN – a proud muscleman from Europe’s far-off shores
CLOWN – a comedian with an inferiority complex
DRUMMER – keeps the beat
The Town
HUNGRY TOWNSPERSON – African-American, a steel-trap memory
MARSHAL – keeps the peace
MUDDY TOWNSPERSON – a haunted widow
PREACHER – doggedly hopeful
STEAM SHOVEL OPERATOR – looking for escape
YOUNG TOWNSPERSON – excitable dreamer
GUITARIST/HARMONICA PLAYER – sets the rhythm
The Railroad
ENGINEER – confident Time is on his sideAlso available from Samuel French include:
Elephant's Graveyard - Abridged Version (One Act)
Elephant's Graveyard (Logo Pack)
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