A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Crazy Locomotive

Short Play, Drama  /  4w, 9m

C. S. Durer, Stanislaw Witkiewicz, Daniel Gerould

The Crazy Locomotive
by Stanislaw Witkiewicz
Translated by Daniel C. Gerould & C. S. Durer

Startling discontinuities and surprises erupt throughout these avant-garde landscapes by Poland's outstanding modern dramatist where duchesses and policemen, gangsters and surrealist painters, psychiatrists and locomotive engineers wander in and out, kill one another, and carry on philosophical conversations at the same time.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 9m
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Experimental, Science Fiction
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • 1977 Obie Award

Details

Summary
Startling discontinuities and surprises erupt throughout these avant-garde landscapes by Poland's outstanding modern dramatist where duchesses and policemen, gangsters and surrealist painters, psychiatrists and locomotive engineers wander in and out, kill one another, and carry on philosophical conversations at the same time.

When a small band of outcasts and super villains hijack a locomotive engine, they determine to race it full-throttle into an oncoming train in order to experience the very Mystery of Existence, but will their high-speed adventure send them headlong into another dimension, or are they only heading for disaster?  In a world full of disguises where nothing is what it seems and people change identities at the drop of a hat – who and what will survive the ultimate judgment?     

Combining the drama and thrill of pulp fiction and early cinema with the sensuality and suspense of the tango, The Crazy Locomotive will have audiences on the edge of their seats. 
History
This translation of The Crazy Locomotive premiered at Chelsea Theatre Center in 1977 starring Glenn Close and Peter Bartlett. 
Keywords
VALERY BEAN
SOPHIA TENSER/JEANNE CACKLESON
3RD THUG
CONDUCTOR
MINNA
JOHN CACKLESON/1ST THUG
DR. RIFTMAKER/2ND THUG
TURBULENCE GUSTER
2ND GENDARME/DOCTOR'S ASSISTANT
NICHOLAS SLOBOK
1ST GENDARME
MIRA BEAN
JULIA TOMASIK
SIEGFRIED TENSER
  • Setting The engine room of a train hurtling toward its destruction. 

Media

"It's a buffoonish, perverse, assaultive, and exhilarating ride, just the kind Witkiewicz must have envisioned." - The Chicago Reader

"Locomotive might be a bit impenetrable for first-time theatergoers. But if you’re willing to throw expectations to the wind...you’re bound to have a good time." - Time Out Boston

"The Crazy Locomotive is a parody taken to extremes that expresses Polish avant-garde playwright Stanislaw Witkiewicz’s distaste for mechanization and modern art by exploiting them in his mockery of them. His characters want to be liberated from a mundane reality and they actively pursue this goal, living by the motto of 'action not contemplation.' Likewise, Witkiewicz pursues his agenda in no uncertain terms, attacking his subject matter directly with some truly brilliant one-liners." - nytheatre.com 

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $65 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

Author

C. S. Durer

Author

Stanislaw Witkiewicz

Author

Daniel Gerould

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