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The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 2m

Madeleine George

Four versions of Watson—Holmes' sidekick, telephone engineer, Jeopardy! super-computer and amiable techno-dweeb—become one in this brilliantly witty,
time-jumping, loving tribute (and cautionary tale) dedicated to the
people—and machines—upon which we all depend.

The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Finalist! 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
    Winner! 2014 John Gassner Award
    The 2014 Kilroys List

Details

Summary

Watson: trusty sidekick to Sherlock Holmes; loyal engineer who built Bell’s first telephone; unstoppable super-computer that became reigning Jeopardy! champ; amiable techno-dweeb who, in the present day, is just looking for love.

These four constant companions become one in this brilliantly witty, time-jumping, loving tribute (and cautionary tale) dedicated to the people—and machines—upon which we all depend.

History
The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence premiered off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on November 15, 2013. Directed by Leigh Silverman, the production featured John Ellison Conlee, David Costabile and Amanda Quaid.
Keywords
Performing Groups

WATSON – 20s to 60s
MERRICK – 50s
ELIZA – 30s

On February 16, 2011, IBM’s natural-language-processing supercomputer, Watson (designed by a team of over 20 programmers and named after Thomas J. Watson, founder of IBM), beat the two winningest champions in Jeopardy! history, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, on the third night of a televised Jeopardy! tournament.

On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell placed the first telephone call to his assistant, Thomas A. Watson, in a nearby room over roughly 20 feet of cable. The famous words of this first communication by wire (“Mr. Watson – come here – I want to see you!”) were remembered by Watson himself in an interview some 50 years later as “Mr. Watson – come here – I want you.”

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective who solved mysteries using his signature form of rational deductive analysis and the help of his friend and chronicler Dr. John H. Watson in London from 1887 to 1914. He was killed twice by his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, once in 1891, by a fatal fall off a cliff into Reichenbach Falls, and again in 1930, by the death of the creator himself.

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day, New Millennium/21st Century, 19th Century
  • Setting A wood-paneled sitting room with a desk, chair, coffee table, credenza, and fireplace, never lit.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Refreshingly whimsical... juggles several deep themes with grace, wit and intellectual verve.” – Time Out New York

“Marvelous and filled with marvels. In the Stoppardian world of The Watson Intelligence, Madeleine George's human, dramatic play takes surprising turns.” – New York Magazine, Read More

“Sweet and twisty... refreshingly whimsical... [George] juggles several deep themes with grace, wit and intellectual verve.” – Time Out New York, Read More

“Thoughtful and ambitious.” – Entertainment Weekly

Videos

  • Madeleine George on The (...) Watson Intelligence, Part 1 youtube thumbnail

    Madeleine George on The (...) Watson Intelligence, Part 1

  • Madeleine George on The (...) Watson Intelligence, Part 2 youtube thumbnail

    Madeleine George on The (...) Watson Intelligence, Part 2

  • The (...) Watson Intelligence – Playwrights Horizons Promo youtube thumbnail

    The (...) Watson Intelligence – Playwrights Horizons Promo

  • The (...) Watson Intelligence – Playwrights Horizons Teaser youtube thumbnail

    The (...) Watson Intelligence – Playwrights Horizons Teaser

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

Madeleine George

Madeleine George
Madeleine George’s plays include Hurricane Diane (Obie Award), The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence (Pulitzer Prize finalist; Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award), Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England (Susan Smith Blackburn finalist), Precious Little and Th ...
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