The Oldest Boy: A Play in Three Ceremonies

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Oldest Boy: A Play in Three Ceremonies

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 4m

Sarah Ruhl

The Oldest Boy is a richly emotional journey filled with music, dance, puppetry, ritual, and laughter — Sarah Ruhl at her imaginative best. A meditation on attachment and unconditional love, the play asks us to believe in a world in which sometimes the youngest children are also the oldest and wisest teachers.

The Oldest Boy: A Play in Three Ceremonies

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adventure
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

In this moving exploration of parenthood, an American mother and a Tibetan father have a three-year-old son believed to be the reincarnation of a Buddhist lama. When a Tibetan lama and a monk come to their home unexpectedly, asking to take their child away for a life of spiritual training in India, the parents must make a life-altering choice that will test their strength, their marriage, and their hearts.

The Oldest Boy is a richly emotional journey filled with music, dance, puppetry, ritual, and laughter — Sarah Ruhl at her imaginative best. A meditation on attachment and unconditional love, the play asks us to believe in a world in which sometimes the youngest children are also the oldest and wisest teachers.

History
The Oldest Boy premiered in New York City at the Lincoln Center Theatre in December 2014, under the director of Rebecca Taichman.
Keywords
Performing Groups
MOTHER – white, mid-thirties to mid-forties
A MONK – Tibetan, age immaterial
A LAMA – Tibetan, age immaterial
THE OLDEST BOY – older than the lama, speaks for and moves the puppet, Tibetan
FATHER – Tibetan mid-thirties to mid-forties
  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Additional Features Puppetry
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

“Poetic... marked by Ms. Ruhl’s inquisitive intelligence, clean-lined eloquence and spiky humor.” – The New York Times

“Ms. Ruhl's drama is among the most easily accesible from this poetic, venturesome playwright... yet it is marked by Ms. Ruhl’s inquisitive intelligence, clean-lined eloquence and spiky humor.” – The New York Times, Read More

“Gorgeous fluidity in the writing... Ruhl uses her beguiling storytelling skills, including a porous fourth wall and elements of ceremonial dance, music and singing, to make the mother's struggle a dramatically cogent one.” – Hollywood Reporter, Read More

“Sweet and spirit-filled... Ruhl uses the stage to explore unexpected places and ideas.” – Star Tribune, Read More

Videos

  • The Oldest Boy at the Lincoln Center Theatre youtube thumbnail

    The Oldest Boy at the Lincoln Center Theatre

  • The Oldest Boy at Marin Theatre Company youtube thumbnail

    The Oldest Boy at Marin Theatre Company

  • Scene from Unicorn Theatre's The Oldest Boy youtube thumbnail

    Scene from Unicorn Theatre's The Oldest Boy

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $130 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl’s plays include In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, The Clean House, Passion Play, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Melancholy Play, For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday, The Oldest Boy, Stage Kiss, Dear Elizabeth, Eurydice, How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, Orlando, Late ...

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