A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Ethan Frome (Blackwood)

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4w, 5m

By Gary L. Blackwood
Adapted from Edith Wharton's novel

A highly-theatrical but faithful adaptation of Edith Wharton's romantic and tragic short novel of rural Massachusetts life around the turn of the 20th century.

Ethan Frome (Blackwood)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptations (Literature), Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary
A highly-theatrical but faithful adaptation of Edith Wharton's romantic and tragic short novel of rural Massachusetts life around the turn of the 20th century. The play alternates between two distinct time periods. In one, Ethan Frome is a bitter, broken middle-aged man. In the other, the audience learns, through a series of flashbacks, the events that made him that way: Ethan has resigned himself to a loveless marriage with his cousin Zeena, a humorless hypochondriac. Then a naive, appealing young relative, Mattie Silver, comes to live with them, and Ethan's bleak existence is changed forever. There are no happy endings here, however, and audience members should come armed with several handkerchiefs. The dual-time-frame makes the role of Ethan a real tour de force, but the complex roles of Zeena and Mattie offer plenty of range as well.
ETHAN FROME - thirties
EDWARD - twenties
ANDREW HALE - fifties-sixties
DENIS EADY - twenties
NED - twenties
MATTIE SILVER - twenties
ZEENA FROME - thirties-forties
MRS. HALE - fifties-sixties
RUTH - twenties
  • Time Period 19th Century
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Music

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

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

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Authors

Gary l. Blackwood

Gary I. Blackwood is best known as a writer of novels and nonfiction books for young adults and middle readers, yet he manages to find time to pen a stage play now and again.  His scripts - some for children, some for adults - have been produced by amateur, university, and pr ...
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