About the Play:

Days of Wine and Roses has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues, Male Monologues, and Female/Male Scenes.

Days of Wine and Roses is a full-length drama by J.P. Miller. A man and woman meet at a bar and it's love at first sip. Days of Wine and Roses is a love story that examines a torrid relationship that was solidified and ultimately destroyed by alcohol. Famed as perhaps the most renowned product of television's "golden era," this powerful, deeply moving adaptation of his teleplay is available in a skillful and imaginative stage version prepared by the original author.

Days of Wine and Roses is the unfiltered exploration of a love triangle between two people and booze. In the fast-moving milieu of Madison Avenue, Mad Men-esque daily drinking is almost an occupational necessity, and one that fast-rising young Joe Clay adopts with too ready ease. Unfortunately the girl he meets and marries, Kristen, shares his proclivity, and while they continue to tell themselves that they drink because they choose to, it is soon apparent that their habit has become a serious problem. But their failure to acknowledge this plunges them headlong into the shattering events of the play – a career in shambles, a marriage destroyed, the esteem of friends and family lost, and a child who has become the innocent victim of their obsession. In the poignant ending of the play a spectre of hope arises but, more important, so does a galvanizing awareness of the depth of their torment, and of the lesson that their compulsive self-destruction must have for others.

Days of Wine and Roses began life as a 1958 television play in the prestigious anthology series "Playhouse 90." Cliff Robertson and Piper Laurie starred as Joe and Kirsten Clay. It was later made into a popular film, which starred Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, both of whom were nominated for Oscars for their roles. J.P. Miller wrote the movie, too, but the stage play is based on his original TV script. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and has been mounted in regional, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 5-10 female, 10-15 male, and 1 girl

What people say:

"A classic that originated in the golden age of TV drama, J.P. Miller's Days of Wine and Roses offers a harrowing portrait of the ravages of alcoholism, illuminating the ways in which the disease can have as toxic an effect on a loving relationship as it does on the bodies, minds, and spirits of the afflicted individuals." — Back Stage

"J.P. Miller's Days of Wine and Roses remains every bit as powerful and impactful as it was back in the black-and-white TV '50s. Trust me. It will leave you raw." — StageSceneLA

"J.P. Miller's 1958 play Days of Wine and Roses is a raw depiction of alcoholism and the devastation it wreaks on families." — Toronto Star

About the Playwright:

James Pinckney Miller (1919-2001), known professionally as J.P. Miller, was a leading playwright during America's Golden Age of Television in the 1950s, receiving three Emmy nominations. A novelist and screenwriter, he is best known for Days of Wine and Roses, directed by John Frankenheimer for Playhouse 90 (1958), which was later adapted into a motion picture (1962) directed by Blake Edwards.