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The Insanity of Mary Girard
The Insanity of Mary Girard
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Author: Lanie Robertson Publisher: Samuel French (cover may change) Format: Softcover # of Pages: 50 Pub. Date: 1979 Edition: Acting ISBN-10: 0573622272 ISBN-13: 9780573622274 Cast Size: 4 female, 3 male
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About the Play:
The Insanity of Mary Girard is full-length drama by
Lanie Robertson. Based on a true story, Mary is committed to
Philadelphia's only institution for the insane in the basement of
Pennsylvania Hospital in 1790. Wife of a rich businessman, we learn
just what it takes to be labelled, and become, insane.
The Insanity of Mary Girard is the real-life story of a
Philadelphia women who spent the last 25 years of her life in a
mental institution. In 1790, Mary Girard is committed to an asylum.
After Mary became pregnant by another man, her husband took swift and
immediate action. He had her declared legally insane. The play is set
on the first night of Mary's confinement, Mary sits alone in the
basement psycho ward, strapped into a "tranquilizing" chair
while her "furies" dance around and manipulate her by
impersonating the people she believes can save her. Through this
haunting and highly theatrical piece, we follow Mary as she questions
and fights the realities of her sanity under the heavy circumstances
she finds herself in.
The Insanity of Mary Girard premiered in 1976 at The
Painted Bride Art Center (sometimes referred to informally as "The
Bride") in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since
then the play had regional premieres at professional theatres across
the US and has been mounted by high schools, colleges, and community
theatres.
Cast: 4 female, 3 male
What people say:
"An engrossing drama on the
abuse of the mentally ill." — The Times-Picayune
"Compelling." — DC
Theater Scene
"[The Insanity of Mary Girard]
is well-crafted." — Gambit Weekly
About the Playwright:
Lanie Robertson is an American playwright, actor, and
educator, best known for his brilliant one woman plays, including
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, the story of Bille
Holliday. Many of his plays were produced in Philadelphia, where he
also taught literature and play-writing at the Philadelphia College
of Art during the 1970s. He has written over 30 plays for regional
and Off-Broadway theater. His plays have been produced in New York,
Chicago, and Philadelphia, and in towns in Virginia, Alaska, and
Maine. Internationally, his work has been produced in Canada,
England, France, Australia, and Japan.
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