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I Remember Mama
I Remember Mama
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Author: Kathryn Forbes Adapted by: John van Druten Publisher: Dramatists Play Service (cover may change) Format: Softcover # of Pages: 82 Pub. Date: 1952 ISBN-10: 0822205505 ISBN-13: 9780822205500 Cast Size: 13 female, 9 male
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About the Play:
I Remember Mama has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues and Female/Female Scenes.
I Remember Mama is a full-length drama by John van
Druten, adapted from Kathryn Forbes' best-selling novel
Mama's Bank Account. A Norwegian immigrant family, settling
into 1910s San Francisco and held together by its indomitable Mama.
One of the most heartwarming studies of American family life yet to
reach the stage, and one of the great favourites among community
theatres. This
so-called "High School Version" is essentially the same as
the classic "Broadway Version." The main differences are
changes that the author made to the stage directions to allow for
simpler settings and staging of the play than originally devised for
the Broadway production.
I Remember Mama is a story filled with the qualities that
lift the spirit and make family life so cherished. It centres around
the memories of Katrin, the oldest daughter, who brings us the rich
characters in her family in a series of flashbacks to her childhood.
She is the writer of the family, and it is through her that we learn
of her remarkable mother. Like all the adult family members in the
play, Mama is a Norwegian immigrant. A sweet and capable manager,
Mama, with the help of her husband and Uncle Chris, brings up the
children in their modest San Francisco home during the early years of
the 20th century. Together Mama and Papa hold the values that have
shaped America. Work hard and get a good education. They are careful
with their pennies and generous with their affection. They sacrifice
for each other and Mama sees her children through childhood, manages
to educate them and to see one of her daughters begin her career as a
writer. Mama's sisters and uncle furnish a rich background for a
great deal of comedy and a little incidental tragedy, while the
doings of the children manage to keep everyone in pleasant turmoil.
No description can do justice to the rich characterizations that fill
the author's canvas.
I Remember Mama premiered in 1944 on Broadway at the Music
Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran for 713 performances. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops. It
remains a popular choice for community theatre productions and is an
ideal choice for middle and high school drama contests and festivals.
Cast: 13 female, 9 male (plus boys and girls, some extras).
About the Playwright:
John van Druten (1901-1957) was an English playwright and
theatre director who, after being educated as a solicitor, found much
success writing for the London theatre in the 1920s and '30s. He
relocated to the United States in 1940, and became a naturalized
American citizen in 1944. He was known for his primarily light
comedies about witty and urbane observations of contemporary life and
society.
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