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Little Footsteps
Little Footsteps
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Author: Ted Tally Publisher: Dramatists Play Service (cover may change) Format: Softcover # of Pages: 72 Pub. Date: 1998 ISBN-10: 0822206765 ISBN-13: 9780822206767 Cast Size: 2 female, 2 male
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About
the Play:
Little Footsteps is a full-length dramatic comedy by Ted
Tally. An upwardly mobile couple, in their mid-thirties and
married eight years, are about to become parents for the first time.
But there are all sorts of problems inherent in that, not the least
of which is that the parents-to-be are pretty childish themselves. Little Footsteps is an
hilarious and, at the same time, thoughtfully cautionary examination
of the promises – and perils – of impending parenthood.
Little Footsteps centers on a self-absorbed New York couple
– Ben (who is Jewish) works in television, Joanie (a quintessential
WASP) is a would-be artist with grand dreams – suddenly faced with
the looming reality of parenthood after Joanie becomes pregnant
unexpectedly. As the play begins they are converting the dining room
of their in their small co-op apartment into a nursery, an activity
which both underscores the impending changes in their lives and
reinforces Ben's uneasiness about it. The scene is filled with funny
lines as Ben tries to make light of his misgivings, but his fears
lead inevitably to dispute and, by the end of Act One, Ben has
departed and Joanie suddenly finds herself a single parent-to-be. In
Act Two, which takes place several months later, a christening party
is in progress attended by Joanie's parents, Charlotte and Gil, an
affluent older couple who are not hesitant to point out that they
never much cared for Ben in the first place. As for Ben, having
avoided the formal christening, he now sneaks in through the nursery
window determined (in a gesture toward his own religious background)
to intone a few Jewish prayers over his newborn son – which, when
the others suddenly return, leads both to a series of wildly funny
misunderstandings, and also, in the end, a tenuous reconciliation and
a commitment, by both Ben and Joanie, to try to grow up before their
offspring does.
Little Footsteps was produced in 1986 to critical and
popular acclaim off Broadway by New York's noted Playwrights
Horizons. Since then the
play has been successfully staged at several professional theatres
across the
US, and has been mounted by
colleges and community theatres.
Cast: 2 female, 2 male
What people say:
"…a total delight from
beginning to end, as much fun as any Neil Simon comedy and yet even
more inventive." — BackStage
"…it is civilized, literate,
mind-stretching entertainment, its tomfoolery leavened by
thoughtfulness and taste." — New York Magazine
"…there's a little something
for nearly everyone in Little Footsteps…."
— The New York Times
"…the kind of play that can
restore your faith in the theatre. A hilariously serious comedy, it
offers the kind of emotional shakeup — and the kinds of rewards —
that can come only from a live stage experience." —
Gannett Newspapers
About the Playwright:
Ted Tally is an an Academy Award-winning American
playwright and screenwriter. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama,
Tally's plays include Terra Nova, which received an Obie
Award. In 1991, he won an Academy Award for his adaptation of The
Silence of the Lambs. Tally continues to write screenplays and
movies.
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