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Raft of the Medusa
Raft of the Medusa
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Author: Joe Pintauro Publisher: Dramatists Play Service (cover may change) Format: Softcover # of Pages: 64 Pub. Date: 1992 Edition: Acting ISBN-10: 0822213141 ISBN-13: 9780822213147 Cast Size: 3 female, 10 male
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About the Play:
Raft of the Medusa is a full-length drama by Joe Pintauro. A young woman joins an HIV positive support group for the first time and learns that what ties them together also tears them apart. Raft of the Medusa is a taut, deeply powerful drama that presents a microcosm of those affected by AIDS in the earlier days of the crisis through the device of a diverse therapy group clashing, confronting, and comforting each other as they work through their emotions about their devastating diagnosis.
Raft of the Medusa takes place 10 years into the AIDS
epidemic, centering on a weekly support group session of people
living with AIDS, where the members discover the disease they share
can divide as effectively as it conquers. The members of the group
are a diverse lot, including homosexuals, heterosexuals and
bisexuals, conservatives and liberals, black, white and Hispanic,
rich and poor. Some of them are philosophical, some are angry, and
some resigned. As the evening's discussion progresses they discover
that one member, Larry, a reporter, does not have AIDS, but is tape
recording the sessions for an article. They attack him verbally and
physically until Nairobi, a homeless woman in the group, stabs Larry
with a dirty syringe, infecting him with the virus. The others are
stunned and the reporter is hysterical, until Nairobi reveals that
the needle was a clean one and that she would not give the disease to
her worst enemy. The other members of the group then react with a
kind of awe, asking the reporter what it feels like to experience the
miracle of a "cure." The quick trauma brings them together,
reaching for their own comfort while they search for unattainable
answers. The play is named after Theodore Gericault's magnificent painting "The Raft of the Medusa" that hangs in the Louvre, which depicts a true incident: the survivors of the wreck of the ship Medusa, some dead, some dying, some
waving their shirts in a vain effort to attract the attention of a
passing ship. It's a terrific metaphor for
the subject of Joe Pintauro's play – those modern castaways, the victims of AIDS: many not seen, many ignored.
Raft of the Medusa premiered in 1990 at Home for Contemporary Theatre and Art in New York City before being presented to considerable acclaim at Greenwich Village's Minetta Lane Theatre in 1991. Since then the play had regional premieres at professional theatres in many other cities including Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Montreal. The English premiere by the London Gay Theatre Company at The Gate in London in 1995.
Cast: 3 female, 10 male
What people say:
"Raft of the Medusa
… is as disturbing as it is moving. Raft of the Medusa
is an absorbing work that careens from fierce anger to unabashed
sentimentality. The play ultimately strips the alienated characters
of their defenses, revealing the bond that is both their curse and
their salvation." — Variety
"Joe Pintauro's
Raft of the Medusa…grabs, holds, and harrows
us with the chilling facts and cold statistics of mortality in the
Age of AIDS. The play unquestionably hits home and hits hard."
— New York Post
"Nothing less than our
mortality is on the line. There are no outs. Even if a play is make
believe, the death sentence is palpably real. That's certainly the
case with Raft of the Medusa, the new drama by
Joe Pintauro...." — The New
York Times
About the Playwright:
Joe
Pintauro (1930-2018) was an award-winning American author, poet
and prolific playwright in late 20th century New York. A former
priest, he graduated from Fordham University in New York City with an
M.A. in American Literature before studying Theology for four years
at Niagara University. He is the acclaimed author of two novels,
several volumes of poetry, and a plethora of plays. He is best known
for works such as Raft of the Medusa, Cacciatore, and
Men's Lives.
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Joe Pintauro, Lanford Wilson & Terrence McNally
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