About the Play:

The Graduate has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female/Male Scenes.

The Graduate is a full-length comedy adapted for the stage by Terry Johnson, based on the iconic film screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry and the classic novel by Charles Webb that inspired it. The play follows recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock's journey toward finding himself – with detours including an affair with older family friend Mrs. Robinson and a budding romance with her daughter, Elaine.

The Graduate brings the classic novel and one of the most popular films of all time vividly to life on stage. Benjamin Braddock is a confused young man. Having spent four years achieving a brilliant scholastic record, upon graduation he finds himself adrift, uncertain about his future, disconnected from his purpose, and increasingly alienated from the upper-class, suburban, "plastic" world of his parents. Fighting panic and boredom, he is deeply conflicted (but ultimately willing) when Mrs. Robinson – the original cougar – the unhappily married and dangerously charismatic wife of his father's business partner, tempts him into an affair. Benjamin's tenuous existence of lazy days and stolen nights falls apart when he falls in love – with Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's upbeat, optimistic daughter. The Graduate was the coming of age movie of the 1960s. This West End and Broadway hit play is a bitterly hilarious dark comedy that explores family dysfunction, parental expectations, crumbling marriages, and the naive, yet disillusioned, dichotomy of youth, against the shiny backdrop of affluent Southern California in the 1960s.

The Graduate premiered in 2000 at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End, and was directed by Terry Johnson himself. It then opened on Broadway in 2002, starring Kathleen Turner as Mrs. Robinson, Jason Biggs as Ben, and Alicia Silverstone as Elaine. Since then the play has been produced widely at professional theatres across the US. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and has been mounted by colleges and community theatres.

Cast: 5 female, 6 male

What people say:

"After a long and successful run in the West End, The Graduate is now on Broadway and IT'S A HIT!" — Variety

"Fun to watch…. Definitely gives off starlight." — New York Times

"Good stuff…. The audience goes wild." — FOX5 TV

"Delightful." — USA Today

"Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson!… Breaking all box office records!" — Newark Star Ledger

About the Playwright:

Terry Johnson is one of Britain's best-selling contemporary playwrights. His plays have been performed all over Europe and the United States, and have won him many awards.