M-A-S-H - One Act: Playscript

by Richard Hooker

Before the movie, this is the novel that gave life to Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John, Hot Lips Houlihan, Frank Burns, Radar O'Reilly, and the rest of the gang that made the 4077th MASH like no other place in Korea or on earth. The doctors who worked in the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) during the Korean War were well trained but, like most soldiers sent to fight a war, too young for the job. In the words of the author, "a few flipped their lids, but most of them just raised hell, in a variety of ways and degrees." For fans of the movie and the series alike, here is the original version of that perfectly corrupt football game, those martini-laced mornings and sexual escapades, and that unforgettable foray into assisted if incompleted suicide—all as funny and poignant now as they were before they became a part of America's culture and heart.

Genres: Plays

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Richard Hooker is the pseudonym of Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr. who was born February 1, 1924 and died November 4, 1997. He was an American writer and surgeon. His most famous work was his novel MASH (1968). The novel was based on his own personal experiences during the Korean War at the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. It was written in collaboration with W. C. Heinz. The novel took 11 years to write. In 1970, and then again from 1972-1983 it was used as the basis for a critically and commercially successful movie and television series of the same name.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Reviews

[Hailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a fun read...occasionally.

From the marketing on the play you expect it to be more like the TV show than the book, which it’s not, and that’s okay, just don’t market it like it is.

The play is pretty poorly written as well, with too many storylines and plots jumbled together. Most of the doctors are unlikable as well, the nurses and female characters are where the play truly shines.

It’s interesting to see what MASH could have been (but thankfully wasn’t) and I can see why this play isn’t more well known today.

[librarian4Him02 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I needed a short read to boost my book total for the year. It was on our bookshelf and I liked the t.v. show, so I thought, "Why not?"

It's got the moments of humor and tension just like the t.v. series, so made for a good read. Though it was a bit hard to distance myself from the plot of the series and take this as a stand alone work. In the end I'm glad I decided to pick it up.

[Dan Blackley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adapted from the Movie, (No Klinger) this is a great play that follows the story of the surgeons and nurses of MASH. We did this at my high school and Mike Farrell, B.J. Hunnycutt, came to the show to surprise the students. I do recommend this adaptation. It's clean and has many of the characters that are from the TV show.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reading the script of this by Tim Kelly.