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The Little Flower of East Orange
When Therese Marie arrives in the emergency room of a small hospital in the Bronx, suffering from hypothermia and in shock, no one there knows her story. To the doctors and nurses, she is just another abandoned elderly woman who can't even tell them her name. But Therese Marie's dementia is not all that it seems. And when her prodigal son, Danny, returns to New York, Therese Marie must fight to maintain her dignity in light of her son's insistence on confronting the ugly secrets of their past.
In this unconventional family drama, Stephen Adly Guirgis gives us a mother and son who must face a long family legacy of abuse in order to find the true meaning of grace.
In this unconventional family drama, Stephen Adly Guirgis gives us a mother and son who must face a long family legacy of abuse in order to find the true meaning of grace.
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2009
About the author
Stephen Adly Guirgis
19 books87 followersStephen Adly Guirgis is an American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He is a member and a former co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced both Off-Broadway and on Broadway, as well as in the UK. His play Between Riverside and Crazy won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 2, 2016
Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgus does things I deepy admire. In Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train and Our Lady of 121 Street, he uses a gritty vernacular and adds scenes of very quick, energetic staging that does what theater does well, that movies cannot. He has no fear of breaking the fourth wall and of making theater edgy, shocking, and episodic. He tends to be less successful at creating unified plot. These are all present in his new, most autobiographical play The Little Flower of East Orange.
East Orange is less of a dark comedy – less like his past works – and more of a memory play and a family drama. This is owing to Guirgus losing a parent as he was writing this.
East Orange is about a prodigal son – a thirty-something writer with a drug and alcohol problem – and his sick mother, who he’s taken care of most of his life. Both the son and mother try to reconcile the combatting parts of her history. At the top of the play, the son has run away to Arizona, so he can do drugs and alcohol in a rehab center. The mother – in the care of her equally neurotic daughter – flees home and ends up in a hospital where she may or may not have amnesia. In her stay, she battles horrible back pain and hallucinations about her past.
It’s actually traditional fare, except Guirgus’s short, sparky introduction of characters – and then they’re gone – is frustrating. There are 21 characters, many of whom we just shouldn’t care about. The son’s druggie girlfriend comes back with him, and then disappears. Another son of a mother in the hospital is also given a lot of scenes, as is a Hispanic and somewhat flamboyant male nurse. Also added for theatrical flair are drugged-out moments where the mom meets Jimmy Stewart, Bobby Kennedy, and a Pope. They’re funny but unnecessary scenes; this gimmick gets completely lost in the second act, when it could’ve been extended for good theatrical reason, with sound logic as to why the mother keeps hallucinating. Here we see how Guirgus’s natural disjointedness actually weakens East Orange, making what little there is of a plot seem saggy or bloated.
Even the script’s tones and language change from short, quippy, unrealistic scenes to tight, realistic kitchen-sink drama. Guigus may be doing this for theatrical interest, but it also means East Orange feels messy, all over the place.
The emotional moments are effective, even as they remind us of Williams’ Glass Menagerie, Anderson’s I Never Sang for My Father, and other plays a good 50 to 70 years older. The family’s ongoing struggle with substance abuse is a fascinating subtheme. Still, Guirgus is less able to draw everything together plot-wise or metaphorically.
Actors have some stellar moments – particularly the son, the male nurse, and especially the mother. East orange, though, doesn’t feel like a whole, unified story with a clear direction.
East Orange is less of a dark comedy – less like his past works – and more of a memory play and a family drama. This is owing to Guirgus losing a parent as he was writing this.
East Orange is about a prodigal son – a thirty-something writer with a drug and alcohol problem – and his sick mother, who he’s taken care of most of his life. Both the son and mother try to reconcile the combatting parts of her history. At the top of the play, the son has run away to Arizona, so he can do drugs and alcohol in a rehab center. The mother – in the care of her equally neurotic daughter – flees home and ends up in a hospital where she may or may not have amnesia. In her stay, she battles horrible back pain and hallucinations about her past.
It’s actually traditional fare, except Guirgus’s short, sparky introduction of characters – and then they’re gone – is frustrating. There are 21 characters, many of whom we just shouldn’t care about. The son’s druggie girlfriend comes back with him, and then disappears. Another son of a mother in the hospital is also given a lot of scenes, as is a Hispanic and somewhat flamboyant male nurse. Also added for theatrical flair are drugged-out moments where the mom meets Jimmy Stewart, Bobby Kennedy, and a Pope. They’re funny but unnecessary scenes; this gimmick gets completely lost in the second act, when it could’ve been extended for good theatrical reason, with sound logic as to why the mother keeps hallucinating. Here we see how Guirgus’s natural disjointedness actually weakens East Orange, making what little there is of a plot seem saggy or bloated.
Even the script’s tones and language change from short, quippy, unrealistic scenes to tight, realistic kitchen-sink drama. Guigus may be doing this for theatrical interest, but it also means East Orange feels messy, all over the place.
The emotional moments are effective, even as they remind us of Williams’ Glass Menagerie, Anderson’s I Never Sang for My Father, and other plays a good 50 to 70 years older. The family’s ongoing struggle with substance abuse is a fascinating subtheme. Still, Guirgus is less able to draw everything together plot-wise or metaphorically.
Actors have some stellar moments – particularly the son, the male nurse, and especially the mother. East orange, though, doesn’t feel like a whole, unified story with a clear direction.
June 23, 2009
A beautiful, if slightly incoherent, story of a family struggling to discover the meaning of grace. The tale unfolds slowly, and needs to be embodied by stellar actors to fully appreciate, which fortunately it was in the Public Theater and LAByrinth co-production featuring Ellen Burstyn and Michael Shannon. Somewhat auto-biographical, it is a testament to the power of familial love, even in the face of the worst familial adversity.
March 29, 2024
Incoherent and scattered, but overall message of grief still shines through
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October 11, 2024potential monologue in here
February 4, 2012
This play is hard to rate because I feel like it will affect you differently depending on whether you have experienced the death of a close family member, or have had to care for a parent at the end of their life. As a person who has done both (in the latter case it was a grandparent), I was deeply moved by this play. The more I know of Guirgis, the more I love him.
September 5, 2013
Read an interesting play lately? This might be the one for you. I was into it when my own mom was sick and I can relate deeply to Danny and her sister's plight. Marie Therese is quite a character. I just felt though that this was too contrived, the plot and ending too labored. Oh well. Plays can be hit or miss. In this case, a sloppy miss.
August 19, 2012
Hmm. Did I not like it because it was a play? Maybe. Did I just not like it that much? Maybe. Did I hate it? Not quite. The writing itself wasn't bad, and the story was ok, but as a whole it just wasn't my thing I suppose.
May 7, 2016
Excellent! First play I've read of his and will definitely read others. Ellen Burstyn as the mother would have been great to see - I could picture & hear her voice as I read through the play. Lots of humor, drama, well-paced.
June 24, 2016
Though the play starts out strong, with varied fantasy elements interwoven into the rather straight forward plot, these elements are quickly abandoned all together as the story takes on a heavier and more conventional tone, with few surprises and little revelation.
February 12, 2009
what happened to the hard nosed stephen adly guirgis i came to know and love whose characters were hooked on meth and made love in bathrooms?
April 17, 2011
I think there are some problems with this play. Like something you'd kick around at a workshop.
February 7, 2012
Started off a little shaky, almost experimental in style, but finished strong. I'm a big fan of just about everything Stephen Adly Guirgis writes!
February 5, 2017
Such a great play. So raw and so real and so funny all at once. A real cracker.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews