The Yellow Boat

by David Saar

A young boy concludes his bedtime ritual pretending to be a yellow boat sailing up to the sun.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama

76 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Tova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play is very heartbreaking. At Centrum this past Spring we performed it and I almost made my mother cry with "We will always love you, Benji." Shoutout to James for being my husband and calling me honey the entire week.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very touching play and true story. It will make you cry but it will make you love, too. I'm tearing up a bit just reading the summary on this website!

I wish GoodReads had the cover art available. :(
(Edit--a half hour later--ask and you shall receive! There's the cover art!!! Yippie!)

I have done this play twice--once in college, where I was a member of the Stage Management team, and once when I was teaching high school. I directed the play (mostly Sophomore actors) and all the roles were done by female students. One of the most memorable productions I have been involved in and I think the students enjoyed it immensely (sp?). Only seven actors, I think, so you can't do it if you have a large class and want to give everyone equal sized roles. Great educational piece; good for all ages.

[olivia]

well ow

[Madeline Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the most beautiful, shocking, and heartbreaking plays I have ever had the chance of being exposed to. I was lucky enough to see this play performed at a theatre festival, and though I haven’t had the chance to read the words on a page, every word spoken was thoughtful, and the story did a wonderful job of making you attached before breaking your heart at the end. yellow boat is an incredible story that i would recommend to absolutely anyone.

[Mia]

most certainly the most devastating play i've read in A WHILE. maybe the most ever? like i'm out here cryingggg. also i'm not so sure this is for children. like i'm not saying kids shouldn't know what AIDS is, i'm more talking about how this is a very emotional piece that I think should be intended for adults not children

[Shannon McGahey Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Yellow Boat is the perfect combination of heartwarming and heartbreaking. Beautifully written and an incredible tribute to Benjamin. The imagination and love poured into the story illuminated the prevalence of friendship, kindness, family bonds, and discrimination. Never fails to make me cry.

[Roma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it for my theatre for young audiences class… god it is so sad but so good. I love the exploration of play through such a hard topic. I remember seeing a cut production of it at districts one year, but I’d love to see it in its entirety. I’m sure the tech is dope.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eurydice meets God's Ear meets, I dunno, 400 Blows? Florida Project?
It's inventive and tragic and beautiful—but maybe a little too much so? A little too clean?

[J.S. Puller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot do justice to how moving I found this play or the ways in which it changed my life. Honestly, you just have to read it.

[Wt Prater · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this play so much.

[Emelia Aragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

so heart breaking

[Ted Zayka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, heartbreaking, funny, sad, and poignant play based on the true experiences of a family dealing with HIV/AIDS. As a reader/viewer, you find yourself drawn into the world of the family as they struggle with the illness. There are periodic moments of humor though that release the pressure of an otherwise heavy subject matter, and give us permission to laugh. This play reminds us what it is like to be alive, and to deal with the beauty, and often times heartache, or life. It is a journey that should be experienced.

9.5/10

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrown in last minute as Joy, and have never felt such a strong bond with a character I've played. Being close to a family with a boy around Benjamin's age with leukemia, and always playing with him and cheering him up allowed me to understand Joy's position. This is an incredibly strong and artistic play, and I am so blessed to have worked on it with such a wonderful cast! One of those plays that must be performed well to be understood. Read-thrus just don't cut it.

[Thespian999 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read this but I have seen it performed. I love this play. If you get the chance, get your kleenex and go see it. It's an amazing play.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very easy read, but so sad. Now I find out it was based on a true story. My heart goes out to the parents of this boy.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful simplistic theatre piece for young audiences, that deals with complexity of hemophilia, AIDS and the love of a mother and father.

[Ceci Touzon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This show is super imaginative and fun. But, it will most certainly tug at your heart strings. Many tears were shed during this beautiful tale of childhood and preparing for loss.

[Kayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice play, but incredibly sad!