A PIECE OF MY HEART
"The play, A Piece of My Heart, by Shirley Lauro, has become the nation’s most enduring theatrical production that deals with the Vietnam War."
-The VVA Veteran
The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress
March/April 2006
ARTS OF WAR
PLAY OVERVIEW:
The true stories of six courageous women sent to Vietnam and their struggle to make sense of a war that irrevocably changed them and a nation that shunned them. A work with the music and soul of a tumultuous era in our history.
1m; 6w.
AWARDS:
The Susan Blackburn Prize (Finalist) as “Best English Language Play by a Woman; The Barbara Deming Prize for Women Playwrights; The Kittredge Foundation Award.
PLAY HISTORY:
Manhattan Theatre Club, New York
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Philadelphia Festival Theatre at the Annenberg Center
The Playhouse, Durban, South Africa
Stamford Theatre Works
Main Street Theatre of Houston
International City Theatre of Long Beach
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
OF INTEREST:
A PIECE OF MY HEART has enjoyed over 800 productions, both in America and abroad. In the 2005-06 season, the play will enjoy professional productions at Atlanta's Theatre-in-the-Square, Moolelo Productions, San Diego, and Theatre Unbound in Minneapolis. Among some of the most interesting productions have been a Command Performance in Washington, D.C. when the statue to Vietnam Nurses was dedicated and a production at the Gates of Arlington Cemetary at the 10th Anniversary of the Statue's dedication; a Memorial Day production by L.A. Venture West Theater outdoors at the L.A. Vets Cemetery; and a South African production where Ms. Lauro, sponsored by The Natal Performing Arts Council and the U.S. Information Agency, attended the premiere and lectured on the play at the five major universities of Natal.
American university productions include New York University; Smith College; Cornell University; University of Southern California; Carnegie Mellon at the Naples, Italy conference; Bates College; University of Texas; Iowa State University; American Academy of Dramatic Arts; Wesleyan University; Arizon School for the Arts; University of Arizona; Pomona College; University of Southern Mississippi; University of Wisconsin; among many others.
REVIEWS:
"...Shirley Lauro's new play A PIECE OF MY HEART, is a catharsis as well as a coup de theatre...There have been a number of plays dealing with Vietnam...but none with the direct, emotional impact of Ms. Lauro's work...(she) has turned first hand impressions into a disturbing drama that evokes empathy for survivors as victims."
-The New York Times
"Vietnam drama sparks...Surprised audiences...brought them to tears with sobs filling the auditorium and a standing ovation at the finish...drawing on the experiences of women in the Vietman War, Shirley Lauro's A PIECE OF MY HEART found solid dramatic context on the stage..."
-Variety
"A PIECE OF MY HEART...takes up a subject largely missing from the reams of material written about Vietnam, namely the women sho served there...seamlessly interweaving the stories of the six principals...the play is exceedingly moving as the women gather at the memorial wall in Washington and experience a heart wrenching expiation---one that also affects those watching them from the audience...in not straining for a hit, the (theatre) may have produced one in A PIECE OF MY HEART."
-The Wall Street Journal
"Shirley Lauro's cathartic...rousing...skillfully dramatized...creating an exhilarating sense of reconciliation and triumph. Ms. Lauro was able to take disparate characters and create a complete narrative from their stories, no small task."
-Christian Science Monitor
"A PIECE OF MY HEART...one of the most compelling and valuable (plays) yet written on a subject...rarely treated with such straight-forward authenticity...mercurial staging...separates the soldier from the politics of his mission...needs to be seen now."
-The Detroit News
"In A PIECE OF MY HEART...there's what amounts dramatically to an almost religious expiation---a final recognition of what actually went on in Vietnam and afterwards..."
-The Irish Times
AVAILABLE FROM:
Samuel French, Inc.
http://www.samuelfrench.com
45 West 25th Street - Dept.W
New York, NY 10010
Phone (212) 206-8990
Fax (212) 206-1429 Samuel French, Inc.
7623 Sunset Blvd. - Dept.W
Hollywood, CA 90046
Phone (323) 876-0570
Fax (323) 876-6822
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SUGGESTED MUSIC:
Email:beaconagency@hotmail.com
Patricia McLaughlin
Beacon Artists Agency
1501 Broadway, Suite 1200
New York NY 10036
212-736-6630