Beyond Therapy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beyond Therapy is a comedic play by Christopher Durang that had a short run on Broadway in 1982, starring John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest. David Hyde Pierce earned his Equity Card and made his Broadway debut in the small but showey role of Andrew, the waiter. It was directed by British director John Madden, who later won an Oscar for directing Shakespeare in Love.
An earlier 1981 off-Broadway version of the play featured Stephen Collins and Sigourney Weaver in the leads. It was directed by Jerry Zaks early in his career; he went on to win Obie awards and Tony awards for his productions. Kate McGregor-Stewart as the warm but nutty therapist Charlotte and Jack Gilpin as the male lover Bob were in both productions.
The play's themes include New Yorkers' reliance on psychiatry, and the quest to find love and companionship.
The plot concerns Prudence, a New York City yuppie who has just ended an affair with Stuart, her macho, abusive psychiatrist and has decided to search for a boyfriend in the personal ads. Through this, she meets Bruce, who is kind and understanding... and also is a bisexual living with a man named Bob. Bruce's therapist, the comically eccentric Charlotte, encouraged him to place the ad. As the play progresses, Bruce, Bob and Prudence try to work through their relationship issues, helped (or hurt) by Stuart and Charlotte.
The play got mostly good reviews, except for the New York Times.
Robert Altman made the play into a film of the same name in 1987, which Durang has since denounced as not accurately representing his work.
It is one of Durang's most produced plays around the country, and especially is popular in colleges and community theatres.
[edit] External links
- Full Length Plays: Beyond Therapy at Christopher Durang
- Film and TV Writings at Christopher Durang
