Collected Stories (play)
| Collected Stories | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Donald Margulies |
| Date premiered | 1996 |
| Place premiered |
South Coast Repertory Costa Mesa, California |
| Original language | English |
Collected Stories is a play by Donald Margulies which premiered at South Coast Repertory in 1996, and was presented on Broadway in 2010. The play was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1997.
Ruth Steiner is a teacher and respected short story writer. Her student and protégée is Lisa Morrison. Over the course of 6 years, Lisa journeys from insecure student to successful writer. After publishing a well-received collection of short stories, Lisa writes a novel based on Ruth's affair with the poet Delmore Schwartz. The women deal with the moral dilemma of whether a person's life events are suitable for another to use in their own creative process.
Note: Although Delmore Schwartz was a real-life poet and short-story writer, the characters of "Ruth Steiner" and "Lisa" are both entirely fictional.
The play was commissioned and premiered by South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California in October 1996, directed by Lisa Peterson. The cast starred Kandis Chappell as Ruth Steiner and Suzanne Cryer as Lisa Morrison. The production won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Production of a Play and Best Original Play. The play was a Pulitzer Prize finalist (shortlisted in April 1997).
The Manhattan Theatre Club presented the play Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club Stage I, from May 20, 1997 through July 27, 1997. That production, again directed by Peterson, starred Debra Messing as Lisa Morrison and Maria Tucci as Ruth Steiner. It received the Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Play, and was a finalist for the Dramatists Guild/Hull-Warriner Award for Best Play. It was then produced at the Off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre, running for 232 performances, from August 13, 1998 through February 29, 1999. Directed by William Carden, the cast starred Uta Hagen as Ruth and Lorca Simons as Lisa.
It was produced in Los Angeles at the Geffen Playhouse, Westwood in May 1999, with direction by Gil Cates and starring Linda Lavin as Ruth and Samantha Mathis as Lisa. It received the Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play.
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