Da (play)

Da
Written by	Hugh Leonard
Characters	Da Charlie Now Drumm Young Charlie Mother Oliver Mrs. Prynne Mary Tate, the Yellow Peril
Date premiered	1 May 1978
Place premiered	Morosco Theatre New York City
Original language	English
Genre	Comedy
Setting	May 1968; remembrances of times past

Da is a 1978 comedy play by Irish playwright Hugh Leonard.

The play had its New York City premiere at the off-off-Broadway Hudson Guild Theatre in 1978, and this production transferred to Broadway shortly after the completion of its run. It was directed by Melvin Bernhardt and produced on Broadway by Lester Osterman, Marilyn Strauss and Marc Howard. It opened at the Morosco Theatre on 1 May 1978 and closed on 1 January 1980 after 697 performances. The scenic design was by Marjorie Kellogg, the costume design by Jennifer von Mayrhauser, and the lighting Design by Arden Fingerhut. The original cast included Barnard Hughes as Da, Brian Murray as Charlie Now, Lois De Banzie as Mrs. Prynne, Mia Dillon as Mary Tate, Sylvia O'Brien as Mother, Lester Rawlins as Drumm, Richard Seer as Young Charlie, and Ralph Williams as Oliver.Brian Keith replaced Barnard Hughes towards the end of the Broadway run, when Hughes went out on a National Tour across the US and Canada. It won 1978 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play, the 1978 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award Best Play and the 1978 Tony Award for Best Play.

The play is initially set in Charlie's old home in Dalkey, County Dublin, in 1968. Later, there are numerous flashbacks to times and places remembered from Charlie's youth. The play is largely autobiographical: its protagonist, an expatriate writer named Charlie, represents Leonard himself. The play deals with Charlie's relationships with the two father figures in his life: "Da" (an old-fashioned Irish nickname meaning "Daddy" or "Papa"), his adoptive father, and Drumm, a cynical civil servant who becomes his mentor.

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