The Vietnamization of New Jersey
| The Vietnamization of New Jersey; A American Tragedy |
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|---|---|
| Written by | Christopher Durang |
| Date premiered | January 28, 1977 |
| Place premiered | The Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut |
The Vietnamization of New Jersey (subtitled "A American Tragedy" [sic]) is a 1976 play written by American playwright Christopher Durang.
The play was written on commission from the Yale Repertory Theatre as a parody of the Tony Award-winning 1971 David Rabe play Sticks and Bones. The play also sends up the 1950s American TV series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (as did Sticks and Bones), with characters named "Ozzie Ann", "Harry" and "Et" serving as the mother, father and son of the play's central family. The play's title refers to the Richard Nixon administration's "Vietnamization" policy of training and supporting the South Vietnamese military while reducing the presence of U.S. troops in Vietnam.
Act I begins in the kitchen of a middle-class Piscataway, New Jersey home where mother Ozzie Ann (a "cheerful ignoramus"), mild-mannered but ineffectual father Harry and "perpetually horny and hungry" teenaged son Et await the return of older brother David, who is fighting in the Vietnam War. The family maid, Hazel (scripted by Durang to be played by an African-American man) argues with the family and throws the contents of the kitchen table to the floor. Meanwhile, Et eats cereal from his pants, which greatly disturbs his mother.
David returns, blind and traumatized, from Vietnam, accompanied by his new Vietnamese wife, Liat, a former prostitute who is also blind. In order to provide "reparations" for Liat and force his family to empathize with her, David demands that they allow Liat to "vote" on whether to unite North and South Vietnam, and turn out the lights and let David and Liat fire guns and break tableware. Eventually Liat reveals that she is not Vietnamese at all but is instead Irish, and from Schenectady, New York, which sends David into a depression.
As the play continues into 1974, father Harry also falls into a depression – prompted by his job loss and the foreclosure of the walls of the house – and he commits suicide. He is immediately replaced by his drill sergeant-like brother Larry, who brings a boot camp atmosphere to the home, demanding obedience and verbally abusing David, whom he holds in contempt for his liberal philosophies. Eventually David succumbs to the abuse and commits suicide, while Ozzie Ann, Hazel and Liat (now using her real name, "Maureen O'Hara") commiserate.
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