| Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Peter Feibleman |
| Date premiered | 1962 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Drama |
| Setting | New Orleans, Mama's house, early 1950s. |
Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright is a dramatic stage play written by American playwright Peter Feibleman. The play premiered on Broadway at the Booth Theatre in 1962. Claudia McNeil was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the production. Critically acclaimed, the play closed after only 33 performances, which was blamed on the 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike. The play is a stage adaptation of Feibleman's novel A Place Without Light, first published in 1958. The title is taken from the poem by William Blake first published in 1794, titled The Tyger.
Characters
- Mama Morris: the family matriarch, a widow
- Clarence Morris: her son, aged 23
- Dan Morris: her younger son, aged 19
- Lucille Morris: her daughter, aged 18
- Adelaide Smith: a friend of the family, aged 23
- Sittre Morris: uncle, and deacon of the Riverview Baptist Church, late forties
- Celeste Chipley: the girl who lives next door, aged 19
- Dewey Chipley: Celeste's brother, aged 21
- Mr. Keres: a white man, late thirties
- Sergeant Jameson: a soldier
- First Neighbor : neighbor of the Morris family
- Second Neighbor : neighbor of the Morris family
Original casts
| Character | Original Broadway cast (1962) |
|---|---|
| Mama Morris | Claudia McNeil |
| Clarence Morris | Alvin Ailey |
| Dan Morris | Al Freeman Jr. |
| Lucille Morris | Ellen Holly |
| Adelaide Smith | Diana Sands |
| Sittre Morris | Roscoe Lee Browne |
| Celeste Chipley | Cicely Tyson |
| Dewey Chipley | Robert Hooks |
| Mr. Keres | Paul Barry |
| Sergeant Jameson | Robert Macbeth |
| First Neighbor | Janet MacLachlan |
| Second Neighbor | Rudy Challenger |
Production history
The show opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on December 22, 1962, and closed on January 19, 1963, after 33 performances. The play was nominated for one Tony Award for Claudia McNeil for Best Lead Actress in a Play. The show was directed by Joshua Logan and costumes were designed by Lucinda Ballard. Ruth Attaway and Billy Dee Williams were understudies in the production. According to The New York Times, the play was "fatally wounded by the newspaper strike in New York", which played a major role in the show closing early despite critical acclaim. The play was published in book form in 1963 following the Broadway production.
In 2012, the play was performed in Los Angeles by the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
References
- "Theater: Wet Dynamite". Time. January 4, 1963 – via content.time.com.
- "Tiger Tiger Burning Bright (Broadway, Booth Theatre, 1962)". Playbill.
- Zolotow, Sam (31 January 1962). "FEIBLEMAN PLAY DUE NEXT SEASON; 'A Place Without Twilight' Gets Two New Sponsors".
- Taubman, Howard. "Play A Casualty Of Press Strike; Spoken Word Was Unable to Sustain 'Tiger, Tiger' Cliches Eliminated Does Not Preach Impressive Portrayals", The New York Times, January 22, 1963. Accessed April 14, 2024. "It is always disheartening when a play with decency, fervor and compassion expires prematurely. It becomes tragic when a work like "Tiger Tiger Burning Bright" closes as a result of forces beyond its control. If Peter S. Feibleman's drama is not reprieved, its gravestone should carry the epitaph, 'Fatally wounded by the newspaper strike in New York.'"
- "Negro in 'Tiger Tiger' Is Not a Stereotype; Theater: Honest Drama". The New York Times. 24 December 1962. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- "A Place without Twilight by Peter S. Feibleman: Fine Hardcover (1958) 1st Edition | Argyl Houser, Bookseller". www.abebooks.com.
- "Tiger Tiger Burning Bright". backstage.com.