The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel
by David Rabe
Awards & Recognition
Winner! 1971 Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Playwright
Synopsis
On Broadway with Al Pacino in the title role, this drama continues the series of "Vietnam Plays" by the author of Sticks and Bones and Streamers .
A born loser gets drafted into the Army.
Pavlo is not very bright.
He gets high, then drag races into a cop car.
His fecklessness antagonizes his superiors and gets him beaten by his bunk mates.
Pavlo next tries suicide with 100 aspirins, but even at this he is unsuccessful.
Oblivious, Pavlo marches to war and meets his ultimate, preordained destiny: death.
Press Reviews
"Pavlo Hummel is an abstracted existentialist scream of pain at the horror of war and the nearness of death...An abrasive, honest play well worth seeing."
— The New York Times
"It's one of the most moving pieces of theatre I've seen."
— WABC TV
Characters
| Character |
|---|
PAVLOYENARDELLSGT. TOWERCAPTAINKRESSPARKERPIERCECORPORALGRENNELHINKLEBURNSHENDRIXRYANMICKEYMRS. SORRENTINGMRS. HUMMELJONESMAMASANBRISBEYSGT. WALLPARHAM |
Publication
The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel is a play written by David Rabe and published by Samuel French (1969).
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Paperback
Samuel French · 1969
Performance Rights
Restrictions: Major Markets Only (US) / Standard Restriction (UK)
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