The Desperate Hours
by Joseph Hayes
Awards & Recognition
Winner! Tony® Award for Best Play
Synopsis
The Hilliards are a typical family living on the outskirts of Indianapolis; abruptly, their pleasant home becomes a jungle full of cunning and violence.
Mr. Hilliard and nineteen-year-old Cindy are allowed to go to work, while Mrs. Hilliard and ten-year-old Ralphie remain in the house as hostages.
Meanwhile, the police search closes in inexorably, conducted by a deputy sheriff who has his own reasons for wanting to kill.
The Hilliards are helpless.
A murder occurs.
The police move closer.
Adapted from Joseph Hayes' best-selling novel.
A smash hit on Broadway starring Paul Newman, this revised edition of The Desperate Hours has been simplified to employ a less complicated set.
Press Reviews
"That very rare thing, an almost perfect melodrama, fast, tight, logical, combining sentiment with gunfire in exactly the right proportions."
— The New Yorker
Publication
The Desperate Hours is a play written by Joseph Hayes and published by Samuel French (1984).
Digital editions available on Amazon Kindle.
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Performance Rights
Restrictions: Major Markets Only (US) / Standard Restriction (UK)
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