The Clean House
by Sarah Ruhl

Name: The Clean House
Brand: Sarah Ruhl
SKU: 9780573633980
Rating: 4.05 (1276 reviews)

The Clean House Book Cover — The Clean House Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins Present Day Role(s) for Latine Actor(s) Interior Set Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes Comedy

Awards & Recognition

Pulitzer Prize

Winner! 2003-2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist: 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Sarah Ruhl is the 2003 recipient of the Whiting Award for Drama

Synopsis

After its acclaimed run at Yale Repertory Theatre, this extraordinary play by an exciting voice in the American drama was was done to equal acclaim at several major theatres coast to coast before winding up Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center, where it had an extended run.

The play takes place in what the author describes as "metaphysical Connecticut," mostly in the home of a married couple who are both doctors.

They have hired a housekeeper named Matilde, an aspiring comedian from Brazil who's more interested in coming up with the perfect joke than in house-cleaning.

Lane, the lady of the house, has an eccentric sister named Virginia who's just nuts about house-cleaning.

She and Matilde become fast friends, and Virginia takes over the cleaning while Matilde works on her jokes.

Trouble comes when Lane's husband Charles reveals that he has found his soul mate, or "bashert" in a cancer patient named Anna, on whom he has operated.

The actors who play Charles and Anna also play Matilde's parents in a series of dream-like memories, as we learn the story about how they literally killed each other with laughter, giving new meaning to the phrase, "I almost died laughing."

This theatrical and wildly funny play is a whimsical and poignant look at class, comedy and the true nature of love.

Press Reviews

"Fresh, funny ... a memorable play, imbued with a melancholy but somehow comforting philosophy: that the messes and disappointments of life are as much a part of its beauty as romantic love and chocolate ice cream, and a perfect punch line can be as sublime as the most wrenchingly lovely aria."
— The New York Times

"A rich work about big themes from a young playwright with an original and audacious voice."
— Variety

"Casts a spell that had me hooked."
— The New York Daily News

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Matilde Lane’s cleaning lady, a woman in her late twenties. She wears black. She is Brazilian. She has a refined sense of deadpan.	female	—	Lane’s cleaning lady, a woman in her late twenties. She wears black. She is Brazilian. She has a refined sense of deadpan.
Virginia Lane’s sister, a woman in her late fifties.	female	—	Lane’s sister, a woman in her late fifties.
Charles Lane’s husband, a man in his fifties. A compassionate surgeon. He is child like underneath his white coat. In the first Act, Charles plays Matilde’s father.	male	—	Lane’s husband, a man in his fifties. A compassionate surgeon. He is child like underneath his white coat. In the first Act, Charles plays Matilde’s father.
Ana a woman who is older than Lane. She is Argentinean. She is impossibly charismatic. In the first Act she plays Matilde’s mother.	female	—	a woman who is older than Lane. She is Argentinean. She is impossibly charismatic. In the first Act she plays Matilde’s mother.
Lane a doctor, a woman in her early fifties. She wears white.	female	—	a doctor, a woman in her early fifties. She wears white.