First Night (Rath)
Frederick Rath
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
by Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee
Synopsis
This drama opens with Thoreau in jail for refusing to pay taxes to a government conducting a war of aggression in Mexico, at midpoint shows Emerson visiting him, and ends on the morning of his release.
Scenes portray his return from Harvard where he idolized Emerson, his attempt to establish a transcendentalist school, his career as a handyman and tutor in Emerson’s household, and his romance and his friendship with an illiterate cellmate.
The end is a grotesque dream in which the characters take up guises in a mortal assault on Mexico.
Press Reviews
"Absolutely fascinating [...] Imaginatively commanding."
— Washington Post
"Scene after scene moves you to laughter or close to tears."
— Newsday
Publication
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail is a play written by Jerome Lawrence and published by Samuel French .
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Fee: Minimum Fee: $110 per performance
Restrictions: Major Markets Only (US) / Standard Restriction (UK)
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