- Sticks and Bones
Infobox Play
name = Sticks and Bones
image_size =
caption =
writer =David Rabe
characters = David
Ozzie
Harriet
Rick
Zung
Seargent Major
Priest
setting = The family home, Autumn 1968
premiere =1 March 1972
place =John Golden Theatre
orig_lang = English
subject =
genre =
web =
playbill =
ibdb_id = 3644"Sticks and Bones" is a 1972 play by
David Rabe . Theblack comedy focuses on David, a blindVietnam War veteran who finds himself unable to come to terms with his actions on the battlefield and alienated from his family because they neither can accept his disability nor understand his wartime experience. Rabe explores the conflicted feelings of many civilians during the era byparody ing the ideal American family as it was portrayed on thetelevision sitcom "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ". Beneath the perfect facade of theplaywright 'sfiction al Nelson family are layers ofprejudice ,bigotry , and self-hatred that are peeled away slowly as they interact with their physically and emotionally damaged son and brother."Sticks and Bones" was the second play in Rabe's Vietnam trilogy, following "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" and preceding "
Streamers ". A veteran himself, he wrote it while a graduate student atVillanova University , where it was staged in 1969. Theoff-Broadway production, directed byJeff Bleckner , opened onNovember 7 1971 atJoseph Papp 's Public Theater, where it ran for 121 performances. The cast includedDavid Selby as David,Tom Aldredge as Ozzie,Elizabeth Wilson as Harriet, andCliff DeYoung as Rick.Critical reaction and audience response were positive, and Papp decided to move the play uptown. With Drew Snyder replacing Selby but the rest of the cast intact, the Broadway production opened on
March 1 1972 at theJohn Golden Theatre , where it ran for 246 performances.In 1973,
Robert Downey Sr. wrote the teleplay for and directed aCBS television movie based on Rabe's play. The cast included DeYoung as David, Aldredge as Ozzie, andAnne Jackson as Harriet. The subject matter was so controversial half of the network's affiliates refused to broadcast the film [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/465044] .Awards and nominations
;Awards
*1972 Tony Award for Best Play
*1972 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play - Elizabeth Wilson
*1972Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance - Tom Aldredge
*1972 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director - Jeff Bleckner
*1972 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design - Santo Loquasto
*1972Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play;Nominations
*1972 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play - Jeff Bleckner
*1972 Tony Award for Best Actor in Play - Tom AldredgeExternal links
*ibdb title|8309
* [http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?id=3344&search_by=show Sticks and Bones] at the Lortel Archives Internet Off-Broadway Database
*imdb title|149145|Sticks and Bones (film)
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