Draft:Wemceslas square play

Wenceslas Squareis a 1988 play by Larry Shue. It was presented by the New York Shakespeare Festival (Joseph Papp, Producer) at The Public Theater/Martinson Theatre Stage in New York City. Directed by Jerry Zaks, the cast comprised: Victor Garber, Jonathan Hadary, Bruce Norris and Dana Ivey. Following its March/April 1988 New York run, the play transferred to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. for a July/August limited engagement.

Background
A minimalist cautionary tale based on the political suppression of late 1960's Czech theatre artists, who, in the period known as the Prague Spring were previously involved in "theatre as revolution." The work is semi-autobiographical and the "memory play" is told in flashback sequences with certain actors (depending on casting) assuming more than one role. Larry Shue acknowledges within the play that it was a gift to his former teacher. Tragically, the playwright was killed in a plane crash in 1985.

Plot
Drawn from the author's own experience, the play tells of the return to Czechoslovakia, in 1974, of a former college drama professor, Vince Corey, who is researching a book (begun during a visit five years earlier) on the explosion of artistic creativity that flowered under the now overthrown, liberal Dubcek government. Accompanied by a young student, Dooley, the professor is shocked to find that the free speech and artistic freedom that he encountered on his earlier visit have been crushed by the Soviet masters who have taken over the country.


 * Narrator – other Male Characters: The Narrator is an older version of Dooley.
 * Vince Corey: A Professor.
 * Dooley: A Student and Photographer.
 * All the Female Characters.

Production history
Chicago’s Body Politic Theatre presented the play in April/May 1989. Directed by Tom Mula, with a cast that included: Gary Houston, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Larry Brandenburg and Maureen Gallagher; Larry Shue’s “last play” was first produced in 1984, as part of the Chicago Theatre Project`s season of new plays, in the Theatre Building Chicago. Tom Mula directed that premiere, also with Gary Houston and Jeffrey Hutchinson, under the guidance of Larry Shue.

The play was presented at the Los Angles Matrix Theatre in a July/August 1989 production. It received a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for distinguished achievement during the 1989-1990 season; honoring the play, playwright and an award to Nancy Lenehan for her performance. The cast also included: James Sloyan, Adam Arkin and Richard Murphy. It was directed by Lee Shallat Chemel.

New York City’s the Metropolitan Playhouse produced the play as part of its 1993 -94 season. It was directed by David Zarko.

Cesear’s Forum, Cleveland’s minimalist theatre at Playhouse Square presented the play in a September/October 2022 production at Kennedy’s Down Under. Directed by Greg Cesear the play utilized seven actors, shifting the balance of role playing.

Critical reception
Frank Rich in his New York Times review praises the direction of Jerry Zaks and the entire cast. He writes: It is “a personal memory play, the author, is looking back on his younger self and tracing the roots of his own artistic obsessions.”  Subsequently,” the play presents different challenges. They are met by Mr. Zaks with a resourcefulness that knits a scattershot text into a sustained two-act comic anecdote that is engaging more often than not.” Further, he writes of “the spirit of Mr. Shue - a good-natured man of the theater taking us into his world as he freely experiments with his craft. … The result, at best sporadically funny but always warm and spirited, is hardly a profound play.”

Diana Spinrad in Chicago Reader writes: “Larry Shue’s portrait of oppression is not shocking or revolutionary. It makes no political statement that we haven’t seen many times over. But it is truthful and heartfelt, and doesn’t pretend that it’s more than it is, a haunting personal memory.”

Christine Howey in Cleveland Scene: “In this quiet and somewhat meandering 2 1/2-hour piece, playwright Shue uses his trademark sense of humor to bring some lightness to this essentially dark story of a city gone dead. …There is a temptation to see this play and that long-ago Russian invasion of Prague through the lens of Russia's invasion of the Ukraine. As is true with so much of politics these days, things have escalated to such a drastic degree, we are actually wondering if American citizens will rise up to save our democracy. In that context, an easy-going play like this feels like bringing a foam fist to a knife fight.”