A Memory of Two Mondays is a
one-act play by
Arthur Miller.
Based on Miller's own experiences, the play focuses on a group of desperate workers earning their livings in a
Brooklyn automobile parts
warehouse during the
Great Depression of the 1930s--a time of 25 percent unemployment in the United States. Concentrating more on character than plot, it explores the dreams of a young man yearning for a
college education in the midst of people stumbling through the workday in a haze of hopelessness and despondency. Three of the characters in the story are provided very severe alcohol problems.
Paired with the original one-act version of
A View from the Bridge, the first
Broadway production, directed by
Martin Ritt, opened on September 29, 1955 at the
Coronet Theatre, where it ran for 149 performances. The cast included
Van Heflin,
J. Carrol Naish,
Jack Warden,
Eileen Heckart, and
Richard Davalos, who won the
Theatre World Award for his performance.
In 1959, Miller adapted the play for an
ITV broadcast starring
Alan Bates [1].
Miller adapted the play for a 1971
television movie directed by
Paul Bogart. The cast included
George Grizzard,
Barnard Hughes,
Estelle Parsons,
Catherine Burns,
Jerry Stiller,
J. D. Cannon,
Harvey Keitel,
Tony Lo Bianco,
Kristoffer Tabori,
Dick Van Patten, and
Jack Warden.
After seven previews, a Broadway revival directed by
Arvin Brown opened on January 26, 1976 at the Playhouse Theatre where, paired this time with
27 Wagons Full of Cotton by
Tennessee Williams, it ran for 67 performances. The cast included
Thomas Hulce,
John Lithgow,
Tony Musante,
Meryl Streep, and
Joe Grifasi.
1976 awards and nominations
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Streep, nominee)
- Theatre World Award (Streep, winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (Streep, nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Leonardo Cimino and Roy Poole, nominees)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Alice Drummond, nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival (nominee)
External links
The Works of Arthur Miller
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