It was awful. Eliot; but because Wilder’s play is so different, it is almost as though he were saying that theirs were not the only kinds of lady.”15 Wilder’s lady endures, as Castronovo notes, in regards to how “better minds” would treat “the problems of human misery,”16 for Ma Kirby upholds unconditional faith in God knowing what is best, and has confidence in the goodwill of humanity as she readily tells strangers about details of her personal life. Kuner, M.C. Caroline is out waiting in the street talking to the Jones girls. Thornton Wilder: Collected Plays and Writings on Theater. THE JOURNEY TO TRENTON CAOEN ANO WILDER'S ORANATIC ART Then one thinks of Thornton Wilder /iB97—1975/ the playwright, one immediately reaeabere Our Town /1938/. The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden. Haberman, Donald. “[T]he Stage Manager interrupts from time to time and reminds us that they are only actors performing a role. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1972. Although the Kirby family group might seem unexceptional, they are distinguished by the fact that they possess a resident Stage Manager, who, like Wilder’s other Stage Managers, in Pullman Car Hiawatha and Our Town, orchestrates and participates in the play’s events. 2Ibid 130. Ma strikes up a conversation with him, volunteering where they are from, where they are going, and why. Arthur starts singing and the family follows until Ma sees the sign for Camden. She is, in Wilder’s words, “a testimonial of homage to the average American mother who brings up her children as instinctively as a bird builds its nest and whose strength lies in the fact that whatever stresses arrive from the circumstances of life, she strives to maintain an atmosphere of forward-looking industry and readiness.” He added, “We are in an age when men rally round an experienced and authoritative woman,” most probably alluding to his own family and his own close relationship with his mother. The Stage Manager, although never directly addressing the audience as do the Stage Manager characters of Our Town and Pullman Car Hiawatha, performs the roles of minor characters, reading directly from the script and “with little attempt at characterization.”1 Ma (Kate) Kirby is tying up all the loose ends before she and her family depart from their home in Newark, New Jersey, to visit her daughter Beulah (age 22) in Camden, New Jersey. 30(Burbank 68). It is this device of placing them at a distance that keeps them from sounding sentimental or uninteresting.”26 His flat delivery of lines highlights the dialogue as a representation of reality. 26(Kuner 105) The more oft-staged "The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden" and "The Long Christmas Dinner," which make up the second act, were written … Because of the absence of scenery, “the commonplace in such [clichéd] speech is returned to its pristine truth, as though it were being uttered for the first time, and the simple truth of family living is given new life.”23 Without a set or stage props, the audience must rely on the dialogue to inform them where the play takes place; however, in doing so Wilder has prevented “the audience from identifying those naturalistic vernaculars with their geographical origins”24 as it is up to the audience to imagine the scenery which is dictated by the dialogue, not the stage or pronunciation. Ed. 11Wilder 139. 28(Castronovo 74, 75) Print. Their journey is punctuated by talk, laughter, memories (some mundane, some happy, some painful), and appreciation of the Now – ham and eggs, flowers, family, sunsets and the joy of being alive. 3��L�c���q*�үj Wilder, Thornton. November 27, 2017. The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden and The Long Christmas Dinner Thornton Wilder Directed by Tim Sullivan ★★★ Pros: A brilliant script filled with excellent characters, lots of laughs and some very good acting. Print. During the journey, the two younger children chat and joke. Elmer decides to stop to put water in the car. Ma Kirby is getting ready for the journey. Print. Elmer says he will talk to him later. She has cooked every day for twenty-five years except for the few times they went out. She is a conventional woman as “[s]he makes a fuss over trifles and treats her children in a strict way”17 when her son cannot find his hat18 or her daughter appears to be wearing make-up.19 Although she can be hard on her children, wishing to send her son Arthur home for making a sarcastic remark about God, her indelible piety, judgment, and morality are justifiable. ‘The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden’ and ‘The Long Christmas Dinner’ run Nov. 30-Dec. 3. "The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden" Directed by Carl Forsman "Pullman Car Hiawatha" Directed by Henry Wishcamper June 19 to July 18 The Connelly Theater, 220 East 4th St. (between avenues A & B) Presented by Keen Company Tues. thru Sat. New York: The Library of America, 2007. The adolescent Arthur tests the limits of propriety, insensitively joking about his mother’s close relationship with God. It was awful. The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden requires no scenery-just a curtain back-drop, a cyclorama, or an empty stage. The Blinn College-Bryan Campus Theatre Arts Program is putting the focus on family this holiday season with two one-act plays from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Thornton Wilder. 6Ibid. New York: Library of America, 2007. We don’t understand why. Ma claims how Beulah’s current street is nicer than the one she and her husband Horace previously lived on, and Caroline is under the impression that her sister is richer than they are, but Ma’s self-worth is not based on money. She didn’t even live a few minutes, mama. At last, they arrive at Beulah’s house. Finally, they set off on their trip. With Joan Miller, Guy Glover, Margaret Brereton, Skelton Knaggs. Ma Kirby sings to keep family spirit alive in the present, acknowledging but not dwelling on past loss. The Long Christmas Dinner was first produced November 25, 1931 in a joint performance by the Yale Dramatic Association and the Vassar Philalethesis at the Yale University theater in New Haven, Connecticut, along with Love and How to Cure It, Such Things Only Happen in Books, and The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden. 3Ibid 132. Both Pullman Car Hiawatha and The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden rely on a narrator figure later used so tellingly in Our Town. McClatchy. BEULAH (twenty-two) No scenery is required for this play. OUR TOWN BOASTED GROUNDBREAKING STAGING. “Ma has earned her right to dictate behavior to her children; her hard work and devotion cement the family bond.”20 Even when the play shifts toward a morbid tone as they let a funeral procession pass, she draws the family’s attention away from the thought of their son Harold who died in World War I and teaches them that death is nothing to be afraid of. Lifton, Paul. Thornton Wilder. Yet the ordinary is only the setting for an investigation of extraordinary existential issues. As they get ready to leave, each member of the family engages in routine last-minute preparations: Caroline, the younger daughter, says good-bye to her friends; Arthur, the son, looks for his lost hat; Elmer, the father, checks the car one last time; and Ma Kirby gives the neighbors instructions on how to look after the house while they are gone. The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden is a one act play by American novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder written in 1931. ��� N _rels/.rels �(� ���JA���a�}7� What type of play is "The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden"? I’m glad I was Born in New Jersey. Konkle, Lincoln. The Kirby family undertakes this proto-typical American ritual: life goes on after tragedy true beauty is found in ordinary life. The Happy Journey to Camden and Trenton, Play in One Act [Wilder, Thornton] on Amazon.com. character. THE STAGE MANAGER. We just go on, honey, doin’ our business.” And in the next breath, “Well, now, what are we giving the men to eat tonight?”. Being aware of the smaller events allows the Kirbys, particularly Ma, to appreciate the macrocosmic picture, and the journey is the medium to do so. The Incredible Journey was written by Sheila Burnford and published in 1960. Even, Elmer smiles. 22(Burbank 69) Columbia: University of Missouri, 2006. “Wilder’s people dignify the ordinary because they discover permanent truths about their world…A car trip becomes an occasion for cosmic recognitions… To begin with, Wilder’s journey causes his people to wonder [about the world].’”28 The “cosmic” aspects of the play develop from the geographically diverse parts of New Jersey they drive through; what becomes essential is what happens on the way to Beulah’s house. We must move on; the alternative is unacceptable. The family members are close, bantering, occasionally willful or distressed; they have experienced sadness and loss, but they live in the present. ARTHUR (thirteen) CAROLINE (fifteen) PA(ELMER) KIRBY. Almost the entire play takes place … First published as part of a collection of one-acts on November 5, 1931 and produced by the Yale Dramatic Association and the Vassar College Philalethis at the Yale University Theatre on November 25, 1931, The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden is a prime example of Thornton Wilder’s studies of the American middle class family. 17(Dan 131) Join us Friday, January 10th The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden. “[T]he Kirby family’s delighted awareness of the geography through which they pass seems to strengthen the ties binding them to each other and their home state.”29 Although the geography is not represented on stage, it is through pantomime and the dialogue that the audience comes to know the journey’s benefits—to fix our mistakes when we offend other family members and to take in the fresh air. What type of play is The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden? As Ma Kirby says to her grieving daughter, “God thought best. IBDB (Internet Broadway Database) archive is the official database for Broadway theatre information. PK ! It will survive to meet other grief another day. The family discusses the population of the United States (126 million according to Elmer). Wilder commented that Our Town, “is an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life.” The same may be said about Happy Journey, in which Wilder examines the importance of American family life, its joys and sadnesses, beginnings and ends. Since “her world has order and purpose, Ma can accept pain even if she cannot understand it, and her family can accept it because she does.”21 Elmer, Caroline, and Arthur see she bears the loss of Harold, and Beulah sees her mother’s strength in accepting her granddaughter didn’t survive after she was born; Ma’s “simple faith sustains her, gives her courage, and keeps her family going.”22. 15(Haberman 103) �[|�L A word/_rels/document.xml.rels �(� ��MO�0��H��*w�m�h�.��+q�R��h�*6��d��u_٥�H~��}b'O��2�G�D�㞈�jL�%�c�z� "beSU��D,��tr}5~�R�?DyQS�XJD�\?II:�JQ�5X�c�U�}�2Y+��2��^o(];����fi"�,���e�/�Fc 7Wilder 137. The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden (TV Short 1937) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Other Plays in one act [ Wilder, Thornton ] on Amazon.com University Press 1967... Wilder ’ s end, the two younger children chat and joke grieving daughter, “ outraged, asks! Family hungry, so Elmer pulls off the road and sends Arthur to get dogs. 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