BOOKS BY CRAIG LUCAS AVAILABLE FROM TCG
The Light in the Piazza
Book by Craig Lucas
Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel
Ode to Joy
Prayer for My Enemy
Prelude to a Kiss and Other Plays
ALSO INCLUDES:
Missing Persons
Three Postcards
Reckless and Other Plays
ALSO INCLUDES:
Blue Window
Stranger
What I Meant Was: New Plays and Selected One-Acts
ALSO INCLUDES:
The Dying Gaul
God’s Heart
Ode to Joy is copyright © 2016 by Craig Lucas
Ode to Joy is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc.,
520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4156
All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights, including but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this book by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the author’s representative: Seth Gelblum, Esq., Loeb & Loeb LLP, 345 Park Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10154, (212) 407-4931.
Page 52: “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” by Irving Berlin. Copyright © 1936, 1937 by Irving Berlin. Copyright Renewed. International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by Permission.
The publication of Ode to Joy by Craig Lucas, through TCG’s Book Program, is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Lucas, Craig, author.
Ode to joy / Craig Lucas.
First edition.
ISBN 9781559368063 (ebook)
DDC 812/.54—dc23
Book design and composition by Lisa Govan
Cover design by Mark Melnick
Cover artwork: Craig Hawkins, Supervention No.15, 2014.
Acrylic with monotype on paper, 11 × 14 in. (Artwork partly composed of a reproduction of Robert Longo’s Untitled, 1981.)
First Edition, September 2016
Ode to Joy is for Nico Muhly
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Production History
Characters
Place and Time
Notes
Ode to Joy
Ode to Joy was commissioned by the Greenfield Prize at the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Englewood, Florida.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat invites artists and writers in every discipline to work at its historic site on Florida’s Gulf of Mexico. The Hermitage commissions the Greenfield Prize to bring into the world works of art that will have a significant impact on the broad as well as the artistic culture of our society.
The play was completed under a commission from Playwrights Horizons.
I would like to acknowledge the generous time and energies of Bruce Rodgers, Patricia Caswell, Sharyn Lonsdale, Greg Leaming, Michael Edwards, Jason Bradley, Hannah Goalstone, Elizabeth Marvel, Bill Camp, Tim Sanford and Christian Parker. Thanks to dramaturg Sydne Mahone, who knows how to ask the right questions at the right time. And a deep bow of gratitude to the man who believed in the play before it was whole—may there always be artistic directors of such quality—David Van Asselt.
Ode to Joy was presented by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (David Van Asselt, Artistic Director; Brian Long, Managing Director) at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City, on February 27, 2014. It was directed by the author. The scenic design was by Andrew Boyce, the costume design was by Catherine Zuber, the lighting design was by Paul Whitaker, the sound design was by Daniel Kluger; the production stage manager was Michael Denis. The cast was:
| ADELE | Kathryn Erbe |
| BILL | Arliss Howard |
| MALA | Roxanna Hope |
ADELE, a painter; determined, playful, intimidatingly bright, alert, deeply kind, sometimes combative; an alcoholic; anywhere from late thirties to mid-fifties
BILL, a cardiac surgeon; born into wealth, classically educated, erudite, hardworking, passionate, somewhat solitary, widely traveled and experienced in a variety of milieus; an alcoholic; anywhere from late thirties to mid-fifties
MALA, a pharmaceutical executive; fiercely ambitious, private, wounded somehow, refuses to speak of past trauma; a non-drinker; anywhere from thirty to fifty
The actor playing Mala also plays Bartender. The actor playing Bill also plays TV Voice and Dr. Wong.
New York City, 1999–2014.
Scene 1—Adele’s building. Day, 2014.
Scene 2—Bar. Night, 2007.
Scene 3—Adele’s former studio. Day, 1999.
Scene 4—Restaurant. That evening, 1999.
Scene 5—Bill’s loft. Night, 2007.
Interval
Scene 6—Hospital.