All the Way Home (play)


All the Way Home is a play written by American playwright Tad Mosel, adapted from the 1957 James Agee novel, A Death in the Family. Both authors received the Pulitzer Prize for their separate works.

Productions

All the Way Home premiered on Broadway at the Belasco Theater on November 30, 1960 and closed on September 15, 1961, after 333 performances.
Directed by Arthur Penn, the cast featured Colleen Dewhurst, Lillian Gish, Arthur Hill, Clifton James, Dorrit Kelton, Aline MacMahon, John Megna, and Jeff Conaway.
The play was revived Off-Broadway at the Equity Library Theatre In October 1979, directed by Jamie Brown.
The play was revived off-off-Broadway by the Transport Group in November 2006. Directed by Jack Cummings III, the cast featured Patrick Boll, Monica Russell and Chandler Frantz. The TheatreMania reviewer wrote: "The achingly moving play is Tad Mosel's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation of James Agee's autobiographical 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, 'A Death in the Family', and in reviving the piece, director Jack Cummings III confirms that both prizes are deserved".

Plot

The play takes place in Summer 1915 in Knoxville Tennessee: where the extended families of the Folletts and the Lynches live. Jay Follet and his pregnant wife Mary have a six-year-old son, Rufus. Rufus takes great joy in being with his father. Jay's brother Ralph is an undertaker. Ralph appears to have a drinking problem and mistreats his wife Sally. Mary's parents are Joel Lynch and Catherine Lynch, and her brother is Andrew. The play unfolds over a period of four days.
During the first act, the Folletts leave from Jay and Mary's home to visit their 104-year-old Great-Great-Granmaw and Aunt Sadie Follet. Upon returning later that evening, Jay receives a frantic call from his brother, Ralph, that their father, Jim-Wilson, is in declining health. After Mary warns Jay about driving too fast, Jay leaves to find out what happened.
In the second act, it is revealed that Jay is killed in an automobile accident. The remainder of the play deals with the family coming to terms with his death. It becomes uncertain if Jay had been driving drunk or if it had been a suicide.
The third act takes place the day of Jay's funeral. Mary tells Rufus, for the first time, that she is pregnant and he may have a little brother or sister on the way.

Film and television

The play was made into a film, directed by Alex Segal and starring Jean Simmons, Robert Preston, Pat Hingle, Aline MacMahon, Thomas Chalmers, John Cullum, and Michael Kearney. The screenplay was by Philip Reisman Jr. The film was released in 1963.
A made-for-television movie was broadcast in December 1971 in a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. Directed by Fred Coe, the cast starred Joanne Woodward, Richard Kiley and Pat Hingle.
A live presentation of the play was broadcast on NBC on December 21, 1981. Directed by Delbert Mann, the cast featured Sally Field, William Hurt, Ned Beatty, Ellen Corby, Betty Garrett, Murray Hamilton, Polly Holiday, and Jeremy Licht. This was a stage production broadcast live from the Bing Theatre at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.

Awards and nominations

;Tony Award
; New York Drama Critics' Circle
;1961 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Articles

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