The House of Blue Leaves

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The House of Blue Leaves is a darkly comic play by John Guare that explores fame, madness, and unfulfilled dreams in 1960s Queens, New York.

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Observed surface forms (2)

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf black comedy
stage play
work by John Guare
author John Guare NERFINISHED
awardReceived New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play NERFINISHED
Obie Award for Best American Play NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
criticalReception critically acclaimed
dramaticForm two-act play
featuresCharacter a zookeeper and aspiring songwriter
featuresTheme conflict between ordinary life and dreams of stardom
mental illness in domestic life
the pursuit of the American Dream
genre dark comedy
tragicomedy
hasAdaptation The House of Blue Leaves (1987 television film) NERFINISHED
hasInfluenceOn late 20th-century American dark comedies
isStudiedIn American drama courses
mainCharacter Artie Shaughnessy NERFINISHED
Bananas Shaughnessy NERFINISHED
Bunny Flingus NERFINISHED
medium theatre
notableCastMember Ben Stiller NERFINISHED
Christopher Walken NERFINISHED
Jessica Lange NERFINISHED
John Mahoney NERFINISHED
Stockard Channing NERFINISHED
Swoosie Kurtz NERFINISHED
notableRevival 1971 Off-Broadway revival
1986 Broadway revival
2011 Broadway revival
originalLanguage English
placeInSeries part of John Guare's early plays
premieredAt Truck and Warehouse Theatre NERFINISHED
premiereDate 1966
premiereLocation Off-Broadway
publisher Dramatists Play Service NERFINISHED
settingLocation Queens, New York City NERFINISHED
settingPeriod 1960s
settingTime 1965
subject American middle class
Catholicism
celebrity culture
fame
madness
unfulfilled dreams
writer John Guare NERFINISHED

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Fitz Patton notableWork The House of Blue Leaves
this entity surface form: The House of Blue Leaves (revival)
Jean Doumanian notableWork The House of Blue Leaves
Jeremy Shamos notableWork The House of Blue Leaves
John Guare notableWork The House of Blue Leaves
Scott Pask notableWork The House of Blue Leaves
this entity surface form: The House of Blue Leaves (2011 revival)