Soldier’s Heart
Play Description
Before heading off to war in Iraq, Casey Johnson neatly organizes her life into a box of lists, envelopes, and registration forms for her son's activities. Months later, she returns to Western Pennsylvania forever changed, with deep psychological scars that no amount of arranging seems to be able to fix.
Production Info
Cast: 7 total (3 female, 4 male, plus one male child)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
- Productions
Press Quotes
“Tammy Ryan’s poignant SOLIDER’S HEART shines a light on the struggles facing woman warriors … a tense, raw, troubling and no-nonsense examination of what happens to soldiers, particularly female soldiers, serving in the military … This is not an easy play to watch. Nor is it meant to be.” —Alice Carter, Tribune
“Portrayls of soldiers wrecked by war date to the ancient Greeks (see Aeschylus), but Ms Ryan adeptly reworks the time-tested recipe from a woman’s perspective to make it seem fresh again … Briskly written in brief scenes that easily flash back and forth … the subject of sexual assault in the military gives the play weight and merit. Ms. Ryan deftly layers critical incidents that culminate in a forceful climax … Frank, colloquial language delivers a strong sense of spontaneity.” —Michael Sommers, New York Times
“Ryan brings a searing story to life about the high cost of war … Ryan’s play could border on political [but] it’s all about relationships: what you give up in times of war and how families are destroyed in the process … a disturbing, topical production, building on the terror and sacrifices that never-ending wars entail.” —Liz Keill, The Alternative Press
“Ryan brings a heart-wrenching experience into alignment with the blisteringly traumatic aftershock of rape … It is a story worth telling.” —Simon Saltzman, Curtain Up
“Tammy Ryan has written an intense drama that grabs you from the first scene and doesn’t let go until the lights go down two hours later … a story with a strong dramatic arc … on an important subject with which we must deal decisively, now.” —Ruth Ross, NJ Arts Maven
“… richly nuanced, three-dimensional characters and a neatly constructed, riveting story. Ryan has done her homework.” —Bob Rendell, Talkin’ Broadway
Author(s)
Tammy RyanTAMMY RYAN is a playwright and librettist whose work has been performed across the United States and internationally. She was awarded the Francesca Primus Prize by the American Theater Critic’s Association for her play LOST BOY FOUND IN WHOLE FOODS (Premiere Stages/Playwrights Theater of New Jersey.). Other plays include SOLDIER'S HEART, DARK PART OF THE FOREST (Premiere Stages) A CONFLUENCE OF DREAMING, BABY'S BLUES, FBI GIRL (Pittsburgh Playhouse), and THE MUSIC LESSON (Florida Stage/2001 Carbonell Award Best Production/2004 AATE Distinguished New Play Award). In addition, her play, TAR BEACH (Luna Stage), a finalist for the Terrance McNally Playwriting Award and a Jane Chambers Award honoree was included on “The List” of the most outstanding plays by women playwrights in 2014 compiled by the Kilroys. Ryan has held fellowships at Virginia Center of the Creative Arts, Hambidge Center, and the Sewanee Writers Conference. Her work has been featured in the National New Play Network’s National Showcase of Plays and has been read and developed at the New Harmony Project, Premiere Stages Play Festival, The Ignite Festival, The Lark and elsewhere.
Book Information
| Publisher | BPPI |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 8/5/2016 |
| Pages | 80 |
| ISBN | 9780881456707 |
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
Originally produced by the Pittsburgh Playhouse of Point Park University, Conservatory of Performing Arts, Ronald Allan-Lindblom, Artistic Director, Earl Hughes Producing Director
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com
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