Streamers

Streamers (1976), a play by David Rabe. [ Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, 478 perf.; NYDCC Award.] An army barracks seems like a microcosm of 1965 America. Among the soldiers are Billy (Paul Rudd), an idealist who sees himself as a typical American; Roger (Terry Alexander), an African American who has made a precarious peace with an alien society; Richie (Peter Evans), a young man disturbed by homosexual problems; and Martin (Michael Kell), a boy so upset with army life he is prepared to commit suicide. Into their midst comes Carlyle (Dorian Harewood), a bitter, vicious, trouble‐making black man. The others recognize they must purge him to save their society, but they fail. Carlyle goes on a murderous rampage, and Billy is one of his victims. The play was perceived as an allegory of the American scene of the time, when large cities were subject to burning, rioting, and looting and the dilemma this presented for many Americans. The drama was presented at Lincoln Center by the New York Shakespeare Festival when Joe Papp was running both organizations.

David Rabe 1976

Although David Rabe has repeatedly denied that Streamers was conceived of as such, many commentators view the work as the last piece in a Vietnam War trilogy that also includes The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (1970) and Sticks and Bones (1972). Like most of the playwright’s works, Streamers had a rather involved composition history from its initial conception to its final form. It started out as a one-act play under the working title “Frankie” and was actually begun before Rabe started working on either Basic Training or Sticks and Bones, but it was not completed and staged until both those works had been produced. According to the dramatist, the one-act “contained, in an abbreviated form, the first act of Streamers.”

Rabe knew the one-act was not ready for production and in 1969 refused an offer for an Off-Broadway staging. Instead, when he went to work as a journalist in New Haven, Connecticut, he developed the play into a full-length work, first by adding the stabbing of Billy and then by expanding the roles of Sergeants Cokes and Rooney. It was finally ready for production at the end of 1975.

The full-length version of the play was premiered at the Long Warf Theater in New Haven, where it opened on January 30, 1976. Under the direction of Mike Nichols, the main players included Michael-Raymond O’Keefe as Martin, Peter Evans as Richie, Joe Fields as Carlyle, John Heard as Billy, Herbert Jefferson, Jr. as Roger, Dolph Sweet as Cokes, and Kenneth McMillan as Rooney. Nichols also directed the play’s restaging in New York at the Mitzi Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center, where it was produced by Joseph Papp and opened on April 21,1976. Some of the original cast reprised their roles, but changes included Michael Kell as Martin, Dorian Harewood as Carlyle, Paul Rudd as Billy, and Terry Alexander as Roger. In New York, it ran for over 400 performances and was enthusiastically received by many important critics, including Rex Reed, Christopher Sharp, Edwin Wilson, and Martin Gottfried. A few demurred, including John Beaufort, who, in a review for the Christian Science Monitor, argued that the work was too sensational and was devoid of new insights.

Despite its crude content, for many Streamers remains Rabe’s best work. Its violence and vulgarity may continue to offend some, but the play is certainly the most accomplished part of the so-called trilogy, upon which Rabe’s high reputation to some measure still rests. The genius of Streamers was clearly recognized when the play was first staged. Among other awards, it was named the Best American Play for 1976 by the New York Drama Critics and received a Drama Desk Award. It is still the most often staged play in Rabe’s dramatic canon.

For other uses, see Streamer.

Streamers
Broadway poster
Written by	David Rabe
Characters	Roger Richie Carlyle M.P. Martin Sgt. Rooney Clark, M.P. Hinson, M.P. Billy M.P. Officer Sgt. Cokes
Date premiered	21 April 1976
Place premiered	Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater New York City, New York
Original language	English
Genre	Drama
Setting	a Virginia army base
IBDB profile
IOBDB profile

Streamers is a play by David Rabe. After premiering at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut in 1975, the production transferred to Broadway, opening on April 21 1976 at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, where it ran for 478 performances. The cast included Terry Alexander as Roger, Paul Rudd as Billy, and Dorian Harewood as Carlyle, with Evans, Sweet, and McMillian reprising their Long Wharf roles. Later in the run Mark Metcalf replaced Rudd as Billy.

Contents 1 Plot synopsis 2 Film adaptation 3 Awards and Nominations 4 External links

Plot synopsis

The last in his Vietnam War trilogy that began with The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and Sticks and Bones, it focuses on the interactions and personal conflicts of a group of soldiers preparing to ship out to fight in the Southeast Asian conflict. Among them are middle class African American Roger, upper class Manhattanite Richie, who is struggling with his sexual orientation, conservative Wisconsin country boy Billy, and fearful loose cannon Carlyle, a streetwise black. In charge of their barracks are abrasive alcoholic Sgt. Cokes, who already has served overseas, and aggressive Sgt. Rooney, who is anxious to get into combat.

Its title a reference to parachutes that fail to open, Streamers originally was a one-act play entitled Knives Rabe completed in the late-1960s prior to writing the first two-thirds of his trilogy. While working as a journalist in New Haven, Connecticut, he expanded it into a full-length play. Under the direction of Mike Nichols, it premiered at the Long Wharf Theatre on January 30, 1976. The cast included Herbert Jefferson, Jr. as Roger, Peter Evans as Richie, John Heard as Billy, Joe Fields as Carlyle, Dolph Sweet as Cokes, and Kenneth McMillan as Rooney.

This 1976 award-winning play Streamers by David Rabe has been revived by Roundabout Theatre at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre in 2008. This production was based on the one presented a year before, by the Huntington Theatre. It was directed by Scott Ellis.

The 2008 cast includes J.D. Williams as Roger, Hale Appleman as Richie, Brad Fleischer as Billy, Atoh Essandoh as Carlyle, Larry Clarke as Sgt. Cokes, and John Sharian as Sgt. Rooney.

Film adaptation

Main article: Streamers (film)

In 1983, Rabe adapted his play for a feature film directed by Robert Altman and produced by Robert Michael Geisler and John Roberdeau (The Thin Red Line). The cast included David Alan Grier as Roger, Mitchell Lichtenstein as Richie, Matthew Modine as Billy, Michael Wright as Carlyle, George Dzundza as Cokes, and Guy Boyd as Rooney. The movie was awarded an unprecedented Golden Lion for its entire ensemble cast at the Venice Film Festival.

Awards and Nominations

Awards

1976 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play

1976 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play

Nominations

1976 Tony Award for Best Play

External links

• Streamers at the Internet Broadway Database
• Streamers at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play The Way of the World / Thieves' Carnival / Twelfth Night / The Merchant of Venice / The White Devil (1955) · The Iceman Cometh (1956) · Same Time, Next Year / Equus (1975) · Streamers (1976) · A Texas Trilogy / Otherwise Engaged (1977) · Da (1978) · The Elephant Man (1979) · Children of a Lesser God (1980) · Amadeus (1981) · Master Harold...and the Boys (1982) · Torch Song Trilogy (1983) · The Real Thing (1984) · As Is (1985) · A Lie of the Mind (1986) · Fences (1987) · M. Butterfly (1988) · The Heidi Chronicles (1989) · The Piano Lesson (1990) · Lost in Yonkers (1991) · Marvin's Room (1992) · Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (1993) · Angels in America: Perestroika (1994) · Love! Valour! Compassion! (1995) · Master Class (1996) · How I Learned to Drive (1997) · The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1998) · Wit (1999) · Copenhagen (2000) · Proof (2001) · The Goat: or, Who is Sylvia? / Metamorphoses (2002) · Take Me Out (2003) · I Am My Own Wife (2004) · Doubt: A Parable (2005) · The History Boys (2006) · The Coast of Utopia (2007) · August: Osage County (2008) · Ruined (2009)

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