The plays Picnic and Come Back Little Sheba by William Inge are representations of the customarily life of a small town in the American Midwestern with big hopes and dreams. The plays often show the real endeavors the people face within these small towns and how they deal with all these emotions. The yearning that the characters face through-out the play is just reminiscent of the American dream. This was also true for the author William Inge who was born in the small town of independence, Kansas on May 3,1913. He was the second son and last child of a family consisting of five siblings. In 1920 While Inge was a child he was a Boy Scout Trooper and was able to witness many artistic cultural events. Watching those cultural events sparked
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This story is a with a common theme that involves desire and despair. It revolves around a household of towns people from small Midwestern city in the post-World War II era. The head of the house hold is Doc Delaney who is a married chiropractor who is battling addiction, desire, and sexuality throughout the play. His wife is Lola Delaney who is a traditional American house wife who battles nostalgia, isolation and a desire for attention. Then threes Marie who is staying with the Delaney’s is a young women facing many challenges like sexuality, desire, and growth a she changes from scene to scene. Marie has two love interest in Turk and Bruce that shed light on the character that Marie is. In Drama for students by David Galens, Sheri Metzger who is a professional writer who specializes in literature and drama states “Inge was ahead of his time when, through Lola, he points out the inequities between women and men…But there is a double standard governing the behavior of men and women.” (114 Galens) This means that Inge was a trail blazer when it came to recognizing the inequalities between men and woman. Showing that back in 1950 it was seen as taboo to blatantly talk about sex and gender inequalities. This play has been redone by the media multiple times. For instance, Come Back, Little Sheba was recreated as a film in 1952 by Hal B. Wallace for Paramount Pictures and stars Shirley Booth as Lola, Burt Lancaster as Doc, Terry Moore as Marie, and Richard Jaeckel as Turk. Booth won an Academy Award for her performance. An only television version was aired on NBC in 1977. The cast includes Lawrence Olivier, Joanne Woodward, Carrie Fisher, and Nicholas Campbell. It was produced by Granada Television. A musical version titled Sheba opened in 1974 in Chicago. It starred Kay Ballard, George Wallace, Kimberly Farr, and Gary Sand. Ultimately The Title Come Back, Little Sheba comes from Lola
This story is a with a common theme that involves desire and despair. It revolves around a household of towns people from small Midwestern city in the post-World War II era. The head of the house hold is Doc Delaney who is a married chiropractor who is battling addiction, desire, and sexuality throughout the play. His wife is Lola Delaney who is a traditional American house wife who battles nostalgia, isolation and a desire for attention. Then threes Marie who is staying with the Delaney’s is a young women facing many challenges like sexuality, desire, and growth a she changes from scene to scene. Marie has two love interest in Turk and Bruce that shed light on the character that Marie is. In Drama for students by David Galens, Sheri Metzger who is a professional writer who specializes in literature and drama states “Inge was ahead of his time when, through Lola, he points out the inequities between women and men…But there is a double standard governing the behavior of men and women.” (114 Galens) This means that Inge was a trail blazer when it came to recognizing the inequalities between men and woman. Showing that back in 1950 it was seen as taboo to blatantly talk about sex and gender inequalities. This play has been redone by the media multiple times. For instance, Come Back, Little Sheba was recreated as a film in 1952 by Hal B. Wallace for Paramount Pictures and stars Shirley Booth as Lola, Burt Lancaster as Doc, Terry Moore as Marie, and Richard Jaeckel as Turk. Booth won an Academy Award for her performance. An only television version was aired on NBC in 1977. The cast includes Lawrence Olivier, Joanne Woodward, Carrie Fisher, and Nicholas Campbell. It was produced by Granada Television. A musical version titled Sheba opened in 1974 in Chicago. It starred Kay Ballard, George Wallace, Kimberly Farr, and Gary Sand. Ultimately The Title Come Back, Little Sheba comes from Lola