Metropolitan Playhouse
The American Legacy 220 East Fourth Street ~ New York, New
York 10009
(212) 995 5302 "One of my favorite downtown theaters"
~ Martin Denton, nytheatre.com
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Playing | Next | Season | Tickets | Company | Location | Mission | History | Links |
Horatio Alger
Festival
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5 premiere works by
cutting edge artists
inspired by the life and work of the chronicler of the American Dream PLUS: A symposium with Glenn Hendler, Hildegard Hoeller, and Festival Authors |
PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION in order of first performance Shifting for Himself, or Gilbert Greyson's Fortunes by Michael Schwartz Shifting for Himself (or
Gilbert Greyson's Fortunes) is an adaptation of the
typical Horatio Alger story--a young man finds
himself poor, but through hard work, good manners,
and some good luck, he gets the best of cheaters,
schemers, and layabouts in end-of-the-19th century
New York City. Can pluck, integrity, and innocence
prevail on Wall Street? In Horatio Alger's world,
you bet your boots it can!
Another Horatio Alger Story by Jason Jacobs An impassioned teacher leads his
impressionable student in an exploration of
Alger's life and work ... but the charms of
fiction are threatened by dangerous facts. Is
there a true "Horatio Alger story?" What secrets
do these tales conceal?
The Return of Ragged Dick by Dan Evans, A LuLu LoLo Production In
1866, young Horatio Alger, Jr. arrives in New York, an
ex-Unitarian minister and budding author disgraced as a
pederast. Twenty years later, a fearsome stranger
from the Amazon Rain Forest suddenly appears on the
doorstep of this now popular but near- bankrupt author
with surprising results.
Horatio Alger's Boys
by David Lally Prey or
victim? A scandalous incident in Horatio Alger's
past may affect his future. A "ripped from the
headlines" story, the saga of Horatio Alger did not
begin and end with his "rags to riches" stories.
Pluck by Adam Klasfeld One
Armed Man exposes the American dream that dare not speak
its name, with a staged reading of "Pluck," an early
look at a new play by Adam Klasfeld.
The Devil narrates the despicable fall and triumphant rise of Horatio Alger, Jr., a fallen minister turned unlikely prophet for the American gospel of wealth. In 1866, scandal strikes a Unitarian church in a coastal New England town as elders investigate Alger for "gross immorality and ... the abominable and revolting crime of unnatural familiarity with boys." Alger escapes arrest on the first train to New York, and one bitter deacon predicts he will “serve the Devil by writing novels.” Adrift in New York, Alger ekes out a living writing books about street urchins, on the verge of adolescence, plucked from poverty by a wealthy older benefactor. The stories don’t sell very well in his lifetime, but eventually, the Devil will get his due. |