View source for Hurlyburly

{{Short description|1984 play by American playwright David Rabe}}
{{about|the stage play|the film of the play|Hurlyburly (film){{!}}''Hurly Burly'' (film)|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2016}}

{{Infobox play
| name=Hurlyburly
| image=HurlyburlyPoster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical poster for a 2007 production
| writer=[[David Rabe]]
| chorus     = 
| characters = 
| mute       = 
| setting    = Hollywood
| premiere   = 1984<!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| place      = [[Goodman Theatre]]<br>[[Chicago, Illinois]]
| orig_lang  = English 
| series     = 
| subject    = 
| genre      = [[Dark comedy]]
| web        = 
}}

'''''Hurlyburly''''' is a dark comedy play by [[David Rabe]], first staged in 1984. The title refers to dialogue from [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Macbeth]]''.

==Plot==
''Hurlyburly'' depicts the intersecting lives of several low-to-mid-level Hollywood players in the 1980s. Fueled by large quantities of drugs, they attempt to find meaning in their isolated, empty lives.

==Title origin==
The title (meaning "noisy confusion" or "tumult") is derived from dialogue in Act I, Scene I of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Macbeth]]'':

*First Witch: "When shall we three meet again / In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"
*Second Witch: "When the hurlyburly's done, / When the battle's lost and won."

== Notable casts ==
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="1" |Character
! Broadway debut <br/> <small> (1984) </small> 
! Broadway replacements <br/> <small> (1985) </small>
! Film Adaptation <br/> <small> (1998) </small>
! Off-Broadway revival <br/> <small> (2005) </small> 
|-
!Eddie
| align="center" |[[William Hurt]]||align="center"|[[Frank Langella]]||align="center"|[[Sean Penn]]||align="center"|[[Ethan Hawke]]
|-
!Darlene
| align="center" |[[Sigourney Weaver]]||align="center"|[[Candice Bergen]]||align="center"|[[Robin Wright]]||align="center"|[[Parker Posey]]
|-
!Bonnie
| align="center" |[[Judith Ivey]]||align="center"|[[Christine Baranski]]||align="center"|[[Meg Ryan]]||align="center"|[[Catherine Kellner]]
|-
!Donna 
| align="center" |[[Cynthia Nixon]]||align="center"|[[Lauren Tom]]||align="center"|[[Anna Paquin]]||align="center"|Halley Wegryn Gross
|-
!Phil
| align="center" |[[Harvey Keitel]]||align="center"|[[Danny Aiello]]||align="center"|[[Chazz Palminteri]]||align="center"|[[Bobby Cannavale]]
|-
!Mickey
| align="center" |[[Ron Silver]]||align="center"|[[Christopher Walken]]||align="center"|[[Kevin Spacey]]||align="center"|[[Josh Hamilton (actor)|Josh Hamilton]]
|-
!Artie
| align="center" |[[Jerry Stiller]]||align="center"|[[Kevin Spacey]]||align="center"|[[Garry Shandling]]||align="center"|[[Wallace Shawn]]
|-
|}

==Production history==
The play's first staging was produced by the [[Goodman Theatre]] in Chicago.  It opened [[Off-Broadway]] at Manhattan's Promenade Theatre in June 1984. The [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production, directed by [[Mike Nichols]], opened on August 7, 1984 at the [[Ethel Barrymore Theatre]], where it ran for 343 performances. The original cast included [[William Hurt]], [[Christopher Walken]], [[Harvey Keitel]], [[Jerry Stiller]], [[Judith Ivey]], [[Sigourney Weaver]], and [[Cynthia Nixon]].

Nixon was performing in ''[[The Real Thing (play)|The Real Thing]]'' at the same time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/22/theater/theater-hurlyburly.html|title=THEATER: 'HURLYBURLY'|author-link=Frank Rich|last=Rich|first=Frank|date=June 22, 1984|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=March 31, 2010|archive-date=August 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830053510/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/22/theater/theater-hurlyburly.html|url-status=live}}</ref> (The timing of her entrance and exit in each play allowed her to run back and forth between the two theatres, located two blocks from each other.) Replacements later in the run included [[Danny Aiello]], [[Susan Anton]], [[Christine Baranski]], [[Frank Langella]], [[Ron Silver]], [[John Rubinstein]] and [[Candice Bergen]].

In 1997, a version opened in the [[West End theatre|West End]] at the [[Old Vic]], starring [[Daniel Craig]], [[Rupert Graves]], [[Andy Serkis]], [[David Tennant]], [[Jenny Seagrove]], and [[Susannah Doyle]].

A 2005 Off-Broadway revival was produced by [[The New Group]], and starred [[Ethan Hawke]], [[Josh Hamilton (actor)|Josh Hamilton]], [[Bobby Cannavale]], [[Parker Posey]], [[Wallace Shawn]], Halley Wegryn Gross, and [[Catherine Kellner]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/theater/newsandfeatures/22hurl.html |title='Hurlyburly' Will Move, Bypassing Broadway|last=McKinley|first=Jesse|date=February 22, 2005|work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=March 31, 2010}}</ref> [[Elizabeth Berkley]] took over from Catherine Kellner and received much praise, with [[Charles Isherwood]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' even going as far as apologizing to her for his past criticisms of her ability, stating that the fact she held "her own among this skilled company of scene-stealers is a testament to how much her talent has grown".<ref>{{cite web|last=Isherwood|first=Charles|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/19/theater/newsandfeatures/19ishe.html|title=The Redemption of Elizabeth Berkley|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 19, 2005|access-date=May 13, 2009|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402190050/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/19/theater/newsandfeatures/19ishe.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The production received critical acclaim and garnered a [[Drama Desk Award]] nomination for [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play|Outstanding Revival of a Play]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/91825-Hiatus-Hurlyburly-Shuts-Down-Production-Off-Broadway-Before-Moving-to-New-Location |title=Hiatus: Hurlyburly Shuts Down Production Off-Broadway Before Moving to New Location |last=Hernandez |first=Ernio |date=March 19, 2005 |work=[[Playbill]] |access-date=March 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605032923/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/91825-Hiatus-Hurlyburly-Shuts-Down-Production-Off-Broadway-Before-Moving-to-New-Location |archive-date=June 5, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/92606-Drama-Desk-Nominations-Announced-April-28|title=Drama Desk Nominations Announced April 28|last=Simonson|first=Robert|date=April 28, 2005|author-link1=Robert Simonson|work=[[Playbill]]|access-date=March 31, 2010|archive-date=June 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604182702/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/92606-Drama-Desk-Nominations-Announced-April-28|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
=== Original Broadway production ===
{| class=wikitable
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;" | Year
! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Award 
! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Category
! scope="col" style="width:25em;"| Nominated work
! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Result
! | Ref.
|-
|style="text-align:center;", rowspan=5|1985 || rowspan=4|[[Tony Awards]] || [[Tony Award for Best Play]] || [[David Rabe]] || {{nom}} || rowspan=5|<ref>{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/hurlyburly-ethel-barrymore-theatre-vault-0000004315|title= Hurlyburly (Broadway, 1984)|website= Playbill|accessdate= July 23, 2024|archive-date= May 29, 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240529092930/https://playbill.com/production/hurlyburly-ethel-barrymore-theatre-vault-0000004315|url-status= live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play|Best Featured Actor in a Play]] || [[William Hurt]] || {{nom}}
|-
|[[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play|Best Featured Actress in a Play]] || [[Judith Ivey]] || {{won}} 
|-
|[[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play|Best Featured Actress in a Play]] || [[Sigourney Weaver]] || {{nom}}
|-
|[[Drama Desk Award]] || [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play|Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play]] || Judith Ivey || {{won}}
|-
|}

=== 2005 Off-Broadway revival ===
{| class=wikitable
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;" | Year
! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Award 
! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Category
! scope="col" style="width:25em;"| Nominated work
! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Result
! | Ref.
|-
|style="text-align:center;", rowspan=2|2005 || [[Drama Desk Award]] || colspan=2|[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play|Outstanding Revival of a Play]] || {{nom}} || rowspan=2|<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/24849-hurlyburly-at-acorn-theater-and-others-2005|title= Hurlyburly (2005)|website= Abouttheartist|accessdate= July 23, 2024|archive-date= August 30, 2024|archive-url= https://archive.today/20240830053619/https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/24849-hurlyburly-at-acorn-theater-and-others-2005|url-status= live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Lucille Lortel Award]] || colspan=2|Outstanding Revival || {{nom}} 
|-
|}

==Film adaptation==
{{Main article|Hurlyburly (film)}}

Rabe wrote the screenplay for a 1998 film version directed by [[Anthony Drazan]].<ref name="Hurlyburly">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/415910/hurly-burly#credits|title=Hurlyburly|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=May 22, 2016|archive-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128102655/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/415910/Hurly-Burly/full-credits.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He condensed the action into two hours and updated the setting from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. The cast included [[Sean Penn]], [[Kevin Spacey]], [[Chazz Palminteri]], [[Robin Wright (actress)|Robin Wright Penn]], [[Garry Shandling]], [[Anna Paquin]], and [[Meg Ryan]].<ref name="Hurlyburly"/> Penn's performance won him the Volpi Cup and Drazan was nominated for the Golden Lion at the [[Venice Film Festival]]. Penn also was nominated Best Male Lead at the [[Independent Spirit Awards]].

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
*{{IBDB title|4342}}
*{{iobdb show| Hurlyburly}}

[[Category:1984 plays]]
[[Category:American plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:American comedy plays]]
[[Category:Fiction set in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Off-Broadway plays]]
[[Category:Plays by David Rabe]]
[[Category:Plays set in Los Angeles]]