Mass Appeal (play)
| Mass Appeal | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Bill C. Davis |
| Characters | Father Tim Farley Mark Dolson |
| Date premiered | May 11, 1980 |
| Place premiered | Stage 73 New York City |
| Original language | English |
Mass Appeal is a two-character play by
Plot
Father Tim Farley is highly popular with his parishioners due to his charm, wit, easy-going manner, and entertaining (but unchallenging)
Dolson is a firebrand eager to change the Church. He enjoys attacking Farley's "song and dance theology" and questioning why he drinks so much. Dolson feels it is his job to shake parishioners out of their complacency. Farley likes Dolson, but sees that he will never succeed as a priest if all he does is irritate people and make enemies. Each man has something to teach the other about how to perform his priestly duties.
Productions
Mass Appeal was first performed in many small theatres, including The No Smoking Playhouse in Manhattan, produced by Pearl Tisman Minsky and Ken Berman, with Berman playing the role of Farley and Bill C. Davis playing the role of Dolson. At the suggestion of the pastor of "the actors' church", Minsky brought the play to Geraldine Fitzgerald, with whom she was acquainted. When Fitzgerald agreed to direct the play, she took it to Circle In The Square Theatre in Greenwich Theatre who agreed to workshop it. After the workshop, Circle In The Square did not pursue the play. Geraldine Fitzgerald continued to develop the script with Davis making extensive revisions. Minsky was about to bring the play to Lynn Meadows at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Fitzgerald suggested that she should bring the play to her as she was better acquainted with her where it was produced to great acclaim. Minsky and Berman met with other producers and put together a package for Broadway. At that point, Davis and Fitzgerald dropped Minsky and Berman, and had the play produced on Broadway. The Broadway playbill for Mass Appeal notes that the play was produced by arrangement with Minsky and Berman.
The play originally was produced by the
The Broadway production, again directed by Fitzgerald and starring O'Shea as Tim Farley but with Michael O'Keefe as Mark Dolson, opened at the Booth Theatre on November 12, 1981, after 16 previews. It closed on May 16, 1982, after 212 performances.
The play premiered in the
In 1982 the play was performed at Sydney's Seymour Centre theatre, and starred real-life father and son actors Michael and Christopher Pate. Actor/director Will Stutts toured the United States as Farley in the mid 1980s.
Awards and nominations
- Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play(Milo O'Shea, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (Geraldine Fitzergald, nominee)
- Theatre World Award (Michael O'Keefe, winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play(nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (O'Shea, nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play (Fitzgerald, nominee)
Michael and Christopher Pate, toured Australia. Returning to the Sydney Opera House.
Film adaptation
Davis adapted his play for a 1984 feature film starring Jack Lemmon as Tim Farley and Željko Ivanek as Mark Dolson.