Sex and Longing was produced by Lincoln Center Theatre (Andre Bishop, Bernard Gerstein, directors) at the Cort Theatre in New York City on September 12, 1996 (opened on October 10).� It was directed by Garland Wright; sets were designed by John Arnone, costumes by Susan Hilferty, lighting by Brian MacDevitt, sound by John Gromada, company manager was Rheba Flegelman, stage manager was Dianne Trulock.� Understudies were Felicity LaFortune, Bill Dawes, Michael Arkin, Cynthia Darlow.��The cast was:

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From Durang:

My play Sex and Longing was presented by Lincoln Center Theatre in 1996, at the Cort Theatre on Broadway. It was disliked by most critics. I think audiences often liked parts of it, especially the first two-thirds. Watching the play during its run though, I could feel that I lost the audience during the last third, regardless of the fine work the actors were doing.

The play was conceived as a comic epic and was in three acts. There were two topics really � sex and longing (and sexual addiction), as represented by Lulu and her gay friend Justin, who need sex constantly and have published a coffee table book called �Explicit Photographs of the Last 300 People I Slept With�; and the religious right�s seeming desire to write their rigid, anti-sex morality into law when possible, as represented by Brigid McCrea and the Reverend Davidson, who join forces to use Lulu as an example of moral degradation during a congressional hearing.

The play is not realistically written (Lulu claims to need sex every 15 minutes, and shows up at the Congressional hearing in only a sheet)� but the two themes didn�t merge properly, and the story seemed random in many ways.

I sometimes run into people who say they liked it; but many more didn�t, truthfully, and I�ve chosen not to have it published, because I don�t think the last third of the play works.

New York Stage and Film offered me a week�s workshop to work on a rewritten version in 1997; and though it was valuable, I didn�t solve the problems.

Maybe someday I�ll figure it out. Or maybe I�ll just use certain sections and/or impulses in the play and write something entirely different.

I am proud of some of the scenes; and the actors told me they had a wonderful time playing the play for the audiences, on the whole. Sigourney Weaver was brave and bold and funny in her Promethean portrayal of a sexual rebel; and Dana Ivey was deeply, deeply hilarious as the harsh-minded, judgmental Brigid (and she deserved a Tony, I thought). Peter Michael Goetz was wonderful as the wily Reverend; and Guy Boyd was hilarious as Brigid�s messy, chaotic Senator husband.� Eric Thal was sexy and scary as Jack, and funny as the Special Witness.� And though I think I would adjust the part of Justin in the writing to make him more of a Robert Downey, Jr. �bad boy,� Jay Goede brought skill and sensitivity to what I did write.

Below is a link to a diary I wrote about the week the play closed that was published in Slate. Also, if you subscribe to nerve.com, under Durang there�s an article I wrote about the play that includes some photos and some excerpts from the play.

Slate diary written by Durang on closing of �Sex and Longing�

Note: the Lincoln Center 1996 production was taped and may be watched at the Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library with permission.

Cast size: 4 male, 2 female
Rights: The rights to Sex And Longing are not presently available; the author feels the last third of the play does not presently work as written.��

Durang wonders about rewriting the play sometime, so if you are a professional theatre who wishes to consider presenting a rewritten version some day, feel free to make inquiries to Mr. Durang�s agent - Patrick Herold, International Creative Management, 40 West 57th Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10019.� Phone: 212-556-5600 Email: [email protected]

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Photos by Joan Marcus

Attacked during a sexual tryst, Lulu finds religion.� Here she is instructed by the Reverend and Brigid how to make polite conversation.� (The legs in the photo belong to an oversize crucifix in the room.)� Sigourney Weaver, Peter Michael Goetz, Dana Ivey.�