Fool For Love

Fool For Love on Broadway Background

Some consider Fool for Love, which was first written in 1983, to be part of a quintet of plays that includes those other four as well (it is the fourth of the quintet, following True West and preceding A Lie of the Mind). The show is a surrealistic two-hander starring two world-class actors and deals with the concept of an inevitable cycle of destruction. The drama in Fool For Love centers around this confrontation, through which more and more of the history is revealed. The original production took place in San Francisco at the Magic Theatre in 1983 starring Kathy Baker and Ed Harris. Soon after, it premiered in New York City at the Circle Repertory Theatre with the same two actors. In London, the play premiered at the National Theatre in 1984, starring Ian Charleson and Julie Walters. It then transferred to the West End in 1985, and a West End revival took place in 2006 starring Martin Henderson and Juliette Lewis. In July 2014, a new American production premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival starring Nina Arianda (Venus in Fur) and Sam Rockwell (A Behanding in Spokane). It is this production that is now premiering on Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club production, directed by Daniel Aukin (Off-Broadway’s Bad Jews and 4000 Miles).

What's Fool For Love Like?

Fool for Love is an acclaimed play written by classic contemporary playwright Sam Shepherd, whose other famous works include Curse of the Starving Class, Buried Child, True West, and A Lie of the Mind. One of the four characters, “Old Man,” is soon revealed to be the father of both characters. As more of the truth comes out, we discover that these two individuals were raised in separate families, both with an absentee father. When they met in high school and became lovers, they found each other as soul mates. However, it eventually became clear that they were half-siblings, which they did not know about each other, and horrible events occurred. As Eddie begins to show signs of acting like his father, May is trying her best to avoid this fatal destiny, but the pull of fate may be too strong.

Is Fool For Love Good for Kids?

The show may be most appropriate for children 12 and older. Children under the age of 4 are not permitted in the theatre.