Nuts (play)

Nuts is a 1979 play by Tom Topor. It is a suspense, psychological, and courtroom drama that explores sexual abuse issues, family and social power dynamics, and aspects of the criminal court system. It was staged off-off-Broadway in 1979 and transferred to Broadway the following year. A 1987 film adaptation stars Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss.

Plot

The play is set in a courtroom in the psychiatric wing of Bellevue Hospital in New York City. After killing a client in self defense, strong-willed, high-class call girl Claudia Draper is indicted for manslaughter in the first degree. Her mother Rose and stepfather Arthur are anxious to avoid the family scandal that would result from the public revelation of their daughter's chosen career, so they attempt to have her declared mentally incompetent by Dr. Herbert Rosenthal. Realizing she will be remanded to a psychiatric facility for an indefinite period of time if her parents succeed, Claudia is determined to prove she is sane enough to stand trial.

Public defender Aaron Levinsky is assigned to her case, but Claudia is angry and distrustful of everybody. She not only resists his help but disrupts the court hearings, over which Judge Murdoch is presiding, as well. As testimony is heard, new insights into Claudia's entire life experience, including sexual abuse by her stepfather, begin to surface.

Background

Tom Topor used his years of experience as a journalist covering New York City police stations, courtrooms, hospitals, and psychiatric wards in crafting the play.^[1] He derived the mental illness plot from a true-life incident he had reported in the early 1970s, and he also questioned his wife about her incestuous childhood, which provided the lead character's motivation to become a prostitute.^[2]

Production

Nuts was produced in an early draft form at the off-off Broadway WPA Theater in 1979. Universal Studios purchased the film rights and financed the play's move to Broadway.^[2] Following eight previews, it opened at the Biltmore Theatre on April 28, 1980, where it ran for 96 performances before closing on July 20. Directed by Stephen Zuckerman, who had directed the original production, it starred Anne Twomey as Claudia, Richard Zobel as Aaron Levinsky, Hansford Rowe as Arthur Kirk, Lenka Peterson as Rose Kirk, Paul Stolarsky as Dr. Rosenthal, and Ed Van Nuys as Judge Murdoch.

Anne Twomey won the Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, and Hansford Rowe was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.

Film adaptation

Tom Topor, Darryl Ponicsan, and Alvin Sargent adapted the play for the 1987 film of the same title, directed by Martin Ritt and starring Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss.

References

External links

• Nuts at the Internet Broadway Database
• Nuts: A Play in Three Acts on GoogleBooks