Plays and Screenplays

Shel Silverstein turned his creative abilities to the world of plays in the early 80s, and his first play, The Lady and the Tiger, premiered in 1981 at the Ensemble Studio Theater as part of the theater's "Marathon" festival of one-act plays. Tiger was greated to rave reviews from the New York theater world, launching Silverstein's new career. He continued to submit one-acters to subsequent "Marathons" until 1998, though his last play, "The Lifeboat Is Sinking" had its premiere as part of the EST's "Octoberfest '99" on October 23. He also wrote several longer plays, as well as some shorter ones that premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

The list below is as complete as possible, but sometimes I come across references to productions which I was previously unaware of. Hopefully a complete listing will be available as soon as I am able.

The Plays

The Lady and the Tiger (1981): part of "Marathon 1981"
Gorilla (1983)
Wild Life (1983)
Remember Crazy Zelda?(1984): part of "Marathon 1984"
The Happy Hour (1985)
The Crate (1985)
One Tennis Shoe (1985): part of "Marathon 1985"
Wash and Dry (1985)
Very, Very Serious Plays (1985)
Little Feet (1986): part of "Marathon 1986"
Happy Endings (1986)
The Empty Room and Other Short Plays(1986)
Feeding the Baby: part of Urban Blight (1988)
The Devil and Billy Markham (1989)
Hamlet (1990): part of "Marathon 1990"
New Living Newspaper (1992)
The Bed Plays(1993)
The Trio (1998): part of "Marathon 1998"
The Lifeboat Is Sinking (1999): part of "Octoberfest '99

The Screenplays

Silverstein only wrote one screenplay, "Things Change" (1988), which was a collaboration with David Mamet. Click here for the New York Times Film Review of the movies. More reviews are forthcoming.

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