A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Late, A Cowboy Song

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  2w, 1m

Sarah Ruhl

Mary, always late and always married, meets a lady cowboy outside the city limits of Pittsburgh who teaches her how to ride a horse. A story of one woman’s education and her search to find true love outside the box...

Late, A Cowboy Song

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 1m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Fantasy
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary
This play is for all the lady cowboys of heart and mind who ride outside the city limits of convention. Mary, always late and always married, meets a lady cowboy outside the city limits of Pittsburgh who teaches her how to ride a horse. Mary’s husband, Crick, buys a painting with the last of their savings. Mary and Crick have a baby, but they can’t decide on the baby’s name, or the baby’s gender. A story of one woman’s education and her search to find true love outside the box.
History
Late: A Cowboy Song premiered at the Piven Theatre in Chicago in August of 2010. 
Keywords
Performing Groups
CRICK - Charming, fragile, and child-like
MARY - Keeps her journal locked
RED - She’s no cowgirl, she’s a cowboy

Red talks slow. Crick talks fast. Mary’s somewhere in the middle. Crick, Mary and Red need not be any particular race or ethnicity. 

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day, New Millennium/21st Century
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"Here as ever, Ruhl has a finger to her chin in poetic meditation, with the added attraction of a youthful yodel in her heart." - Washington Post 

"[Ruhl's] language is vivid and lyrical. Crick is certainly no poet, but Ruhl finds language for him to describe his passion for art which is both moving and profound. While maintaining Mary’s dimness throughout the production, Ruhl allows her sufficient language to describe the sadness and fear she doesn’t even know she has. And Ruhl gives the laconic Red lines of cowboy wisdom which startle and provoke us..." - DC Theatre Scene

"Below the basic, but funny, dialogue, the complexity percolates with gender bender twists.  Is he for she?  Is she for she?  Is she a she or he?...Late: A Cowboy Song is an unexpectedly insightful dramedy about defining and redefining self in the pursuit of happiness." Chicago Now 

"...this witty bubbling new work presents an in-depth look at the idiosyncrasies of life in regards to gender roles and love. A compelling piece of quirky drama, with an urban fairytale feel to the story, there are laughs and moments of deeply ponderous emotion to behold in this rapid moving performance." - DC Metro Theatre Arts

"An eccentric play about eccentrics" - Washington City Paper

Videos

  • Late: A Cowboy Song - No Rules Theatre Company Plus One youtube thumbnail

    Late: A Cowboy Song - No Rules Theatre Company Plus One

  • Late: A Cowboy Song - Independent Little Lies youtube thumbnail

    Late: A Cowboy Song - Independent Little Lies

  • Late: A Cowboy Song - Calgary's Third Street Theater youtube thumbnail

    Late: A Cowboy Song - Calgary's Third Street Theater

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl’s plays include In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, The Clean House, Passion Play, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Melancholy Play, For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday, The Oldest Boy, Stage Kiss, Dear Elizabeth, Eurydice, How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, Orlando, Late ...

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