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A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE
Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w, 4m
Kenneth Lonergan
In this both funny and touching ode to the perils of fame and fortune, Pulitzer Prize finalist Kenneth Lonergan creates a work that reminds you that you can always go home, but you might struggle with what you find there.
Image: 2024 Off-Broadway Production (Julieta Cervantes)
You can't go home again, or can you? On learning of his mother’s death, world-famous country and western star Strings McCrane begins questioning the meaning of his life and what it all adds up to. Determined to abandon his celebrity and his career, he moves back to his hometown in Tennessee. There, he encounters a rich cast of characters far removed from his life of excess, including his half-brother Duke and his kindergarten teacher and second cousin twice removed Essie, all while being accompanied by his sycophantic personal assistant Jimmy. Can Strings ever truly step out of the limelight and find some measure of normalcy in the town he left so long ago?
Lonergan's usual command of dialogue and a moving character study combine to make this a play that tugs at the heartstrings with all the power of Strings McCrane's guitar.
Hold on to Me Darling premiered off-Broadway on 24 February 2016 in an Atlantic Theater Company production. Directed by Neil Pepe, the production starred Timothy Olyphant as Strings McCrane. In 2024, the play was revived off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, directed by Pepe and starring Adam Driver.
STRINGS McCRANE – A world-famous country & western singer and movie star. Mid or late 30s. JIMMY – His personal assistant. Around 30. NANCY – A masseuse. 30s. DUKE – Strings’ older half-brother. Mid 30s. ESSIE – Strings’ second cousin twice removed. Late 20s. MITCH – A lumber store owner. Late 60s.
Offstage Voices ELLIE SHERMAN JACKIE PHOTOGRAPHERS GIRL MOTHER
A hotel suite in Kansas City and various locations in Beaumont, Tennessee. The present.
“A thoughtful rumination on the hazards of celebrity… one can’t help but fall to pieces.” – Vogue
“A scruffy, shaggy and touchingly earnest portrait of celebrity in free fall.” – Time Out NY
“Hold on to Me Darling was the best new play of 2016 when it opened at the Atlantic Theater. Eight years later, Kenneth Lonergan’s comedy about a country singer is the best contemporary play now on the boards in New York City.” – The Wrap
“I was left wanting to keep going on Strings’ journey, to know where he lands.” – New York Theatre Guide
Timothy Olyphant and Kenneth Lonergan on Hold on to Me Darling
Adam Driver Acceptance Speech for Hold on to Me Darling
Kenneth Lonergan's productions in New York include The Starry Messenger (New Group), Lobby Hero (Playwrights Horizons, John Houseman Theatre, Drama Desk Best Play nominee, Outer Critics Circle Best Play and John Gassner Playwriting nominee, included in the 2000-2001 Best Play ...
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