Judevine: A Play in Two Acts
Moment to Moment
January 1, 2019
Broken Wing
February 17, 2019
Judevine: A Play In Two Acts
W ith 65 performances in 34 states and using an acting ensemble of variable size, from six to a dozen or more, and through a series of interrelated scenes the ensemble creates 24 characters in a town called Judevine, a poor, rural mountain town in northern Vermont, which is a kind of Third World country within the boundaries of the United States where, like so many Third World countries, there is incredible physical beauty, great suffering and hardship and a tenacious and indomitable will to survive.
JUDEVINE is a parade of lives seen singly and in relation to others: Raymond and Ann, who in their 50 years together have become a mythic vision of love and warmth and cooperation; Grace, whose tortured and lonely life explodes into bitterness, violence, jealousy and finally into madness; teenager Carol Hopper, middle-aged Conrad and the Vietnam vet, Tommy, who all in their isolation withdraw into themselves; Lucy, who has literally lost her mind, and Jerry who loves and protects her; Alice who is “half man, half woman” and who “embraces other people’s lives,” Laura and Edgar, who pass their ordered, proper and restrained days while bursting with repressed passion for each other; and Antoine, the bad talking saint, the irrepressible, effusive, loquacious and ebullient lover of women and all the rest of life. These and many others populate the town and the life of JUDEVINE and are brought to the stage by David, the poet, who is the narrator of this play and who observes all these others from his own isolated yet involved and loving distance.
Through a collection of lyrically beautiful and compelling portraits of ordinary people, by turns raucous and bawdy, delicate and painful, intensely funny, loving and angry, the characters in JUDEVINE reveal to us the survival strength in the oppressed and hurt.
The human parade in this specific and particular and forgotten place becomes the universal human parade itself, and ultimately, JUDEVINE becomes an intensely passionate and caring song of praise celebrating human nature.
Minimal set, properties and costumes. The sound track is created live and on stage by the acting ensemble. Simple lighting.
Judevine: A Play In Three Acts
A richer, fuller, more complete telling of the Judevine story in three acts with two intermissions, in which we follow Raymond after Ann’s death into his complex and frustrating relationship with a younger woman, Sarah, and what happens to Sarah after Raymond’s death. We find out also much more about the ill-fated Tommy and Grace and what tragedy awaits Grace after Tommy’s death. And we learn more about Sam and Beatrice Hines, The Buddhas of Judevine. We meet Albert Putvain, welfare cheat and down-home landscape architect and we get to know The Two Old Retarded Guys at Albert’s. Act III opens with an raucous and joyful ensemble piece about summer softball in Judevine replete with a blues for the whole ensemble.
JUDEVINE: IN THREE ACTS spans two decades, from 1970 to 1990, and is structured so as to provide more of a consistent and traditional through-line, thus it is a bit less experimental in its form than JUDEVINE: IN TWO ACTS which has now been produced in 23 states.
Technical requirements are the same as JUDEVINE: IN TWO ACTS. Ensemble cast should be slightly larger than minimum number for two act version since the three act version has an additional major role for a woman.
Critics Respond to Judevine
“Wrenchingly real, fiercely emotional and unexpectedly funny, this is a show that pierces the heart and engages the senses, growing in intensity as it draws you into the lives and battered fortunes of an entire community. Budbill’s characters are unusually rich and three dimensional. And he offers profound insights into the secret lives and overt eccentricities of the inhabitants of a modern rural community where unemployment, child abuse and loneliness coexist with love, friendship and the unmatched beauty of the natural world.”
- Chicago Sun Times
“At once tough and tender, [JUDEVINE] is not afraid to tell hard stories with a warm heart.”
- The Boston Globe
“One of the on-stage inhabitants of the fictional town of Judevine calls it the “ugliest town in Northern Vermont.” Well, that may be–but out of its life has come a most beautiful, exquisite piece of theatre….Budbill strokes and brushes this dramatic story-telling with rare honesty, affection and grace–and with language so precise and descriptive you will know immediately you’re soul-deep in something extraordinary.”
- Los Angeles Daily News
“Playwright Budbill has a thoughtfully keen and gut grabbing sense of what makes individuals tick, by themselves, in couples and in groups.”
- Herald News, Passaic, New Jersey
“What makes JUDEVINE so memorable is not just the intensity of its emotions, the depth of its feeling, the absence of cloying sentimentality, the hearty humor–and this play is loaded with humor–but also the prodigious musicality with which it has been put together…[an] extraordinary new play…a play that should find as wide an audience as possible. Regional theatre literary managers take note!…A highly theatrical and memorable evening of theater that dignifies both the art Budbill serves and the people–his own people–who nourish his artistic and social vision.”
- The Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, Massachusetts
“JUDEVINE is a beautifully tender combination of theatre and poetry. Budbill’s play presents us with a vision of ourselves.”
- Sarasota Herald Tribune, Sarasota, Florida
“JUDEVINE…glows with a contagious compassion.”
- Chicago Tribune
“Go see JUDEVINE. It’s wonderful….David Budbill’s script is rich and believable, full of sass and heartbreak.”
- The Juneau Empire, Juneau, Alaska
“JUDEVINE is a compilation of 20 years of poetry by Budbill describing a backwoods village in present day Vermont, and because the play is intimate glimpses of the unfathomable mystery of humanity…analogies are made with such similar plays as Under Milkwood, Spoon River Anthology and, of course, Our Town. However these comparisons are ridiculous because JUDEVINE is a memorable theatre work that is anything but cutesy, folksy and bucolic. It is rather a searing view of a rural town in today’s America.”
- Drama-Logue, Bay Area/San Francisco
“. . . an astonishing variety of characters. We come to care deeply about them and to see the dignity inherent in the humblest of human beings.”
- The Chicago Reader
“JUDEVINE as a poem-play sweeps the imagination across paths of folk the likes of which are rarely seen let alone heard from….Ultimately the show is a beautiful song of praise, celebrating human nature.
- Weekend, Trenton, New Jersey
“JUDEVINE achieves that rare phenomenon, acclaim from the critics along with appreciation from the people. What a joy to see an audience of 400 weeping and laughing and squirming…what satisfaction to hear a dramatic presentation in which each word is so well considered, each thought so cleanly limned, each line so deeply true–a presentation, in short, in which the actors speak poetry…in which the characters speak, although roughly and comfortably, with precision and grace….The success of JUDEVINE is a tribute to the power of truth, affirming that when audiences see and hear the truth, they will recognize it and respond to it.”
- The White River Valley Herald, Randolph, Vermont
“It’s easy to think of JUDEVINE as a late-20th century variation on Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” Easy, but wrong. Budbill’s work is closer in purpose and effect to William Faulkner–both use a small distinct place to examine the world….Budbill has populated his JUDEVINE with intensely real people.”
- Tulsa World, Tulsa, Oklahoma
“The script is innovative, funny, likable…intelligent, different and articulate…a spirited new work. JUDEVINE…deserves the highest praise.”
- The Home News, New Brunswick, New Jersey
“Those who scoff at the thought of experimental theatre should go see–and hear–JUDEVINE. It is so superbly written and so beautifully performed that this critic resented having to take notes instead of sitting back–no, sitting forward–and being transported to the mountains of Vermont.”
- The Princeton Packet, Princeton, New Jersey
“David Budbill’s intriguing JUDEVINE…is a warm and wistful, sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious glimpse at small town life.”
- Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Arkansas
“This humane celebration and haunting examination of tangled souls provides a glimpse into forgotten lives.”
- Village View, Los Angeles, California
“Haunting beauty mixed with broad comedy exuberantly expressed…the shortest two hours of uncontrollable entertainment imaginable.”
- The Post Star, Glens Falls, New York
“[In] JUDEVINE…there are repeated small jolts of surprise, pain, affection, delight–you name it–that come out of the unpredictability of carefully observed, precisely detailed characters…the energy, pain and joy of the place swells and courses through them….from tender sadness to raunchy gut-busting humor.”
- The Vermont Vanguard Press, Burlington, Vermont
“Budbill leaps deftly between pathos and comedy, never lingering in sentimentality; he keeps his edges hard….JUDEVINE is a lyrical, funny, earthy work, full of sweetness and darkness, about the joys and troubles of life.”
- The Bennington Banner, Bennington, Vermont
“Mingling the sweetness of Thornton Wilder, the raunchiness of Lenny Bruce, and the format of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood. JUDEVINE has earned tremendous acclaim.”
- New England Monthly
“Budbill is a superb storyteller with a fine sensitivity and a wonderful way with words….The people of Judevine are people like the rest of us: ordinary, imperfect, unique….JUDEVINE flows with power and grace.”
- The Times Union, Albany, New York
“Fictional JUDEVINE may be rooted in Vermont, but it represents much of forgotten America….Budbill is a marvelous storyteller and ACT’s nine actors create 20 vivid, distinctive characters….JUDEVINE displays ACT’s strength, depth and ingenuity better than any show this season.”
- The Tribune, Oakland, California
“JUDEVINE is a fine, moving, intriguing play…written in a rough free verse crowded with fine images….JUDEVINE reminds you that the glory of theatre is not story or scene–it is the human voice.”
- Portland Press Herald, Portland, Maine
“Budbill has fashioned his poems about the little town into an uncommonly beautiful play….In Budbill’s Vermont, marked by the cyclical seasons, everything changes. Against the resilience of nature, he tells of the impermanent humankind….The pleasures of Budbill’s JUDEVINE meanwhile are likely to last awhile.”
- The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California
Production History of Judevine
2017
Lost Nation Theater, Montpelier, VT April 20-May 7
2013
Staged reading at The Tiny Theatre, Poultney, VT, Green Mountain College, April 23
Brian Rickel’s One Man Judevine: The Vine Theatre at the Bernardo Winery, Rancho Bernardo, CA, April 13 & 14
2011
Brian Rickel’s One Man Judevine: Grand Central Arts Center, Santa Ana, CA, April 8 & 9
Brian Rickel’s One Man Judevine: CSU Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, May 19 & 20
2010
The Palace Players, The Palace Theater, Hamilton, NY, October 15 & 16
Actor’s Bridge Ensemble Theatre, Nashville, TN, February 5, 6, 7 and 11, 12, 13, 14
2009
Portland Community College Theatre, Portland, OR, Nov 13, 14, 19–11 a.m. matinee, 20, 21, 22–2 p.m. matinee
2008
Middlebury Town Hall Theatre, Middlebury, VT, October 16, 17, 18
Paramount Theatre, Rutland, VT, October 10 & 11
Lost Nation Theatre, Montpelier, VT, September 19 – Oct 5
Old Castle Theatre, Bennington, VT, April 12, Benefit Reading, author in cast
William and Mary Theatre, Williamsburg, VA, March 27, 28, 29
2007
Lost Nation Theatre, Montpelier, VT, April 19-May 13
Dorset Playhouse, Dorset, VT, March 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11
2006
Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, Lincoln, NE, October 5-14
Cambridge Rindge and Latin School performs a one-act version of JUDEVINE at Brookline High School, Brookline, MA, March 2
Cambridge Rindge and Latin School performs a one-act version of JUDEVINE at Brookline High School, Brookline, MA, March 4
2005
Mainstage Theatre of New England College, The Open Door Theatre, Henniker, NH, September 28-October 1
Mainstage Theatre of New England College, The Open Door Theatre, Henniker, NH, June 30-July 3
2004
Connecticut Repertory Theatre (at the University of Connecticut), Storrs, CT, October 28-November 7
Old Castle Theatre Company, Bennington, VT, June 11-20
A Reading of JUDEVINE: A PLAY IN ONE ACT, Strafford Town House, Strafford, VT, June 5
2002
Evergreen Players at Colorado Community Theatre Coalition Festival, Fort Collins, CO, June 27-30
Harvard University, Harvard-Radcliffe Drama Club, Cambridge, MA, April 25-27
The Evergreen Players at Center/Stage, Evergreen, CO, March 15-17
Greendale High School, (High School Version), Greendale, WI, January 4 & 5
2001
Wellesley High School, (excerpts), Wellesley, MA, February 8, 9 & March 3
1999
Kieth Country Day School, Rockford, IL, Oct 28-30
1998
Summer Repertory Theatre, Santa Rosa, CA, June 26-August 1, 1998
Santa Fe Community College, Gainsville, FL, April 2-11, 1998
Wayward Theatre Company, Tulsa, OK, January 1-11, 1998
1996
Yale University, New Haven, CT, October 24-November 2, 1996
Old Castle Theatre Company: Judevine: In Four Acts, Premier, Bennington, VT, October 4-26, 1996
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, January 28 -February 11, 1996
1995
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, Palos Hills, IL, November 1995
ArtRise Theatre, South San Francisco, CA, September 8-23, 1995
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, March 23, 24, 25, 1995
1994
Poet’s Theatre of Cambridge, Boston, MA, December 1-18, 1994
Twice Struck By Lightning Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA, August 5-28, 1994
Lake Forest High School, Lake Forest, IL, May 1994
Luther College, Decorah, IA, 11-16 March, 1994
American Inside Theatre, Genesee Depot, WI, March 9-27, 1994
New American Theatre, Rockford, IL, February 1994
Thomas Jefferson High School, (excerpts) Council Bluffs, IA, 22 January & 4 February 1994
1993
New England College, Henniker, NH, November 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 1993
Equity Library Theatre, Chicago, IL, August 4-29 and Septemer 16-October 10 1993
1992
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, November 11-21, 1992
Silk Road Theatre Company, The Matrix Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, March 12-May 3, 1992
Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Little Rock, AR, January 16, 17, 18, 1992
1991
Northeastern State University, Talequah, OK, October 10,11,12, 1991 Icefire Performance Group, Vermont Tour, August 27-September 15, 1991
Perseverance Theatre, Juneau, AK, April 25-May 15, 1991
1990
Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, TX, October 25, 26, 27 and November 1, 1990
The Theatre Project, Brunswick, ME, August 9-25, 1990
American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, CA, January 10-February 24, 1990
1989
The Old Castle Theatre Company, Bennington, VT, October 10-28, 1989
Arena Stage, Washington, DC, May 21, 1989, Staged Reading
Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota, FL, New Plays Festival, May 14, 1989 (two ?shows), Staged Reading
The Western Stage, Salinas, CA, January 13, 14, 15, and February 10 and 11, 1989
1988
Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota, FL, December 11,1988, Staged Reading
The Old Castle Theatre Company, Bennington, VT, April 12-30, 1988
The Gloucester Stage, Gloucester, MA, March 6, 1988, Staged Reading
1987
Vermont Repertory Theatre, Stowe Playhouse, Stowe, VT, October 16 and 17 and in Winooski, VT, October 21 through 24, Held Over, October 28 through 31, 1987
The Western Stage, Salinas, CA, June 11, 12, 19, July 26, and August 14 and 25, 1987
The Performance Place at the Elizabeth Peabody House, Somerville, MA, May 2 and 3, 1987, Staged Reading
The Boston Athenaeum, Boston, MA, April 5, 1987, Staged Reading
1986
Vermont Repertory Theatre, Winooski, VT, Vermont-New Hampshire Tour, September 10-28, 1986
Vermont Repertory Theatre, Winooski, VT, January 24-February 15, 1986
1984
McCarter Theatre, Stage Two, Princeton, New Jersey, January 17-29, 1984
1980
McCarter Theatre, Princeton, New Jersey, Staged reading, as part of the annual Playwrights-at-McCarter Series, November 3, 1980
THE AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATRE PRODUCTION OF JUDEVINE WON THE BAY AREA CRITICS’ CIRCLE AWARD FOR BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE OF 1990
Also available, two other Judevine related plays:
JUDEVINE: IN THREE ACTS and TWO FOR CHRISTMAS