{{short description|Play written by Norman Mailer and Richard Hannum}} {{For|the British folk musical group|Strawhead (band)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox play |name=Strawhead |image= |image_size= |caption= |writer=Norman Mailer<br>Richard Hannum |chorus= |characters=Marilyn<br>Mr. Charles<br>Joe DiMaggio<br>Arthur Miller |mute= |setting=New York City, August 1962 |premiere=1986 |place=Actors Studio, New York City, {{USA}} |orig_lang=English |subject=Fictional account of the last few days of Marilyn Monroe's life |genre=Drama |web= }}
'''''Strawhead''''' is a play by American writers Norman Mailer and Richard Hannum about Marilyn Monroe. The play is an adaptation of Mailer's 1980 book ''Of Women and Their Elegance'', an imagined memoir told in Monroe's voice.<ref name="Leach">Lawson, Carol. (January 30, 1981). [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F17FB395F0C738FDDA80894D9484D81 "Broadway; Leach to direct musical on orphans going west by rail"] ''New York Times'', section C, p. C2.</ref>
''Strawhead'' takes place in New York City during the last few days of Monroe's life in August 1962. During this period, she is alone with her memories, most of which revolve around her time living in New York City.<ref name="Nemy">Nemy, Enid. (December 20, 1985). [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70E1FF93E5F0C738EDDAB0994DD484D81 "Broadway"] ''New York Times'', section C2.</ref> The play is primarily composed of a collection of imagined interviews, that never took place, between Monroe and Mailer during Monroe's last hours.<ref name="audience">Engstrom, John. (March 9, 1983) "Norman wasn't stormin'. No thunderbolts from Mailer or his audience during a reading of his new play". ''The Boston Globe'', section: "Living".</ref>
The play made its off-Broadway debut in January 1986, with Mailer's wife Norris Church in the cast and his daughter Kate Mailer in the role of Monroe.<ref name="Nemy" /> Kate Mailer also appeared on the April 1986 cover of ''Vanity Fair'' as the Monroe character in ''Strawhead.''<ref name="covers">Burns, Diane Hubbard. (April 3, 1986). "Luring covers promise a lot, deliver little". ''Orlando Sentinel'', section: "Style", p. E1.</ref>
==Development== In 1967, Norman Mailer had adapted his 1955 novel ''The Deer Park'' for an Off Broadway production.<ref name="Leach"/> Thirteen years later, in 1980, Norman Mailer's agent informed Mailer that Richard Hannum, then a Manhattan roommate of Godspell creator John-Michael Tebelak,<ref>Castillo, Angel. (May 12, 1981) New York Times ''[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3091FF83C5C0C718DDDAC0894D9484D81 Frampton suit puts focus on cohabitation law.]'' Section: B; Page 1.</ref> American Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Stephen Hunter, and film director and composer Tom O'Horgan were interested in a stage adaptation of Mailer's 1980 book, ''Of Women and Their Elegance''.<ref name="Leach"/> Mailer agreed to work on the play since it would be a pleasant diversion: "Novel writing is a lonely business. Lonely business quickly becomes grim. In theater you're working with people. The climate is a lot warmer."<ref name="Leach"/>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:StrawheadScriptPage.JPG|thumb|right|{{center|Page 2 from an early draft of the 1982 play, ''Strawhead,'' containing Norman Mailer's handwritten notes.}}]] --> The stage adaptation was Mailer's second foray into the theater behind the adaptation of ''The Deer Park''.<ref name="Leach"/> The play takes its title from an FBI code name for Monroe.<ref>People (magazine) (October 19, 1992) ''[http://www.people.com/people/archive/issue/0,,7566921019,00.html Lorenzo Carcaterra, Carol Peace, Jill Rachlin, Ralph Novak, Eric Levin.]'' Section: Picks & Pans. Page 36. (writing, " The uninitiated -- for whom the line between fact and fiction will be all but blurred -- may simply tire of repetitive accounts of Marilyn popping pills and the FBI's bugging every room that Strawhead (Monroe's code name) visited.")</ref> According to Mailer, Strawhead represents "(Marilyn's) ironic, whimsical, tortured way of thinking."<ref name="audience"/> Mailer sees the fictional Monroe character in the play as "having an immensely dialectical mind; no sooner does she have a thought, than she comes on its opposite. That's the way life presents itself to her - in contrasts and sudden shifts."<ref name="audience"/>
In January 1981, Hannum and Hunter were listed as the producers of the play and O'Horgan was listed as the director.<ref name="Leach"/> At that time, Mailer had hoped that the play would open on Broadway in the spring 1981 or the fall 1981, but had not yet cast the Monroe character.<ref name="Leach"/> In addition, Hannum still was working on the play construction and Mailer was working on the play dialogue from his writing desk in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn.<ref name="Leach"/><ref>Time (magazine) (January 5, 1987) ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20101022212244/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963169,00.html Most of '86],'' Section: Show Business; Page 74.</ref>
To move the script along, Mailer presented the beginnings of ''Strawhead'' for critique to the Actors Studio Playwright And Directors Unit, an exclusive group to which Mailer belonged.<ref name="feisty">Greer, Bonnie. (November 12, 2007) The Independent ''[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20071112/ai_n21103404 Farewell to a feisty, fearless keeper of the flame.]'' Section: Comment; Page 36.</ref> The early draft had a clichéd Monroe giving a blowjob to the Mailer-interviewer character.<ref name="feisty"/> In response to former Marilyn Monroe roommate and Academy Award winning actress Shelley Winters blasting Mailer's effort, Mailer rewrote the part to be a burly Maileresque feminist who burst into the play from the audience.<ref name="feisty"/>
==Production== With the script finished, Mailer and the others set out to find the lead actress for the play. In October 1982, Mailer was attending a Park Avenue dinner party given by Claus von Bülow, who at that time was on trial for the attempted murder of von Bülow's wife, Sunny, and had been out of jail only two days on US$1 million bail.<ref name="dream">Writer, Larry. (September 2, 2006) Australian Magazine (News Limited pubs.) ''Dream Dates - The food Issue 2006.'' Section: Magazine 1; Page 37. (Tagline: "Kate Fitzpatrick and other well-known Australians tell Larry Writer about their most memorable dinner companions.")</ref> Also attending the party was Australian-based theatre actress Kate Fitzpatrick.<ref name="dream"/> Fitzpatrick was introduce to Mailer and spoke with Mailer during dinner after Mailer swapped the place cards to seat Fitzpatrick beside him.<ref name="dream"/> After deciding that Fitzpatrick was perfect to play Marilyn Monroe in ''Strawhead,'' Mailer, Hunter, and Hannum met with Fitzpatrick to give her the script.<ref name="dream"/><ref>The Canberra Times (April 11, 2004) ''[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-20971270_ITM A few good stories and some.]''</ref> Fitzpatrick turned down the part, since she already was committed to playing Marilyn Monroe in Terry Johnson's 1982 play, ''Insignificance.''<ref name="dream"/>
The producers made additional efforts to find a noted actor to play the lead role. Prior to 1983, Mailer, Hunter, and Hannum also courted American actress Susan Sarandon to play the Marilyn Monroe character.<ref name="audience"/> Sarandon declined the lead role with the query, "Why should I perpetuate someone else's legend when I should be creating my own?"<ref name="audience"/>
On March 7, 1983, the American Repertory Theatre at Mailer's ''alma mater'' Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, presented a staged reading of ''Strawhead.''<ref name="street">McKinnon, George. (February 27, 1983) The Boston Globe ''Marquee Dancin' in the street!' to reopen as cabaret.'' Section: Arts/Films.</ref> The presentation was part of the theaters noted Monday night series at the Loeb Drama Center.<ref name="street"/> ART actor Karen MacDonald played the lead role.<ref name="audience"/> At this point, the play was an unproduced spec script,<ref name="street"/> Mailer thought the play needed trimming,<ref name="audience"/> and there were no immediate plans to produce ''Strawhead.''<ref name="audience"/>
In June 1983, it was announced that ''Strawhead'' would be produced by Marshall Oglesby at Provincetown Playhouse in Manhattan.<ref>Kelly, Kevin. (June 26, 1983) The Boston Globe ''Boston getting into the summer theater act.'' Section: Arts/Films.</ref> At Mailer's recommendation, Oglesby selected ART actor Karen MacDonald to play the Monroe character.<ref name="lives">Kelly, Kevin. (June 13, 1984) The Boston Globe ''Lives in the arts. If it's a part, Karen MacDonald can play it.'' Section Arts/Films.</ref><ref>Engstrom, John. (July 28, 1983) The Boston Globe ''There's more to Cape Cod than the beach theater.'' Section: Calendar.</ref> In late August 1983, ''Strawhead'' was presented at Provincetown Playhouse.<ref name="lives"/>
In November 1985, Mailer brought his play to the Actors Studio,<ref name="Nemy"/> an Off Broadway theater and school that gained worldwide recognition under the leadership of Lee Strasberg. The scenes presented were workshop scenes<ref name="King">King, Larry L.; Holland, Richard. (October 1999) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=DPgmoPTnn78C&dq=Strawhead&pg=PA296 A Writer's Life in Letters, Or, Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye.]'' Page 296. Publisher: Texas Christian University Press {{ISBN|0-87565-203-4}}</ref> and Mailer put himself in position of director of the two-act production.<ref name="Nemy"/> In addition to the cast including Robert Heller, Mickey Knox and Patrick Sullivan, Mailer added his wife Norris Church to the cast.<ref name="Nemy"/> There was no admission charge to the workshop.<ref name="Nemy"/>
==Debut and aftermath== In January 1986, ''Strawhead'' was debuted in full at the Actors Studio,<ref name="King"/> with actor and playwright John Jiler playing Mr. Charles.<ref>Jiler, John. (1995) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=cynzIuUCn_IC&dq=strawhead&pg=PP2 Avenue X: The a Capella Musical.]'' Page i. Publisher: Samuel French, Inc. {{ISBN|0-573-69561-X}}.</ref> American playwright and critic Bonnie Greer, who shared a close relationship to Mailer and reviewed an initial version of the play, stated that what Mailer put on stage ultimately was not Monroe.<ref name="feisty"/> Rather, the play was more about "chronicling all Mailer's life as The Great, White, Male Heterosexual, "Big Daddy", "The Man.""<ref name="feisty"/>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:VanityFairApril1986Cover.JPG|thumb|right|{{center|April 1986 Vanity Fair cover presenting punk rocker Kate Mailer in ''Strawhead'' as Marilyn Monroe.}}]] --> In April 1986, it was first reported that Mailer's daughter Kate Mailer was added to the cast in the lead role.<ref name="covers"/> The choice was in interesting one since the play characterizes a fictional interaction between Monroe and Mailer and an early draft had a clichéd Monroe giving a blowjob to the Mailer-interviewer character.<ref name="feisty"/> In explaining Mailer's choice of casting his 23-year-old, unknown actress daughter in his play, Mailer stated, "She was the best prep-school actress I'd ever seen."<ref name="covers"/> To bring publicity to the play and to sell the Vanity Fair magazine, Kate Mailer appeared on the April 1986 Vanity Fair cover as the Marilyn Monroe character in ''Strawhead''.<ref name="covers"/> In October 1987, the New York Times describe Kate Mailer's portrayal of Monroe as teenage punk rocker who is "less identified with her role."<ref>Klein, Alvin. (October 4, 1987) New York Times ''[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDA143BF937A35753C1A961948260 Guild hall opens '2D season'.]'' Section: 11LI; Page 20.</ref>
After the 1986 performances, the commercial performance of ''Strawhead'' all but disappeared.<ref name="Secret">Churchwell, Sarah. (December 27, 2005) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=vxx8QUeHHsUC&dq=strawhead&pg=PA73 The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe.]'' Page 73. Publisher: Picador. {{ISBN|0-312-42565-1}}</ref> In her 2005 book ''The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe,'' author Sarah Churchwell notes that ''Strawhead'' was a commercial failure.<ref name="Secret"/>
In April 2008, Harvard University received the papers of the co-author of the play, Richard G. Hannum,<ref name="Houghton">houghtonmodern. (April 24, 2008) Houghton Library ''[http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/houghtonmodern/2008/04/24/mailer-at-harvard/ Mailer at Harvard.]'' Accessed June 22, 2008.</ref> formerly a resident of Sebastian, Florida.<ref>Vero Beach Press Journal (June 19, 2005) ''Real Estate Sales.'' Section: Business; Page D8.</ref> Included with those papers were correspondence with Mailer and drafts and final script for ''Strawhead''.<ref name="Houghton"/> The drafts and final script evidence the literary techniques used in ''Strawhead'' and Mailer's efforts to continually improve his own writing for ''Strawhead'' and that of Hannums.<ref name="Houghton"/> Importantly, they convey research and teaching about how the style and substance of ''Strawhead'' was developed through layers of revision.<ref name="Houghton"/>
== See also == Source:<ref name="Love">American Theatre (July 1, 2006) ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20121020104935/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-148289544.html To Norma Jean, with Love.]'' Volume 23; Issue 6; Page 13.</ref> {{Wiktionary|strawhead}} * ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?:'' 1955 play, Rita Marlowe character is an exaggerated lampoon of Monroe * ''After the Fall'': play by Monroe's ex-husband Arthur Miller, uses the Monroe persona as a character * ''Insignificance'': play by Terry Johnson, Monroe's persona serves as the unnamed Actress * ''Finishing the Picture'': play by Monroe's ex-husband Arthur Miller, uses the Monroe persona as a character
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Norman Mailer}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1982 plays Category:American plays Category:Culture of Brooklyn Category:Off-Broadway plays Category:Cultural depictions of Marilyn Monroe Category:Plays based on novels Category:Thriller plays Category:Plays set in New York City