| Next | |
| Premiere: | July 16, 1967 |
| Place: | White Barn Theatre, Westport, Connecticut |
| Orig Lang: | English |
Next is a one-act play by Terrence McNally. The play opened Off-Broadway in 1969.
At the comedy's center are Marion Cheever, a middle-aged, overweight, debt-ridden, divorced father of two who mistakenly has been called by the draft, and Sergeant Thech, a no-nonsense female examining officer. A battle-of-wits is waged between the "sad sack" determined to avoid military service and the career officer just as determined to sign him up.[1]
Starting out as an amusing incident, Cheever ends up showing "hatred and contempt" for his country.[2]
The original version of Next premiered at the White Barn Theatre, Westport, Connecticut on July 16, 1967.[3] The play was then produced on television Channel 13 in New York City in March 1968. The role of Marion Cheever was played by James Coco.[2] [4]
Paired with Elaine May's Adaptation,[5] Next opened Off-Broadway at the Greenwich Mews Theatre on February 10, 1969, where it ran for 707 performances. James Coco and Elaine Shore were directed by May.[6] [7] Elaine May won the 1969 Outer Critics Circle Award, Best Director.[8]
Clive Barnes, reviewing for the New York Times, wrote that the two plays "are just plain marvelous-funny, provocative and, in their way, touching". Of Coco's victim, "This is gorgeous acting, rich, stylish, impeccable."[9]
Peter Wolfe (professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis) wrote of the play : "...the line between victim and tormentor blurs...part of the play's merit stems from both the ambiguity of McNally's attitude towards his people and his ironical treatment of them."[10]