| Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright | |
| Setting: | New Orleans, Mama's house, early 1950s. |
| Premiere: | 1962 |
| Orig Lang: | English |
| Genre: | Drama |
Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright is a dramatic stage play written by American playwright Peter Feibleman. The play premiered on Broadway at the Booth Theatre in 1962. Claudia McNeil was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the production. Critically acclaimed, the play closed after only 33 performances, which was blamed on the 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike. [1] The play is a stage adaptation of Feibleman's novel A Place Without Light, first published in 1958. The title is taken from the poem by William Blake first published in 1794, titled The Tyger.[2]
| scope=col | Character | scope=col class=unsortable | Original Broadway cast (1962) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | Mama Morris | align=center colspan=1 | Claudia McNeil | |
| scope=row | Clarence Morris | align=center colspan=1 | Alvin Ailey | |
| scope=row | Dan Morris | align=center colspan=1 | Al Freeman Jr. | |
| scope=row | Lucille Morris | align=center colspan=1 | Ellen Holly | |
| scope=row | Adelaide Smith | align=center colspan=1 | Diana Sands | |
| scope=row | Sittre Morris | align=center colspan=1 | Roscoe Lee Browne | |
| scope=row | Celeste Chipley | align=center colspan=1 | Cicely Tyson | |
| scope=row | Dewey Chipley | align=center colspan=1 | Robert Hooks | |
| scope=row | Mr. Keres | align=center colspan=1 | Paul Barry | |
| scope=row | Sergeant Jameson | align=center colspan=1 | Robert Macbeth | |
| scope=row | First Neighbor | align=center colspan=1 | Janet MacLachlan | |
| scope=row | Second Neighbor | align=center colspan=1 | Rudy Challenger |
The show opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on December 22, 1962, and closed on January 19, 1963, after 33 performances.[3] The play was nominated for one Tony Award for Claudia McNeil for Best Lead Actress in a Play. The show was directed by Joshua Logan and costumes were designed by Lucinda Ballard. Ruth Attaway and Billy Dee Williams were understudies in the production. According to The New York Times, the play was "fatally wounded by the newspaper strike in New York", which played a major role in the show closing early despite critical acclaim.[4] [5] The play was published in book form in 1963 following the Broadway production.[6]
In 2012, the play was performed in Los Angeles by the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.[7]