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The Member of the Wedding
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Author | Carson McCullers |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | None |
| Subject(s) | None |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Company |
| Publication date | 1946 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 176 pp (paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 9780618492398 ISBN 0618492399 |
The Member of the Wedding is a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers.
This novel tells the story of 12-year-old tomboy Frankie Addams, who feels her family is ignoring her while they prepare for her older brother's wedding. The family's African American maid, Berenice Sadie Brown, and her six-year-old cousin, John Henry West, are the only two people who will listen to her. Her dream is to leave her small Southern town and follow her brother and his bride to the Alaskan wilderness.
The book has been adapted for the stage, motion pictures, and television.
McCullers herself adapted the novel for a Broadway production directed by Harold Clurman. It opened on January 5, 1950 at the Empire Theatre, where it ran for 501 performances. The cast included Ethel Waters, Julie Harris, and Brandon De Wilde.
Waters, Harris, and De Wilde reprised their stage roles, with Arthur Franz, Nancy Gates, and Dickie Moore joining the cast, for the 1952 film version. The screenplay was adapted by Edna and Edward Anhalt and directed by Fred Zinnemann. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Julie Harris, in her debut screen appearance.
A 1982 television adaptation, directed by Delbert Mann, starred Pearl Bailey, Dana Hill, and Howard E. Rollins Jr..
The 1997 film version, adapted by David W. Rintels and directed by Fielder Cook, starred Anna Paquin, Alfre Woodard, Corey Dunn, and Enrico Colantoni. Rintels used the original novel rather than the play as his source material.
The Young Vic theatre is producing the stage version of The Member of the Wedding as part of its 2007/2008 season. It will be directed by Matthew Dunster and designed by Robert Innes Hopkins. Frankie Adams is played by Flora Spencer-Longhurst and Berenice Sadie Brown by Portia, a member of Philip Seymour Hoffman's LAByrinth Theater Company.
McCullers' own narration of 'The Member of the Wedding' was used by Jarvis Cocker on his debut album, 'Jarvis'. It forms the introduction to the 11th song on the album, Big Julie and consists of the line about Frankie Addams: "It happened that green and crazy summer. It was a summer when for a long time she had not been a member. She belonged to no club and she was a member of nothing in the world. And she was afraid."