Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A Study Guide for John Van Druten's "I Remember Mama"
    A Study Guide for John Van Druten's "I Remember Mama"
    A Study Guide for John Van Druten's "I Remember Mama"
    Ebook44 pages31 minutes

    A Study Guide for John Van Druten's "I Remember Mama"

    By Gale and Cengage

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for John Van Druten's "I Remember Mama," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Drama For Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Drama For Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateAug 12, 2016
    ISBN9781535825450
    A Study Guide for John Van Druten's "I Remember Mama"

    Read more from Gale

    Related to A Study Guide for John Van Druten's "I Remember Mama"

    Related ebooks

    Teaching Methods & Materials For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Related categories

    Reviews for A Study Guide for John Van Druten's "I Remember Mama"

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      A Study Guide for John Van Druten's "I Remember Mama" - Gale

      13

      I Remember Mama

      John van Druten

      1944

      Introduction

      I Remember Mama, a two-act play by John van Druten, was adapted from the book Mama's Bank Account, by Kathryn Forbes. It was first produced by Broadway legends Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein in 1944 and was immediately popular. Perhaps this heartwarming play was comforting to an America under the cloud of World War II. The story highlights the coming of age of a young writer and portrays a Norwegian American family as they struggle with a tight budget and interfering relations. The script of I Remember Mama is no longer in print, but inexpensive used copies, for example the acting edition published by Dramatists Play Service, are readily available online.

      Author Biography

      Van Druten was born in London on June 1, 1901. His father, Wilhelmus, was Dutch, and his mother, Eve, was an Englishwoman of Dutch descent. Van Druten attended University College School in London from 1911 to 1917. He knew at a very young age that he wanted to be a writer, but his father insisted on a more practical profession. While continuing his efforts as a writer, Van Druten studied law at the University of London and worked at a law firm for five years. Because he enjoyed exploring the academic side of the field better than practicing as a solicitor, he lectured in English law from 1923 to 1926 at the University College of Wales.

      The same year Van Druten earned his law degree, his first play was produced: The Return Half (1923). His second play, Young Woodley (1925), was banned in the United Kingdom for several years because of its subject matter. The play tells the story of a young student's romantic interest in a teacher's wife, and English censors disapproved of the implied criticism of the British school system. Young Woodley was produced in New York, however, and did well enough to establish Van Druten in his chosen profession.

      Throughout the next three decades, Van Druten wrote more than two dozen plays, including I Remember Mama, which was first produced in 1944. One of his most successful works, in terms of popularity and critical acclaim, was The Voice of the Turtle (1943), which portrays a soldier visiting New York City for the weekend. The play was never banned, but it was controversial because it challenged the strict social rules of the time regarding sex outside of marriage, as did I Am a Camera (1951), which is based on Christopher Isherwood's stories about his time living in Berlin.

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1