The Digital Chronicles: The Dramaturgy of "The Heidi Chronicles"

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OFSCOOP?

 Heidi’s relationship with Scoop and his relationship with his eventual wife, Lisa, is a strange triangle where no is as really happy as they could be.

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, originally published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian state resembling a theonomy that overthrows the United States government. The novel focuses on the journey of the handmaid Offred. Her name derives from the possessive form "of Fred"; handmaids are forbidden to use their birth names and must echo the male, or master, whom they serve. The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, originally published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian state resembling a theonomy that overthrows the United States government. The novel focuses on the journey of the handmaid Offred. Her name derives from the possessive form "of Fred"; handmaids are forbidden to use their birth names and must echo the male, or master, whom they serve.

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Most productions like to have a still from Act I, Scene 4, of the protest outside the Chicago Art Institute. It does make a great statement photo. 

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Here is the trailer from the 1995 TV movie adaption of the play.

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Lilla Cabot Perry (Self-portrait), 1913 “The Green Hat”

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Though she is essentially his [Scoop's] soul mate, he does not marry Heidi because she would compete with and challenge him.

A ‘study guide’ about The Heidi Chronicles that made me think. A lot. 

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Joan Allen and Peter Friedman (top

Brooke Addams and Tony Shalloub (bottom)

I know it may seem trivial, but it is endlessly puzzling to me how two couples who played Heidi and Scoop ended up together in real life. Considering these two characters don’t end up together in the actual play, what is it about these two that has that kind of track record?

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How Wendy Wasserstein and Heidi Holland Remade the World

Wendy Wasserstein’s landmark 1980s play ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ is so sharp, funny and insightful that it doesn’t feel dated. Jesse Oxfeld heralds its return to Broadway.

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When The Heidi Chronicles won Best Play at the Tony Awards in 1989, it beat out a one-woman show: Willy Russell’s Shirley Valentine (also known as Shirley Valentine and One for the Road).This play tells the story of a middle aged woman who transforms her life after an enlightening trek through Europe. It was apparently very of-the-times for female tales of self-discovery. 

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While this song could absolutely refer to a religious god and not an actual man, it certainly reminds me of Heidi’s relationship with Scoop. She is tortured and racked with love by his very existence, no matter what he does. 

“Killing Me Softy With His Song” (1973) by Roberta Flack

Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly with his song

I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style And so I came to see him to listen for a while And there he was this young boy, a stranger to my eyes

Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly with his song

I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud I prayed that he would finish but he just kept right on Strumming my pain with his fingers

Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly with his song

He sang as if he knew me in all my dark despair And then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there But he just came to singing, singing clear and strong

Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly with his song

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The Story of the Art Institute's Iconic Lions

The Art Institute of Chicago's Michigan Avenue Beaux Arts home opened 125 years ago after being used for the 1893 World's Fair. But what about the museum's iconic bronze lions? What are their origins?

Many iconic and historical buildings, such as museums, libraries, and colleges, have lion statues standing guard. The one posted outside the Chicago Art Institute is a work of art in itself. 

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Elisabeth Moss Opens Up About Filming 'The Handmaid's Tale' After the 2016 Election

She talked to "Teen Vogue" about bringing the prescient novel to life.

In this article, Elisabeth Moss discusses her role as Heidi as well as her role in the TV adaptation of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and how both pieces address feminism, the LGBTQ+ community, and how the world has changed.

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This is the kind of touch they like: folk art, archaic, made by women, in their spare time, from things that have no further use. A return to traditional values. Waste not want not. I am not being wasted. Why do I want?

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale (Chapter 2)

I chose this quote from  The Handmaid’s Tale not only because the book would have been published between Act II’s Scenes 3 and 4, and not just because Elisabeth Moss is an important part of both franchise’s recent history, but because Offred and Heidi are both conflicted about having returned to traditional values (one by choice and one... not). 

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8 Radical, Feminist Artists From The 1970s Who Shattered The Male Gaze

You might know Cindy Sherman, but what about Renate Eisenegger, Lynn Hershman Leeson and Ewa Partum?

None of these female artists are mentioned in “The Heidi Chronicles”, but one has to wonder why. Why does Heidi never show any interest in contemporary work? She may be living in a modern woman’s world, she is caught between her wants and desires and traditional values. 

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Panama Adoption Fast Facts: Resources for Families

Wondering how to adopt from Panama? Find Panama adoption statistics, prospective parent requirements, and an average budget and timeline.

In the last scene of play, Heidi reveals to Scoop that she has adopted a baby girl from Panama. It was difficult to find information about Heidi’s specific situation (a single middle aged woman adopting from Panama in 1989), but this link explained the basics of adopting from this country. Adjusted for inflation, Heidi would have paid between $14,000 and $24,000 in order to adopt baby Judy. 

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“Heffalumps and Woozles”

Heffalumps are a type of elephant-like character in the Winnie the Pooh stories by A. A. Milne. This song, written for the Disney version, was released in 1968; twelve years before Heidi refers to it in Act II, Scene I.

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As Heard in Act II, Scene I

“Imagine” is a song co-written and performed by English musician John Lennon with his wife Yoko Ono. The best-selling single of his solo career, its lyrics encourage the listener to imagine a world at peace without the barriers of all kinds.