The Awakening

Play

Writers: Max Bush Kate Chopin

Overview

Show Information

Based on the Play/Book/Film
Based on the novel by Kate Chopin
Category
Play
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
2015
Genres
Drama
Settings
Period, Multiple Settings
Time & Place
Grand Isle and New Orleans, 1899-1900
Cast Size
medium
Orchestra Size
None
Dancing
None
Ideal for
College/University, Community Theatre, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female
Casting Notes
Mostly female cast
Includes adult, mature adult, young adult characters

Synopsis

While vacationing with her family at the beautiful Grand Isle, Edna Pontellier meets the flirtatious and charming Robert Lebrun. She feels a fluttering and stirring of passion … but there is an insurmountable obstacle: It is 1899, and Edna is a married woman. How can she pursue this romance? More importantly, how can she discover and keep her own independence from the morally repressive Victorian society?

Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening created a stir with its first publication in 1899, boldly narrating the stirrings of female passion and sensuality. This stage adaptation by Max Bush honors the spirit of Chopin’s work through the depictions of Edna and the women around her: idealized wife and mother Adele, independent and defiant Reisz, flirtatious and free Mariequeta. At the center of it all is Robert, the man responsible for inspiring Edna’s awakening but who refuses a life with her in the face of moral judgment. Ultimately, Edna makes a tragic choice that profoundly engages in the ethical question of women’s role in society.

Lead Characters


The Awakening guide sections