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Overview
Synopsis
Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes’s energetic and frequently farcical play centers on Jim and Dave, a two-man song-and-dance team, and Daisy, the woman who drives a wedge between them. Jim and Dave have been best friends all their lives but when they both start courting Daisy, tensions flare. Finally overcome by jealousy, Jim hits Dave with the hock bone from a mule and knocks him out. Jim is arrested and brought to a make-shift trial by the town’s mayor and self-appointed judge, Joe Clarke. Hilarity ensues, swiftly followed by chaos as the town splits into two opposing factions: the Methodists, who want to pardon Jim; and the Baptists, who are keen to banish him for his crime. As the trial comes to close and Jim is banished from his hometown, Daisy is finally forced to make her choice between the two men. However, her expectations for her future husband bring Jim and Dave to their senses and they return to Eatonville, vowing to never let a woman between them again.
Editor’s Note: This play was written, and is set, in 1930. Its language, use of slang, and turns of phrase (many of which are not commonly accepted today) are consistent with its historical and cultural context.
Show Information
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 3
- First Produced
- 1991
- Genres
- Comedy, Historical/Biographical
- Settings
- Period, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- Eatonville, Florida, 1930
- Cast Size
- large
- Licensor
- None/royalty-free
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, Diverse Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Female Cast, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly, Child, Early Teen, Late Teen Characters, Large Cast
Context
Mule Bone was a joint collaboration between Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Shortly after the play's creation, however, the two authors had a falling out and did not speak to one another again. The play was not produced during either writer's lifetime. It was not performed on stage until 1991.
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Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher