The Hours are Feminine

José Rivera

Note

Not yet published.

Description

In the summer of 1960, hurricane Donna ravages the northeast, and a Puerto Rican family of three, who has never left home before, moves to rural Long Island. Evalisse, Fernán and their son Jaivín rent a dilapidated little house on the property of an old middle-class Italian named Charlie. Tensions rise between the families of old immigrants and new. This autobiographical play explores female friendship, the price of assimilation, and the American way of life with humor, tears and a final, healing reckoning.

Production Info

Cast: 6 total (02 female, 4 male)
Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Single Set
Period Costumes
Reviews

Press Quotes

“In José Rivera’s latest play, a Puerto Rican family moves to Long Island in 1960, contending both with Hurricane Donna and their neighbors’ hostility … Rivera writes and directs it as a remembrance of his family’s move to Long Island in the summer of 1960, which ended with the arrival of Hurricane Donna … There’s a righteous anger beneath its observations about the distress of assimilation, [but] if Rivera falls short of condemning the racist behavior of those who have antagonized immigrants, he sweetly honors the few who have helped them in small ways.” —Juan A Ramírez, The New York Times

“Immigration is often a humbling experience. Solidly middle class in one’s home country, an immigrant is likely to find himself thrust into the service class upon arrival in a new one, underpaid and desperate for stable housing and employment. This is certainly the case for the Quintana family in José Rivera’s semiautobiographical drama … [The play] is a beautiful tale of the kindness and cruelty newcomers can find in the United States, and how small acts of compassion can do much to salve the thousand little wounds that come with trying to make it here.” —Zachary Stewart, Theatermania

About the Author

Author

  • José Rivera

    José Rivera’s full-length plays have been seen nationally and internationally and translated into a dozen languages. Obie Award–winners MARISOL And REFERENCES TO SALVADOR DALI MAKE ME HOT, both produced by The Public Theatre, NY, are taught around the country, as well as his essay “36 Assumptions about Playwriting." World premieres include THE HOUSE OF RAMON IGLESIA (Ensemble Studio Theatre), THE PROMISE (Los Angeles Theatre Center), EACH DAY DIES WITH SLEEP (Circle Rep/Berkeley Rep), CLOUD TECTONICS (Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of Louisville), MARICELA DE LA LUZ LIGHTS THE WORLD (La Jolla Playhouse), GIANTS HAVE US IN THEIR BOOKS (Magic Theatre), SUEÑO (Hartford Stage Company), SONNETS FOR AN OLD CENTURY (Greenway Arts Alliance), BOLEROS FOR THE DISENCHANTED (Yale Rep), SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS (Public Theatre), MASSACRE (SING TO YOUR CHILDREN) (Goodman Theatre), BRAINPEOPLE (ACT/San Francisco), ADORATION OF THE OLD WOMAN (La Jolla Playhouse), ANOTHER WORD FOR BEAUTY (Goodman Theatre), THE MAIDS (INTAR), THE KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN (Menier Chocolate Factory, London), THE LOVESONG (IMPERFECT) (14th Street Y, directed by the author), YOUR NAME MEANS DREAM (Contemporary American Theatre Festival, directed by the author), THE HOURS ARE FEMININE (INTAR, directed by the author, winner 2024 HOLA Best Production Award). His latest play A LUNAR RHAPSODY was workshopped at Duke U., Northwestern U., DePauw U., and Santa Fe Playhouse, each co-directed (with Sara Koviak) by the author. The screenplay for Rivera’s first produced movie, “The Motorcycle Diaries” (Walter Salles, director) was nominated for 2005 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar — making Rivera the first Puerto Rican writer so honored. Other honors include a BAFTA, a Writers Guild Award, a Goya Award (Spain), and Argentina’s top screenwriting prize. His film “On the Road” (Francis Ford Coppola, producer, Walter Salles, director) premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and “Trade” (Lionsgate Pictures) was the first film to premiere at the United Nations. Other films include “The 33” and “Letters to Juliet.” Rivera co-created and produced “Eerie, Indiana,” (NBC) and was a consultant and staff writer on “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” (Showtime) 2019. Rivera wrote and directed the award-winning short films “The Fall of a Sparrow” and “The Civet,” seen at film festivals around the country. Rivera is a recipient of a Fulbright Arts Fellowship, a Whiting Foundation Award, a McKnight Fellowship, a 2005 Impact Award, and was a playwright-in-residence at the Royal Court Theatre, London. In 1989 he studied with Gabriel García Márquez at the Sundance Institute. He has served on the boards of PEN West, TCG, and Sundance, was a Creative Advisor at Sundance Screenwriting Labs in Utah, Jordan, and India, and currently teaches writing at HB Studio, New York. Most recently, he was head writer and executive producer of the Netflix series based on One Hundred Years of Solitude (winner “Best Series,” 2025 Premios Platino), which the London Telegraph called “a spellbinding adaptation of an unfilmable novel.”

About the Book

Book Information

Publisher BPPI
Publication Date
Pages 86
ISBN 9798888560631

Special Notes

Special Notes

Licensees are required to include the original stage producers credits in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:

World Premiere given by INTAR Theatre
opening on May 20, 2024 in New York City.

The following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
The Hours are Feminine is produced
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypublishing.com