The Successful Life of 3 and Tango Paris (Original script for the 1965 and 1963 off-Broadway plays)

María Irene Fornés (playwright)

Published by Noel Weiss and Leonard Soloway, New York, 1965

About this Item

Vintage Draft scripts for the 1965 and 1963 off-Broadway plays. María Irene Fornés' first two productions, bound together in a single wrapper and separated by a blank blue leaf, produced by Noel Weiss and Leonard Soloway, circa 1965. With the annotation of copy number "#90" in manuscript marker on the top right of the title page. "The Successful Life of 3" premiered on January 22, 1965 at the Firehouse Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and "Tango Paris" premiered under the title "There! You Died," on November 29, 1963 at the Encore Theatre in San Francisco, California. One of the most influential playwrights of the second half of the twentieth century, Fornés was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the US with her family in 1945 at the age of 15. In 1959 Fornés met Susan Sontag, to whom she dedicated "The Successful Life of 3," beginning a relationship which would last the next several years. It was during this time that Fornés began her career as a playwright, citing a 1954 French production of Samuel Beckett's 1953 play, "Waiting for Godot," as a major influence. Her first recognized play "There! You Died," was first produced in 1963, and later renamed as "Tango Palace" for a 1964 production at New York City's Actors Studio. The 1965 play "The Successful Life of 3" would earn Fornés the first of her nine Obie Awards. Fornés has been sited as a major influence by Sam Shephard, Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, and Lanford Wilson, among others. A absurdist, deadpan, Vaudevillian comedy, "The Successful Life of 3," dispassionately, and dizzyingly, follows the 17 year relationship of He, She, and 3, two men and a woman, through a series of brief, episodic scenes about sex, love, money, and success. Fornés first play, "Tango Paris," explores the relationship between an androgynous and decadently omnipotent clown, Isidore, and an earnest young Leopold, through a series of manipulations, tender encounters, and violent outbursts. Black titled Studio Duplicating Service wrappers. Title page present, with credits for playwright Maria Irene Fornés. 75 leaves, with last page of text numbered 33. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only, with a blue leaf separating the two plays. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound with two gold screw brads.

Seller Inventory # 155949

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Successful Life of 3 and Tango Paris (Original script for the 1965 and 1963 off-Broadway plays)
• Publisher: Noel Weiss and Leonard Soloway, New York
• Publication Date: 1965
• Binding: Soft cover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Latin American Literature
  • New York Underground
  • Women's Interest
  • Comedy
  • Avant-garde