Hurlyburly

Hurlyburly is a dark comedy play by David Rabe. More than three hours long, Hurlyburly focuses on the intersecting lives of several low- to mid-level Hollywood players in the 1980s. Fueled by massive amounts of drugs, they attempt to find some meaning in their isolated, empty lives by engaging in endless discussions laced with misogyny. The central character Eddie's oft-repeated apathetic question "How does it pertain to me?" sums up his spiritua... more

Hurlyburly is a dark comedy play by David Rabe. More than three hours long, Hurlyburly focuses on the intersecting lives of several low- to mid-level Hollywood players in the 1980s. Fueled by massive amounts of drugs, they attempt to find some meaning in their isolated, empty lives by engaging in endless discussions laced with misogyny. The central character Eddie's oft-repeated apathetic question "How does it pertain to me?" sums up his spiritual agony as he heads for catharsis. The title (meaning "noisy confusion" or "tumult") is derived from dialogue in Act I, Scene I of Shakespeare's Macbeth: The play's first staging was produced by the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. The Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, opened on August 7, 1984 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where it ran for 343 performances. The stellar cast included William Hurt, Ron Silver, Harvey Keitel, Jerry Stiller, Judith Ivey, Sigourney Weaver, and Cynthia Nixon, who was performing in The Real Thing at the... less