La Turista

La Turista is a play by the American playwright Sam Shepard,^[3] first performed at American Place Theatre, New York City in 1967, directed by Jacques Levy.^[4] The title refers to the most common illness among tourists. The two main characters are Salem and Kent, which are also the names of brands of cigarettes. It is a two-act dramatic play. The first act takes place in Mexico, and the second in the United States. Some see this play as a reference to the Vietnam War.

La Turista
Written by	Sam Shepard
Characters	Salem Kent Boy Doctor Son Doc Sonny
Date premiered	4 March 1967[1]
Place premiered	American Place Theatre, New York City.[2]
Original language	English
Genre	Drama
Setting	Hotel rooms in Mexico and in the US

Production history

La Turista was first performed at the American Place Theatre in New York City, on March 4, 1967. The cast was as follows:

• Salem – Joyce Aaron
• Kent – Sam Waterston
• Boy/Sonny – Lawrence Block
• Doctor/Doc – Michael Lombard
• Son – Joel Novack
• Directed by: Jacques Levy^[5]

Reception

Reviewing a 1981 Boston production, critic Alan Stern wrote that "La Turista has no discernible theme...Shepard uses free association and non sequiturs for their own sake. Instead of soaring to the outer reaches of the imagination, his speeches are mired in so much logorrhea."^[6]

References

1. James Fisher (1 June 2011). Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater: 1930-2010. Scarecrow Press. pp. 440–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7950-8.
2. Radmila Nastić; Vesna Bratić (8 February 2016). Highlights in Anglo-American Drama: Viewpoints from Southeast Europe. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 68–. ISBN 978-1-4438-8845-5.
3. Ruth Little; Emily McLaughlin (2007). The Royal Court Theatre Inside Out. Oberon. ISBN 978-1-84002-763-1.
4. Debusscher, Gilbert; Schvey, Henry I.; Maufort, Marc (1989). New Essays on American Drama. Rodopi. pp. 169–. ISBN 90-5183-107-2.
5. Roudane (27 May 2002). The Cambridge Companion to Sam Shepard. Cambridge University Press. pp. 17–. ISBN 978-0-521-77766-7.
6. Stern, Alan (January 5, 1982). "Shepard's revenge". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved July 1, 2024.

Further reading

• Shepard, Sam (1984). Seven Plays. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-34611-3.

External links

• Petri Liukkonen. "Sam Shepard". Books and Writers.
• The New York Review of Books: CRITICS
• La Turista at the Internet Off-Broadway Database