The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail by Jerome Lawrence

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail Reviews

• 
  Emily

  There are days when I am not fit to be a teacher, and today is one of them. I had a 13.5 hour day yesterday and this one may be longer. My English 11 class finished reading this play this morning. One female pronounced it "gay" and said it "sucked." A male student declared it "pointless." Again, there are some days I just am not fit to be a teacher. Despite my displeasure, I gathered enough professionalism to encourage discussion on the the writers' purpose, and to discourage the use of the word "gay" as a demeaning adjective. There were perhaps a handful out of the class of 20 who will take something away from this play, which I found to be an excellent portrayal of HDT's views and an excellent look at what nonconformity means, looks like and often results in. There is seldom any kind of immediate positive feedback in teaching. I have yet to have a current student thank me for the lessons I prepare, the learning I assess. But I do have those who come back and offer their gratitude, as well as acknowledgement that teachers really do know what they are talking about. So I will wait and hope that some of what I do for these students will rub off, and hope for that delayed learning that is teenage experience.
• 
  Jennifer

  I have a very torn relationship with Thoreau. He's presented as the Father of Transcendentalism, and someone worth admiring. I still remember sitting in my high school class, learning that Thoreau wasn't as true to his recount of isolationism by Walden, as he stated in his work. That he still went out into the world and still fed off of his family and society during that time. That said, now that I'm an adult, I don't completely see him for the phony I once wrote him off as. However, I will always feel a little skeptical of who he was. After reading this, I'd like to believe that Thoreau would possibly prefer that.
  
  This play has a foreword basically idolizing Thoreau's existence. It kicks off on a note that is very direct and blunt about the playwrights' intentions. It made me worried I was in for something I didn't want - and considering I'm so late to actually reading this, as it wasn't part of our assigned reading back when I originally studied Transcendentalism, I wasn't sure how disconnected I'd feel from that overall point.
  
  Regardless of if Thoreau was the man the playwrights fantasized about, the Thoreau in this play - along with his relationship to his brother, the lamenting chorus of his mother, and his apolitical view of what was his modern world - was charming and humorous. I found myself laughing out loud at the clever jokes, and I enjoyed the way the scenes transitioned in and out of Thoreau's time in his cell with Bailey to his life events around his arrest. Thoreau, the character, was wacky, sardonic and separate. But he was so in ways that made his philosophical differences with his world funny to witness and believable.
  
  This definitely made me miss the days of reading and watching more stage plays come to life.
• 
  Thomas

  3.5
  
  While reading it as opposed to watching it may have lessened some of the play's magic, I still loved the portrayal of Thoreau and agreed with many aspects of his philosophy. A great introduction to Transcendentalism.
  
  Also, I will remember this line forever: "I hereby excommunicate you from the Milky Way!" Ha ha.
• 
  Jess

  wow.
  
  WHAT A PLAY.
  
  "We love without knowing it. A man - or a woman - can't love on schedule. I don't wake up in the morning and say: 'I shall start loving at nine-twenty, and continue until ten-fifteen.' Yes, it is accidental. And it's everywhere - it's the wind, the tide, the waves, the sunshine."
  
  "I hereby EXCOMMUNICATE YOU FROM THE MILKY WAY!"
  
  
• 
  Bookish Dervish

  مسرحية مميزة، هنري ثورو في حوارات شيقة مع أستاذه و كذلك مع تلامذته و أسرته. مقاطع جيدة الصوغ تستوقف القارئ لتأمل مغزاها، نقد لطرق المجتمع في قمع هؤلاء القلة المتميزين الذين لا تنطبق عليهم تصنيفات مثل عادي، مألوف، شائع.
  تناوله لموضوع التعليم يستحق الإشادة. خاصة ذاك المتعلق بالتعلم من الطبيعة.
• 
  Rachel

  review coming later (if I remember :') )
• 
  Cynda

  The text of the play has no acts or scenes. There are stage directions which indicate that there are multiple sets or blended sets on stage at the same time. I looked on YouTube and saw a bit of how the play may be enacted. That helped.
  
  In this play, I came across the same problem I keep running into with Thoreau: How can we as a society act out all the great ideals that Thoreau espoused? Unfortunately, no new suggestions or awarenesses as provided in this play. I have a sense that Jerome Lawrence and Robert E Lee make some fun of Thoreau--and of Emerson.
  
  If I am wrong/limited in my understanding of the play, please direct me where to look in the play.
• 
  J-ma

  Thoreau was definitely the original “I’m not like other girls” person. His quirk levels are too godly for any other mortal to obtain. But in all seriousness I had fun reading this in my comp class. Though I wish I had a bit more of a role because my narrating skills are on par with Thoreau’s ego (that’s saying a lot btw) I admire his bravery for sharing his higher level of thinking and how many crude jokes this book was able to fit in (that’s what she said)
• 
  Gracie

  Kinda boring, read for a class!
• 
  Patricia

  Love Thoreau! Love used book treasure finds! Love a good play! 19th century civil disobedience infused with the voice of the 70s!
• 
  Jessica DiTommaso

  I wish I was able to focus more on what I’m reading right now because this was not my first choice for choice reading and I didn’t enjoy it that much either… I like Thoreau though
• 
  Paris

  noice. smort.
• 
  Michael Wiggins

  I read "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," mainly because I wanted to see what Connections Academy was assigning for my youngest to read. The play itself is excellent. I'm a little surprised that the powers that be would want to teach anyone to refuse to pay taxes, but at least they include the likely result (jail). Good lesson. I enjoyed the description of the set and stage, as I usually do with plays, and appreciated the simplicity of the set as an extension of Henry David Thoreau's advice to "Simplify, simplify, simplify!"
  
  My favorite aspect of this play was the interaction of Henry with his mother, brother and friends. Henry's relationship with his brother John is warm and alive, which I suppose came as a surprise to me. I find myself wanting to read a little bit more of Thoreau's actual work, which is not my nature. I have usually thought transcendentalists to be full of bologna, and probably still will, but I mean to give Thoreau a fair reading.
  
  I know this is a play about the man, rather than his own writing, but it leads me to appreciate Thoreau more as both an artist and as a man who thought and felt just a little too much for his own health. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, playwrights, did a good job with this work, even if I found the introduction, "The Now Thoreau," to be self-righteous and silly.
• 
  Catherine

  In this play, Thoreau is jailed for refusing to pay taxes because he doesn't want his money to support the Mexican/American war. The play takes from Thoreau's work and combines many years in the passing of a single night as he converses with his cell mate and has flashbacks about other times in his life. The quote that is the center of the work is, "If the law is of such a nature that it requires you to be an agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law." The play was originally published in 1971 during a time of unrest in the United States due to the Viet Nam war, minority rights movements and the women's rights movement. I think it is a work that should be revived for another generation to ponder.
• 
  Melinda

  Snagged from the English dept book room because it's on the "approved" list for grade 11. This is an easy read and could supply the half-conscious reader with enough support for writing on Thoreau and his ilk. I especially enjoyed the humor and the way the authors drew clear parallels between two unpopular wars (Mexico and Vietnam). I also found the conflict with Emerson interesting -- Emerson a thinker too timid to rock the boat, Thoreau a man determined to go his own way and be himself. This is a good addition to a unit on the American Transcendentalists.
• 
  Wt Prater

  Witty, deep, and very thought provoking. It has some terrific one-liners in there. I would to see it live!
• 
  Matt Shaw

  3.5 stars, really. There are 2 separate facets to look in Lawrence & Lee's play: there is the message being put across, and there is the play itself as a play. It's a tough call for me, as this play has been meaningful for me for a long time.
  
  I was given a copy of this by a mentor-teacher in high school in the 70s, who felt I needed affirmation I was on the right path. I read it then and loved it; it has had a place on my shelf since, and I've remembered the content enough to refer to it over and again. I just re-read through it for the first time since then.
  
  The content still applies, and in some ways is as timely now as when it was written. One should think for one's self, not to emulate others. Herd mentality is a poor choice. Materialism leads to destructive processes. Nature is a better teacher than stodgy old white guys. Rules that aren't carefully considered are just arbitrary and should be abandoned. And governments that work only to enrich themselves serve only themselves, not the people they profess to serve. A constable defends law and order by declaring, "Well, even the President has to obey the laws!" (Sam, on p. 65) Let that gem sink in for a moment, America of 2019.
  
  But then there's the play itself. Let's just say "dated" and "pretentious." Counter-culture avant-garde from 1970 looks pretty disjointed and bombastic today. The quick cuts to sides of the stage, the minimalist set, the philosophic diatribes....there's too much "aren't we clever?" going on to not get irritating in the works. This is where I drop the star-and-a-half. I'm not sure I could sit through a performance played the way it's written. Maybe it needs a reboot to refresh the delivery, because the message is good and necessary.
  
  
• 
  Rob

  It's not every day that I feel compelled to read a play, but I couldn't help and crack open the cover to The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail at Goodwill (my favorite bookstore) the other day. The dialogue engrossed me immediately and, being a fan of Transcendentalism anyway, I decided to purchase the book for $2.00. Normally, my book buying story ends here. This time, however, I took it home and read it in one sitting--not a tremendous accomplishment for a two-act play, but a testament to the quality of the writing none-the-less.
  
  I lack experience when it comes to dramatic productions. Most of my exposure comes from watching local musical productions, high school drama, etc. I think this would be a challenging production to stage as the majority of the story is told through flashbacks, and the transition from past to present within the show is rapid. For that reason, reading this play is very practical, and even enjoyable.
  
  It wasn't until I finished reading that I learned the authors of this play also wrote Inherit the Wind, which shares some commonalities with this play. Both are historical, political explorations of the relationship between law and morality. And both stand up well over time, I think. There were elements of this play that I think might bristle some modern readers, but I think the sentiments expressed by the characters likely accurately reflect the opinions of people in Thoreau's time.
  
  As for Thoreau, I wish I knew more about him. This play certainly brings out his eccentricities and his wit, but also humanizes him. There are several funny scenes, some touching scenes. Overall, well worth reading for those who find historical dramas pleasurable.
• 
  David Kent

  This play was a wonderful surprise. As I read it I could envision the stage direction clearly, to the point where I would love to find it being produced today.
  
  Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (no, not the Civil War one) have collaborated on several famous plays (Inherit the Wind, Auntie Mame). This play was extremely successful as well. It depicts Henry David Thoreau spending a night in jail for not paying taxes, with many reflections on the state of the world and himself and others (including Ralph Waldo Emerson).
  
  One aspect that I found intriguing is that the reason Thoreau was refusing to pay his taxes was because he disagreed with President James K. Polk's unilateral war with Mexico. The argument set forth near the end of the play is that of Abraham Lincoln, who as a young U.S. Congressman aggressively challenged the constitutionality of the war. Doing so contributed to him being a one-term congressman.
  
  Definitely worth the read. And I'll be looking for a place to see it performed.
• 
  Ryan S

  I found it quite interesting! Though it was for class, it was kind of interesting! I liked Bailey a lot! The story was kinda goin a bit all over the place, but I overall got the idea of it, since this is a play. I found Thoreau's points quite fascinating, to say, and I don't disagree with some of those points, though I am someone to go with the law instead of against it. Some times I did find the writing a bit weird to understand, but overall it was straightforward. Overall, nice read! Thank you for reading!
• 
  RyanneAndHerBooks

  4.5
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed this play. It really made you think and I couldn't help but love Thoreau who was so ahead of his time and who thought so much he couldn't think in a straight line. His thoughts went from point A to D to Y to H to F to Z and finally to B where it was headed. He was extremely progressive and utterly himself. So himself it made everyone else appear the same. I loved it.
• 
  Wayne

  A short play and fun thought experiment for Thoreau fans. Set during a night spent in jail for unpaid taxes, full of flashbacks, philosophical musings, and ruminations on civil disobedience and our obligation as free-thinking citizens. A reminder to follow the beat of your own drummer. Little has changed since the 1840s.
• 
  Richard Knight

  A short but rousing play, I have a lot more appreciation and knowledge about Henry David Thoreau now. I'd also greatly like to see this play some day. It seems to make a lot with a little, just like Thoreau himself. And I had no idea Ralph Waldo Emerson was so much older than Thoreau. I always thought they were the same age. Anyway, a great, insightful play and I'm glad I read it.
• 
  Christina

  A quick, 2 Act play that analyzed Thoreau’s jail experience when he refused to pay taxes to the government in protest of the Mexican-American War. Since it was written at the time of the Vietnam War, it hits on both modern and historical layers. I loved the inclusion of his relationship with Emerson and how the play showed Thoreau’s unyielding morals and dedication to his beliefs.
• 
  Tristan

  Lawrence and Lee are quickly becoming my favorite playwrights. A timely social commentary written during the Vietnam War, though the contemporary implications of action-less discourse are resonant with the reconceptualization of theories that don’t translate to tangible progress—namely performance activism.
  
  I’m sure Kierkegaard would have words with Emerson.
• 
  Jack

  It's like transcendentalism on easy mode. It's not that deep or interesting in terms of ideas, and it wasn't that funny either. I would have much rather read Thoreau himself. Overall, it's a decent play that I'm sure would have been better live.