A Little Journey

Opening Night: June 6, 2011
Closing: July 17, 2011
Theater: Mint Theatre

A Little Journey by Rachel Crothers, a nominee for the first Pulitzer Prize for Drama, has not been produced anywhere since 1918. Crothers’ legacy was largely forgotten until the Mint revived Susan and God in 2006. "A voice that remains fresh," lauded The New York Times, while Terry Teachout wrote in the Wall Street Journal: "It is a major event, a pitch perfect production of a 69-year-old play whose subject matter is so modern in flavor that it could have been written last week." Set entirely on a westbound train over the course of a four day trip, A Little Journey tells the story of Julie Rutherford, a proud but broken young woman who believes that things cannot possibly get any worse–until disaster strikes. "A compelling human story of love and sorrow" was how the Washington Post greeted the play, which, in the grand tradition of travelogues, showcases an eccentric and charming array of passengers: there’s the auburn-topped lady from New York, excruciatingly funny in her ultra-sophistication and yet human; there are two young college lads, awkward, yet lovable; there’s the sweet young girl, traveling with her deaf grandma; the self-centered plutocrat who travels in the drawing room; an unmarried mother; Jim West, the big-hearted Westerner; and Julie Rutherford, the girl who finds real life after having been hedged about and bound by conventions and traditions. Julie’s down on her luck, and Jim is a lonely rancher who’s survived his own troubled life journey. Jim falls in love, but Julie sinks deeper into despair…until a dangerous detour gives them an unexpected chance at happiness.