Marvin's Room - by Scott McPherson (Paperback)

About the Book

Tells the story of one woman's commitment to care for her family first, even in the face of a personal tragedy. That commitment becomes the catalyst to bring the family back together and confront issues that have festered for years.

Book Synopsis

Winner of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play, the John Gassner Award for Best New American Play, and the Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner Award, and a Major Motion Picture starring Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and Leonardo DiCaprio

The tale of one family's journey through humor and heartache, separation and self-discovery, Marvin's Room examines the ties that bind families together... whether they like it or not.

Good-hearted Bessie has been taking care of her ailing father for twenty years, but now she's the one who's sick, and she must reconcile with her estranged sister, Lee. A remarkably humorous and tender play, this critically acclaimed family drama was dubbed by The New York Times as "one of the funniest plays of the year, as well as one of the wisest and most moving."

Review Quotes

"Is there any chance you will believe me when I tell you that Marvin's Room, which was written by Scott McPherson, is one of the funniest plays of this year as well as one of the wisest and most moving? Maybe not. And that's how it should be. When the American theater gains a new voice this original, this unexpected, you really must hear it for yourself."--Frank Rich, New York Times

"Written with a blazing, tender accuracy that grips you with the force of revelation..."--Village Voice

"The themes of death, love, duty, care and service are frugally intertwined in a play of considerable emotional resonance. Laughing one minute, we are shuddering with a stealthy empathy the next. Death has rarely seemed more interesting or love so complex."--New York Post

About the Author

Scott McPherson was the award-winning playwright of Marvin's Room, for which he also adapted the screenplay. He died in 1991.

Larry Kramer is a playwright, author, public health advocate, and LGBTQ rights activist. He co-founded the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), the world's largest private organization assisting people living with AIDS. Kramer is author of The Normal Heart and The Destiny of Me, for which he was nominated for Pulitzer Prize.