Married North

by Hal Corley

"Married North" is pitched against the end of the infamous Lavender Scare -- the homophobic purge of the Government during the Eisenhower years. Set in a sleepy Washington, DC suburb, the play's action over three stifling summer days in 1959 chronicles a final chapter in the gnarly relationship of formerly rural Georgians, estranged siblings August and Ivy Wilcox, now an Atlanta store manager and the sister who...

"Married North" is pitched against the end of the infamous Lavender Scare -- the homophobic purge of the Government during the Eisenhower years. Set in a sleepy Washington, DC suburb, the play's action over three stifling summer days in 1959 chronicles a final chapter in the gnarly relationship of formerly rural Georgians, estranged siblings August and Ivy Wilcox, now an Atlanta store manager and the sister who 'married north' -- to a low level bureaucrat proudly ridding the Feds of 'perverts and pinkos.' With her husband packed off to his army reserves, Ivy desperately wants confirmed bachelor August finally settled. And so against the advice of best friend Dottie, a stressed-out, very pregnant homemaker bewildered by her tomboy daughter, Ivy sets up a life-altering romantic opportunity with a quirky beatnik neighbor, Yvonne. Yet the Mailer-spouting art teacher grieving her beloved father's death ultimately offers August far more than matchmaking Ivy ever bargained for. Within this eccentric quartet, Married North examines both the last gasp of the 1950's and glimmers of the radical changes that defined the next decade and beyond.

"Married North" was a runner up in the 2014 Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Competition for plays on LGBTQ history.

read more
  • Inquire About Rights
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Library

Married North

Recommended by

  • Maximillian Gill: Married North by Hal Corley
    “

    Like the best period pieces, Corley's play immerses us fully not only in the atmosphere and setting of another time but also in the social strictures. And also like the best period pieces, we are easily able to see ourselves in these characters. Their passions and hopes are instantly relatable, and their prejudices are recognizable and sadly too familiar even in our supposedly more enlightened area. The dialogue is a delight, easy to follow but redolent of another era when people really knew how to use their words. A powerful message to learn from a history too many have forgotten.

    Like the best period pieces, Corley's play immerses us fully not only in the atmosphere and setting of another time but also in the social strictures. And also like the best period pieces, we are easily able to see ourselves in these characters. Their passions and hopes are instantly relatable, and their prejudices are recognizable and sadly too familiar even in our supposedly more enlightened area. The dialogue is a delight, easy to follow but redolent of another era when people really knew how to use their words. A powerful message to learn from a history too many have forgotten.

    ”
  • Doug DeVita: Married North by Hal Corley
    “

    Initially written in 2013, and revised in 2015, Hal Corley's "Married North" is an important play that has been made even more timely by our current political climate and horribly backwards administration, which views the '50s as a halcyon utopia of conformity at any cost. A haunting, touching work, this is a must read, and for an intrepid theater company: a must produce.

    Initially written in 2013, and revised in 2015, Hal Corley's "Married North" is an important play that has been made even more timely by our current political climate and horribly backwards administration, which views the '50s as a halcyon utopia of conformity at any cost. A haunting, touching work, this is a must read, and for an intrepid theater company: a must produce.

    ”

Development History

  • Workshop, Celebration Theatre, Los Angeles, 2015
  • Workshop, HRC Showcase Contest, Hudson, NY (Winner, annual competition), 2013
  • Workshop, GUP (Ground Up Productions), New York City annual winter reading series, 2012

Awards

  • AABB Playwriting Award for LGBTQ Works
    Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation
    Honorable Mention
    2014