My Mother, age 87, starred in a high school play production entitled
"The Tightwad" in 1932-1933. I would like to purchase a copy of the
text of that play as a gift for her. Can you locate an available copy
of that play (used would be fine)? I don't know the author's name.
Thank you.
George Laros |
Request for Question Clarification by
justaskscott-ga
on
19 Feb 2003 22:33 PST
I have located this play only in libraries. It had a short run on
Broadway a few years before your mother starred in it, but my guess is
that it has not been performed much since that time. The publisher of
the play is out of business.
Would you be satisfied with a library copy of the play -- and if so,
would reading the play at the library be an option, or must it be a
copy that you can check out of the library? (It's apparently still
under copyright, so photocopying would not be an option.) If the
library option is satisfactory, please let me know in what area you
are located or can get to, so that an appropriate library can be
found.
|
Clarification of Question by
nicko-ga
on
20 Feb 2003 05:51 PST
Thanks for your good work. A library copy that I could check out would
be our first choice since my Mom is immobile and I'd like her to see
the text. But a read-only copy would be OK if that is the only
practical choice. I use ABEbooks.com to seek old out-of-print books
with much success. Is there such an organization for old plays? Many
thanks.
George Laros
|
Request for Question Clarification by
justaskscott-ga
on
20 Feb 2003 11:28 PST
There are sources for old plays; however, I have checked several of
the best ones, and have not found The Tightwad. (That is one reason
why I think it has not been performed much in recent years.)
If you can tell me the area where you are located or can easily get
to, I will try to find a library with a copy. Alternatively, I will
try to find a library that can borrow a copy through interlibrary
loan. (And perhaps, in doing this research, I will find a copy for
sale.)
|
Clarification of Question by
nicko-ga
on
20 Feb 2003 13:10 PST
I live in Easton, PA, close to Bethlehem and Allentown. My zip: 18045.
I live app. 50 miles north of Philadelphia and 75 miles west of New
York City. Thanks for your help.
George Laros
|
Request for Question Clarification by
justaskscott-ga
on
21 Feb 2003 08:46 PST
It does not appear that any library in Pennsylvania (or for that
matter, New Jersey) has a copy of this play. However, you can fill
out a form -- with the name, author, publisher, and date -- to request
a copy of the play from one of the other libraries (approximately 30)
in the US that have it. Whether you can obtain the play, and whether
you can take it out of the library, depends on both the availability
of the play (another person may be using it at the time) and the
policies of the particular library, which I cannot determine in
advance. With about 30 libraries to choose from, there is a good
chance that you will be able to get it, at least to use in the
library.
Should I post an answer based upon this information?
|
Clarification of Question by
nicko-ga
on
22 Feb 2003 10:15 PST
Yes, please do. Thank you for your good work.
George Laros
|
Request for Question Clarification by
justaskscott-ga
on
22 Feb 2003 22:09 PST
I was out for most of the day, and just saw your message. I'm a
little tired, and don't want to give you a rushed answer; so I will
post an answer tomorrow.
|
Hello nicko-ga,
A reference librarian at the Easton Public Library (
http://www.eastonpl.org ) explained to me that you can fill out a form
to request an interlibrary loan of The Tightwad.
The Tightwad (officially "The Tightwad: A Comedy in Three Acts") was
written by Robert Keith, and published in New York in 1927 by
Longmans, Green & Co. You can find this by search for the title
Tightwad in a basic search of the Library of Congress catalog (
http://catalog.loc.gov/ ). I cannot provide a link to the search
result, because the Library of Congress only allows temporary search
sessions in its catalog.
You should fill out the request form at the library with the title (I
think that just "The Tightwad" will do), the author, the publisher,
and the date. You might want tell the librarian that other dates will
suffice, as long as it is the same play.
Oddly, there appears to be another play called "The Tightwad: A Comedy
in Three Acts", from 1925 by Roger Wheeler. You can find it by
searching for the title Tightwad on the New York Public Library
catalog ( http://catnyp.nypl.org/ ). But I believe that this play was
never published, and that the New York Public Library has the only
copy. So the Robert Keith play is the one you want.
Incidentally, if you want a bit of information about the playwright
and the play's brief run on Broadway, try a search on Google for:
tightwad "robert keith"
(://www.google.com/search?num=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=tightwad+%22robert+keith%22
). (For the next few days, you cannot access the Internet Broadway
Database results directly, while that site undergoes maintenance.
However, you can click on "Cached", or simply see the information in
the Google search results page.)
I hope that this information is helpful.
- justaskscott-ga |
