THE STORY: The scene is “Ambo Land” (Vietnam) where a naive young Reporter from Dubuque encounters the Historical Event—a second actor who portrays some twenty-one characters, including several anxious to cover the war in all its aspects. The Reporter plunges into the surreal madhouse that the war has become, interviewing foul-mouthed G.I.s; a teenage prostitute; the sinister lady ruler of the country; a Buddhist monk about to immolate himself; and many others (all played by the Historical Event) in a brilliant kaleidoscope of interlocking scenes. He joins a combat patrol; goes off on a bombing mission; is injured by shrapnel and, in the end, becomes so radicalized that he spurns his job and “goes native.” Deeply ironic, the play coalesces its graphic horrors and unsettling revelations into an ingenious mosaic which, for all its wild humor, constitutes a crushing indictment of the mass insanity that is war.
Winner of a 1981 Obie Award for Playwriting.
This stunningly original black comedy sums up the incongruity and tragedy of our experience in Vietnam.
“…an explosion of young talent—and a bracing demonstration of what such talent can do when everything goes right.” —The New York Times.
“Wildly funny, yet chronicling the horror and devastation of the war, HOW I GOT THAT STORY is a stunning theatrical achievement…” —The Hollywood Reporter.
“…a bitterly funny and affecting piece of work.” —New York Daily News.
“…makes splendid use of that precious theatrical asset, the playgoer’s imagination.” —Time Magazine.
