Rapture, Blister, Burn

Rapture, Blister, Burn is a dramatic play by American playwright Gina Gionfriddo which tells the story of two friends who choose different paths and grow to envy the other. The play premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2012 and was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Plot

The play follows two friends, Gwen and Catherine, who meet in grad school and set out on two polar-opposite paths. While Gwen chose to focus on her home and family, Catherine became a fiery academic. After decades apart, the two meet up and find themselves envying the other's life, and Catherine pining for Gwen's husband, Don. Their views on feminism are changed by the wry student Avery's perspective, as the play explores the breadth of 20th century feminism.

Production history

The play first premiered Off-Broadway in 2012 at Playwrights Horizons, starring Amy Brenneman as Catherine, Kellie Overbey as Gwen, Lee Tergesen as Don, Beth Dixon as Alice and Virginia Kull as Avery. The production was directed by Peter DuBois. The production began performances on May 18, 2012, and ran through July 1, receiving positive reviews. The New York Times praised the play as "intensely smart and immsensely funny", while naming it a Critic's Pick, and the New York Daily News called it "a smart, funny, and lightning-paced look at feminism."

For the play, Gionfriddo was nominated for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Later in 2013, the play made its West Coast premiere at Geffen Playhouse, where it ran from August 13, 2013 to September 22, 2013. The entire cast reprised their roles, along with director DuBois. The show received critical praise, with The Hollywood Reporter claiming they could not "praise the production and players too much" and Stage and Cinema praising Gionfriddo's writing as "smart, funny and thought-provoking."

The play has since been produced regionally across the United States, including at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in 2013, at Oregon Contemporary Theatre in 2016. and at 4th Wall Theatre Company in Houston, Texas in 2019.

Cast and characters

Awards and nominations