Rip Van Winkle

Written circa 1895, Rip Van Winkle provided Joseph Jefferson, the most famous of a vast theatrical clan, a career-long star vehicle tailored to show off his particular talents for comedy and pathos. His script, developed over half a century, retains the fabulous tall tale of Washington Irving’s archetypically American story, and captures in a startlingly raw and honest way the stereotypes of the dissolute but beloved husband and the shrewish wife – though by any but theatrical standards thoroughly justified in her fury.

Part of the Pearl Theatre’s summer event, America: The Reading Series.