MEN, MEMORY, AND MEMORIAL: VIETNAM VETERAN THEATRICAL NARRATIVES

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of Vietnam War veteran narratives and how they are presented on stage. I argue that these plays are a form of commemoration of the Vietnam War and those who fought in it. I examine three plays: Medal of Honor Rag (1976) by Tom Cole, Still Life (1982) by Emily Mann, and Tracers (1983) by John DiFusco, et al. There are hundreds of plays and musicals written directly about the war. Through a dramaturgical methodology I combine textual analysis, production research, interviews with two of the three playwrights, academic scholarship on the plays, my own staged reading of Still Life in February 2015, and select oral/written histories from Vietnam veterans to illustrate how the plays function as commemorative-storytelling of the veteran experience. Each chapter is a dramaturgical case study that could be used for production. The plays each have a wide range of topics, motifs, and themes, many of which I address, including the overlapping themes of wounding (moments of injury and psychological repercussions), coming home (surviving the war and returning home), and commemorating (via medals and memorials).