Curse of the Starving Class is a play by Sam Shepard, considered the first of a series on family tragedies.
Some critics consider it part of a Family Trilogy that includes Buried Child (1979) and True West (1980).
The play was initially produced in London at the Royal Court Theatre on April 21, 1977, directed by Nancy Meckler.
[4] Curse of the Starving Class was premiered Off-Broadway at the New York Shakespeare Festival, on March 2, 1978, presented by Papp.
Directed by Robin Lynn Smith, the cast featured Kathy Bates (Ella) and Bradley Whitford (Wesley).
[6] The play was produced at Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut, in February 2000, directed by Jim Simpson and featuring Kristine Nielsen, Guy Boyd, Mandy Siegfried, Danny Seckel, Paul Boocock, Ron Faber, Steve Mellor, Dan Moran and Chime Serra.
The production had original live rock, blues, jazz, punk, and Latin-style music, composed and arranged by Steve Bargonetti and Diane Gioia.
[8] An off-Broadway revival starring Calista Flockhart and Christian Slater is set to premiere at the Pershing Square Signature Center on February 4th, 2025.
[9] Curse of the Starving Class "balances dark comedy and biting satire in its look at a family fighting to stay alive" according to the Long Wharf Theatre.
[10] It focuses on the disturbed Tate family — the drunken father, burned-out mother, rebellious teenage daughter and idealistic son — as they struggle for control of the rundown family farm in a futile search for freedom, security and, ultimately, meaning in their lives.
Ella, his mother, enters and they begin to discuss the events of the night before that lead to Wesley's father, Weston, breaking down the door.
Emma begins a rant about how she raised the chicken and hand fed it every day, then killed and cleaned it and her mother has gone and boiled it.
Wesley still refuses to go after his sister, and Ella tells him that she is planning to use the money from the house to go to Europe and that he and Emma can come if they want.
Weston talks to the lamb briefly, and then begins putting the groceries, which turn out to only be desert artichokes, in the refrigerator.
She tells Wesley that just when you think the curse has been beaten, and it has retreated back into the smallest cells of their genetics, it will suddenly reappear in full force.
Taylor declares that he will go to court and have the deed taken back and then buy the property from Ella, then leaves the house.
Sergeant Malcolm from the police department enters and tells Ella that Emma has been arrested for riding a horse into the “Alibi Club” and shooting the place full of holes.
Weston tells Wesley that he has decided to stay and fix up the house instead of leaving, no matter who holds the deed.
Weston says that when he woke up that morning, after sleeping on the table, that he felt like a new man and walked around their property naked to reclaim ownership.
Ella begins to yell at Weston for pulling a Jekyll and Hyde act by changing overnight.
As she is falling asleep, and Weston is talking to her about the benefits of sleeping on the hard table, Wesley walks into the kitchen, naked, and takes the lamb outside.
Looking at the lamb carcass, she asks Wesley to help her remember the story Weston always told about the eagle.
The prospect of selling the land to real estate developers has a significance far greater than the loss of a mere house, but his family.
As the play opens, she and Wesley are both looking through the chunks of the broken door that her husband, Weston, broke in a fit of rage.
Ella decides to take matters into her own hands and puts the house up for sale without consulting her husband.
Later, she becomes so angry about Ellis buying their house, she rides the family horse into his bar and shoots the place full of holes.
She then decides to steal her mother's car and take up a life of crime, claiming that it is the only way to make a real living in this world.
Incapable of driving or holding a job, he is a profoundly unstable man controlled by the alcohol that runs in his system.
Sergeant Malcom is the police officer who arrives at the house to inform Ella that Emma has been arrested for riding a horse into the “Alibi Club” and shooting it up.
A 1994 film adaptation, Curse of the Starving Class, stars James Woods (Weston), Kathy Bates (Ella), Henry Thomas (Wesley), Randy Quaid (Taylor) and Jim Fitzpatrick (Emerson).