Street Scene

Street Scene is a play written in 1929 by Elmer Rice. It takes place on June of 1929 in front of a New York City apartment building and is about the various tenants who live there. This contemporary play deals with the issues of urban life and of the immigrants who live in these apartments. The plot of this play surrounds the Maurrant family, which is the subject of local gossip claiming that the wife Anna Maurrant is cheating on her husband Frank Maurrant. Their daughter Rose yearns to move away from the apartment and has to deal with the obstacles to acheiving that goal.

Elmer Rice contributed to two major adaptations of the play: a 1931 film directed by King Vidor, and a 1947 musical (or "an American opera") with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Langston Hughes.

The play contains examples of:

• Cheating with the Milkman: Mrs. Maurrant and Sankey, the milk collector.
• Cultural Posturing: An Italian-American and a Swedish-American get into a heated argument over whether Christopher Columbus or Leif Erickson was the first man to discover America.
• Overprotective Dad: Mr. Maurrant is an overprotective father and husband.
• Panicky Expectant Father: Mr. Buchanan is under a nervous strain because his wife is about to give birth.
• Screaming Birth: Mrs. Buchanan, offstage.

The musical version also has examples of:

• Alma Mater Song: The Real Life anthem of Julia Richman High School, New York.
• Irrelevant Act Opener: "Catch Me If You Can"
• Ironic Nursery Tune: The Nursemaids' "Lullaby" is one of the most gruesome things ever sung to quiet a crying baby.
• Villain Song: "Let Things Be Like They Always Was"