Customer Reviews

The Seesaw Log: A Chronicle of the Stage Production, with the Text, of Two for the Seesaw

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The second half of this book is the play: "Two for the See-Saw". In itself the play is fine reading but... the real entertainment is the first half of the book. We are able to discover the reality that takes place in order to get this play produced. For any "soon to be produced" playwright, aspiring playwright or just us theater lovers who enjoy reading about backstage goings on, reading this book is a must. I was totally immersed into the stops and starts and changes that the playwright had to endure just to please all those involved in the process. How much of your art and soul are you willing to give up to see a production of your play?

Review on the chronicle:

The first half of this book is William Gibson's log of getting his smash-hit, Tony-winning play written, produced, rewritten, acted, rewritten, directed, and all that jazz. I found it very interesting to find that the playwright had a lot of trouble getting film-star Henry Fonda (or Hank) to play the part of Jerry Ryan level with Anne Bancroft's (or Annie) performance as Gittel Mosca. I found it a very interesting chronicle of events, and I especially enjoyed reading the different reviews done by well-known newspapers, magazines, etc. I think anyone who likes any of William Gibson's plays (including "The Miracle Worker" . . . please read my review on that too!) should read this book.

Review on the play itself:

Jerry Ryan is a young lawyer from Omaha, Nebraska; and he has moved to New York City in search of work after his wife dumped him for another man. He lives in limbo for a while, until he meets kind-hearted Gittel Mosca.

Gittel is a young woman who also lives in New York. She dreams of becoming a Broadway dancer. She's been through some rough stuff, too: being dumped by God knows how many men, two hemorrhages, appendicitis, and is currently suffering the pain of a duodenal ulcer.

Their relationship starts out in a comical series of phone calls, which leads to Jerry taking Gittel out to dinner. When they get back, Jerry tells Gittel about his wife, about the fact that he's "drowning in cement." Gittel is shocked, and invites him to come stay with her, especially when Jerry tells her it's his birthday. He considers staying, but instead turns it down.

Early the next morning, after walking the whole night, Jerry reaches home and calls Gittel at five in the morning. He tells her that she doesn't know how to stick up for herself, and Gittel says, "Sure I do." Jerry insists that, no, she doesn't, and this riles up Gittel enough for her to yell at him for yelling at her. It's a very funny scene, and I don't think I can explain it better than if you read it yourself!

Anyways, they decide to go steady, and before too long they are in love, though neither will admit too much.

At the end of the second act, Gittel admits that she got a little drunk, and slept with another man. Jerry is infuriated. Gittel refuses to tell more, and this makes Jerry so mad that he commences to whack her on the head with a neewspaper. Gittel is afraid that Jerry doesn't "like me any more." After a lot more quarreling and swearing, Jerry is fed up and decides to leave Gittel alone. But, Gittel has some very alarming news: she's hemorrhaging for the third time. Jerry is worried, and they go to the hospital, as the author would have us believe.

A month later, Gittel is home from the hospital, and Jerry comes "home" after a busy day at the office. Because Gittel is still weak from blood loss, Jerry has moved into her apartment. He stops by to make his "cripple" some lunch, and to see the mail. He writes a letter to his landlord, and insists that Gitttel mails it for him, or he just might leave. This fires Gittel's desire to get up and walk. And she does. They tell each other that they love each other, and off Jerry goes to work.

In the end, Gittel finds out that Jerry didn't really divorce his wife after all, and she is shocked, but learns to accept the fact. Meanwhile, Jerry has discovered that he is able to take care of someone, and not be taken care of himself. He moves back to Nebraska to get back on with his life as a better lawyer. After a final good-bye, they tell each other that they truely love each other, and Jerry is off for Lincoln, Nebraska.

I really love this play. It's funny, touching, and overall beautiful, and I think you should read it. Thank you for reading this review!

This book was used in college theatre classes to reveal how a play went from being written to produced on Broadway. The book is William Gibson's journal during the process and also the script for his play Two for the Seesaw. The play was a 1958 broadway hit starring Anne Bancroft and Henry Fonda. It was later made into a movie in1962 starring Shirly Maclaine and Robert Mitchum.

"The Seesaw Log" is one hilarious tale after another of how a play really gets mounted in New York. More than that, it's an uproariously funny chronicle of the author's frustration upon learning he has only a peripheral role in the production of the play he wrote. Gibson, a highly literate and articulate author, starts as a newcomer to the hydra-headed world of theater and discovers how much he hates it. His unique descriptions of his feelings and his detailed and painfully accurate impressions of others connected to the project had me laughing nearly non-stop into the night. I liked the play, but the log is probably the funniest book I have ever read. And the backstage gossip and personal revelations are just as amusing.