John Steinbeck developed the unique literary form of the stage novella, which is a novel that feels like a play and is intended to be adapted for the stage. Of Mice and Men is an example of this form. The novella is usually full of dialogue and action and is approximately the same length as a play. Burning Bright is Steinbeck’s only stage novel that was followed by a stage performance, but it was a flop. Steinbeck intended to produce plays that could be read as if they were novels and novels that could be read as plays.
The stage novella is a unique literary form that was extensively developed by the American author John Steinbeck. Steinbeck is famous for his novels about the experience of the American working class. He is particularly known for his novels Of Mice and Men, The Pearl and The Grapes of Wrath. Many readers of Steinbeck are unaware of the stage novel form, even though Of Mice and Men follows this form.
The theatrical novella is a novel that exists, like a comedy, in three or four major acts. Generally, the novel is written in a way that makes it feel very much like a play. The dialogue follows theatrical forms and the scenes are set similar to the way playwrights describe a stage before launching into dialogue and action. Books in novella form also include heightened forms of drama and ritual that must be staged. Of Mice and Men, The Pearl, The Moon is Down, and Burning Bright are all examples of novels that Steinbeck wrote in stage novel form.
One of the key characteristics of a stage novel is length. Since the novella is intended to translate into stage, it is approximately the same length as a play. Furthermore, the theatrical novel is very often based on dialogue and action. Psychological novels, where the main action takes place in the mind of the main character or characters, are difficult to adapt to stage or screen. Thus, the stage novels are usually full of dialogue and action.
While much of Steinbeck’s work has been adapted for films, Burning Bright is Steinbeck’s only stage novel that was followed by a stage performance shortly after its publication date. Also, while many of the films based on his novels have had Steinbeck’s blessing, he actually worked on the stage production of Burning Bright. The form of the stage novella, according to Steinbeck, was intended to produce plays that could be read as if they were novels and novels that could be read as plays.
However, the Broadway version of Burning Bright, which opened in the 1950s, was a complete flop. The entire production was scrapped after just 13 performances due to poor reviews and attendances. Since the curtain closed on the first production of Burning Bright, few directors have tackled the romance-comedy. Although there are a number of novels that fall under the genre of the stage novella, Steinbeck was one of the few authors to work intensively in this form. For this, he is largely credited with the form.
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