JOSHUA WILLIAM GELB

A New Play by Joshua William Gelb

"This, friends, is the history of Bour -- told me by my mama as many years ago as I'm living. Story of African kings, of jungles and tigers, and biggest of all, this giant I stand upon."

Plot Summary:
In a gas-lit turn of the century slum, a man named Bour dreams relentlessly of the family history his mama chronicled in his youth: his descent from a long line of African Jungle Kings. One night, however, when a real elephant appears to Bour from the waters of a nearby bay, the mythology of his ancestors, replete with man-eating tigers and pachyderm steeds, comes miraculously to life. Peddling the mysterious creature through his impoverished neighborhood as a God-sent sign of his pedigree, Bour soon descends into a madness of self-importance, refusing to believe rumors of an escaped elephant from the amusement park across the bay.

At that very amusement park, the age of electricity is dawning: A renowned inventor (based on Thomas Edison) ruthlessly attempts to discredit his business rivals by theatrically electrocuting stray cats on the midway, coldly illustrating the dangers of his competitor's latest advancement: the alternate electric current. But when Pandara, a young woman in his employ, and Bour's oldest friend, reveals the whereabouts of the fugitive elephant, the prospect of a far greater public illustration becomes manifest.

Inspired by the horrific, true story of Edison's electrocution of Topsy the elephant at Coney Island's Luna Park, The Tragedie of Bour IV illustrates mankind's desperate attempts to civilize, through technological advancement, a soul and spirit that will always be inherently primitive.

Cast:
Four men, two women.

Running time:
1 1/2 Hours

Previous Productions and Readings:
2008 hotINK Festival
Presented by Playwrights Horizons Theatre School
NYU Tisch: The Abe Burrows Theater
January 2008
Directed by Tomi Tsunoda

Reading Presented by New Dramatists
September 2006
Directed by Debbie Saivetz