The Truth Teller

by Joyce Carol Oates, Charles Durning (Narrator), Arthur Hanket (Narrator)

Joyce Carol Oates' hilarious take-off on a classic Southern play begins when liberated Hedda arrives home to visit the family estate, ruled by the family's tyrannical patriarch, "Tiny" Culligan. Tiny doesn't know what to make of Hedda's intellectual boyfriend, Saul. But then, Saul doesn't know what to make of Hedda's sister, the slinky Maggie, who finds Jewish professors very sexy indeed. A full cast L.A. Theatre Works performance featuring: Charles Durning, Arthur Hanket, Gary Kroeger, Marsha Mason, Priscilla Pointer, William Schallert and JoBeth Williams.

Genres: Plays, Fiction, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published November 15, 2011

About the author

Joyce Carol Oates is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), and Blonde (2000), and her short story collections The Wheel of Love (1970) and Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories (2014) were each finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. She has won many awards for her writing, including the National Book Award, for her novel Them (1969), two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize (2019).
Oates taught at Princeton University from 1978 to 2014, and is the Roger S. Berlind '52 Professor Emerita in the Humanities with the Program in Creative Writing. From 2016 to 2020, she was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught short fiction in the spring semesters. She now teaches at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Oates was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2016.
Pseudonyms: Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oats wrote 40+ novels and only a handful of plays. Maybe the least known is “The Truth Teller” – not serious enough to be called a drama, not slapstickish enough to be called a comedy, it sort of slipped through the cracks. I find it brilliant, and very theatrical, and wish our Thespians payed more attention to it. It is a hilarious parody on romantic sitcoms and family crises dramas, and sharp satire of diametrically opposite sectors of the American society. The characters (names taken from classical plays of Ibsen, Miller, Williams and others) are: hippie-esh Hedda, a lost sheep from a mid-West family, tyrannically ruled by a gun-toting-church-going-small-business-owner patriarch, a typical Trump supporter (mind you, the play was written in 1994), Anti-Semite and racist (although he would never admit to being either), her boyfriend, a legally blind Jewish professor Saul Schwarz who lost his job because he was fighting for diversity on campus, and won (his position was given to the person he was fighting for), her slutty sister, and the rest of their curious family. Oats humors and satirizes everybody, and does it so well that people from all sides of the society hated the play when it was staged in NY (in 1995, and never since, AFAIK). I listened to a 2011 full-cast audio rendition, and I loved it…

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up

The cast was great (all professional actors, many of them well-known), but the play itself wasn’t compelling.
Okay, it’s a parody, and it was funny at times, but, well, it was simply silly / stupid in some places. Maybe it’s just dated (written 25 years ago).

At any rate, I did enjoy the “old timey” experience of listening to a play like the old radio play days.
Just didn’t enjoy the play itself.

[Susan Heim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember listening to stories on the radio late at night and listening to this play reminded me of that so it gets an extra star for nostalgia. The play also reminded me of a cross between All in the Family and Mama's Family - humor via bigotry and stereotypes. I made it through because it was less than two hours - wouldn't have made it much longer than that.

[Joni Greenwell Bycroft · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates' hilarious take-off on a classic Southern play begins when liberated Hedda arrives home to visit the family estate, ruled by the family's tyrannical patriarch, "Tiny" Culligan. Tiny doesn't know what to make of Hedda's intellectual boyfriend, Saul. But then, Saul doesn't know what to make of Hedda's sister, the slinky Maggie, who finds Jewish professors very sexy indeed.

[Andi Fabrizio · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this negative stars, I would. The worst. Not funny despite what I am guessing is an audience there, poor sound effects, bad script, unlikeable characters. But other than that, it was worse than awful. And I have loved so many of her books....

[Bill Graf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play is hilarious. I had no idea that JCO could be so funny. This was an audiobook for me, and the cast (heavy-hitters all) was in tune and in time with the material. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

[Vi Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play in the tradition of old-fashioned farce. A highly enjoyable hour and a half

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook - Probably not something I would hold and read; however, the audio version was quite entertaining.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet play

[Leonore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully funny.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Down right silly. Nothing like the Joyce Carol Oats I'm familiar with.

[Alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates fails to strike again.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates is very good at the last genre she wrote AND whatever the next genre she will write.

[Vel Veeter]

The Truth-Teller:

Joyce Carol Oates is not a playwright. And I mean this, after listening to two of her plays. These are both really really bad. There’s kind of a long history of established writers working in different fields. Find a successful novelist who has written a ton of work and then see if they don’t have their “poetry” phase. It’s usually very bad. There’s plenty of writers who are able to work in multiple media, but I think when someone excels at the hardest or more “traditionally” artistic fields first and then move onto the more pedestrian fields later, well I think there’s been more success.

I guess think of writers like TS Eliot also writing plays. I love his plays and it works. Or poets like Robert Penn Warren, James Dickey, Michael Ondaatje also writing novels. THAT works.

Now think of John Updike….wanna read his poetry? Nah, step back, you don’t.

Or you gonna go see Russell Crowe’s band? Oh, you’re good?

But then, how great was David Bowie in the movies he was in? I mean Labyrinth, sure, obviously, but go watch “Merry Christmas, Mr. Laurence.” He’s great!



Anyway, this play is so very bad. It’s like someone who has been reading a bunch of Tennessee Williams decided to write a Neil Simon play, but it definitely didn’t work out for them. If it’s satire, it doesn’t play, but I am NOT convinced it’s satire at all. It feels jokey and peppy, like it’s on purpose, unfortunately, because it doesn’t work.

[Maria E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some stories make you think, other stories leave you thinking, what just happened. The stereotypes in the story were well defined but you could see the ending from the beginning. I just thought Saul would be smart enough to leave the craziness behind instead of getting caught up in it all.
Not something I plan to listen to again or recommend to anyone.

[Lexy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had I not known Ms. Oates wrote this I would not have guessed that it was her. A whole lot of prejudice in a little theatre production. Long lost daughter brings home Jewish boyfriend to protestant parents. Boyfriend falls for dumb blonde sister (my image of sister). Brother emerges from closet. A comedy of sorts.

[Tiina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wouldn't have believed this was from Joyce Carol Oates' pen...

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is listening to a play...could not get into it

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Emily Vislocky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird, not very funny, and irritating to listen to. Do not recommend.

[Susie Jacobsen]

Funny, quick read

[Jacqui · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining, reminded me of "All in the Family."

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pedantic couple visit her conservative parents, her sister, a trice-divorced woman, and her brother, a transsexual.

[Larry Bassett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am embarrassed for Joyce Carol Oates. This is the recording of a play that last about an hour and a half. It is slightly funny but mostly hokey.