Ken Ludwig's Treasure Island

by Ken Ludwig, Robert Louis Stevenson

Winner! 2009 AATE Distinguished Play Award, Best Adaptation

Based on the masterful adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island is a stunning yarn of piracy on the tropical seas. It begins at an inn on the Devon coast of England in 1775 and quickly becomes an unforgettable tale of treachery and mayhem featuring a host of legendary swashbucklers including the dangerous Billy Bones (played unforgettably in the movies by Lionel Barrymore), the sinister two-timin

Genres: Plays

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

KEN LUDWIG is an internationally-acclaimed playwright whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages. He has had 6 shows on Broadway and 6 in the West End. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, the Edgar Award, the SETC Distinguished Career Award, the Edwin Forrest Award for Services to the Theatre and he is a McCarter/Sallie B. Goodman Fellow. His plays have been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Bristol Old Vic. His first play on Broadway, Lend Me A Tenor, won three Tony Awards and the New York Times called it "one of the two great farces by a living writer." His other best-known Broadway and West End shows include Crazy For You (5 years on Broadway, Tony Award Winner for Best Musical), Moon Over Buffalo, Leading Ladies, Twentieth Century, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Game’s Afoot, The Fox on the Fairway, Midsummer/Jersey, The Three Musketeers, Treasure Island and The Beaux’ Stratagem. His plays have starred Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Lynn Redgrave, Mickey Rooney, Hal Holbrook, Dixie Carter, Tony Shalhoub, Anne Heche, Joan Collins, and Kristin Bell. His book, How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, was published in June 2013 by Random House, and his work has been published by the Yale Review. He has degrees from Harvard, where he studied music with Leonard Bernstein, Haverford College and Cambridge University. For more information, please visit www.kenludwig.com

Reviews

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Treasure Island is only the second Ken Ludwig play I've read. Despite my lack of interest in pirates (outside of Pirates of The Caribbean I and the pirate flag) I committed to finish. The first act was great. I was interested and looked forward to act 2 but it didn't live up to my expectations. I am only speaking on behalf of the story. I had no issue with the writing. I think it is very adequate and thoughtfully executed.

In the version I read, I saw many format inconsistencies that could really confuse an amateur actor. Plus I've never been a fan of Samuel French's formatting.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun play. I reread the original version of the book and I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the story Ken Ludwig managed to get into the play. He even managed to include most of my favorite quotes from the book.

Nevertheless less this would be a challenge. Lots of killing and dying are hard to make look real on stage. Many huge set changes would be challenging. But all in all it would be lots of fun.

[Tony Loyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good play that is mostly faithful to the source material. Ludwig does a very good job with the relationship between Jim and Silver in particular. Not the most meaty script but lots of opportunity for spectacle. I'm unsure about the suggested staging of the parrot but I'm sure there are ways of doing it effectively

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sophisticated adaptation with a great deal of action and distinct characters. A few awkwardly placed monologues from Jim break the immersion a bit, but they serve in part to cover technical transitions and otherwise, there's very little to complain about.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting, cinematic, good vibes. A good interpretation in addition to being well written. Might be difficult to produce on a small, low-budget stage due to set changes, ratline safety, and swordfights--those fights will make this 2hr play even longer, though. I wish sea-shanties had been incorporated, but that could likely be added.

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is our Spring Play so yeah... I've read it! It's a great adaptation of Treasure Island in play-form.

[Sarah]

I'm looking for a script of 'Treasure Island' to direct; read a few now, this one, as challenging as it's staging would be, is winning the race.