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On the Verge, or the Geography of Yearning
The three daring women of Eric Overmyer's women-centric, 1985 travel fantasy On the Verge; or The Geography of Yearning are never satisfied. They are constantly in pursuit of adventure that takes them far away from their homeland of Victorian America. Intelligent, intrepid, and inquisitive, they long for discovery of that which is greater than their own world while still maintaining some sense of gentlewoman decorum. But all good trips start with a purpose and end in a final destination.
84 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 24, 2017
By far, the weirdest play I've ever been in, but I love the language so much. Andrew and I were talking about it, and I really wanted to read it again. I think I performed it in 1999 or 2000, and I still remembered some of the lines. "Ooo oww natterblast! Savage sour Liechtenstein!"
January 26, 2024
zany, zany, zany! the scene with Mr. Coffee now on my acting wishlist
August 17, 2016
A sort of ORLANDO spin off, Eric Overmyer's signature work has an exciting premise and three excellent protagonists, its one flaw is a kind of underwhelming climax, though the ending is poignant and fitting. Somehow it seems rather dismissive, however, for poor Alex and Fanny to simply end up married off, though of course it could be in part because their relationships feel so… unlikely. Not that anything in the play is particularly likely, it's all quite absurd and fantastical. But the relationships between the three women are so well drawn, one wishes the same could be said between them and their men, so that we could feel like the choices Fanny and Alex make are ones they make, and are not just written into. Still, Overmyer creates a fascinating and whimsical world where anything can happen, time and place have no meaning, and the sheer theatricality and originally of the work make it seem as fresh as its feminist and social commentary once felt.
June 30, 2019
As three 19th century female explorers probe unexplored lands, a 20th century playwright also probes unexplored territory, disappearing further up his own backside than almost any playwright before or since. I haven't the faintest idea what this play was about, and the references are dated and parochially American (do even Americans remember 'I like Ike' badges any more?).
The play has been praised for its wordplay, but simply using 50s slang and then saying '…whatever that means' is hardly the height of poetic wit.
The play has been praised for its wordplay, but simply using 50s slang and then saying '…whatever that means' is hardly the height of poetic wit.
March 11, 2019
ON THE VERGE is a beautiful trip through time on poetic language and silly humor. It's an acid trip for historians. It is an amazing theatrical experience. I've lit the show in the past. Now I want to direct it.
May 22, 2016
Osmote it yourself how good the dialogue is in this play.
October 15, 2018
I respect the craft that went into the writing enormously. That said, this isn't my kind of theater...
November 29, 2017
My friend gave me a bunch of plays to read with a view towards perhaps directing one of them. This was one of the plays. It was fun and clever and I definitely hope to encounter it again in some capacity.
October 22, 2023
I read the whole thing and have no idea what any of that was about.
January 30, 2024
Can't wait to memorize it🫠
March 14, 2026
Weird. Not for me.
February 26, 2015
We saw, and thoroughly enjoyed, this play (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_V...) years ago at the Bath House Theater, on Green Lake in Seattle, while Arne Zaslove was the artistic director. I have been exploring some themes in which walking serves as a metaphor for how we go through life, and it occurred to me that this dimly remembered play, in which three American Victorian women trek from Africa in the 1888 to America in the 1950s might be helpful.
The (Characters & Setting) "Grover, Alphonse, et al, are played by a single actor" reminds me of Sophocles Philoctetes in which a single actor plays the part of Odysseus and Heracles, raising - at least for me - the question of was it rally Heracles or was it Odysseus impersonating Heracles?
In this case: "Along the way, they encounter different men, who is actually the same man in disguise…he’s sort of a devilish character who knows all…..It’s a deeply hidden device, as I spoke with three other cast members that had done the show elsewhere, but they didn’t pick up on it…and I sensed it….I spoke with the playwright, and he concurred." (Arne Zaslove, personal communication, February 20, 2015)
There are people (see Robert Randall) who do not love this play. I do think it is terrific. I enjoyed it when I saw it, and am happy to have recovered it.
The sixteenth book I have finished this year.
p. 6. MARY: That's not science dear. That's engineering. . . . .
p. 20. MARY: Nothing to be alarmed about. Cannibals are perfectly rational human beings.
FANNY: You are a liberal, Mary.
p. 38. MARY: I feel a sea change coming over me. . . . I have a growing premonition we are about to pierce the membrane.
p. 40. MARY: Why is there evil in the world, Alexandra?
ALEX: To thicken the plot.
That actually seems like a pretty good answer.
p. 40 - 41. MARY: . . . . I believe, . . . , we are advancing through the wilderness of time as well as space. . . . .
p. 48. FANNY: . . . . I am quite certain you would adore "The National Review," Grover. I do. It is the sole thing I've discovered so far in the future which reminds me of the nineteenth century.
p. 58. MADAME NHU: . . . . Praise your wife, even if it frightens her. . . . A new diet or exercise program can be unusually beneficial for you now. . . . Read more fine books and better magazines. Avoid fried foods, . . . .
p. 80. Perhaps we were meant to be solo sojourners after all.
The (Characters & Setting) "Grover, Alphonse, et al, are played by a single actor" reminds me of Sophocles Philoctetes in which a single actor plays the part of Odysseus and Heracles, raising - at least for me - the question of was it rally Heracles or was it Odysseus impersonating Heracles?
In this case: "Along the way, they encounter different men, who is actually the same man in disguise…he’s sort of a devilish character who knows all…..It’s a deeply hidden device, as I spoke with three other cast members that had done the show elsewhere, but they didn’t pick up on it…and I sensed it….I spoke with the playwright, and he concurred." (Arne Zaslove, personal communication, February 20, 2015)
There are people (see Robert Randall) who do not love this play. I do think it is terrific. I enjoyed it when I saw it, and am happy to have recovered it.
The sixteenth book I have finished this year.
p. 6. MARY: That's not science dear. That's engineering. . . . .
p. 20. MARY: Nothing to be alarmed about. Cannibals are perfectly rational human beings.
FANNY: You are a liberal, Mary.
p. 38. MARY: I feel a sea change coming over me. . . . I have a growing premonition we are about to pierce the membrane.
p. 40. MARY: Why is there evil in the world, Alexandra?
ALEX: To thicken the plot.
That actually seems like a pretty good answer.
p. 40 - 41. MARY: . . . . I believe, . . . , we are advancing through the wilderness of time as well as space. . . . .
p. 48. FANNY: . . . . I am quite certain you would adore "The National Review," Grover. I do. It is the sole thing I've discovered so far in the future which reminds me of the nineteenth century.
p. 58. MADAME NHU: . . . . Praise your wife, even if it frightens her. . . . A new diet or exercise program can be unusually beneficial for you now. . . . Read more fine books and better magazines. Avoid fried foods, . . . .
p. 80. Perhaps we were meant to be solo sojourners after all.
July 18, 2007
Three Victorian-era pith-helmet clad women set out to explore Terra Incognita, a fictional unexplored landscape where they encounter strange characters and in which strange artifacts (an eggbeater, a gas station) appear from the future. As the women move through space and time they champion the spirit of the inveterate trekker, with a decidedly feminist agenda. Mary, Fanny and Alexandra, three very different Victorian "ladies," hack away with their machetes and tromp through Terra Incognita, telling tales of their past adventures around campfires, eating strange foods, meeting fascinating people, and absorbing everything, past, present and future, in their wake.
Overmyer, now a well-known TV and movie writer, is a master of witty wordplay and the unspooling of a delightful, woman-centric adventure, and this is a quick and delicious read. I had the pleasure of seeing it staged when I was fifteen or sixteen, and have loved it ever since.
Overmyer, now a well-known TV and movie writer, is a master of witty wordplay and the unspooling of a delightful, woman-centric adventure, and this is a quick and delicious read. I had the pleasure of seeing it staged when I was fifteen or sixteen, and have loved it ever since.
February 28, 2012
1/13/12
Rambles that I wrote after reading this:
An easy 4.5
It starts a bit slow but I loved this. Looking up the words I didn't know made even more hilarious. I love how the vernacular changed as they went forward in time. I love language so the fact that vocabulary was used so skillfully was grand. The characters themselves are so distinct and developed which is often hard to portray in a play format.
I can't wait to see this performed but I'm almost afraid it won't live up to my expectations. I loved it a lot more than I expected to.
2/27/12
***
After seeing the play performed, I think I love it even more. The physical humor written in is hilarious. The lines are fabulous. It's such a witty, well-written play. Characters like the dragon lady and the yeti were so perfect.
Rambles that I wrote after reading this:
An easy 4.5
It starts a bit slow but I loved this. Looking up the words I didn't know made even more hilarious. I love how the vernacular changed as they went forward in time. I love language so the fact that vocabulary was used so skillfully was grand. The characters themselves are so distinct and developed which is often hard to portray in a play format.
I can't wait to see this performed but I'm almost afraid it won't live up to my expectations. I loved it a lot more than I expected to.
2/27/12
***
After seeing the play performed, I think I love it even more. The physical humor written in is hilarious. The lines are fabulous. It's such a witty, well-written play. Characters like the dragon lady and the yeti were so perfect.
July 30, 2007
Recommended by Sab, a play about three Victorian women explorers who set out to explore Terra incognita and end up traveling forward in time. I really enjoyed Overmyer's use and fun manipulations of language, and the slightly skewed perspective on two different eras (1880s and 1950s). The sad truth is, though, I'm not the best reader of plays. I have a hard time engaging with them as I do novels or short stories, or even film. Still, despite that fault (in myself) I enjoyed this. Which speaks very highly of it, I think.
May 14, 2012
Saw a production of this three times at the Guthrie Theater and another couple in college. Eric Overmyer is one of my favorite writers and producers of TV; for years I didn't connect him with this play, which I love and which is not at all like his TV work.
If you enjoy wordplay and pop culture or just wordplay and pith helmets, um, you've gotta check this out. I believe the first three scenes are available online at one of the places where you can purchase the play if you need a taste, there are also a bunch of quotes at Wikiquote.
If you enjoy wordplay and pop culture or just wordplay and pith helmets, um, you've gotta check this out. I believe the first three scenes are available online at one of the places where you can purchase the play if you need a taste, there are also a bunch of quotes at Wikiquote.
September 19, 2008
This was the play I chose to direct as my Masters project. I chose it because of the really exquisite language, the whimsy and pathos of the plot and the characters whom I loved. To journey not just through geography but through time ... it's what we all do right? But these ladies have the chance to explore decades that would normally be so far out of their reach.
May 29, 2013
This is an entertainingly intelligent play. Three 19th century female explorers find themselves in Terra Incognita, a place on the verge of time. They realize as they travel, the artifacts they discover are from the future. The style and central idea is reminiscent of Tom Stoppard. A thoroughly enjoyable play for 3 women and one man.
April 16, 2008
Perhaps I will learn to appreicate this play more as I understudy the role of Fanny. But initally, it is just a lot of words I don't understand. I am terribly interested to see how it is staged...and how I will perform in it...
December 9, 2008
I found this play really engaging. The language is brilliant - in fact, in many ways it is the whole point of the piece. I would love to see a staged performance.
May 23, 2009
I've chosen this for one of the plays we'll include in the Winter Readers Theater Series. I like the quirkiness of the plot and characters very much!
July 30, 2009
Throw in another half star. This land is your land, this land is definitely my land! Travellin' with these chicks through Time is the way to go.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews