Plays & Writings
Carol Hall’s creative voice extended far beyond songwriting and musicals into the world of playwriting and prose. At the center of her work for the stage is The Days Are as Grass, a collection of one-act plays exploring love, aging, family, and the everyday search for meaning.
In addition to her plays, Carol contributed written pieces to anthologies, essays, and other published works that reflect her curiosity, humor, and deep empathy for the human experience. This section of the site brings together her playwriting and other writings, offering a look at another dimension of her artistry—her ability to craft character, voice, and narrative on the page as well as in song.
These eight short (non-musical) plays were initially written to be performed as a tour de force by a single pair of actors, but they can also be done by three or four or more actors. The plays can be done as separate one-acts as well. Taken together, the plays run approximately 90 minutes and feature more than a dozen characters ranging in age from 40 to 85, exploring the fragility of hope, memory, old friends, lost loves, and the inevitability of time.
The Days Are As Grass
Vacation
Last Will and Testament
Life Time
Sensations
The River Jordan Lamp
Jack & Jill
The Last Word
The Days Are as Grass
The Days Are as Grass is a full-length performance consisting of eight short plays by Carol Hall. They were written to be performed by two actors, one man and one woman. However, they can also be performed by a larger cast. The actors portray more than a dozen characters ranging in age from 40 to 85, exploring the fragility of hope, memory, old friends, lost loves, and the inevitability of time. The tone is always a blend of the funny and the touching, as the characters march bravely into that last colorful sunset, still fully engaged by life’s changes, love’s quirks, and the surprises of age.
The short plays are written to be performed as a single evening. They include:
"Vacation" - A married couple enjoying a relaxing weekend, become obsessed with a couple traveling nearby who are clearly having an illicit affair. This play has also been published by Narrative Magazine.
"Last Will and Testament" - A well meaning socialite tries to write her will, so that after her death all her friends and loved ones can receive a “small memento,” but she finds that “details of your own mortality can be exhausting. And I’m sure death is no picnic either.”
"Life Time" - A couple has been together so long they barely need words to express themselves. “Memory loss is the best thing that ever happened to me. Saves time. Saves effort.”
"Sensations" - A bickering couple sit in twin rockers in matching robes and slippers and wait for the pills they’ve secretly saved up to take effect and end their lives — but did they do it correctly? And if not, whose fault is that, anyway?
"The River Jordan Lamp" - A woman living alone in a trailer park makes an unusual connection with a young migrant worker — and eventually sees the light, or the absence of one, as she pays for what she calls her “sin of the flesh.”
"Jack and Jill" - A brother and sister in their mid-forties, hilariously try to come to terms with the idea of their divorced parents getting back together after 35 years.
"The Days Are as Grass" (title piece) - A younger man and older woman have an argument about what happened to their affair, while literary quotes still appear to bind them affectionately.
"The Last Word" - A husband chatters away as he pushes the wheelchair of his mute and paralyzed wife, while we are able to hear everything she’s thinking.
Critical Acclaim For The Days Are As Grass
Excerpts from “The Days Are As Grass’ — A ‘Spirit’ Delight”
The Lincoln County News, Damariscotta, Maine, June 07, 2012
By Eleanor Cade Busby
The Theater of the Spirit welcomed new director Phyllis McQuaide to their number on Friday night. Her first venture, Carol Hall’s “The Days Are As Grass” was well done and skillfully delivered.
The new pieces are from an unpublished work by Hall… It was a pleasure to see new material, particularly well written and often hilarious dialogue, interspersed with poignant scenes and monologues.
The subject matter may at first blush appear aimed at the lives of the elderly; however, the topics apply to everyone and should appeal to all ages except for young children.
[In} “Vacation,” a couple spend most of their holiday watching a man and a woman (not her husband)… delight in the arrival of said husband.
“Lifetime” highlights … a couple who have been together so long they barely need words to express themselves…[as] they confront aging together in a gentle way that reminds of grandparents and farmhouses and birds flying away.
“The Days Are As Grass” is stellar…[as] a couple shares cocktails and truth.
“The River Jordan Lamp” is a tour de force performance. “Sensations” [depicts] a long-married couple who sit and wait for, well, something that may or may not happen, in their bathrobes, with pill bottles. They talk more and share more in a few minutes than many couples may in years. “Last Will and Testament”… is a … screamingly funny… monologue… a woman who must be in control while all the time being hilariously out of control. “Jack and Jill” offers a clever twist with two adult children bemoaning their long-divorced parents’ reconciliation. “The Last Word” is heartbreaking; [a husband] wheels his wife around in a wheelchair, talking on and on and telling her many things and she sits unresponsive… with a twist at the end.
The actors [ten] were honest in their portrayals of these people, and that is refreshing. It is also quite lovely to see and hear new words… [The play] looks at us, as we are, with all our foibles, and still allows us to walk out feeling glad we came. The poignant moments are not maudlin, and when something takes the audience unaware, the arena style setting allows a shared experience.
Excerpts from LOVE AND DEATH ON THE FRINGE
By Rebecca Daniels, Woodstock Times
A delightful blend of humor and poignancy pervades Carol Hall’s new play: The Days are as Grass. Vivian Matalon has done a skillful job directing this entertaining yet deeply meaningful piece in which seasoned professionals Nicola Sheara and Brent Erdy portray fourteen different characters. Playwright Hall is an award-winning lyricist and composer, best known for writing the score for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The Days are as Grass is a departure for her, but you wouldn’t know it. The nine one-act plays, taken as a whole, play, constitute a beautifully and intelligently written exploration of the universal themes of love and death. Nicola Sheara’s performance in this challenging theatre piece is not to be missed. With minimal changes in costume, makeup and hair, the Broadway actress transforms herself in each scene. It’s an extraordinary feat for any actor. Though the sullen siblings of Jack and Jill may brim with the youthful energy of the indignant, most of the plays are indeed about older people. The tone is always a blend of the funny and the touching, as the characters march bravely into that last colorful sunset, still fully engaged by life’s changes, love’s quirks, and the surprises of age.
Watching 'Grass' grow is a lot of fun
By Fernando Valdivia, Times Herald-Record
Carol Hall's evening of plays — "The Days Are as Grass" — is receiving its world premiere at the Woodstock Fringe Festival of Theatre & Song at the Byrdcliffe Theatre. These wryly humorous and poignant vignettes feature two versatile actors portraying 14 characters at a point in their lives when introspection and accommodation have gradually replaced initiative and self-interest. Cleverly utilizing a pair of upholstered daybeds, a few props and an eclectic wardrobe, scenic design consultant Michael Miller and costume designer Tracy Christiansen provide the actors with the basic essentials for their respective characterizations. As directed by Vivian Matalon, a Tony-winner for the 1980 revival of "Morning's at Seven," Brent Erdy and Nicola Sheara offer insightful portraits of couples and individuals ranging from rural folk to cosmopolitan sophisticates. Each play is introduced by displaying its title on an easel. In "Life Time," we meet an elderly farming couple whose marriage has survived his unpleasant mother as well as the problems and crises common among families. Exchanging her baggy sweater for a tailored blazer, Sheara returns in "Last Will and Testament" as an affluent doyenne informing her psychiatrist with some ambivalence how she plans to distribute her valuable possessions among her relatives and friends. In "The River Jordan Lamp," Sheara transforms herself yet again into a lonely woman living in a trailer who befriends a Mexican migrant worker's son, fascinated by a cherished lamp. Erdy is equally skillful in assuming the persona of each of his characters. Whether expressing vicarious excitement at observing a pair of adulterous fellow travelers on a flight to the Bahamas or playing a jilted gay actor tentatively resuming an abandoned friendship with a book-loving friend, Erdy adapts his gestures and vocal and facial expressions to suit each role. The play's title, taken from Psalm 103, establishes the play's underlying theme of life's precious impermanence and our senescent reconciliations. Although the hint of mortality lingers at the fringe of every scene, the plays are neither morbid nor given to despondence. The dialogue is actually quite witty – as to be expected from Hall, the songwriter behind "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas."
Children’s Books
Carol Hall also brought her storytelling talents to children’s literature. She wrote Super-Vroomer, a playful tale celebrating imagination and adventure, and co-authored I Been There with Northern J. Calloway, known for his work on Sesame Street. Both books reflect her warmth, humor, and gift for connecting with young audiences, extending the same creative spirit that made her songs beloved across generations.
I Been There (Northern J. Calloway; Doubleday & Co, 1978)
In collaboration with actor and Sesame Street performer Northern J. Calloway, Carol Hall co-wrote I Been There, a vibrant book for children that emphasizes shared experiences and the power of connection. With rhythmic, musical language and an uplifting message, the book reflects Hall’s deep commitment to inspiring and delighting young readers.
Super-Vroomer (Northern J. Calloway; Doubleday & Co. 1977)
Carol Hall’s Super-Vroomer is a lively, imaginative story that celebrates the boundless creativity of childhood. Written with her characteristic warmth and humor, the book captures the joy of play and adventure, extending the spirit of her music into the world of children’s literature.
Articles
What Song Do You Admire, But Did Not Write: The Musical Theatre Issue
(The Dramatist, May/June 2013)
Duologue: Mills & Hall - Carol interviews Peter Mills for The Dramatist
"The Playwright & The Journalist"
(The Dramatist, May, 2000)
"Writing for Children"
(The Dramatist)
"So Many People To Thank"
(The Dramatist, June, ’94)
(Dallas Morning News – “Broadway Flop Inspires Thank Yous, Too” June, ’94)