The Lark.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite play.
Review: I did my very first monologue from this play, when I took drama lessons as an adult. I am very attached to it, and this telling of the life of Joan of Arc is my favorite.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Dramatization of the Story of Joan of Arc
Review: I saw this play many, many years ago on television, of all things! This was when TV was fairly new, and they really did know how to present fine drama to a fare-thee-well back then. I believe this presentation of Jean Anouilh's THE LARK was live, although I'm not sure. It starred Julie Harris. I'll never forget it. I was very small, and what I didn't understand my family explained to me.

I say I'll never forget it, but, now in my 50s, I can't remember a lot of the details. What I can't forget is how terribly powerful the play was, how gripping, how beautifully written, and what a spectacular performance Julie Harris gave. I don't think anyone can out-do her Joan of Arc (or her Nora of A DOLL'S HOUSE, for that matter--also performed on TV). To the best of my recollection, the play focuses on the trial of Joan of Arc for heresy, and the final verdict, and her execution.

What a rare and special treat that was, even to a small child. and a few years later, as I mentioned above, the rendition of A DOLL'S HOUSE, with Julie Harris's incomparable performance, as well as Christopher Plummer's--I have not forgotten that, either.

Do read Jean Anouilh's THE LARK.