Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth

[JGP2]

Posted: 4/1/21 at 1:56am

Hi! I'm doing a production of This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan and there's one line I can't crack at all!!!

Wondering if maybe anyone on here could provide insight.

There's a line where Jessica says: "The Wild City." followed by the stage directions: "(She looks at him thoughtfully for a moment.) and then she says: "Are those your records?

Warren replies: "Um, yeah. These are my authentic first release '60s albums,"...

I haven't been able to find a '60s album or song titled "The Wild City" anywhere. Is she not referencing the albums but perhaps just calling the city wild? The three words are capitalized in the script, so I am fairly certain she's repeating an album or song title--but not having any luck finding anything. 

If anybody has done This Is Our Youth and/or can answer my question on this, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you for your time!

Updated On: 4/1/21 at 01:56 AM

[FosseTharp]

Posted: 4/1/21 at 4:25pm

It’s been about a decade since I directed a production of it, but I’m pretty sure that line is just an awkward moment and line she says after she takes a hit of the joint and coughs, says that line and then changes the subject by asking about the records.

[FosseTharp]

Posted: 4/1/21 at 7:32pm

I just looked through my old script and apparently I had a question about that line as well. I circled the line and wrote “Zappa album or song?” And then crossed it out. So it wasn’t a Zappa song or album. Side note: my Uncle has the greatest record collection I’ve ever seen and he had every single album referenced in the play. But I remember paying a pretty penny for an original Major Matt Mason doll. But the shield on the helmet didn’t work like referenced in the script.