MICHAEL DORN MOODY

The Fool is a historical drama set in the late 1500s, following Sir Francis Drake as he risks disgrace and sails to the New World in pursuit of fortune, power, and redemption.  The play blends political tension with high-seas adventure, tracing the cost of ambition in the world shaped by empire and loyalty.

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Production History

The play has been produced in New York City at The Image Theatre; in Los Angeles at The Met Theatre; in Eastport, Maine on the Municipal Pier and at the Eastport Arts Center.

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Recognition​

Michael Dorn Moody was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts playwriting grant in 1976 to research The Fool.

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The Fool was submitted for nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1985.

 

Critical Response

"Michael Dorn Moody's The Fool...is the theatrical equivalent of an N. C. Wyeth painting, a colorful adventure yarn full of brawn and derring-do. The play concerns the piratical exploits of Francis Drake who, facing arrest and ignominy in his native England, sails off to the New World to raid Spain's coffers so that he can return home a hero, covered with gold and glory.

 

Moody's rich, multilayered play, which vividly captures the language and history of the late 1500s, was understandably nominated for a Pulitzer in 1985. Manly exploits abound on this bounding main, but in addition to the purely physical feats of courage and endurance, there's also an intellectually satisfying Hegelian dialectic, personified by Drake (Don Harvey) and his bosom friend and second-in-command Thomas Doughty. (Wayne Pere)."

                                                                                                    -Los Angeles Times