The Library | |
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Written by | Scott Z. Burns |
Date premiered | March 25, 2014 |
Original language | English |
The Library is a 2014 play written by Scott Z. Burns concerning the aftermath of a school shooting that takes place in the school library. It was inspired by Dave Cullen's book Columbine about the Columbine High School massacre.
The original production ran from March 25 to April 27, 2014, at the Public Theater in New York City, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starred Chloë Grace Moretz. [1] [2] [3]
Part of a series of articles on the |
Columbine High School massacre |
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Location: Columbine High School (Columbine, Colorado) Perpetrators: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold |
The play centers on Caitlin Gabriel, a high-school student in an unnamed town who survives a school shooting, then struggles to relay her version of events against eyewitness reports from fellow survivors that she informed the shooter, who is based on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, where other students had hidden. Even her own parents accept media reports of this accusation, which spark widespread revulsion towards her in the aftermath of the shooting. [4] [5]
Ben Brantley described the play as a "sound-and-light tsunami" that "leans without mercy on our alarm buttons" and when the panic subsides, "like the characters onstage, we’re left looking for patterns in the chaos." Playwright Burns doesn't make the mistake of trying to find clear motivations for that crime, but considers how such events warp and contaminate those who survive them. The culprit is "a media-driven culture that searches for instant heroes, while turning tragedy into profit as fast as it can." Disaster brings out both pettiness and heroic traits, and The Library tantalizes with seemingly incidental details, such as Caitlin's self-doubt and the possibility that she knew the shooter more than the play exposes. [6]
The Library is loosely based on Dave Cullen's book Columbine about the Columbine High School massacre. Producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall briefly acquired the theatrical rights to Cullen's book, initially with the intention of turning it into a feature film by director David Fincher. The producers ultimately decided against turning the book into a film about the Columbine massacre. Instead, they adapted the book into a play which incorporated themes from the book. [7]
Producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall have expressed their intention to put the play on in other cities across the United States, and possibly around the world. They also discussed the possibility of adapting the play into a series for HBO. [7]
The Columbine High School massacre, commonly referred to as Columbine, was a school shooting and attempted bombing that occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered twelve students and one teacher. Ten of the twelve students killed were in the school library, where Harris and Klebold subsequently committed suicide. Twenty-one additional people were injured by gunshots, and gunfire was also exchanged with the police. Another three people were injured trying to escape. The Columbine massacre was the deadliest mass shooting at a high school in U.S. history, until it was surpassed by the Parkland high school shooting in February 2018. Columbine still remains the deadliest mass shooting to occur in the U.S. state of Colorado.
Eric David Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold were an American mass murderer duo who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Harris and Klebold killed 13 people and wounded 24 others at Columbine High School, where they were seniors, in Columbine, Colorado. After killing most of their victims in the school's library, they later committed suicide. At the time, it was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history. The ensuing media frenzy and moral panic following the massacre led to "Columbine" becoming a byword for school shootings, and becoming one of the most infamous mass shootings ever perpetrated.
Cassie René Bernall was an American student who was killed in the Columbine High School massacre, where 11 more students and a teacher were killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then committed suicide. It was reported that Bernall had been asked whether or not she believed in God, and she said "Yes", before being shot during the massacre. However, investigators concluded the person who asked about her belief in God was Valeen Schnurr, who survived the shooting.
Columbine High School (CHS) is a public high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States, in the Denver metropolitan area. It is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district.
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Chloë Grace Moretz is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and two Young Artist Awards.
Super Columbine Massacre RPG! is a role-playing video game created by Danny Ledonne and released in April 2005. The game recreates the 1999 Columbine High School shootings in Columbine, Colorado. Players assume the roles of gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and act out the massacre, with flashbacks relating parts of Harris and Klebold's past experiences. The game begins on the day of the shootings and follows Harris and Klebold after their suicides to fictional adventures in perdition.
Columbine is a non-fiction book written by Dave Cullen and published by Twelve on April 6, 2009. It is an examination of the Columbine High School massacre, on April 20, 1999, and the perpetrators Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The book covers two major storylines: the killer's evolution leading up to the attack, and the survivors' struggles with the aftermath over the next decade. Chapters alternate between the two stories. Graphic depictions of parts of the attack are included, in addition to the actual names of friends and family.
Scott Z. Burns is an American filmmaker and playwright. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California, United States, North America.
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