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The Adding Machine
Drama 14 male, 9 female5 interior scenes and 2 exterior scenesThis constantly interesting play shows in outline the life history and, in its later scenes, the death history of Mr. Zero, a cog in the vast machine of modern business.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1929
About the author
Elmer Rice
71 books9 followersExpressionist plays of noted American playwright Elmer Leopold Rice include
The Adding Machine
(1923) and
Street Scene
(1929).
He authored novels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_Rice
He authored novels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_Rice
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
December 7, 2020
Dieses Theaterstück ist definitiv eines der schrägsten, die ich in meinem bisherigen Leben gelesen habe. Es ist schräger als "Warten auf Godot". Es ist seltsamer als alle Kurzgeschichten von Kafka zusammen. Die Handlung macht Sinn, ja, das schon. Alles folgt logisch aufeinander, alles macht Sinn, aber nicht so wie man das denken würde. Es ist eher in dem Sinne logisch und sinnvoll, wie es das in einem Albtraum wäre. Ja, ich denke das trifft es gut. Dieses ganze Buch erinnerte mich daran, wie mein Gehirn während einem schlechten Traum funktioniert. Die Figuren reagieren entweder viel zu apathisch auf das was um sie herum passiert oder total übertrieben. Meistens war es so, dass die Figuren sehr teilnahmslos auf alles reagiert haben, was mich dazu bringen würde, auszuflippen, und umgekehrt.
Um was geht es hier? Zero ist unglücklich mit seinem Leben. Seine Frau kritisiert ihn ständig (was echt lange Monologe sind - die würde ich nicht lernen wollen!), er arbeitet seit 25 Jahren in der gleichen Stelle (er muss den lieben langen Tag Zahlen zusammenrechnen, die ihm diktiert werden) und ist auch sonst eigentlich eine ziemliche Null (wie ja auch sein Name schon zeigt). Am 25. Jahrestag in seinem Job wird er endlich von seinem Chef angesprochen - doch statt endlich eine Beförderung samt Gehaltserhöhung zu bekommen, wird er gekündigt. Denn die Firma hat nun endlich eine "Adding Machine", die die Zahlen automatisch zusammenzählt. Also reagiert Zero so, wie man halt reagiert, wenn man überraschend entlassen wird: Er bringt seinen Chef um... Ganz schön viel Frust also, der sich da in Zero angestaut haben muss. Wie es weiter geht, kann ich euch nicht verraten. Auch wenn das ein Klassiker ist, will ich ja nicht spoilern.
Ich fand diesen Text gerade zu Beginn sehr schwierig. Am Anfang des Textes kommt es zu sehr langen Monologen, die Figuren reden aneinander vorbei und vieles machte auf mich auf den ersten Blick keinen Sinn. Ich musste mich erst an diesen Text gewöhnen - genau wie das halt bei den anderen absurden Texten (Stichwort: Kafka) immer der Fall war. Sobald ich dann erst mal an all diese Seltsamheiten gewöhnt war, hat mir die Lektüre eigentlich sogar Spaß gemacht. Allerdings hat das mal die ersten paar Szenen lang gedauert.
Mein Fazit? Super schräges Theaterstück, das es mir zu Beginn wirklich nicht leicht gemacht hat. Sobald ich mich aber an den Text gewöhnt habe, hat mir die Lektüre Spaß gemacht.
Um was geht es hier? Zero ist unglücklich mit seinem Leben. Seine Frau kritisiert ihn ständig (was echt lange Monologe sind - die würde ich nicht lernen wollen!), er arbeitet seit 25 Jahren in der gleichen Stelle (er muss den lieben langen Tag Zahlen zusammenrechnen, die ihm diktiert werden) und ist auch sonst eigentlich eine ziemliche Null (wie ja auch sein Name schon zeigt). Am 25. Jahrestag in seinem Job wird er endlich von seinem Chef angesprochen - doch statt endlich eine Beförderung samt Gehaltserhöhung zu bekommen, wird er gekündigt. Denn die Firma hat nun endlich eine "Adding Machine", die die Zahlen automatisch zusammenzählt. Also reagiert Zero so, wie man halt reagiert, wenn man überraschend entlassen wird: Er bringt seinen Chef um... Ganz schön viel Frust also, der sich da in Zero angestaut haben muss. Wie es weiter geht, kann ich euch nicht verraten. Auch wenn das ein Klassiker ist, will ich ja nicht spoilern.
Ich fand diesen Text gerade zu Beginn sehr schwierig. Am Anfang des Textes kommt es zu sehr langen Monologen, die Figuren reden aneinander vorbei und vieles machte auf mich auf den ersten Blick keinen Sinn. Ich musste mich erst an diesen Text gewöhnen - genau wie das halt bei den anderen absurden Texten (Stichwort: Kafka) immer der Fall war. Sobald ich dann erst mal an all diese Seltsamheiten gewöhnt war, hat mir die Lektüre eigentlich sogar Spaß gemacht. Allerdings hat das mal die ersten paar Szenen lang gedauert.
Mein Fazit? Super schräges Theaterstück, das es mir zu Beginn wirklich nicht leicht gemacht hat. Sobald ich mich aber an den Text gewöhnt habe, hat mir die Lektüre Spaß gemacht.
March 30, 2023
مسرحية من طلائع المسرح التعبيري و المدرسة التعبيرية كما قال فيليب مولر المخرح: تشمل الأسقاط الذاتي ,أي أنها تكشف عن الأفكار المبهمة و المشاعر المكبوتة (للشخصية كما تكشف أشعة -x )
التركي�� الداخلي للإشياء معكوساعلي الشكل الخارجي الظاهر للعيان
مسرحية كلاسيكية من المسرح العبثي سوف نفتقد مستر صفر العبد
__________________________________
One of the plays of the absurd school🙄, a distinctive play that is not devoid of spiritual feelings that the slave who remained imprisoned in his body searches for.
التركي�� الداخلي للإشياء معكوساعلي الشكل الخارجي الظاهر للعيان
مسرحية كلاسيكية من المسرح العبثي سوف نفتقد مستر صفر العبد
__________________________________
One of the plays of the absurd school🙄, a distinctive play that is not devoid of spiritual feelings that the slave who remained imprisoned in his body searches for.
March 9, 2023
إنني أفكر.
احذر ألا ينفجر مخك.
تجربتي الأولى مع فن المسرحية، الكتاب يذكرني بفيلم ديزني Soul الحديث عن الروح ما بعد الموت، و كل هذه الأمور البعيدة تمامًا عن ديننا.
" قل الروحُ من أمر ربي."
أحببت الجزء الأول قبل أن يموت السيد صفر، كان عبثيًا بطريقة مضحكة، لكن النص الثاني من الكتاب كما ذكرت فهو شئ ينافي عقيدتي، لذلك كان مزعج بالنسبة لي.
احذر ألا ينفجر مخك.
تجربتي الأولى مع فن المسرحية، الكتاب يذكرني بفيلم ديزني Soul الحديث عن الروح ما بعد الموت، و كل هذه الأمور البعيدة تمامًا عن ديننا.
" قل الروحُ من أمر ربي."
أحببت الجزء الأول قبل أن يموت السيد صفر، كان عبثيًا بطريقة مضحكة، لكن النص الثاني من الكتاب كما ذكرت فهو شئ ينافي عقيدتي، لذلك كان مزعج بالنسبة لي.
January 2, 2018
People are given numbers according to their social standing. Zero quite literally is a zero. He has no future. His life consists solely of adding numbers at a desk, day in day out, he is the adding machine of the play's title. On his days off he has church and has to suffer endless moaning from his unsympathetic and bored wife. Stabbing his boss after 25 years of unappreciation is the only unpredictable thing he'd ever done, the only time he'd been ruled by his repressed passions
when Zero is told he's to be sent back to Earth to 'do it all again' and has some stark truths about his situation pointed out to him. He is petrified and clings to the table screaming 'Why did you have to tell me ?' His memory is erased and he goes back to being a baby so he can be innocently alienated all over again , i liked it so much
when Zero is told he's to be sent back to Earth to 'do it all again' and has some stark truths about his situation pointed out to him. He is petrified and clings to the table screaming 'Why did you have to tell me ?' His memory is erased and he goes back to being a baby so he can be innocently alienated all over again , i liked it so much
August 13, 2023
I thought it was really unique and interesting!
August 12, 2020
نجمتين للفكرة فقط
الفكرة بديعة
لكن
المسرحية نفسها لا تستحق
الفكرة بديعة
لكن
المسرحية نفسها لا تستحق
August 4, 2019
It's a great play -- but be sure to get an edition with eight acts rather than seven!
When properly rendered, Rice's "The Adding Machine" is a powerful, weird, surreal experience. But be aware that some editions only show seven acts. In the original script, there were eight acts (or "scenes", really), but the original Scene V was cut to streamline the production (in 1923). When they revived the play in 1956, Rice revised and restored Scene V, and this is, in my opinion, the way it should be read. You'll find the complete 8-scene script in Three Plays: The Adding Machine / Street Scene / Dream Girl, and also in some stand-alone editions. But, really, you need to see the play before you read the text, if you possibly can. They filmed a movie version of it in 1969, starring the inimitable Phyllis Diller playing Mrs. Zero. Leonard Maltin described this effort as "flawed but interesting," giving it two and a half stars out of four. Seems that the movie has never been officially issued, but low-quality video files can be found in obscure Internet repositories, apparently transferred from an ancient VHS capture off the air. So keep your eyes open for a dramatic or cinematic revival. Etaoin Shrdlu will thank you!
When properly rendered, Rice's "The Adding Machine" is a powerful, weird, surreal experience. But be aware that some editions only show seven acts. In the original script, there were eight acts (or "scenes", really), but the original Scene V was cut to streamline the production (in 1923). When they revived the play in 1956, Rice revised and restored Scene V, and this is, in my opinion, the way it should be read. You'll find the complete 8-scene script in Three Plays: The Adding Machine / Street Scene / Dream Girl, and also in some stand-alone editions. But, really, you need to see the play before you read the text, if you possibly can. They filmed a movie version of it in 1969, starring the inimitable Phyllis Diller playing Mrs. Zero. Leonard Maltin described this effort as "flawed but interesting," giving it two and a half stars out of four. Seems that the movie has never been officially issued, but low-quality video files can be found in obscure Internet repositories, apparently transferred from an ancient VHS capture off the air. So keep your eyes open for a dramatic or cinematic revival. Etaoin Shrdlu will thank you!
August 4, 2007
ماشین حساب، یک نمایش نامه ی اکسپرسیونیستی ست که در 1923 نوشته شده. سیری در زندگی آقای صفر، محاکمه و اعدامش، و وقایعی که پس از مرگ بر او می گذرد، وقتی که خواهش ها و تمناهای زندگی اش را بکلی از یاد برده است. آقای صفر که حسابدار یک شرکت بزرگ است، پس از بیست و پنج سال سابقه ی کار، در می یابد که بجای او یک ماشین حساب گذاشته اند (استخدام کرده اند). خشمگین و دردمند، صاحب کارش را می کشد، محاکمه می شود، مقصر شناخته می شود و به دار زده می شود. در دنیای دیگر با نامی دیگر بیدار می شود و تلاش می کند ماشین حسابی بسازد. رییس تازه اش به او می گوید که دارد وقت تلف می کند چرا که قرار است به زمین باز فرستاده شود. آقای صفر دختر جذابی به نام "هوپ" (امید) را تعقیب می کند و... نمایش نامه ای ست جذاب که به فارسی هم ترجمه شده چون به یاد دارم نمایش نامه توسط آقای رکن الدین خسروی یکی دو ماهی برای صحنه تمرین می شد، و بازیگرانی چون محمدعلی کشاورز، جمیله ی شیخی و سعید پورصمیمی در آن نقش داشتند.. اما این که تمرینات به اجرای روی صحنه هم کشید، یا نه، چیزی بخاطر نمی آورم. اغلب آثار المر رایس، حال و هوایی استثنایی دارند. او از نمایش نامه نویسان چپ آمریکایی ست و برخی آثارش از نوع "اجیت پراپ" (اجیتیشن، پروپاگاندا)، در زمان خود محبوبیت خاصی داشتند.
March 14, 2020
Irrational man, He wants what he has not,
He dreads what he has to come home to.
He swears by the fact of his want to know more —
Why this, Why now, Why me.
He learns what it all amounts to, this nothing, his life —
He wants but his ignorance back — erasure.
Fine. Give him his wish. Begin again. Zero.
We all do worse the more tries we are given.
He dreads what he has to come home to.
He swears by the fact of his want to know more —
Why this, Why now, Why me.
He learns what it all amounts to, this nothing, his life —
He wants but his ignorance back — erasure.
Fine. Give him his wish. Begin again. Zero.
We all do worse the more tries we are given.
Read
December 31, 2008went to go see the play in seattle. tight. tight. tight.
October 12, 2012
صراع رائع ، تجريد لشخصيات من أسمائهم ، رمزية محببة ، كل ما تحتاجه لتستمع بعمل مسرحي يوجد هنا ورغم كل هذا كان من الممكن أن تكون أفضل من ذلك بمراحل
August 12, 2015
شعرت أن الكاتب فعل كل ما بوسعه لتشويه تلك الفكرة العبقرية وليجعل منها عملاً سيئاً للغاية ..
..
..
March 5, 2020
If this was a novel, it wouldn't get a 4. It is not my normal fantasy genre read or a classic novel, both of which I evaluate a bit differently. This is a play. And I'm not at all used to reading plays. You could even say that I never read a play for pleasure. I love going to the theatre, yes, but plays were never something I would consider worth reading for pleasure because they are meant to be performed. Just like you wouldn't just read a film script. Those plays, which I read for high-school weren't good (yep, controversial opinion, I don't really love Shakespeare's Othello, and Romeo and Juliet) and now, plays I read for university are ranging from not good to decent (Desire Under the Elms being the bad one, Long day's journey into the night being the decent one).
This one, however, is the best play I've probably ever read. And that's not because I was listening to the audiobook so it took much shorter, I found it genuinely good.
The main thing is probably that the comedy was perfectly mixed in with the seriousness of it all, it talked about death and the afterlife and it was written in an engaging, digestible language.
This one, however, is the best play I've probably ever read. And that's not because I was listening to the audiobook so it took much shorter, I found it genuinely good.
The main thing is probably that the comedy was perfectly mixed in with the seriousness of it all, it talked about death and the afterlife and it was written in an engaging, digestible language.
March 12, 2019
If you like dystopia, go ahead and read this. A short play about the world we live in even now. You mind find yourself lost after reading this, though. But don't worry, Hope is just around the corner.
Below is an analysis I wrote in class containing spoilers:
Below is an analysis I wrote in class containing spoilers:
April 29, 2023
As part of my Theatre History: Realism, Post-Realistic, and Contemporary Theatre final, we were tasked to find a play (hardcover - and we have a lovely old copy with pictures from the first production and its scenes) that we had never read before that was from a period we had studied this past semester.
This play, I had discovered, has become a landmark of American Expressionism, reflecting the growing interest in this highly subjective and nonrealistic form of modern drama. It is essentially a criticism of industrial capitalism, suggesting that under its system people are treated as cogs in a machine and that life repeats in a monotonous, never-ending cycle. It also pokes fun at humanity's blind and naïve hopefulness. It intrigued me enough to actually go to the library and check it out. An interesting, quick read at the least.
This play, I had discovered, has become a landmark of American Expressionism, reflecting the growing interest in this highly subjective and nonrealistic form of modern drama. It is essentially a criticism of industrial capitalism, suggesting that under its system people are treated as cogs in a machine and that life repeats in a monotonous, never-ending cycle. It also pokes fun at humanity's blind and naïve hopefulness. It intrigued me enough to actually go to the library and check it out. An interesting, quick read at the least.
March 18, 2024
As someone reading this for the first time in 2024, perhaps I am too depressed with the state of the world and how unchanged it is since the inception of this play to truly appreciate it. Well done, but as a millennial with an arts degree and perpetual existential crises, I am not the target audience.
November 18, 2017
Wow!! So many themes and tones in this short play.
It starts out as a classic house play, but turns into an interrogation of mortality, souls and eastern-influenced symbolism. Very surprising and engaging.
It starts out as a classic house play, but turns into an interrogation of mortality, souls and eastern-influenced symbolism. Very surprising and engaging.
January 21, 2023
Oh my goodness, what a strange story.
Honestly, all of Rice's devout ways to show one is too obsessed with work, work for me. Yet another author / playwright reminding me that I need to focus elsewhere to live.
Honestly, all of Rice's devout ways to show one is too obsessed with work, work for me. Yet another author / playwright reminding me that I need to focus elsewhere to live.
November 6, 2019
Initially gave it 3.4 stars, then presented on it in class. 4 star play!!
Read
February 4, 2020not rating books I read for uni, as per usual.
November 26, 2021
"You'll learn to be a liar and a bully and a braggart and a coward and a sneak. You'll learn to fear the sunlight and to hate beauty."
December 3, 2021
i guess
May 7, 2022
It is an interesting drama and play, but why do these expressionistic pieces always kinda "misuse" religion or religious elements?
January 29, 2023
Very radical for 1922--which is why I love theater.
August 22, 2023
Capitalistically horrifying. Quick read, though. Always nice.
October 13, 2023
Big surprise. A brilliant play -- and it's American. Doesn't happen often.
January 14, 2014
# 8 In my effort to read a play a week this year (thanks for the inspiration Jason Richards), this was a pleasant surprise. Some of the theatricality and ideas seem as surprising and fresh as any modern day piece, though some of the language and phrases remain colloquial to the 1920's. I found the most compelling scene to be in Dinner scene when all of Mr. & Mrs. Zero's friends come over for a party. How they are staged in their respective circles and the incisive dialogue is a thrill. Equally, the cemetery scene with the strange character of Shrdlu evokes great mood like a good night watching the nonmusical parts of Michael Jackson's Thriller video from the 80's. Now, that might sound a condescending, but it's not meant to... I found the ending a tad hard to swallow, but fascinating to through in all the Eastern philosophy of reincarnation and perpetuity. A landmark piece of American Expression and easy to see how this could have been a great influence on Wilder's Our Town or a number of Tennessee Williams' work.
July 6, 2015
Beatrix appeared as Judy O'Grady in the Adding Machine by Elmer Rice at which opened 9 January 1928 at the Royal Court. (It had originally first been produced in the US 5 years earlier) It is worth noting that her character is a murderess, who got away with only a 6 month sentance, and her scene is entirely her wanting to have sex in a grave yard.
But I Really Really liked this one! It was full of horrible people and the futility of life. It was just told in a terribly interesting way. With long monologues, interspersed with short rapid dialogues where no one listened to each other. It highlighted the mundane and the pointlessness and everything without being dreary. It was really easy to picture this as "modern" theatre and I really enjoyed it. I'd love to see it performed.
July 6, 2021
I love The Adding Machine and it gets five stars for the Elysium scene alone.
As I am rarely a fan of absurdist work, I was hesitant that I would find Expressionism similarly overwrought and irritating to read. Instead, I was delighted to find Adding Machine much more easily digested and entertaining to read without losing the depth.
I don't know if I would want to see this performed (I have the feeling it would be a bit more sensory overloading than I would like), but enjoyed reading it and looking at production photos immensely.
As I am rarely a fan of absurdist work, I was hesitant that I would find Expressionism similarly overwrought and irritating to read. Instead, I was delighted to find Adding Machine much more easily digested and entertaining to read without losing the depth.
I don't know if I would want to see this performed (I have the feeling it would be a bit more sensory overloading than I would like), but enjoyed reading it and looking at production photos immensely.
December 26, 2008
This play was adapted as a movie in the fifties or sixties starring Milo Oshea and Phyllis Diller. It is brilliant. I recently saw it done as a play and there were a few elements that were not in the movie (racism, for example) as the main characters symbolize what is wrong with humanity. I would highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews