Description of the Play

When a talented young man chases dreams of opera stardom, he clashes with his legendary father (Metropolitan Opera icon Richard Tucker).  DIVO AND DIAVOLO is a comedy with music about a son's quest to win the elusive blessings of his father - and the crazy bargains he makes along the way.

Press Release by JPP

Dr. Tucker – a doctor whose medical career included studying with some of the most renowned surgeons and researchers in the world – is the second of three sons of the famous tenor. After retiring from his large Cincinnati-based practice and from teaching at NYU Medical Center, he wanted to share this beautiful family story. 

“I had time to reflect on my life both personally and professionally, and I realized that my father profoundly influenced my journey, and still continues to be a positive force upon me,” said Dr. Tucker. “Adam’s dramatic comedy brings my story to life.” 

Focused on David, the play tells the story of a father and son at war over the younger man’s future. David desperately wants to be a singer like his father, but the elder Tucker, a devoted and traditional Jewish patriarch who never graduated from high school, has decided that David will become an educated man and a doctor. 

“I was dubious about writing a play inspired by a living person’s story – until I met David Tucker,” said playwright Adam Kraar. “David is a born raconteur, and his anecdotes about navigating between his high ambitions and his father’s fierce opposition made me laugh out loud. His portrait of his famous father is unsentimental and sometimes appalling. David never hesitates to laugh at his own excesses, and his love for his one-of-a-kind parent is infectious.” 

The play was developed by the Jewish Plays Project (Executive Artistic Director David Winitsky), the nation’s premiere incubator for new Jewish plays and musicals, using its signature Jewish dramaturgy method. 

About the Playwright

Adam Kraar’s plays include ALTERNATING CURRENTS (The Working Theatre); WILD TERRAIN (EST Marathon of One-Act Plays); EMPIRE OF THE TREES (NY Innovative Theatre Awards nominee, Outstanding New Script); NEW WORLD RHAPSODY (Manhattan Theatre Club commission); FREEDOM HIGH (Queens Theatre in the Park) and DANCING ON THE EDGE (Southern Theatre in Minneapolis). His work has been produced and/or developed by Primary Stages, N.Y. Stage & Film, Public Theatre, The New Group, Bloomington Playwrights Project and many others. His plays appear in six BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS anthologies. Awards: Bogliasco Fellowship, Sewanee Writers’ Conference Fellowship, and Manhattan Theatre Club Fellowship. Member of Ensemble Studio Theatre; Affiliated Writer, The Playwrights’ Center. M.F.A., Columbia University Adam grew up in India, Thailand, Singapore and the U.S.