“Fever and no delight”

Abstract

The adaptation of James Baldwin’s second novel Giovanni’s Room staged by the Quintessence Theater in Philadelphia in the summer of 2025 enjoyed an extended, sold-out run. The dramaturgical choices by co-adaptors Benjamin Sprunger and Paul Oakley Stvovall, deft stage design, and general fidelity to the text worked well. But this production’s insistence on interpreting the novel as a metaphor for gay or queer liberation misses the subterranean plot governing the novel, which is fundamentally about the miracle of love and the spiritual famine that can result when you deny your love for anyone—no matter the name. The piece considers the context of the production and the significant challenges confronting stage adaptations.