Teahouse of the August Moon

Teahouse of the August Moon, comedy in three acts by American playwright John Patrick, produced in 1953. Patrick satirized American good intentions in this lighthearted examination of an attempt by the military forces to Americanize a foreign culture. It was his best-known play and was based on a novel of the same name by Vern Sneider. The play was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1954.

In the play, Colonel Purdy sends Captain Fisby to indoctrinate Okinawans in the virtues of American democracy. Attended by a shrewd island interpreter, Fisby “goes native.” Soon the islanders, inspired by American entrepreneurial techniques, are selling huge quantities of potato brandy, their only marketable product. They build a teahouse instead of the Americans’ proposed schoolhouse. The U.S. government hails Fisby’s work as a stellar example of American capitalism.