The Call-In Hour

play by Homes

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Last updated

July 22, 2026

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The Call-In Hour is a play written by A.M. Homes in 1982 while she was a student at American University. Initially, the play was conceived around the idea that Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, was a real person. However, due to legal concerns from Salinger's lawyers, the main characters' names had to be changed before the play was staged in Washington, D.C..1

A "call-in" is defined as something that allows listeners to engage in broadcast telephone conversations with the host or a guest, such as a call-in show.2

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A.M. Homes
, she wrote a play, The Call-In Hour (1982), which was initially predicated on the idea that Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salinger’s novel Catcher in the Rye was a real person. It was staged in Washington, but only after she changed the names of the main characters; Salinger’s lawyers had…
Read More
, she wrote a play, The Call-In Hour (1982), which was initially predicated on the idea that Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salinger’s novel Catcher in the Rye was a real person. It was staged in Washington, but only after she changed the names of the main characters; Salinger’s lawyers had…
Read More