What is "oleanna"

Oleanna (anglicized from Oleana) is:

• Oleana, a community in Ole Bull's colony in New Norway, Pennsylvania
  • Oleana (clothing), a Norwegian textile company named after Ole Bull's Oleana community
• "Oleanna" (song), a folk song mocking Ole Bull's ambitions of a perfect community
  • Oleanna (play), a play named after the folk song, written by David Mamet
  • Oleanna (film), a film based on Mamet's play, directed by the author and starring William H. Macy

Oleanna is a two-character play by David Mamet, about the power struggle between a university professor and one of his female students, who accuses him of sexual exploitation and, by doing so, spoils his chances of being accorded tenure. The play's title, taken from a folk song, refers to a 19th-century escapist vision of utopia. Mamet later adapted his play into a film of the same name.

Oleanna (Oleana) is a Norwegian folk song that was translated into English and popularized by former Weavers member Pete Seeger. The song is a critique of Ole Bull's vision of a perfect society in America. Oleanna was actually the name of one of Ole Bull's settlements in the New Norway colony of Pennsylvania. His society failed, and all of the immigrants moved away since the dense forest made it hard to settle there. The lyrics concern the singer's desire to leave Norway and escape to Oleanna, a land where "wheat and corn just plant themselves, then grow a good four feet a day while on your bed you rest yourself."

The lyrics for Oleanna were written by Ditmar Meidell, a Norwegian magazine editor who set his words to the melody "Rio Janeiro". The song was first published on March 5, 1853 in Krydseren (The Cruiser), a satirical magazine which Meidell had founded.

Oleanna is a 1994 drama film written and directed by David Mamet based on his play Oleanna and starring William H. Macy and Debra Eisenstadt. The film was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.