If you love sports and controversy doesnt hurt to love British football, too Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads is an interesting contemporary read. In this play spanning 30 years and six presidential administrations, Hester Ferris throws Georgetown dinner parties that can change the course of Washingtons politics. Day after day they struggle with infertility, and Hannah herself is on the verge of being laid off. Playwright: Phil PorterLicensing: Concord Theatricals, If youre tired of violence against women being used as a plot device in theater, film, and TV, Revolt, She Said, Revolt Again is a must-read. Here's 15 Best Short Plays with Strong Female Lead for auditions, workshops, actor reels, performances, castings and theatre productions. Join Backstage to access jobs you can apply to right. A forty-five-year friendship they agitated the nation, they agitated each other, and, in doing so, they helped shape the Constitution and the course of American history. The Piano Lesson by August Wilson (US/UK)(Drama / 3f, 5m)It is 1936, and Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South in a battered truck loaded with watermelons to sell. According to legend, it was no less a personage than the legendary Orson Welles who nicknamed the man born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr. in New York City on this date in 1916 "The Great One.". Rest by Samuel D. Hunter (US/UK)(Drama / 3f, 4m)A retirement home in northern Idaho is being shut down, and only three residents and a bare-bones staff remain. Playwright: Heidi SchreckLicensing: Concord Theatricals. But when shes called home to answer her mothers distress call about a marital crisis, Amandas grand plan starts to unravel. He meets the widows while visiting his wifes grave. It takes stereotypical scenes and tropes and adds an irreverent, ebullient twist. His younger sibling has come out as transgender, and the two are on a mission to take down the patriarchy. Though critics described the plot as lopsided and meandering (and it is both), this new play won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Erin La Rosa 3. Playwright: Branden Jacobs-JenkinsLicensing: Dramatists Play Service, 47 Best Modern Musicals (Written After 2000). In one corner is Daphna Feygenbam, a Real Jew who is volatile, self-assured, and unbending. Together, they cope with growing up, growing apart, falling in love and chasing their dreams. Toni Collette and Merritt Wever play two steely investigators who devote countless days and nights to tracking down a serial rapist. End of the Rainbow by Peter Quilter (US)(Drama / 1f, 3m)A musical drama of Judy Garland's "come-back" concerts Christmas 1968: with a six-week booking at London's Talk of the Town, it looks like Judy Garland is set firmly on the comeback trail. It's set in a 1950s Soho night club, but feels nothing like the period pieces you're used to. The script isnt without its flaws, but its funny, touching, and worth a read. ', Martin's calls are not being returned by the powerful Broadway magnates capable of getting this play to the Great White Way. Poverty is a popular topic for modern playwrights in Sweat, Lynn Nottage follows this trend, examining the lives of a group of struggling blue-collar workers in Reading Pennsylvania. Last Of The Red Hot Lovers 3. (You might recognize the characters; theyre all proxies for well-known cultural icons.) As the play opens, ne'er-do-well son Eddie deposits his two young sons on the old lady's doorstep. Playwright: Martyna MajokLicensing: Dramatists Play Service. Four powerful short plays for powerful people! She's a Diabolic, created for one purpose onlyto protect her person, Sidonia. A savagely funny drama featuring a glorious ensemble of Judy Garland hits and infused with the glamour and the melancholy of stardom. Two, Three and Four Person Scenes From Plays Popular Types: Dramatic Comedic Classical Contemporary 2 Person 3 Person Search Scenes Style # of Male Characters # of Female Characters Time Period Only show scenes with video examples FILTER Scenes COLE Wouldn't it be great if--- I just. The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Appreciating the Density of Shakespeare in Real Time. As you work long hours at this tedious job, a man called a lector reads aloud to you from the front of the room. Stage Kiss captures Sarah Ruhls singular voice. Emotion, history, and passion combine in this remarkable theatrical accomplishment. My Fair Lady 11. If you want a hard-to-find contemporary play, look no further than On Every Link a Heart Does Dangle; or Owed. It examines the various problems in the script, discusses race as a social construct, and explores the idea of blackface (and whiteface and redface) to pinpoint exactly whats upsetting about it. 25. But lasting happiness always eludes some people, and there was never any answer to the question with which Judy ended every show: "If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why, can't I?" Milk Like Sugar by Kirsten Greenidge (US/UK)(Drama / 5f, 2m)It is Annie Desmonds sixteenth birthday and her friends have decided to help her celebrate in style, complete with a brand new tattoo. From Kushner to Karam, Miller to Mamet, and Nottage to O'Neill, these are the 25 modern and contemporary plays every actor should know. Some of the most popular female literary characters manage to embody both wholesome and defiant, becoming reflections of the complex nature of women. Eve Dallas 2018 Books: Dark in Death and Leverage in Death by J.D. In the US/North America, click here. Stage Kiss captures Sarah Ruhls singular voice. Macs signature absurd realism style contributes nicely to this dark comedy. Best Contemporary Monologues for Women 18-35 Lawrence Harbison has selected 100 terrific monologues for women from contemporary plays, all by characters between the ages of 18 and 35. God Gave Us Aunts 7. Are you looking for new plays to read or perform? When a Tibetan lama and a monk come to their home unexpectedly, asking to take their child away for a life of spiritual training in India, the parents must make a life-altering choice that will test their strength, their marriage, and their hearts. Before her special night is over, however, Annie and her friends enter into a life altering pact. By Jex Butterworth. Often when we talk about strong female characters we're referring to emotional strength, but in this case, Nemesis is literally stronger than anyone else. A remarkably powerful and compassionate portrait of a contemporary American woman striving for grace. In Elliot, a Soldiers Fugue, Hudes takes another look at the tradition of wartime service in different generations of a Puerto Rican family. Chasing Manet by Tina Howe (US/UK)(Comedy / 4f, 3m)A rebellious painter from a distinguished family in Boston and an ebullient Jewish woman with a huge adoring family form an unlikely bond. It continues to a covert reading in Nazi-controlled Poland, and ends with a proposed version at Yale in the 1950s. As el lector reads Anna Karenina, the workers boring world is torn asunder, and their passions and tribulations come to a head. Most people, when you mention theatre, think of the classics: A Streetcar Named Desire, The Importance of Being Earnest, Hamlet, Tartuffe, Uncle Vanya, Waiting for Godot . Three interracial couples attend an Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy workshop at the McGregor Plantation. Its a fascinating reimagining of the Oedipus Rex story. Without being heavy handed or boring, Schreck tackles everything from abuse to the people who are ignored by the Constitution (hint: its most of us). King Liz by Fernanda Coppel (US/UK)(Drama / 3fm, 3m)Sports agent Liz Rico has money and an elite client roster but a woman in a mans industry has to fight to stay on top. Oedipus isnt the central figure; instead, the story focuses on Mellie, a woman with a disability that has alienated the gods and the town of Thebes. 14.) Its exactly as crushing as you might imagine, but its not without a note of hope. Neither impressed or entertained by Lettices freewheeling history lessons, Schon fires her. Mother of the Maid by Jane Anderson (US/UK)(Drama / 4f, 3m) The story of Joan of Arc's mother, a sensible, hard-working, God-fearing peasant woman whose faith is upended as she deals with the baffling journey of her odd and extraordinary daughter. NANCYDREW4LYFE. It seems her sweet grandma is running an illegal boutique from her apartment, selling handmade naughty knickers to every senior citizen in the five-borough area! A film passes the Bechdel Test if it has: two named female characters. Energetic and fast-paced, this modern play follows CEO Jeffrey Skilling through the companys wild rise and fall. Women during 16th century had no individual freedom. Kill Bill (2003) - The Bride (Uma Thurman) For the record, there are several Tarantino classics which feature a strong female lead ( Pulp Fiction, True Romance, From Dusk Till Dawn ), but Kill Bill has to take the cake. If youre in search of comedic contemporary plays, Clybourne Park fits the bill it racked up Tony, Olivier, and Pulitzer awards. While embodying a variety of characters, the girlfriends discuss the absurdities of interracial dating, the lure of recreational shopping, and the merits of college reunions for bolstering ones self-esteem. Nemesis The Diabolic by S.J. Its a fascinating and engaging tale that offers a slightly lighter, yet still tragic, perspective. The plot centers on a first date and the bizarre relationship that follows. She brings with her not only vivid memories of Afghanistan, but painful burns that have left her physically and emotionally scarred. This article contains a list of the best modern plays written after the year 2000. Antagonism between a gay man and the wife of a Southern Baptist minister gives way to profound compatibility as they swing dance, tango, foxtrot, and cha-cha while sharing barbs and intimacies along with the dance steps. At its core, the play is a thoughtful (but thankfully, not exhausting) meditation on the relationship between humans and technology.Playwright: Madeleine GeorgeLicensing: Concord Theatricals. Playwright: Jackie Sibblies DruryLicensing: Dramatists Play Service. This beautiful young woman is Wills greatest admirer and will stop at nothing (including breaking the law) to appear in his next play. In fact, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002. In this richly spare, wondrous new play, Jordan Harrison explores the mysteries of human identity and the limits if any of what technology can replace. who talk to each other. Top image courtesy A.D. Players at the George under CC BY-ND 2.0. 5. He has an opportunity to buy some land down-home, but he has to come up with the money right quick. Hurricane Diane by Madeleine George (US/UK)(Comedy / 5f)Meet Diane, a permaculture gardener dripping with butch charm. On the advice of his pastor, he leaves Lincoln and ventures out into the wide world for the first time, landing in London. Always irascible but now increasingly erratic, Gladys is a cause of concern to her daughter, her son-in-law, and her grandson, from whose point of view this poignant memory play is told. One Man, Two Guvnors premiered in 2011, but it was originally conceived in 1743. Sale 2,895 Reviews Heart Is A Lonely Hunter The show was a smash hit when it premiered in Portland in 2004, but when it transferred to the off-Broadway Daryl Roth Theatre in 2006, it lasted just one month. Playwright: John Patrick ShanleyLicensing: Dramatists Play Service. Set at a boys school in England, the plot follows a group of students as they prepare for exams, learning about the ramifications of history and the realities of life along the way. Contemporary romance with a strong, independent female/ heroine, established in her life and in a strong and successful career or self-employed. Baby Taj by Tanya Shaffer (US)(Comedy/ 6f, 5m)The legendary Taj Mahal is the next assignment for Rachel, an American travel writer whose failed romances have led her to ask: Why not have the baby she craves on her own? 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