MIDWEST premiere
p. MICHAEL PERLMAN c. broken nose theatre
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014 @ GREENHOUSE THEATRE CENTER
Dennis has just won an Academy Award for his film, White Plains, about a gay teenager who takes his own life after being bullied relentlessly by his high school classmates. In his acceptance speech, Dennis dedicates the award to his late friend Mitchell, whose story the film was based on, before calling out Ethan Rice, the bully whose action Dennis firmly believes led his friend's suicide. Like millions of other people that night, the now-grown Ethan is at home watching the speech live on TV, and he soon realizes that Dennis has made him the face of intolerance in the middle of a worldwide anti-bullying campaign. As Dennis and Ethan engage in an internet feud that quickly spirals out of control, they find themselves entrenched in a media firestorm that changes not only their lives but the lives of those closest to them.
“RECOMMENDED!
An emotionally compelling, ethically confounding ride...”
“ONE OF THE BEST PLAYS OF THE YEAR!”
“An earnest but often-taut production… fluid staging and [a] solid cast create an engaging morality play...”
“Davis coaxes grounded, nuanced performances in this swiftly paced Broken Nose Theatre production... [the ending] is a doozy.”
“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! A very smart play, about very smart people, asking very smart questions … Director Spenser Davis never allows the characters to slip into easy stereotypes, but keeps the emotions always rooted in a fundamental rationality...”
“An intriguingly complex social-issue set up, none of these four men are uncomplicated … Davis’s staging for Broken Nose Theatre efficiently manages the interlocking scenes...”
“It was a show about things that are wrong in life, like bullying, but it wasn’t just sad and depressing, it was sometimes funny and you cared for all the characters … I think that people should definitely go see this show. It is a great show because it made me think differently about a girl who was sort of bullying me and it made me feel sad for people who are being bullied much worse than my problem.”
CAST:
Dennis | DAVID WEISS
Ethan | ADAM SOULE
John | JOHN O. LEWIS III
Gregory | BEN BURKE
Dennis + Gregory u/s | MATTHEW HARRIS
CREATIVE TEAM:
MICHAEL PERLMAN | Playwright
SPENSER DAVIS | Director
KILEY MORGAN | Stage Manager
CAITLIN BOYLAN | Production Manager
TIANYU QIU | Scenic Designer
IVY REID | Lighting Designer
MITCHELL HAMPTON | Sound Designer
RACHEL S. PARENT | Costume Designer
DANIELLE CASE | Props Designer
CONOR CLARK | Technical Director
MAX LAWSON | Master Electrician