Click on the plus sign (+) for more information about each play.
To receive their inheritance from their deceased mother, a gospel music trio must reunite after 20 years, bury their past grievances and find the three-part harmony that made them unique. (5 characters: 3 women, 2 men)
1897: A young bride is dead. The husband is accused of murder by his mother-in-law. Her witness to the crime? The daughter’s ghost. With traditional Appalachian music. (All characters played by 9 actors)
“Zona is fascination…. a delight.” TOWN & VILLAGE
Based on a true story, PRIVATE BATTLES is about Mrs. Logan, an administrator of a state hospital in 1908 Illinois, and Albert Cashier, an ex-Civil War soldier with a secret. Cashier fought for the Union in the Civil War disguised as a man.
“…beautiful script, rich in observations about sex roles then and now.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Set in 1999 in Plano, Texas, a middle-class family must cope with an autistic son who misplaces his affection on his best friend, his grandmother.
“…the nicest kind of theatrical surprise—substantive when you might expect only zany antics, and a compassionate, engaging portrait of the type of family that many contemporary playwrights treat as hopeless” CURTAIN UP
Friday night in small-town USA, Tyler, Texas. The police set up a sting operation to arrest gay men who frequent the public bathrooms in City Park for sexual encounters. Two childhood friends are caught in the net, a Methodist preacher and a prominent physician. Both must confront their past, present and future. (4 men, 1 woman)
“… about everyone who has a secret life – the closet alcoholic, the compulsive shoplifter, the illegal immigrant, the child-pornography collector – and the nightmare that envelops such people once they are discovered…” THE NEW YORK TIMES
On a scorching hot Texas night in 1947, Luke parks on a deserted country road with his new wife Jesse. A Texas Ranger searches the same road hunting a serial killer. Before the three part ways, plans change, a deal is struck, a heart breaks, and everyone is guilty.
“Jan Buttram gets nice mileage from the vintage vehicle, circa 1946, that inspired “Phantom Killer.” The unsolved case of a masked bandit who was robbing and killing residents of a rural Texas town that summer becomes the framework for a tough character study of a local girl so desperate to get out of town she puts her trust in men with trouble written all over them. Beaucoup tension is built up on a sliver of a stage…” VARIETY
A futuristic satirical comedy, Beck Shine, the President of the World and country western singing star must rise to the challenges of leading a feminist society. Beck agrees to be injected with two nano-probes to achieve her potential—one probe goes rogue and a battle between good and evil jeopardizes the future of the World.
“It’s a hoot — a feminist future fantasia!” BACKSTAGE
Set in 1825, MALCOLM JETER, a slave auctioneer, travels a flood-plagued wilderness. In a raging thunder storm, HE is forced to spend the night tied to the top of a tree. TOM, an obstinate runaway slave, heeds HIS cries for help. But TOM is a specter of MALCOLM’s last slave auction. The tragic consequences of HIS heartless profession demand the ultimate act of forgiveness.
“…consistently engaging drama focuses on an encounter between a runaway slave and the man who sold him away from his family.” THEATERMANIA
In 1928, two newlyweds disappear while riding the rapids of the Colorado River in pursuit of adventure and glory. Based on historic events, RAPIDS is the story of two risk-takers and the family they leave behind.
Set in 2001 on a cold and claustrophobic island off the Maine coast, a young married couple struggle to establish a loving relationship in the midst of poverty, sexual dysfunction and family expectations. Their only ally is a hard employer, a real estate agent whose hardness enables the tragic ending. Based on a true incident. (2 women, 1 man)
Firmly rooted in “fan fiction,” the play creates a chance meeting between two icons of the American literary and theatrical canon. After their death, the artistic giants are served their favorite cocktails by a mysterious barmaid whom Hemingway tries to seduce, and Tenn tries to amuse.