What’s hot at Broadway Licensing Global? Check out the top trending titles of the week from Broadway Licensing, Dramatists Play Service, and Playscripts.
The Old Man and The Old Moon by PigPen Theatre Co.
The Old Man has kept his post as the sole caretaker of the moon for as long as he (or his wife, the Old Woman) can remember. When she is drawn away by a mysterious melody that sparks memories of their shared past, the Old Man must decide between duty (and routine) and love (and adventure). Luckily for audiences everywhere, he chooses the latter, and what follows is an imaginative sea-faring epic, encompassing apocalyptic storms, civil wars, leviathans of the deep, and cantankerous ghosts, as well as the fiercest obstacle of all: change.
Unnecessary Farce by Paul Slade Smith
Two cops. Three crooks. Eight doors. Go. In a cheap motel room, an embezzling mayor is supposed to meet with his female accountant, while in the room next-door, two undercover cops wait to catch the meeting on videotape. But there’s some confusion as to who’s in which room, who’s being videotaped, who’s taken the money, who’s hired a hit man, and why the accountant keeps taking off her clothes.
It’s not you, it’s me by Don Zolidis
Whether your boyfriend is a Canadian secret agent or monk in training, or your girlfriend is a psychic or pathological liar, one thing is for sure: they are about to dump you. Exploring the painful art of breaking-up through comedic, awkwardly realistic characters, this series of wildly hilarious scenes are sure to make you feel relieved not to be the receiving end of those five fatal relationship words.
Honky Tonk Hissy Fit by Jones Hope Wooten
In this rollicking, hilarious comedy, the Doublewide, Texas, gang is back and life in their tiny town has gotten crazier than ever! Just when things are looking up—the population has grown to seventeen mobile homes and a weekend farmers’ market—the rug is pulled out from under the residents yet again. It seems their vacation rental trailer has drawn unwanted attention from a mega-corporation in Austin. Suddenly the corporation is interested in Doublewide. Waaaay too interested. Mayor Joveeta Crumpler is the only one suspicious enough to sound the alarm, but no one is listening. Her mother, Caprice, is too self-involved with her “career” as a local celebrity to sense the growing threat, or to even realize that grumpy old Haywood Sloggett is increasingly drawn to her—and Sloggett is fighting those romantic feelings tooth and nail. Caprice is also hell-bent on keeping her neighbor and rival, Big Ethel Satterwhite, from horning in on her domain—the Stagger Inn bar. Big Ethel has her hands full trying to teach the town’s good-ol’-boy police chief, Baby Crumpler, how to dirty-dance for a countywide competition. But Baby’s got as much chance of winning as Georgia Dean Rudd has of not jinxing her relationship with Nash Sloggett—she’s twisting herself into knots trying to dodge his constant marriage proposals. And as the danger to the town grows, Joveeta can’t even count on the usually reliable and sweet health fanatic Lark Barken—because she’s currently under the spell of a demon she’s only recently discovered: caffeine. But as the tentacles of the corporation envelope them all, can the citizens of this little Texas town put aside their problems and unite behind Joveeta to fight “the big guys” and turn the tide in Doublewide?
A Behanding in Spokane by Martin McDonagh
In Martin McDonagh’s first American-set play, Carmichael has been searching for his missing left hand for almost half a century. Enter two bickering lovebirds with a hand to sell, and a hotel clerk with an aversion to gunfire, and we’re set for a hilarious roller coaster of love, hate, desperation and hope.
I Hate Hamlet by Paul Rudnick
Andrew Rally seems to have it all: celebrity and acclaim from his starring role in a hit television series; a rich, beautiful girlfriend; a glamorous, devoted agent; the perfect New York apartment; and the chance to play Hamlet in Central Park. There are, however, a couple of glitches in paradise. Andrew’s series has been canceled; his girlfriend is clinging to her virginity with unyielding conviction; and he has no desire to play Hamlet. When Andrew’s agent visits him, she reminisces about her brief romance with John Barrymore many years ago, in Andrew’s apartment. This prompts a seance to summon his ghost. From the moment Barrymore returns, dressed in high Shakespearean garb, Andrew’s life is no longer his own. Barrymore, fortified by champagne and ego, presses Andrew to accept the part and fulfill his actor’s destiny. The action becomes more hilarious with the entrance of Andrew’s deal-making friend from LA, spouting the laid-back hype of the Coast and offering Andrew a fabulous new TV deal worth millions of dollars. The laughs are nonstop as Andrew wrestles with his conscience, Barrymore, his sword, and the fact that he fails as Hamlet in Central Park.
The Velocity of Autumn by Eric Coble
The Velocity of Autumn swirls around Alexandra, an 80-year-old artist in a showdown with her family over where she’ll spend her remaining years. In Alexandra’s corner are her wit, her volcanic passion, and the fact that she’s barricaded herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to take out the block. But her children have their own secret weapon: estranged son Chris, who returns after 20 years, crawls through Alexandra’s second-floor window and becomes the family’s unlikely mediator. No sooner are the words “Hi, Mom” uttered than the emotional bombs start detonating. The Velocity of Autumn is a wickedly funny and wonderfully touching discovery of the fragility and ferocity of life.
Bull by Mike Bartlett
This vicious comedy is an allegorical deathmatch between business colleagues—full of bizarre power plays and one-upmanship—wherein one of three employees is allegedly going to be fired. The odds against our protagonist are stacked from the outset: rumple-faced sad-sack Thomas never quite gets his footing against opponents Tony, a shark in wolf’s clothing, and Isobel, a snaky number with a talent for undermining. In savvy fashion, Mike Bartlett’s Bull caters to our baser instincts.
Lockdown by John Patrick Shanley
“I hate him, but I can’t leave the puppy.” During a global epidemic, a quarantined woman slips away from her boyfriend to call her lover.
Parfumerie adapted by E. P. Dowdall
This new adaptation of the play that inspired several movies is a warm, gentle comedy that follows the tangled tale of Parfumerie employee George Horvath. Just days before Christmas, George’s boss fires him after mistakenly suspecting him to be the lover of his unfaithful wife. Meanwhile, George’s own love life goes awry when he discovers that the stranger he has fallen in love with through a secret correspondence is none other than Amalia Balash, a co-worker with whom he constantly feuds. For the employees of the Parfumerie, only the truth can lead to a happy resolution in this old-fashioned, romantic Christmas tale.
