Play Suggestions: Drama without Depression?

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Drama without Depression?

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Play Suggestions
Forum Discription: Need help finding a show that's right for your theater? Ask here.
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4325
Printed Date: 11/25/24 at 7:25pm
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Topic: Drama without Depression?

Posted By: divewench
Subject: Drama without Depression?
Date Posted: 11/15/09 at 12:56pm

Hello all!

I am the Chair of the Playreading Committee for my local community theatre. We don't get started until January, but I'm trying to put together a list of plays to read now, so we can hit the ground running. I've already compiled a pretty good list of plays, many from here (Thank you!), but it's still a bit thin in the area of Drama.

What I'm looking for is some serious, sink-your-teeth-into-it drama, but something that's still upbeat or at least hopeful at the end. A bit of included comedy is great, as long as the show is still clearly a drama.

Shows I already have on the list:

Anna in the Tropics

Independence

The Lion in Winter

And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little

The Night of the Iguana

Two Sisters and a Piano

'Night, Mother

The Grapes of Wrath

Children of a Lesser God

The Miracle Worker

Also, our theatre has a rule that we can't do a show that we've produced within the past 10 years, which makes the job a tad more difficult.

Replies:

Posted By: DWolfman
Date Posted: 11/15/09 at 2:34pm

http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/636 - Other People's Money

Winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off Broadway Play

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Even a man who is pure of heart...

Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 11/15/09 at 8:35pm

Every play by Beth Henley (Miss Firecracker Contest, Crimes of the Heart, The Wake of Jamie Foster, etc.)

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http://tristanrobin.blogspot.com

Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 11/16/09 at 10:19am

"something that's still upbeat or at least hopeful at the end"

If this is what you are looking for, you might want to take a closer look at 'night Mother. Not much of a bright future for either character in that play.

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Patrick L. Davis
Fort Findlay Playhouse

Posted By: divewench
Date Posted: 11/16/09 at 10:57am

Thanks so much for the suggestions! I'm still happy to get more too.

Yes, I know 'Night, Mother isn't exactly hopeful, but it's such a good script I couldn't resist making people read it anyway.

Posted By: Lazy Bee
Date Posted: 11/17/09 at 7:37am

There's a http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/cgi-bin/Search_Results.asp?iAR=4&iC%281%29=2&iC%282%29=2&iC%284%29=2&iC%285%29=2&iC%286%29=2&iC%289%29=2&iC%2821%29=1 - list of 23 possible shows here.
A few of those are on the light side (probably Richard Coleman's shows should be classed as comedies), others may be gloomy - it depends what you find uplifting! - but in particular I would look at:-
- For the Good of the Family by George Douglas Lee
- The Loft by James Brosnahan
- Looking Back by David Wheatley

All the scripts can be read in full on-line.

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Stuart
Lazy Bee Scripts
http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk - http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk read complete play scripts on-line

Posted By: pjturner07
Date Posted: 11/23/09 at 5:35am

If you are looking at 'night mother, you might take a look at a little known gem called Radium Girls. We are producing it this spring.

Posted By: divewench
Date Posted: 11/23/09 at 4:13pm

Radium Girls looks great. I'm definitely putting that on the list to read. Thanks so much!

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More Theatre, Less Drama!

http://www.pentacletheatre.org/

Posted By: Mike Swy
Date Posted: 11/23/09 at 8:05pm

Of course without knowing what you've done in the last 10 years I/we could be suggesting repeats but "On Golden Pond" and "Steel Magnolias" both have drama, they certainly have their laughs, too, and both end on a very hopeful note. Sometimes these type of scripts (with the humor, also) will attract more of an audience than a straight drama.

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"I never quite got the hang of real life." Phoebe Craddock, "Romantic Comedy"

Posted By: edh915
Date Posted: 11/24/09 at 2:16pm

I go for the gentle comedy with dramatic moments and overall "feel good" ending. Three of my favorites are:

Enchanted April - (cast of 8) England in the 1920's. Two ladies fleeing from unhappy marriages rent a villa in Italy for the month of April. Two other ladies come along to help share expenses. All have their own problems. When the two husbands and the handsome owner of the villa arrive out of the blue (due to plot complications), you know that the happy ending is not for behind. Excellent show. We sold out 12 of the 14 performances we gave (120 capacity auditorium).

Visiting Mr. Green - (cast of 2) Modern day. A young man is assigned community service and compelled to visit an aging widower. What starts as a fractious relationship (the old man doesn't want visitors, and the young man doesn't want to be there) turns into a caring relationship. Good comic moments interspersed with moving dramatic ones. Each man has his own secret unhappiness. (The young man is gay and unaccepted by his family, the old man has been estranged from his only child for decades.) They ultimately help each other to a "tear in your eye and smile on your face" happy hopeful ending.

A Majority of One - (12 or so, some doubling) Late 1950's. Middle aged Jewish widow who lost a son in World War II goes to Japan with her daughter and State Department son-in-law. She meets and comes to know, respect, and love a widowed Japanese business man who lost a daughter at Hiroshima. A gently comic, non-preachy, mature inter-cultural love story that has a few things to say about discrimination and understanding. Superb teary-eyed smiling ending here too. Was made into a movie in the early sixties with Rosalind Russell and Alec Guinness.

I've directed Enchanted April twice, and Mr. Green once. I'd do them both again if I could. And I'm still looking for a group who will take a chance on A Majority of One.

Posted By: pjturner07
Date Posted: 11/24/09 at 3:04pm

Oh, Visiting Mr. Green! We did that a few years ago, and it was wonderful! Definitely look at that one...

Posted By: teridtiger
Date Posted: 11/24/09 at 3:54pm

"The Young Man from Atlanta" by Horton Foote - Pulitzer Prize winner; excellent roles for "mature" actors

"After-Play" by Anne Meara - again, excellent roles for "mature" actors; a little on the existential side

"Proof" by David Auburn - Another Pulitzer winner

"Grace & Glorie" by Tom Ziegler - Along the lines of "Visiting Mr. Green", but with two women

"How I Learned to Drive" by Paula Vogel - Tough subject matter is handled frankly and with moments of strong humor; another Pulitzer winner

Posted By: kries13
Date Posted: 12/29/09 at 5:09pm

A recent favorite of mine was The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney.

A wonderful script and if you choose to do it with 6 actors portraying the 57 characters it is absolutely something they can sink their teeth into.

A true gem of a show with a mix of heartwarming, funny, quirky, thought provoking and touching moments.

Set can be very simple and you can use base costumes and add elements to suggest new characters/time periods.

It was a crowd pleaser to our sold out audiences.

Have fun choosing from all these fine suggestions!

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kries
I art therefore I am.
www.artisrelative.com