The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals made its annual, Off-Broadway debut on Monday at the Acorn Theater at Theatre Row.
The culmination of a two-day professional workshopping experience, the 24 Hour Plays: Nationals highlights burgeoning talent in acting, writing, directing, and producing. Led by artistic producer Patti Anne Miller and managing producer Hope Chavez, each of the five plays and one musical was written, staged, and rehearsed starting at 8:30 p.m. the night before. Featuring participants aged 25 or under from around the country, the 24 Plays: Nationals was the one-night-only theater experience that just may hint at who’s going to win the next Tony.
Read below for highlights on the night’s performances.
Doggo
Written by Maxine Dillon, directed by Emily Messana, and produced by Mary Sanders, Doggo follows an estranged couple’s therapy visit. Learning that the couple’s problems are affecting their son, the doctor asks to see the boy who acts and dresses like a dog and prefers to be called Doggo. This play shows that children are more perceptice than people choose to believe and what their parents say can drastically affect their behavior.
Sarah Sits Shiva
Sarah is a young woman who’s dying from cancer and insists that she enjoy her shiva while she’s still alive. With three guests: her ex-girlfriend, her mother, and her mother’s childhood friend, Sarah contemplates what her death will be like and how everyone in her life will fare once she’s gone. Written by Megan Pope, directed by Conor Bagley, and produced by Coleman Ray Clark, Sarah Sits Shiva looks at death from the perspective of a young woman.
Reroute
Jordan Peele’s Get Out meets playwright Stefani Kuo’s Reroute in this glimpse into modern America and the battle that people of color face against racial stereotypes. When a black brother and sister need their Internet router fixed, two white repairmen enter their home with saccharine, stealthy racism. Jasmine Gunter directed and Natalia Hustek produced this eye-opening take on today’s society.
Aug. 13-First (and Final) Meeting of the TJ-Maxx Dying Dreams Conglomerate?? Details Wthn
Despite the long title, this play gets straight to the point. Four strangers hide out in a TJ-Maxx store awaiting its demolition and their subsequent demise. While they wait, they disclose their hopes and dreams that they never achieved in their own lives outside TJ-Maxx. What starts out as a light-hearted excerpt of life soon turns into a cry for help from everyone. In the end, the demolition is canceled, and they all go back to their lives with hopes of bettering their futures. Aug. 13 was written by Hannah Manikowski, directed by Ali Jamali, and produced by Alexandra Cadena.
Helena’s Bird
Helena’s two roommates and boyfriend never thought she’d return home with a cockatiel named Gerald. All with various concerns for her, each of the men in Helena’s life wonders about the reasoning behind her new bird friend. With her friends’ hints at responsibility and motherhood, it isn’t until Helena’s boyfriend confronts her about her recent abortion that it’s suggested that Gerald may be a replacement for a baby. A lighthearted take on a heavy subject, Helena’s Bird was written by Fiona Gorry-Hines, directed by Victoria Gruenberg, and produced by Catherine Giddings, and shows that there doesn’t always have to be a reason other than really wanting something.
Everything Stops in a Storm: A Concert Play
The one musical in the lineup follows the beach house weekend getaway of four friends who seem to have their lives together. But as soon as the power goes out and they’re left without phone service, emails, and Netflix, they realize that they have to disclose their truths to those closest to them. Though the power is eventually restored, the four women know that perfect lives are not in their futures but end the night with optimism anyways. Everything will be okay with best friends in this musical with a book written by Eliana Pipes, music and lyrics by Angela Sclafani, directed by Aaron Simon Gross, and produced by Jordyn Boscia.
