Hot off the Press

Plays by, for and About Women

I began writing this column during Women’s History Month, and I found myself thinking about both my favorite female playwrights and the common struggle I encounter as we begin planning our next theatrical season. My theatre program, like many across the country,has many more women than men in the casting pool, and we often struggle to find material that addresses this disparity. While modern plays tend to be more equitable in their gender representation than their historical peers, I too often find myself struggling to find texts that not only feature enough roles for women but also present these characters in interesting, nuanced ways and offer a story told from a female perspective. What follows is a collection of newly-published plays from major play publishers that address these points. Following each description, you’ll find information about the cast breakdown and a referral to the publisher who holds the rights.

Hardball, by Victoria Stewart

Set in early 2005 just after George W. Bush won his second term in office, this play tracks the transformation of budding journalist Virginia Eames, who was recently fired from her newspaper job, into a celebrity pundit known for her provocative political views. Timely and thought-provoking, Hardball examines the sacrifices that follow when those entrusted to report the news turn their politics into a vehicle for attaining stardom. Cast breakdown: 4 females, 2 males; Publisher: Broadway Play Publishing Inc., www.broadwayplaypub.com

Somebody’s Daughter, by Chisa Hutchinson

Alex is a 15-year-old Asian American girl, model student and constant disappointment to her parents, who wanted a boy. Kate is a 30-something Asian American guidance counselor whose frustration with her family’s judgment of her is now threatening the relationship she has built with her African American boyfriend Reggie. Structured around Alex and Kate’s college counseling sessions, the play depicts three generations of women coming to terms with their own biases and the roles they are expected to play, offering a fresh perspective on teen angst, the feeling of rootlessness often tied to being a 30-something, and the sense of having lost something as we slide into middle age. Cast breakdown: 3 female, 3 males; Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc., www.dramatists.com

Napoli, Brooklyn, by Meghan Kennedy

In Brooklyn in 1960, three Italian-American daughters of immigrant parents struggle against the patriarchal family structure. When the unthinkable happens in the form of the infamous 1960 Park Slope plane crash, the secrets of the family bubble to the surface, some relationships form and some crumble, and the women of the Muscolino family find their voice in the wreckage of what was once their lives. Cast breakdown: 6 females, 2 males; Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc., www.dramatists.com

Local Story, by Kristen Palmer

After walking away from her life several years ago, D’Lady returns to her hometown and tries to reconnect with her loved ones. To her surprise, she is met with guardedness and hostility due to her absence and the havoc that comes from reawakening the past.Cast breakdown: 4 females, 3 males; Publisher: Broadway Play Publishing Inc., www.broadwayplaypub.com

Scissoring, by Christina Quintana

Hired by a conservative Catholic school,Abigail Bauer feels forced to hide her sexuality, creating an intense conflict with her longtime partner Josie. Throughout the play, Abigail struggles to reconcile her personal and public lives and ultimately is confronted with a series of hallucinations that challenge her choices, including one featuring one of history’s most famous closeted pairings, Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. Cast breakdown: 6 females, 1 male, 1 n/s; Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc., www.dramatists.com

by Zackary Ross

Zackary Ross, an assistant professor of theatre at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY, also works regularly as a director and a dramaturg.