LITTLE TOWN BLUES
By James Presson and Rachel B. Joyce
Drawing from influences as wide-ranging and varied as Anton Chekhov, John Updike, and Aaron Sorkin, the play delves into the emotional complexities of young love, intense friendship, and the end of adolescence, while never putting aside the absurdity of living in a world governed by iPhones, laptops, and text messaging. Navigating through delight and devastation, the boarding students of Deforest-Martin Prep rage against the machine of structured academia with the fire of a teenage rebel and the depth of a Russian poet.
Script available through Indie Theater Now
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Produced at Penn State University, April 2013.
Produced by Less Than Rent Theatre at the Wild Project, July 2011.
AWARDS
Official Selection: Sewannee Writers Conference
REVIEWS
"Joyful and endearing… [it] will transport you back to your high school days."
Theatre is Easy
"It illuminates, questions and makes old subjects new again without apology… Like Chekhov, the play is deeply funny and therefore, deeply tragic… [The authors are] able to capture both the real and surreal as the play weaves between naturalism and what feels like the utterly absurd."
The Examiner
“Despite the Chekhov dramatic foundation, most of the show is joyous…so much so that the characters regularly break into song and dance, as if it’s the only way to adequately express their charged feelings. As these teens search for identity, love, and the right path, they form friendships so intense that they essentially become family members. I’ve seldom seen a play that does such a wonderful job of capturing both the closeness and emotional dangers of dorm school life; and of conveying an age when anything seems possible—and how such vast potential can be a double-edged sword.”
Hy Reviews
"The final scene between Olivia, Molly, and Christina is truly heartbreaking. Little Town Blues begins in a light-hearted way so the ending juxtaposes the beginning perfectly."
NYtheatre.com