As the Beaver
Play Description
AS THE BEAVER takes as its premise that Ward and June Cleaver’s youngest son, The Beaver, is gay. Joel Drake Johnson then spins this seemingly slight premise into a smart and funny and ultimately enriching exploration of American society and family.
Production Info
Cast: 10 total (3 female, 7 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
Press Quotes
“Tell people the initial concept of Chicagoan Joel Johnson’s new play AS THE BEAVER — Ward and June Cleaver discover that their younger son is gay — and they’ll probably roll their eyes and ask, ‘What’s next?’ But tell people that Johnson doesn’t settle for a late-night skit, that he develops a fully realized play that is at once hilarious, challenging and moving, and you’ll be doing them a favor. For AS THE BEAVER … is one of the funniest and cleverest shows to be seen in a long while …” —Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun-Times
“… Happily, Johnson quickly transcends the easy laughs, using his premise to accomplish something considerably more ambitious: he ruthlessly deconstructs the mindless, superficial worldview of 50s and early-60s sitcoms … The play is often hilarious, thanks in part to the playwright’s great ear for formulaic sitcom dialogue … Just when it looks as if Johnson has exhausted his premise he leaps ahead two decades, from the mid-60s to the mid-80s, to show how Beaver and company are faring in post-Stonewall, Reagan-era America” —Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader
Author(s)
Joel Drake JohnsonJoel Drake Johnson is an award winning, internationally produced playwright and teacher who got his start as a writer at Chicago's critically acclaimed Econo-Art Theater (Lynn Baber, Barb Reeder and Marc Silvia, artistic directors). His latest play RASHEEDA SPEAKING, originally directed by Sandy Shinner and produced by Chicago’s Rivendell Theatre, opened in New York City at The Signature Theatre as part of The New Group’s 2014-15 season. Under the direction of Tony and Emmy Award Winner, Cynthia Nixon, it featured two time Oscar Winner, Dianne Wiest and Tony Award Winner, Tonya Pinkins as well as Darren Goldstein (“The Affair”) and Patricia Conolly (ensemble member/ Guthrie Theater and Stratford Festival). RASHEEDA was subsequently nominated for best new off-Broadway play by the The Outer Critics Circle. Other plays include FOUR PLACES first produced at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater under the direction of Sandy Shinner and featuring Mary Ann Thebus and Meg Thalken. It was subsequently produced in LA by The Rogue Machine Theatre, where under the direction of Robin Larsen and featuring Tony nominee, Roxanne Hart, it garnered more critical acclaim that included five Ovation Award nominations, four nominations (including best play) from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and a Garland Award for Best New Play. It has since been produced internationally. Johnson has won three Illinois Arts Council grants including one for A BLUE MOON which was first produced at Chicago Dramatists Theatre (Russ Tutterow, artistic director) and Woodstock, NY. Other works include AS THE BEAVER, first produced by Zebra Crossing, THE END OF THE TOUR first produced by Victory Gardens, and THE FALL TO EARTH which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre and featured Tony Award Winner, Rondi Reed. It was subsequently produced at The Penguin Rep featuring Tony Award Winner, Michelle Pawk and directed by Joe Brancato; at 59E59 Theatre in NYC, featuring Tony nominee, Amelia Campbell (dir: Joe Brancato); The Odyssey Theatre in LA featuring Oscar nominee JoBeth Williams (dir: Robin Larsen). Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre produced the premiere of THE FIRST GRADE (dir: Tom Ross) which won the San Francisco/ Bay Area Critic Circle Award for best new play of 2010-11. Johnson has been commissioned four times by Steppenwolf Theatre, commissions which led to productions of A BLAMELESS LIFE (dir: Tony Award Winner, Anna D. Shapiro) and TRANQUILLITY WOODS (dir. Sandy Shinner). Johnson has been nominated 5 times for Best New Play by Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award Committee. He is currently working on a new play commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre. He has taught playwriting at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL, DePaul University and Northwestern University.
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
Premiered at Zebra Crossing Theater, Chicago
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com
Related Plays
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
A riveting, intense look at the dark side of American suburbia. With little to occupy their time other than finding a decent place to hang out — the zoo, the mall, the school parking lot — Darrell and Tim are two American teenagers who lack direction and purpose in their lives. When Darrell’s suspicion about the infidelity of his girlfriend is confirmed, and Tim comes to her defense, there is nothing to brake their momentum as all three speed toward disaster.
Production Info
Cast: 9 total (4 female, 5 male)Full Length Drama (about 115 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
Responsible Meg has always taken care of her bipolar younger brother Matt. But when she decides to get pregnant — and have her embryos screened for bipolar disorder — is she taking the idea of “being responsible” too far? A funny and surprising play about bioethics, siblings, and the limits of unconditional love.
Production Info
Cast: 2 total (1 female, 1 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.95 Play Description
THE GABRIELS trilogy chronicles a year in the life of a neighboring family who reunite in real time at three different points across 2016 to celebrate, remember, and wait for the world to change. History and politics, art and culture, love and hate are all on the table as the Gabriels gather in the kitchen of the house they grew up in — ultimately revealing the deep, human impact of one of the most extraordinary years in American history. Part Two, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?: Financial problems are escalating for the Gabriels, causing a cascade of complications, as the election looms before them.
Production Info
Cast: 6 total (5 female, 1 male)Full Length Drama (about 105 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
Play Description
To earn a little money Ray goes with rich men but only when sufficiently drunk. His regular client, John-Bo, is giving him up to get married, and John-Bo's friend Aegis arrives to take him to the wedding rehearsal. Ray persuades Aegis to take him home, and they continue to see each other. But after a trip to Europe together, Ray worries that Aegis will desert him when they arrive in New York. Ray, who still has to get drunk to have sex, has difficulty grasping that Aegis is in love with him and has no intention of letting him go.
Production Info
Cast: 4 total (4 male)Short Comedy (about 35 minutes)
Single Set
Period Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 
Play Description
A comedy with songs about students falling in and out of love.
Production Info
Cast: 8 total (3 female, 5 male)Full Length Comedy (about 100 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
At the height of the AIDS crisis, Adam searches for answers, comfort, and a new place for sexuality as he witnesses the decline and inevitable loss of his beloved best friend.
Production Info
Cast: 7 total (2 female, 5 male)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
When Papo, a tough-talking Puerto Rican hustler from the Bronx, meets Brian, a frightened young lawyer from the Midwest, Papo begins to glimpse the possibility of a romantic escape from his life on the streets. At the same time, Bobby, a 17-year-old runaway who has been repeatedly raped by his older brother, offers to take care of Papo and moves in with him in his fleabag hotel room. It is then when Papo suddenly finds his defenses melting and his heart torn in two directions. TRAFFICKING IN BROKEN HEARTS is a gritty, urban love story.
Production Info
Cast: 3 total (3 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
SINCE AFRICA chronicles the relationship between a Dinka refugee from Southern Sudan and three Americans — a North Shore socialite, her daughter, and an African American Deacon — who help him acclimate to Chicago’s unfamiliar urban surroundings. A look at American culture through the eyes of an African, this play explores the tensions between blacks and whites, Africans and African Americans, the devout and the non-religious.
Production Info
Cast: 5 total (3 female, 2 male, multiethnic cast)Full Length Drama (about 120 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
Human spontaneous combustion is not something that most people worry about, but Amalia Parker does, and that’s why she won’t sleep with Rob. Sex with someone she doesn’t care about might not be so dangerous, but with the man she truly loves? A definite possibility. This is the kind of logic that only makes sense in the Parker household, where Mom cooks obsessively, Dad has turned the house into an 18-hole golf course, and ancient maiden Aunt Emily does laundry and practices the family art of selective sight. A sweet, quirky comedy.
Production Info
Cast: 6 total (4 female, 2 male)Full Length Comedy (about 100 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
LOOPED depicts an actual 1965 recording session in which an intoxicated Tallulah Bankhead required eight hours to dub a single line from her final movie Die! Die! My Darling! while antagonizing the film editor assigned to the job.
Production Info
Cast: 3 total (1 female, 2 male)Full Length Comedy (about 100 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
While cruising for sex in a back alley, Paul kills a young man. He rushes to his sister's apartment drenched in blood, and she helps him cover up his crime. Her husband, Nicholas, is not pleased to see Paul as Paul was dating his best friend, Kevin, who has died of an AIDS related illness. Lori the mother of the murdered young man goes to her priest for comfort. It turns out she is having an affair with him.
Production Info
Cast: 7 total (2 female, 5 male)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Contemporary Costumes