Last Days of the High Flier
Play Description
Set in 1963, LAST DAYS OF THE HIGH FLIER is the story of a young man waiting for his life to begin, the mysterious ex-pilot who enters his life, and the intricate dance of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness that takes place between the two men. Historically based, the story revolves around political conspiracies, including the CIA’s secret war in Laos. It also addresses personal struggles that occurred almost a half-century ago but still have relevance in an age in which intelligence failures and civil liberties threats dominate the news.
Production Info
Cast: 10 total (4 female, 6 male)Full Length Drama (about 130 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
Press Quotes
“Reardon has written a play for our times. He has taken on one of the most troubling and important issues facing America: How to live in an open society safely and honorably when many parts of the world are dangerous and menacing.” —Bloomington Herald-Times
“In the wake of 9/11 Reardon has given us a timely play in which the present can be seen in the reflection of the past. And as we look into this mirror of political intrigue and personal struggle, LAST DAYS OF THE HIGH FLIER shows us a face of compassion, forgiveness, and valor.” —The Ryder
“Reardon is a playwright who has been in the theater for many years while maintaining the same passion and commitment today that he had during his days at the Public Theater. There are people who write plays and then there are playwrights. Reardon is in the latter category and he is among the finest. 1963 was the tipping point that set into motion a national malaise that still has consequences today, and the play paints in humor, pain, and revelation the truth of that time while also being a mirror for our own times … Very few playwrights in the American theater are writing with such skill and power as Dennis J Reardon does in this epic play that combines the personal and the political into a complex reflection of who we are as a people.” —Bloomington Herald-Times
Author(s)
Dennis J ReardonDennis J. Reardon's first play, THE HAPPINESS CAGE, had the honor of being the inaugural production in Joseph Papp's Newman Theater, flagship venue for the complex now known as the Joseph Papp Public Theater. That widely acclaimed play went on to receive productions in Berlin, Amsterdam, and Johannesburg and was made into a film starring Christopher Walken. Mr. Papp subsequently produced Reardon's SIAMESE CONNECTIONS and THE LEAF PEOPLE, the latter premiering at Broadway's Booth Theater under the direction of Tom O'Horgan. Reardon's STEEPLE JACK won the National Play Award from both the National Repertory Theater Foundation and the Weissberger Foundation, and his comic drama, THE PEER PANEL, won the Theatre Memphis triennial National Playwriting Competition. He has been the recipient of a New York Creative Artists Public Service (CAPS) Award for UNAUTHORIZED ENTRIES, the Indiana Arts Commission Master Fellowship for BOONE DESCENDED, a Shubert Fellowship in Playwriting for THE HAPPINESS CAGE, the Avery Hopwood Award for SIAMESE CONNECTIONS, and a two-year Playwriting Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. His ten-minute play, SUBTERRANEAN HOMESICK BLUES AGAIN, has been produced throughout both America and Europe since premiering at Actors Theatre of Louisville. The collection Plays by Dennis J. Reardon (Broadway Play Publishing) came out in 2001 and includes STEEPLE JACK, THE PEER PANEL, AND THE MISADVENTURES OF CYNTHIA M. LAST DAYS OF THE HIGH FLIER received its premiere from Indiana University in 2004 and is also available through Broadway Play Publishing. Reardon served as the Head of the Playwriting Program at Indiana University from 1987 until 2008.
Book Information
| Publisher | BPPI |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 12/1/2004 |
| Pages | 114 |
| ISBN | 9780881452501 |
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:
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
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
TWO SEPTEMBER is set in post-WWII Vietnam, when Ho Chi Minh had visions of a free country and a newly formed House UnAmerican Affairs Committee blacklisted a young, female American writer who believed in truth, justice, and a humane social order.
Production Info
Cast: 7 total (4 female, 3 male)Full Length Drama (about 75 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Contemporary Costumes
Play Description
It is Armistice Day, 1962. Three veterans of the World Wars exchange army stories, lament the vagaries of age, and wait for the arrival of Harry, their old army buddy. OLD SOLDIERS is about friendship, loyalty, and the very personal realities of war.
Production Info
Cast: 4 total (1 female, 3 male)Short Drama (about 50 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
Based on historical incident, the play chronicles the first race riot in Los Angeles history: the 1871 lynching of 18 Chinese men by a mob of 500 “people from all nations.” Tom Jacobson’s fiercely theatrical retelling brings to light the remarkable, culturally diverse 19th-century Wild West town that exploded into the metropolis we know today.
Production Info
Cast: 14 total (4 female, 10 male)Full Length Drama (about 120 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Period Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
SOMEWHERE IN THE PACIFIC takes place on a troop ship at the end of World War II. The ship’s captain is haunted by the death of his son in battle, and the young marines under his command are terrified and restless as they are stalked by an invisible enemy.
Production Info
Cast: 9 total (9 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Period Costumes
$15.00Play Description
The play chronicles the selfless acts of Janusz Korczak, the teacher and director. Korczak strove to give the children of the Warsaw Ghetto a sense of normalcy despite the horrific conditions and eventually chose to leave with them for the Treblinka death camp.
Production Info
Cast: 13 total (4 female, 9 male)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Period Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
In the Bolivian jungle, Che Guevara is captured and held in a one-room schoolhouse. For two days neither the Bolivian President nor the U.S. State Department is able to decide Che’s fate. The young schoolteacher of the village insists that she be given permission to speak to the famous revolutionary. Her conversations with Che — based on historical fact — are the heart of the play.
Production Info
Cast: 6 total (2 female, 4 male)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
Before heading off to war in Iraq, Casey Johnson neatly organizes her life into a box of lists, envelopes, and registration forms for her son's activities. Months later, she returns to Western Pennsylvania forever changed, with deep psychological scars that no amount of arranging seems to be able to fix.
Production Info
Cast: 7 total (3 female, 4 male, plus one male child)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00Play Description
As the 19th century moves into the 20th century, the Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi struggles to hold together the proud ancient Chinese empire, which is being assaulted by foreign nations and the technological advances of the age. Following the arrest of a Young Actor who is playing her in the streets, she finds herself powerless at the pinnacle of power, trying to preserve traditional Chinese civilization against overwhelming forces for change.
Production Info
Cast: 8 total (3 female, 5 male, optional extras: court attendants)Full Length Drama (about 130 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Period Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
It’s 1961. Fidel has turned Havana upside down. Veronica’s family has fled the country, leaving her behind to find a new family. Pregnant and ready to participate in whatever Fidel throws her way, she is not fully prepared for everything the revolution has in store. ILLUMINATING VERONICA is a play about betrayal and hope that looks at Castro’s Cuba, not as a demonic state, nor as a perfect paradise, but as a work in progress.
Production Info
Cast: 6 total (2 female, 4 male)Full Length Drama (about 115 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$10.95–$15.00Play Description
A Okinawan girl teaches an Hispanic American solider a bittersweet lesson about love.
Production Info
Cast: 2 total (1 female, 1 male)Full Length Drama (about 85 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
Play Description
Three American professors come to teach in China the summer before Tiananmen Square. The Cultural Revolution is over, but when Remy, the American professor, attempts to bond with her Chinese translator, Sun, the friendship proves to be impossible for political reasons. Remy means to do good but fails to understand the cultural differences between the Western world and the Orient. When she tempts Sun with an opportunity to teach in America, offering what she thinks is the expected bribe to the passport officer, she tragically destroys the life of her Chinese friend. A gift is only a gift if you can afford to receive it.
Production Info
Cast: 8 total (5 female, 3 male)Full Length Drama (about 130 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
It’s been 10 years since Agent G has last been in Vietnam where his family and friends were all viciously slain. He’s now come back looking for answers and a good bit of revenge. However, mysterious forces are at hand trying to stop him as well as the playwright from finishing this brutal task.
Production Info
Cast: 5 total (2 female, 3 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes