Men of Steel
Play Description
Three interwoven tales of people with superpowers, including the downfall of America’s beloved Captain Justice, the adventures of Brooklyn’s Los Hermanos Manos, and the tragic tale of an indestructible man, that ultimately collide inside the walls of a maximum security prison. A superhero story for adults.
Production Info
Cast: 8 total (2 female, 6 male, multiethnic cast)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
- Productions
Press Quotes
“Captain America, who was killed this month in a comic book but is rumored to be returning to life in time for a movie, first came on the scene in 1941, back when a nervous nation was looking for a patriotic symbol of American power. But times have changed, and so have superheroes. In films like Batman Begins and television shows like Heroes, they are now more flawed, moody and ambivalent about power than ever. Qui Nguyen’s MEN OF STEEL … introduces audiences to Captain Justice, a crusader for the Iraq war era. A dead ringer for Captain America, including the tights and shield, he was created by the United States military and has dispensed with all kinds of villains, but he still has his critics. Some say he’s made people dependent on ‘supers,’ as they’re called, and created safe havens in the outer boroughs by concentrating on Manhattan. And when he killed two murderers in an act of revenge, the man who fights for justice and the American way was tossed into prison … the show belongs to the genre of gleefully lowbrow Off-Off-Broadway entertainments for overgrown adults. The prodigious onstage fights are not as elaborate as those in THE JADED ASSASSIN, the martial arts fantasy play, but this plot-rich piece, which begins with a murder and moves backward, has more to chew on. The plot centers on the friendship between Captain Justice and Maelstrom, a wealthy playboy with a collection of gadgets and a sexual secret. He’s an angrier version of Batman. There are other superheroes as well, including Bryant, a drag queen whose power is that he doesn’t feel pain, and Captain Justice’s sidekick, Liberty Lady, who some suspect is merely a P R gimmick. Mr Nguyen has an appealingly clean style that mixes colloquial slang and hard-boiled detective fiction. (‘Hope is only good for prisoners and bums playing the lotto.’) Some of his comic ideas are truly inspired, like the mad villain, The Mole, who prefers making dramatic statements of intent to actually avoiding weapons hurled at him … this is a fully realized and contained world that raises the skeptical question: If power corrupts, than what about super power?” —Jason Zinoman, The New York Times
Author(s)
Qui NguyenQui Nguyen is a playwright, screenwriter, and Co-Founder of the Obie Award – winning Vampire Cowboys of NYC. His work, known for its innovative use of pop-culture, stage violence, puppetry, and multimedia, has been lauded as "Culturally Savvy Comedy" by The New York Times, "Infectious Fun" by Variety, and "Tour De Force Theatre" by Time Out New York. The Chicago Tribune praised him as a "refreshing, break-the-rules writer" as Time Out Chicago named his play SHE KILLS MONSTERS one of the 10 Best Plays of 2013. Scripts include WAR IS F**KING AWESOME; SHE KILLS MONSTERS (The Flea); KRUNK FU BATTLE BATTLE (East West Players); BIKE WRECK (Ensemble Studio Theatre); TRIAL BY WATER (Ma-Yi Theater); ALIENS VERSUS CHEERLEADERS (Keen Teens); SOUL SAMURAI; THE INEXPLICABLE REDEMPTION OF AGENT G (Ma-Yi Theater & Vampire Cowboys); LUSH VALLEY (HERE); and the critically acclaimed Vampire Cowboys productions of ALICE IN SLASHERLAND; FIGHT GIRL BATTLE WORLD; MEN OF STEEL; and LIVING DEAD IN DENMARK. His scripts are published by Samuel French, Playscripts, and Broadway Play Publishing. Recent honors include being a 2014 Sundance Institute/Time Warner Fellow; a 2014 McCarter/Sallie B. Goodman Fellow; a 2013 Sundance Theatre Lab Fellow; a recipient of a 2013 AATE Distinguished Play Award (She Kills Monsters); a 2012 TCG Young Leader of Color; and receiving 2012 & 2009 GLAAD Media Award nominations for his plays SHE KILLS MONSTERS and SOUL SAMURAI. He is a proud resident artist at New Dramatists, a core member of The Playwrights' Center, an alumnus of Youngblood, and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Ma-Yi Writers Lab, and the Keen Company New Play Lab. His company, Vampire Cowboys, often credited for being the pioneers of "geek theatre," holds the unique distinction of being the first professional theatre organization to be officially sponsored by NY Comic Con. They've been praised by The Village Voice as "New York's Best Army of Geeks" and are currently in-residence at The New Ohio Theater and IRT.
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:
Originally produced by the Vampire Cowboys Theater Company, New York
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