The Fall to Earth
Play Description
An unexpected death throws Fay and her daughter, Rachel, together for the first time in years. When a friendly police officer attempts to ease their suffering, their funny, frustrating relationship takes on a new life. Joel Drake Johnson's hilarious and harrowing play examines how the relationship between parent and child constantly changes, yet remains the same.
Production Info
Cast: 3 total (3 female)Full Length Drama (about 95 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
- Productions
Press Quotes
“… This is a richly written play, with its complexities and deceptive depths cleverly hidden by anecdotal small talk. Many authors use this approach and get lost in it. Their plays become stop-and-go affairs, but not Johnson’s. No matter how small the chat, he constantly sustains the arcs of his characters and the lines of their actions. This play is only three characters and three scenes in ninety-five minutes, but there is nothing small or safe about it. Indeed, THE FALL TO EARTH is a dangerous play with terrible things to say about family fabric and the ego of parenting. It asks its three performers to take huge risks and get naked emotionally …” —Jonathan Abarbanel, W T T W Public Radio & Windy City Times
“Some people need years of therapy to get an inkling of who they are. Chicago playwright Joel Drake Johnson takes only ninety-five minutes to reveal the wounds, quirks and flaws of the three women in his fascinating new play, THE FALL TO EARTH. A compact drama with dark comedic overtones, THE FALL TO EARTH is a revelatory slice of a mother’s life as she travels to her son’s town after he dies … In THE FALL TO EARTH, the mother, stays in a hotel with her estranged adult daughter. A local cop helps them through the process … It’s hard to watch two family members suffer so deeply and harm each other so consistently, without feeling sympathy and possibly a disturbing sense of familiarity … Johnson holds up a mirror for us to feel our own aches and also to laugh at our flawed ways of coping. Dark tales such as this are a hard sell to people who prefer Happy Meal theater. But for those who like drama that drags them down dark, unfamiliar paths and into the rocky terrain of their own hearts, THE FALL TO EARTH is a rewarding trek.” —Orla Swift, The News Observer (Durham)
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.
Book Information
| Publisher | BPPI |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 11/1/2006 |
| Pages | 80 |
| ISBN | 9780881453201 |
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 Steppenwolf Theatre Company
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
Upcoming and Recent Productions
Nonprofessional
Related Plays
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
A childless Latino couple kidnap a young girl in order to create a family, but the little girl has ideas of her own, and when her imaginary friend, the Grinch, comes to life to help her, the couple ends up with far more than they bargained for. A dark, gothic fairy tale for the contemporary world.
Production Info
Cast: 3 total (2 female, 1 male)Full Length Drama (about 95 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
A devastating play about the impact of addiction, THE LONG RED ROAD introduces us to Sammy, who has fled his past and landed in South Dakota, where he is slowly drinking himself to death. When his young daughter arrives desperate to reunite with her father, he must decide between the self-hatred that consumes him and the responsibilities he’s tried to leave behind.
Production Info
Cast: 6 total (3 female, 3 male, native american cast)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
At an elite women’s college in Massachusetts, two minor crises emerge during the fall semester: the philandering head of the English Department decides to callously end his affair with a colleague, and an aging professor is caught making unwanted sexual advances toward a student. But in the academic world of the early 21st century, there is no such thing as a minor crisis. For Jacob Freundlich, an English professor approaching middle age, the sudden necessity of making moral choices, rather than just teaching books about them, leads him into a devastating midlife crisis of his own. A comedy about the necessity, and the exquisite pain, of making choices.
Production Info
Cast: 10 total (5 female, 5 male)Full Length Comedy (about 105 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play 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
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
Set in the 1950s, FAR EAST tells of a young naval officer looking for fun in Japan before Voice of America calls him home.
Production Info
Cast: 5 total (2 female, 3 male)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
Virginia is getting married. As her wedding day approaches, unwanted ghosts of her mother’s past appear, unearthing a shocking past she never knew — nor wanted to. A comic nightmare about the mysterious hollows between parents and children and things that may be better left unsaid.
Production Info
Cast: 6 total (2 female, 4 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$11.95–$15.00Play 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–$15.95Play Description
Sam’s fiancée, Katie, has been raped by a former lover. Or has she? With a wedding date looming, Sam fights to save their now fragile relationship, even while undertaking a desperate search to uncover Katie’s secret past. Whispers become certainty, certainty becomes obsession, and Sam must decide: How far is too far for love?
Production Info
Cast: 3 total (2 female, 1 male)Full Length Drama (about 75 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
TAKING CARE chronicles the last years of an elderly woman and the mentally ill adult son who has lived with her for almost three decades. Stuck in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment, Ma and Benny have spent much of the past thirty years pretending the other wasn’t there. Now that the old woman is more or less house-bound, she foists conversation upon her unwilling son and threatens to institutionalize him if he doesn’t clean up his act and start behaving more responsibly. When she breaks her hip, Ma convinces her alienated daughters that their brother is well enough to look after her in her “recovery.” Realizing that failure to do so could result in institutionalization for both them, Benny tries to rise to the occasion and care for his mother, even as she begins a quick decent into dementia. His new responsibilities test his limited capabilities and force mother and son to forge new bonds in the waning days of her life.
Production Info
Cast: 2 total (1 female, 1 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95
Play Description
Three generations of a family move ever westward, restless, seeking. As they migrate from Croatia, through Wyoming, and on to Japan, the land of opportunity keeps moving, and the past keeps catching up. This unforgettable family provides an exquisitely rendered commentary on the human condition.
Production Info
Cast: 7 total (3 female, 4 male)Full Length Drama (about 135 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95Play Description
When Stanley invites his estranged 18-year-old daughter to spend her first winter break from college with him in his recently robbed row home that doubles as a gun shop, he is stunned by a stray jolt of the unfamiliar: a home suddenly alive with disquiet, and a shocking glimpse at a life with potential.
Production Info
Cast: 2 total (1 female, 1 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes