Five Plays. Samuel D. Hunter
“One of our finest young playwrights”
—TIME OUT NEW YORK
“Hunter has an undeniable empathy for the Eleanor Rigbys of this country, people who see themselves as trapped forever in confining isolation.”
—BEN BRANTLEY, NEW YORK TIMES
“Hunter is a playwright who crafts moving portraits of unlikely protagonists and explores the human capacity for empathy through the prism of his characters’ struggles . . . Hunter’s quietly captivating dramas confront the polarizing and socially isolating aspects of contemporary life across the American landscape.”
—MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
“A Permanent Image is a haunting gut-punch that comes from nowhere and leaves audiences feeling both numb and exposed . . . The play looks at how some of us cope when confronted with just how small our lives really are in the big picture.”
—DEANNA DARR, BOISE WEEKLY
“Hunter . . . is turning into the leading dramatic chronicler of dispossessed, working-class Americans, characters who rarely show up in, and are rarely understood by, works by fancy playwrights born into, and funded by, urbane, arty worlds. Hunter’s style . . . is not to absolve his characters of their complicity in a lack of accomplishment, but nonetheless to show the forces working against them in this changed nation.”
—CHRIS JONES, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
“If there’s a soul adrift—physically or spiritually—in the Gem State, chances are good he sprang from the fertile pen of Samuel D. Hunter.”
—PLAYBILL
“A Great Wilderness is meant to challenge, and most will leave the theater with a somber and agonizing sense of unfairness.”
—SARAH BRINK, VANGUARD SEATTLE
“Hunter hears Middle America’s quiet desperation, the low moan of people who have lost their connection to the past, to loved ones, to the lives they thought they’d lead. Many of them are living on the margins, losing ground. These are the inhabitants of his resonant, often ruefully funny plays. Hunter . . . writes with preternatural insight into people of all ages and wildly differing circumstances.”
—DARYL H. MILLER, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Hunter is an important new voice in the American theater.”
—CHARLES MCNULTY, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Hunter tunes into a high frequency of empathy for isolated social-fringe dwellers.”
—MISHA BERSON, SEATTLE TIMES
Five Plays is copyright © 2016 by Samuel D. Hunter
Five Plays is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc.,
520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4156
All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights, including but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this book by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the author’s representative: Derek Zasky, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, (212) 903-1396.
The publication of Five Plays by Samuel D. Hunter, through TCG’s Book Program, is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
This publication was supported by the Vilcek Foundation, dedicated to fostering appreciation of the arts and sciences.
TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.
Library of Congress Control Numbers:
2016039888 (print) / 2016045850 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-55936-837-7 (ebook)
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Book design and composition by Lisa Govan
Cover design by Carol Devine Carson
First Edition, November 2016
For John
Contents
POCATELLO
THE FEW
A GREAT WILDERNESS
REST
A PERMANENT IMAGE
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Pocatello received its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) on December 15, 2014. It was directed by Davis McCallum. The set design was by Lauren Helpern, the costume design was by Jessica Pabst, the lighting design was by Eric Southern, and the sound design was by Matt Tierney; the production stage manager was Lisa Ann Chernoff. The cast was:
| EDDIE | T.R. Knight |
| MAX | Cameron Scoggins |
| ISABELLE | Elvy Yost |
| TROY | Danny Wolohan |
| DORIS | Brenda Wehle |
| NICK | Brian Hutchison |
| KELLY | Crystal Finn |
| COLE | Jonathan Hogan |
| TAMMY | Jessica Dickey |
| BECKY | Leah Karpel |
Pocatello was originally developed under the title When You’re Here with support of Geva Theatre Center (Mark Cuddy, Artistic Director), Philadelphia Theater Company (Sara Garonzik, Producing Artistic Director) and Williamstown Theatre Fes tival (Jenny Gerston, Artistic Director), where it was presented as a workshop on August 14, 2011. It was directed by Portia Krieger. The set design was by Jarrod Bray, the costume design was by Bridget Gavlin, the lighting design was by Steven Maturno, and the sound design was by Charles Coes; the production stage manager was Stephen Milosevich. The cast was:
| EDDIE | Harry Ford |
| MAX | Matthew Nuernberger |
| ISABELLE | Claire Siebers |
| TROY | Peter Albrink |
| DORIS | Vella Lovell |
| NICK | Kevin Reed |
| KELLY | Phillipa Soo |
| COLE | Michael Shaw |
| TAMMY | Emily Mattheson |
| BECKY | Crystal Lucas Perry |
CHARACTERS
| EDDIE | Male, early thirties |
| MAX | Male, early twenties |
| ISABELLE | Female, twenties |
| TROY | Male, mid-thirties |
| DORIS | Female, sixties, Eddie and Nick’s mother |
| NICK | Male, mid to late thirties, Eddie’s older brother |
| KELLY | Female, mid-thirties, Nick’s wife |
| COLE | Male, |