Gratitude
Play Description
Capturing teenage angst in all its passions, insecurities and foibles, GRATITUDE starts out as an innocent love story and snowballs into a life changing moment for three coming of age boys and one girl. While each character discovers the power of their newly discovered sexuality, they also come to realize that the choices they'll make in life may sometimes be anything but their own.
Production Info
Cast: 4 total (1 female, 3 male, all characters high-school age, female character Middle Eastern or Indian)Full Length Drama (about 80 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
Press Quotes
“Oren Safdie’s GRATITUDE is an unflinchingly dark (and darkly funny) exploration of sexual power-play… [He] is clearly not a playwright to gingerly approach controversial issues … The provocations in the play are very much in line with those of Neil LaBute at his most caustic … You might have some strong post-show words for Safdie. What you won’t be able to say is that he doesn’t know how to put together a bracingly provocative and ferociously entertaining 75 minutes of theatre.” —Jim Burke, Montreal Gazette
“The 75-minute play begins rather innocently, but dissolves into so much sexual tension and human desperation with a great deal of simplicity and humour. The acting is riveting, and brings out issues that teens handle amongst themselves within the sanctity of a private school with a great deal of force and authenticity.” —Stuart Nulman, Montreal Times
“GRATITUDE offers a topical look at high school lust and longing … The scenes are well-paced, engaging, funny.” —Rhiannon Collett , The Globe and Mail
“Montreal-born playwright Oren Safdie has hit the proverbial ball out of the court with his new play GRATITUDE. Safdie’s play captures youthful stirrings with all their passions and insecurities to devastating effect. GRATITUDE is a brave, provocative story exploring the realities around sex, love, consent, duty, gender roles and rebellion.” —Mike Cohen, The Suburban
“[A] distinctively refreshing and well-plotted work which builds to a shattering conclusion … Outrageous, poignant and electric, GRATITUDE is a theatrical powerhouse.” —Darryl Reilly, theaterscene.org
Author(s)
Oren SafdieOren Safdie attended the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University before turning his attention to playwriting. After receiving his MFA — also from Columbia — he was awarded a Woolrich Fellowship, which he used to launch The West End Gate Theatre on New York’s Upper West Side. He was a playwright-in-residence at La MaMa E.T.C., and helmed the Malibu Stage Co. where his Off-Broadway/London hit PRIVATE JOKES, PUBLIC PLACES first debuted. His next play, THE LAST WORD, also moved Off-Broadway, starring two-time Emmy Award-winner Daniel J. Travanti. Other productions include GRATITUDE, MR. GOLDBERG GOES TO TEL AVIV, FALSE SOLUTION, CHECKS & BALANCES, THE BILBAO EFFECT, musicals WEST BANK, UK, JEWS & JESUS and FIDDLER SUB-TERRAIN with Ronnie Cohen, and LA COMPAGNIE, which he developed into a half-hour pilot for Castle Rock/CBS. As a screenwriter, Oren scripted the film You Can Thank Me Later starring Ellen Burstyn, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Newport Film Festival; and the Israeli film Bittersweet, which played the Jerusalem and Montreal World Film Festivals. Oren has written for and contributed to Metropolis, Dwell, Beyond, The Forward, Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, The Algemeiner, The New Republic and The National Post. He is also the recipient of numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, The John Golden Foundation, and The Graham Foundation. Oren has taught playwriting and screenwriting at the University of Miami and Douglas College in Vancouver.
Book Information
| Publisher | BPPI |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 11/23/2020 |
| Pages | 70 |
| ISBN | 9780881458824 |
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.broadwayplaypublishing.com