A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Bobbie Clearly

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  4w, 7m

Something unspeakable happened in the middle of a cornfield two years ago. Now, at last, the upstanding residents of Milton, Nebraska – from the cop and the nurse to the co-captains of the dance team, and even Bobbie himself – are ready to tell you their sides of the story. This comedy-about-a-tragedy follows a sprawling cast of characters as a small town strives to make sense of senseless violence.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 7m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller, Docudrama/History
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14-18)

Details

Summary

Something unspeakable happened in the middle of a cornfield two years ago. Now, at last, the upstanding residents of Milton, Nebraska – from the cop and the nurse to the co-captains of the dance team, and even Bobbie himself – are ready to tell you their sides of the story. This comedy-about-a-tragedy follows a sprawling cast of characters as a small town strives to make sense of senseless violence.

History
Bobbie Clearly made its world premiere at Steep Theatre Company in Chicago in 2016. In 2018, the play premiered off-Broadway at the Roundabout Underground.

Name, Gender and Age in Act Two

Darla London – woman, 61
Derek Nelson – man, 30
Megan Currie – woman, 27
Meghan Gotschell – woman, 27
Mitch Backes – man, 24
Pete Pfeifer – man, 24
Russ Scott – man, 43
Jane Welch – woman, 39
Stanley Welch – man, 52
Eddie Welch – man, 24
Bobbie Clearly – man, 24

Author's casting note: The play spans eleven years, but the age of each actor should roughly match the age of his or her character in Act Two.

The Welches and Bobbie are white. The rest of the casting is color-conscious and should be representative of both a small Midwestern town and America.

If there are eleven white people on stage, something is wrong.

Author's casting note: The play spans eleven years, but the age of each actor should roughly match the age of his or her character in Act Two.

The Welches and Bobbie are white. The rest of the casting is color-conscious and should be representative of both a small Midwestern town and America.

If there are eleven white people on stage, something is wrong.

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day, New Millennium/21st Century
  • Setting Milton, Nebraska. A small town of less than a thousand. 2006-2017.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features Play with Music, Puppetry, Stage Combat
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“[A] fearless and mesmerizing new play.” – New York Stage Review

“Thematically and structurally, Lubischer’s world premiere is remarkable, one of the first great new works of this nascent season... Bobbie Clearly is a collective portrait, a vision of a town (a country, a world) at odds with itself over how it wants to be understood.” – Newcity Stage

“Alex Lubischer’s three-act play reveals itself in layers, like a Russian nesting doll... There’s a good deal of comic relief, but bleakness and enigma rule the day, and the overall effect is haunting.” – The New Yorker

“[A] very honest, truthful and evenhanded look at the benefits and limitations of reconciliation, respectful to the pain of those who live in small-town America and also awake to what such communities can give to the nation.” – The Chicago Tribune

Videos

  • Roundabout Theatre Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Roundabout Theatre Trailer

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Alex Lubischer

Alex Lubischer is a Jeff Award-winning playwright whose work chronicles life in the rural midwest. His plays include Bobbie Clearly (Roundabout Theatre Company, Steep Theatre), Pivot (Yale School of Drama), The Quonsets (Yale Cabaret w/ co-writer Majkin Holmquist), Night Coun ...
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