A Bright New Boise

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

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Cast Size

2w, 3m
Duration

120 minutes (2 hours)
Suggested Use
- Scene Work
Target Audience

Adult

Accolades

Winner! 2011 Obie Award for Playwriting
Nominee: 2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play
Samuel D. Hunter is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship and the 2012 Whiting Award for Drama

Details

Summary

In the bleak, corporate break room of a craft store in Idaho, someone is summoning The Rapture. Will, who has fled his rural hometown after a scandal at his Evangelical church, comes to the Hobby Lobby, not only for employment, but also to rekindle a relationship with Alex, his brooding teenage son, whom he gave up for adoption several years ago. Alex works there along with Leroy, his adopted brother and protector, and Anna, a hapless young woman who reads bland fiction but hopes for dramatic endings. As their manager, foul-mouthed Pauline, tries ceaselessly to find order (and profit) in the chaos of small business, these lost souls of the Hobby Lobby confront an unyielding world through the beige-tinted impossibility of modern faith.

History

A Bright New Boise is the play that kick-started Samuel D. Hunter's career; it was commissioned and first produced by Partial Comfort Productions at the wild project in New York City in September 2010. The production was directed by Davis McCallum. In October 2011, John Vreeke directed a second production at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company in Washington, DC.

Cast Attributes

Multicultural Casting

Keywords

Performing Groups

WILL – Late thirties, male.
PAULINE – Late thirties to early forties, female.
ANNA – Late twenties to early thirties, female.
LEROY – Early to mid twenties, male.
ALEX – 17, male.
TWO MALE VOICES ON HOBBY LOBBY TV

Time Period Present Day
Setting A windowless breakroom of a Hobby Lobby in Boise, Idaho; the parking lot of the Hobby Lobby.
Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
Cautions
- Strong Language
- No Special Cautions

Media

“A humorous and touching exploration of faith and family.” – NYTheatre.com

“Nothing is pretty about A Bright New Boise, a play that marches in the footsteps of Sam Shepard's acid comedies, set in the weird American West... Hunter has such highly sensitive antennae for the look and rhythm of mundane places that A Bright New Boise develops an authentic texture, separate from other pieces in its genre.” – The Washington Post Read More

“Samuel D. Hunter has offered us a humorous and touching exploration of faith and family.” – NYTheatre.com

“This clear-eyed comedy will lift your heart.” – Time Out New York

“Samuel D. Hunter has effectively rendered himself a playwright to watch with A Bright New Boise... a quietly affecting drama that delves into the always thorny issues of faith, forgiveness, and second chances with great eloquence and compassion.” – TheatreMania Read More

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

A Bright New Boise: Questions of Ambition and Faith
by now-VP of Literary, Amy Rose Marsh
February 10, 2015

Videos

Samuel D. Hunter, Advice on Producing His Plays

Photos

Image: 2023 Signature Theatre Company Production (Joan Marcus)

Image: 2023 Signature Theatre Company Production (Joan Marcus)

Licensing & Materials

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Authors

Samuel D. Hunter

Samuel D. Hunter grew up in Moscow, Idaho and lives in New York City with his husband and daughter. His full-length plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for B ...

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A Bright New Boise