Wolf Play

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Wolf Play

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 2m, 1any gender (adult), 1gnc (adult)

Hansol Jung

Wolf Play is a messy, funny, disturbing theatrical experience grappling with a wolf, a puppet and the very prickly problem of “What is a family, and what do we need from families today? Is it very different from what humans have needed from families before?”

Image: 2023 MCC Theater, Soho Rep & Ma-Yi Theater Company Co-Production (Julieta Cervantes)

Wolf Play

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 2m, 1any gender (adult), 1gnc (adult)
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 2023 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play

Details

Summary

A Korean boy is ushered into a new house by his adopted American father. This new house belongs to an American boxer and her wife. American father un-adopts boy by a single signature on a piece of paper. But just before he leaves the new house, ex-father discovers that the new parents, to whom he has "re-homed" his ex-son, are a lesbian couple. American ex-father spends the rest of the play trying to get the boy back. In his corner is Ryan, the boxer's coach and her wife's brother. Ryan doesn't like the new Korean boy, who is a bit weird.

Wolf Play is a messy, funny, disturbing theatrical experience grappling with a wolf, a puppet and the very prickly problem of “What is a family, and what do we need from families today? Is it very different from what humans have needed from families before?”

History
Wolf Play premiered at several theatres in 2019 and 2020 as part of National New Play Network's rolling world premiere initiative. Premiere theatres included Artists Rep in Portland, Oregon (March 2019), The Gift Theatre in Chicago, Illinois (July 2019) and Company One Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts (February 2020).
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups

ASH – Non-Binary, Late 20s. Southpaw Boxer.
ROBIN – Female, 30s. Ash’s wife.
RYAN – Male, Early to mid 30s. Robin’s brother.
PETER – Male, Late 30s. A father.
WOLF – A mix of the familiar with the terribly unexpected.

Author's notes: Cast should be racially diverse. WOLF should be of East Asian descent.

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Duration 90 minutes

Media

“A deeply resonant work from one of the American theater’s most complex new voices.” – Chicago Tribune

“A gorgeous, devastating play.” – New York Sun

“Thrilling... portrays a traumatic situation, but with an antic disposition and a goofy heart... there’s a lightness here that chases away the shadows.” – The New York Times

“Both moving and metaphorically adroit... among the many complications of the play, the doubling of adult actor and child puppet is one that absolutely works.” – WBUR, Boston

“Great theatre... Jung is in a class of her own. She wields language like a poet. Her lyrical, precise script perfectly captures our best and worst natures. The play simultaneously celebrates our extraordinary capacity for love, exposes our nastiest inclinations toward selfishness, and admonishes the injustices of our social systems.” – Broadway World

“Mischievous... grips you with both its facts and its fictions. Jung’s play is based on grim real-life experiences; The fantastical touch of the puppet and the Wolf... lightens the experience with humor... pulling you in emotionally so the punches land when your guard is down.” – Vulture

Videos

  • Hansul Jung reads from Wolf Play youtube thumbnail

    Hansul Jung reads from Wolf Play

  • Scene from Wolf Play at The Gift Theatre youtube thumbnail

    Scene from Wolf Play at The Gift Theatre

Photos

  • Wolf Play

    Image: 2023 MCC Theater, Soho Rep & Ma-Yi Theater Company Co-Production (Julieta Cervantes)

Licensing & Materials

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

Scripts

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Authors

Hansol Jung

Hansol Jung

Hansol Jung (playwright) Productions: Wolf Play (Artists Rep, Soho Rep), Wild Goose Dreams (Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse), Cardboard Piano (Humana Festival), Among the Dead (Ma-Yi) and No More Sad Things (Sideshow, Boise Contemporary). Commissions: Public Theater (NY), ...

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