Pocatello

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Pocatello

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  5w, 5m

Samuel D. Hunter

Eddie manages an Italian chain restaurant in Pocatello – a small, unexceptional American city that is slowly being paved over with strip malls and franchises. But he can’t serve enough soup, salad & breadstick specials to make his hometown feel like home.

Image: 2014 Playwrights Horizons Production (Jeremy Daniel)

Pocatello

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    5w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Romantic Comedy
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades

  • Samuel D. Hunter is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship
    Samuel D. Hunter is the 2012 recipient of the Whiting Award for Drama

Pocatello

Details

Summary

Eddie manages an Italian chain restaurant in Pocatello – a small, unexceptional American city that is slowly being paved over with strip malls and franchises. But he can’t serve enough soup, salad & breadstick specials to make his hometown feel like home. Against the harsh backdrop of Samuel D. Hunter’s Idaho, this heartbreaking comedy is a cry for connection in an increasingly lonely American landscape.

History
Pocatello premiered off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on 21 November 2014. Directed by Davis McCallum, the production starred T.R. Knight and featured Jessica Dickey, Crystal Finn, Jonathan Hogan, Brian Hutchison, Leah Karpel, Cameron Scoggins, Brenda Wehle, Danny Wolohan and Elvy Yost.
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
EDDIE – Male, early 30s.
MAX – Male, early 20s.
ISABELLE – Female, 20s.
TROY – Male, mid 30s.
DORIS – Female, 60s. Eddie and Nick’s mother.
NICK – Male, mid to late 30s. Eddie’s older brother.
KELLY – Female, mid 30s. Nick’s wife.
COLE – Male, 70s, Troy’s father.
TAMMY – Female, late 30s, Troy’s wife.
BECKY – Female, 17. Troy and Tammy’s daughter.
  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting

    The floor of a nation-wide Italian restaurant franchise in Pocatello, Idaho.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol

Media

★★★★ “Skillful and moving, humanely rendered and shrewdly structured.” – TimeOut New York

“Samuel D. Hunter evokes a world in which identity itself has come to seem confusingly mass-produced... Pocatello suggests that while the brand names may have changed, the blues sung by quietly desperate middle Americans still have the same old lyrics.” – The New York Times, Read More

“Hunter, as warmhearted a dramatist as can be experienced these days, crafts Pocatello as if it were a Robert Altman film.” – Entertainment Weekly, Read More

“A touching production, both heartbreaking and funny, with an excellent cast, thoughtfully directed by Davis McCallum.” – Associated Press, Read More

★★★★ “Skillful and moving, humanely rendered and shrewdly structured, Hunter’s writing achieves a new level of technical complexity and strikes keen, ringing notes.” – Time Out New York, Read More 


ON BREAKING CHARACTER

Samuel D. Hunter In Five Plays

31 March 2025


When You’re Here, You’re Family: Samuel D. Hunter’s POCATELLO 

by Garrett Anderson

23 February 2016

Videos

  • Pocatello trailer - Playwrights Horizons youtube thumbnail

    Pocatello trailer - Playwrights Horizons

  • Samuel D. Hunter on Pocatello youtube thumbnail

    Samuel D. Hunter on Pocatello

  • Audiences on Pocatello at Playwrights Horizons youtube thumbnail

    Audiences on Pocatello at Playwrights Horizons

Photos

  • Pocatello

    Image: 2014 Playwrights Horizons Production (Jeremy Daniel)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Samuel D. Hunter

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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