A Bright New Boise

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

A Bright New Boise

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  2w, 3m

Samuel D. Hunter

In the bleak, corporate break room of a craft store in Idaho, someone is summoning the Rapture. Samuel D. Hunter's A Bright New Boise is an earnest comedy about the meager profits of modern faith.

Image: 2023 Signature Theatre Company Production (Joan Marcus)

A Bright New Boise

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Suggested Use
    • Scene Work
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
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
A Bright New Boise

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
Keywords
Performing Groups
  • 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

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 youtube thumbnail

    Samuel D. Hunter, Advice on Producing His Plays

Photos

  • A Bright New Boise

    Image: 2023 Signature Theatre Company Production (Joan Marcus)

  • A Bright New Boise

    Image: 2023 Signature Theatre Company Production (Joan Marcus)

Licensing & Materials

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

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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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