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Grief Hotel

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  3w, 2m, 1gnc (adult)

Liza Birkenmeier

Loss is fast, but grief is slow, and Aunt Bobbi’s going to try to make everyone feel better. Liza Birkenmeier’s new play is a dark comedy about the commodification of healing.

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Grief Hotel

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 2m, 1gnc (adult)
  • Duration
    Duration
    75 Minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades

  • Winner! 2024 Obie Award (Special Citation)

Details

Summary

News of a missing acquaintance brings old friends (and ex-lovers) back together. Relationships re-form around natural and unnatural disasters, and everyone ends up at Aunt Bobbi’s house, even though her parties are cursed. Loss is fast, but grief is slow, and Aunt Bobbi’s going to try to make everyone feel better. Liza Birkenmeier’s new play is a dark comedy about the commodification of healing.

History

Grief Hotel was first produced at Clubbed Thumb in New York City on 21 June 2023. In a co-production with the Public Theater, the play made its off-Broadway premiere at the Shiva Theater on 20 March 2024. Directed by Tara Ahmadinejad, the off-Broadway production featured Susan Blommaert, Nadine Malouf, Bruce McKenzie, Ana Nogueira, Susannah Perkins and Naren Weiss.

Keywords
Performing Groups
AUNT BOBBI – A force
EM – Ceremoniously agitated, thirties
WINN – Sadly impulsive, same age as Em
TERESA – Unnervingly self-satisfied, a little younger
ROHIT – Uncertain but so deliberate, same age as Em and Winn
ASHER – Used to be famous, twenty to thirty years older than Winn
  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting

    Five chairs. Maybe a hotel conference room, maybe not.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 75 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Strong Language

Media

“Exquisitely weightless… funny and graceful.” – The New Yorker

“Outstanding… a sneaky marvel… rather than handing you tidy packages of exposition, Grief Hotel trusts you to fall into an already rushing river, find a branch, and hang on.” – Vulture

“A unique exploration of romantic relationships… Birkenmeier’s deft writing and her affinity for morbid humor return here, and despite its title, Grief Hotel doesn’t simply dwell on the grim; it’s actually a dark comedy. ” – The New York Times

“Unexpectedly shattering… a crazy quilt of intersecting characters and intertwined relationships… Liza Birkenmeier’s Obie Award–winning play paints a gorgeously impressionistic picture of a group of acquaintances in loneliness, contemplation and despair.” – New York Stage Review

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

In Conversation With… Grief: Shows That Engage with the Healing Process
By Dylan Fugel
30 April 2026

Videos

  • Clubbed Thumb’s Grief Hotel at The Public Theater – Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Clubbed Thumb’s Grief Hotel at The Public Theater – Trailer

Licensing & Materials

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

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Liza Birkenmeier

Liza Birkenmeier
Liza Birkenmeier is the author of Dr. Ride’s American Beach House, which premiered at Ars Nova in 2019, directed by Katie Brook (Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Drama). Her play Grief Hotel  was commissioned by Clubbed Thumb and premiered at Summerworks in 2023, dir ...
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