A DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE TITLE

Hollywood, Nebraska

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  4w, 2m

Kenneth Jones

Delivering tears, laughter and small-town wisdom, you can find big dreams and homespun charm in Hollywood, Nebraska.

Hollywood, Nebraska

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Romantic Comedy
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

Two fortysomething actresses have returned to their once-thriving hometown in rural Nebraska. Jane is in from Los Angeles to check on her ailing mom, Alma. Andrea’s back from New York City to bury her father. Distracted by two charismatic local men – a handsome widower and a rough-and-ready laborer – the old friends navigate complicated feelings about their careers, love and loss. Hollywood, Nebraska is a hope-filled, tears-and-laughter comedy about small towns and big dreams, parents and children, the urge to be creative, and the ache – and joy – of coming home.

History

The rolling world premiere of Hollywood, Nebraska was presented in the 2022–23 season by Lamb Theatre in Sioux City, Iowa; Oak Ridge Playhouse in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Wetumpka Depot Players in Wetumpka, Alabama.

Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups

ROBERT –  late forties/early fifties, a carpenter/contractor. Decent blue-collar man of few words, a catch, a widower ready to connect. Any race.
ALMA – seventies or older, a housewife, mother of Jane. Homespun, likable, lonely, brooding on past hurt, eager for renewal. White.
JANE – forties, an L.A. actress. Unpretentious, unfiltered, chilly but not unkind, California cool. White.
ANDREA – forties, a New York actress. Pretentious, unfiltered, New Yorky, darkly comic, sexy, hurt, lost, a proficient singer. Any race.
KATIE – fifteen, Robert’s daughter. Eager, curious, starstruck wannabe actress, a good kid. Any race.
LANCE – thirties, a carpenter/contractor. Guileless blue-collar guy with hidden talents, sincere, uncomplicated, sexy, comic. Any race.

  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting

    A remote small town in the panhandle of Nebraska. A recent autumn. 

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Duration 105 Minutes

Media

“A sexy love letter to small towns, and the people who inhabit them.” – The Oak Ridger (TN)

“Packing plenty of romance, humor and theatrical references, Hollywood, Nebraska, is a sexy love letter to small towns, and the people who inhabit them. A story that begins in a dying and forgotten town, ends in hopeful reconciliation and creative awareness.” – The Oak Ridger (Tennessee)

“[Jones's] exploration of how small-town generosity and community can also breed insecurities and parochial attitudes will likely resonate.” – NJArts.net

Videos

  • Lamb Theatre Interview with Kenneth Jones youtube thumbnail

    Lamb Theatre Interview with Kenneth Jones

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £85 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Kenneth Jones

Kenneth Jones

Kenneth Jones’ breakout play Alabama Story was a Finalist in the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference and been produced at scores of theaters around the nation. His comedy Hollywood, Nebraska (also published by Concord Theatricals) was first develop ...

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