Deborah Zoe Laufer
playwright
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END DAYS
“Wild and wonderful… End Days is enormously funny, warm and uplifting.”  CurtainUp
“A rapturously funny play about a family trying to survive in a world hurtling toward Armageddon, proves that the right playwright can inspire healing laughter in even the most sobering subjects.”  The Miami Herald
“Two acts are too short a time to spend with Deborah Zoe Laufer's lovable characters in "End Days…. a wonderful demonstration of writerly skill and compassion.” Variety
Sixteen year old Rachel Stein is having a bad year.  Her father hasn’t changed out of his pajamas since 9/11.   Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus.  Her new neightbor, a sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her hard.  And the Apocolypse is coming Wednesday.
Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all.


CAST:
RACHEL STEIN:  16 year old nihilistic Goth.   Feels angry and orphaned since 9/11, as both of her parents withdrew into their own worlds.
SYLVIA  STEIN:  Her mother.  40’s.  Newly Evangelical, with a close, personal relationship with Jesus.
ARTHUR  STEIN:  Her father. 40’s  Deeply depressed.
NELSON STEINBERG:   Also 16.   Their new neighbor.   Passionate about science.  Dresses as Elvis.  Loves Rachel. 
JESUS and STEPHEN HAWKING:  Played by the same actor. 
  

Picture
Production history:
Florida Stage                                       Manalapan, FL
The Phoenix Theatre                            Indianapolis, IN
The Vineyard                                       Martha’s Vineyard, MA
The Curious Theatre                            Denver, CO
Horizon Theatre                                  Atlanta, GA
Next Theatre                                       Chicago, IL
People’s Light and Theatre                  Malvern, PA
Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte               Charlotte, NC
Ensemble Studio Theatre                    New York, NY
Salt Lake Acting Company                   Salt Lake City, UT
Riverside Theatre                               Iowa City, IA
Echo Theatre                                      Dallas, TX
Harlequin Theatre                              Olympia, WA
Seattle Public Theatre                        Seattle, WA
Spectrum Theatre                              Grand Rapids, MI
Paper Lantern Theatre                       Greensboro, NC
Shattuck-St. Mary’s School                 Faribault, MN
Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati          Cincinnati, OH
Independent Actors Theatre               Columbia, MO
The Hippodrome                                Gainesville, FL
Spot-LYTE Theatre                             Lorton, VA
Theatre on the HILL                           Bollingbrook, IL
Nordharzer Stadtebundtheater           Halberstadt, Germany
Ashland Contemporary Theatre          Medford, OR
Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte              Charlotte, NC
Actor’s Guild of Lexington                 Lexington, KY
Langhorne Players                             Newtown, PA
New Jewish Theatre                           St. Louis, MO
The Odyssey Theatre                          Los Angeles, CA
Montana Rep.                                    Missoula, MT
Maryland Ensemble Theatre               Frederick, MD
Dudley Hill Players                            Dudley, MA
Austin Peay State University              Clarksville, TN
ON.TEATRE                                       St. Petersburg, Russia
Carpenter Square Theatre                 Oklahoma City, OK
Clackamas Repertory Theater           Oregon City, OR
Mid-Ohio Valley Players                     Marietta, OH
Proxy Theatre                                    San Antonio, TX
Williamston Theatre                           Williamston, MI
Jewish Ensemble Theatre                   West Bloomfield, MI
Siskiyou Performing Arts Ctr.              Yreka, CA
Jasper I.S.D.                                      Japer, TX
Kenyon College                                  Gambier, OH
Bordentown RSD                                Bordentown, NJ
South Bend Civic Theatre                   South Bend, IN
Cider Mill Playhouse                           Endicott, NY
Sauk Valley Community College           Dixon, IL      
E-52 Student Theatre                          Neward, DE
UWG Theatre Company                       Carrollton, GA
Burien Actor’s Theatre                        Burien,WA
Five Dollar Recession Theater             Nashville, TN (inaugural)
Subversive Theatre Company              Buffalo, NY  (10/2014)
Hope Theatre                                     Holland, MI  (10/2014)
Lenoir Rhyne University                      Hickory, NC  (11/2014)
Windy City Playhouse                         Chicago, IL (3/2015)
Penobscot Theatre                             Bangor, ME (3/2015)
Chagrin Valley Little Theatre              Chagrin Falls, OH (2/2016)
Chester Theatre Group                       Chester, NJ (2/2016)
Voice Theatre                                    Woodstock, NY (6/2016)
Adelaide Fringe Festival                     Adelaide, Australia (2-3/17)
Centenary Stage Company                 Hackettstown, NJ 3/17
Sierra Stages                                     Nevada City, NV 3/2017
Stage Center Theatre                         Chicago, IL, (4/2017)

Tower Fine Arts                                      Brockport, NY (4/2018)
Calfornia State University                      Long Beach, CA 4/27-5/12/18
Kaleidascope Theatre                            Lynn Haven, FL 5/18-6/18

SUNY Brockport                                Brockport, NY, 10/18
Amelia Community Theatre               Fernandina Beach, FL, 11/18
The Restless Artists Theatre              Sparks, NV, 3/19
Hickory Community Theatre              Hickory, NC, 3/19
Morehead Theatre Guild                    Morehead, KY, 3/19
Learning Lab                                     Waite Park, MN 6/19
Some reviews:
“Two acts are too short a time to spend with Deborah Zoe Laufer's lovable characters in "End Days…. a wonderful demonstration of writerly skill and compassion.”
  by Sam Thielman
VARIETY
http://variety.com/2009/legit/reviews/end-days-1200507357/
     -------------------------
"Laufer’s unique sense of humor… sheds authentic light on the human condition. Laufer is as much an heir to Ionesco as to Sherwood Schwartz — and a playwright to watch."
LA TIMES
  by Margaret Gray
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/08/theater-review-end-days-at-the-odyssey-theatre.html
     ------------------------- 
“Wild and wonderful… End Days is enormously funny, warm and uplifting.”
CurtainUp
     by Paulanne Simmons
http://www.curtainup.com/enddaysest09.html
     ------------------
"Who said religion can’t be funny? Not playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer, whose End Days makes its Chicago premiere in a hilarious, smart production.
This show intelligently, with loads of wit, pokes at using religious fanaticism to heal our personal wounds. Without being ‘preachy’ or condescending, End Days unfolds as a funny look at the role of faith in human relations. This show is hilarious and healing."
  By Tom Williams
http://chicagocritic.com/end-days/
     -------------------------
“A rapturously funny play about a family trying to survive in a world hurtling toward Armageddon, proves that the right playwright can inspire healing laughter in even the most sobering subjects.”
 “Perhaps only Deborah Zoe Laufer would think to combine a Goth girl her born-again mom, her post-9/11 depressed dad, an Elvis-loving, Jesus and Stephen Hawking in the same play — and make the combination hilarious.”
The Miami Herald
  by Christine Dolan
     -----------------
“… Both poignantly redemptive and often hilariously funny.
I hope others will have the opportunity to see this special play. It begs the question of what we would hold most sacred if we knew the end was near. And it brings to life our broad range of choices, including laughter, and the treasured traveling companions who are there even when we face our own personal Armageddon.”
– Huffington Post
     -------------------------
“End Days may be about a weirdly dysfunctional family that finds its soul by waiting for the Apocalypse together, but this play has heart: It’s engaging, funny as hell and even touching.”
An exceptional show”
–NUVO (Indianapolis)
     ----------------------
“a manic whirlwind of a family drama as weird and illuminating and truthful as anything likely to be discovered at CERN. End Days is funnier than a great many plays designed solely to induce laughter…and more touching than most plays designed solely to touch.… so redolent of the ordinary wishes of real, lonely human beings that, despite the play’s atmosphere of general absurdity, it communicates a heartbreaking truthfulness. …”
Broward-Palm Beach New Times
  by Brandon K. Thorp
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2007-10-25/culture/scramble-me-up-a-universe/
     ---------------------------
   “..the smartest, most hysterical, laugh-out-loud show you’ll see in the theater – ever! … witty, funny AND relevant play.”
– Martha’s Vineyard Plum
     --------------------
“Who knew The Rapture could be so funny? In Deborah Zoe Laufer's irreverent yet deeply felt comedy, the playwright humorously navigates the uncertain terrain of faith, love, and science.”
TheaterMania
     by Dan Bacalzo
http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/04-2009/end-days_18386.html
Interview on NPR: Talk of the Nation Science Friday 
with Ira Flatow:
Play Asks: Can Science And Religion Get Along? : NPR


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