Rooted
To License/buy, contact Theatrical Rights Worldwide: https://www.theatricalrights.com/show/rooted/
To License/buy, contact Theatrical Rights Worldwide: https://www.theatricalrights.com/show/rooted/
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"Deborah Zoe Laufer’s play Rooted is a not-to-be missed experience. The show is both a love letter to female friendship and an incisive examination of celebrity worship, the internet’s insidious power and the lengths to which people will go to escape empty lives."
Florida Theatre On Stage SYNOPSIS:
Emery and her sister, Hazel, have never ventured out of their tiny town in upstate New York for all their 60-some years. This is “A-ok” with Emery, who would very happily spend the rest of her days alone, in her homemade treehouse in her beloved tree, Mabel, blogging about her experiments on the consciousness of plants. But when she becomes an unexpected internet sensation and crowds start congregating beneath Mabel believing she’s their savior, Hazel sees an opportunity for profit and escape for the first time in her life. THE PEOPLE:
EMERY HARRIS: 40’s-70’s. Lives in a treehouse. Uses a walker to get around. Wears a gardening hat and glasses. She’s performing scientific experiments on the consciousness of plants. Plants make sense. People are confusing. And loud. And hard to read. And sometimes they touch you which is awful. So much safer to be alone with her plants. HAZEL: Emery’s older sister. She’s been a waitress at the Millerville Diner for way too long, taken care of Emery even longer. Frustrated and powerless, a rage roiling just beneath the surface. She could have done so much with her life. Is it too late? LUANNE: (you may already know her from Be Here Now) Early 20’s. Incredibly sweet and guileless. Hungry for joy, for a tribe, for something larger to believe in. PLACE: Emery's treehouse in Millerville, a small, fictional town in upstate NY, about a hundred miles from Manhattan. Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park -- premiere 2/2022
Directed by Noah Himmelstein Emery: Tarah Flanagan Hazel: Tasha Lawrence Luanne: Emily Kratter Set by Se Hyun Oh Lighting by David Lander Puppetry by Betsy Rosen Costumes by Gordon DeVinney Sound and music by Megumi Katayama Mikki Schaffner Photography 
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Beth Dimon as Emery at Theatre Lab
Reviews:
CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE, Cincinnati, OH The Sappy Critic “Rooted” in the Shelterhouse at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is so good. Like… SO good. The acting, the script, the sound design, the lighting, and what I think is probably my new favorite set (by Se Hyun Oh) ever — it all comes together for a delightfully funny, heartwarming, and delicious night of theatre." "Deborah Zoe Laufer is a brilliant writer and director Noah Himmelstein used the space very well as he brought all components together to tell a beautiful, moving, and very funny story." "It’s such a great story and such a great play. Go see it if you can. You won’t be sorry." CityBeat CRITIC's PICK "Deborah Zoe Laufer’s world premiere play, Rooted — a commission presently onstage at the Playhouse in the Park — is a beguiling work. At first, its three offbeat women feel a bit like characters in a sitcom, and they’re certainly the source of much laugh-out-loud humor. But before long, a rather profound message about belief and connection comes through, making this 95-minute show genuinely satisfying." THEATRE LAB, Boca Raton, FL
Florida Theatre On Stage "Something magical is happening at Theatre Lab, the new-play incubator based at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. "Deborah Zoe Laufer’s play Rooted is a not-to-be missed experience. The show is both a love letter to female friendship and an incisive examination of celebrity worship, the internet’s insidious power and the lengths to which people will go to escape empty lives." LYRIC THEATRE, Boston MA
The New England Theatre Geek "It is refreshing to experience a production that is so alive, so inherently and exuberantly theatrical: Rooted transported me to a world of Emery’s own making, and I’m grateful to have spent an afternoon with her." The Sleepless Critic "Rooted challenges a few of life’s bigger questions and is ultimately one wild and engaging production about what can come from good intentions as three uniquely flawed individuals work together to maneuver hope and healing to the masses during life’s surprising turns." AMPHIBIAN STAGE, Fort Worth, TX
OnStage, NTX "Is Rooted a rollicking comedy, a clear-eyed look at sisterhood, a hymn to the joys of new friendship, or a cautionary tale about putting yourself “out there” on YouTube? Yes." "Though playwright Laufer has a number of shows under her belt, this was my first encounter with her work—and I frankly love her light and amusingly flat-footed touch with dialogue. This isn’t fancy-speak, but it has an everyday spark that engages—and leads us (even as we’re laughing) to listen carefully. It’s a theater combo that’s hard to achieve, and quite wonderful when it takes root like this. THEATRE LAB, February, 2024
Emery: Elizabeth Dimon Hazel: Laura Turnbull Luanne: Gretchen Porro Directed by: Deborah Zoe Laufer Stage Manager: Rose Figueroa Set: Michael McClain Lighting: Thomas Shorrock Sound: Matt Corey, Gregory Ram Costumes: Dawn C. Hamburger Props: Jameelah Bailey Photos: Morgan Sophia Photography 
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PRODUCTION HISTORY
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Cincinnati, OH, 2/2022 Premiere
Lyric Stage Boston, MA, 5/2023
Horizon Theatre Atlanta, GA, 9/2023
Theatre Lab Boca Raton, FL 1/2024, Directed by me
Oil Lamp Theatre Glenview, IL 3/24-5/24
Amphibian Stage Fort Worth, TX 1/25
WAM Theatre Lennox, MA, 6/25 (reading)
Opera House Arts Stonington, ME, 8/25
Live Theatre Workshop Tucson, AZ, 6/26
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Cincinnati, OH, 2/2022 Premiere
Lyric Stage Boston, MA, 5/2023
Horizon Theatre Atlanta, GA, 9/2023
Theatre Lab Boca Raton, FL 1/2024, Directed by me
Oil Lamp Theatre Glenview, IL 3/24-5/24
Amphibian Stage Fort Worth, TX 1/25
WAM Theatre Lennox, MA, 6/25 (reading)
Opera House Arts Stonington, ME, 8/25
Live Theatre Workshop Tucson, AZ, 6/26