Decade
Twenty short plays by a group of writers combine into an overarching theatrical narrative commemorating the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
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John Logan
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Decade
Twenty short plays by a group of writers combine into an overarching theatrical narrative commemorating the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers
I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers is a 2013 American one-act play by John Logan, about the talent agent Sue Mengers.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
In turn-of-the-century Paris, a young writer named Christian falls in love with Satine, the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret. Their relationship threatens the arrangement with a wealthy patron on whom the club depends. A score assembled from popular songs carries their struggle between artistic freedom, financial survival, and love.
Peter and Alice
The play is based on a meeting between Alice Liddell Hargreaves, the woman who inspired Alice, and Peter Llewellyn Davies, one of the boys who inspired Peter Pan, at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition in 1932. The play sees enchantment and reality collide as this brief encounter lays bare the lives of these two characters.
Red
"There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend... One day the black will swallow the red." Mark Rothko is in his New York studio in 1958/59, having been commissioned to paint a group of murals for the expensive and exclusive Four Seasons restaurant. He gives orders to his assistant, Ken, as Ken mixes the paints, makes the frames, and primes the canvases. Ken, however, eventually brashly questions Rothko's theories of art and his acceding to work on such a commercial project. For his part, Rothko dislikes the rise of pop art. Ultimately, Rothko stops working on the project and decides to return the money. He explains to Ken that the Four Seasons is an inappropriate place for his murals to be seen. He then fires Ken and tells him to go make something of his own in the art world.
Superhero
Simon Branson, a fifteen-year-old superhero-hero comic enthusiast, spends a lot of time on the fire escape of his building dreaming up stories and drawing superhero comics. He introduces the story with one of his comics ("Prologue/The Adventures of the Amazing Sea-Mariner"). Meanwhile, Charlotte Branson, Simon's mother laments on her son changing since his father, Charlotte's husband Mitch, died in an accident two years ago. Simon won't even visit the gravesite and avoids talking to his mother ("What's Happening To My Boy?"). Simon has a discussion with his building's landlord, who tells him that a superhero always makes a triumphant return, which inspires the second issue of his comic of the Sea-Mariner. As he is on the fire escape writing this issue of his comic, he notices someone on the roof of the building who appears to disappear in a streak of light ("The Adventures of the Amazing Sea-Mariner (Reprised)/You Don't Know What I Know"). With a suspicion that whoever was on the building was a superhero and little actual knowledge of him, except that he was a bus driver and lived in his building, apartment 4-B, Simon asks his Mom about who the man was. Charlotte only met the man briefly when she was returning his mail, as his mail was sent to her address by mistake. Simon is suspicious of his shy manner, but Charlotte thought that he seemed "nice" ("The Man in 4-B"). Later at school, we meet Vee, the girl Simon has a crush on, but not the courage to talk to. Simon makes an effort to make a stand against a bully in her defense while drumming up superhero fantasies, when the bully faces him, he regrets his decision and panics. Vee stands up in Simon's defense instead, protecting him from the same bully he tried to protect her from ("I'll Save The Girl"). Charlotte at home is folding laundry while lamenting her loneliness. In a passionate frenzy, she begins to cry while switching laundry batches in the laundry room, when she runs into Jim, the man in 4-B. Charlotte begins to think a lot about getting her life back in order and she begins to think more about Jim ("Laundry For Two"). The next song finds Jim and Charlotte both reflecting on how to socialize again. Both have been in isolation, lonely, and hiding from society. They meet on a date and hit it off immediately because they both shared the longing to share their life with someone else. However, near the end of their date, Jim makes a sudden run for it for an unknown reason, confusing Charlotte, while Simon watches and confirms his suspicions that there is something different about Jim ("How Do You Do This Again?/ You Don't Know What I Know (Reprise)"). Simon quizzes Jim about his super-powers. Jim says that, unlike in the movies, he's alone and can't always save everyone ("It's Not Like in the Movies"). When Charlotte tells him about her date and Jim's fast departure, Simon reveals nothing about Jim's true nature. The next day, Simon and Vee take a walk ("If I Only Had One Day"). Meanwhile, Jim apologizes to Charlotte for leaving, and they kiss ("In Between"). Simon and Charlotte imagine life with a superhero around ("My Dad, the Superhero"). Charlotte is again infuriated when Jim is again late to dinner ("It Happens to You"). She and Simon quarrel about Jim and about the way Simon handled Mitch's death. At the grave of her late husband, Charlotte makes peace with his passing, finally deciding on the words for his tombstone ("What are the Words?"). At the school assembly, Simon gives a visual comic book presentation and declares his feelings for Vee ("If I Only Had One Day (Reprise)"). Jim detects another person in distress and is forced to leave Charlotte. Vee tells Simon she only sees him as a friend. Charlotte breaks up with Jim, saying she needs somebody who can actually be there for Simon and for her. Jim tells Simon he is leaving town. Simon tells Charlotte he doesn't believe in heroes or hope anymore ("Superman is Dead"). Charlotte says she'll try to be his "superhero" ("Superhero"). They embrace each other as mother and son.
Swept Away
In the early 1900s, Mate, dying of tuberculosis, is tormented by the memories of his crewmates who died after a shipwreck 22 years earlier. The spirits encourage him to "tell the truth" ("Go to Sleep"). In 1888, Mate is a whaling crew member under the Captain ("Hard Worker"). Seeking adventure, Little Brother joins the crew, and, after attempting to bring him back home to their family farm, Big Brother becomes stranded on the ship as well ("Nothing Short of Thankful"). Though excited for the journey, Little Brother laments the love he left behind on land, Melody Anne ("Swept Away"). He and Mate grow closer, much to Big Brother's disdain. On the third day of the voyage, Big Brother tries to rally the crew in prayer, but his attempts are in vain ("Lord Lay Your Hand on My Shoulder"/"Ain't No Man"). Captain ponders the future of the whaling trade and his life as a sailor ("May It Last"). Though Big Brother and Little Brother disagree on their purpose and desires in life, they value their brotherhood and agree on the importance of family ("Murder in the City"). Soon after, the ship is struck by a storm and sinks ("Complainte D'Un Matelot Mourant"). The entire crew dies in the wreckage, save for Mate, Captain, and the Brothers. After six days in a lifeboat with no food, water, or rain, the four men share their hopes for an eventual rescue ("A Gift for Melody Anne"). Little Brother, severely injured after being crushed by the falling mast, dictates a letter to Melody Anne for Mate to transcribe. Captain, distraught at having allowed his crew to perish alone, and Big Brother, insistent that Little Brother will not die alone, also dictate letters to their loved ones. Mate, realizing he has no one to write to, reflects on what he has made of his life ("Through My Prayers"). After sixteen days stranded at sea, the four are starving. Mate tells Captain that Little Brother will die soon anyway and that they should kill him in his sleep so the rest of them can have something to eat and drink ("Satan Pulls the Strings"). Captain refuses to make a decision, instead telling Mate that he is in charge now. Big Brother stops Mate from killing Little Brother, though Little Brother agrees that he will sacrifice himself after seeing one last sunrise. Big Brother concedes, but insists that he will be the one to kill him, not Mate ("No Hard Feelings"). When the time comes to make the sacrifice, however, Big Brother slits his own throat instead. Mate struggles to continue the story, but is urged by the others to "make himself clean." Mate recounts how they all ate and drank from Big Brother's body. They were found by another ship soon after, but the three never spoke of the incident again. Captain died three years after the incident, and Little Brother just one year ago, surrounded by Melody Anne and their children. With the confession of the truth, Mate completes the retelling of the story and dies ("The Once and Future Carpenter").
The Last Ship
A man returns to his northeastern English hometown after years away and finds its shipyard threatened with closure. As workers fight for their livelihoods, old relationships and unresolved family ties pull him back into the community he left.