Lila Rose Kaplan

Lila Rose Kaplan

Lila Rose Kaplan writes heartfelt comedies, bittersweet dramas, and musicals for young people. Her plays include Home of the Brave, Jesus Girls, The Magician’s Daughter, 1 2 3 - a play about abandonment and ballroom dancing, We All Fall Down, Wildflower, Bureau of Missing Persons, and Biography of a Constellation. Her musicals for young people include: The Light Princess, The Pirate Princess, and The Magic...
Lila Rose Kaplan writes heartfelt comedies, bittersweet dramas, and musicals for young people. Her plays include Home of the Brave, Jesus Girls, The Magician’s Daughter, 1 2 3 - a play about abandonment and ballroom dancing, We All Fall Down, Wildflower, Bureau of Missing Persons, and Biography of a Constellation. Her musicals for young people include: The Light Princess, The Pirate Princess, and The Magic Fish. Productions include: A.R.T., South Coast Rep, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, New Victory Theatre, Second Stage, San Francisco Playhouse, Neighborhood Productions, Know Theatre, and Perishable Theatre. Development includes: Huntington Theatre, Arena Stage, Kennedy Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Theatreworks, PlayPenn, and The Lark. Awards: National Science Award in Playwriting and The International Women's Playwriting Award. Fellowships include: Huntington Playwriting Fellowship, Playwrights’ Realm Writing Fellow, Old Vic/New Voices Exchange, and the Shank Fellowship. Residencies include: New Rep Next Voices, Harvard Business School, and the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics. BA with Honors: Brown University. MFA in Playwriting: UC San Diego. Lila Rose currently lives in Somerville, MA with her marine biologist and her curious daughter. www.lilarose.org

Plays

  • small enchantments, an immersive theatrical adventure for zoom or a real forest
    12 princesses sneak out to a ball every night. or so they say.
    you see, their father locks them in the palace.
    (some say he's overprotective, others say he's evil. either way, 12 young women are trapped)
    (where is their mother you might wonder?)
    oh, their mother is a dying tree and their aunt is a moody river.

    but these are 12 most unusual young women
    ...
    12 princesses sneak out to a ball every night. or so they say.
    you see, their father locks them in the palace.
    (some say he's overprotective, others say he's evil. either way, 12 young women are trapped)
    (where is their mother you might wonder?)
    oh, their mother is a dying tree and their aunt is a moody river.

    but these are 12 most unusual young women
    these are fierce princesses unlike any you’ve met before.
    can they free themselves? what will it take?

    this surprising tale bursts to life through interlocking monologues and tiny paper worlds.

    part play.
    part art installation.
    part apocalyptic fairy tale for our times.
  • HOME OF THE BRAVE
    As she begins her Presidential campaign, Evelyn is depending on her family to come across as wholesome. But when her campaign manager visits at Christmas, her family can’t quite fit into the all-American mold. Inspired by Moliere’s TARTUFFE, this new comedy reveals what happens when the slick lies of politics collide with the messy truth of family.
  • 1 2 3, a play about abandonment and ballroom dancing
    When their radical parents are imprisoned, sisters 1, 2 and 3 are sent to live with different foster families. 1 loses herself in history, 2 dances, and 3 videos all of it and more. Family tensions mount when Mom gets out of jail. 123 is a dark, funny drama about a rift between sisters and what it takes to grow up.
  • THE LIGHT PRINCESS
    The Princess is cursed to have no gravity. The King and Queen must find the Princess' gravity before her 16th birthday, or the kingdom will fall into the hands of the Witch that cursed her. The Prince (who doesn't want to be a Prince, but wants to be Rock Star) tries to help, but ends up needing saving himself. Inspired by the story by George MacDonald, The Light Princess is written for younger...
    The Princess is cursed to have no gravity. The King and Queen must find the Princess' gravity before her 16th birthday, or the kingdom will fall into the hands of the Witch that cursed her. The Prince (who doesn't want to be a Prince, but wants to be Rock Star) tries to help, but ends up needing saving himself. Inspired by the story by George MacDonald, The Light Princess is written for younger audiences, but is safe for adults as well.
  • Tink
    Tink lost her wings. She also lost Peter. Come to story hour to find out if she can set things right.
  • BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS
    A piece of chalk. Big band music. A pocketful of leaves. These clues lead Angela on a quest from her apartment on the Upper West Side to a cave in Moscow to search for someone who is missing. Inspired by the stories of Borges, BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS is a magical tale that explores how we heal.
  • WILDFLOWER
    A woman and her unusual son look to escape their past in Crested Butte, a small town with its own share of secrets. They encounter a curious girl, a forest ranger, and an ex-drag queen. The five collide in a summer of botany and sexual awakening. WILDFLOWER explores the discovery of desire and it's consequences.
  • 100 PLANES
    Lieutenant Kay McClure, a hotshot pilot, meets her match in Major Anne Clarkson. As Anne pushes Kay harder and harder, questions arise. What exactly is Anne training Kay to do? David, an aspiring reporter and Kay's lover, probes deeper and discovers Anne's true motivations. 100 Planes examines the tug of war between love and ambition for female pilots in the Air Force
  • THE MAGICIAN'S DAUGHTER
    The Magician Prospero and his daughter Miranda dazzle their audiences until the day Miranda quits. This funny bittersweet play dives deep into the ups and downs of a father-daughter relationship.
    *Discretion for Viewers advised if you have a Father or a Daughter (or know anyone who does).
  • THE MAGIC FISH
    The Magic Fish is a new physical theater play puppets and original music: a sensory nautical adventure into a magical ocean, based on the Grimm fairytale of The Fisherman and His Wife. It is a story of unbridled ambition, helpless devotion, and divine wrath ... what MORE would YOU wish for??
  • Catching Flight
    One garden. Two sisters. Three moments in time. Clare and Emma meet at the Rodin Sculpture Garden as children, young adults, and grown women. Why is it hardest to connect with the people we love?
  • BIOGRAPHY OF A CONSTELLATION
    Biography of a Constellation unites a mythical princess, an archival librarian and a planetarium announcer. Their stories align as each woman escapes the confines of her reality through a deep love of the stars.