Bakersfield Mist

by Stephen Sachs

Maude, a fifty-something unemployed bartender, has bought a painting for a few bucks from the thrift store. Despite almost trashing it, she now thinks it’s a Jackson Pollock worth millions. But when world-class art expert, Lionel Percy, flies over from New York and arrives at her trailer park home in Bakersfield to authenticate the painting, he has no idea what he is about to discover. Inspired by true events...

Maude, a fifty-something unemployed bartender, has bought a painting for a few bucks from the thrift store. Despite almost trashing it, she now thinks it’s a Jackson Pollock worth millions. But when world-class art expert, Lionel Percy, flies over from New York and arrives at her trailer park home in Bakersfield to authenticate the painting, he has no idea what he is about to discover. Inspired by true events, this sparkling and colorful new comedy-drama asks vital questions about what makes art and people truly authentic.

WINNER! Elliot Norton Award, Best New Play! "Not to be missed! [BAKERSFIELD MIST] tackles large creative questions with well-timed zingers.” —Vanity Fair. “Thoroughly entertaining…Put a smile on my face and kept my brain buzzing for a good while afterward." —The Times (London). “Wonderfully funny! Entertaining…one of the best plays on now in London. Terrific! Definitely the genuine article.” —The Telegraph (London). “Sachs’ short, clever play is a battle of wits.” —The New York Times. “It’s exhilarating in the extreme when a play strikes rich on every conceivable level. A wry two-hander that handles highbrow artistic issues while zinging in plenty of uproarious one-liners. A perfect marriage of emotion and ideas that is rare indeed.” —Los Angeles Times. “A triumph! Hugely gratifying! An absorbing, hilarious two-hander about the nature of art and the vagaries of human perception.” —Backstage.
Go to www.bakersfieldmist.com

  • Inquire About Rights
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

Bakersfield Mist

Recommended by

  • Dean Anthony: Bakersfield Mist

    I'm looking for plays for a specific group of actors, and it quickly became apparent that this play wouldn't work for them, however, I couldn't stop reading it! Great characters, great dialogue. A skillfully crafted play.

    I'm looking for plays for a specific group of actors, and it quickly became apparent that this play wouldn't work for them, however, I couldn't stop reading it! Great characters, great dialogue. A skillfully crafted play.

  • Sylvia Reed: Bakersfield Mist

    I really enjoyed reading this play. It's funny, and it also makes you think about authenticity and art and how we're all really the same. I'd love to see a production.

    I really enjoyed reading this play. It's funny, and it also makes you think about authenticity and art and how we're all really the same. I'd love to see a production.

  • Brendan Beseth: Bakersfield Mist

    I really like this play. Great dialogue and great premise. An interesting two-hander - a little about art, a lot about life.

    I really like this play. Great dialogue and great premise. An interesting two-hander - a little about art, a lot about life.

View all 6 recommendations

Character Information

  • Maude Gutman
    A colorful, saucy wise-cracking trailer trash woman. Salt-of-the-earth, takes shit from no one, big hearted, an eccentric and passionate dreamer. Beneath her bold and hopeful exterior lies a wounded heart and damaged soul.
    Character Age
    40 - 60
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Lionel Percy
    Manhattan art expert, suave, elegant, refined, rich, highly-educated and a bit of snob. Former Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, now struggling through a life crisis and a painful divorce.
    Character Age
    50 - 70
    Character Gender Identity
    Male

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Curious Theatre Company, Year 2011
  • Type Commission, Organization Fountain Theatre, Year 2011

Production History

  • Type Community Theater, Organization Riverside Theatre, Florida , Year 2020
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Ageless Repertory Theatre - Reno, Nevada, Year 2019
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Calithumpian Theatre Co - Ontario, Canada , Year 2019
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Community Players Of Concord - Concord, NH, Year 2019
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Lancaster Opera House, NY , Year 2019
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Olympic Theatre Arts, WA, Year 2019
  • Type Professional, Organization Commonweal Theatre Company, Maine, Year 2019
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Dayton Theatre Guild, Ohio, Year 2018
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Everyman Repertory Theatre - Rockport, Maine, Year 2018
  • Type Community Theater, Organization J CITY Theater - New Jersey , Year 2018
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Newton Nomadic Theater, CT, Year 2018
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Ojai Art Center - Ojai, CA, Year 2018
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Over Our Head Players, Wisconsin, Year 2018
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Pegasus Theatre Project, New Jersey, Year 2018
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Stars West Comedy Theater - Bakersfield, CA, Year 2018
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Studio Players, Florida, Year 2018
  • Type Professional, Organization Nidodiragno CMC produzioni - Italy , Year 2018
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Carpenter Square Theatre - Oklahoma, Year 2017
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Eclipse Theatre, Ohio, Year 2017
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Left Edge Theatre - Santa Rosa, CA, Year 2017
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Luther Burbank Center for the Arts - Santa Rosa, CA, Year 2017
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Old Town Actors Studio, Idaho, Year 2017
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Riverside Theatre, Iowa , Year 2017
  • Type Professional, Organization Antiqua, Guatemala , Year 2017
  • Type Professional, Organization Bickford Theatre, New Jersey , Year 2017
  • Type Professional, Organization National Tour - Australia, Year 2017
  • Type Professional, Organization Teatr Powszechny - Poland, Year 2017
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Acadia Repertory Theatre, Maine, Year 2016
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Avenue Theater, Denver, Colorado, Year 2016
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Emerald Coast Theatre Company - Florida, Year 2016
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Footlight Players - Charleston, SC., Year 2016
  • Type Community Theater, Organization New Century Theatre, MA , Year 2016
  • Type Community Theater, Organization New Century Theatre, Northampton, MA, Year 2016
  • Type Professional, Organization Arts Club Theatre Company - Vancouver, Canada. , Year 2016
  • Type Professional, Organization Centaur Theatre Company, Montreal, Canada , Year 2016
  • Type Professional, Organization Invisible Theatre, Tucson, AZ, Year 2016
  • Type Professional, Organization Theater Munster - Berlin, Germany, Year 2016
  • Type Professional, Organization TimeLine Theatre Company, Chicago, Year 2016
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Thunder River Theatre Company, Colorado, Year 2015
  • Type Fringe, Organization Arkle Theatre Company, Scotland , Year 2015
  • Type Professional, Organization Czechoslovakia, Year 2015
  • Type Professional, Organization Translated into foreign languages; performed worldwide, Year 2015
  • Type Professional, Organization Zimmertheater, Heidelberg, Germany, Year 2015
  • Type Professional, Organization Duchess Theatre, West End, London - Sonia Friedman Productions, Year 2014
  • Type Professional, Organization Scandic Grand Orebro, Sweden, Year 2014
  • Type Professional, Organization New Repertory Theatre, Year 2012
  • Type Professional, Organization New Jersey Repertory Company, Year 2011
  • Type Professional, Organization Wellfleet Harbor, Year 2011

Awards

  • Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding New Play
    2012