Max, a musically gifted high school student, is falling off the edge of the world –- and his biology teacher is the only one who’s noticed. A play about the science of life and loss, the relationships between fathers and sons, Cambodian fields, Bolivian rainforests and grief.

Visit the Samuel French website to preview the play, purchase a copy, or license it for production!

https://www.samuelfrench.com/a/288/em-lewis

Published by Samuel French and in Dramatics Magazine.

Winner: 2009 Harold & Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award from the American Theater Critics Association
Winner: 2009 Ted Schmitt Award for the world premiere of an outstanding new play from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle — Los Angeles, CA
Winner: 2008 Production of the Year and Best Lead Actor from the LA Weekly Awards — Los Angeles, CA
Winner – 2008 Ashland New Plays Festival — Ashland, OR

Reviews from the World Premiere of SONG OF EXTINCTION, produced by Moving Arts at [Inside] the Ford:

“…one of the most beautiful and important plays of the season.” – Laura Hitchcock, Los Angeles Beat

“CRITIC’S CHOICE… artfully balances its theme of mortality between the intimate and the macroscopic… explores inner psychological states with remarkable eloquence and clarity…” – Phillip Brandeis, Los Angeles Times

“GO! The interplay of the three [views on extinction] in Lewis’ smart and honest script is one small push away from collective transcendence” – Amy Nicholson, LA Weekly

“An extraordinary production… exquisitely written… Everything about this play is done to perfection… there is a melancholy richness and sensitivity in this beautiful play that will stay with you for a very long time. Guaranteed to leave you thoughtful and speechless.” – Cynthia Citron, Curtain Up

“An exquisitely poetic and deeply moving new play…” – Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA

“Lewis weaves a mesmerizing tale that gently plucks on the universal chords of the human condition… The triumph of this play is the masterful blend of visual and audio elements that complement the text with an exquisite tenderness and spellbinding artistry…” – MR Hunter, Stage Happenings

“…remarkable, totally engaging… The theme of Ms. Lewis’ haunting “Song” is extinction past and present, from the Cambodian genocide during the Khmer Rouge regime to endangered species in the Bolivian rain forest, epics against which a number of intimate, desperate human dramas unfold. That so many stories as well as so much history are presented in such compelling style (without sermonizing or pontificating) is a testament to the playwright’s skills and ability to trust the passions and inner voices of her fully-drawn characters…” – Jack Ong, Executive Director of the Haing Ngor Foundation

Reviews from the Theater Latte Da Production of SONG OF EXTINCTION at the GUTHRIE, in Minneapolis, MN:

“…90 minutes of poignant worthiness … Rothstein’s second small jewel of the year… articulate understanding of drama that gets inside the human psyche.” — Graydon Royce, Star Tribune

All the right notes Theater Latte Da’s ‘Song of Extinction’ a touching triumph: “…filled with compassion for its characters and a delicate touch that makes [Song of Extinction] a very moving drama… To the credit of author Lewis and director Peter Rothstein, no point is belabored, no audience member bludgeoned with a message. For a work with so many layers, it’s nevertheless almost minimalist in structure, its dialogue convincingly realistic, its tone admirably restrained.” — Rob Hubbard, Pioneer Press

“This piece is intense, rich, affecting… [David] Mura lends the play understated resonance… Also first rate are John Middleton and Carla Noack as the Forrestals… Anyone raising a teen-ager knows how illogically volatile they can be and Dan Piering, as Max, captures this gorgeously.” — John Olive, How Was The Show?

Reviews from the Ion Theater Production of SONG OF EXTINCTION,
in San Diego, CA:

“In EM Lewis’s engrossing and insightful Song of Extinction, getting its impressive local debut by Ion Theatre, the “extinction” ranges from personal to global. And the drama envelops the heart and mind throughout the journey.” -Don Braunagel, SanDiego.com

“The writing, both psychologically astute and dreamily poetic, is impressive… It’s a rare play that explores environmental degradation in such strongly original and humanly true ways…” — Anne Marie Welsh, North County Times

“…a lyrical, metaphor-laden meditation on family, loss, hope and new beginnings.” — Jennifer Chung Klam, San Diego Union Tribune