Hollywood, Nebraska

by Kenneth Jones

In the Great Plains of Nebraska, two actresses of a certain age are returning to their dying hometown. Jane’s in from L.A. to check up on her ailing mother, Alma. Andrea’s back from New York to bury her father. In the quiet of the middle of nowhere — and with two local men, a handsome neighbor and a rough-and-ready laborer, capturing their attention — the old friends navigate feelings about lost parents...

In the Great Plains of Nebraska, two actresses of a certain age are returning to their dying hometown. Jane’s in from L.A. to check up on her ailing mother, Alma. Andrea’s back from New York to bury her father. In the quiet of the middle of nowhere — and with two local men, a handsome neighbor and a rough-and-ready laborer, capturing their attention — the old friends navigate feelings about lost parents, thwarted aspirations and what it means to be successful, leading to a showdown between Jane and her homespun mother. A hope-filled, music-kissed, tears-and-laughter love letter to small towns and big dreams, parents and children, the itch to move away, the urge to be creative, and the ache — and joy — of coming home.

HOLLYWOOD, NEBRASKA is available for licensing through Dramatists Play Service. See link below. The licensing package includes sounds files and/or sheet music for producers who don't have a music department. (Piano music can be played live if the cast has that skill set.)

From the Playwright: Unlike my plays TWO HENRYS, ALABAMA STORY, TENNESSEE WILLIAMS DRANK HERE and CIRCA 1976, this one doesn’t have threads of social justice woven into it. It's a sadness-streaked Chekhovian family comedy about show people looking in the mirror and trying to figure out who they are in a time of personal crossroads. One audience member at a talkback asked, "What's at stake for the main character, Jane?" My answer was, "Everything!" An L.A. actress in her forties is often an invisible creature, and Jane is trying to figure out where she fits in the world, professionally, personally, romantically. The past and present collide in her hometown, a place where "dying" things are constantly referenced. It's ultimately a hope-filled play about living — and what it means to live a "creative life."

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A theatergoer at a reading of the play Off-Broadway billed it as ON GOLDEN POND, BROADWAY BOUND & STEEL MAGNOLIAS combined. "I wanna call my mom," she said of the bittersweet comedy about parents and children. That sounds about right to me. It's also sexy and funny and warm. Comfort food that makes you think, to mix a metaphor.

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Hollywood, Nebraska

Recommended by

  • Rachel Bublitz: Hollywood, Nebraska by Kenneth Jones
    “

    I saw the developmental production of HOLLYWOOD, NEBRASKA last week at the Wyoming Theater Festival, and was moved by the honesty and depth of the characters. It's a play about a small town and returning home, and if that's even possible. The relationships are complex and rich, I was especially moved by the mother daughter relationship and the estranged friends who find themselves living in the same world again for a bit. I would jump at the opportunity to see this play fully produced.

    I saw the developmental production of HOLLYWOOD, NEBRASKA last week at the Wyoming Theater Festival, and was moved by the honesty and depth of the characters. It's a play about a small town and returning home, and if that's even possible. The relationships are complex and rich, I was especially moved by the mother daughter relationship and the estranged friends who find themselves living in the same world again for a bit. I would jump at the opportunity to see this play fully produced.

    ”

Character Information

The characters are western Nebraska natives. The playwright encourages multicultural casting in four of the six roles, except for the roles of Alma and Jane — the mother and daughter are white people whose roots go back to European people who settled in this part of the Midwest in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
  • Jane
    A talented but unemployed L.A.-based actress, twice-divorced and ready for reinvention. Tough exterior, defensive about where she is in her career but has a cool, laid back, independent confidence. Despite her Nebraska roots, there is a California vibe about her. Her negativity hides her past hurt. The sort of person who is used to being right. Brittle, but charismatic.
    40s
    White
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Alma
    Mother of Jane. Small-town widow. Not worldly, perhaps even narrow, but everybody’s “mom” figure. Beneath her homespun wisdom and her passion for local tradition is a bitterness about how life turned out. Eager to find and preserve family. A homemaker. A nurturer. Offers a cheerful exterior atop her ruefulness.
    70s-80s
    White
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Robert
    A widower, a carpenter/contractor. Salt of the earth. An idealized “regular guy” — a veteran, a great dad, entrepreneurial/self-employed, a provider and hard worker. Ready for his chapter. Sexy. A catch. Decent blue collar man of few words, perhaps a touch inscrutable (as men of few words often are).
    40s-50s
    Any Race
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • Katie
    A high school kid who lost her mom to illness three years earlier. A good kid. Robert’s star-struck daughter, who wants to be an actress one day. Optimistic. Hungry to learn. Eager to escape, but the kind of kid you want to have as your daughter. Likely a future with her feet planted firmly on the ground.
    Teenager
    Any Race
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      Teens
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Andrea
    A Nebraska-raised, New York-based actress clinging to the illusion that she is/was a successful actress. No edit button. Delicious, dark-humored and unlike anyone in this small-town. Sexy. A creature whose well of sadness/disappointment is deep. Ideally, an actress with piano/singing skill but not a must.

    40s
    Any Race
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Lance
    Salt of the earth worker-bee. Not worldly, not deep. A catch without knowing it. A survivor. Hides a hidden artistic talent. Ideally, an actor with piano skill but not a must. Sexy, comic, a rube but not a dope. Blue collar, baseball cap and boots kind of guy.
    30s
    Any Race
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male

Development History

  • Reading, Music Theatre of Connecticut, 2022
  • Reading, Actors Theatre of Indiana , 2019
  • Workshop, Wyoming Theater Festival (Developmental Production), 2017
  • Reading, TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, 2016

Production History

  • Community Theater, Wetumpka Depot Players, Wetumpka, AL, 2023
  • Community Theater, Oak Ridge Playhouse, Oak Ridge, TN, 2022
  • Professional, Lamb Arts Regional Theatre, Sioux City, IA, 2022