The Usual Unusual

by MJ Halberstadt

The Usual Unusual is a scrappy and quaint bookstore where Boston's LGBTQ+ community has gathered to shop, organize, and flirt since the 70's. When the store's charismatic founder Penn announces his retirement, neurotic staff-member Charlie persuades him to pass leadership on, rather than close the store. Generational disputes about identity, community, and trauma arise as the staff-members advocate for competing...

The Usual Unusual is a scrappy and quaint bookstore where Boston's LGBTQ+ community has gathered to shop, organize, and flirt since the 70's. When the store's charismatic founder Penn announces his retirement, neurotic staff-member Charlie persuades him to pass leadership on, rather than close the store. Generational disputes about identity, community, and trauma arise as the staff-members advocate for competing visions for the store’s future. Attempting to unite a fractured community under one banner -- or just coordinating a weekly reading night -- leads to fraught and hilarious results.

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The Usual Unusual

Recommended by

  • Rich Rubin: The Usual Unusual by MJ Halberstadt
    “

    An incisive portrayal of community, friendship, and the multi-layered complexity of our closest personal relationships, told with humor, compassion, and genuine respect for all of its characters. Thoroughly absorbing first page to last. Bravo!

    An incisive portrayal of community, friendship, and the multi-layered complexity of our closest personal relationships, told with humor, compassion, and genuine respect for all of its characters. Thoroughly absorbing first page to last. Bravo!

    ”
  • Playwrights Foundation: The Usual Unusual by MJ Halberstadt
    “

    Playwrights Foundation enthusiastically recommends this play, THE USUAL UNUSUAL, as a Semi-Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2020. We were moved by the quality of the writing and the relevant and compelling themes that spoke to the mission of our festival. It excelled in a competitive process of 735 plays submitted this year and rose to the top after a six month long process discussing its merits with both national and local Bay Area readers, and we hope it moves swiftly towards production.

    Playwrights Foundation enthusiastically recommends this play, THE USUAL UNUSUAL, as a Semi-Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2020. We were moved by the quality of the writing and the relevant and compelling themes that spoke to the mission of our festival. It excelled in a competitive process of 735 plays submitted this year and rose to the top after a six month long process discussing its merits with both national and local Bay Area readers, and we hope it moves swiftly towards production.

    ”
  • Nick Malakhow: The Usual Unusual by MJ Halberstadt
    “

    As a queer Bostonian, this piece resonates on many levels. On a broader scale, this piece illuminates and explores generational divides and the dangers and inevitability of intra-group tensions and conflict within marginalized communities. I appreciate how each character is rendered with dimensionality, and how the piece rejects identifying any one character as a hero. A deeply intersectional look at the LGBTQ+ community and at steps we must take to evolve. I hope to see this developed further and on its feet in the near future!

    As a queer Bostonian, this piece resonates on many levels. On a broader scale, this piece illuminates and explores generational divides and the dangers and inevitability of intra-group tensions and conflict within marginalized communities. I appreciate how each character is rendered with dimensionality, and how the piece rejects identifying any one character as a hero. A deeply intersectional look at the LGBTQ+ community and at steps we must take to evolve. I hope to see this developed further and on its feet in the near future!

    ”
View all 4 recommendations

Development History

  • Reading, SpeakEasy Stage Company, 2019