1999

In 2019, celebrated film professor and Oscar-winning producer Emma Middleton faces professional ruin when a student's viral TikTok exposes her for assigning films by an accused rapist—but the student, Naomi, has a deeper agenda. Through alternating timelines, the play reveals how Emma and Reese's ambitious partnership was destroyed in a single night, and how Emma's choice to accept hush money and build her...

In 2019, celebrated film professor and Oscar-winning producer Emma Middleton faces professional ruin when a student's viral TikTok exposes her for assigning films by an accused rapist—but the student, Naomi, has a deeper agenda. Through alternating timelines, the play reveals how Emma and Reese's ambitious partnership was destroyed in a single night, and how Emma's choice to accept hush money and build her career on that silence has haunted both women ever since. A searing exploration of complicity, survival, and the stories we tell ourselves to live with our choices, 1999 asks whether we can separate art from the monsters who made it—and whether those who stayed silent are monsters too.

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1999

Recommended by

  • Kathy Rasmussen: 1999

    From the very beginning, I was invested. Circumstances, choices, decisions, consequences for the victims in so many forms but not the offenders. All are presented with a unique perspective that gives one pause. Thank you for tackling this subject and not letting it be forgotten.

    From the very beginning, I was invested. Circumstances, choices, decisions, consequences for the victims in so many forms but not the offenders. All are presented with a unique perspective that gives one pause. Thank you for tackling this subject and not letting it be forgotten.

  • Maximillian Gill: 1999

    A powerfully focused play. I'm still staggered that it only has three characters but successfully encompasses many more voices and experiences of trauma. Perpetrators are wisely not depicted so we are able to devote our full attention to the lives that were destroyed by the very real monsters that infected the film industry. All perspectives are balanced, there are no easy judgements of any of the characters. Everything is infused by a genuine love of the craft and medium of film. Urgent work.

    A powerfully focused play. I'm still staggered that it only has three characters but successfully encompasses many more voices and experiences of trauma. Perpetrators are wisely not depicted so we are able to devote our full attention to the lives that were destroyed by the very real monsters that infected the film industry. All perspectives are balanced, there are no easy judgements of any of the characters. Everything is infused by a genuine love of the craft and medium of film. Urgent work.

  • Samara Siskind: 1999

    Set during a time widely considered a golden year for Hollywood, 1999 is a fearless showcase for three female actors and a play that sparks immediate, ongoing conversation. Through cinematic time jumps and riveting reveals, Campbell skillfully explores how trauma can impact lives, friendships and futures. Is it possible to separate art from the people who make it? With great power and conviction, 1999 addresses how the legacy of films can be forever tarnished by the issues surrounding it while leaving you reevaluating many of the Oscar-adorned movies of the titular year.

    Set during a time widely considered a golden year for Hollywood, 1999 is a fearless showcase for three female actors and a play that sparks immediate, ongoing conversation. Through cinematic time jumps and riveting reveals, Campbell skillfully explores how trauma can impact lives, friendships and futures. Is it possible to separate art from the people who make it? With great power and conviction, 1999 addresses how the legacy of films can be forever tarnished by the issues surrounding it while leaving you reevaluating many of the Oscar-adorned movies of the titular year.

View all 13 recommendations
EMMA MIDDLETON
-25 and 45. A popular professor of film criticism and Oscar-winning film producer. She's tough, demanding, driven, successful. She's a feminist badass who both demands excellence from everyone around her and inspires a deep passion for the power of films.

NAOMI HARROWAY
-19. Emma's student. She could be a model on the front of a box of muesli. She's passionate and intellectually curious, which comes across as playful and precocious until it isn't.

TERESA "REESE" STONE
-24. Reese is an aspiring actress. She's a friend and colleague of Emma's. She's talented, expressive, bawdy, hilarious, a big personality.

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Carolina Playwrights Lab, Capital Arts Theatre Guild, Year 2025
  • Type Reading, Organization The Valdez Theatre Conference, Year 2024
  • Type Reading, Organization 3rd Course: Theatre, Year 2024

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization WAM Theatre, Year 2025

Awards

  • National Playwrights Conference
    The O'Neill Center
    Finalist
    2025