MLM is for Murder (Or, Your Side Hustle is Killing Us)

FULL-LENGTH: Side hustles. It seems like everybody has at least one these days. For Minerva Ross, the way to escape the doldrums of her graphic design job in Washington, DC, is to write and narrate her own feminist true crime podcast about how and why women commit murder. Meanwhile, across the country, Felicity Evanston, a stay-at-home wife and mother—and Minerva’s high school nemesis—has just started selling...
FULL-LENGTH: Side hustles. It seems like everybody has at least one these days. For Minerva Ross, the way to escape the doldrums of her graphic design job in Washington, DC, is to write and narrate her own feminist true crime podcast about how and why women commit murder. Meanwhile, across the country, Felicity Evanston, a stay-at-home wife and mother—and Minerva’s high school nemesis—has just started selling ridiculously patterned leggings for the multi-level marketing company Linen & Fate, as much as a way of having something that’s just hers as to supplement her husband’s income. The two haven't crossed paths in years, but when the bubbly and unassuming Felicity snaps and realizes the only way to get ahead in a rigged pyramid scheme is to literally start killing off the competition, both women suddenly experience the kind of overnight success they’ve been so desperately craving—but risk losing their families, freedom, and very souls in the process.

MLM is for Murder is an of-the-moment dark comedy about capitalism, feminism, work-life balance, and pop culture told through parody podcasts, emoji-laden dialogue, Facebook Live videos, and polyester-spandex murder weapons. It begs the question: How much are you willing to give up to get everything you’ve ever wanted?
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MLM is for Murder (Or, Your Side Hustle is Killing Us)

Recommended by

  • Jordan Noble:
    7 Oct. 2022
    This play is a wonderful distillation of the zeitgeist. MLMs, true crime podcasting, and the distant but connected world we all live in now. Fun and funny on the page, it's also very well suited to the stage.
  • Paul Donnelly:
    3 Jun. 2022
    This is an inspired dark comedy of bad, bad life choices. the motives behind them, and their ultimate consequences. When two vastly different (on the surface) obsessive worlds collide the collateral damage is intense. Throw in a portrait of the soulless and soul-crushing effects of our capitalistic system and you understand that it's more than your side hustle that's killing us.
  • Jarred Corona:
    10 Apr. 2022
    Trapped animals bite hard and relish in the blood they draw. When hope is drained and pain bears down, when the world screams into your ears that it will not bend to be kind to you, sometimes it feels as if your only response can be to blow it all up. Capitalism causes untold suffering. It leads people to predatory MLMs, to anger, to us all bending our morals. There's excellent comedy in this grand ride of a show by John Bavoso, and a call to fix our world, but also a warning not to lose ourselves in the process.

Character Information

  • Felicity Evanston
    20s to 40s,
    White
    ,
    woman
    A white woman. Stay-at-home Mormon mother and the latest independent fashion consultant for Linen & Fate. Outwardly bubbly and mild-mannered, she was very popular in high school. Despite her big family and community, she feels isolated and adrift.
  • Minerva Ross
    20s to 40s,
    BIPOC
    ,
    woman
    A woman of color, the same age as Felicity. Never fit in in her small, Utah hometown and is proud of how far she’s come—even if she desperately wants out of her ‘career.’ Easily obsessed, she’s searching for her passion.
  • Jason Evanston
    20s to 40s,
    White
    ,
    Male
    A white man, Felicity’s husband. An unassuming but well-meaning man who’s happy acting out the script that’s been written for his life. Is more than a little wary of his wife’s new business venture.
  • Sienna Ross
    20s to 40s,
    Any
    ,
    woman
    A woman of any race, Minerva’s wife. Has a time-consuming job she loves, but works to find some balance. Encouraging of her wife’s passions to a point, but also concerned about how they threaten to consume her.
  • Woman
    Any,
    Any
    ,
    woman
    A woman actor of any age and race who plays a variety of characters (the FOUNDER, COWORKER, BIANCA, AMBER, etc.).

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    The Parsnip Ship
    ,
    2023
  • Reading
    ,
    American Stage
    ,
    2020
  • Reading
    ,
    The Wine Box Players
    ,
    2020
  • Reading
    ,
    NextStop Theatre Company
    ,
    2019
  • Workshop
    ,
    5th Wall Productions
    ,
    2019

Production History

  • Community Theater
    ,
    Pumphouse Players
    ,
    2023
  • Professional
    ,
    Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati
    ,
    2023
  • Community Theater
    ,
    Garrick Theatre
    ,
    2023
  • Community Theater
    ,
    Midland Center for the Arts/Center Stage Theatre
    ,
    2022
  • University
    ,
    Virginia Commonwealth University
    ,
    2022

Awards

Winner
,
NewPlayFest 2022
,
American Association of Community Theatre
,
2021
Semi-Finalist
,
Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Playwriting Competition
,
Risk Theatre
,
2021
Winner
,
21st Century Voices
,
American Stage
,
2020
Semi-Finalist
,
Plays with Strong Female Leads
,
Southwest Theatre Productions
,
2020
Finalist
,
Playwrights’ Week 2019
,
The Lark
,
2019
Semi-Finalist
,
In-Progress New Play Reading Series
,
,
2019