Just Cause by Laura Neill

Security guards Harry and Sammy are supposed to watch over the subway tunnel their bosses are turning into luxury condos. But they start to wonder... is that interchangeable white guy boss really in the Caymans, or did he maybe die in an explosion of blood and shadows? A gory and incisively depressing comedy that takes a hard look at Boston’s economy and the monsters that lurk in our shadows. [In development...
Security guards Harry and Sammy are supposed to watch over the subway tunnel their bosses are turning into luxury condos. But they start to wonder... is that interchangeable white guy boss really in the Caymans, or did he maybe die in an explosion of blood and shadows? A gory and incisively depressing comedy that takes a hard look at Boston’s economy and the monsters that lurk in our shadows. [In development with director Dawn M. Simmons]
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Just Cause

Recommended by

  • Playwrights Foundation:
    6 Apr. 2020
    “ Playwrights Foundation enthusiastically recommends this play, JUST CAUSE, 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. ”

Character Information

In addition to the human characters below, there's this. Not a character you have to cast, but definitely a character...

SOMETHING The sound in the tunnel. Or the lack of sound. Really just
the feeling that there's a pair of eyes, or a hungry set of
teeth, watching you... It lives in shadows.

  • Sammy
    20s,
    Puerto Rican, Latinx
    ,
    woman
    Security guard for Blue Star. On the surface, cheerfully jaded,
    with a strong sense of humor. You take what you can get and you
    don't take any shit. Behind the tough exterior, she's still destroyed
    by what Hurricane Maria did to her hometown. And no, her name
    isn't short for anything in Spanish.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary
  • Harry
    30s,
    Black
    ,
    Man
    Security guard for Blue Star. A family man, and he and his wife
    are finally having a baby, despite the fact that they have no health
    insurance because he works three different thirty-hour-a-week
    part-time jobs. He's pulling all the midnight shifts these days even
    though he hasn't slept more than three hours in weeks.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Male, Non-binary
  • Em
    20s,
    woman
    "Third-party scientific consultant."A millennial who's trying really
    hard to pretend she knows what she's doing.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary
  • Elaine
    30s,
    Asian American
    ,
    woman
    Associate VP of Management for Blue Star. Gunning for a bonus
    and a promotion. Knows she has to work twice as hard as the
    boys.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary
  • Dave
    30s,
    White
    ,
    Man
    VP of Management for Blue Star. Not racing anyone for anything.
    Somebody's nephew. Also plays WHITE GUY, his cousin, ditto.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male, Non-binary
  • Ava
    50s,
    White
    ,
    woman
    Technically lives in Cambridge. Really, really needs to feel
    like she's making a difference. Has enough of a safety net
    to spend some of her weekends making a difference.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary

Development History

  • Commission
    ,
    SpeakEasy Stage Company
    ,
    2019