The Rant

by Andrew Case

A taut drama exploring racial bias and the slippery path to justice. One summer night in Brooklyn, a sixteen year-old boy is gunned down by the police. When the department closes ranks around the accused officer, an investigator assigned to the shooting takes what she knows to a tabloid reporter. But she quickly learns that the story she fed to the press is still only part of the truth. Alone, she must wade...

A taut drama exploring racial bias and the slippery path to justice. One summer night in Brooklyn, a sixteen year-old boy is gunned down by the police. When the department closes ranks around the accused officer, an investigator assigned to the shooting takes what she knows to a tabloid reporter. But she quickly learns that the story she fed to the press is still only part of the truth. Alone, she must wade through prejudice, deceit, and a volley of anonymous threats to find where culpability and truth really lies.

Reviews:

“The moral dilemmas in The Rant are awesome in their current relevance.” Broad Street Review, Philadelphia
“In Case's story there are no absolute truths. The characters' fears and life experiences influence their perceptions of what occurred. . . . In his sharp new play, Case challenges us to examine how our own prejudices affect our most firmly held beliefs.” Philadelphia Weekly

“Case wants to make us wonder, wants us to assemble the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle without a proscribed final form.” Miami Herald
“The script and the performances are undeniably moving and thought-provoking. Patrice DeGraff-Arenas' opening monologue of the anguished mother describing the killing in her statement to the investigator is electrifying. Reiss Gaspard delivers an equally anguished closing aria, a police officer's mea culpa that gets us as close to the truth as we're going to get.” South Florida Sun-Sentinal
(Nominee, Best New Play, South Florida)

Published by Dramatists Play Service, available at:
http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=4109

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The Rant

Recommended by

  • Seth Rozin: The Rant by Andrew Case
    “

    The Rant is a terrific and incredibly timely play. As you hear from four well-drawn characters involved in the investigation around the tragic shooting death of an African American teenager, you think you're following a mystery that is slowly going to reveal "the truth" about what happened. But Case artfully guides you down a rabbit hole in which the more you learn, the less clear it is who and what to believe in.

    The Rant is a terrific and incredibly timely play. As you hear from four well-drawn characters involved in the investigation around the tragic shooting death of an African American teenager, you think you're following a mystery that is slowly going to reveal "the truth" about what happened. But Case artfully guides you down a rabbit hole in which the more you learn, the less clear it is who and what to believe in.

    ”

Character Information

  • Denise Reeves
    Ms. Reeves’s son Benjamin was shot by the police on the porch of her house in East New York. Ms. Reeves is susceptible to conspiracy theories and believes that the police had long targeted her son. Rational and competent at her core, she is frustrated when dealing with those she does not trust.
    50 +
    African American/Black
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Lila Mahanaz
    Lila investigates police misconduct for the city of New York. Fiercely devoted to social justice, she is willing to go beyond the strict definitions of what is proper in order to expose corruption. She is motivated by empathy for the victims of abuse, since she sees herself as neglected by society as well.
    30s
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Charles Simmons
    Police Officer Simmons has always been caught between two worlds. As a man who strives for a professional career in service, he has found himself the object of discrimination on the police force. As a black man from New York who joined the police, he has found himself the target of abuse from his peers. He has done what he had to in order to forge a singular and individual path.
    30s
    African American/Black
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man
  • Alexander Stern
    A reporter for a major newspaper, Mr. Stern is a skeptic if not quite a cynic. He is able to manipulate people for information by underselling how damaging it may be to them. He shrugs off the more tawdry necessities of his business and gets on the best he can.
    40s
    White
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man

Development History

  • Workshop, Primary Stages, 2008
  • Reading, The Atlantic Theater Company, 2008

Production History

  • Professional, Gamm Theatre, Providence, 2015
  • Professional, Mary- Arrchie, Chicago, 2010
  • Professional, InterAct Theatre, Philadelphia, 2009
  • Professional, New Jersey Repertory Company, 2009
  • Professional, New Theatre, Miami, 2008