The Great Gaffe by Jennifer O'Grady

Selected for Monster Box Theatre's 365 Festival and other productions
Published in THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2016 (Smith and Kraus)

(10 Min) Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Edith Wharton gives a tea party for F. Scott Fitzgerald, struggling young author of THE GREAT GATSBY, with disastrous results. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
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The Great Gaffe

Recommended by

  • James Binz:
    7 Jun. 2024
    “ I enjoyed watching the semi formal tea party descend into drunkenness and disorder. F. Scott may someday appreciate the advice, but not today. Nice piece and worth a production or two. ”
  • Lainie Vansant:
    6 Jun. 2024
    “ O'Grady illuminates a fascinating moment from a footnote in history in this taught ten-minute play. Lit nerds will rejoice at the dramatic irony and tense foreshadowing layered throughout this piece. ”
  • Brenton Kniess:
    4 Jul. 2023
    “ O'Grady's THE GREAT GAFFE is like the scotch that Scott Fitzgerald drinks at the beginning of the play...clean, smooth, and rich. THE GREAT GAFFE is a truly suave piece of theater that would be tremendous to see staged. ”
View all 15 recommendations

Character Information

(Note: The real Teddy Chanler was a man but this Teddy can also be played by a female or nonbinary actor.)

  • Scott Fitzgerald
    28
    Author of THE GREAT GATSBY.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Edith Wharton
    63
    Pulitzer-Prize-winning novelist.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Teddy Chanler
    23.
    A music student and Wharton family friend.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Caravan Productions
    ,
    2020

Production History

  • University
    ,
    Baldwin Wallace University (OH)
    ,
    2022
  • University
    ,
    Ouachita Baptist University (AR)
    ,
    2021
  • Professional
    ,
    Monster Box Theatre (MI)
    ,
    2016

Awards

Selection
,
365 Women Festival
,
Monster Box Theater
,
2016
Publication--The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2016
,
Smith and Kraus