Maytag Virgin by Audrey Cefaly

Cast: 1M 1W | ”a strikingly beautiful and evocative world premiere” | “poignant and emotionally glorious” | “richly-layered” | “unflinchingly honest” | “a radiant gem of light into the ordinary struggles of love, loss, and life” | “reveling in unspoken moments, Cefaly’s directorial mind allows great emotional swells to come to fruition often in the unsaid spaces of her dialogue“ | Set in the small fictional...
Cast: 1M 1W | ”a strikingly beautiful and evocative world premiere” | “poignant and emotionally glorious” | “richly-layered” | “unflinchingly honest” | “a radiant gem of light into the ordinary struggles of love, loss, and life” | “reveling in unspoken moments, Cefaly’s directorial mind allows great emotional swells to come to fruition often in the unsaid spaces of her dialogue“ | Set in the small fictional town of Lenoraville, Alabama, MAYTAG VIRGIN follows Alabama school teacher Lizzy Nash (Gillian Shelly) and her new neighbor Jack Key (Will Hardy) over the year following the tragic death of Lizzy’s husband. The play explores the ideas of inertia and self-enlightenment and the bridge between the two.
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Maytag Virgin

Recommended by

  • David Beardsley:
    31 May. 2021
    “ I loved this play. It's written with such fearless honesty, and with such a sure sense of craft. Cefaly resists any hint of triteness and takes her characters, and her audiences, on a deeply satisfying emotional journey. MAYTAG VIRGIN is not a straightforward rom-com, not even remotely. Jack and Lizzy are dealing with complex feelings of longing and grief, and there's an element of sacrifice in the way they come together. Ultimately, each can only be reborn when they decide surrender a part of themselves to the other. This is a beautiful play that deserves all the attention it's getting. ”
  • Patrick Gabridge:
    15 Jan. 2020
    “ I've gotten to both read and see a production of this play, and it's absolutely delightful. It's a pleasure to watch a playwright as skillful as Cefaly send these two characters on the journey towards love, with plenty of bumps along the way, and surrounded by so much humor and rich language. Masterfully done. ”
  • Ann-Marie Dittmann:
    24 Jul. 2015
    “ When Jack moves in to a house next to Lizzy they find that they have as many things in common as they do differences, and a relationship that begins as a coincidental, neighborly friendship becomes an unexpected journey of self-discovery and healing.

    Like most of Cefaly’s work this is a character driven play set in the Deep South. Peopled with quirky yet recognizable characters and full of humor and evocative language, The Maytag Virgin is an engaging and satisfying comic drama about loss, longing and second chances for happiness.
    ”
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Development History

  • Commission
    ,
    Quotidian Theatre Company
    ,
    2015
  • Reading
    ,
    Page to Stage, Kennedy Center
    ,
    2015

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Merrimack Rep, Lowell, MA
    ,
    2020
  • Professional
    ,
    Barter Theatre, Abingdon, VA
    ,
    2019
  • Professional
    ,
    Aurora Theatre, Lawrenceville, Georgia
    ,
    2018
  • Professional
    ,
    Women's Voices Theater Festival, Washington, DC
    ,
    2015

Awards

Winner
,
Individual Artist Award - Playwrighting
,
Maryland State Arts Council
,
2018
Judges' Choice
,
Helen Hayes Recommended
,
Theatre Washington
,
2015