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Fremont Junior High Is NOT Doing Oklahoma! by Paul Michael Thomson

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Recommendations

  • Toby Malone:
    12 Jan. 2022
    “ It's easy to see why this play has struck such a chord with people here on NPX: it's immediately, IMMEDIATELY familiar to theatre kids (or adults who grew up as theatre kids), where the stakes are so world-endingly large and the enthusiasm for theatre and its rituals is infectious. This is a great ensemble piece, cleverly featuring only the members of a middle school drama club (all adults are off-stage) over the course of a week. Discussing the problematic nature of 'Oklahoma' amongst interpersonal drama gives this piece rich material, and the final line is killer. Great work. ”
  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend:
    28 Sep. 2021
    “ This play is a treasure! It follows a week in the life of the Fremont Junior High Drama Club Council as they debate whether or not they should do "Oklahoma!" as their spring musical. It is funny and sweet and earnest, and perfectly captures that tween stage of life - especially that tween drama kid stage of life - when everything feels either fantastic or devastating. I loved every second. Even the stage directions made me laugh. I would follow these drama kids anywhere, no matter what play they're doing. ”
  • David Hansen:
    29 Apr. 2021
    “ (A) Do we produce a problematic yet popular American musical featuring a diverse cast, which may serve to undermine the worser aspects of the work and provide visibility and advantage to BIPOC these performers or (B) create a new, so-called divised play reflecting Gen Z anxiety and concerns which may not actually be good and no one’s going to want to see but at least it’s not fucking Oklahoma? This play is so funny, even Thomson’s stage directions are hilarious. Highly recommended! ”
  • Rachel Bublitz:
    1 Apr. 2021
    “ A deliciously hilarious play. I laughed out loud more times than I can remember giving this a read. The dialogue pops along, the characters are flawed and relatable, and the main problem the play tackles feels both essentially junior high AND one that all of American Theatre is grappling with right now. ”
  • Audrey Lang:
    20 Mar. 2021
    “ Paul Michael Thomson has written an outrageously funny play that also manages to address a wide variety of serious issues in society, in theatre, and of course, in junior high school. The climax, and the way it was resolved, truly got me. This play never loses the trying-too-hard vibe of every junior high theatre kid, capturing them with humor and understanding, but also acknowledges the real hurt they cause each other in the process. Such a brilliantly written and constructed piece! ”
  • Marjorie Muller:
    6 May. 2020
    “ I couldn't put this play down from the very first page -- I was absolutely hooked. Thomson's writing strikes an incredible balance of being witty and fast-paced while at the same time giving the genuine questions and intentions of this play room to breathe. The characters are extremely lovable and there is a certain credence their age gives to the subject matter. A fantastic, glimmering piece. I can't wait to see it shine. ”
  • Shaun Leisher:
    30 Apr. 2020
    “ I love this play sooo much!! These are the conversations happening in theatre that I am deeply passionate and to have them come out of the mouths of 14 year olds is brilliant!! Love how complicated and fully formed these characters are and how none of them feel like stereotypes. This play also has one of the best lines I’ve read in a script recently: “ We need to de-stigmatize menstruation. And that starts in musical theatre.” ”
  • Nick Malakhow:
    18 Apr. 2020
    “ I am absolutely in love with this play! Thomson explores emerging identity, the weaponizing of woke-ness and identity politics, queer art, and social dynamics in a way that's relevant to all audiences. Thomson perfectly captures a microcosm of the importance of centering marginalized voices in art/society while illustrating the traps people fall into trying to do so. Each of these characters is vividly rendered with a loving and sensitive hand--even when the characters themselves are struggling with, bristling against, and hurting one another. With pitch-perfect big-picture structure to glorious small details, this hilarious play deserves a wide audience. ”
  • Katherine Gwynn:
    17 Apr. 2020
    “ Within the first page I was choking with laughter. And then by the last page my heart felt torn in two, as I had gone through the highs and lows, trials and tribulations, and traumas and triumphs of Fremont Junior High's drama club trying to pick their spring production. The gift of this script is that even though it is darkly, piercingly funny, we never laugh at our our preteen leads, or think that their goals don't matter. No, part of why this play cuts to the quick is that we empathize with them fully and totally. A true delight. ”