ALEXANDRIA by Vince Gatton

[FULL LENGTH] In a small town library in the Deep South, two librarians share an unlikely close friendship, despite being on opposite sides of the culture war. But when a young queer runaway, ominous global events, and the Sweep of Human History come crashing through their front door, what will it take for that friendship to survive?

Alexandria is a play about relationships that cross deep...
[FULL LENGTH] In a small town library in the Deep South, two librarians share an unlikely close friendship, despite being on opposite sides of the culture war. But when a young queer runaway, ominous global events, and the Sweep of Human History come crashing through their front door, what will it take for that friendship to survive?

Alexandria is a play about relationships that cross deep divides of belief and conviction: what those relationships are worth, and what they cost.

*** Winner - Sanguine Theatre Company's Project Playwright Festival
** Semi-finalist, Princess Grace Award
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

ALEXANDRIA

Recommended by

  • Nora Louise Syran:
    13 Dec. 2023
    “ There's much to unpack in this powerful piece. The realistic yet symbolic setting, the meal motif, the well-drawn characters...everything comes into sharp focus as forces pull them from their "decadence on an unprecedented level" and they are left with humanity's "stored knowledge" and fragile, newly won liberties in literal and figurative ruins. Rising up and ultimately winning? Let's hope so. Gatton teaches (without being didactic) and it is a powerful lesson. ”
  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown:
    8 Dec. 2023
    “ A proverbial culture war occurs in the bedrock of civilization in this political drama by Vince Gatton. Dialogue is raw, bold, staggering, witty. Current societal vistas are laid bare regarding religious freedom, marital rights, class privileges, youth's dreams, gender expression, first-world problems, etc. As a resident of Florida, known for being a cultural vacuum (if not void), a great deal of the play rang not only true, but familiar. Reminiscent of the social dramas of Emilio Estevez or Michael Tolkin's THE RAPTURE, the heart bleeds off the page. The central twist is as incendiary as the play's titular historical catastrophe. ”
  • Christopher Soucy:
    7 Dec. 2023
    “ Vince Gatton has worked magic with this script. Local yet global. Personal yet universal. Perfectly simple yet devastatingly complex. The characters are so rich they could buy your soul. While building on deep expectations about the setting and the people who reside there, Gatton doea an amazing job defying those expectations. ”
View all 18 recommendations

Character Information

  • Brenda
    50-ish,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Head librarian at a small town library and a local, born and bred. Southern. Lesbian. Brenda has a jagged, unavoidable scar on her face. She flows like a wide river, calm, steady, and always forward.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Ray
    30s - early 40s,
    White
    ,
    Male
    Southern white man anywhere in his 30s – 40s. Looks like a bespectacled hipster, or as close to a hipster as you can get in this small Southern town. Smart, funny, warm, and hyper-verbal. Works at the library. His people go way back.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Ol’Mo
    60s - 70s ,
    African American, Black
    ,
    Male
    Southern African-American male, no one knows how old exactly, but old. The library equivalent of a barfly, he’s always around, always carrying a violin case. An antisocial loner, he’s reserved, protective, and full of opinions he keeps to himself.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Pam
    40s to 50s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Lesbian woman in her mid-40s to 50s, any ethnicity. From Chicago, and you can tell it from the sound of her. Loud, and with a low tolerance for bullshit.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Monté
    Teens,
    Black and/or Latinx, African-American or Latinx
    ,
    Male, gender non-conforming
    Teens or 20s to play teens. A Southern Black queer boy, he is uninterested in and incapable of gender-conforming. Determined, smart, and intuitive, he holds on to his self-worth like a treasure and a weapon.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Male

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Bunbury Theater
    ,
    2020
  • Reading
    ,
    Project Y Theatre
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    Luna Stage
    ,
    2017

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Sanguine Theatre Company
    ,
    2018

Awards

Finalist
,
Hidden River Playwriting Award
,
Hidden River Arts
,
2019
Winner
,
Project Playwright Festival
,
Sanguine Theatre Company
,
2018