←Recommendations of Stockade

A searing play, from the taut opening scene to the last shocking revelation. My heart bleeds for the characters, who try to love one another despite the burden of secrecy and the pressure to betray each other. The stage directions are written as a score, and I'm curious to see how a production would transfer that poetry to the stage.

Stockade was one of five finalists that received readings during our annual Perlberg Festival of New Plays (formerly called the New Year/New Plays Festival) in January of 2024. A visceral, haunting, funny, and moving play about a little-known part of US History - queer stockades during WWII. A group of gay war friends find themselves reunited, and their history threatens to destroy not only their very relationships but the new post-war lives they've fought so hard to create and protect.

I first encountered Stockade back in May in its PlayLabs Festival presentation, one of the best play readings I've seen. Revisiting it now, my already strong desire to see a full production of this play increased! Revealing through the stories of its scared and brave, complicated and loving characters that the personal has always been political, Stockade is a reminder of queer Americans' painful past and a call to action for our present.

With Stockade, Rosendorf has offered the world a moving and slyly comic slice of historical fiction that deftly illuminates the sometimes-beautiful, sometimes-terrible things queer people have had to do—and continue to have to do—to survive in a time and place that would generally prefer they not. The narrative moves fluidly through time, as do our allegiances and sympathies as the characters reveal more about themselves and their pasts. I got to see a livestreamed reading of this script, and I can't wait to be in the audience for a full-blown production!

Premiere Stages, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University, is pleased to recognize “Stockade” by Andrew Rosendorf as a Semi-Finalist for the 2023 Premiere Play Festival. “Stockade” rose through a competitive selection process conducted by Premiere staff and a panel of outside theatre professionals to become one of 40 Semi-Finalists out of 701 submissions. The panel was particularly impressed by the deep emotional conflicts among the play’s vivid characters. Our congratulations and thanks to Andrew.

Beautiful, lyrical, historical fiction that both informs on its subject and resonates emotionally today. "Stockade" clearly paints a picture of a complex moment in time by illuminating the lives of a very specific but small constellation of people. I was amazed by its expansiveness and intimacy, as well as the way Andrew plays with potent, naturalistic scenes juxtaposed with more figurative theatrical tools. I would so love to see this on its feet!

Stockade is a beautifully written, powerful play! It hit me so viscerally. For a historical drama, it’s still so relevant. And the stakes are so high. I highly recommend reading this play and hope to see it produced soon!