Jason Odell Williams

Inspired by true events, this uplifting musical about family, courage, hope, and never forgetting our past tells the story of an aging Holocaust survivor who speaks to a young American woman about his harrowing escape from Denmark to Sweden as a boy during World War II. With help from a magical entity, he recounts the day that Nazis decided to round up the Danish Jews for concentration camp assignment in the fall of 1943, and how his family raced to elude capture by hiding in a fishing boat traveling to Sweden — and freedom — across The Sound.

***DEMO TRACKS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST***

LOGLINE: Audiences are taken on a private tour through the history of Michelangelo’s “David” — which their guide plans on destroying.

BRIEF OVERVIEW: As an unnamed Art Restorer/Tour Guide leads a private tour through La Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, Italy, interacting with the audience to describe the peculiar history of the David statue, as well as their own personal history, we slowly discover they are grieving the death of their son David, and have gathered this private tour because they believe the only way to heal is to destroy the most beautiful thing in the world: Michelangelo’s David. Funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, DESTROYING DAVID is an ode to the beauty, resilience, and power of art to help us through our darkest hours.

Total running time: 75 minutes.

Reviews for the World Premiere at Circle Theatre

“Destroying David is a triumph. Mesmerizing from start to finish. Brilliant and beautifully layered. This is a work of art about a work of art. ... Destroying David needs to be seen. ... Don’t miss the brilliant world premiere production.” - Broadway World, Dallas

“Superb! Imaginative! Pure stage magic! Without straining, Destroying David shifts from fascinating history to a statement about how everything we love eventually disappears." – The Dallas Morning News

“A Theatrical Triumph! A masterpiece! A once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience… Masterfully written … Utterly breathtaking.… Keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, balancing poignant introspection with unexpected moments of levity. The journey unfolds with surprises at every turn, leaving spectators captivated, hearts pounding, and yes, eyes welling with tears. Every detail combines to create a powerful, unforgettable experience. A must-see, unforgettable night of theatre. Don’t miss your chance to witness theatrical brilliance.” - Artsy Scoop

“Destroying David is a marvel. An unexpected, emotional bit of story-telling. Compelling… a true feat of imagination. A story of timeless art and everyday grief. A meditation on mortality, both human and artistic.” - On Stage, Texas

REVIEWS FROM VARIOUS WORKSHOPS
at Harbinger Theatre & Burien Actors Theatre

"A fascinating new play! An ode to the beauty, resilience, and importance of all art. A lovely, sad and uplifting portrait of a person in pain who is saved by love of beauty rather than the destruction of same. Both eloquent and passionate… playwright Jason Odell Williams has the remarkable ability to deliver an enormous amount of information in a way that is illuminating beyond simple metaphor. This is a work where language is the star." – The Troy Record

"An exciting, tour de force production! Destroying David has us questioning many of the flawed things about life, love, loss and the fragility of the world around us. A very relevant message in today’s troubled world. Just when you are tearing up, [Williams] deftly breaks the tension and has you laughing out loud. A sheer delight from start to finish. It is very much worth your time." – Nippertown

"Wonderful! Beautiful! Alive and vivid! This is a play of thoughts brought into the verbal world just as Michelangelo’s David was brought out of the marble. Sometimes I think a play is extraordinary but this time it is the total experience that stands out as something special." – The Berkshire Edge

"Destroying David is easily one of my favorite BAT shows to date. This show is original and comes from a place of love. In a way it is a love letter to the statue of David. Destroying David brings up questions about grief, the flaws in things, and the purpose of art. Excellent! Real and grounded… this show is one of BAT’s best… make sure not to miss it." – Westside Seattle

BEST NEW PLAY NOMINEE (Off Broadway Alliance, 2017)
BEST NEW PLAY NOMINEE (L.A. Ovation Awards, 2016)
TOP TEN PRODUCTIONS OF 2016 (The Huffington Post)
WINNER - OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY (Henry Awards, 2019)

“Gripping entertainment! Simply superb!” – Los Angeles Times
"Powerful, humorous, and so many lines that resonate." - Huffington Post
"A crackling script! I wish every member of Congress would see it!" - NPR
“Plenty of humor! Words that need to be said and heard!” – Time Out NY
"One of the best plays of the year!" - Times Square Chronicles
“Extraordinary and impassioned” – Santa Monica Daily Press
“Speaks to the lunacy of modern politics” – L.A. Theatre Bites
"Williams' excellent script yields to searing theater!"- Talkin' Broadway
"This show is stunning. Beautiful writing... so timely and so heartbreaking – but it’s also quite funny and human. I want everyone to make seeing this show a priority... This is theater with purpose!” – The Alt

Three days before his bid for re-election, in the wake of another school shooting, a Republican U.S. Senator has a life-altering crisis of faith, and makes an off-the-cuff comment that sends the entire campaign into a tailspin. His devoutly Christian wife and liberal Jewish campaign manager try to contain the damage, but in a country where religion influences politics and politics have become a religion, how do you reach the people and stay true to yourself? A timely and fast-paced story that is simultaneously funny, heartbreaking, and uplifting.

www.ChurchAndStateThePlay.com

“A hilarious and heartwarming romantic comedy... which exudes gobs of comic energy and insight. Mr. Williams has achieved something special: He has written a Jewish Christmas story.” —The New York Times (Critics’ Pick)

In this bi-lingual romantic comedy, circumstances both hilarious and tragic bring together a young Israeli woman, who has little command of English, and a young American man, who has little command of romance. Is their inevitable love an accident ... or is it destiny, generations in the making?

“Miraculous ... the story of the beauty in tragedy, the rekindling of faith, and realizing that you’re found in translation ... leaves the audience delighted.” —The Jewish Week

“Thrilling ... a delightful, bilingual comedy ... this is the perfect non- Christmas “Christmas” show, a celebration of friendship and life that is big on the small things that matter in life.” —Los Angeles Daily News

HANDLE WITH CARE ran for 112 performances Off-Broadway and has had 17 regional productions since premiering in 2011.

A former singer, now realtor, struggles with the modern dating scene after becoming a widow two years ago only to have her life turned upside down when she finds a mysterious note from her dead husband telling her it’s okay to “move on.” A modern, romantic comedy for grown-ups about love, loss, and finding your Forever Home. (2W, 2M)

NOISES OFF meets the movie PLEASANTVILLE meets an episode of FRIENDS in this theatrical love letter to sitcoms (classic and modern) with flexible casting (7 - 40 roles), one simple unit set, opportunities for fun cameos, surprising theatrical tricks, physical comedy and more! After declaring that college would be a waste of time and money, and that their one-time dream to be a comedy writer is an impractical pipe-dream, a high school student gets trapped in an alternate sitcom multiverse and can’t find their way out. After some frustrating and hilarious encounters with the casts of shows that look a LOT like Friends, Seinfeld, Will & Grace, and The Golden Girls to name a few, and getting some sage advice from "Norman Lear," our hero student discovers they DO want to go to college – to become a sitcom writer! An uproarious comedy about finding your true passion and discovering that laughter is the best medicine.

Kate, a straight-A high school senior, stops attending her AP Science class after her teacher delivers a lecture about mankind's responsibility for climate change. As a series of storms hits their small town of Martins Ferry, Ohio, Kate's friends, family and teacher try to convince her to come back to class and decline her invitation to appear on a popular conservative talk radio show to discuss her bold decision. But Kate keeps having flashbacks of her father when he was alive telling her coal provided good clean jobs and climate change was a hoax. Will Kate stick to her guns about the "climate change myth" she was taught to believe... even as a literal flood of evidence rises around her? Or will she see finally see the light and stand up for what’s right... no matter the cost? THE WHOLE SHEBANG is a darkly comic play about our core beliefs, our changing planet, and what we choose to value most. "Truth is in the eye of the denier."

AMERICA IN ONE ROOM is a comedy-drama about what divides us and what brings us together as a nation.

When eight strangers receive an invitation to the America in One Room convention in the fall of 2019, promising debate on a wide range of topics, they are hesitant to participate. However, as each diverse personality files into the aptly-titled Liberty Room, their insecurities, strengths, weaknesses and hopes for the future are put on full display. Inspired by the real-life convention of the same name, AMERICA IN ONE ROOM dissects recent headlines and our nation’s past (and even employs a little audience participation) to answer the question: what does it mean to be an American?

It's the night of the Golden Globes, and Robbie, a white actor with a rising career, has received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as a racist cop in a #BlackLivesMatter film. His pregnant African-American wife Nia is an actress whose once-thriving career has recently taken a back seat to her husband’s. Add Robbie’s white wannabe-gansta manager Trey to the mix who is like a walking poster child for cultural appropriation, and the result is a fresh comedic-drama about race, fame, and the Hollywood movie machine. (2M, 1W) .

In response the October 7th massacre in Israel, A POUND OF FLESH is a modern-day revenge tragedy and riff on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice about fear, redemption, and what it means to be "the chosen ones." When several fatalities result after protests about the October 7th attacks take place outside a synagogue in a quiet American suburb, Shia, an 18 year old Rabbi's daughter, decides to seek revenge on the white supremacists deemed responsible by disguising herself as a man and infiltrating the local Atomwaffen chapter (a neo-Nazi group that considers themselves right of the alt-right).

There Shia meets FRANK, the son of the man who shot and killed 5 people in the synagogue before shooting himself. Shia convinces Frank to follow her lead on the next steps to "take down the Jews." But Shia secretly plans to carry out the "Four Deaths" as described during Yom Kippur prayer services on the extremist group -- Stoning, Burning, Decapitation, and Strangulation. Complicating matters, Shia's best friend TIKI (short for Tikvah which means "hope" in Hebrew) begins to fall in love with a stranger she met after Friday night services named MILES. Both Tiki and Miles lost a loved one in the shooting. But their bond hides a secret that Shia uncovers when Tiki arrives one night for Shabbat dinner. Will Tiki turn the other cheek as she's begged Shia to do in the past, or will her baser nature be revealed when she has a chance for personal revenge?

A young woman is about to marry an old friend of the family. The only problem: she's white and Jewish; he's black... and not. This laugh-out-loud ensemble comedy looks at how far we've come (and how far we haven't) by exploring two Baltimore family's relationships over the past two decades.

“Terrific characters, sharp dialogue, and bang-on insights.” - Neil LaBute

“A stunning and evocative story… with humor, grace, and a huge heart. This show will make you smile and exit the theatre with a lightness to your step.”
- Urban Excavations

SOMEONE ELSE (1M, 1W) is an award-winning comedy about love, fidelity and Ukrainian escorts. As his wife of 10 years ratchets up the pressure to have a baby, Dave feels the spark being sucked out of their sex life and begins to fantasize about a rendezvous with a beautiful and droll Ukrainian prostitute who offers him surprisingly sage advice about his marriage. Meanwhile, Dave’s sexy co-worker has escalated their usual playful banter into a full-on flirtation… or is it simply a ploy to steal a promotion? While Dave navigates the complex waters of family, career and fidelity, he finds himself in a motel room with a curt New York escort who may or may not be the answer to his problems.

A winner of The Hudson Valley Writers’ Workshop new play competition, SOMEONE ELSE is a hilarious and candid glimpse at a lost and confused man searching to answer the eternal question: can we find everything we need… in just one person?

World Premiere at NC STAGE in Asheville, NC, Nov. 2015.

Winner of The Hudson Valley Writers Workshop 2012 New Play Contest.

PRESS FROM WORLD PREMIERE:
"Someone Else sizzles with sensuousness and sexy dialogue! A witty and wise romp examining the travails of a young husband and his sexual journey… represents everywoman and everyman's struggle - the human condition made manifest. No one turns out to be despicable, all are understandable and forgivable and acceptable. There's great depth and substance in this racy script, fit for long discussion and thoughtful consideration." - Citizen-Times

“This wickedly funny and enchanting, charming and piquant world premiere with blistering frankness, big laughs, and range of emotional dichotomies (love or sex, freely single or hitched with children, success or happiness) will resonate with audiences.” - Carolina Curtain Call

“Someone Else is human, relatable and very funny. This show is all about exposing inner fears and demons and debating them in often-unsettling ways. The writing is sharp, insightful and gives every audience member something they can relate to in their own lives.” - Mountain Xpress

After a female college student's gang-rape accusation is published in a prominent magazine then quickly retracted, the truth becomes more and more elusive as the girl and two of the accused boys tell the University three different versions of what happened on that fateful night. Inspired by true events, GIVE ME SHELTER is a fast-paced, gut-wrenching drama that asks the loaded question: when it comes to seeking justice for sexual violence on our nation's campuses, who can we really trust? (3M, 2W)

Aspiring screenwriter Alice and struggling novelist Owen have always had a flirty vibe yet have remained just dog park buddies. But when world famous actress Jennifer Stone shows up at the park, and offers to option Owen’s novel shortly after meeting him, their competitive natures are revealed. DOG PARK is a one-act romantic comedy about loyalty, celebrity, and what it means to be on top.