D.W. Gregory

D.W. Gregory

D.W. Gregory's plays frequently explore political issues through a personal lens. The New York Times called her a "playwright with a talent to enlighten and provoke" for her most produced work, RADIUM GIRLS, which has seen more than 1,200 productions worldwide since its premiere at Playwrights' Theatre of New Jersey. Other plays include MEMOIRS OF A FORGOTTEN MAN, produced at the...
D.W. Gregory's plays frequently explore political issues through a personal lens. The New York Times called her a "playwright with a talent to enlighten and provoke" for her most produced work, RADIUM GIRLS, which has seen more than 1,200 productions worldwide since its premiere at Playwrights' Theatre of New Jersey. Other plays include MEMOIRS OF A FORGOTTEN MAN, produced at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Shadowland Stages and New Jersey Rep, as part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere; MOLUMBY'S MILLION, nominated for Philadelphia's Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play, THE GOOD DAUGHTER, and OCTOBER 1962. These plays and others have been been supported by the National New Play Network, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts and developed or presented at the New Harmony Project, ShenanArts, the Playwrights' Center, Theatre of the First Amendment, NYU's HotInk Festival, Imagination Stage, the Lark, Florida Stage, Geva Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Women's Project, and the Young Vic, among others. Gregory also writes for youth theatre. Her comedy SALVATION ROAD was the winner of Walden Theatre's Slant Culture Series and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education's Playwrights in Our Schools program; it was developed through New York University's New Plays for Young Audiences project. For four years in a row, Dramatics Magazine named RADIUM GIRLS one of the Ten Most Produced Plays in American High School Theater. A former national core member and an affiliated artist with the Playwrights' Center, Gregory is currently an affiliated artist with NNPN and a member of the Dramatist's Guild. More information at www.dwgregory.com.

Plays

  • MEMOIRS OF A FORGOTTEN MAN by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 12
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    Cast: 
    4–6
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    Genre: dark comedy, docudrama/historic + 4 more
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    Keyword: Cold War, Ukraine + 8 more
    Genre: dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, mystery/thriller, period, political
    Keyword: Cold War, Ukraine, Russia, Trump, suspense, disinformation, psychology, disability, memory, brother vs. brother
    A Soviet journalist with the gift of total recall. A psychologist seeking to rehabilitate herself. A government censor with a secret past. Over two decades their fates become entwined as victims and collaborators in Stalin’s campaign to rewrite public memory.

    Long before ‘fake news’ was an Internet meme, it was called propaganda. And in the Soviet Union, circa 1938, it was the grease that kept...
    A Soviet journalist with the gift of total recall. A psychologist seeking to rehabilitate herself. A government censor with a secret past. Over two decades their fates become entwined as victims and collaborators in Stalin’s campaign to rewrite public memory.

    Long before ‘fake news’ was an Internet meme, it was called propaganda. And in the Soviet Union, circa 1938, it was the grease that kept Stalin’s machinery of terror in motion. By taking us to this world, where justice is arbitrary and freedom as we think of it does not exist, Memoirs of a Forgotten Man forces the audience to consider the fragility of democracy in an era when facts are fungible and history is whatever Dear Leader says it is.
  • THE YELLOW STOCKING PLAY - A new musical by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, farce + 2 more
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    Keyword: Shakespeare parody, romantic comedy + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, farce, musical, period
    Keyword: Shakespeare parody, romantic comedy, backstage, sex comedy, physical comedy, actors falling in love, betrayal, one-sided romance.
    Book by D.W. Gregory. Lyrics by Sarah Knapp. Music by Steven M. Alper

    The show must go on—even if you can’t recognize it.

    Twelfth Night is the inspiration for this quick-change musical comedy about a 17th Century Shakespeare troupe embarked on a disastrous tour of the Continent. Food poisoning, drowning, duels and avalanches befall the actors one by one--until only four of them...
    Book by D.W. Gregory. Lyrics by Sarah Knapp. Music by Steven M. Alper

    The show must go on—even if you can’t recognize it.

    Twelfth Night is the inspiration for this quick-change musical comedy about a 17th Century Shakespeare troupe embarked on a disastrous tour of the Continent. Food poisoning, drowning, duels and avalanches befall the actors one by one--until only four of them remain. Minutes before the curtain rises on their next-to-final show, the ingénue elopes with the town innkeeper, leaving a company of three to pull off the most frantic play in the repertoire. But her lover, Gropio, is too heart-broken to go on, while her confidante, Tremolo, just refuses to kiss a man. It falls to Simpatica, the leading lady, to recast and revise on the fly. Her biggest challenge is how to keep the backstage drama from spoiling the onstage comedy. But the show must go on. Even if you can't recognize it.
  • DESIGN by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: gun violence, gun control + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: gun violence, gun control, modern marriage, contemporary fable, mystery, psychological suspense, male female issues, gender politics, power relationships
    Len and Claire sense they are in for some seriously bad karma when his offhand remark at a party inspires the break-up of long-married friends. But when the universe delivers that karma in the form of a sniper stalking their once peaceful suburban neighborhood, both couples are forced to reconsider the trade-offs they've made in life and love.

    A Post-9/11 comedy about surviving and thriving in a world with no guarantees.
  • A THING OF BEAUTY by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    5–6
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    Genre: comedy, farce + 5 more
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    Keyword: 1950s, identity politics + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, farce, parody/spoof, period, political, romantic comedy, satire
    Keyword: 1950s, identity politics, art and politics, artistic expression, censorship, social climbers, small town politics, gender politics, 20th Century art
    Mrs. Bouffant is outraged when an anonymous nude takes first prize in the community art competition she sponsors in her late husband's name. When she learns the artist is the mailman who is constantly losing her deliveries, she enlists her secretary to lobby the judges for a more appropriate winner, unaware that Imelda herself is the muse who inspired the work. But their joint campaign for decency runs...
    Mrs. Bouffant is outraged when an anonymous nude takes first prize in the community art competition she sponsors in her late husband's name. When she learns the artist is the mailman who is constantly losing her deliveries, she enlists her secretary to lobby the judges for a more appropriate winner, unaware that Imelda herself is the muse who inspired the work. But their joint campaign for decency runs aground when an influential New York art critic arrives in town, hell-bent on sticking a finger in the eye of the elite big city art scene by championing an unknown, working-class painter.
  • SALVATION ROAD - LARGE CAST VERSION by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    12–16
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: family, Cults + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, faith-based, mystery/thriller, young audiences
    Keyword: family, Cults, friendship, religion
    Now available from Dramatic Publishing! When his hip older sister disappears with members of a fundamentalist church, 17-year-old Cliff Kozak struggles to hold it all together, pretending that he isn't hurt by her decision to cut him out of her life. But a year later, a chance sighting of Denise at a New Jersey strip mall leads Cliff and his best buddy on a road trip into the heart of a deepening mystery...
    Now available from Dramatic Publishing! When his hip older sister disappears with members of a fundamentalist church, 17-year-old Cliff Kozak struggles to hold it all together, pretending that he isn't hurt by her decision to cut him out of her life. But a year later, a chance sighting of Denise at a New Jersey strip mall leads Cliff and his best buddy on a road trip into the heart of a deepening mystery. Why would a smart and talented girl like Denise fall for the hollow promises of a sleazy preacher? Could it be that blind faith is just another term for a desperate need to belong?

    This version of the play is adapted for educational theatre and has been performed with 12 to 16 actors.

    "A moving and well-crafted play ... stirs emotions and engenders thought that will occupy audiences long after the stage is bare."

    -- Arts Louisville

    more information at www.salvationroadplay.com
  • Three Rings, No Diamonds - a 10-minute comedy by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
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    Keyword: Relationships, gender politics + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: Relationships, gender politics, battle of the sexes, me too, adult romantic comedy, awkward romance, dating and relationships
    A relationship coach encounters her most difficult client, a real guy kind of guy -- the kind of guy who is not shy about being a guy--meaning he's desperately in need of her counsel, which he'll probably ignore.
  • Some Kind of Holiday - a 10-minute absurdity by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: adult relationships, gender politics + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, fantasy, farce, parody/spoof, satire
    Keyword: adult relationships, gender politics, anti-romantic, husband and wife, absurd comedy, English, older couple, comic fantasy
    Years in captivity strain perceptions of time and metaphors for a long-married couple, but an unexpected delivery triggers a calendar--as well as an attitude--adjustment. A 10-minute comedy for the stir crazy.
  • Her Place in the World - an Entertainment by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4–5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: absurd comedy, sexual politics + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce
    Keyword: absurd comedy, sexual politics, destructive religion, adult relationships, gender politics, mother-daughter conflict
    Adam's immortal, diabolical first wife Lilith makes her appearance again, wreaking havoc among his descendants, now atoning for their sins in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. For 3W, 1-2 M, running time approx. 15 minutes.
  • The Five Cent Girl - A 10-minute mystery by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 2 more
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    Keyword: romance, murder mystery + 2 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, period, tragedy
    Keyword: romance, murder mystery, American Irish, 19th century history
    Officer Billy Collier is about to swing for the murder of his own police captain . Why'd he do it? He won't say. But Billy's friend and fellow officer J.D. Springer has a theory, and to test it, he comes to the scene of the crime--a seedy pub in an Irish slum, where the beer is 10 cents a pint and a nickel more buys a dance with a pretty girl named Sile.
  • DIRTY PICTURES by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, farce + 3 more
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    Keyword: Screwball Comedy, disability love + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, farce, movement/physical, period, romantic comedy
    Keyword: Screwball Comedy, disability love, disability and sexuality, women, adult romantic comedy
    Colorado 1982: Thwarted lust and bruised ambition rule in Dan Briggs’ bar. Judy, the quick-witted bartender, never lets her disability get in the way of what she wants – except when it comes to Dan, who only has eyes for Bonnie, a comely waitress with dreams of becoming a Playboy centerfold. Unknown to Dan, Bonnie’s ticket to fame relies on an elaborate scheme--cooked up by his best buddy Chet--involving a...
    Colorado 1982: Thwarted lust and bruised ambition rule in Dan Briggs’ bar. Judy, the quick-witted bartender, never lets her disability get in the way of what she wants – except when it comes to Dan, who only has eyes for Bonnie, a comely waitress with dreams of becoming a Playboy centerfold. Unknown to Dan, Bonnie’s ticket to fame relies on an elaborate scheme--cooked up by his best buddy Chet--involving a classic motorcycle and a secret photo shoot. Chet’s plans seems to be working out – until 21 nudie photos of Bonnie fall into the wrong hands. A screwball comedy about redefining beauty in an image-obsessed culture.



  • OCTOBER 1962 by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 1 more
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    Keyword: psychological, Cold War + 1 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, period
    Keyword: psychological, Cold War, family
    Fourteen-year-old Jeannie Timmons and her little sister Nan are fascinated by the boy down the street--but he's not just any teenager with a motorcycle. He's a convicted killer whose return to the old neighborhood has sent their mother into a panic and their father into an unexplained crisis of conscience. How far will their parents go to protect them from a danger that might not quite exist? Set...
    Fourteen-year-old Jeannie Timmons and her little sister Nan are fascinated by the boy down the street--but he's not just any teenager with a motorcycle. He's a convicted killer whose return to the old neighborhood has sent their mother into a panic and their father into an unexplained crisis of conscience. How far will their parents go to protect them from a danger that might not quite exist? Set during a time of Cold War paranoia, this comic drama explores the necessity of deceit in the pursuit of absolute security.
  • SALVATION ROAD - SMALL CAST VERSION by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    6–9
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: family, Cults + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, faith-based, mystery/thriller, young audiences
    Keyword: family, Cults, friendship, religious intolerance
    When his hip older sister disappears with members of a fundamentalist church, 17-year-old Cliff Kozak struggles to hold it all together, pretending that he isn't hurt by her decision to cut him out of her life. But a year later, a chance sighting of Denise at a New Jersey strip mall propels Cliff and his best buddy on a road trip into the heart of a deepening mystery. Why would a smart and talented girl...
    When his hip older sister disappears with members of a fundamentalist church, 17-year-old Cliff Kozak struggles to hold it all together, pretending that he isn't hurt by her decision to cut him out of her life. But a year later, a chance sighting of Denise at a New Jersey strip mall propels Cliff and his best buddy on a road trip into the heart of a deepening mystery. Why would a smart and talented girl like Denise fall for the hollow promises of a sleazy preacher? Could it be that blind faith is just another term for a desperate need to belong?

    RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes
  • THE GOOD DAUGHTER by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic + 2 more
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    Keyword: Americana, Shakespeare + 3 more
    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic, drama, tragedy
    Keyword: Americana, Shakespeare, American Midwest, Middle America, rural America
    Set in the years before and after World War I, The Good Daughter is an epic story of three Missouri farm women torn between family duty and the desires of their own hearts. Shades of Lear color this story of Ned Owen, a pious widower, whose dearest hope is to see his daughters settled, each according to their proper place in the world, and the family farm carried on by one of their sons. But the eldest, Esther...
    Set in the years before and after World War I, The Good Daughter is an epic story of three Missouri farm women torn between family duty and the desires of their own hearts. Shades of Lear color this story of Ned Owen, a pious widower, whose dearest hope is to see his daughters settled, each according to their proper place in the world, and the family farm carried on by one of their sons. But the eldest, Esther, can never marry; a bout with childhood polio has left her lame, and “no man,” Ned says, “wants a crippled girl.” Rachel, the youngest at fourteen, is still too much a child to think about marriage. That leaves middle daughter Cassie to fulfill Ned’s dreams. His pick for her is a neighboring farmer, a sweet dullard of little conversation and no imagination. Cassie longs for true romance. And one hot summer day it arrives—in the form of a merchant’s son, who has returned to the valley to peddle a radical new idea: Flood control. “The day is gone,” he declares, “when farmers have to live at the mercy of the river.” But Ned is not convinced. He knows that God made the river to flood—and any man who interferes with God’s work can only bring ruin.
  • RADIUM GIRLS - FULL LENGTH by D.W. Gregory
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    10–38
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    Genre: biography, comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: History, courtroom drama + 1 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, period
    Keyword: History, courtroom drama, science
    Available from Dramatic Publishing: In 1926, radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie an international celebrity, and luminous watches the latest rage—until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease. Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls traces the efforts of Grace Fryer, a dial painter, as she fights for her day in court. Her chief adversary is her former employer, Arthur Roeder,...
    Available from Dramatic Publishing: In 1926, radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie an international celebrity, and luminous watches the latest rage—until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease. Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls traces the efforts of Grace Fryer, a dial painter, as she fights for her day in court. Her chief adversary is her former employer, Arthur Roeder, an idealistic man who cannot bring himself to believe that the same element that shrinks tumors could have anything to do with the terrifying rash of illnesses among his employees. As the case goes on, however, Grace finds herself battling not just with the U.S. Radium Corporation, but with her own family and friends, who fear that her campaign for justice will backfire. Written with warmth and humor, Radium Girls is a fast-moving, highly theatrical ensemble piece for 9 to 10 actors, who play more than 30 parts—friends, co-workers, lovers, relatives, attorneys, scientists, consumer advocates, and myriad interested bystan5ders. Called a "powerful" and "engrossing" drama by critics, Radium Girls offers a wry, unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsessions with health, wealth, and the commercialization of science. Available from Dramatic Publishing, Radium Girls has had more than 800 productions since its original production. The list below is a small sampling. Radium Girls is a popular title for high school, university, and community theatre. With flexible casting, it provides multiple strong roles for females. In 2018 it was named one of the 10 most produced plays in U.S. high schools by Dramatics Magazine.

  • THE GOOD GIRL IS GONE by D.W. Gregory
    Cast: 
    5–6
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: dysfunctional family, abandonment + 3 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: dysfunctional family, abandonment, child abuse, addiction, alcoholism
    All hell breaks loose in the Bender household the day Mama runs off with that no-good lowlife Wayne Hargrove. Papa can't believe she's gone, but Lulu just shrugs it off, while Ginny sees Mama everywhere she isn't. Absence makes the head go cloudy, so Papa begins to see clues of a kidnapping in the farewell note Mama left behind, while Ginny follows Mama through a plate-glass window. Is it any...
    All hell breaks loose in the Bender household the day Mama runs off with that no-good lowlife Wayne Hargrove. Papa can't believe she's gone, but Lulu just shrugs it off, while Ginny sees Mama everywhere she isn't. Absence makes the head go cloudy, so Papa begins to see clues of a kidnapping in the farewell note Mama left behind, while Ginny follows Mama through a plate-glass window. Is it any wonder Lulu find herself strangely attracted to the exhausted, pill-popping medical intern treating her sister? But all that is merely prologue to the biggest test of Lulu's life: the day that Mama walks back into it. Alone in a motel room far from home, finally determined to free herself of a bad love match, Lulu is forced to extract the truth from Mama: Exactly what did happen that day outside the A&P so many years before? And why, after all this time, can't Lulu let go of the nagging fear that somehow, some way, it was all her fault? A dark comedy that careens wildly from pathos to hilarity, The Good Girl Is Gone pokes at the bruised heart of the American family to examine the power of memory to torment and heal. Running time: 80 minutes.

    "A playwright with a talent to enlighten and provoke." - The New York Times