Tom Rowan

Tom Rowan

Tom Rowan is a playwright, author, and director. His produced plays include Kiss and Cry (GLAAD Media Award Nomination), The Second Tosca, Faye Drummond, David's Play, and The Blue Djinn (Best Short Play in the Fresh Fruit Festival, 2014). He has held commissions from The Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Maryland Opera Studio, where his libretto for the opera The Young King (music by Martin Hennessy) was...
Tom Rowan is a playwright, author, and director. His produced plays include Kiss and Cry (GLAAD Media Award Nomination), The Second Tosca, Faye Drummond, David's Play, and The Blue Djinn (Best Short Play in the Fresh Fruit Festival, 2014). He has held commissions from The Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Maryland Opera Studio, where his libretto for the opera The Young King (music by Martin Hennessy) was heard in concert in 2017. Tom’s many directing credits include A Little Night Music, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Denver Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Director), Landscape of the Body (Westword Award for Best Director), Master Class, and the fortieth anniversary New York production of A Chorus Line (Queens Kudos Award for Best Director of a Musical, 2016). Tom was a Drama League Directing Fellow, and has an MFA in Directing from the University of Washington School of Drama. He has also worked as a Casting Director and Literary Manager. He is the author of the books A Chorus Line FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About Broadway’s Singular Sensation and Rent FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About Broadway’s Blaze of Glory, both published by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.

Plays

  • THE ARTICLE IN QUESTION by Tom Rowan
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: docudrama/historic, political
    Genre: docudrama/historic, political
    When a skeptical article on climate change was published in 1992, bearing the names of two well-known scientists, its authorship was disputed. Had one of the credited authors, a respected pioneer in the field, changed his mind about the causes of global warming, or was his name used without his approval? The scientist's determined young graduate assistant fights to set the record straight--with his career...
    When a skeptical article on climate change was published in 1992, bearing the names of two well-known scientists, its authorship was disputed. Had one of the credited authors, a respected pioneer in the field, changed his mind about the causes of global warming, or was his name used without his approval? The scientist's determined young graduate assistant fights to set the record straight--with his career, his family, and the very fate of the planet possibly hanging in the balance. Suggested by a true story, this timely play investigates the conflicting pressures placed on scientists, and reveals how science is sometimes manipulated to political ends.
  • BURNING LEAVES by Tom Rowan
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: teachers and students, gay + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: teachers and students, gay, youth, Shakespeare, Realism
    Leaving behind the wreckage of his life in New York, Matt takes a job teaching at a small high school in the middle of nowhere. He desperately needs a fresh start, but what he finds in Pittsville isn't exactly out of Norman Rockwell. When a talented, deeply troubled student named Jesse Wade comes into his life and asks for more than he's prepared to give, Matt is forced to address the mistakes of his...
    Leaving behind the wreckage of his life in New York, Matt takes a job teaching at a small high school in the middle of nowhere. He desperately needs a fresh start, but what he finds in Pittsville isn't exactly out of Norman Rockwell. When a talented, deeply troubled student named Jesse Wade comes into his life and asks for more than he's prepared to give, Matt is forced to address the mistakes of his past and his own frightening emotions. A humorous, compassionate play that asks: "Does anybody ever really get a second chance?"
  • DAVID'S PLAY by Tom Rowan
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: New York, Relationships + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: New York, Relationships, friendship, gay, coming of age
    Amanda Linden is opening in a new Broadway show tonight: a jukebox musical called Notorious! Twelve years ago, when she graduated from college, she and her five best friends all promised that, whichever one of them made it to Broadway first, the others would all be in the audience on opening night. So on this special night, most of the members of this once-close-knit group have descended on the upscale Eighth...
    Amanda Linden is opening in a new Broadway show tonight: a jukebox musical called Notorious! Twelve years ago, when she graduated from college, she and her five best friends all promised that, whichever one of them made it to Broadway first, the others would all be in the audience on opening night. So on this special night, most of the members of this once-close-knit group have descended on the upscale Eighth Avenue apartment Amanda shares with her husband Leo. Ian, a director living in the Midwest, has brought his friend Joshua along; Molly, now a New Jersey housewife, has managed to get a rare night off from her childcare duties; and Barry, a standup comic, is a bit too excited about seeing her again. The only friend who didn’t keep the promise is David, a charismatic actor who was the center of their group but disappeared mysteriously in the city three years earlier. Could he still be alive? David’s Play is warm and witty, cynical and hopeful, a play about friendship, loss, and finding the courage to pursue your dreams when life doesn’t go the way you thought it would.
  • DISMANTLING PROSPERO by Tom Rowan
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: drama, movement/physical + 1 more
    Genre: drama, movement/physical, political
    This is the story of Professor Griffin Bates, a dynamic choreographer who has built a top-ranked dance department at Midwestern University. He even managed to hold the program together during the recent pandemic, teaching dance classes online. With the students finally back on campus, he decides to reinvigorate the department with an especially ambitious spring production: an original ballet version of The...
    This is the story of Professor Griffin Bates, a dynamic choreographer who has built a top-ranked dance department at Midwestern University. He even managed to hold the program together during the recent pandemic, teaching dance classes online. With the students finally back on campus, he decides to reinvigorate the department with an especially ambitious spring production: an original ballet version of The Tempest—and audaciously casts himself as the magician Prospero. But is Griffin woke enough to navigate the minefield of today’s culture wars? An exciting and timely dance/theatre piece, Dismantling Prospero takes an unflinching and provocative look at campus politics, diversity training, and cancel culture in our rapidly changing world.
  • FAYE DRUMMOND by Tom Rowan
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: mythology, celebrity + 1 more
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy, political, satire, tragedy
    Keyword: mythology, celebrity, drag
    Faye Drummond, the trophy wife of the fifth-richest man in America, lives in luxury in a penthouse overlooking Central Park. She's the woman who has everything, but she wants the one thing she can't have: her handsome stepson, Paul Letos. With apologies to Euripides and Racine, FAYE DRUMMOND updates the Greek myth of Phaedra and Hippolytus to contemporary New York, with uproarious results.
  • FESTIVITIES by Tom Rowan
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, holiday
    ·
    Keyword: christmas, hanukkah + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, holiday
    Keyword: christmas, hanukkah, family, Domestic, children, mixed race
    “Who ever heard of a Jewish Santa Claus??” So asks Abe Goldenbaum, veteran New York actor, when the only job he can get over the holidays is playing Santa at a New Jersey shopping mall. Holiday traditions can be a headache--especially when your family is nontraditional. If you’re even a little tired of The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol, try this warm and funny alternative: Festivities, a brand new holiday...
    “Who ever heard of a Jewish Santa Claus??” So asks Abe Goldenbaum, veteran New York actor, when the only job he can get over the holidays is playing Santa at a New Jersey shopping mall. Holiday traditions can be a headache--especially when your family is nontraditional. If you’re even a little tired of The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol, try this warm and funny alternative: Festivities, a brand new holiday play for the whole family. Young or old, Christian or Jew, black or white, there’s sure to be something special waiting for you this Christmas at the Goldenbaums’!
  • THE PATTERNS OF LOVE by Tom Rowan
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    12–13
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: inspired by Shakespeare, features LGBTQ characters + 1 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: inspired by Shakespeare, features LGBTQ characters, backstage
    A variation on themes from Shakespeare’s As You Like It, this brand-new comedy follows a motley troupe of thespians to a summer theatre in the Maine woods. There they wrestle with the bard’s immortal characters while attempting to sort out their own romantic entanglements.
  • THE SECOND TOSCA by Tom Rowan
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    This is the story of Lisa Duvall, a rising young operatic soprano who is understudying the great role of Tosca in Puccini’s opera of that name. Set backstage at Opera California, the play provides a rare and fascinating view into the hothouse world of opera. A controlling conductor-fiancé, a legendary diva, a star struck young composer, a sarcastic gay brother, and a singing ghost are just some of the colorful...
    This is the story of Lisa Duvall, a rising young operatic soprano who is understudying the great role of Tosca in Puccini’s opera of that name. Set backstage at Opera California, the play provides a rare and fascinating view into the hothouse world of opera. A controlling conductor-fiancé, a legendary diva, a star struck young composer, a sarcastic gay brother, and a singing ghost are just some of the colorful characters who add to the chaos of Lisa’s life, as she struggles to come to grips with the huge role and hopefully earn her first contract at the Met. The Second Tosca is smart, witty, sexy, and full of surprises and the kind of emotional climaxes that make opera exciting.
  • THE WEEKEND PEOPLE by Tom Rowan
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: familial and political conflict, Domestic + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: familial and political conflict, Domestic, adult romantic comedy
    Oil and gas tycoon Walt Burgess Jr. has recently passed away. His family gathers at their old homestead in the Catskill Mountains of New York State, each member carrying some unfinished business. Surprising summer romances, fights over money, a summer stock Romeo & Juliet, and a witch who lives in the attic all come together in this story of a family coping with a powerful man's flawed legacy. In the...
    Oil and gas tycoon Walt Burgess Jr. has recently passed away. His family gathers at their old homestead in the Catskill Mountains of New York State, each member carrying some unfinished business. Surprising summer romances, fights over money, a summer stock Romeo & Juliet, and a witch who lives in the attic all come together in this story of a family coping with a powerful man's flawed legacy. In the proud tradition of the big American family play, THE WEEKEND PEOPLE takes on tough political questions that resonate in today's troubled world.
  • POTENTIALLY OFFENSIVE by Tom Rowan
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, satire
    Genre: comedy, satire
    It's been seventy-five years since the release of THE GOLD RUSH KIDS, a seminal young adult novel, and the publishing house is planning to issue a commemorative edition. The late author's daughter and grown grandchildren are invited to a meeting to discuss the new cover design, but it turns out the publishers have some surprising suggestions for re-editing the text as well. Can even a classic novel...
    It's been seventy-five years since the release of THE GOLD RUSH KIDS, a seminal young adult novel, and the publishing house is planning to issue a commemorative edition. The late author's daughter and grown grandchildren are invited to a meeting to discuss the new cover design, but it turns out the publishers have some surprising suggestions for re-editing the text as well. Can even a classic novel hope to survive the culture wars of the second decade of the twenty-first century intact? We'll have to see about that...