Chris Cragin-Day

Chris Cragin-Day

Chris Cragin-Day is a NYC playwright, librettist, and screenwriter, who grew up in Hong Kong, China, and Oklahoma. She is an alumna of The Public Theater’s Emerging Writer’s Group and the O’Neill National Music Theater Conference (where her musical, Son of a Gun, .co-written with Don and Lori Chaffer of Waterdeep, was workshopped and presented). Her play, Martin Luther on Trial, received an Off-Broadway run...
Chris Cragin-Day is a NYC playwright, librettist, and screenwriter, who grew up in Hong Kong, China, and Oklahoma. She is an alumna of The Public Theater’s Emerging Writer’s Group and the O’Neill National Music Theater Conference (where her musical, Son of a Gun, .co-written with Don and Lori Chaffer of Waterdeep, was workshopped and presented). Her play, Martin Luther on Trial, received an Off-Broadway run followed by two national tours. Her play, Foster Mom, won the New Play Award at Premiere Stages and received a production there. Her play, A Woman, was part of 59E59th’s Summer Shorts series. Her musical, The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph’s Baby, played at The Fringe NYC, enjoyed 5 subsequent productions at River and Rail Theater in Knoxville, and is now in pre-production as an animated film. Most recently, her play, No One Owns Me, co-written with Pia Wilson, played at AD Players in Houston. Chris has received commissions from The Director’s Company NYC, Pacific Theater, Fellowship of the Performing Arts, AD Players, and River and Rail Theatre. She’s currently working on a musical adaptation of the middle grade novel, The Naughtiest Girl in School, commissioned by The Director’s Company, NYC. www.chriscragin-day.com

Plays

  • OKC Bombing
    A look at the trial of Timothy McVeigh and how it shaped the American view of justice.
  • The Rare Biosphere
    Sophie, 17, returns from a normal day at high school to find her parents have been deported. Steve, 18, a friend from youth group, discovers her secret and tries to help.
  • A Woman
    Kim tries to convince the her new pastor and old friend to challenge the denomination’s policy against women elders.
  • Foster Mom
    Leslie's decision to foster a child is complicated by two factors: a skeptical mother and an unexpected romance. (3W, 1M) Comedy/Drama
  • Tornado
    Becca volunteers in the aftermath of a devastating tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, but finds that her need to “help” conflicts with the efforts of her fellow volunteer.
  • The River Nun
    One village woman organizes a historic stand against the oil giant ruining their river and their livelihood.
  • Martin Luther on Trial
    An afterlife retrial that examines Martin Luther's historical impact from the perspectives of Hitler, Freud, MLK, Pope Francis, and more.
  • Oleanna, Take 2
    Deanna, a professor at a tier 1 research university, is confronted by a student who believes she is biased against him because he is a white male. As the complications of this accusation builds and unfolds, Deanna must find a way to balance her integrity in what she believes about education with her need to keep her job. This play is written is response to David Mamet's Oleanna, but it is entirely original.
  • No One Owns Me (co-written with Pia Wilson)
    Carla’s job is helping young women escape their pimps and the prison of sex trafficking so that they can rebuild a more empowered version of themselves and trajectory for their lives. Her own history as a survivor makes her perfect for the job. But when her own former pimp re-enters her life, we see how difficult it can be to truly start over.
  • Earth, Too
    Alex, a respected environmentalist, is being recruited to join the first ever human mission to colonize another planet. Her husband, Sam, an engineer, still believes Earth can be saved, and doesn't want her to go.
  • Danderhauler and the Appalachian Family Disaster/Band, A New Musical
    Dueling cowboys, flaming vans, botched circumcision, and angelic hosts: the tale of a wildly eccentric Appalachian family band.
  • PAN Zombies
    After a head on collision, a family of 2 parents and 2 teens emerge from their family van to find themselves undead and swiftly recruited into an underground zombie resistance group committed to preventing apocalypse.
  • The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph's Baby (Musical)
    This quirky intimate folk musical comedy puts a human twist on the age-old story.
  • The Burn Vote (Musical)
    (Musical, co-written with Don and Lori Chaffer) About the final vote by Harry Burn, youngest legislator ever in the history of Nashville TN, that pushed the 19th amendment to ratification, giving women the right to vote. The story focuses in Harry and his mother, Febb, who wrote him the famous letter that changed his vote from against suffrage, to for it.
  • Emily, An Amethyst Remembrance
    Emily Dickinson's journey into a mysterious world of isolation in reverse time.