Joe Zarrow

Joe Zarrow

Joe is a Chicago-based playwright and actor. His work has been produced in Chicago by Stage Left Theatre, Theatre Seven of Chicago, Walkabout Theatre, LiveWire, Collaboraction, Broken Nose Theatre, and Tympanic Theatre. He's acted a whole bunch of places. He is a proud graduate of the School at Steppenwolf.

Plays

  • Principal Principle by Joe Zarrow
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: all-female cast, school + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, satire
    Keyword: all-female cast, school, cps, women, teachers, teacher, teaching, Chicago, public school
    Armed only with her dreams of making the world a better place and six weeks of training, Kay Josephs quits her corporate job to teach English in an urban high school. She wakes up to harsh realities: the copy machine is broken, the system is broken, and the spirits of her fellow teachers are broken. Or are they? A dark comedy of academic intrigue. "★★★★ This clear-eyed glimpse into the teachers'...
    Armed only with her dreams of making the world a better place and six weeks of training, Kay Josephs quits her corporate job to teach English in an urban high school. She wakes up to harsh realities: the copy machine is broken, the system is broken, and the spirits of her fellow teachers are broken. Or are they? A dark comedy of academic intrigue. "★★★★ This clear-eyed glimpse into the teachers' lounge makes hearty laughs part of an all too relevant lesson plan." - Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago "There are very few excellent plays about public education. This is one." - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune "Former public school teacher Joe Zarrow achieves something remarkable...an entertaining play about education that re-creates all the quirks and craziness of modern education without lapsing into either cynical hopelessness or Hollywood-style superteacher fantasies. His dialogue feels authentic, and his characters are flawed but likable human beings, not mouthpieces for this or that ideology." - Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader "Engaging, intelligent, and important. Highly recommended." - Peter Thomas Ricci, Chicago Theater Review
  • The Absent Minded by Joe Zarrow
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Drones, mind body problem + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, science fiction
    Keyword: Drones, mind body problem, Sex, privacy, technology, mad scientists, Passover, seder
    Domestic drone operator Boyd should be doing well: he has a loving wife, a supportive business partner, and a clean bill of health after a bout with cancer. Instead, he's so acutely desperate to escape his body that he turns to a mad scientist for help in this dark comedy about the mind-body problem and the ethics of human relationships.
  • Continuity by Joe Zarrow
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, political + 2 more
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    Keyword: comic books, Race + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, political, satire, science fiction
    Keyword: comic books, Race, casting, show business, geek.
    A beloved comic book superheroine is finally getting her own feature film, but some fans are very unhappy with the casting. A universe-hopping play about geek culture, race, and keeping your story straight.
  • The Pigeons by Joe Zarrow
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, farce + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: pigeons, Farce + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, farce, political, satire
    Keyword: pigeons, Farce, satire, real estate, gentrification, Chicago, pierogis
    When Martin's girlfriend kicks him out of their apartment for cheating, he has to find new digs quickly in Chicago's diverse, rapidly-gentrifying West Town neighborhood. To get the only existing apartment, he'll have to compete with a rabid overgrown frat boy, a Machiavellian real estate agent, a determined Polish saleslady, an embittered barista, and a flock of very angry pigeons. How far will...
    When Martin's girlfriend kicks him out of their apartment for cheating, he has to find new digs quickly in Chicago's diverse, rapidly-gentrifying West Town neighborhood. To get the only existing apartment, he'll have to compete with a rabid overgrown frat boy, a Machiavellian real estate agent, a determined Polish saleslady, an embittered barista, and a flock of very angry pigeons. How far will Martin be willing to go to stay in the neighborhood he loves so much? "Without a doubt, one can arrive unprepared for Joe Zarrow's new play, The Pigeons, produced by Walkabout Theatre, at Swim Cafe's space. It's easily the cleverest, foxiest and physically wildest farce I've seen since, well, forever." - Paige Listerud, Chicago Theater Blog "Very funny satire." - Laura Molzahn, Chicago Reader (Recommended)