Michael Perrie, Jr.

Michael Perrie, Jr.

Michael Perrie Jr. is a Virginia based Playwright, Lyricist, and Composer originally from Baltimore, Maryland. As a writer it’s always been his goal is to create fresh, challenging, and funny work: the likes of which have been seen all across the US. Most recently: “Merrymaking” (workshop, Maples Repertory Theatre), “How To Be Miserable (and other fancy pastimes)” (Reading, FSAC), “Pocketmon: A Pokémon Musical...
Michael Perrie Jr. is a Virginia based Playwright, Lyricist, and Composer originally from Baltimore, Maryland. As a writer it’s always been his goal is to create fresh, challenging, and funny work: the likes of which have been seen all across the US. Most recently: “Merrymaking” (workshop, Maples Repertory Theatre), “How To Be Miserable (and other fancy pastimes)” (Reading, FSAC), “Pocketmon: A Pokémon Musical Parody” (Hollywood Fringe, best song finalist), “An Evening With the World’s Greatest Actor” (Colorado Fringe Festival), “Big Red Button” (Matrix Theatre Co), “Paper Flowers” (Cabin Boys, Oklahoma), “Wild Imagination’ (Dixon Place), “An Unexpected Thing Happens” (Fresh Grind Festival 2017), “The News, The News, The Terrible News” (Secret Theatre One Act Festival Winner), “11 days of bloody, bloody carnage” (M.E.T. PlayLab 2016), “La Crescita” (The Pantry Theatre Co.), “CHINASHOP, MEET BULLS” (The Tank), “Big Red Button” (Him & Her Theatre Co.) and more.

His upcoming readings and productions include: “Garbage People” (Maryland Theatre Collective, Sept 2023), “The Raven Doesn’t Talk’ (HDG Arts, Oct 2023), and his new film written with Hailey Berkowitz and co-directed with Ken Burgin, “Under The Influence” (shooting Fall 2023).

Michael lives in Reston VA with his wife Lacy, and dog Roxie - where they enjoy cooking, gaming, reading, and fitness.

Plays

  • Garbage People by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    ·
    Keyword: Pinteresque, three actors + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: Pinteresque, three actors, comedy, violence, lies
    Henry wants Todd and he also wants Joanie. Henry is a liar. Joanie wants Todd and Henry to suffer. Joanie is vindictive. Todd wants Henry and Joanie to get what they want. Todd is an idiot. In what starts out as a love letter to Pinter, quickly spirals into a problematic threesome with three very selfish people trying have the last laugh...but in the end, will anyone really get what they want?
  • Merrymaking by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama, holiday
    ·
    Keyword: family, memory + 7 more
    Genre: drama, holiday
    Keyword: family, memory, christmas, time, loss, true crime, It's a Wonderful Life, death, theatre
    When Raven and her son, Cal, return to the family home where her daughter, Alice, was killed around Christmas a year and a half earlier, the two try their best to move forward despite the looming darkness. But as the lines between past and present begin to blur it becomes clear that Raven may not be ready to face the future...at least, not alone. A surprisingly funny, honest, and heartfelt examination of grief...
    When Raven and her son, Cal, return to the family home where her daughter, Alice, was killed around Christmas a year and a half earlier, the two try their best to move forward despite the looming darkness. But as the lines between past and present begin to blur it becomes clear that Raven may not be ready to face the future...at least, not alone. A surprisingly funny, honest, and heartfelt examination of grief and what it takes to move forward.
  • Big Red Button by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: world war 3, simple staging + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: world war 3, simple staging, Clever, 21st century politics
    It's World War 3 and two young civilians (Marie, the pessimist and Adam, the optimist) are sent to an underground missile silo to await instructions about launching the last missile. Inspired by the song, "The Temptation of Adam" by Josh Ritter, "Big Red Button" is a funny little play about two very different people learning to connect as human beings during a terrible circumstance....
    It's World War 3 and two young civilians (Marie, the pessimist and Adam, the optimist) are sent to an underground missile silo to await instructions about launching the last missile. Inspired by the song, "The Temptation of Adam" by Josh Ritter, "Big Red Button" is a funny little play about two very different people learning to connect as human beings during a terrible circumstance.

    Full Production, Matrix Theatre Company (Feb. 2 - 26, 2018) Detroit, MI
    Development: Workshop Production, Him & Her Theatre Co. 2016
  • How To Be Miserable (and Other Fancy Pastimes) by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, melodrama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Adult Siblings, wealth + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, melodrama, period, satire
    Keyword: Adult Siblings, wealth, family, secrets, centers a LGBTQ character, selfishness
    The Paulson family is fortunate, if you consider rich adult orphans with odd quirks and secrets fortunate. When Missy and Daisy's brother, Paul, returns from across the country with hardly any notice the family must re-unite and attempt to get along. However with the looming possibility of inheritance on the horizon, Paul is up to something strange, Missy has perpetual drama wrapped in secrets long...
    The Paulson family is fortunate, if you consider rich adult orphans with odd quirks and secrets fortunate. When Missy and Daisy's brother, Paul, returns from across the country with hardly any notice the family must re-unite and attempt to get along. However with the looming possibility of inheritance on the horizon, Paul is up to something strange, Missy has perpetual drama wrapped in secrets long forgotten, and Daisy is just attempting to hold it all together because NOBODY ELSE IS EVEN TRYING! Also Grandpa may be senile, there's a mouse under the bucket, and where is Paul's wife?
  • Harry Johnson Kott Inn & Suites by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: comedy, farce
    ·
    Keyword: Farce, hotel + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, farce
    Keyword: Farce, hotel, black history, comedy, ghosts
    Rosie Kott's great-great-grandfather Harry Johnson opened the first black owned hotel in America in the late 1800's and now that it's 2019...it's on the edge of forclosure. Rosie wants to give up, but doesn't want to forsake her family legacy. Balancing a strange but supportive staff, a cavalcade of absurd guests, a fake haunting, a rich real estate mogul, youtubers, the incoming...
    Rosie Kott's great-great-grandfather Harry Johnson opened the first black owned hotel in America in the late 1800's and now that it's 2019...it's on the edge of forclosure. Rosie wants to give up, but doesn't want to forsake her family legacy. Balancing a strange but supportive staff, a cavalcade of absurd guests, a fake haunting, a rich real estate mogul, youtubers, the incoming historical society, and a mysterious but troubling diary...Rosie must try her best to keep the hotel afloat as she decides what's most important: making money or securing a legacy.
  • Professor Baster's Greatest Adventure! by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: 1920s, Farce + 6 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, farce, period
    Keyword: 1920s, Farce, French, British, American, Indiana Jones, comedy, Diverse Ensemble Cast
    Daniel Baster is having a rough go of it. As a father, husband, brother, best-friend and treasure hunter he’s been missing the mark, likely due to his old age - mid to late 40’s, but also his nemesis and ex- protege Claude LaRapiste. Until a challenge is offered to save his career, and his pride, a race with Claude to find the city of Diffikult, Tu-Find and bring back proof! Of course going through dense and...
    Daniel Baster is having a rough go of it. As a father, husband, brother, best-friend and treasure hunter he’s been missing the mark, likely due to his old age - mid to late 40’s, but also his nemesis and ex- protege Claude LaRapiste. Until a challenge is offered to save his career, and his pride, a race with Claude to find the city of Diffikult, Tu-Find and bring back proof! Of course going through dense and dangerous jungle on a suicide mission for pride is not as easy and lovely as it seems, and Professor Baster learns that the women in his life are the one’s who will hold him together, and that being a good father, husband, brother and best friend is really the greatest treasure of them all. "Professor Baster..." is a loving homage to George Bernard Shaw, Mel Brooks, and Indiana Jones, that tells the farcical story of Fatherhood, Family, and Treasure hunting. Taking place in the 1920's and using outrageous physical comedy, wordplay, slapstick, wit, uncomfortable chairs, funny names, scantily clad natives, Toucan meat, sexual innuendos, Sabertooth Tigers, and French people - "Professor Baster..." is a theatrical goldmine of comic...gold.
  • An Unexpected Thing Happens by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: stand-up, New York City + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, fantasy
    Keyword: stand-up, New York City, Sea Turtle, dreams, puppetry
    Jazz is having a hard time lately. She works part time as a law secretary, and full time as a depressed comedian. Her best friend, Poppy, is on the verge of curing cancer, getting married, and buying a new brownstone. As Jazz is about to give up, she receives a mysterious gift from the Sea Turtle who lives in her dreams—a notebook with the cure for cancer scribbled inside.
    “An Unexpected Thing Happens”...
    Jazz is having a hard time lately. She works part time as a law secretary, and full time as a depressed comedian. Her best friend, Poppy, is on the verge of curing cancer, getting married, and buying a new brownstone. As Jazz is about to give up, she receives a mysterious gift from the Sea Turtle who lives in her dreams—a notebook with the cure for cancer scribbled inside.
    “An Unexpected Thing Happens” is not a play about Cancer, it’s a comedy about what happens when someone with very little self-worth is given the opportunity to change the world.

    This play was developed and presented at NYC Fresh Grind New Play Festival in 2017.
  • Paper Flowers by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: wedding, Diverse Ensemble Cast + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, farce, immersive, satire
    Keyword: wedding, Diverse Ensemble Cast, romantic satire, love, addiction, past, present, future
    An immersive ensemble comedy about weddings, romance, trauma, and the culture of American Traditional Marriage. Join the reception and watch as a poor couple battles their past, present, and future in an effort to tie the knot - all the while balancing the watchful eyes of a DJ that feels like a lot like some kind of god.
  • CHINASHOP, MEET BULLS by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: treasure hunt, zany + 5 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, farce
    Keyword: treasure hunt, zany, dark, Sisters, Surreal, stage combat, clowning
    Honesty, cruelty, heartbreak and love are some of the many things you can find, when you don’t know what it is you’re searching for. A semi-psychotic and brazenly silly search to find what really matters in life, “Chinashop, Meet Bulls” is a dark-comedy following the antics of best friends/treasure hunters King and Rabbit, as they search ravenously for a mysterious item, in a mysterious place, neither of which...
    Honesty, cruelty, heartbreak and love are some of the many things you can find, when you don’t know what it is you’re searching for. A semi-psychotic and brazenly silly search to find what really matters in life, “Chinashop, Meet Bulls” is a dark-comedy following the antics of best friends/treasure hunters King and Rabbit, as they search ravenously for a mysterious item, in a mysterious place, neither of which they know anything about but have been looking for their entire lives. When it appears they’ll never find the unknown thing, two lovely young sisters (Ace and Sophie) stumble upon their campsite and wreak havoc of their own in an effort to find common ground…but that common ground belongs to King and Rabbit.
  • La Crescita by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: accepting death, old age + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: accepting death, old age, family, Sex, growth, Italy, dementia, Sicily
    After the loss of her husband, Diane decides to fulfill his last wishes by dragging his ashes, and her daughter (Rachel) to Sicily to the Necropolis D’Pantalica. But Rachel is in a complicated place; her book deal is on the rocks, her wedding is a month away, and she’s still not ready to say goodbye to her father. While these two women do their best to navigate their new relationship in the close quarters of...
    After the loss of her husband, Diane decides to fulfill his last wishes by dragging his ashes, and her daughter (Rachel) to Sicily to the Necropolis D’Pantalica. But Rachel is in a complicated place; her book deal is on the rocks, her wedding is a month away, and she’s still not ready to say goodbye to her father. While these two women do their best to navigate their new relationship in the close quarters of Giacomo and his son Dominic’s failing bed and breakfast, sparks begin to fly, both dangerously and romantically. As the two pairs fight to be honest with themselves and their loved ones, absurdity takes over and miscommunication becomes a tool for truth. Everyone handles loss differently, there is no right way to grieve, no easy way to move on.
  • The Raven Doesn't Talk by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, horror, mystery/thriller, period
    Keyword: The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, absurdism, Philadelphia, History, education, higher education
    On a rainy March night in 1842, Edgar Allan Poe has a meeting with the great Charles Dickens in a quiet Philadelphia Bar. That much we know. What we don’t know is; what really happened that night? What did they say to one another? Is the Old Man at the bar insane, or just a drunk? Is the Young Woman who keeps coming through, forgetful or a ghost? Is the Raven talking when we know it doesn’t know how? What’s in...
    On a rainy March night in 1842, Edgar Allan Poe has a meeting with the great Charles Dickens in a quiet Philadelphia Bar. That much we know. What we don’t know is; what really happened that night? What did they say to one another? Is the Old Man at the bar insane, or just a drunk? Is the Young Woman who keeps coming through, forgetful or a ghost? Is the Raven talking when we know it doesn’t know how? What’s in the back room? And, where is the bartender!? One incredible meeting between two literary greats in their prime, slowly becomes a fantastical, dark, and comedic adventure of what’s real and what isn’t, that would change the course of their lives forever.
  • the food chain. by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: economy, fame + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, political
    Keyword: economy, fame, animals, food chain, war, poetry, absurdism
    A Lamb, a Shark, a Fox, and a Panda all have very specific places in the food chain, but when Lamb, dreams of changing her place in the chain, Fox steps in to help. This change leads to an all out war in the animal kingdom as animals vie for a new place in the food chain; and Shark and Panda are left picking up the pieces. The Food Chain is an absurd and poetic political commentary on financial displacement,...
    A Lamb, a Shark, a Fox, and a Panda all have very specific places in the food chain, but when Lamb, dreams of changing her place in the chain, Fox steps in to help. This change leads to an all out war in the animal kingdom as animals vie for a new place in the food chain; and Shark and Panda are left picking up the pieces. The Food Chain is an absurd and poetic political commentary on financial displacement, Fame, Social media, and The American Dream.
  • Bored. by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Adolescence, sexuality + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: Adolescence, sexuality, gaming, abuse, revenge, family
    2005. A basement in the suburbs. Two best friends on the verge of graduation come to realize their seemingly boring middle class lives are far more complicated than they possibly imagined, and that adulthood can be a dangerous and unpredictable place.
  • The News, The News, The Terrible News by Michael Perrie, Jr.
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, farce + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: southern
    Genre: comedy, farce, melodrama, political, satire
    Keyword: southern
    Watch as this poor melodramatic southern family handles today's headlines.