Donkey
by John Patrick Bray
DONKEY tells the story of Steve Ryan, an independent coffee shop owner in a liberal-arts college town in upstate New York. When the mayor paves the way for Quick Java, a corporate coffee shop, to move into the center of town Steve ignores the writing on the wall. A satire of small-town politics, Donkey reminds us that for every decision we fail to make, there is another decision waiting to not be made. DONKEY was an Alternate for the 2012 Last Frontier Theatre Conference, and a finalist for the 2010 Playwriting Residency at the Hangar Theatre.
Cast Size: 4M 3W
Running Time: 2 hrs
Royalty: $60 per performance
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“Donkey captures the current American moment about as well as any play I’ve come across in the past few years. It’s loaded with riveting characters, genuine wisdom about the human condition, unbridled humor, and, when we least expect it, moments of authentic love and understanding that take the breath away. I urge you to experience this extraordinary new play […]. It’s a work that lingers, that breeds discussion, that yields true insight. It’s very funny and awesomely sad…and exquisitely beautiful.” – Martin Denton, Executive Director, New York Theatre Experience.
Bray’s Donkey is a cautionary tale. If you’ve every looked around a small town and wondered what the hell it had to offer you – if you’ve ever driven down a boarded up small town main street and wondered what the hell happened to it – if you’ve ever walked into a Wal-Mart or a Starbucks and felt guilty you gave in to corporate convenience – then you’ll still only have scratched the surface of the gut-wrenching play that is Donkey. Because wrapped inside that play is one about the real tragedy – the despair we have all exeperienced when we have desperately tried to connect with another human heart, only to fail. Bray portrays the beauty of those fleeting moments when we reach out to someone else while showing the heart-break when all too often we hesitate in the end and just aren’t able to be vulnerable enough to commit to connection.
Bray whips up some brilliantly flawed characters in this highly comedic and, at times, touching play; each clambering to find their place in the world, inside and outside their microcosm. Yes, it’s a pointed commentary on the politics and economics of small business versus big business, but that’s merely the backdrop to the raw (and absurd) humanity on display in this compelling piece. Exceptional work.
Review Donkey.