THE WINNERS
by David L. Williams
Blurb:
Cassie and Kurt just won $337 million in the lottery! The first thing they buy? A night with a call-girl! What starts as a playful fantasy turns into something darker when one person decides that sex is not the only thing for sale – what price would you pay to make all your fantasies come true?
Cheap-skate Discounts:
Preview tickets on Sept. 9th are $15
Saturday Matinees are $5 cheaper
Student Rush Tickets are $15
Union (AEA) actor tickets are $15
Arts and Education card holders get $15 tickets
Street parking is free on Sundays.
This production underwritten by the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation's Steve Nelson Memorial Playwright Fund
Cast:
Shanara Gabrielle* - Cassie
Shaun Sheley* - Kurt
Sasha Diamond - Tiffany
Designers:
James Holbrooke– Scenery
Sean Savoie - Lighting
Jane Sullivan– Costumes
Meg Brinkley– Properties
* represents members of Actors' Equity, the union of professional actors and stage managers
Mentions/Awards/Kudos:
2012 Kevin Kline Award Nominations:
Best New Play
See the New Play Reading review here
Synopsis:
Cassie and Kurt, a couple in their late thirties, are celebrating; they recently won $337 million in the lottery and they're going to fulfill a fantasy for both of them and hire an escort. They found the website of Tiffany, a twenty-three year old Asian-American call girl, and have invited her over to spend the whole night with them. Tiffany, seeing the money that can be made from this situation, is definitely game, and even though Cassie and Kurt are awkward at first, they start to be much more open to all the possibilities that Tiffany offers. What starts as a fantasy turns into something darker, though, when one person decides that what can really be bought with all this money isn't just sex but freedom, a freedom that can't ever be taken back.
From the Reviewers:
KDHX.org:
"It whets one’s appetite - as good theatre does - for what may come. No one leaves at intermission... THE WINNERS makes for an interesting evening of theatre, in a fabulous space, staged by a very talented and practiced company. And it certainly leaves you talking - always one of the nicest take-aways of an evening of good threatre." More Here...
The St. Louis Java Journal:
"Last year’s winner in Hot City’s annual New Play Festival gets the promised full production this season and it turns out to be a winner. In fact, the play is called THE WINNERS and playwright David L. Williams has put together a series of fascinating premises that leaves many a question in the mind of the theater-goer at the end of the night."
Broadway World:
"THE WINNERS is disquieting stuff, but that doesn't mean it isn't worthy of discussion, or viewing ... prepare yourself for a shocking look at human nature and what "evils" money can bring with it." More here...
The Post-Dispatch:
"Last year, THE WINNERS won HotCity's GreenHouse competition for new plays; now the troupe is presenting its world premiere, under the direction of Marty Stanberry. It's an apt choice. HotCity's cool aesthetic finds a good match in Williams' sharp, edgy story. Just remember, sharp edges can make deep cuts." More Here...
The Ladue News:
"Stanberry notes that 'this is the kind of play that will foster discussion long after the play ends,' and he’s right about that.'
From the Playwright:
The idea for 'The Winners' came about one year ago here in St. Louis as I was sitting down to watch Jami Brandli's fantastic play, 'The Sinker.' When the stage directions for the opening of her play were read, I was convinced that I knew what it was about: a couple who wins the lottery and hires an escort to celebrate. I thought it was a fantastic starting point and I was jealous that I had never thought of that before. Once the play began, I knew that I had been completely wrong about Jami's play, but the upside was that the great idea I wished I'd thought of, well, it turns out I really did think of it. So, I started writing what was to become 'The Winners' that night, and didn't really stop for about a month. Where the play ended up was a place I never imagined when I started. I think that's how Cassie, Kurt and Tiffany feel at the end of their long evening together too.
Whenever I hear or read someone discussing the relative probability of winning the lottery, he or she always compares it to different horrible outcomes: winning the lottery versus dying in a plane crash, winning the lottery versus being struck by lightning, winning the lottery versus being hit by an asteroid. At first I thought people were contrasting a great thing with a terrible thing. Now I wonder if they're just subconsciously trying to decide between the lesser of two evils. - David Williams
About the Playwright:
David L. Williams is a graduate of the theatre department of Cornell University, where he was a four-time award winner in the Heerman's-McCalmon Playwriting contest. Since then, he has written more than twenty-five plays and musicals, including the book for the hit children's musical, "The Bully." He is a member of the Dramatist Guild and has won the Riverside Stage Company's Founder's Award and the EBE Ensemble's "You Fill In The Blank" festival. Additionally he has been chosen as a finalist in Inkwell Theatre's Inkubator Festival and a two-time finalist in HotCity Theatre's GreenHouse New Play Festival. His career highlights include having four of his plays and musicals selected for the New York International Fringe Festival and having his work produced in New York, Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Florida, and Washington, D.C.