Full Length Plays
THE CONSUL, THE TRAMP, AND AMERICA’S SWEETHEART
Winner of the 2015 Julie Harris Playwright Award Competition, the 2015 Dayton Playhouse Futurefest, and a 2018 Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council! On the eve of World War Two, the German consul to Hollywood tries to stop production on Charlie Chaplin’s controversial first talkie, The Great Dictator. A comedy about art, politics, commerce, anti-semitism, and what it means to be American.
“A MUST SEE! Undoubtedly one of the best plays I have seen of late. This play wasn’t just a 10, it was a 12.”
—Serita Stevens, L.A. SPLASH
“The Consul, the Tramp and America’s Sweetheart Reminds Us What Democracy is Really About in America.”
—Shari Barrett, BROADWAY WORLD
“Hitler, Hollywood, and hilarity: This play has it all! Playwright Morogiello is smart and aware, and writes crisply. Billed as a
comedy, the play is much more: a perceptive and moving depiction of the struggle between profit and art, between business
and idealism.”
—Eric A. Gordon, PEOPLE’S WORLD
“RECOMMENDED. TOP TEN.”
—L. Zimskind, STAGE RAW
“A superb play that dares deal with the big ideas in a highly entertaining way. It gives a whole new meaning to the Charlie
Hebdo-related slogan: ‘I am Charlie.’”
—E. Rampell, HOLLYWOOD PROGRESSIVE
“An engrossing new play. Capturing the style and private personalities of the famous is a challenge and author John
Morogiello does it brilliantly.”
—Mona Murphy Martell, THEATRE SPOKEN HERE
“Some of the best theatre you will ever see.”
—Carol Kaufman Segal, REVIEWPLAYS.COM
“A heartwarmingly humorous yet seriously didactic story full of both fantasy and reality. The Consul, the Tramp, and
America's Sweetheart has some serious legs.”
—Telly Halkias, BENNINGTON BANNER
“You should not miss The Consul, The Tramp and America's Sweetheart. Many laughs and much to think about.”
—Sally Sugarman, THEATER TALK WBTN
“An excellent new comedy that tugs at the mind's heart more than at the heart's mind. A wonderful experience, almost as
good as the movie at its core.”
—J. Peter Bergman, BERKSHIRE BRIGHT FOCUS
ENGAGING SHAW
He considered himself the superman. She allowed him to believe it! Wealthy heiress Charlotte Payne-Townshend sets her sights on confirmed bachelor and philanderer Bernard Shaw. Now available through Samuel French. Engaging Shaw won an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council.
“Engaging Shaw is a charming romantic comedy featuring four razor-sharp tongues. If there’s a minute of the play that’s
less than clever, you’ll be hard pressed to find it.”
—Ken Jaworowski, THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Exactly the type of work that nonprofit theaters dedicated to producing new plays and musicals should be doing--arresting,
intellectually stimulating."
—Stephen Wells, THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Engaging Shaw is exactly that. ...a spirited and intelligent combat of words and sparkling banter."
—Robert L. Daniels, VARIETY
“The play is written like one of [Shaw’s], with talk zipping in thrilling, dizzying circles. We know how the story ends before it's
begun, but getting there--through spirited debate, heated emotion and the occasional flinty spark of desire--is thought-
provoking fun.”
—Daryl H. Miller, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
BLAME IT ON BECKETT
A play that bites the hand that feeds us! A literary intern struggles to attain a full-time job at a major regional theater in New England without becoming jaded about the submission process. Now available through Samuel French!
“Razor-sharp comedy! Morogiello succeeds where many others have failed.”
—Travis Michael Holder, BACKSTAGE
“The backstage comedy has long been a favorite milieu for playwrights expressing their abiding love and keen irritation for
all things theatrical. Playwright John Morogiello takes the genre in a novel direction with Blame it on Beckett.”
—F. Kathleen Foley, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
PICK OF THE WEEK! “Self-deprecating, engaging, and funny! Morogiello's focus on the relationships lifts the play
beyond the sort of insider-y piece theater professionals pass around among themselves.”
—Rebecca Haithcote, L.A. WEEKLY
“Blame It On Beckett is sensationally funny.”
—Greg Simay, BURBANK ‘N’ BEYOND
“The story is crafted so wonderfully that the audience is in it for all the right reasons. But that is too simple a description of
this complex yet easily understood work. Playwright Morogiello deftly crafts the characters, exposing a nastier, unkind, and
manipulative side with humor and cunning banter. The dialogue is rich, warm and touching. Morogiello has put together a
wonderful play.”
—Gerie Rhosen, NOHO ARTS DISTRICT
"A little gem of a comedy. Morogiello clearly knows his milieu. Anyone who threw out Blame It On Beckett made a big
mistake.”
—Sandy MacDonald, THEATERMANIA
DIE, MR. DARCY, DIE!
A wild comedy about a young woman who gives up on men because they can never live up to the hero of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, particularly his embodiment by Colin Firth.
“Top 10 Pick of the Month!”
—BROADWAY WORLD
“Witty and winning!”
—Nicole Hertvik, DC METRO THEATER ARTS
“Helen Hayes Awards Recommended!”
—THEATRE WASHINGTON
PLAY DATE
From an idea by Lori Boyd & John Morogiello. It’s the parents who are naughty in this hilarious mix of winning and losing friendships, adultery, politics, and scheming to get one up on their neighbors while in the midst of their children’s play date. Now available through Heartland Plays.
“Play Date is a new step in theatrical evolution — a serio-comic farce. It is funny, certainly, but also rich, deep and even
poignant. All of these characters provide compelling insights into how parenthood changes people. It is definitely worth
seeing.”
—Jennifer Georgia, DC METRO THEATER ARTS
“This show is genuinely funny. We need more laughs—and these were laughs of the best kind: Play Date skewers pretensions,
misapprehensions, and the insularity of people, but it never skewers the humans trying to find their footing and purpose.”
—Mary Ann Johnson, MD THEATRE GUIDE
“FOUR STARS!”
—Debbie Minter Jackson, DC THEATRE SCENE
“Playwright John Morogiello is a newly emerging master of short plays, and his farce Play Date delivers a fun time for any
audience."
—Telly Halkias, THE MANCHESTER JOURNAL
STORIES I MAY NOT TELL
Part stand-up comedy, part playwriting lesson, John Morogiello takes us on a journey through the unwritten stories in his imagination, which may not work as plays. This play is available to watch on Vimeo, and is available to tour. If you would like to book this production, email John.
“Stories I May Not Tell is a sneak peek in the mind of a playwright so stuffed with story ideas that characters and scenes
cascade out of him in waves of exuberant expressions.”
—Debbie Minter Jackson, DC THEATRE SCENE
“They are wonderful stories, and Morogiello is a top-notch storyteller!”
—Bob Ashby, DC METRO THEATER ARTS
ROARING
A one-woman comedy in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the 19th amendment. Mabel Daniels struggles to find her place as she journeys through the 1920s: jazz, mobsters, literature, she’s seen it all! And just like the decade itself, she’s roaring.
“Morogiello has gifted us with a woman’s voice — clear, direct, and complex. The writing is taut, and poetic. Roaring is a
celebration of a woman’s self-determination told with verve and delight and a light touch. It will linger in your mind for a long
time.”
—Mary Ann Johnson, MARYLAND THEATRE GUIDE
“Roaring is a wistful look back at a tumultuous decade full of heartache, invention, decadence, transitions and
fortitude as witnessed through a rambunctious character who grabbed life with gusto.”
—Debbie Minter Jackson, DC THEATRE SCENE
STONEWALL’S BUST
Winner of the Mountain Playhouse Comedy Award! A Yankee breaks a priceless statue of Stonewall Jackson at the Confederate heritage museum owned by his fiancee's family. Now available through Rebel Belle Publishing.
“Stonewall’s Bust delivers moments of pure hilarity. I heartily recommend you seek out this little bit of comedic genius by
John Morogiello.”
—Tim Treanor, DC THEATRE SCENE
"Stonewall's Bust is a light and silly romp about the perils and pitfalls of telling the truth and inventing lies."
—Alice T. Carter, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
GIANNI SCHICCHI
Adapted from the Puccini opera. When it is discovered that wealthy patriarch, Buoso Donati, left all his money to the church, his family hires a local peasant to pose as the dead man and dictate a new will.
"If you like zany farces with bawdy jokes, high-flyin' slapstick comedy and nonstop 100 mph action, Gianni Schicchi is the
best tonic for your summer doldrums. ...There was never a point in the show when someone wasn't laughing hysterically."
—Leonard Hughes, THE WASHINGTON POST
THE CRATER SISTERS’ CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
A musical co-written with Lori Boyd. Sparks fly when the entire crew quits minutes before Bella Crater’s comeback special. The only thing that can save the day is to reunite with her sister, with whom she hasn’t spoken in 25 years!
“FIVE STARS! Bouncing along with creativity and zest, this Christmas special shows the transcendent power of love and care
and slams through the doldrums with holiday cheer."
—Debbie Minter Jackson, DC THEATRE SCENE
“Skip your one-hundredth viewing of ‘A Christmas Carol’ or ‘The Nutcracker’ this holiday season and, instead, laugh the
evening away at this delightfully original musical comedy!”
—Johnna Leary, DC METRO THEATER ARTS
“I left with a big smile on my face.”
—JV Torres, MARYLAND THEATRE GUIDE
COMEDY OF VENICE
A hilarious retelling, in commedia dell’arte style, of the true rivalry between Carlo Goldoni (The Servant of Two Masters) and Carlo Gozzi (Turandot) in the 18th Century. Comedy of Venice received an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council.
“Top 5 Pick of the Week! A fun and diverting way to spend a couple of hours.”
—Mary Ann Johnson, MARYLAND THEATRE GUIDE
“Comedy of Venice offers a highly amusing window into the ways that performance traditions evolve and how they
reflect the political and social tensions of their times.”
—Bob Ashby, DC METRO THEATER ARTS
“4 Stars! Morogiello sprinkles tidbits of social reality, lets the chips fall then bounce into realms of insight and full blown hilarity.”
—Debbie Minter Jackson, DC THEATRE SCENE
IN THE GUTTER
A noir comedy about a salesman who gets involved with a client.
“In the Gutter is a sparkling and silly gem. The playwright plays on all tropes of film noir like a concert violinist on a Stradivarius.
The result is comic gold.”
—Jennifer Georgia, DC THEATER ARTS
“Laugh out loud! Hilarious!”
—Hannah Wing, BROADWAY WORLD
CIVILIZING LUSBY
A tragedy with jokes set on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in 1868. A waterman refuses to leave his home after it is condemned to make way for a new railroad.
AUTHENTICITY
A pair of scholars are asked to authenticate a diary that suggests Shakespeare’s plays were written by a woman. Authenticity was commissioned by and developed at Fairfield University.
VARIANT STRAINS
A vaccine company comes up with a novel plan to beat their competition to the next Covid variant.
