The Plagiarists

The One About the Green Detective

The Black Rock Pub, 3614 N. Damen Ave, July 12 - July 28, 2008

This jazz-fueled postmodern neo-noir may begin with a joke, but the killer isn’t the punch line. Equal parts mystery, parody, and meditation on the nature of humor, this short play, based on Jonathan Lethem’s story, features original music and live accompaniment by The Every People Jazz Workshop.

A Closer Look at the Work of Alabama O’Dell

Part of Mary Arrchie’s Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Festival

Angel Island 3243 w. Sheridan, Aug. 22, 23, and 24 2008

Last year, The Plagiarists invented a fictional German absurdist and had a ball at Abbie Hoffman performing his complete works. This year, they return to Mary Arrchie’s annual theatre marathon armed with stories of city farms, muddogs, vaudeville acts, and one epically bizarre family from the work of Alabama O’Dell, the most prolific, mendacious, chemically dependent, litigious, and fictional American playwright in history.

Promiscuous Stories

The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, Oct. 20 - Nov. 23, 2008

This play, The Plagiarists’ first independent full-length production, is based on the work of bestselling author Jonathan Lethem. The play brings to life Lethem’s unique and indelible stories, creating a world which is disturbing and heartwarming, funny and frightening, as it explores the paradoxes of our modern experience.

The Wreck of The Medusa (workshop)

Part of the Department of Cultural Affairs’ INCUBATOR Series

The Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington St, December 2008

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs’INCUBATOR series provides emerging theatre companies with space and resources to develop new works. In December, The Plagiarists will workshop the script for their spring show, The Wreck of the Medusa, and, on December 22, present a public staged reading at the DCA Studio.

The Wreck of the Medusa

April 2009

It was the worst maritime disaster of the 19th century: after The Medusa’s incompetent captain ran the ship aground, 150 people were forced onto a makeshift raft and abandoned. Only 15 were still alive when they were rescued almost two weeks later. Based upon first-person accounts and Théodore Géricault’s famous painting of the event, The Plagiarists tell the story of the survivors, and their struggle to return to society, tell their story, and fight those that would have them silenced.