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Lights Are On, The

  • Owen Panettieri
  • Full Length Play, Drama, Mystery/Thriller, Present Day, Contemporary
  • 1M, 2F
  • ISBN: 9780573711275

In Owen Panettieri’s contemporary psychological thriller, a middle-aged woman seeks refuge in the home of her estranged neighbors, raising haunting questions about identity and safety in the face of looming danger.

More information

Description

  • Full Length Play
  • Drama, Mystery/Thriller
  • 90 minutes

  • Time Period: Present Day, Contemporary
  • Target Audience: Adult
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Cautions: Intense Adult Themes, Strong Language

  • Performance Group:
  • College Theatre / Student, Community Theatre, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, Professional Theatre
When Trish arrives home one night to find the lights on and a stranger waiting at her bedroom window, she runs straight to her neighbor Liz’s house for help. Though they haven't spoken in years, Liz invites her inside, but Trish immediately feels something is wrong. The more Trish learns about how Liz and her son Nathan have been living, the more certain she becomes that a threat to all their safety is quickly closing in around them.
REVIEWS:

"An engrossing thriller… 95 minutes of provocative, amusing, disconcerting entertainment."

 Off-Off-Online

"[A] must-see show… Theater Pick of the Week."

 NY1

"An ambient sense of the uncanny pervades the play."

 The New York Times

"A solid theater piece… a psychodrama that plays with two ideas: are we really who we think we are, and what are the reasons we do what we do? It explores the light and dark of personal psychology, our perceptions of those around us, the events that shaped those people, and ultimately, ourselves… every minute is worth experiencing."

 TheatreScene

"Dark and eerie… delightfully tense… Nothing complements the Halloween season like a creepy psychological thriller."

 Front Row Center

"A perfect Halloween play to see as it is delightfully creepy… this play is lit!"

 Hi! Drama

Premiere Production: The Lights Are On premiered at Theatre Row in New York City on October 13, 2023. Directed by Sarah Norris, the production featured Jenny Bacon, Danielle Ferland and Marquis Rodriguez.

Characters

  • Casting: 1M, 2F
  • Casting Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle), Roles for Multicultural Casting
  • Casting Notes: While Liz and Trish can be played by actresses of any race/ethnicity, it is the playwright’s intent that Nathan be portrayed by an artist of color who does not physically resemble his mother. Nathan looks like his father, whose race/ethnicity is never expressly stated.

  • LIZ – Female, 40s/50s. Disaster supply enthusiast, widow
    TRISH – Female, 40s/50s. Comes from wealth, divorced
    NATHAN – Male, 20s. Liz’s adult gay son. Relationship status: it’s complicated

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Lights Are On, The Script This is optional. Order Now

    When Trish arrives home one night to find the lights on and a stranger waiting at her bedroom window, she runs straight to her neighbor Liz’s house for help. Though they haven't spoken in years, Liz invites her inside, but Trish immediately feels something is wrong. The more Trish learns about how Liz and her son Nathan have been living, the more certain she becomes that a threat to all their safety is quickly closing in around them.

    		$24.95

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