Plays by Drew Larimore:
UPSTATE
A PLACE NO ONE CAN SEE
THE CANNIBALS OF MCGOWER COUNTY
SMITHTOWN
THE NEW PEGGY (Book & Lyrics by Drew Larimore, Music & Lyrics by J. Oconer Navarro)
THE BESTEST OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY EVER (Book & Lyrics by Drew Larimore, Music & Lyrics by Billy Recce)
BOOMERANGED
Synopses:
Upstate – (2M) Seeking fulfillment after a move to upstate New York, Nathaniel and his husband Myles decide to adopt an infant daughter. The play opens on the day the couple has returned her to the adoption agency.
A Place No One Can See – (1W / 3M — characters are LGBTQ+) Vic Hanger, a seasoned hitch hiker, returns to his coastal Maine childhood home after learning of his mother’s abrupt death. Complications ensue when he encounters the gruff Kaye Fagan, who reveals surprising information regarding his origin–all while he attempts to evade the wrath of one of the island’s most powerful men.
The Cannibals of McGower County – (3W, 2M) In the heart of Texas, Lindalynreturns to her foreclosed barbecue restaurant to collect a few belongings and say goodbye. However, a confrontation with the property’s new out-of-town owner creates an avalanche of friction and hostility. Blue collar rage, the vanishing middle-class, and deep-rooted family trauma collide in this small town carnage.
Smithtown – (2W, 2M) One tragic incident connects four Smithtown strangers. Each of them wrestles with their own guilt and responsibility in the death of a local college student.
The New Peggy – (3W, 2M) A delusional secretary arrives to work one day and discovers her boss, the love of her life, is about to leave forever. With the help of her nearby singing office supplies, what’s old becomes new and the consequences are deadly. Hilarious, quirky, heartfelt and surprisingly relatable, this new musical spans high highs and murderous lows.
The Bestest Office Christmas Party Ever – (3W / 3M / 1 Drag Performer) A sad office Christmas party goes from lackluster to tragic when the boss dressed as Santa doesn’t show up with everyone’s holiday bonus.
Boomeranged – (3W, 3M) A senseless mass shooting at a Walmart supercenter leaves four survivors wondering how best to survive. Told in four chapters–ranging from the basement of a YouTube at-home crafter to an Amish farm to a grocery store parking lot–Boomeranged is an irreverent and chilling response to gun violence in America.
Bio:
Drew’s work as a playwright, screenwriter and librettist has been produced in the U.S. and internationally—aptly described as “hilarious and slightly devastating.”
His work for the stage and screen has been highlighted in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Theatrius, This Week in New York, Instinct Magazine, Talkin’ Broadway, TheatreMania, Theatrely, Australian Stage, Aussie Theatre, Broadway Radio Show, Sirius XM, Playbill, and Theatre in the Now.
His play, SMITHTOWN, captured onscreen featuring starring Michael Urie, Constance Shulman, Ann Harada and Colby Lewis premiered digitally in 2021 through the Studios of Key West. As described by Michael Shulman of The New Yorker, “In ‘Smithtown,’ the playwright Drew Larimore probes the cracks of our digital lives in four chatty, unsettling monologues revolving around the same tragedy in a small college town.” Patricia Morin of Theatrius claims it’s “a must see for the precision acting and its revelations on social responsibility.”
His most recent play, UPSTATE, initially commissioned by Denizen Theatre was presented in the FIRST LOOK series at the Studios of Key West in 2024. Drew made his Off-Broadway debut at Walker Space with OUT OF ICELAND starring Lea Delaria. at Walker Space in early 2012.
A native of Kentucky, he is writing a trilogy about the South and more specifically, Southern matriarchs struggling with familial estrangement and societal change. Some of his Southern Plays include TOUCH & CANNIBALS OF MCGOWER COUNTY, which were both finalists in the O’Neill Theatre Conference. His plays have been developed and presented with Asolo Repertory’s Unplugged New Works Festival, The Barrow Group, Denizen Theatre’s New Play Development Series, ANDTheatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Short & Sweet New Play Festival (Sydney & Melbourne). He’s been a finalist for the Heidman Award, Lark Playwrights’ Week and P73 Playwriting Fellowship. His play, THE ANNIVERSARY, is published in Vintage Press’ anthology of new work, Shorter, Faster, Funnier. Additional published work is featured in Smith & Kraus’ 2021 & 2022 Best Women’s & Men’s Stage Monologues.
THE NEW PEGGY, for which Drew wrote the book and co-lyrics (co-lyrics and music by J. Oconer Navarro) was featured in concert The Green Room 42 and subsequently released as a studio cast album on all streaming platforms starring Ann Harada, which Rob Lester in Talkin’ Broadway described as “….diverting in its over-the-top subversive style” where “…the immensely likeable Ann Harada is the title character of this likably odd musical.” He also wrote the book and co-lyrics (with lyrics and music by Billy Recce) of the satirical holiday show THE BESTEST OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY EVER, developed with The New York Theatre Barn and released as an 2023 EP featuring Mary Testa and Paige Turner, which Variety hailed, “A glorious mess!”
Drew has written the screenplay adaptation of List Haines’ novel IN MY SISTER’S COUNTRY and his original screenplay MAKING WAVES received an Official Selection in the 2023 Diversity Showcase as well as a 2022 Finalist in the Hollyshorts Festival and Second Rounder Honor at the Austin Film Festival. He wrote and co-created the six-part original scripted series, JANICE GUNTER GHOST HUNTER, featuring John Early, Sunita Mani and Elizabeth Zephyrine Mcdonough, which is available for streaming on Roku’s Whohaha Network. He wrote the screenplay for the short comedy C U @ ED’s, directed by Casey Stangl and produced through the AFI Directing Grant for Women, which received the Audience Award in the DC Shorts Festival and screen at numerous other festivals throughout the country.
Residencies include Djerassi, Key West Literary Seminar, Studios of Key West, Telluride Playwright’s Festival, Dairy Hollow, and Hawthornden Castle in Scotland.
He is based in Brooklyn—but leaves Brooklyn semi regularly when it gets on his nerves.
Website: www.drewlarimore.com