Beginning May 1, People’s Light begins its Series 2 productions with the regional premiere of the Obie Award winning play Hurricane Diane by Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George. The comedic romp with a mythological twist is a hilarious parable of climate reckoning and liberation set in an unassuming Monmouth County, New Jersey cul-de-sac.
Madeleine George is an award-winning playwright and author known for her 2014 play The Watson Intelligence, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. She is a writer and executive producer of the Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-nominated Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building. George’s Hurricane Diane made its world premiere at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 2017, then went on to run off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop in 2019.
The play centers on Diane, a permaculture gardener with swaggering charm. She also has supernatural powers thanks to her secret identity: the Greek god Dionysus. After settling in a modern day New Jersey suburb, Diane sets out to recruit the mortals for an environmental revolution that would restore Earth to its natural state. She begins with a clique of four housewives who are in dire need of a bacchanalian catharsis. George’s Obie Award-winning comedy is a hilarious story that blends ancient myth, climate revolution, and Real Housewives of New Jersey drama.
The play features actor Rami Margron in the lead role, performing alongside Suli Holum, Teri Lamm, Shauna Miles, and Julianna Zinkel.
Malvern native and People’s Light Associate Producing Director Molly Rosa Houlahan will make her directorial debut at the theatre with this production.
When searching for my first play to direct back in my hometown, I was immediately drawn to Hurricane Diane. I recognized the women in this play as ones I grew up with – fierce, funny, smart, and incredibly complicated women who stubbornly made their world in their own image for better or for worse. It felt like a delightful challenge to invite this community to turn a careful eye to our own worst habits and potentially indulge in the wild, wicked catharsis that awaits. -Producing Director Molly Rosa
If You Go
The play runs from May 1 to 19, with 21 performances presented on the Leonard C. Haas Stage, a 340-seat performance venue housed in an 18th-century stone barn.
Previews are from Wednesday, May 1, through Saturday, May 4. Tickets start at $42, including fees.
Learn more about available ticket discounts and special performances by visiting peopleslight.org or calling the box office at 610-644-3500.