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Jonathan Marc Sherman

JONATHAN MARC SHERMAN

  (1968 - )
Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

Jonathan Marc Sherman was born in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1968, graduated from Bennington College, and lives in New York City. His plays include THINGS WE Want, EVOLUTION, SOPHISTRY, WONDERFUL TIME, VEINS AND THUMBTACKS, SERENDIPITY AND SERENITY, JESUS ON the OIL TANK, SONS AND FAtheRS, and WOMEN AND WALLACE. His plays have been performed at Malaparte, the New Group, Playwrights Horizons, WPA Theater, Los Angeles Theatre Center, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival, as well as in England, Australia, Israel, and Japan. He adapted WOMEN AND WALLACE for PBS-TV's American Playhouse, and VEINS AND THUMBTACKS is the basis for Frank Whaley's movie the Jimmy Show. He won a Berilla-Kerr Grant, the 21st Century Playwrights Festival, and the Young Playwrights Festival (twice). He is a co-founder of the Malaparte Theater company. His hobby is writing about himself in the third person.

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below is a list of Jonathan Marc Sherman's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Evolution         Jesus On the Oil Tank         Knickerbocker         Onion Cellar, The         Ribbon In The Sky         Serendipity And Serenity         Sons And Fathers         Sophistry         Things We Want         Veins And Thumbtacks         Women And Wallace         Wonderful Time

Evolution

Synopsis:
As Henry struggles to inject life into his thesis on Charles Darwin, a simple question becomes most perplexing: What do you want? Using elements of Brechtian Epic theatre infused with razor-sharp social commentary, EVOLUTION follows Henry on a journey to Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Hope. When his uncanny pop-culture illiteracy becomes the fuel for an unexpected career in the entertainment industry, Henry must choose between the celebrity-culture success or academic obscurity, between embracing ambition and losing Hope.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
-

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Jesus On the Oil Tank

Synopsis:
Inspired by an actual event, when the image of Jesus Christ mysteriously appeared on the side of a soybean oil tank, sending a small rural community reeling. Many of the town believed the image was fake-nothing but rust, while many more rushed to experience the image in a religious fervor. Centering on the battle between the soybean oil magnate, Rivers, whose tank was blessed with the image, and his jealous competitor, Campbell, the play explores the very nature of what it is that human beings need and what they believe in. This highly imaginative play ends with a shocking act of which only human beings are capable.

Notes:
winner of the 1991 21st Century Award for Best Play

1st Produced:
New York Playwrights Lab    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  14            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Knickerbocker

Synopsis:
Are you ready? Jerry confronts this question from the womb of his favorite restaurant booth while the months pass by and the son he and his wife, Pauline, are expecting grows from the size of a peach to the size of. . .a baby. As the due date approaches, can friends and family members help Jerry feel prepared, or just feel worse, like some un-anonymous sperm donor terrified of making the transition from being the son of a Father to being the Father of a son? Jonathan Marc Sherman's exploration of impending parenthood is sharp, funny, and deeply felt.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Public theater
425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003     19 May 2011

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc, 2012   978-0822225447

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedy Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Onion Cellar, The

Synopsis:
The MC tells of his strict father who would not allow any crying. A distraught mother talks about her daughter's obsession with collecting tears in a bottle. A woman wears a bear suit. A shy bartender looks for love

Notes:
written by Amanda Palmer, Jonathan Marc Sherman

1st Produced:
New York     2006

Organisations:
ART

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Surrealist

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ribbon In The Sky

Synopsis:
A fueding brother and sister who are also twins.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Serendipity And Serenity

Synopsis:
Lionel Steinmetz is fifteen years old and has a lot on his mind. In this charming and funny coming-of-age story we go from Lionel dealing with his wish to become Catholic ("they'd love for a little Jewish boy to convert!"), to his conflicts with the girlfriends of his older brother, his father, his grandparents and even his own (sort of) girlfriend. Ultimately, Lionel yearns to find his own place within the family as well as his own identity and, in the end, he finds his own serendipitous serenity.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Young Playwrights Festival    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sons And Fathers

Synopsis:
An absurdist look at how a young man deals with the death of his mother. Toby, twenty-one years old, still wears diapers and does not leave the house. His older brother, Max, and his father, constantly goad him, leaving him feeling lost and alone in his grief. His father's masochistic girlfriend only seems to deepen his pain and cause him more confusion. In the end, the new diaper service representative, a pretty young woman, shakes him up and sets him on the path to acceptance, adulthood and a whole new world.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Los Angeles Theatre Center    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sophistry

Synopsis:
the subjective nature of truth within sexual relationships is the theme of this play about college life in modern-day America. the self-absorbed lives of a group of students at a small New England college are disrupted when they're suddenly forced to deal with a crisis: Philosophy professor Whitey McCoy is accused of seducing a male student, Jack Kahn. Both Whitey and Jack tell the story, each from their conflicting memories, leaving everybody in doubt as to what is true. This alleged sexual harassment story is mixed with slices of student life as everybody gossips, takes sides, and eventually forgets all about Whitey and Jack. the students are too busy drinking, smoking pot, and trying to sort out their romantic longings and sexual obsessions as they try to come-of-age within the intimate hotbed setting of a contemporary college campus, with all of its confused trials, anxious tribulations, pressures, compromises, and politically incorrect dangers.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Playwrights Horizons     1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,
Contained in: "Play - A Journal Of Plays" issue one   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Things We Want

Synopsis:
Three brothers reunite in their inherited childhood home. Forced to live together again as adults, they struggle to redefine themselves as they pursue the things they want in life. While facing their own personal obstacles, a drastic shift in dynamics occurs when a sexy young neighbor suddenly enters their lives.
- press release

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Acorn Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10047     2007

Organisations:
the New Group

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc, NY (2008)   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Veins And Thumbtacks

Synopsis:
Set in New Jersey from 1978 to 1989, the story follows Jimmy Bonaparte, an angry young man trying to turn his American Nightmare into his personal American Dream. He takes care of his invalid grandmother while constantly exchanging insults with her. During the course of the eleven years we follow him, he marries his high school girlfriend, Annie, because she's pregnant, and he's content, in his bitter way, to stay with her. Over time, however, she outgrows him and leaves. the only people for whom he shows much affection are a cocktail waitress from a comedy club and his little girl, Wendy, who helps to mellow Jimmy's temperament as she gets older. Running through Jimmy's life is his unchanging routine at the supermarket where he works with his friend Arturo, and his constant efforts to become a famous stand-up comedian. His routine changes little in eleven years and the stories he relates are violent, troubled and rarely funny-a fact he fails to see. Jimmy keeps trying to get the big break. By the end of the play, there is a possibility that Jimmy will turn his attention to Wendy and finally let go some of the misplaced venom that has filled his life.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Los Angeles Theater Center    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedy Drama Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  1 girl (with some doubling)

Further Reference:
-

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Women And Wallace

Synopsis:
Comprised of a series of brisk, kaleidoscopic scenes, the play begins as Wallace, now a handsome young man of eighteen, hurls a ripe tomato at a pretty young woman dressed all in white while declaiming "I love you." We then move back in time to when Wallace, six years of age, is sent off to school by his mother-who then proceeds to slit her own throat. Wallace finds her body, a shock which continues to haunt his relationships with the other women who come into his life as he grows up, including his crusty, wise grandmother; the girl who swipes his peanut butter and banana sandwich at school and later browbeats him into his first kiss; the psychiatrist who tries to help him exorcise his troubling memories; and the knowing senior who provides his sexual initiation while he is a college freshman. All of the characters, in the end, contribute to the mosaic which captures with such eloquence and wit all the fears and joys and uncertainties which mark Wallace's progress

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
7th Annual Young Playwrights Festival At Playwrights Horizons     1988

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedy Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Wonderful Time

Synopsis:
Linus Worth is a graduate film student in California, getting ready to attend his best friend's wedding in New York. the morning of the flight, mistakenly thinking that this is the honest thing to do, he tells his girlfriend, Robin, that he's been unfaithful. She dumps him. Confused and dateless, he leaves for the airport. On his way, a fellow student, Betsy, asks him if she can videotape him doing something spontaneous. Linus and Betsy are strangers but have seen each other on campus. Linus agrees to be spontaneous, and what he does is offer her the extra ticket to New York. She accepts. their time together over the weekend reveals a longing for intimacy they both feel, but look for in different ways. Attracted to each other, the find they enjoy spending a great deal of time kissing. they eventually fall into bed but Linus is looking for more. He's searching for a love he feels doesn't exist, so he hesitates to take what love he finds. He resists learning someone new, because too quickly, they become old and familiar. Yet he won't let go of the familiar, as unsatisfying as it has become, because he doesn't trust the new and unknown. Linus is a young romantic, and Betsy is a find he may lose. When they return to California, Betsy feels Linus withdraw, so takes him to her family beach house. they watch the waves break, and Betsy invites Linus to the bedroom. He accepts, but he'll follow her in a moment. She goes inside, and calls to him, several times, but as the lights fade, Linus continues to watch the waves, unable to reach a decision.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1997   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  flexible

Further Reference:
-

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