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Justin Tanner

JUSTIN TANNER  (1964 - )

 Nationality:    USA
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a


His first play, "Changing Channels" received three LA Weekly Awards and was on LA TIMES list of best new plays of 1987. He had a ten year association with The CAST Theater in Hollywood producing such long running hits as "Zombie Attack!", "Party Mix", "Teen Girl", "Bitter Women", "Pot Mom", "Heartbreak Help", "Intervention" and "Coyote Woman". More recent hits include "Hot Property" at the Evidence Room; "Wife Swappers" and "Oklahomo!" at The Third Stage in Burbank; and "Space Therapy" at the Zephyr Theater in Hollywood. His latest play "Voice Lessons" premieres in May 2009 at The Zephyr.

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below is a list of Justin Tanner's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

 Bitter Women         Coyote Woman         Happytime Xmas         Heartbreak Help         Hot Property         Intervention         Oklahomo!         Party Mix         Pot Mom         Space Therapy         Teen Girl         Tent Show         Voice Lessons         Wife Swappers         Zombie Attack

Bitter Women

Synopsis:
A naive woman moves to Los Angeles and ends up with the room mate from hell. "One of his best plays." (CRITIC'S CHOICE) - LA TIMES; "Bitter Women, with much wit and originality, will define its generation." - DRAMA-LOGUE; "An extremely comical, touching entertainment." - BACKSTAGE WEST

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The CAST Theater, Hollywood CA    1993

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Coyote Woman

Synopsis:
A girl goes running in Griffith Park, gets scratched by a coyote and turns into a tramp whenever the moon comes up. "Trashy! Bloodthirsty! A cult classic!" - Digital City; "A wildly funny, contemporary interpretation of the werewolf flick!" - Wash. Blade; "A total scream! Hysterically funny!" - Metro Weekly

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The CAST Theater, Hollywood CA    1998

Organisations:
Cherry Red Productions

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:
Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Happytime Xmas

Synopsis:
A waitress/mother with grown children at home gets a chance to go on a game show. "delightfully funny and horribly real. Tanner avoids condescension by piercing the soul of each character he creates." - LA WEEKLY; "The stylish performances and Tanner's firecracker direction gives the play the honesty that guarantees its laughs." (CRITIC'S CHOICE) - LA TIMES: "May be the best black comedy about Christmas ever written." DRAMA-LOGUE

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The CAST Theater, Hollywood CA    1989

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Heartbreak Help

Synopsis:
Four women share a motel room in Joshua Tree for a spiritual retreat. "Tanner's ear remains sharply satirical. Even as he revels in his characters' ridiculousness, he draws them with a sly sympathy. At their most pathetic, they are at their most human. - VARIETY; "His strongest and funniest piece yet. In a gleaming style all his own he milks the world of aromatherapy and vision quests ruthlessly and brilliantly for laughs - (CRITIC'S CHOICE) LA TIMES

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The CAST Theater, Hollywood CA    1996

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hot Property

Synopsis:
The friendship of a group of theatre actors unwinds when one of them is offered a big Hollywood part

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Evidence Room, Los Angeles    10 Oct 2002

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Intervention

Synopsis:
A struggling actor is held hostage by his family, who misread the seriousness of his drug problem. "Tanner manages to dramatize the social and psychological conditions that lead to drug abuse with eerie accuracy." - VARIETY; "It's dangerous material to be sure, yet it's so deliciously, subversively funny that you can't help but laugh." - DAILY NEWS; "Once again, Tanner's dialogue flows like a dream" (CRITIC'S CHOICE) - LA TIMES

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The CAST Theater, Hollywood CA    1995

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Oklahomo!

Synopsis:
A gay theatre company mounts an unauthorized adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Classic. And gets sued. "One of the funniest spectacles of spit and bile to be seen in town this year. " - LA Weekly; "A screamingly funny collision of cultures. . .hilariously acerbic. " - LA City Beat; "A savage send-up of Tanner's own experiences on the local small theater scene, and it's a bitter, uncompromising overview from an artistic survivor. " - (CRITIC'S CHOICE) - LA TIMES

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Third Stage; Burbank, CA    2005

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:
Comedy. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Party Mix

Synopsis:
When a hostess bails on her guests, the party spins out of control. "A lightweight but wicked satire of L.A .'s varied pretensions." - LA WEEKLY; "A keenly crafted slice of seamy Hollywood party life." -DAILY NEWS; "An eclectic, snappy and revealing glimpse into a gathering of strangers. . .for a fun un-adulterated good time, run down to "Party Mix." DRAMA-LOGUE "A spontaneous, cagey brew." (CRITIC'S CHOICE) - LA TIMES

Notes:
Actors can play multiple roles if needed

1st Produced:
The CAST Theater, Hollywood CA    1991

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Pot Mom

Synopsis:
A suburban mother raising a family deals pot to make ends meet. "Every writer strives to find an original voice; Justin Tanner has succeeded. "Pot Mom," is genuinely fresh and imaginative -- not to mention hilarious." - VARIETY; "Tanner's hilariously dysfunctional "Pot Mom" is a stoned parody of contemporary California suburbia that explores the blurred boundaries between television fantasy and daily reality. " (CRITIC'S CHOICE) - LA TIMES; "Justin Tanner may well be our modern-day Moliere." LA WEEKLY

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The CAST Theater, Hollywood CA    1994

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Space Therapy

Synopsis:
Couples counseling on a ship orbiting the earth. "A screwball comedy full of outrageous humor. . .laugh out loud hysterical." - BroadwayWorld.com; "Justin Tanner's razor-sharp wit is in high-flying form. . .a nonstop howler. . .divinely bawdy" - Backstage West; "Tanner's assured dialogue is gloriously witty. . .ferociously funny." - LA Weekly; "Boasts an ace cast and some jaw-dropping howlers that can't be printed here." - LA TIMES

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Zephyr Theater, Hollywood, CA    2007

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Teen Girl

Synopsis:
A high school senior has a rite of passage when her mother goes out of town for the weekend. "Tanner may have come up with the ultimate coming-of-age story. . .is to its era what " American Graffiti " was to the early '60s, and in its own way, just as universal." - VARIETY; "This play could show kids that theater is a place that matters." (CRITIC'S CHOICE) - LA TIMES: "Tanner could teach a Berlitz course on teen dialect." - LA WEEKLY

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The CAST Theater, Hollywood CA    1992

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tent Show

Synopsis:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Voice Lessons

Synopsis:
This is a play by Justin Tanner about a community theater actress, her vocal coach, and her rival
- nytheatre.com

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Wife Swappers

Synopsis:
A conservative Orange County couple invites some swingers over to their place for a night of snacks and nude twister. "Deliciously rhythmic and often hilarious dialogue" - VARIETY; Recommended - LA TIMES.

Notes:
no Actual nudity

1st Produced:
The Third Stage; Burbank, CA    2004

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Zombie Attack

Synopsis:
A group of friends get together in a cabin in the woods; dabble in witchcraft; awaken the dead. "With a single stroke of superb timing and scintillating humor, Tanner may well be the savior of real farce." LA WEEKLY; "Zombie Attack!' is entertaining from beginning to end." DRAMA-LOGUE; "A funky, snide spoof that takes no prisoners and leaves no cliche unturned." CRITIC'S CHOICE - LA TIMES

Notes:
Actors can play multiple roles if needed. Written by Justin tanner And Andy Daley

1st Produced:
The CAST Theater, Hollywood CA    1989

Organisations:
Cherry Red Productions

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  Zombies: 1-10

Further Reference:
-

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