A tragedy longing to be a comedy.
Set just after the blood- soaked conclusion of Shakespeare's sensationally gruesome tale, the years of battles are over, the country has been stolen by madmen, and there are casualties everywhere. And two very lowly servants are charged with cleaning up the bodies. It’s the year 400—but it feels like the end of the world.“..

Nominated for 7 Tony Awards, including Best Play.

From the play:

GARY. THAT’S IT. WE’RE GONNA STAGE A COUP!

JANICE. Lower your voice!

GARY. The first is gonna be last.

JANICE. You’re gonna get me hanged.

GARY. No you’re gonna be the leader.

JANICE. Don’t be saying that, even joking.

GARY. I’m not joking. I mean the coup’s a joke but I’m not joking about it, ya know what I mean?

JANICE. No.

GARY. We’re gonna make a spectacle that is its own kind of coup.

JANICE. We ain’t got coup enough?

GARY. Not a violent coup. An artistic one. A sort of theatrical revenge on the Andronicus revenge. A comedy revenge to end all revenge. Well not just a comedy. A sorta folly. No a spectacle. Or a comedy folly that is a spectacle. Sorta a machination. That’s full of laughter. But more than laughs. But with the laughs. Well sorta a thinking man’s laughter. But could be a knee-slapper. So is a...or inspires a...or—

JANICE. Pick one and commit!

GARY. I don’t know, but I know it’s gotta have all the history in it. All the conflicts. Like you said, put all the murder and mayhem in one place so they can see what’s what. What they’ve been. What they could be. Which means we gotta squeeze all the sequels of revenge in. We gotta theatricalize the sequels after the sequel after the sequels. And all the orgies of hyperbole, the grabbing of privacy and privates, takeovers, tantrums, endless campaigns, pillaged elections, apocalyptic-weather-spewing-forth-shark-attack-family- feuds! Yes Janice, shark attacks. There must be wars in stars, and geriatric stars at war. Heroes must battle heroes, winged rodents must clash with cleft chins, there must be an explosion of an explo- sion, a massacre of a massacre, an ensemble of an ensemble, to such a ridiculous degree ya can’t see anything but its ridiculousness. And Janice, when the court sees it, they’ll be a little taken aback at first.  They’ll be a moment of silence, don’t kid yourself. But then, in the distance, one soul will feel a bubbling finding its way to their hands. “What am I doing,” they’ll wonder. “Why am I clapping?” And they’ll realize. They’re clapping for hope. And soon it spreads. Not just one court member but two. Then more. Row after row, gaining speed, soon all the court, the clapping turns to cheering, then standing on their feet, on chairs, reaching ever higher to touch the ingenuity that could be theirs as well. If two maids could turn the hopelessness of a massacre into a coup of beauty, they too can imagine a better world. New ways of government will spring forth, new mechanisms of distribution. They’ll strip their baubles, they’ll be running naked through the banquet room, laying themselves prostrate to servants, making love to enemies and outsiders, bleeding their hearts, flooding through the streets, until the entire world is saved by...

(Gary pulls a pigeon out of his bag and throws it into the air. It disappears.)

WONDER!

The original Broadway production of GARY: A SEQUEL TO TITUS ANDRONICUS was produced by Scott Rudin, Joey Parnes, Sue Wagner, and John Johnson at the Booth Theater in New York City, opening on April 21, 2019. It was directed by George C. Wolfe, the set design was by Santo Loquasto, the costume design was by Ann Roth, the lighting design was by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, the sound design was by Dan Moses Schreier, the original music was by Danny Elfman, the movement direction was by Bill Irwin, and the production stage manager was William Joseph Barnes. The cast was as follows:CAROL ............................................................................... Julie White GARY ............................................................................... Nathan Lane JANICE ...................................................................... Kristine Nielsen