Neverland




Place an Order

Neverland is published by Original Works Publishing. Click the above button to open a new window and order a perusal copy or performance rights.


About The Play

Dark comedy. 1 male, 2 females. 90 minutes. Multiple suggested settings.

Premiered at City Theater Company (Wilmington, DE).



Synopsis

Eight year old WENDY eats apples out of the garbage. She finds a hundred dollars in a wallet, and her friend PETER (one actor plays each character at all of the different ages), same age, convinces her to return all of it—except for one dollar for luck. Wendy's family wins the lottery—using the dollar—and become millionaires, but Peter doesn't want Wendy at his ninth birthday party. Though Peter excludes her, Wendy, with the help of her imaginary “friend,” J.M. (all other characters are designed to be played by one actress), decides that Peter is "the one" for her.


  Nearly four years later, Peter moves. As his overbearing MOTHER tells him to get a paper route, Wendy, looking so different that Peter doesn't recognize her, appears. Wendy immediately makes a pass at him and wants to French kiss him, but Peter gets cold feet. After a confrontation with his Mother, he runs away

Another five years elapses, and Peter is in a juvenile detention center. Wendy, again completely unrecognizable, visits him; she is his reading tutor. But again, her attempt at contact fails.



Another eight years passes, and Wendy this time shows up as Peter’s teaching assistant in college—he has gotten his life together somewhat, and he remembers his detention center reading tutor as someone who played a pivotal role in his turnaround. But in the present, Wendy once more fails, and Peter decides that it’s best for him to transfer out of her section.



Five more years go by, and Wendy is Peter’s waitress at a diner where he is a regular. Peter tells her—he doesn’t realize who she is—about how he ran away from his college graduation after a confrontation with his Mother. Or was it just in his mind? Peter flees the restaurant, and shortly thereafter reappears as a homeless man. Wendy, passing out sandwiches, tries to give him a tongue sandwich, but it reminds him too much of his failed French kiss from all those years ago, and he berates her for it. This final rejection pushes Wendy over the edge. She turns to drugs and alcohol. J.M. returns to “encourage” her collapse.


Ten years later, Peter works as a tour guide for a river kayaking company. Their roles reversed, Wendy is his customer, and when she pulls out a flask, Peter, who quickly determines that she is drunk, decides they must return to shore. Wendy, about to tell him who she is, flees instead after they land. Peter follows her back to her apartment, and eventually she tells him who she is. But before she can invite Peter in, J.M. appears to lead Wendy back to drug and alcohol-induced oblivion.


After an attempt at counseling which fails—Wendy accuses Peter of stalking her when he shows up at the session—Wendy takes refuge on the ledge of her apartment. Peter tries to talk her down, but J.M. arrives. To Peter, she looks like his Mother. Wendy chokes J.M. to “death,” and Wendy and Peter have their long-delayed French kiss before settling in to see where it will lead.

 

Read an Excerpt

If you are unable to read PDF files, click here to download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
 

 
Co-Chair of the Alliance of Los Angeles
Playwrights
, member of The Dramatists Guild of America, and life member of the Philadelphia Dramatists Center.

Final Draft Resident Playwriting Expert and author of Playwriting101.com.

Resident Playwriting Expert of The Writers Store.





Recent News
Online Playwriting Class Starts on May 21st!
I will be teaching a month-long online playwriting class through Writers University beginning on May 21.
Festivals, Festivals, Festivals
I am excited to be attending a number of national conferences in the coming months.  First up, the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska in late June, where I'll be teaching a quartet of writing workshops and hanging out at the Playscripts booth!
The Locker Next to Mine Now Available
My new play, The Locker Next to Mine, is now available.  It's a full-length drama, though spiked with humor, about teen suicide and dealing with loss.  I'm looking for a group to stage the world premiere.  Could that be you?


Upcoming Productions
Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Clay High School Limelighters (Toledo, OH), May 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Circle Arts Theatre (New Braunfels, TX), May 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Paris Community Theatre Teen Theatre (Paris, TX), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
East High School (Cheyenne, WY), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Hutchinson High School (Hutchinson, KS), May 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Fremont High School (Sunnyvale, CA), May 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Bay Theatrix: Dover Bay Secondary (Nanaimo, BC, Canada), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Fernley High School (Fernley, NV), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Kellam High School (Virginia Beach, VA), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Sequoia Middle School (Pleasant Hill, CA), June 2012

Pepperoni Apocalypse
University of Tasmania (Launceston, TAS, Australia)

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Tuckahoe Middle School (Richmond, VA), June 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Jane Addams K8 (Seattle, WA), June 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Luton Players (Rochester, United Kingdom), June 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Topeka Civic Theatre & Academy (Topeka, KS), June 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
St. Mary's Anglican Girls' School (Perth, WA, Australia), July 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Fort Myers High School (Ft. Myers, FL), August 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Lyndale Secondary College (Dandenong North, VIC, Australia), August 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Yokohama International School (Yokohama, Japan), October 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight
Drama With a Difference (Melbourne, VIC, Australia), December 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Westwood High School (Palestine, TX), January 2013

 
Rumors of Polar Bears: 

Though the one-act version, available from Playscripts, stands on its own (and is perfect for competition!), this play was always intended to be a full-length composed of three acts:  Rumors of Polar Bears, Ursa Major and Northern Lights.  Look for the other two plays in the cycle sometime in 2012.


Home
Plays for Production
Free Monologues
Screenplays
Young Playwrights 101
Script Consulting
About Me
Links
Connect With Me
 
Starting out as a writer? Get help by clicking here. You'll find playwriting instructional tips, links to young playwrights contests, sample query and cover letters and even a suggested reading list!
 
Can't figure out why your script isn't working? I can help. For a reasonable rate, I will give you detailed feedback to get your project back on track.

Click here for information.