The armageddon dance party
What's the character breakdown?
5 women and 4 men.
How long is it?
It's a full-length play, 87 pages long. With an intermission, it plays at about 1:40, 1:45.
Has it been produced?
Yes, it premiered as part of the New York International Fringe Festival in 2006. It’s had subsequent productions in Springfield, IL in 2007, Chicago in 2010, and in Houston in 2016.
What's it about?
John and Michelle, a lovely young New York couple, are faced with a problem: The TV news just told them Armageddon is here. Talk about ruining a Friday night! But John and Michelle turn lemons into lemonade by throwing an end of the world party. With dancing!! When the friends and friends of friends packed into the apartment learn the end is nigh, the party takes a turn. Guests list everything they won't miss about the world, fights ensue, people ask to be killed, others grants their requests, lovers couple and uncouple for Armageddon sex, and talk of Revelation and great music fill the air. Like any good party.
Any critical response?
Among the many great things about the Fringe Festival is that it makes theatre available on Mondays, when almost all venues are usually blacked out. 34 different shows are on today, to be exact, including Armageddon Dance Party, David L. Williams' inspired, hilarious take on our precarious times, in which a couple does what comes naturally when they hear the end of times is nigh: invite people over and crank up the music to drown out the horror and sadness welling up from within. Smart writing and great acting got it a gold star in yesterday's reviews and is the sort of Fringe show that should get an extension, but in case it doesn't be sure to go now.
- Mallory Jensen of Gothamist.com
David L. Williams’ delightfully absurd new play brings in some politics and serious thought under the guise of fast-paced comedy and sheer silliness, and the youthful cast pulls it off with high energy and panache. As the show begins, John and Michelle (Tommy Day and Lordan Napoli) are trying to figure out whether Armageddon is here, as they believe they just heard on the news. They’re pretty sure it is but it’s a hard thing to wrap their heads around, so they invite their friends, and their friends’ friends, over for a dance party. As the night wears on and the idea of the end of the world sinks in, everyone’s spirits sink, though they improve them by talking about what they won’t miss in the world, and jamming to good music, and having sex in the stairwell, and doing things they’ve always wanted to do like kill someone. The writing is quite intelligent and often witty, and any snarkiness smoothed over by the likeability of the characters ... one leaves the theater both grinning and a little pensive and troubled. <Armageddon Dance Party is fun to watch and fully engaging in the best sense; it doesn’t try to convey a precise message, but it invites real reflection amidst the laughter, a winning combination solidified by the talented cast and nearly seamless production.
- Gothamist.com
Any pictures of past productions?
Yep. Right down below.
Has it been published?
Yes. It was published by Original Works Publishing. You can pick up a copy here.
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