''Freedomland'' is a 1998

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

play written by

Amy Freed Amy Freed (born 1958) is an American playwright. Her play '' Freedomland'' was a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Biography Early life Freed was born in Manhattan and grew up in The Bronx, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Westchester Co ...

. The plot revolves around the family reunion of the Underfingers gone wrong. It was finalist for the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

."Drama's Amy Freed a Pulitzer finalist"
Stanford Report, April 15, 1998 ''Freedomland'' was produced

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...

, running from December 16, 1998 to January 3, 1999. Directed by Howard Shalwitz, the cast featured Veanne Cox,

Jeffrey Donovan Jeffrey Donovan (born May 11, 1968) is an American actor. He has played Michael Westen in the television series '' Burn Notice'', and appeared in films such as '' Hitch'', '' Believe in Me'', ''Changeling'', and '' Come Early Morning''. He play ...

, and Heather Goldenhersh."''Freedomland'' Off-Broadway"
lortel.org, accessed January 1, 2016 The "darkly satiric comedy" premiered at the

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. South Coast Repertory was founded in 1964. It has three stages and presents plays from all eras. SCR producers new plays, Theatre for Young Audiences ...

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

, in November 1997. The title is based on the "name of a Wild West theme park in the Bronx, where Freed grew up."

Simonson, Robert Robert Simonson (born September 11, 1964) is an American journalist and author. Personal life Robert Simonson was born in Wisconsin; he has lived in Brooklyn since 1988. Career Robert Simonson began writing about cocktails, spirits and bars for ...

and Lefkowitz, David
"Playwrights Horizons Ventures To Freed's 'Freedomland' Nov. 27"
Playbill, November 26, 1998

References

1998 plays Comedy plays {{Comedy-stub