''Cul-de-sac'' is a play by American playwright

John Cariani John Edward Cariani (born July 22, 1969) is an American actor and playwright. Cariani is best known as the forensic expert Julian Beck in ''Law & Order''. On stage, he earned a Tony Award nomination for his role as Motel the Tailor in the 2004 ...

. ''Cul-de-sac'' premiered

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 ...

in April 2006.

Plot

The play tells the story of three small-time suburban families: the Smiths, Johnsons, and Joneses. These neighbors put a significant amount of effort to appear happy.

Production history

''Cul-de-sac'' premiered

in April 2006 in a

Transport Group Transport Group Theatre Company is a non-profit, off-Broadway theatre company in New York City that stages new works and revivals of plays and musicals, with a focus on American stories told in a visually progressive way. History Transport Group w ...

production, with Jack Cummings III as director and featuring Cariani performing as Joe Jones. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described C''ul-de-sac'' as "charming, witty and macabre." Variety called the production "challenging" and "original." A production of ''Cul-de-sac'' was presented at

High Point University High Point University (HPU) is a private university in High Point, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in ...

in April 2016, and the play (directed by Adam Fitzgerald) was performed at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

City, in October 2016. Playbill online reported that he was in the process of revising the piece. Cariani's play was last presented in 2017 at the Half-moon Theatre in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

. The production was directed by Michael Schiralli and featured Michael Borrelli, Katie Hartke, Sean Hayden, Samantha Jones, Molly Renfroe Katz and Bruch Reed. Following massive re-writes, the production premiered at the

Cape Cod Theatre Project The Cape Cod Theatre Project is a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 by actors Andrew Polk and Jim Bracchitta, with the mission of collaborating with playwrights, actors, Film director, directors, and the public in developing new American plays ...

in July 2017. Cariani's work was directed by

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * ...

nominee

Moritz von Stuelpnagel Moritz von Stuelpnagel is an American theatre director. ''Newsday'' has described him as, "best known for having staged blasphemous hand puppets" in '' Hand to God'', for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play in 2015 ...

and produced by Declan Kunkel. The cast featured Rachel Botchan as Diane, Meredith Holzman as Christy, Charles Socarides as James, Torsten Hillhouse as Brian,

Angel Desai Angel Desai is an American actress. Early life and education Desai was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Binghamton, New York. Her parents are physicians; her father is Indian and her mother is Filipina. She cultivated an early interest in per ...

as Irene, and Justin Hagan as Joe Jones.

References

{{reflist 2006 plays American plays