DISNEY & THE GREAT DEPRESSION
"A deft mix of humor and psychological drama inflected by its historical specificity, and it keeps surprising the audience right through its striking ending." -THINKING THEATER
"The Fairest" - 1937
The women of Disney’s ink & paint department start to lose their minds as they rush to finish Snow White with little pay and no air conditioning. One young painter has trouble making friends at work, and develops a very fraught imaginary relationship with the character she’s painting: the original Disney Princess. After months of inhaling fumes and arguing with the unkind Snow White, she seeks revenge on the men upstairs who animate and claim credit on the film.
THE FAIREST tells a story of making art without ownership, and building a legacy without recognition.
Starring Winnifred Bonjean-Alpart, Taylor Cozort, Emma DeCorsey, Sivan Gordon-Buxbaum, Meghan E. Jones, and Kelley Lord.
Script and direction: Cameron Darwin Bossert
Costume design: Yolanda Balaña
"FANTASTIC... the play moves at a brisk pace. Fascinating to watch." -REVIEWS OFF BROADWAY
"Burbank" - 1941
Walt Disney is out of his depth; Pinocchio and Fantasia are losing money. An outside union is signing up employees and making personal threats against him. When the womanizing genius animator of Goofy finds a female worker passed out on the lawn for lack of nutrition, he decides to join with the union and lead a strike against the studio, threatening to bring an end to the golden age of animation.
BURBANK presents a clash of egos, art, and commerce, as the Disney studio faces collapse.
Starring Ryan Blackwell, Kelley Lord, and Cameron Darwin Bossert.
by Cameron Darwin Bossert
Costume design: Yolanda Balaña
Music: Deeba Montazeri
Stage Manager: Lauren Arneson
"REMARKABLE. The tension between passion and paycheck thrums like an underscore.
Warm and alive, it’s layered with nuance as it captures the anxiety that can grip a workplace amid a labor struggle—and the ruthlessness that can ensue on all sides." -LAURA COLLINS-HUGHES of NYT
