Killer Joe

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Killer Joe

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  2w, 3m

Tracy Letts

“Set in Dallas, Killer Joe revels in its white trash stereotypes, and gives you permission to do the same; it's pulp fiction which has it both ways, deriving humor from dirty realism. It's slick, it's well constructed, it knows exactly where it's going.” – New York Daily News

Image: 2018 West End Production (Marc Brenner)

Killer Joe

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Not Applicable
  • Suggested Use
    • Monologues
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
This exciting first play by the author of August: Osage County premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf before going on to acclaimed productions in London and New York. Hired by the dissolute Smith family to murder the matriarch for insurance money, Killer Joe takes the daughter to bed as a retainer against his final payoff, which sets in motion a bloody aftermath as the “hit man” meets his match.
History
Killer Joe premiered at the Next Lab Theater in Chicago in 1993.
Keywords
Performing Groups
CHRIS SMITH – 22 years old
SHARLA SMITH – Chris’s stepmother, early thirties
ANSEL SMITH – Chris’s father, 38 years old
DOTTIE SMITH – Chris’s sister, 20 years old
KILLER JOE COOPER – Mid-thirties

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting A trailer home on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Gun Shots
    • Intense Adult Themes
    • Strong Language
    • Nudity/Partial Nudity
    • Smoking

Media

“Set in Dallas, Killer Joe revels in its white trash stereotypes, and gives you permission to do the same; it's pulp fiction which has it both ways, deriving humor from dirty realism. It's slick, it's well constructed, it knows exactly where it's going.” – New York Daily News

Photos

  • Killer Joe

    Image: 2018 West End Production (Marc Brenner)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

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Authors

Tracy Letts

Tracy Letts

Tracy Letts has been a Steppenwolf ensemble member since 2002. He was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County, which played on Broadway for over a year, following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf in 2007. August also enjoyed a sold-out engagem ...

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