A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  2w, 2m

Adam Rapp

A powerful but touching look at a middle-aged man's struggle with mental illness and isolation.

The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Not Applicable
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
Ellis Shook lives alone in a small duplex apartment in Paducah, Kentucky. He works nights buffing floors, keeps to himself, and always remembers to take his medication. But when two teenage girls arrive at his doorstep one autumn afternoon, he is forced to confront a tragic past and reach for a glimpse of hope.
History

The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois opened Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater on May 25, 2016, under the direction of Adam Rapp.

Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups

ELLIS – White, early forties. There is something slightly lost about him, a raw vulnerability.
MONIQUE – White, teenager in 8th grade. Young, quiet and sensitive.
CATHERINE – Black, teenaged sophomore. Street-smart, protective and skeptical.
BARRETT – Adult. Tall, formidable, calm.

  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting The living room/sitting area of a small, street-level duplex apartment in Paducah, Kentucky.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"Thoughtful and touching...A powerful look at a man teetering on an abyss." - The Epoch Times

"Musical, dialogue-free moments, and the stretches of silence that surround them...establish a vivid sense of characters who are both specifically and idiosyncratically present." - New York Times

"As a slice-of-life drama, Purple Lights succeeds on all fronts... his most substantial play in several years." Theatremania

"How can you move on from the sins and stigma of the past when you’re still trapped by their effects? It’s a question Adam Rapp brilliantly answers in his all-too-human drama." - The Epoch Times

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

Adam Rapp

Adam Rapp

Adam Rapp is the author of numerous plays, which include Nocturne (American Repertory Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop), Finer Noble Gases (26th Humana Festival), Stone Cold Dead Serious (A.R.T.), Blackbird (The Bush, London), Essential Self-Defense (Playwrights Horizons/Ed ...

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