Monkey in the Middle

Monkey in the Middle by Brighde Mullins

(0)
Productions (3)
Epic Tragicomedy
|
120 - 125 minutes
6 W, 9 M,  (12-15 actors possible: 5-6 W, 7-9 M)
Content Notes: Adult language and content
Set: Minimal. A landscape of the desert that can become certain spaces through lights or sound.

It's the mid-1980s, just when the Human Genome Project is getting underway. After being dumped in the desert by her military-minded dad, Tara goes on the lam to escape her dysfunctional family, and bumps into a brilliant symmetry-obsessed geneticist who also happens to be a deadbeat dad and former heroin addict. As this unlikely couple tries to find some small salvation in each other, Tara's family is forced to examine their troubling past. Drawing on evolutionary psychology and Neo-Darwinian thought, this is a comic play about tragic personalities -- will they be able to move forward into the future?

Pricing Information

Min. Performance Fee* $85
Standard Edition $13.99
Stage Manager Edition $24.99

*The per performance fee begins at $85. Your per performance fee will be provided during the ordering process.

Play Details

It's the mid-1980s, just when the Human Genome Project is getting underway. After being dumped in the desert by her military-minded dad, Tara goes on the lam to escape her dysfunctional family, and bumps into a brilliant symmetry-obsessed geneticist who also happens to be a deadbeat dad and former heroin addict. As this unlikely couple tries to find some small salvation in each other, Tara's family is forced to examine their troubling past. Drawing on evolutionary psychology and Neo-Darwinian thought, this is a comic play about tragic personalities -- will they be able to move forward into the future?

  • Epic Tragicomedy
  • |
  • 120 - 125 minutes
  • 6 W, 9 M,  (12-15 actors possible: 5-6 W, 7-9 M)
  • Content Notes: Adult language and content
  • Set: Minimal. A landscape of the desert that can become certain spaces through lights or sound.

Published Reviews

"Thankfully, the references to Darwinian theory are not forced down your throat. The play is not a lesson in evolutionary psychology, but a good yarn, with occasional allusions to the moral ambiguities thrown up by Darwinian thinking...the play will help to answer those critics who have accused evolutionary psychology of being inherently right-wing...but this is not some simple PR job either. The dark side of evolutionary thinking is not skirted, but exposed in agonizing clarity."

Dylan Evans, The Guardian (London)

Production History

APR 26, 2007 - APR 29, 2007
Muhlenberg College
Allentown, PA United States
Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA United States
NOV 17, 2001 - DEC 16, 2001
Thick Description Theatre
San Francisco, CA United States
Thick Description Theatre San Francisco, CA United States
DEC 02, 1999 - DEC 12, 1999
New York University's Tisch School of the Arts
New York, NY United States
New York University's Tisch School of the Arts New York, NY United States
No upcoming productions.
No professional productions.

Awards (2)

The 2001 Will Glickman Award, Best New Play (Bay Area)

The 2001 Whiting Writers Award winner