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Derek Ahonen
Bio and play details
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Derek Ahonen
Plays by this author
  • Amerissiah
  • Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter
  • Happy in the Poorhouse
  • The Pied Pipers of The Lower East Side
  • Pokin' the Bears in a Zoo
  • Derek Ahonen is the resident playwright of The Amoralists Theatre Company in NYC. He studied theater at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC. He grew up in Chicago and is the author of the full-length plays Happy In The Poorhouse, The Pied Pipers of The Lower East Side, Amerissiah, Pokin' the Bears in a Zoo, Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter, While Chasing The Fantastic..., and Venus Sensation and The Pope.
    Play details
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    The Pied Pipers of The Lower East Side
    by Derek Ahonen
      More Info Add to Cart
    Drama/Comedy
    Full-length, 155-165 minutes
    2 females, 4 males
    $75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book

    An extraordinary gathering of young idealists lives above a vegan restaurant in NYC. Billy, Dawn, Dear and Wyatt are an extended sexual family battling their fears and addictions in order to live their utopian dream. The Pied Pipers of The Lower East Side is a celebration of love and the search for human grandness -- and what happens when bohemian paradise begins to crumble.
    "The Pied Pipers of The Lower East Side" by Derek Ahonen. The Pied Pipers of The Lower East Side, The Amoralists Theatre Company, New York City (2009). Photo: Larry Cobra
    Reviews
    "Brings to mind the vitality that distinguished the early Off-Off Broadway work of artists like Sam Shepard only a generation ago."
    --The New Yorker


    Happy in the Poorhouse by Derek Ahonen   More Info Add to Cart
    Comedy/Drama
    Full-length, 115-125 minutes
    4 females, 7 males
    $75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book

    Paulie "The Pug" is a Coney Island dreamer...just one MMA fight away from the big time. If only he could keep his wife from bedding her ex-husband, his brother-in-law from going to the slammer, and his best friend from taking a bite out of his neck, he'd be on top of the world. A raucous, irreverent, action-packed comedy full of weak wrists and strong hearts, Happy in the Poorhouse is an unsanitized story of love, sex, and chasing after dreams even when you've got a black eye and a broken spirit.
    "Happy in the Poorhouse" by Derek Ahonen. Happy in the Poorhouse, Theatre 80 Saint Marks, New York City (2010). Photo: Larry Cobra
    Reviews
    "...has a knockabout physicality that grabs your attention. But what holds it is the working-class poetry of Derek Ahonen's script. Mr. Ahonen brings the populist instincts of a born entertainer. He might be a contender yet."
    --The New York Times


    Pokin' the Bears in a Zoo by Derek Ahonen   More Info Add to Cart
    Drama/Comedy
    Full-length, 120-125 minutes
    1 female, 4 males
    $75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book

    Mabel Sternos has been murdered, and her husband, Sheep-Suit, is out for revenge. Can her sons sober up in time to thwart the old man's plot? Will her poor daughter-in-law Jo Jo have the strength to hold them together? And who is the man they call Forrest? The Sternos family struggles for salvation from themselves in this darkly humorous exploration of familial dysfunction.
    "Pokin' the Bears in a Zoo" by Derek Ahonen. Pokin' the Bears in a Zoo, The Gene Frankel Theatre, New York City (2008). Photo: Larry Cobra
    Reviews
    "There's no denying Ahonen is forging a unique voice."
    --The New York Post


    Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter by Derek Ahonen   More Info Add to Cart
    Drama
    Full-length, 75-80 minutes
    3 females, 1 male
    $75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book

    Jackie and Contessa are far from the typical American family. One black, one Jewish, and both women, they have overcome their differences and stayed partners for twenty years. But when their absent daughter Garance is accused of murder and cannibalism, their New York City apartment becomes a center of chaos. The phone rings off the hook with bigoted threats, Contessa's long-lost brother pays a visit, and to top it all off, the alleged cannibal returns. This examination of a dysfunctional and unconventional family bitingly explores the outermost limits of familial love.
    "Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter" by Derek Ahonen. Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter, The Amoralists Theatre Company at the Gene Frankel Theatre, New York City (2008). Photo: Larry Cobra
    Reviews
    "Ahonen most craftily eases us into the story until the outrageous seems normal and we settle down to a gentle pace that beguiles and surprises at every turn. Good theater like this points a finger at itself while triply engaging the viewer. Bring Us The Head Of Your Daughter reaffirms Mr. Ahonen's gift for original playmaking."
    --United Stages


    Amerissiah by Derek Ahonen   More Info Add to Cart
    Comedy/Drama
    Full-length, 110-120 minutes
    4 females, 5 males
    $75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book

    Barry Ricewater is dying of cancer. He also claims to be the Messiah. His older, hippie wife and his recovering drug-addict brother believe him, but the rest of the family harbors doubts. Barry's sister and father are preoccupied dodging jail sentences for fraud, and their lawyer is ready to send them to the big house. When an aspiring rapper and his seemingly psychic wife show up looking for the Amerissiah, the family is forced to confront their sins and seek redemption -- but are they worshipping a false idol?
    "Amerissiah" by Derek Ahonen. Amerissiah, The Amoralists Theatre Company at Theatre 80 Saint Marks, New York City (2010). Photo: Larry Cobra
    Reviews
    "Truly thought provoking and frequently hilarious."
    --The Village Voice
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