Amerissiah

Amerissiah by Derek Ahonen

(1)
Productions (2)
Comedy/Drama
|
110 - 120 minutes
4 W, 5 M, 
Content Notes: Adult language and content
Set: An apartment.

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?

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

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?

  • Comedy/Drama
  • |
  • 110 - 120 minutes
  • 4 W, 5 M, 
  • Content Notes: Adult language and content
  • Set: An apartment.
  • Standard Edition ISBN: 978-1-62384-508-7

Published Reviews

"Truly thought provoking and frequently hilarious."

The Village Voice

"Ahonen stirs everything together with gusto and a delicious incongruity."

The New York Times

"Ahonen is a playwright who is obviously loaded with talent. The atmosphere at this production is charged and heady."

The L Magazine

"Amerissiah may surprise those who have grown to love the hectic hilarity of Ahonen's other works. Messianic zeal, the duties of fathers and the post-belief vacuum all figure here, and the balance tips away from zaniness and toward sincerity. Nobody else weds old-fashioned realist structure to working class-hero lunacy quite like this."

Time Out New York

"Ahonen mixes satire, farce, and kitchen sink drama in a style that is entirely his own -- and a gift to actors and audiences. A latter day Odets."

The Connecticut Post

"Amerissiah displays Ahonen trademarks: characters eking out a living on America's fringes, outre dysfunctions, extreme physicality, foul-mouthed humor. But Ahonen's work is more than low-brow provocation wrapped in white-trash aesthetics. He has affection for all his characters, including the Ricewater family of Amerissiah."

The New York Post

"For this uniquely messed up American family, there is a uniquely American savior in Barry, the kind of Christ figure that can promise to get to heaven and make it impossible for those on Earth to cheat in sports."

Maura O'Brien, OffOffOnline.com

"...proof that some of the very best stuff in the theater is nowhere near Broadway."

Arlene McKanic, Greenwich Village Gazette

"The situations and characters...are appalling and over-the-top and funny and often startlingly convincing; they reflect back aspects of ourselves in a kind of funhouse mirror -- the best kind of theatricality."

Martin Denton, NYTheatre.com

Production History

JUN 15, 2010 - JUL 15, 2010
The Amoralists Theatre Company at Theatre 80
New York, NY United States
The Amoralists Theatre Company at Theatre 80 New York, NY United States
NOV 13, 2008 - DEC 07, 2008
The Gene Frankel Theatre
New York, NY United States
The Gene Frankel Theatre New York, NY United States
No upcoming productions.
JUN 15, 2010 - JUL 15, 2010
The Amoralists Theatre Company at Theatre 80
New York, NY United States
The Amoralists Theatre Company at Theatre 80 New York, NY United States
NOV 13, 2008 - DEC 07, 2008
The Gene Frankel Theatre
New York, NY United States
The Gene Frankel Theatre New York, NY United States

Awards (1)

Nominee, New York Innovative Theatre Award for Best Full Length Script (2009)