Our most popular shows have sequels and more sequels. It’s like watching a new episode of your favorite TV show!
Jeff Querin, Stephen Wayne, Becca Anderson and Sarah Black in ADDICTED TO LOVE, 2016
We wrote a show six years ago that was our version of an 80’s teen comedy about the adults. A homage to John Hughes movies, if you will, but where the parents and teachers take center stage.
The setting was the faculty lounge of Arden High. The science teacher has a secret crush, the A/V teacher’s in love with the substitute. Then one day, they’re all forced to attend prom and chaos ensues.
Actor/writer Jeff Querin with an eyepatch. Because every 80’s movie has a guy with an eyepatch.
ADDICTED TO LOVE sold out the entire 4-month run. The response was unprecedented.
We then developed HOLIDAY ROAD around these same characters and their annual Christmas party. This time our protagonist (the school secretary) decides to introduce her “gentleman-friend” to her mother which quickly turns into a dumpster fire.
The audience didn’t need to see the first episode (a year prior) to enjoy the story they were watching that evening.
The characters were so strong, with a thorough backstory, the audience was immediately drawn in to their lives and problems.
Actor/Writers Becca Anderson and Stephen Wayne in the follow-up HOLIDAY ROAD, 2017.
So you can guess what happened next? We wrote a third episode!
Two years later, we wrote a summer show based off these beloved characters which concluded with an epic wedding ceremony. (No spoilers since we’re bringing the show back in 2024!)
And once again, the audience didn’t need to know what happened in the previous two episodes to enjoy the show they were watching.
Actor/writer Jeff Querin as the lovable-neurotic A/V teacher in SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, 2019.
We’ve learned two valuable lessons with the “Arden High” shows:
1) All of our plays are like a TV series. You just want to see the next episode!
2) You don’t need to see the first one to enjoy them all!
Each episode follows the Hero’s Journey, which means the stories are complete and stand alone. The characters are fully fleshed-out personalities with a rich backstory.
Actor/Writers Stephen Wayne and Becca Anderson in another popular series, CAN’T BUY ME LOVE, 2019.
And the secret ingredient to the success of all this is the ingenuity of how we tell the stories.
Big budgets be damned!
We don’t need fancy pyrotechnics or hydraulic lifts to transport you to another world.
A martini glass and a spot light creates a New York night club circa 1987.
A picture frame and Gumby doll can create the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade circa 1965.
Actor/writer Stephen Wayne watches the holiday parade in IT’S CHRISTMAS, BABE!, 2020.
The possibilities are endless as long as ingenuity and imagination helm the ship.
This spring, we invite you to see the show that started it all. ADDICTED TO LOVE plays through May 28 and is an absolute delight.
You and your friends will love the humor and music. The pre-show festivities are a delight too. Grab a snack, maybe a bottle of wine, and settle in for a night of entertainment unlike any other!
This couple even got engaged on stage following the performance!