GODDESS OF THE HUNT
by Doug DeVita
Just how well do you know all your “friends” on social media? In this fast-moving “light comedy about dark people leading private lives in public places,” when the grieving Charlie Windsor meets the gregarious Diana Black-White in a New York Theater District bar they become instant BFFs. Much to the consternation of his closest friend since childhood, Broadway actor Ed McGrath, Charlie is almost immediately hurled into an overwhelming whirl of dark secrets, questionable loyalties, and highly dysfunctional family dynamics; a world for which Charlie is completely unprepared. Goddess Of The Hunt is a gleefully silly homage to those romantic comedy thrillers of the 1960s via Roman mythology, updated to the creepy, contemporary world of social media and – perhaps too much – information sharing.
- Cast Size: 4M 1W
- Running Time: 90+ minutes
- Royalty Rate: $75 per performance
Order Digital Download (Will NOT download to phones, cannot be printed)
About the Playwright
A member of The Dramatists Guild, Doug is a two-time O’Neill Semi-Finalist (Fable and Just A Rumor), Semi-Finalist for Barrington Stage Company’s Burman New Play Award, Normal Avenue’s New American Play Series, and Campfire Theatre Festival (Phillie’s Trilogy,) Semi-Finalist for B Street Theatre’s New Comedy Festival (Goddess Of The Huntand Upper Division), and Semi-Finalist for We Screenplay’s Diverse Voices Competition (The Fierce Urgency Of Now).
In addition, he has won Fresh Fruit Awards of Distinction for Outstanding Play (The Fierce Urgency Of Now) and Outstanding Production (Fierce… and Phillie’s Trilogy) as well as the Inaugural (and so far only) Scrap Mettle Arts Emerging Playwrights Competition (Phillie’s Trilogy.)
Doug is currently an advisory board member for All Out Arts, and formerly an Artistic Director for Westside Repertory Theater. His work has been seen in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Jersey, Connecticut, and London, and has been developed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC (Mark Bly, Gary Garrison, Jacqueline Goldfinger, and Caleen Jennings), and at ESPA/Primary Stages in New York (Robert Askins, Rogelio Martinez, Winter Miller, and Michael Walkup). He has also studied with Karen Hartman, Lyle Kessler, Jeffrey Sweet, and Eric Webb.
OK, I may be a bit biased because I played Charlie Windsor in the Fresh Fruit Festival production of Goddess Of The Hunt. But I can be a tough critic of scripts I read. From the minute I started reading this play I knew I was getting on board for a rollicking ride! Doug writes sparkling dialogue for engaging characters. In the tradition of those 1960s comic mystery movies like CHARADE and ARABESQUE, he tells a contemporary tale of our social media-obsessed world. There’s a surprise at every turn. Believe me, you don’t know where he’s going. But the proof is in the pudding, or, should I say, in the performing. Those Fresh Fruit audiences ate it up! Read it. You’ll love it!
Mr. DeVita should demand a full refund from his therapist! Clearly, they did not do their job! Lucky us! You can tell something is just a little bit off at the start. The unease steadily escalates as more is revealed (in ways made clear to the audience yet skillfully obfuscated from our protagonist Charlie) until this deliciously queer neo-noir launches itself over the top into the realm of the outrageous! Operating at a breakneck pace with meaty roles from top to bottom, especially duplicitous, devious and deviant Diana! Hunt down this GODDESS before she finds you!
If you read only one gay-as-hell Sex-Murder-and-Social Media-themed farce this year, let it be Doug Devita’s sharp and bonkers GODDESS OF THE HUNT. By what alchemy does one create this savagely cold-hearted a comedy, yet somehow make it also heartwarmingly sentimental? Only Doug knows, so you’ll have to ask him. Outrageous, surreal, and ridiculous, but with a tender heart beating at its center, GODDESS is a sweet and salty treat. Order yourself a most fabulous cocktail, check it for arsenic, then dive right in.
Another brilliantly crafted original comedy by DeVita. Crackling smart writing packed tightly into a raunchy theatrical jockstrap soaked in cocktails, deception, gluttony, perversion, and murder. Never one to take the path of least resistance and always one prepared to challenge his audiences, DeVita gifts us with fully developed, multifaceted, three-dimensional characters (including the minor ones) spilling over with heart and humor, and then strings it all together with a delightfully sweet love story. Exceptional work. Highly recommended.
Love this script! Fast paced and very funny and great characters. The murders [yes murders!] are a lot of fun and the chase scene is truly a classic.
Review Goddess of the Hunt.