About the Play:

Our House is a full-length dark comedy by Theresa Rebeck. This tough, twisted comedy concerns the dumbing-down of TV news, the blurred line between information and entertainment and even abusive TV contests. The playwright's trademark biting wit and comic social satire are unleashed as she skewers the trend toward the presentation of television news as entertainment and ambitious news anchors becoming celebrity media stars.

Our House is a darkly comic look at America's obsession with "reality" television. Are news and entertainment interchangeable? A big-shot TV executive faced with dwindling ratings installs America's favourite news anchor as host of a popular reality show. Meanwhile, in Middle America, four roommates bickers over high-stakes, real-world conflicts: Merv doesn't clean the bathroom; someone ate Alice's yogurt; and the rent is long past due. When reality collides with reality TV, the audience find themselves front and center in a drama that holds the nation riveted. Our House is a deliciously scathing comedy that takes on a media-obsessed culture intent on turning even the most sobering crisis into sexy entertainment.

Our House premiered in 2008 at Denver Center Theatre Company in Dever, Colorado and then opened in 2009 at Playwrights Horizons off-Broadway in New York City. The play has been performed in regional repertory, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 3 women, 4 men

What people say:

"Theresa Rebeck's tough, twisted comedy Our House is not only a virulent condemnation of the boob tube, but a vibrant depiction of the resultant, numbing malaise it has on an already underinformed populace." — The Denver Post

"Our House may be one of Theresa Rebeck's funniest concoctions, but it's also one of her most discussion-provoking." — StageSceneLA

About the Playwright:

Theresa Rebeck is a leading American playwright, screenwriter and author. Her plays include Bad Dates, Omnium Gatherum (co-written, Pulitzer finalist), Spike Heels, and Mauritius, which won Boston's prestigious IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards. Her work in television includes NYPD Blue for which she has won the Peabody, the Writer's Guild, and the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar awards. She holds a Ph.D. from Brandeis University and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.