Reeling

by Barry Kornhauser
With music by Michael Koerner

In the spirit of the silent movie era, Reeling brings the timeless style and joy of vintage film to the stage. Without a single spoken word, Reeling tells the story of the Little Fellow, based on the film persona of silent movie great Buster Keaton. His marriage proposal turned down by Beloved, the Little Fellow heads to the big city to make something of himself, and winds up in a motion picture studio where he is mistaken for the big-shot director. Comic mayhem ensues with an impossibly happy ending, as our hero and his girl literally escape the chaos into the silver screen. Riffing off of Keaton’s genius, Reeling is not so much a silent movie on stage as a theatrical interpretation of the genre, a celebration of the human spirit and the enduring power of art.

Regular price $12.00

Quick Details

  • Type: Play with Music
  • Length: 60 minutes
  • Availability: Available for productions worldwide
  • Cast Size: 15 roles plus ensemble

Full Details

The following resources are included in each performance license:
  • Permission to photocopy the PDF script and score for your production so there is no additional cost for these assets.

The following resources may be added to you license for an additional fee:
  • Logo/Media package
  • Professionally recorded production tracks for backtracking, underscoring, and sound effects.

Barry Kornhauser

Barry Kornhauser's theatre honors include the Children's Theatre Foundation of America's Orlin Corey Medallion, the American Alliance for Theatre & Education (AATE) Charlotte Chorpenning Cup, Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Play (Cyrano), Ivey Playwriting Award (Reeling), Bonderman Playwriting Prize (Worlds Apart), South Africa National Theatre Festival’s Fringe Ovation Award (Balloonacy), and three AATE Distinguished Play Awards (- This Is Not A Pipe DreamBalloonacy, Corduroy). Closer to home, Barry was named Artist of the Year at the 2017 Pennsylvania Governor's Awards, and his youth theatre program for teens living with disabilities and other life challenges was honored at the White House as one of the nation's top arts-education initiatives. Barry's plays have been commissioned and produced by such Tony Award-winning stages as the Children's Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Alliance Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, and the Shakespeare Theatre, as well as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Other venues include Childsplay, Children's Theatre of Charlotte, Dallas Children's Theatre, Discovery Theatre at the Smithsonian, Emerald City, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, the Rose, and Seattle Children's Theatre; festivals from New York to California -including New Visions/New Voices (Power Play); and internationally as far afield as Australia and Myanmar, and including at the National Children’s Theatre of South Africa. Over the years, Barry has conducted theatre residencies everywhere from a one-room Amish schoolhouse to universities across the county. He has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, TYA/USA, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, MetLife Foundation, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour. Currently, Barry works for the Millersville University Office of Visual & Performing Arts. Prior to this, he served over 30 years as Playwright-In-Residence, TYA Director, and sundry other positions at the National Historic Landmark Fulton Theatre.

Originally commissioned and produced at Children's Theatre Company in 2005 

*Winner of the 2006 IVEY Award for Playwriting*

Preview the Show

University of Central Florida School of Performing Arts

Reviews

The show’s roots lie in the time-transcendent soil of the pratfall and the struggle of the little guy to make good. From that fertile ground comes laughter – and wisdom – that rings loud and clear.

- St. Paul Pioneer Press

What has emerged is a story and performance noted as much for its poignancy as for its pratfalls.

- American Theatre Magazine