Shirley Lauro

Set one hundred years ago in Paris The Radiant centers on the true tempestuous and love-torn life of Madame Marie Curie. Widowed at thirty-nine with two young children to raise and support she becomes involved in a scandalous affair with her young married assistant an affair which rocks Paris and nearly costs her her career - and her life. But she survives this and the great bias against women scientists throughout Europe then and goes on to discover and isolate radium earn two No

Full Length, Drama Characters: 1 male, 6 female Unit set This is a powerful, true drama of six women who went to Viet Nam five nurses and a country western singer booked by an unscrupulous agent to entertain the troops. The play portrays each young woman before, during, and after her tour in the war torn jungle and ends as each leaves a personal token at The Wall in Washington. A Piece of My Heart premiered in New York at Manhattan Theatre Club, and now has enjoyed over 1000 productions here and abroad. It has recently been named "The most enduring play on Vietnam in the nation," by The Vietnam Vets Association. "There have been a number of plays dealing with Viet Nam, but none with the direct, emotional impact of Ms. Lauro's work."-N.Y. Times "Brought [the audience] to tears...and a standing ovation."-Variety "A riveting, rending dramatic experience."-Louisville Courier Journal

Characters: 2m, 4f /Drama / A play about growing up in our "have and have-not" society, and discovering what "family" really is. Though Angie, an adolescent, lives in a wealthy town, she is poor. Deserted at birth by her mother, her father killed in War, she lives in a trailer with her ailing but loving Grandma. Though a gifted athlete, Angie's afraid to compete at her preppie school, feeling she's "Trailer Trash". While terrified a disliked aunt will soon take her away to live with her and put Grandma in a Facility, Angie meets a boy, Theo, at school. Brilliant, wealthy but an awkward loner, Theo's parents have no time for him and schoolmates taunt him, his only friends being his computer and his bird. Finally as Angie and Theo form a unique bond as soulmates, they gain the courage to begin their journeys toward adulthood...resolving family problems, and taking actions to utilize their talents at school.

Drama / Characters: 5f / Simple Set Nominee! 2006 Joseph Jefferson nomination as Best New Chicago Play of the Year All Through the Night speaks directly with a warning for today. Set during and after the Third Reich, a stylistic, surrealistic play inspired by interviews with German Gentile women. The play sweeps from their teen years through adulthood during the Holocaust and beyond. The Nazi Regime impacts the women's lives as they struggle over work, religion, marriage and motherhood. Making overwhelmingly hard choices, they survive or succumb to Hitler's Reign and are changed forever. A sylistic, surrealistic play. Minimal set and minimal props. An unconventional timeframe that jumps a chronological order "Events...elevated to artistic dramatization. Most interesting is character transformations as the stories unfold." - Backstage "We may know history but this play is electrifying!" - Chicago Free Press

Drama / Characters: 5m, 3f Winner! 2004 NEA "Access to Excellence Award", in collaboration with New Theatre, FL, Finalist! 2001 New American History Play Prize The story takes place in 1932, the last time Clarence Darrow pleads in a criminal court of law. Set in various places in Chicago and Hawaii, Darrow with his wife, Ruby, travels to Honolulu to defend a Pearl Harbor Naval Lieutenant accused of shooting a Hawaiian who allegedly led a gang rape on the Lieutenant's wife.