I WANNA F-ING TEAR YOU APART Comes to Stage West

Sam and Leo, Leo and Sam – roomies and besties since college. Nothing can tear them apart—or can it?  Stage West presents the regional premiere of the buddy comedy I Wanna f-ing Tear You Apart, by Morgan Gould, which begins a 4-week run on Thursday, June 15. 

Sam and Leo love each other, in a co-dependent sort of way.  They binge-watch TV together, finish each other’s sentences, critique and encourage each other’s writing, and even have a couple name—Team Fat/Gay.  Sam juggles freelance writing with working on her first novel, while Leo works, reluctantly, for a BuzzFeed-type website and (occasionally) on his own writing. But one day, Leo brings his “work wife” home with him—the annoyingly charming Chloe.  He’s sure that Sam and Chloe will hit it off, but Sam is less than enthralled, and the friendship begins to fray.  Then, unexpectedly, a huge secret comes to light, and everything is irrevocably changed.

Ultimately, the story of these two bright, funny and relatable characters allows us to dive into the nature of a friendship made up of love, trust, competition, and even heartbreak, with a special nod to a kind of love that sometimes looks a lot like rage.

Associate Producer Garret Storms says of the show, “This play is our riotous homage to those friendships that we can’t live without. These characters are both frustrating and endlessly endearing, and feel like your besties. But it’s not without its twists and turns. This one packs in the love, the laughs, and the gut punch!”

The play, whose title refers to a lyric in the song Tear You Apart by She Wants Revenge, was originally produced in 2017 by Studio Theatre in Washington, DC.

“The comedy love child of Will & Grace and Friends” - DC Metro Theater Arts

Morgan Gould is a playwright, director, and screenwriter and a recent graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellowship Program at Juilliard.  Her play Nicole Clark Is Having a Baby (2020 Kilroy’s List) was set to premiere as part of the 44th Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville , but was cancelled due to the Covid. Her other plays include Jennifer Who Is Leaving (Finalist – O’Neill), All The Stupid Bitches (Finalist - O'Neill, workshop at Playwrights Center, IAMA Theatre) and Three Fat Sisters (Finalist – Sundance, Workshop, Cutting Ball Theater and Z Space in San Francisco). I Have Never Wanted To Bash Anyone On The Head As Much As I Do Right Now (a commission for Cutting Ball Theater in San Francisco) had its world premiere in October 2022 with Morgan directing, and Jennifer Who Is Leaving had its world premiere at Roundhouse Theatre in DC in March 2023 with Morgan directing.

Morgan is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, a Yaddo Colony Fellow, a MacDowell Colony Fellow, and an alumnus of Interstate 73 at P73, the Ingram New Works Program at Nashville Rep, the Dramatists Guild Fund Playwriting Fellowship, The Women's Project Lab, The Civilians R+D Group, Target Margin Lab, Lincoln Center Director's Lab, SDC Observership Program, the BAX AIR Residency, Playwrights Horizons Directing Residency and New Georges Writer/ Director Lab. She has previously held staff positions at Playscripts, Inc., Lark Play Development Center, Cape Cod Theatre Project, and was the Associate Artistic Director of Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company, where she co-created Untitled Feminist Show (BAC/PS 122). Morgan is also the Artistic Director of Morgan Gould & Friends, her theater company with 9 actors, 3 designers, and a filmmaker (www.morgangouldandfriends.com).  

As a screenwriter, she was recently on staff for Amazon’s reboot of A League of Their Own (created by Will Graham and Abbi Jacobson) and she is currently working on an adaptation of the podcast Bunga Bunga with Wondery and Apple, an adaptation of the bestselling mystery thriller A Flicker in the Dark with Fruit Tree/ A24, an adaptation of the Jerry Rothwell /Atlas Reuben documentary Sour Grapes as a limited series with MetFilm, Temple Hill and Amazon, and an original series with Creative Engine/ EOne and HBO Max in addition to developing other film and TV projects. 

Morgan holds a B.A. in Directing from Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and a M.F.A. in Playwriting from Brooklyn College. She is a very grateful and proud union/ guild member – WGAE, SDC, Dramatists Guild.

I Wanna f-ing Tear You Apart will be directed by Jenna Burnett, who previously directed Church & State for Stage West.  The production features two faces familiar to Stage West audiences:  Olivia Cinquepalmi, who appeared as Somebody in Everybody and Juliet in the Bass Hall Education Program of Romeo and Juliet, will play Chloe, and Ryan Michael Friedman, who played Love in Everybody and Tom/Marshall/Reporter/Security Guy in Church & State, will play Leo.  Making her Stage West debut as Sam will be Ellen Eberhardt, who appeared as Herod last year in the WaterTower Theatre production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Set design is by Natalie Rose Mabry, with lighting design by Ryan Burkle, costume design by Steven Smith, sound design by Claudia Jenkins Martinez, projection design by Jacob Rivera-Sanchez, and props and set décor by Lynn Lovett.  Stage Manager duties will be handled by  Tiffany Cromwell and Dana Schultes.

I Wanna f-ing Tear You Apart will preview Thursday, June 15 at 7:30, and Friday, June 16 at 8:00, and will run through Sunday, July 9.  The opening night reception will be after the evening performance on Saturday, June 17.  Performances will be Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00, and Sundays at 3:00.  Ticket prices are $40 on Thursdays and Fridays, and $45 on Saturdays and Sundays, with $20 tickets for the two preview performances.  Food service is available 90 minutes prior to performances (reservations are advised).  Reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org.  

To post a comment, you must register and login.