BROOKLYN LAUNDRY
March 4 - 29, 2025
Written By: John Patrick Shanley
Shows: Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm
Written by John Patrick Shanley, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning author of Doubt and the Oscar®-winning writer of Moonstruck. Sometimes big things start from little things; in this case, a bag of laundry. Shanley’s latest is about three sisters, a guy who runs a laundry in Brooklyn, and the sometimes savage tricks life plays on them. Tragic and funny by turns, this story will remind you what is important in life... and the sorrow and joy of fully embracing adulthood.
Cast: Jessica Miano Kruel, Michael Castellano, Lauren Thompson, Donna Stabile
Director: Joy Hawkins
Michael Castellano and Jessica Miano Kruel | Photo by Roberta DePiero
ROMANCE BLOOMS IN THE RED BARN’S CHARMING “BROOKLYN LAUNDRY” BY JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY
It’s been said that chance meetings are often an aphrodisiac moment out of which true love may bloom. That doesn’t guarantee it will be an easy germination, of course…just that there’s an outside chance for an acceptable blossom.
Playwright John Patrick Shanley endearingly lets us watch such a flowering in his latest play, “Brooklyn Laundry”, running March 4-29 at the Red Barn Theatre in Key West. Shanley, author of the romantic megahit “Moonstruck”, is a master of the charming, imperfect love story, and this play fits his model well.
“Brooklyn Laundry” is about three sisters and a guy who runs a laundry in that New York borough. Fran is a single woman and bone-tired of being so, whose sisters each have their own crosses to bear. Trish is dealing with a threatening illness, and Susie with a dissolving marriage, and each of them is turning to Fran, who is feeling overwhelmed with it all.
Then one day, Fran takes a bag of laundry to the cleaners in her building and runs into the owner, Owen, whose sweetly gruff adorability breaks through her protective barriers and sparks something between them. Owen, too, has had to deal with some unexpected twists in his life, but he uncharacteristically rises to and goes with the moment, asking Fran to dinner. From there on, Shanley takes us on an utterly charming and very funny ride into a story of two people trying to find balance in their lives despite the bumps that come their way.
The Red Barn production stars a quartet of top local actors, including Jessica Miano Kruel, Michael Castellano, Donna Stabile, and Lauren Thompson. It is directed by Joy Hawkins, the Barn’s artistic director.
“It’s a beautiful play,” Hawkins said, “nicely written, funny, tender, and heartwarming. It does deal with some situations we sometimes have to deal with in life, and it might bring some tears here and there, but you’ll leave the theater feeling really good. It’s very life-affirming, with characters you can really root for.”
The New York Times called the play “Utterly charming.” The New York Theatre Guide said, “Forget the dating apps – maybe the laundromat is the place to find your next great love…”.
Tickets are available at KeysTix.com, or at redbarntheatre.com. For more information, call the box office at 305-296-9911. All shows for the March 4-29 run are at 7:30 pm. The production is sponsored in part by Florida Arts and Culture, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.