In My Life With the Fab Four
Another story from the archives — the night the Beatles rearranged my whole idea of what I wanted out of life. I was ten years old the day the Beatles were on The Ed Sullivan Show, Sunday, February 9, 1964. This was the first televised live performance of the Beatles in the United States. The […]
Watch Your Pronouns
Set entirely on a park bench, Watch Your Pronouns follows two old friends, George and Cliff, whose regular conversations take an unexpected turn when George’s grandchild comes out as transgender. Cliff, who lost his own gay son years earlier to his own lack of understanding, becomes an unlikely guide. When Sarah, another parent navigating the […]
Wedding Secrets
Laura and Robert are getting married in the backyard where Laura grew up, and the Engle family could not be more excited, until the secrets start surfacing. Laura’s brother Steve arrives with a mysterious plus one, old grudges resurface at the worst possible moments, and what should be a weekend of celebration spirals into a […]
My Summer at the Southside Speedway
Another one pulled out of the archives — this one’s about the summer music first got its hooks into me. It was the summer of 1962. I was eight years old. Up to this point in my young life, I was solely influenced by my parents’ music. They played it every day in the same […]
Art Therapy
Virginia, Carolina, and Florence have been inseparable since elementary school, the kind of friendship that survives decades of ordinary life. But when one seemingly small choice exposes cracks none of them knew were there, their long-standing bond faces a test it may not survive. Art Therapy is a sharp, funny, and emotionally honest look at […]
Voices of a Revolution
The United States government has brought a case against the Board of Lady Managers, the women’s committee behind the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, accusing them of promoting dangerous feminist ideas. Called to testify are three real historical women: Julia Grant, widow of President Ulysses S. Grant; Ida Lewis, celebrated as America’s bravest woman for her […]
Stories & Novels: The Writing Behind the Performances
Tom’s storytelling doesn’t stop at the stage. Alongside six decades of acting, directing, and producing, there’s a running thread of prose — personal essays, memoir pieces, and novels in progress that dig into the same well of memory that fuels the plays and the music. A handful of personal essays are already out in the […]
Send in the Clown
It is 1960, and The Bobo the Clown Show is a beloved children’s program in need of a bigger sponsor. When the new sponsor demands a young sidekick to help sell toothpaste, six-year-old Tommy E. wins the role, much to the fury of Stu K., the weary, struggling actor who has played Bobo for years. […]
Andersonville
Based on the real diary of Union soldier John Ransom, Andersonville brings to life the brutal conditions inside the infamous Civil War prison camp, and the friendships that kept its prisoners alive in spirit even as their bodies suffered. Through John’s relationships with fellow captives, the play finds unexpected moments of hope, humor, and human […]
1960 World Series With Papa
This one’s from the archives — a story I first wrote a few years back, and it’s always been one of my favorites to tell. It felt right to give it a proper home here. In 1960, at the age of six, I went to the World Series. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series […]