Marvel Heroes Take The Stage In One-Act High School Plays
Maybe the closest thing we'll get to seeing the glory that is "The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard," the barely-seen play that graces our eyeballs for only three minutes in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, is the upcoming series of one-act Marvel plays that can be put on by high schoolers. At the very least, both Thor and Loki are among the heroes set to take center stage in one of the various one-act plays available for high school theater programs to purchase through the newly announced Marvel Spotlight.
Marvel Entertainment is teaming up with theater licensor Samuel French, a division of Concord Theatricals, to launch Marvel Spotlight, a collection of one-act plays featuring the Marvel comics characters of Thor, Loki, Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel, written specifically to be purchased and performed for high school crowds. The program was launched to showcase "beloved characters in situations relatable to young adult audiences," according to Playbill.
Stephen Wacker, vice president of creative and content development at Marvel Entertainment, said of the program:
"Over the last 80 years, the Marvel Universe has grown to inspire billions across the globe by telling relatable, personal stories reflecting the world outside our window. With these amazing plays and this uncanny group of talented playwrights, we hope to give the next generation of Marvel fans a chance to bring those stories to life and explore what it means to be a superhero right in their own backyard."
Marvel Spotlight currently features three titles: Hammered: A Thor & Loki Play by Tony Award winner and comic book fan Christian Borle (following the teenage brothers as they compete for the attention of their parents), Mirror of Most Value: A Ms. Marvel Play by Masi Asare (as Ms. Marvel finds her self-penned fan fiction takes on a life of its own), and Squirrel Girl Goes to College by Karen Zacarías (following Doreen Green as she attempts to live a discrete life at a new school). Each play runs about 40–50 minutes.
Inspired perhaps by the rousing success of the North Bergen High School theater performance of Ridley Scott's Alien, which went viral and resulted in Scott donating to the school theater club, Marvel is developing this specifically for "educational institutions." Each play can be purchased, licensed, and staged for just $75 a performance or $125 for two presentations or more. That price range is certainly in the realm of high school drama programs and beats the prospect of being slapped with a lawsuit by a major studio — as has been the case with Warner Bros. and any Harry Potter-related fan project. It's a very cool initiative that could only be made cooler if Marvel would just do as we all want and give us the full playbook of Loki's hilarious Thor: Ragnarok play. Matt Damon cameo is optional.
For more information, visit MarvelSpotlightPlays.com.