THE STORY: From mixed-race identities to extreme plastic surgery, BEAUTY ON THE VINE is a modern fable exploring the power of the human face in hothouse America. When a young female star of right-wing radio is brutally murdered, her husband and father investigate the reasons behind the violence. They discover a world where young women transform themselves to look like their idols, and mothers lose their daughters to the illusion of popularity and power.
“BEAUTY ON THE VINE provocatively imagines emulative cosmetic surgery taking hold among young women across the country.” —The New York Times.
“Zak Berkman’s seething new play attacks societal hypocrisies from plastic surgery to right-wing politics.” —Backstage.
“This is vital, ambitious theatre…BEAUTY ON THE VINE is a play of big ideas. America’s fascination with celebrity culture and personal reinvention, the bonds between parents and children (or lack thereof) and the never-ending war between Democrats and Republicans all get touched upon.” —NYTheatre.
“One of the most interesting American plays to come along this season…” —Stage and Cinema.
“An absolutely thrilling and wildly complex play. It sheds the antiquated idea that beauty is only a frivolous issue important to women and, instead, links concepts of beauty to biggies like power, politics, love, and death. Oh, and it was written by a guy (swoon).” —Courtney E. Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters.
