WINNER: Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre

American Academy of Arts and Letters

WINNER: Elliot Norton Award for Solo Performance

Boston Theater Critics Association

“raw & wrenching…a remarkable achievement”

The Boston Globe

Winner of the Jean Kennedy Smith & Musical Theatre Awards from The Kennedy Center

Workshop production with Boston Playwrights’ Theatre

additional support from: New England Foundation for the Arts, Connecticut Office of the Arts, New Jewish Culture Fellowship, Yaddo, New Harmony Conference

Driving in Circles is a new hybrid solo-ish show for solo performer and live band traversing the highway between confessional monologue, stand-up comedy, and rock concert (think: WE’RE GONNA DIE meets HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, or Mike Birbiglia with music). Set to a sometimes whispering, sometimes screaming folktronica score, DRIVING traces the aftermath of intimate violence—mapping our hero’s darkly funny, deeply felt, defiantly hopeful journey through the bodymind-altering landscapes of trauma towards something like happiness.

Approximate run time: 105 minutes.

Praise for the workshop production:

“propulsive score”

“a fusion of urgency & a ferocious eloquence”

“flashes of humor & warmth”

“There are times…when words burst out of Jay Eddy in such a headlong torrent that they seem to be racing one another to the end of the sentence. And there are times when the words emerge very slowly and deliberately, as if Eddy wants to underscore the effort it’s taken to translate this raw and wrenching story into theatrical terms. At either tempo, Eddy is a fiercely compelling performer. And Driving in Circles is a remarkable achievement.” - Don Aucoin, The Boston Globe

“powered by an astonishingly cool folktronica score”

“Eddy is an assured performer, alternately enraged, playful, and reflective, and their songwriting, orchestrations, and emotive voice make for as enjoyable a night of musical theater as you’re likely to experience this or any other year.” - Mike Hoban, Theater Mirror

“Eddy is a powerful, edgy, & expressive singer”

“Now here is something refreshingly different. Directed with energizing flair by Sam Plattus…Driving in Circles is essentially an emotionally-charged concert road trip through…events that have shaped Eddy’s life.  It is powerful, sad, and disturbing at times, but is also hopeful, charming and lighthearted on this unpredictable road to healing…Eddy’s enthusiasm and interactive style is relatable, warm, sincere, and funny.” - The Sleepless Critic

Creative team for the workshop production:

written, composed, & performed by Jay Eddy
directed by Sam Plattus
Featuring Zach Fontanez & Jordan Palmer

Scenic Designer: Danielle DelaFuente
Lighting Designer: Kevin Fulton
Sound Designer: Gage Baker
Audio Engineer: Katie Chen
Costume Designer: Eric Tran
Projection Designer: Maria Servellón
Production Stage Manager: Fanni Horváth
Associate Director: Pamela Ross
Production Assistant: Sydney Love