THE KING OF CRIMES
THE ARRON BURR TREASON TRIAL IN JOHN MARSHALL’S COURT
Commissioned by The John Marshall Foundation, The King of Crimes is a one-act play about the trial of Thomas Jefferson’s first vice president–and the man who famously shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel–Aaron Burr. Burr was a charismatic figure who, denied power by Jefferson and on the run following his killing of Hamilton, set out to carve for himself a kingdom in an already fractured America. Or did he?
The play is a one-act, written for theater-in-the-round or thrust staging. Audiences range from high school students to adults. The cast of six play multiple roles, and the play is designed to be suitable for travel.
THE END OF WAR
Click here to listen to an audio interview with Public Radio about the play, focusing on the music and the live onstage cellist employed in the production.
SAM & CAROL, A PLAY WHERE EVERYTHING IS TRUE
Sam & Carol is written as a tour de force for a pair of actors, who in two acts play a dozen roles each, covering the span of Robbins’ parents’ 35-year marriage. “In writing this play, I figure that every family, every two people who find each other, stay together, make a home and raise children, has at its core myths and true tales of immense courage, luck, struggle and grandeur, even in the smallest moments. Sam & Carol tries to capture the marvel of a family,” David L. Robbins, playwright.
Click here to listen to an excellent interview with actors Nick Aliff and Eva DeVirgilis and director Jan Powell.
SCORCHED EARTH
Set in a small Virginia mill town, Scorched Earth is the story of a young mixed-race couple whose stillborn child is exhumed by the local church where she was laid to rest. That night, the church is burned, and the sheriff’s 18-year-old daughter’s body is found in the ashes. Based on actual news stories, Scorched Earth is a courtroom drama and a mystery, but even more it is a contemplation on contemporary issues of race, politics, violence and forgiveness.
