Starstruck: The Play

Starstruck

by Elaine Lee, Susan Norfleet Lee (Contributor), Dale Place (Contributor)

STAR TREK and STAR WARS step aside, because women are in command in this fantastic vision of the future.

Genres: Plays, Fiction, Science Fiction, Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1985

Reviews

[Joe Archer]

Plays are meant to be watched, not read, but I’m sure this was a lot of fun onstage. I picked this up from CPL in preparation for the new season of Dimension 20! Can’t wait to see what they do with this chaotic universe.

[q-bert]

Picked this up while grabbing books at work and took it home without looking at it. I've known of the Starstruck comic series and Elaine Lee's work- but I haven't checked it out- only to find this script-style story of the space crew the Harpy. A super fun story with interesting characters and established lore- I will 100% be checking out more Starstruck stories & Elaine Lee's work!

[Liam Kingsley]

This is so slapstick and zany that I feel I have missed out on much of what it has to offer by merely reading it. I hope I get to see a live production some day.

[David Miller]

This original iteration of Starstruck is a massive, manic laser blast of independent theater energy in the space of a two-act play. One must imagine it performed with cheesy effects on a shoestring budget, evocative of a science fiction mode that abounds in drama and revels in the complete abandonment of disbelief.

The characters are all drawn from very familiar types, but the boldness of its feminist framing and the absurdity of the situation make the whole experience fresh. It's something like an earnest, romantic take on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, capable of winking at conventions while endorsing the sheer fun of them. It's an excellent starting point for getting into this world.

[Chris]

Of course I decided I should read this play before I delved into the cult classic comic books that spun off from it. Let's start with that I enjoyed it, but with one reservation. It is a satire of and homage to science fiction using the best and worst sci-fi tropes from the 1930s through Star Wars. Notably and famously, Elaine Lee flips the script for almost the whole of sci-fi genre (up the time she wrote this) by centering women in the main roles, and they do the heroic derring-do generally reserved only for men. While her science fiction is refreshingly inventive, the slapstick comedy is awkward, thus knocking off a star for me. I look forward to reading the comics now!

[Callum]

I got kind of confused with all the characters at certain times but it was really fun especially since I rarely enjoy sci-fi

[Kaethe]

Fun. It has a very 80s feel to it, though I can't explain why I feel that way.

Library copy

[row]

BRUCILLA: (Jumps in air) AW-RIGHT!!!
GALATIA 9: Remember Bru, diplomacy and control.
BRUCILLA: (Small arm pump) Aw-right.

could’ve used more (aka any) lesbians but it was a very fun time anyway !!

[Ian]

I can't imagine the stagecraft needed to pull this off.

[Lia Koering]

might fuck around and direct this next semester who’s to say