Stone Cold Dead Serious

by Adam Rapp

A pinball wizard for the twenty-first century, Wynne Ledbetter is surrounded by despair. His father is wasting away on workman's comp, his mother is a double-shift waitress obsessed with the lives of the saints, and his sister is a dropout junky. But Wynne has a plan. One of only three players in the country to solve the Tang Dynasty computer game, he will travel to the championships in New York City, where the winner pockets a cool million dollars. With this money, he'll put his sister in rehab, pay for his father's operation, and employ his mother in his very own computer repair shop. But he has to get there first.

"STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS...is the work of a playwright who is forging a real voice... Its rendering of the shared language of loved ones illustrates how families can remain intimate even when they are in shards. Its depiction of a working-class America that is unable to dream of anything beyond enduring is as sincerely sad a commentary on our culture as I've seen in recent memory. And its fear for young people is, unfortunately, deeply convincing."
Bruce Weber, The New York Times

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre

90 pages, Paperback

First published August 18, 2004

About the author

Adam Rapp says that when he was working on his chilling, compulsively readable young adult novel 33 SNOWFISH, he was haunted by several questions. Among them: "When we have nowhere to go, who do we turn to? Why are we sometimes drawn to those who are deeply troubled? How far do we have to run before we find new possibilities?"

At once harrowing and hypnotic, 33 SNOWFISH--which was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association--follows three troubled young people on the run in a stolen car with a kidnapped baby in tow. With the language of the street and lyrical prose, Adam Rapp hurtles the reader into the world of lost children, a world that is not for the faint of heart. His narration captures the voices of two damaged souls (a third speaks only through drawings) to tell a story of alienation, deprivation, and ultimately, the saving power of compassion. "For those readers who are ready to be challenged by a serious work of shockingly realistic fiction," notes SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, "it invites both an emotional and intellectual response, and begs to be discussed."

Adam Rapp’s first novel, MISSING THE PIANO, was named a Best Book for Young Adults as well as a Best Book for Reluctant Readers by the American Library Association. His subsequent titles include THE BUFFALO TREE, THE COPPER ELEPHANT, and LITTLE CHICAGO, which was chosen as a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. The author’s raw, stream-of-consciousness writing style has earned him critical acclaim. "Rapp’s prose is powerful, graphic and haunting," says SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL. [He] writes in an earthy but adept language," says KIRKUS REVIEWS. "Takes a mesmerizing hold on the reader," adds HORN BOOK MAGAZINE.

In addition to being a novelist, Adam Rapp is also an accomplished and award-winning playwright. His plays--including NOCTURNE, ANIMALS AND PLANTS, BLACKBIRD, and STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS--have been produced by the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the New York Theatre Workshop, and the Bush Theatre in London, among other venues.

Born and raised in Chicago, the novelist and playwright now lives in New York City.

Reviews

[CSC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some dark, twisted, trippy stuff. I am glad to now have the valuable information that people from the Midwest smell like "something between 7UP and caramel corn." Also, superrrr weird to picture Chris Messina playing the uber-oddball character in "Faster."

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surrealist theatre at its finest!! Adam Rapp is a master with crude language and impossible situations.

[Not Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Play.

Drugs. Dysfunctional families and bands. Surrealism?
Okay.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really my cup of tea. Absurdist to a fault, inexplicably offensive, lacking nuance and any sort of connection to its audience.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stone Cold Dead Serious - 4.5
Faster - 3
Finer Noble Gases - 3.5

[Marishka · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up bc I enjoyed the more spookier vibes of the second and third play

[Mitchell Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damn, that was fucked up.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly? "Finer Noble Gases” is amazing, it’s one of the best plays I’ve ever seen or read. The other two in this book, I could do without. “Faster” I just can’t get into. ”Stone Cold Dead Serious” gets all the glory, but ”Gases” is the gem here.

[Matthew Keller · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the three plays that I had to read for my Directing class. I was slightly worried about the content of this show, and although it was out there, it all seemed to work in some strange way. P.S. Don't read this script if practically anything offends you.

[Bunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only read 1 out of 3 plays in this book. The first one is strange, but definitely entertaining. Great character and dialogue.

[Serena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the title play. I could have gone through life without reading the other two.

[Maggie-Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really liked Stone Cold Dead Serious, but couldn't quite get a handle on the other two. I might feel differently off the page though.

[Araceli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read Stone Cold Dead Serious. it was way too weird of a play with a sad family.