Lovesong

by José Rivera

In LOVESONG (IMPERFECT), death has been declared illegal by the US government, trees grow lights instead of leaves, and ghosts love the living. There, two foolhardy lovers search for a love that lasts forever.

"LOVESONG (IMPERFECT) by José Rivera was a beautiful and clever tribute to love and lust in a world where death has been outlawed … The writing is executed beautifully, dancing elegantly between sincerity and humor … Each character struggles with possession and the theme of only wanting what you cannot have, grieving what is lost when committing, and longing. The build throughout the play of constant frustration and longing makes the final scene so touching and a complete emotional release for the audience. The burst of color, the dance between Delilah and Venezio as they find one another and truly see each other for the first time was such a beautiful sentiment … The couple keeps coming back together despite their differences and they learn to be playful and free like they were when they were children and this conclusion is so uplifting. LOVESONG is a journey through love, touching on its ugly desperation and its childish nature, it gently teases humanity's inability to learn from our own mistakes, especially that of communication between men and women. There is a subtle commentary on the flakiness of the government as they change the laws on the legality of death and spirituality over and over during the play, each time signified by a newspaper comically flying through the air and landing in a players hands. This comedic look at love and death is a glorious journey, and will be appreciated by theatre companies for years to come." —Zara Zeidman, Outer-Stage

76 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2021

About the author

José Rivera is a recipient of two Obie Awards for playwriting for Marisol and References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot, which were both produced by The Public Theater in New York. His plays, Cloud Tectonics (Playwrights Horizons and Goodman Theatre), Boleros for the Disenchanted (Yale Repertory Theatre and Goodman Theatre), Sueño (Manhattan Class Company), Sonnets for an Old Century (The Barrow Group), School of the Americas (The Public Theater), Massacre (Sing to Your Children) (Rattlestick and Goodman Theatre), Brainpeople (ACT, San Francisco), Adoration of the Old Woman (INTAR) and The House of Ramon Iglesia (Ensemble Studio Theatre), have been produced across the country and around the world. He is currently working on The Last Book of Homer, Scream for the Lost Romantics, and The Gamma Forest. Mr. Rivera’s screenplay for The Motorcycle Diaries was nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 2005. His screenplay based on Jack Kerouac’s On the Road premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and was distributed nationally in the winter of 2013. His film Trade was the first film to premiere at the United Nations. Television projects in the works include an untitled HBO pilot, co-written and produced by Tom Hanks, as well as a 10-hour series for HBO tentatively known as Latino Roots. Celestina, based on his play Cloud Tectonics, will mark his debut as a feature film director. He is the writer/director of the short film Lizzy and has recently completed his first novel, Love Makes the City Crumble. His next film project will be a biography of famed baseball player Roberto Clemente for Legendary Films.