Wolf Play

by Hansol Jung

A Korean boy is ushered into a new house by his adopted American father. This new house belongs to an American boxer and her wife. American father un-adopts boy by a single signature on a piece of paper. But just before he leaves the new house, ex-father discovers that the new parents, to whom he has "re-homed" his ex-son, are a lesbian couple. American ex-father spends the rest of the play trying to get the boy back. In his corner is Ryan, the boxer's coach and her wife's brother. Ryan doesn't like the new Korean boy, who is a bit weird.
Wolf Play is a messy, funny, disturbing theatrical experience grappling with a wolf, a puppet, and the very prickly problem of "What is a family, and what do we need from families today? Is it very different from what humans have needed from families before?"

Genres: Plays, Drama, Read For School, School, Queer, LGBT, Theatre

98 pages, Paperback

Published December 19, 2022

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, rounded down.

This play has gotten a lot of attention, and it's very good, but I had a few 'issues' - primarily the use of a puppet to represent the major character of the young six-year-old boy at the center of the controversy. I found it hard to imagine how that actually works in production - it seems overly clunky, and there are times it states that the actor voicing the boy leaves the puppet offstage due to the actions required. But since it would be well-night impossible to find an actual six -year-old actor who could deliver the intricate and voluminous amount of dialogue, I suppose it's the best solution.

My other qualm is that the entire crux of the play is that the adoptive father who gives up the boy in the opening scene eventually wants him back, seemingly because he doesn't want the boy to be raised by two lesbians - but that doesn't actually occur until 12 pages from the end of the play - and so it isn't sufficiently developed and seems rushed. But from the reviews it seems that the play DOES make an impact in production, so ... Props for creating a character specifically to be played by a non-binary actor though.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/16/th...
https://www.thewrap.com/wolf-play-off...

[*ೃnaziba ˘͈ᵕ˘͈ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was adorable I loved it. I was cast as jeenu/wolf, it was really heartwarming. I love a good found family story.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant and heartbreaking. Chef’s kiss.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart, omfg. Jung is a freaking talent omfg

[Yaya]

wow

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

sad, pretty. cool non binary character.

[Camden Nauroth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for class and it’s pretty good. Discussion on it tomorrow? Love the lesbians and how they shut down the homophobia, but a little confusing and not really in the absurdist way.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

ach!!!! THIS WAS SO FUCKING GOOD. I ALSO NOW WANT TO PUT UP A PRODUCTION OF IT. HOLY SHIT!!!! brilliant.

[Ferry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HATED Ryan. What a piece of garbage !

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOLF PLAY is very topical, and can definitely be applauded for its humane and balanced portrayal of four adults with conflicting ideas of how to be good parents/spouses/families. There is a complex, layered story here that is simultaneously very ambitious and very intimate, and Jung's dialogue sparkles and effectively creates four very real and relatable people- an essential task in a story where everyone has a stake and nobody is the hero. Unfortunately, the center drops out every time Jung uses the titular wolf character to give us the perspective of the child at the center of the four-way boxing match. Part omniscient narrator from a nature documentary, part stage manager from Our Town, the Wolf character is intended to be charming and poetic, but frequently feels grating and obtuse when speaking to us, entirely unbelievable when speaking on behalf of a six year old child that comes off as far too self-aware and self-reliant to ultimately be as helpless as he seems to be. The result is an entirely unsatisfying ending that feels like a cop-out, with a sudden shift of focus to the mother character that adds a mixed-metaphor to boot. It by no means negates the power and appeal of the rest of the play, but rather turns what could have been a masterpiece into an interesting failure that doesn't collapse under its own weight but stumbles and sort of slumps into a poignant but underwhelming coda.

[Luke Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

One sitting reading. I can’t remember who recommended this book or what I heard about it or where I got it, but it’s been on my bookshelf for a while. It was good, I would be super interested to see an actual production. Some dialogue/relationships don’t seem really authentic or realistic (kind of like an author writing a sibling relationship when they clearly do not have siblings themselves) but that might just be the style. I had slight problems with a lot of things but I felt like it had a really genuine heartfelt center and so I enjoyed it anyway

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart wrenching, innovative play that maximizes the capabilities of theatre with multiple mediums. Just imagining putting this on made me excited! As for the content of the play, that too is such a vivid story about so so many things and Jung manages to make it all work…

[Annika Mathias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hansol Jung is a genius playwright and Wolf Play is so stunning, heartwrenching, and beautiful!!!

This play rewired my brain chemistry and is my literal Roman Empire. This sounds like an exaggeration but I promise you it’s not. No one understands Robin Shephard like I understand Robin Shephard.

[Em Ockert · Rating 5 out of 5]

this play is so breathtaking. beautiful story that handles several topics with care and doesn’t deny the reality of it. each character is eloquently written and the ending is the perfect way to tie up this gift. one of my new favorite plays

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and scathing and touching and heartbreaking and strange in the best possible way. I liked this extremely, but I wished the ending had fully committed to the strangeness and stayed with Wolf’s perspective—as it is, I think the final scene lets the other characters off the hook a bit.

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow I loved this. One of my favorite playwrights. I think she just does such a great job of really thinking about writing for theatre and considering what you can do with suspension of disbelief and letting directors play! Puppet theatre! I want to see this performed soooo badly!!

[Jordan Neff · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 fuckedupfuckedupfuckedup

[Octavia]

More productions of this, please

[Amaruuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

UGHHHH throwing up all over the classroom. hello wolf.

[zz · Rating 2 out of 5]

And then again because three translates to God in the Bible, infinity in Asia, and funny in theatre: I am the wolf.

[Sydney Mulhall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for school-
Interesting play. Slightly confusing on the intention of the puppet. I’ve read worse but I don’t recommend

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic. justice for jeenu

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Tobi Akisanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

top 3 plays I have ever seen in my life

[Kate Peckham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this play. Seems like it would be difficult to stage.

[Ruth Mestel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad story. Should it have been a puppet? Idk. Would love to have seen it irl

[margot]

THE 219
Really liked this. Excited to discuss tomorrow

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last scene will always devastate me

[Tal · Rating 5 out of 5]

best play ever i fear
so fucking beautiful

[Anya | okaybuddy]

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