Quills by Doug Wright

Local Reviews

By Mark Bretz – Ladue News, August 5, 2014
“Max & Louie’s Quills is as beguiling and challenging as it is sobering.”

By Tina Farmer – KDHX, August 5, 2014
“The institutional,1800s-era stone-walled set,by set designer Dunsi Dai,is gorgeously dressed with period style furniture and lovely feathered quills………..Costume Designer Cyndi Lohrmann and lighting designer Maureen Berry beautifully recreate the Marquis’ obsession in their designs.”

By Malcolm Gay – RFT, August 13, 2014
“Sadism is contagious in the funny,gruesome Quills”

By Richard Green – Talkin’ Broadway, August 5, 2014
“As the Marquis,Ted Gregory is simply mind-boggling,shocking,hilarious,giddy,and utterly grotesque in a stylish,delightful sort of way that makes him even more dangerous…..”

By Judith Newmark – St. Louis Post Dispatch, August 4, 2014
“Doug Wright’s strange and thoughtful play…….is related with unstinting verve”

By Ann Lemons Pollack – St. Louis Eats and Drinks, August 4, 2014
“The Doug Wright script……can be quite funny,ranging from broad to sly.”

By Christopher Reilly – Alive, August 8, 2014
“Max And Louie’s Daring ‘Quills’ Explores Sexuality And Censorship”

By Snoop MK – Snoop’s Theatre Thoughts, August 6, 2014
“The storytelling is enhanced especially in the remarkable performances of the uniformly excellent cast…..Kudos to Max & Louie Productions for bringing this fascinating play to the St.Louis audiences, especially in such a well-crafted production.”

By Andrea Torrence – St. Louis Theatre Snob, August 4, 2014
“This salaciously insightful comedy with sharp dialogue is masterfully directed by Brooke Edwards……”

Articles

The Quill is Mightier Than the Sword
By Chris Clark – The Vital Voice, July 22, 2014
“People most threatened by provocative art are usually terrified of their own appetites and impulses.”

Interview With Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Doug Wright, Writer Of ‘Quills’ Opening At Max And Louie Productions
By Christopher Reilly – ALIVE, July 23, 2014
“Theater still has the power, I think, to educate and change attitudes.”

Wright wrote Quills in response to conservative opposition to the arts
By his own admission, Doug Wright wrote Quills in response to conservative opposition to the arts.

The Marquis De Sade (1740 – 1814)
The word “sadism”, referring to sexual perversion involving the infliction of pain, is derived from the name of Donatien-Alphonse-Francois de Sade.

The Grand Guignol
The Theatre of the Grand Guignol first premiered in 1897, providing Paris with a new genre of entertainment that was, ironically, an outgrowth of naturalism. Grand Guignol seeks to inflame the audience by depicting events that appeal to our rawest and most primal impulses.

Video

State of the Arts HEC TV: Quills

Radio

KWMU Cityscape with Steve Potter
Guests:
Doug Wright – Playwright
Ted Gregory – Actor (plays the role of The Marquis de Sade)
Brooke Edwards – Director

National Reviews

By Vincent Canby – The New York Times, 1995
“It’s a theatrical entertainment that manages to be serious fun along the way.”

By David Spencer – Aisle Say, 1995
“it comes by its outrages honestly, and is, when all is said and done, despite everything, a passionately humane play.”

By Lloyd Rose – The Washington Post, 1996
“Woolly Mammoth’s Sadistic Pleasure”