Selected Theater Productions of plays by Johanna Beale Keller 2023-2025

The Marshallers

PREMIERE

Redhouse Art Center

Syracuse, NY

BABELFEST Sept 27-28, 2025

Close-up of a smiling young woman with brown hair, wearing a high-visibility vest and a headset with a microphone.
A man with a serious expression, sweat on his face, wearing a yellow safety vest and black shirt.
Three people dressed as construction workers, two of them crouching down and one standing, with traffic cones and a dark curtain backdrop.
A young man with curly hair wearing a black shirt, a yellow safety vest, and red and black headphones around his neck against a dark background.
A woman in a red safety vest holding two illuminated red glow sticks in a dark environment.

WHAT HAPPENS

ON THE TARMAC . . .

CAST

Cameron Jay Chamberlain, Evelyn Oliver & Donovan Stanfield

DIRECTOR Joseph Whelan

PHOTOS by Ella Chan

Two young people in safety vests standing on stage, with one woman holding an orange baton and explaining something to the other person, who is listening attentively.
Group portrait of five people, three standing in the back and two sitting in front, in front of a backdrop with 'Redhouse Arts Center' logo and website.
A man wearing a gray cap, a light blue shirt, and tan pants, smiling and holding a traffic cone, standing on a black stage against a black background.

That Hike to Hart Lake PREMIERE

Produced by

Theatre Three, Port Jefferson, Long Island NY

Festival of One-Act Plays, Directed by Jeffrey Sanzel.

Feb 24-Mar 23, 2024

Three people on a theater stage with minimal set design, including hanging jackets, glasses on the floor, and a water bottle.
Black background with white and gray confetti falling, promotional poster for the 50th Out of Bounds Festival in New York City, running from July 29 to August 2, 2025, featuring comedian Kudlas.
Four people on stage, two women and two men, engaged in a scene, with three holding drinks, in a theatrical setting.

That Hike to Hart Lake was showcased in the 50th CONCORD THEATRICALS OFF OFF BROADWAY FESTIVAL, Aug 2025 with the original cast & director.

Group photo of seven people at the Concord Theatricals Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, with black banners in the background displaying the event name.

CAST: Julia Albino, Sean Amato, Jae Hughes, Cassidy Rose O’Brien, Steven Uihlein

Jeffrey Sanzel (Director), Ally Humanitzki (Stage Manager), Steven Barile Jr. (Technical Direction), Tim Haggerty (Sound Design) Steven Uihlein (Lighting Design), Jason Allyn (Costume Design)

REVIEWS From the Premier Performance

The festival ended with a moving drama by the accomplished Johanna Beale Keller, “That Hike to Hart Lake,” which traces college friends on an eighty-year journey. Julia Albino, Sean Amato, Jae Hughes, Cassidy Rose O’Brien, and Steven Ulhlein all gave outstanding performances. Jae Hughes delivered a moving monologue at the end of the play, which brought me to tears. —-Cindi Sansone-Braff, PATCH

And we end with the beautifully crafted That Hike to Hart Lake by Johanna Beale Keller which features Albino, Amato, Hughes, O’Brien and Uihlein as five friends who hike up a mountain in their 20s to a beautiful scenic view they never forget. Always saying they should all go back, life happens, there are deaths and slowly the group becomes one over the course of 80 years. While all five actors are standouts, Hughes had the audience in tears with their powerful monologue at the end of the performance.—- Julianne Mosher, TBR News Media

A group of five young adults standing closely together behind a seated woman with short dark hair, glasses, and a colorful embroidered shawl, on a stage.
Four young adults standing on a stage, with two in the front and two in the back, appearing to be in a theatrical or rehearsal setting.

The Trouble with Peaches

PREMIERE

Produced by

Black Box New Play Festival

The Gallery Players

Brooklyn, NY

Directed by Thomas Netter

Jan 25-28, 2024

Three men on stage, one with glasses and tattoos, the second looking distressed, the third smiling and placing a ring on the second man's finger, in a scene resembling a humorous or theatrical moment.

and…a Winner of the 2023 Central PA Dance & Theatre Fest Playwriting Competition

A man with curly hair and a beard smiling, wearing a navy T-shirt that says "DALLAS" and a white short-sleeve button-up with small black patterned designs, standing indoors.
A woman with dark hair and hoop earrings angrily gesturing with her hands and shouting.

CAST: Julia Baker (Ruth), Shubham Chaudhary (Samir), Alan Gonzalez (Lyndon), Zack Grant (Harold), Luisa Maria (Marilyn), Michael Scott-Torbet (Ken)

 Thomas Netter (Director), Sue Glausen & Dominic Cuskern (Producers), Alex Rogals (Associate Producer), Patrick Moren (Sound Design), Lillian Hilmes (Lighting Design), Gavin Petersen (Stage Manager), Caty Morrison (Assistant Stage Manager), & Nic Neipert (Media Coordinator)

A man with glasses wearing a blue patterned shirt, on stage, speaking or acting with an expressive facial expression and one hand raised.
Young woman with curly hair smiling, wearing a striped button-up shirt, in a setting with dark background and purple lighting.
A man with short dark hair and a mustache laughing, holding two peaches on his chest, wearing a colorful, patterned shirt open over a red T-shirt, in an indoor setting with warm lighting and wooden decor.
A man with glasses, a beard, and tattoos holding a peach, wearing a pink and white striped shirt, appearing emotional.

Ruth has finally met the man of her dreams, Samir, and brought him to meet her diverse family of beloved cousins at their annual beach vacation in Galveston, Texas. What can go wrong? A fast-paced farce about love, diversity, and misunderstandings of family traditions.

Four actors on stage performing in a theatrical play. One woman in a green dress and floral cardigan holds a bag of snacks, appearing distressed. Behind her, a man in a patterned shirt looks surprised. A woman in the center, with curly hair and striped shirt, gestures expressively. To the right, a man in glasses and a blue shirt stands silently. The stage has a table with a Monopoly game and a colorful tablecloth, chairs, and a sign warning about children in the background.

Look, where it comes again!

PREMIERE

Produced by

Theatre Southwest, Houston, TX

Directed by Steve Carpentier

July 28-Aug 12, 2023

A winner of the

Festival of Originals

Competition

Four people on a stage with black curtains, one person sitting on the floor hugging their knees, three others in a U-Haul moving box, one of whom is taking a selfie with a smartphone and another with arms crossed.
Young man with glasses, dark hair, wearing a black t-shirt that says 'The Jeenpy Weng Shakespare Company,' speaking with expressive hand gestures.
Person holding a large, bright green plastic shovel.
Person wearing glasses, a blue baseball cap, a red plaid shirt, and a white t-shirt, making an exaggerated, surprised facial expression.
Black and white photograph of a woman in a 19th-century costume, holding a skull in her right hand and a cloak draped over her left arm, standing outdoors.

ADVANCE PRESS

Finally, playwright Johanna Beale Keller of DeWitt, New York, is bringing the physical comedy to the festival with Look, where it comes again! directed by Steve Carpentier.  Here, three actors (Lisa Caughorn, Alexis Munoz and Keri Wolfe) in a small Shakespearean troupe await the arrival of a world-renowned director who will lead them through their rehearsal for Hamlet. But, in a classically Shakespearean case of mistaken identity, the actors encounter a truck driver, played by Cindy Lou Parker, who they think is their visiting director.  “They get the truck driver to give them advice on acting,” says Holloway, and – surprise, she’s not exactly an expert. “They ask her about ‘aside,’ which she’s never heard of, and she says, ‘for a side, well, I guess the best side is potatoes’ and then they all act like potatoes.”  If you, like us, are wondering what it means to act like a potato, Holloway has a simple answer: “Come and find out.” 

——Natalie De La Garza HOUSTON PRESS, STAGE

Three actors in the Teensy Weensy Shakespeare Troupe await the arrival of a world-famous director who will coach their Hamlet rehearsal. When a truck driver appears, they assume it is the director and follow all the instructions—no matter how crazy!—an experience that changes them all.

Four actors performing on stage with comedic expressions, with a woman in the center wearing a blue hat and red plaid shirt, surrounded by three other women and one man.

CAST: Cindy Lou Parker (Truck Driver), Lisa Caughorn (Actor 1), Alexis Munoz (Actor 2), Keri Wolfe (Actor 3)

Steven Carpentier (Director), Mimi Holloway (Producer, Artistic Director), Marcus Saborn (Stage Manager), Scott McWhirter (Lights & Sound Design), John William Stevens (Set Construction), Abdullah Bitar (Stage Crew)

Logo of Théatre SouthWest featuring two theatrical masks, one smiling in blue and one frowning in red, with the text 'Théatre SouthWest', 'since 1957', and 'the Marie Pearsall Theatre' surrounding the masks.
A woman wearing glasses and a black t-shirt that reads 'The Tennessee Williams Shakespeare Company' stands with a microphone in her hand. She is wearing a large, ornate crown decorated with colorful gems and gold accents. The background is dark with some bright lights.
Six people standing close together on stage, smiling for a group photo, wearing matching T-shirts with the text 'The Teensy Weensy Shakespeare Company.'

The Trouble with Peaches

Produced by

Valhalla Tahoe

A Winner of the WordWave

Festival Competition

Lake Tahoe, CA

Directed by Georgiana Shea

November 1-3, 2024

Colorful abstract wave design with the text "WordWave, A Festival of Story at Lake Tahoe".

REVIEW

For the last play, The Trouble With Peaches, I needed a tissue for the tears of laughter, not much brings me to tears. The teens seated behind me said, 'It's really funny, hysterical, clever!

--Michelle Gomez, SouthTahoeNow.com

Three images of rustic cabins and nature scenes. The top left shows an indoor theater with wooden arches and audience members. The top right features an exterior view of a wooden barn on a lake shore with trees. The bottom image depicts a forest view with tall trees overlooking a lake and mountains in the distance.
A smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a blue t-shirt that says 'Just Peachy' in front of an audience in a room.

Ruth has finally met the man of her dreams, Samir, and brought him to meet her diverse family of beloved cousins at their annual beach vacation in Galveston, Texas. What can go wrong? A fast-paced farce about love, diversity, and misunderstandings of family traditions.

Collage of scenes from a stage play titled 'The Trouble with Peaches,' featuring actors performing in beach-themed and casual settings.

CAST: Rahul Nagpal (Samir), Mannix Behrendt (Lyndon), Dean Kallas (Ken), Matthew Ault (Harold), Lisa Dokken Patterson (Ruth), Molly Slemp (Marilyn)

 Georgiana Shea (Director), Ginger Nicolay-Davis & Diana Arington Evans (Producers), Madelynn Evans (Technical Lights & Sound)