4F, One-Act (10 min). 86-year old Rosie is in a nursing home, but she still thinks she's back in her fabulous Rockette days.
- Ranked Division I in the Iowa High School Speech Association Contest
, 2018
"I love it. It's just a lovely piece of black humor, yet heartwarming, and real. It's edgy, and sweet and funny... and a bit warped." (CJ Ehrlich, Playwrights Binge, 2011)
"
ROSIE THE RETIRED ROCKETTE -
An elderly ex-chorus girl relives her glory days when her granddaughters arrive for a holiday visit. A raucous, hilarious and moving story. Written by Daniel Guyton, Directed by Linda Nile." (Press Release,
BroadwayWorld.com
, 2013)
"When Dawn and her two daughters visit Dawn's mother, Rosie, in a nursing home, Rosie believes that she is in her dressing room at Radio City and that her granddaughters are two new Rockettes. While the granddaughters enjoy Rosie's scandalous stories - Rosie was a wild one - Dawn needs her mother to see and recognize her. The acting was lovely, the direction was quite good, and the story was moving." (Wendy Caster,
ShowShowdown.blogspot.com
, 2012)
"Last up is Daniel Guyton’s
ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE
in which a nursing home resident (Glory Hanna) relives her heyday as a Rockette, mistaking her daughter (Tina Barnhill) and granddaughters (Kendra Gilbert and Anna Leigh Spencer) as fellow dancers with whom she shares spicy gossip. Robert Winstead has directed Ms. Hanna to start the show with seated dance movements that clearly evoke the Rockettes, and the play moves toward its sentimental conclusion with numerous laughs along the way." (playgoer,
TheaterReview.com
, 2017)
"I saw your play in the Estrogenius Festival... It was GREAT! I took a friend of mine and she also LOVED your play. So moving and also funny. We were both in tears at the end." (Vanessa Shealy, Emerging Artists Theatre, 2013)
"This is a perfect Christmas play because it's so unlike most Christmas plays I've read. A perfect opportunity for 4 female actors of various ages - that's rare, especially in a Christmas play! It's delightful, capturing the holiday spirit without being cliche - it has a saucy, feisty octogenarian Rockette who's had her way with plenty of sailors! It's silly, as many holiday plays are, but it's also serious, poignant with what it says about Alzheimer's and how family members react to the disease. Check it out! Produce it!" (Asher Wyndham, New Play Exchange, 2018)
"The Academy Theatre folks did two short plays, [including] the touching
ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE
about an elderly woman living in a rest home being visited by her daughter and two granddaughters at Christmas. I quite loved [it]." (Linda M Young,
HolidayHarbour.blogspot.com
, 2012)
"One of my happiest times in the theatre, directing
ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE
by Daniel Guyton with Bobbie Elzey as Rosie and Amy Morrow and Laura Lee Gill playing her granddaughters." (Sylvia Davenporth-Veith, Onstage Atlanta, 2016)
"In HGWP'S holiday offering...
there is a short play called
ROSIE THE ROCKETTE (sic)... The
slice of life that is portrayed is packed with stuff which at first appears to be of no consequence but upon consideration is packed with stuff worth thinking about. There are three generations: a grandmother Rosie, her daughter, and her two granddaughters. Rosie was a Rockette, a precision dancer. And here she is now, moving in and out of present day consciousness, being visited during the holidays by her daughter and grandchildren. Rosie has dementia... Rosie dances. It's her reality... In this little play we get a taste of this slice of life quite clearly, and simply. Kathryn Sheneman's Rosie moves in and out of the present that is at times painful for us, as it certainly is for her daughter, and confusing for her grandchildren. There are some funny moments that help us to swallow the difficulty of such a family situation, that for many of us is all too familiar." (Thomas Putnam, Hamilton-Gibson Women's Project, 2023)
"it was a great little play and so well done." (Judith Beasley, Onstage Atlanta, 2016)
"I saw this twice last week, once at
Merry Little Holiday Shorts
and then at ARTC's Atlanta Christmas. Good show!" (Matt Lupo, Working Title Playwrights, 2012)
"We went to see
Holiday Shorts
yesterday at Onstage Atlanta. We loved it!
ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE
by Daniel Guyton was exceptional. Great Holiday experience. Tonight's the last night. Go see it!" (John Stutte, Onstage Atlanta, 2012)
"Such a fun way to celebrate Christmas! My favorite was
ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE
! It made me cry - bittersweet play." (Cindy Clough, audience member, 2016)
- Staged Reading at Process Theatre's Play Day Read-A-Thon
in Atlanta, GA, 2011
- Produced by n.u.f.a.n. ensemble's 7 Plays in 7 Holi-days
festival in Chicago, IL, 2011
- Produced at Estrogenius Festival
in Manhattan, NY, 2012
- Produced by Duncanville Community Theatre
in Duncanville, TX, 2012
- Produced by Performing Arts Foundation of Luna County
in Deming, NM, 2012
- Produced by Madrid High School
in Madrid, IA, 2012
- Produced at Onstage Atlanta's Merry Little Holiday Shorts
in Atlanta, GA, 2012
- Produced at Academy Theatre's An Atlanta Christmas
in Atlanta, GA, 2012
- Produced at Christ Lutheran Church
in Monroe, MI, 2013
- Produced at Lionheart Theatre's Holiday Punch
in Norcross, GA, 2013
- Produced by Montgomery Central Middle School
in Cunngingham, TN, 2013
- Produced by Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga
in Chattanooga, TN, 2013
- Produced by Suffolk County Community College
in Selden, NY, 2013
- Produced by Mirror Theatre
in North Hollywood, CA, 2013
- Produced by Second Stage Studio
in Cumberland, RI, 2014
- Produced by Valhalla High School
in Valhalla, NY, 2015
- Produced by Newnan High School
in Newnan, GA, 2016
- Produced by Lucan Drama Company
in Dublin, Ireland, 2017
- Produced at Lionheart Theatre's Holiday Punch
in Norcross, GA, 2017
- Produced by South Sioux City High School
in South Sioux City, NE, 2017
- Produced by Clear Creek Amana
in Oxford, IA, 2018
- Staged Reading by City Theatre
in Miami, FL, 2018
- Produced at the Short+Sweet Dubai Festival
in Dubai, UAE, 2019
- Produced by Warren Hills Regional High School
in Washington, NJ, 2019
- Produced by Hamilton-Gibson Women's Project
in Wellsboro, PA, 2023
- Produced by Montague Grange
in Montague, NJ, 2023
- Produced by Tag Theatre
in Raceland, LA, 2023
