Joel Drake Johnson

As the Beaver Joel Drake Johnson

AS THE BEAVER takes as its premise that Ward and June Cleaver's youngest son, The Beaver, is gay. Joel Drake Johnson then spins this seemingly slight premise into a smart and funny and ultimately enriching exploration of American society and family. "Tell people the initial concept of Chicagoan Joel Johnson's new play AS THE BEAVER - Ward and June Cleaver discover that their younger son is gay - and they'll probably roll their eyes and ask, 'What's next?' But tell people that Johnson doesn't settle for a late-night skit, that he develops a fully realized play that is at once hilarious, challenging and moving, and you'll be doing them a favor. For AS THE BEAVER ... is one of the funniest and cleverest shows to be seen in a long while ..." -Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun-Times ..". Happily, Johnson quickly transcends the easy laughs, using his premise to accomplish something considerably more ambitious: he ruthlessly deconstructs the mindless, superficial worldview of 50s and early-60s sitcoms ... The play is often hilarious, thanks in part to the playwright's great ear for formulaic sitcom dialogue ... Just when it looks as if Johnson has exhausted his premise he leaps ahead two decades, from the mid-60s to the mid-80s, to show how Beaver and company are faring in post-Stonewall, Reagan-era America" -Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader