Monsters of the American Cinema
“St. Croix has written these characters with unflinching honesty. There’s grit in his depiction of their battered lives and capacious empathy in the way he honors their impressive resilience.”
— Los Angeles Times
“There’s plenty to admire in St. Croix’s writing, from sly jokes slipped in sideways among his naturalistic language to his use of a simple but effective motif of monster movies and their true villains.”
— The Seattle Times
“…a funny, touching story of the monsters within… moving and cleverly written…”
— San Diego Union-Tribune
After his husband's death, Remy Washington, a Black man, inherits a drive-in movie theater and takes on the unexpected responsibility of raising his late husband’s straight, white teenage son, Pup. The two form a bond over their shared love of classic monster movies, but when Remy discovers Pup’s cruelty toward a gay classmate, their connection begins to fracture, and the real horrors start to emerge. Monsters of the American Cinema is a haunting, funny, and unexpectedly tender tale of fatherhood and loss that the Los Angeles Times hails as "exhilarating."
Monsters of the American Cinema | Pandora Productions, Louisville, KY | Photo: Danny Alexander
Monsters of the American Cinema | Buffalo United Artists, NY | Photo: Lawrence Roswell
Monsters of the American Cinema | Rogue Machine Theatre, Los Angeles, CA | Photo: Jeff Lorch
Monsters of the American Cinema | Diversionary Theatre, San Diego, CA | Photo: Simpatika
Monsters of the American Cinema | Urbanite Theatre, Sarasota, FL | Photo: Sorcha Augustine
Monsters of the American Cinema | Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective, Asheville, NC | Photo: Carol Spags
Monsters of the American Cinema | Kitchen Theatre Company, Ithaca, NY | Photo: Rachel Philipson
Monsters of the American Cinema | Know Theatre of Cincinnati, OH | Photo: Dan R. Winters
Monsters of the American Cinema | Prologue Theatre, Washington, DC | Photo: Chris Banks
Monsters of the American Cinema | ArtsWest Playhouse, Seattle, WA | Photo: John McLellan
Monsters of the American Cinema | College of Charleston, SC | Photo: Chana Driggers
Monsters of the American Cinema | Scripps Ranch Theatre, San Diego, CA | Photo: Daren Scott