Dr. Ride's American Beach House

by Liza Birkenmeier

It's 1983, the evening before Dr. Sally Ride's historic space flight. Hundreds of miles from the launch, a group of women with passionate opinions and no opportunities sit on a sweltering St. Louis rooftop watching life pass them by. Their uncharted desires bump up against American norms of sex and power in this intimate snapshot of queer anti-heroines.

Genres: Plays, LGBT

70 pages, Paperback

Published June 14, 2022

Reviews

[Timur Markowitz]

I can't wait to read more by this playwright. Such incredible dialogue.

[Chloë Jackson]

I liked this ! I liked the character work. Do i think it really took it there in a lesbian way ? No not really not at all really. But i do think it was a beautiful exploration of female friendship and navigating sexuality in a way i didn’t anticipate. I do also wish the conversations around sexuality and attraction were more explicit with the female characters and their attraction to one another. Like how did they meet what are their relationships fr why does she want to be chosen by Matilda so bad. Anyway. Fine to good play. 3 stars

[Jeff Malone]

Dr. Ride’s American Beach House was a really enjoyable play to read… short, a little strange in a good way, and full of understated emotion. I liked how it uses a simple rooftop hangout in the early 80s to explore ambition, loneliness, and queer themes. I just wished it were a bit longer so some of those ideas and relationships could go even deeper.

[Chloe Shaw]

“It doesn’t matter. I go to a psychoanalyst. And no no, I don’t hate men; they only make me homicidal. I’ll be fine.”

[Kate O’Carroll]

“The rule is to not talk about men on the roof”

[Mara]

A staged reading I am participating in later this month. Wild script!

[Lenna Wren]

lesbians on a roof

[char]

probably one of my new favorite plays and i’m meeting the playwright tomorrow!!!!!!

[Gwyneth Clare]

Delightfully weird play.