Premiere Stages, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University, is pleased to recognize JOSEPH COOK by Jeff Talbott as a Semi-Finalist for the 2022 Premiere Play Festival. JOSEPH COOK rose through a competitive selection process conducted by Premiere staff and a panel of outside theatre professionals to become one of 35 semifinalists out of 655 submissions. The panel was particularly impressed by the subtle approach to an important subject as well as the well-crafted use of the unspoken to create resonance in the unsentimental yet moving plot. Our congratulations and thanks to Jeff.

A moving story of siblings coming together while taking care of their father, not easily. Beautiful and well done.

What a specific and beautifully drawn portrait of two siblings and their complicated relationships to one another and their dying father. The emotions surrounding how to return to and interact with a hometown that feels farther and farther away from who you are currently is absolutely on point, and the town itself comes alive through strategically chosen supporting characters. New information slowly revealed from the past propels us forward, though even just the sibling's interactions in the present are enthralling. The piece is surprising and disarming even as it reaches its inevitable conclusion.