Moll-E

by Howard Ho

MOLL-E is a docu-musical journey through the surprising rise and fall of MDMA, AKA Ecstasy, AKA Molly, the drug that changed how we groove and move. If Molly were a person, she'd tell us about being used and abused, but in the end, finding her voice and transforming society. From her birth in a German lab in 1912 to her blossoming in the Rave scene's Summer of Love in 1988, Molly sings her intoxicating song and...

MOLL-E is a docu-musical journey through the surprising rise and fall of MDMA, AKA Ecstasy, AKA Molly, the drug that changed how we groove and move. If Molly were a person, she'd tell us about being used and abused, but in the end, finding her voice and transforming society. From her birth in a German lab in 1912 to her blossoming in the Rave scene's Summer of Love in 1988, Molly sings her intoxicating song and forever changes the way we feel for real.

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Moll-E

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  • Playwrights Foundation: Moll-E by Howard Ho
    “

    The community of National Committee readers for the 47th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced MOLL-E as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We found the inventive, ambitious nature of this script to be compelling. The play seeks to connect several threads-drug use, race and house music, exploitative markets–with humor and gumption. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production.

    The community of National Committee readers for the 47th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced MOLL-E as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We found the inventive, ambitious nature of this script to be compelling. The play seeks to connect several threads-drug use, race and house music, exploitative markets–with humor and gumption. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production.

    ”
8 Actors (4 Women, 4 Men, non-binary performers are welcome to play either gender). Other than the person playing Molly, the ensemble will play multiple characters.
A DJ will be present on stage controlling the flow of music between each scene and each song. The characters may acknowledge the presence of this DJ as needed.
MOLLY, 20s, a young woman who is the embodiment of the drug MDMA
WILHELM, 30s-40s, a German chemist (played by Actor 1)
GUNTER, 30s-40s, a German chemist (played by Actor 2)
GREGOR, a mouse (played by Actor 3)
DIETER, a mouse (played by Actress 1)
KIEL, a mouse (played by Actress 2)
GENERAL CATCHYOU, 40s-50s, a tough-as-nails Army man (played by Actor 1)
JOE, 20s-30s, a pleasant Army grunt who is the subject of a drug experiment (played by Actor 4)
SASHA, 40s, former Dow Chemical chemist who works from his home lab (played by Actor 2)
DOM, 20s, a hippie girl who represents the drug DOM (played by Actress 2)
ELLE, 20s, a diva who represents the drug LSD (played by Actress 1)
CALI, 20s, a Mexican girl who represents the drug Mescaline (played by Actress 3)
LEO, 70s, Jungian psychologist, wise and good-natured (played by Actor 1)
GAIL, 30s, colorblind woman with an abusive past (played by Actress 1)
GRAHAM, 40s-50s, African American man, psychologist (played by Actor 3)
FRANKIE, 20s, African American man, a gay DJ and house music pioneer (played by Actor 4)
DERRICK, 20s, African American man, a producer of Detroit techno (played by Actor 3)
LARRY, 30s, white, owner of a vinyl press (played by Actor 2)
MARC, 20s, British musician of Soft Cell (played by Actor 1)
CINDY, 20s, British friend of rockers (played by Actress 2)
PAUL, 20s, British producer (played by Actor 2)
TREVOR, 20s, British Latino producer (played by Actor 3)
MICHAEL, 20s, former priest and now entrepreneur and drug pusher (played by Actor 1)
CHORUS 1, a host at the Starck Club in Dallas (played by Actress 2)
CHORUS 2, a Republican Congressman (played by Actor 4)
CHORUS 3, his mistress (played by Actress 1)
CHORUS 4, a drag queen (played by Actor 3)
THAO, a Cambodian woman (played by Actress 3)
FERNANDA, a Brazilian woman (played by Actress 2)
JOHN, 40s, white, head of the DEA, everything that’s wrong with the world (played by Actor 1)
DEA 1, a DEA agent under John (played by Actress 1)
DEA 2, a DEA agent under John (played by Actor 4)
CHRIS, a manic toxic guy who represents Crystal Meth (played by Actress 2)
CANE, a heartless businessman who represents cocaine (played by Actress 1)
HERO, an emaciated fool who represents heroin (played by Actress 3)
JUDGE, a Federal judge (played by Actor 3)
ECSTASY USER 1, a teen who gets dehydrated on MDMA (played by Actor 1)
ECSTASY USER 2, a teen who gets worn out by meth (played by Actor 2)
ECSTASY USER 3, a 21-year old woman who dies on Ecstasy (played by Actress 1)

Development History