THINGS GET UGLY

(Promotional plus: the actors may even swap roles with each performance.)

Two physically beautiful actors, recently married to each other, prepare to go onstage in a show they’re starring in together.

As they engage in their makeup and costuming, one becomes an ugly character physically, but the other is revealed as an ugly character in “real life.”

Their interaction is funny but also uncomfortable, as truths are exposed about themselves and their relationship.

There’s the threat of the old-lover-turned-theatre-critic, then the big reveal of a secret that threatens the couple’s long-term future. On what terms can this marriage go forward?

Things Get Ugly, directed by Lydia Charlotte Brendel, is in workshops as of summer 2025.

Players’ Ring in Portsmouth NH graciously serves as the development home for the play. A staged reading is scheduled for January 2026.

A full production of the play will premiere at Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport MA in May 2026.

Playwright Doug Brendel would be happy to have a conversation with you about the show.