Chemistry

Chemistry is a piercingly insightful dark comedy about two people with mental illness falling crazy in love.

Winner of the Fringe NYC Excellence in Playwriting Award

Chemistry tells the story of two young people with powerful chemistry, both romantic and neurological. Steph, an Ivy League drop-out with a wicked sense of humor, barely holds down a job as a bartender while suffering from chronic depression. Jamie, who overcame humble roots to fast track his way into politics, pushes himself so far that he winds up in the hospital, having ripped inch-deep gashes in his own skin. When they meet in their psychiatrist’s office, they are swept into a whirlwind relationship full of joy, possibility, and danger. Bursting with sharp dialogue and intoxicating romance, Chemistry presents an honest, incisive depiction of falling in love and the ways mental illness shapes people’s daily lives.

“Fascinating. A powerful new play. Rice has a strong sense of language, and c