Yuppies Invade My House at Dinnertime, a hybrid/documentary play set in the 1980s, chronicles Hoboken’s gentrification. This time period, commonly referred to as “Hoboken’s forgotten history,” when there were hundreds of fires–many of them arson–resulted in the displacement of thousands of tenants (the majority of whom were Puerto Rican), and led to 28 unsolved arson-related murders. Nearly every word in the text is taken verbatim from more than 40 interviews of community residents who lived through that time, newspaper clippings, letters-to-the-editor that appeared in the Hoboken Reporter, and other primary source documents.
Yuppies Invade My House at Dinnertime is a world premiere from playwright-in-residence at MST, Joseph Gallo, whose former plays for MST were also drawn from Hoboken history – My Italy Story explored his family’s immigration to Hoboken (“…a compelling page turner.” – New York Times), while Long Gone Daddy dealt with the alienation, adventures and anxieties of being a stay-at-home Dad in Hoboken (“Captivating!” – 07030 Magazine).
The production is directed by former Artistic Director and founder of Mile Square Theatre, Chris O’Connor.
Estimated run time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Recommended for ages 16 and up. Description of disturbing events.
Regular: $30 - $45
Student (Under 18 or with a Student ID): $24 - $36
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JOSEPH GALLO is the playwright-in-residence at Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken where his credits include: wrote and directed the dance/theatre piece "The Magic Hour," and directed the performance film, which was named Best Feature at the NYC Indie Theatre Film Festival; wrote, directed, and performed in the podcast play "The Playbill Gallery (a love story)"; wrote and performed the solo plays "AJ's Book" and "Long Gone Daddy" (“…strong, moving, assured…an unsparing, honest, funny story…beautifully captured.” – Broadway World); and worked as dramaturg and producer on the dance/theatre piece "Much Ado About Cucumbers & Cigars," and additionally directed the performance film. As a solo writer/performer he also appeared in the original production of "My Italy Story" at Penguin Rep, which later had its debut Off-Broadway at the 47th Street Theatre in New York with Danny Mastrogiorgio (“…a compelling page turner.” – New York Times). The play later received a critically acclaimed revival at MST starring Emmy Award winner Tom Pelphrey. Full-length plays include: "Two-Man Kidnapping Rule" (New Ohio Theatre); "Warning: Adult Content" (Theatre 54); "Staten Island" (Circle Rep Lab); and "New York City 523", which was developed in workshop at the Writers Theatre of New Jersey and is excerpted in Smith & Kraus’s Best Men’s Monologues of 2019. He also co-created and wrote the text for the dance/theatre piece "80% of Love" for company Rindfleisch, which debuted in New York at the Obie award-winning Ice Factory Festival at the Ohio Theatre, and subsequently transferred to the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (“…this dance soap opera/symbolist dream play boasts a virtuosity seldom seen.” – nytheatre.com). He is a current member of the Actors Studio Playwrights and Directors Workshop, a New Jersey Council of the Arts Playwriting Fellow, and a recipient of the NJ Council of the Humanities Incubation Grant for New Work. A frequent participant at The Moth in New York City, he is a two-time StorySLAM champion, and has been featured on The Moth Radio Hour. Training: MFA in Playwriting, Ohio University.
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