THE SECOND BEST SCHOOL SHOOTING to Make Off-Broadway Debut at SoHo Playhouse

Direct from its sold-out five-star Edinburgh Fringe World Premiere, the new dark comedy play THE SECOND BEST SCHOOL SHOOTING will make its Off-Broadway debut in a two-night limited engagement, co-produced by SoHo Playhouse.

Written by former Chicago public school teacher Alice Stanley Jr., the play follows two teenage best friends who struggle to process a school shooting that is overshadowed by a much worse shooting on the same day. Stanley Jr. developed the piece with hundreds of students, teachers, mass shooting survivors, and the youth-led advocacy group March For Our Lives.

Stanley Jr.'s TV/film writing credits include the teen feminist Netflix movie MOXIE (dir. Amy Poehler), Busy Philipps' late night show BUSY TONIGHT (EP Tina Fey), THE GLAAD AWARDS, and multiple BARBIE animated musicals. She describes her impetus for writing the play, 'As a teacher I found myself developing anxiety from the constant threat of shootings. I realized my students were processing their existential dread in a surprising way-through very dark jokes. Honestly, I appreciated their sick takes. Though their perspectives were disturbing, at least they were honest-while their parents often pretended thoughts and prayers were enough. I wrote this piece inspired by my students' grim, though against all odds, hilariously hopeful views of modern trauma. Nuts as it sounds, laughing about f*cked up sh*t often opens space to actually confront f*cked up sh*t, so we can fix the f*cked up sh*t.'

Executive Producer writer/director Adam McKay (All the Empty Rooms, The Big Short, Don't Look Up, Step Brothers, Anchorman) describes the show as 'captivating, hilarious, timely, smart, deep, inspiring, and provocative.'

March For Our Lives' Executive Director Jackie Corin expressed, 'The Second Best School Shooting is incredibly sharp and funny in a way that stays uncomfortable in the right places. It captures something real about how young people process violence and grief, and the strange, public ways those experiences unfold.'

The production will be a remount of the Fringe run-60 minutes in length, followed by a community talkback with the playwright. As the play was originally written for young people, the production is offering major discounts for youth. Any teen with valid school or personal ID can get $10 tickets with the code TEEN10. Educators and folks under 30 can snag tickets for $22 with code UNDER30. And everyone can get $5 off before October 10 with code EARLYBIRD.