Kill Me Like You Mean It

Nathan Darrow and Jon Froehlich

Ben Farrell, Private Investigator, discovers that his cases are appearing on the pages of a popular pulp serial… but the crimes are being penned before they happen in real life. Kill Me Like You Mean It borrows from the Absurdism of 1940s theatre and the futility of 1940s film noir to ask what it means to do anything at all when we’re pretty sure we’re doomed. Stolen Chair’s second production of Kill Me Like You Mean It was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play

“[F]ilm noir parody Kill Me Like You Mean It riffs on the genre with existential glee"“ -Fern Siegel, HuffPost

“If Eugène Ionesco and Martin McDonagh watched The Maltese Falcon, they may very well have come up with something akin to Stolen Chair’s Kill Me Like You Mean It, but it wouldn’t be nearly as good as th[is] comedic masterwork.” -Sander Gusinow, Theatre Review Limited

A kill script…in the hands of playwright Kiran Rikhye, truly any outcome seems possible. The characters reflect a smattering of Old Hollywood types run through a veritable Markov chain generator, but thanks to her gift for repetition and Lewis Carroll-ian word games, the results feel wholly original…the effect is dizzying and profoundly entertaining." -Tom Blunt, Random House’s Word & Film

“Brilliant, beautiful writing; smart, inventive directing, and every performance spot-on.” -John Clancy, Obie Award-winning director and Co-Founder of the New York International Fringe Festival

“[A] fascinating glimpse into the sort of murder mystery Albert Camus might write.” -Natalie Sacks, CHARGED.fm

“An existential exploration of the very nature of storytelling, keeping its existential tongue in its existential cheek as it mines through the familiar clichés of [a] rich American genre while also searching for the meaning of existence.” -Mark Rifkin, This Week in New York

“[I]ntriguing…clever…amuses even as it challenges perceptions"“ -Andy Propst, Backstage

“[A] clever, high-styling treat…[A] fast-paced rollercoaster ride filled with just the right fantastical ingredients to make this absurd play hilarious.” -Stanley Hall, United Stages

“…[A] stroke of genius…sharp, smart parody…brilliantly plotted and generally hilarious.” -Martin Denton, NYtheatre.com