broom play

A tragicomedy in one act.

Two Men. One Mop. No Brooms.

About

Every day they arrive.
Every day they fail.

Every day, Jerryll and Harr’ return to clean the same filthy room. The work is never finished. The arguments are never resolved. And still they come back—drawn by habit, by each other, by the possibility that tomorrow might finally be different.

A one-act tragicomedy of eccentric clowning and physical action, BROOM PLAY moves between absurd quarrels, unexpected tenderness, and moments of startling intimacy. It is a play about the overwhelming desire for a radical turn in life, the apathy that keeps change forever out of reach, and both the longing for—and fear of—freedom.

What remains is a funny, unsettling portrait of hope surviving long after reason has left the room.

Production

An attempt to
catch the air

BROOM PLAY returns a long-forgotten European tradition of the Theater of the Absurd to New York, nodding to Beckett, Ionesco, and the absurdists who came before—filtered through clowning, improvisation, and the body.

We live in an incredibly absurd time. The density of this everyday absurdity, where the comic intertwines with the frightening and the tragic, has become the invisible air we breathe. This production is an attempt to catch that air.

A new one-act tragicomedy
Three-week engagement · November 5 – 24
The Players Theatre · Off-Off Broadway

Cast

Those who return

Matte Kranz is a Polish American actor, playwright, and filmmaker from the California Bay Area, now based in New York City, where he is currently pursuing an MFA in Acting at Columbia University. He holds a BFA in Acting from UC Santa Barbara. His award-winning work has screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and the Santa Monica International Film Festival. Recent acting credits include Artificial (dir. Luca Guadagnino), The Gates (dir. Jared Rushanan), and Meme Me (dir. Alec Goldberg). As a filmmaker, he has written and directed several award winning short films, including A Boring Dystopia and The Fly. His stage work spans classical and contemporary theatre, with roles in Hamlet, Henry VI, and Three Sisters. Kranz is fluent in Polish and Spanish and trained in clown, stage combat, fencing, and corporeal mime.
Jerryll
Matte Kranz
Mike Donovan is an actor and writer from Buffalo, NY. Upcoming films include The Banana Children, All Hail Santa Claus, Miles Away and Romance Me In The Wilderness. In the past, he's worked for Netflix, Hulu, HBO, USA, Freeform, Comedy Central, Marvel, Disney, FOX, CBS, Barrington Stage Company and for free. BA from University at Buffalo. MFA from Rutgers University. Ask him about Happy Happy Funtime Place. Alex Galvan at 3G Management. MichaelVincentDonovan.com.
Harr'
Mike Donovan
Ayla Marie Decaire (she/her) is an actor, dancer, painter, and puppet-maker. With a deep commitment to authenticity and empathetic storytelling, she strives to uncover the humanity and lovable qualities in every character she holds. Some of her recent credits include Execution of Justice (Chautauqua Theatre Company), Fairview, Big Love, Pearls, Connection is Unstable, and The Munchies (Darkfest at The Tank). Ayla just graduated from Columbia University's MFA Acting program (cohort '26) and is beyond grateful to be in collaboration with such amazing artists and humans.
Gragg
Ayla Marie Decaire