Interview: An Off-Broadway Revolution for Old Friends Brett Neveu and Michael Shannon

Revolution, the latest work from acclaimed Midwest playwright Brett Neveu (Eric LaRue, Traitor), has arrived off-Broadway at the Flea, following a lauded run at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago. Its New York debut brings more than just a Chicagoland pedigree: it marks a milestone collaboration between Neveu and longtime friend and creative partner—and first-time New York theater producer—Michael Shannon, the Oscar-nominated actor known for his powerhouse performances in The Shape of Water, Boardwalk Empire, and Knives Out.

Directed by Rebecca Harris, Revolution features Natalie West (Roseanne), Clarissa Thibeaux (Marvel’s Runaways), and Anna Basse (Dummies) in a sharply observed tale that finds joy, heartbreak, and strange communion during a birthday party in an alley. It’s the latest collaboration between Neveu and Shannon, and directly follows the release of Shannon’s film adaptation of Neveu’s 2002 play Eric LaRue.

In this candid conversation, Neveu and Shannon reflect on their decades-long friendship, the sensibilities that ground their artistic work, and why Revolution—a play about women, class, and connection—deserves a home in New York right now.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Do you remember the first time you two met?
Brett Neveu: Interesting question. Nobody’s ever asked that.

Really?
Michael Shannon: Yeah, that’s true. Never been asked that. The production of Eric LaRue at Red Orchid [in 2002], right?

Brett: I think so. You might have been working the box office, buddy.

Michael: Did I do the box office for Eric LaRue?

Brett: I think, every once in a while. It was back when everybody would switch out. I think I did the box office— No, I didn’t, because I wasn’t a company member yet.

Michael: No, you weren’t.

Brett: I probably met you just in the theater. Maybe you were there helping us out or something like that. And then Mike saw the show a little bit later.

Michael: I was fascinated by it. I kept going back to see it. I couldn’t stop going. I thought Brett’s voice as a writer was so unique. I appreciated the way he wrote dialogue. Frankly, a lot of new plays I was seeing at that time, I wasn’t that impressed with. There wasn’t a lot that really got my blood pumping, but that play sure did. It was the first time I’d ever been exposed to Brett’s work, and since then, we’ve done a lot of his plays.

Brett: A lot, a lot. I think Revolution was my 13th production at Red Orchid, and Eric LaRue was my first.

What is it about each other as artists that you respond to?
Brett: I’ll start with one thing; I just get emotional about our friendship. I don’t know why. Just seeing him on camera here, I was so happy because he’s one of my very best friends and I love him to death. The connection as a friend is incredibly important to me, and then the things start to meld aesthetically. The way we see the world is very similar. But at the core, it’s mostly that I just hold him so close in my heart. I work toward making projects that will allow me to hang out with my friends, and I really try to do projects to make sure that I can hang out with Mike.

Michael: Oh, Brett. Back at you. I’m parroting Brett a little bit, but his aesthetic is very much in line with mine. The way he observes things, what he notices about people and the complexities and absurdities of existence, and how his characters grapple with them, it always seems very real to me. There are other writers that, for whatever reason, are considered more realistic than Brett, but for me, they actually seem phonier. They’re capturing something that has been labeled as reality, but it always feels more contrived to me. For my money, Brett is capturing the real crunchiness of life in a very vivid way.

Brett, how does Revolution factor into that aesthetic?
Brett: A lot of the plays that I write take place in the same kind of world, or in the same small town in Central Iowa, which is where I grew up. Friendships and trust and anxiety are sort of the big themes, but also love and joy and being there for each other. This play is essentially about two hairdressers who work at an exurban mall, and an older woman who works at Ross Dress for Less. It’s one of the hairdresser’s birthdays, and can they have a good party in the alley behind the mall? It’s about how people can communicate generationally and emotionally, and how they fill each other’s gaps.

Michael, is this your first time producing something in New York?
Michael: It is, yeah. It’s the first time I’ve said, “Gosh darn it, people need to see this play,” and without me necessarily being creatively involved in it in any capacity. Frankly, I wish more of Brett’s work was seen in New York. Brett’s presence in New York has been minimal to date, and I’m hoping to change that.

After seeing Revolution at Red Orchid, I felt like this was a perfect show for that, for a multitude of reasons. It’s a single set show with three people, so it’s not hugely expensive, because, as we all know, doing theater in New York is insanely expensive. It’s a miracle to me that any theater happens in New York at all.

I also think it’s a great opportunity to see two younger women and an older woman on stage together, with the older woman played by Natalie West, who should be on Mount Rushmore as far as I’m concerned. She is a national treasure who gave an incredible performance in Chicago, and she has never done a play in New York in her life, which boggles my mind. I am very happy to get the opportunity to introduce Natalie West to the New York theatergoing public.

And tickets are actually affordable.
Michael: That was really important to us. It’s gotten to a point with some of these shows, particularly on Broadway, not to cast aspersions or whatever, but the ticket prices, it’s almost kind of embarrassing how expensive they’ve gotten. If you buy one, you feel guilty for it. You’re like, “I should be giving this to charity or something.” It’s weird. But yeah, we want to keep it nice and affordable. Frankly, we want young women, like the women in the play, to come see it.

Why is that so important for you?
Brett: I mean, we’re two dudes talking about this play, but this is a woman-forward production. I went into the rehearsal room and there were 12 women there and I was very happy. I wanted to turn around and say, “You all just continue on.”

Michael: You have an uncanny knack for writing for woman. All the actresses I know are clamoring to do your stuff, and if it was phoney baloney, that wouldn’t be the case.

Brett: I have a strong female presence in my life, from my sister to my wife to my daughter, my mother, my grandmother. There’s always been a strong matriarchal element to our family, and that’s where those voices come from. There’s a strong sense of that at Red Orchid, too, because there are incredible women in our acting company, and I just want to soak up their voices and get them on stage. It’s always been a massive goal of mine, just to listen and present stories that they’d want to be part of.