Characters: 1 male, 5 female Multiple Sets Up-and-coming cartoonist Stuart fights to keep the lid on his mother's and aunts' simmering angst. But the family's secrets channel themselves into a bizarre shapeshifter that guzzles soda, communicates by fax, and spouts old German verse. Friedrich Schiller's classic tale of warring queens inspires this gothic romp through the weirder side of suburban America. "Grote has made a name for himself in recent years with scripts that explode the boundaries between the ordinary and the chimerical, the political and the aesthetic, the intimate and the dizzyingly cosmic."- Washington Post "An ingenious tale, and mined with offbeat, explosive devices." - Seattle Times "Maria/Stuart, by Brooklyn-based playwright Jason Grote, is a cleverly built, well-concealed pit trap. At first, the play seems like a pleasant stroll through a family of comical, middle-class eccentrics-in just a few steps, it plunges into a dark subterranean maze...Here's hoping this isn't the last we'll see of Jason Grote."-The Stranger "Written in true Grote form, Maria/Stuart explores-and redefines-the boundaries between reality and fantasy, ordinary and bizarre, chaos and normality. It's also darkly comical, witty and relevant."-Twin Cities Metro "Absolutely astonishing. Tremendous writing, incredible acting. And laughs. Big laughs." - DC Theatre Scene "Crazily entertaining comedy...surreal, witty, expertly performed. Maria/Stuart is a melange of intense, ludicrous, silly, common-garden-variety family hell. It is more than enough for a great night out at the theater." -MetroWeekly