The Submission at Boston Center for the Arts

Lies and betrayal abound in Jeff Talbott's The Submission, a fierce and hilarious dramedy about privilege, obsession, and the lies we tell to get what we want. Danny is a gay, white playwright. He's also the author of a stirring new play about an alcoholic black mother and her card-shark son who are desperate to get out of the projects. Things are looking up when Danny's work gets accepted at the nation's preeminent theater festival. But Danny has a big secret: His name is not attached to the play. Instead, Shaleeha G'ntamobi's name appears as author, and she doesn't exist -- at least, not until Danny hires Emilie, a black actress, to portray her. Now he must scramble to take responsibility for his mistake and confront the issues of race, sexuality and misappropriation that rise to the surface in The Submission. This off-Broadway comedy-drama scored the first-ever Laurents/Hatcher Award in 2011 and the 2012 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Play and now comes to the Plaza Black Box at the Boston Center for the Arts.