Hellbent
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The play begins when Lena, a hyper-observant woman with a total lack of motivation to actually achieve anything in life, meets her life-long geeky friend Devlin’s new girlfriend, Lacey. Lacey is a rebellious young lady, who strikes out against her Goth, demon-worshipping parents by dressing in bright, cheerful colors and repressing her lesbian nature, but still an enthusiastic endorser of the family religion. Just as they are getting to know each other, however, the three are summoned down into Hell.
The summoning is enacted by three demons: Ophistopheles (the demon responsible for causing suffering by jamming photocopiers, papercuts, and other workplace annoyances), Ahmenahmenon (the demon who tempts dieters to eat junk food in the middle of the night), and Incubeth (the demoness responsible for bad dating decisions). They were trying to summon an angel, and become very flustered when they get humans instead. They are soon joined by Fezdemona (demoness responsible for hat-based suffering), who would seemingly rather have nothing to do with the situation at all.
The situation becomes more frenetic when the humans are discovered by Robert, author of Robert’s Rules of Order and the only human to be made an honorary demon as a result of all the suffering he has caused. Robert rushes off to tell Lucifer what is going on.
Meanwhile we discover that while Devlin may still believe Lacey is “the one”, she has fallen for effeminate demoness-trapped-in-a-demon’s-body Ahmenahmenon, who in turn has fallen in love with Devlin and is devastated when he discovers Devlin’s dead body by the coffee machine. His determination to find the murderer is matched in intensity only by Lena’s apparent lack of interest in finding the killer. However, when the demons all begin bickering amongst themselves, Lena changes her tune and steps in to unravel the mystery, which takes on a new urgency when a) Devlin shows up freshly resurrected, b) Lena discovers that Fezdemona is really the archangel Cassiel, and c) Lucifer himself appears and demands the return of the Nesphaniasis, a stolen demon artifact that is essential to the operation of Hell itself.
In the end, Lena realizes that Hell is playing an important role in human development, and, to the chagrin of Cassiel, returns the Nesphaniasis to Lucifer.
Testimonials:
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""I highly recommend seeing Hellbent be it for an evening of pure enjoyment or life lessons from a group of demons trying to conjure up and angel. There really is something for everyone."
Check out the full review here: http://www.theatrebloom.com/2022/10/hellbent-at-laurel-mill-playhouse/" (Mike Zellhofer, Theatre Bloom, 2022)
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"The reviews of "Hellbent" from the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, Season 42, are in and they are positively glowing. Every reader recommended the play for further attention, with no shortage of supportive comments." (Baltimore Playwrights Festival, 2022)
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"It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed so much reading a show. Dunne has a wonderful sense of comedic timing and many of the lines are classic. A murder mystery in Hell… that has to be a first." (Gene Kato, Next Stage Press, 2020)
Events:
- ""I highly recommend seeing Hellbent be it for an evening of pure enjoyment or life lessons from a group of demons trying to conjure up and angel. There really is something for everyone." Check out the full review here: http://www.theatrebloom.com/2022/10/hellbent-at-laurel-mill-playhouse/" (Mike Zellhofer, Theatre Bloom, 2022)
- "The reviews of "Hellbent" from the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, Season 42, are in and they are positively glowing. Every reader recommended the play for further attention, with no shortage of supportive comments." (Baltimore Playwrights Festival, 2022)
- "It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed so much reading a show. Dunne has a wonderful sense of comedic timing and many of the lines are classic. A murder mystery in Hell… that has to be a first." (Gene Kato, Next Stage Press, 2020)