4F, One-Act (10 min). 86-year old Rosie is in a nursing home, but she still thinks she's back in her fabulous Rockette days.
- Ranked Division I in the Iowa High School Speech Association Contest, 2018
"I love it. It's just a lovely piece of black humor, yet heartwarming, and real. It's edgy, and sweet and funny... and a bit warped." (CJ Ehrlich, Playwrights Binge, 2011)
"ROSIE THE RETIRED ROCKETTE - An elderly ex-chorus girl relives her glory days when her granddaughters arrive for a holiday visit. A raucous, hilarious and moving story. Written by Daniel Guyton, Directed by Linda Nile." (Press Release, BroadwayWorld.com, 2013)
"When Dawn and her two daughters visit Dawn's mother, Rosie, in a nursing home, Rosie believes that she is in her dressing room at Radio City and that her granddaughters are two new Rockettes. While the granddaughters enjoy Rosie's scandalous stories - Rosie was a wild one - Dawn needs her mother to see and recognize her. The acting was lovely, the direction was quite good, and the story was moving." (Wendy Caster, ShowShowdown.blogspot.com, 2012)
"Last up is Daniel Guyton’s ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE in which a nursing home resident (Glory Hanna) relives her heyday as a Rockette, mistaking her daughter (Tina Barnhill) and granddaughters (Kendra Gilbert and Anna Leigh Spencer) as fellow dancers with whom she shares spicy gossip. Robert Winstead has directed Ms. Hanna to start the show with seated dance movements that clearly evoke the Rockettes, and the play moves toward its sentimental conclusion with numerous laughs along the way." (playgoer, TheaterReview.com, 2017)
"I saw your play in the Estrogenius Festival... It was GREAT! I took a friend of mine and she also LOVED your play. So moving and also funny. We were both in tears at the end." (Vanessa Shealy, Emerging Artists Theatre, 2013)
"This is a perfect Christmas play because it's so unlike most Christmas plays I've read. A perfect opportunity for 4 female actors of various ages - that's rare, especially in a Christmas play! It's delightful, capturing the holiday spirit without being cliche - it has a saucy, feisty octogenarian Rockette who's had her way with plenty of sailors! It's silly, as many holiday plays are, but it's also serious, poignant with what it says about Alzheimer's and how family members react to the disease. Check it out! Produce it!" (Asher Wyndham, New Play Exchange, 2018)
"The Academy Theatre folks did two short plays, [including] the touching ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE about an elderly woman living in a rest home being visited by her daughter and two granddaughters at Christmas. I quite loved [it]." (Linda M Young, HolidayHarbour.blogspot.com, 2012)
"One of my happiest times in the theatre, directing ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE by Daniel Guyton with Bobbie Elzey as Rosie and Amy Morrow and Laura Lee Gill playing her granddaughters." (Sylvia Davenporth-Veith, Onstage Atlanta, 2016)
"In HGWP'S holiday offering... there is a short play called ROSIE THE ROCKETTE (sic)... The slice of life that is portrayed is packed with stuff which at first appears to be of no consequence but upon consideration is packed with stuff worth thinking about. There are three generations: a grandmother Rosie, her daughter, and her two granddaughters. Rosie was a Rockette, a precision dancer. And here she is now, moving in and out of present day consciousness, being visited during the holidays by her daughter and grandchildren. Rosie has dementia... Rosie dances. It's her reality... In this little play we get a taste of this slice of life quite clearly, and simply. Kathryn Sheneman's Rosie moves in and out of the present that is at times painful for us, as it certainly is for her daughter, and confusing for her grandchildren. There are some funny moments that help us to swallow the difficulty of such a family situation, that for many of us is all too familiar." (Thomas Putnam, Hamilton-Gibson Women's Project, 2023)
"it was a great little play and so well done." (Judith Beasley, Onstage Atlanta, 2016)
"I saw this twice last week, once at Merry Little Holiday Shorts and then at ARTC's Atlanta Christmas. Good show!" (Matt Lupo, Working Title Playwrights, 2012)
"We went to see Holiday Shorts yesterday at Onstage Atlanta. We loved it! ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE by Daniel Guyton was exceptional. Great Holiday experience. Tonight's the last night. Go see it!" (John Stutte, Onstage Atlanta, 2012)
"Such a fun way to celebrate Christmas! My favorite was ROSIE, THE RETIRED ROCKETTE! It made me cry - bittersweet play." (Cindy Clough, audience member, 2016)
- Staged Reading at Process Theatre's Play Day Read-A-Thon in Atlanta, GA, 2011
- Produced by n.u.f.a.n. ensemble's 7 Plays in 7 Holi-days festival in Chicago, IL, 2011
- Produced at Estrogenius Festival in Manhattan, NY, 2012
- Produced by Duncanville Community Theatre in Duncanville, TX, 2012
- Produced by Performing Arts Foundation of Luna County in Deming, NM, 2012
- Produced by Madrid High School in Madrid, IA, 2012
- Produced at Onstage Atlanta's Merry Little Holiday Shorts in Atlanta, GA, 2012
- Produced at Academy Theatre's An Atlanta Christmas in Atlanta, GA, 2012
- Produced at Christ Lutheran Church in Monroe, MI, 2013
- Produced at Lionheart Theatre's Holiday Punch in Norcross, GA, 2013
- Produced by Montgomery Central Middle School in Cunngingham, TN, 2013
- Produced by Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga in Chattanooga, TN, 2013
- Produced by Suffolk County Community College in Selden, NY, 2013
- Produced by Mirror Theatre in North Hollywood, CA, 2013
- Produced by Second Stage Studio in Cumberland, RI, 2014
- Produced by Valhalla High School in Valhalla, NY, 2015
- Produced by Newnan High School in Newnan, GA, 2016
- Produced by Lucan Drama Company in Dublin, Ireland, 2017
- Produced at Lionheart Theatre's Holiday Punch in Norcross, GA, 2017
- Produced by South Sioux City High School in South Sioux City, NE, 2017
- Produced by Clear Creek Amana in Oxford, IA, 2018
- Staged Reading by City Theatre in Miami, FL, 2018
- Produced at the Short+Sweet Dubai Festival in Dubai, UAE, 2019
- Produced by Warren Hills Regional High School in Washington, NJ, 2019
- Produced by Hamilton-Gibson Women's Project in Wellsboro, PA, 2023
- Produced by Montague Grange in Montague, NJ, 2023
- Produced by Tag Theatre in Raceland, LA, 2023
