With Love and a Major Organ
The Film
WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN is a feature film written by Julia Lederer, that she adapted from her hit play. It was directed by Kim Albright and premiered at SXSW in 2023. The film won many accolades, including “Best Screenplay” at Berlin’s Female Filmmakers Festival, and “ Best Feature Film” at the Canadian Film Festival; the Santa Fe International Film Festival; Reelworld, and Boston Underground. It was one of three films shortlisted for “Best Screenplay” at the Vancouver International Critics Awards. It had a theatrical release in the US with Utopia’s Circle Collective, and a Canadian and international release with Filmoption. It’s currently streaming on Prime (US) and Fandor (CAN) and is available to rent on all major platforms.
Trailer
"[W]orks the muscles in the head as much as the heart…while comparisons to the surrealities of Charlie Kaufman are inevitable, With Love and a Major Organ is its own distinct thing."
- The Moveable Feast
"Quippy and biting dialogue plus a slick socially relevant plot make With Love and A Major Organ
one of the most imaginative selections at SXSW 2023."
- Reel News Daily
"[S]o fantastic, sad, beautiful, and unusual... a whimsical, heartfelt, force to be reckoned with...The specific brand of dark humour that makes you wonder if Phoebe Waller-Bridge would like this movie.”
- Dread Central
"A unique love story… the script is beautifully poetic."
- AIPT
"An incredibly artistic take on the concept of emotional vulnerability."
- The Hollywood Outsider
"[B]lends quirky comedy, earnest romance, and a mind-bending conceit with enchanting appeal."
- Mashable
"This eccentric, smart play... will have you laughing out loud, but even more importantly,
will inspire a conversation for the whole ride home."
- Picture This Post, Chicago
“Julia Lederer’s plays are full of off-the-wall observations and imagination
and Reality Theatre is the latest example.”
- The Slotkin Letter
The Play
WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN is also a play. It has been produced across North America and in Europe, at theatres including: Here For Now Theatre (Stratford, On); Cyrano’s Theatre (Alaska); Boston Court Pasadena (LA); Strawdog Theatre (Chicago), Boise Contemporary Theatre; Théâtre Lepic (Paris, French translation by Constance Labbé). The play first premiered at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2012, directed by Andrew Lamb. It was voted “Patron’s Pick”; named: “Outstanding New Play” & “Outstanding Production” by NOW Magazine; and granted an extended run as part of “Best of the Fringe” series.
In 2017, the play has its West Coast premiere at Boston Court in Pasadena, and along with that came the opportunity to go back to the first sixty-minute fringe version of the script with the support of a professional production. What came from working with Jessica Kubzankly, Emilie Beck, and Boston Court, was a revised and deepened 85-minute play. This is the version of With Love and a Major Organ that is done in professional theatres today. It is the play that
inspired the film too. The production was Ovation Recommended and nominated for several awards, including the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle’s “Best Production.”
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Initially written for a cast of two women and one man, but the play has now been done multiple times with a cast of three women. The first time was at the Boise Contemporary Theatre in 2018, directed by Julie Ritchey. All three versions of the script (the fringe version, ideal for schools and festivals); the full script (recently published in second edition); and the adjusted version for three female-presenting are available.
Version adjusted for a cast of three women (it's pretty much the same script with some pronoun switches) can be found at the Canadian Play Outlet
FULL PLAY SCRIPT available from Scirocco Press Amazon, NPX, the Canadian Play
Outlet, and around.
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Original 60-Minute Script available from Amazon, the Canadian Play Outlet, and likely in other places too.
Get the Script
Production Photo Gallery
RADIO PLAY
WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN
AUDIO DRAMA | 77 minutes AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION
Produced with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Fringe Festival.
Starring Michela Cannon, Kaleb Alexander, Jennifer Villaverde, & Fiona Reid.
Sound design by Deanna Choi. Original Music by Matthew Barber.
Written & Directed by Julia Lederer.
Produced by Clara Altimas & Julia Lederer
Full radio adaptation of the internationally-acclaimed play.
Contact with inquiries
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In 2021, with the suppose of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Fringe, Julia adapted the play into an audio drama, starring Michela Cannon, Kaleb Alexander, Jennifer Villaverde, and Fiona Reid. The sound is by Deanna Choi with original compositions by Matthew Barber. This is the trailer.
