The Coast Starlight

By Keith Bunin

One morning, a young man boards the Coast Starlight, the long-distance train that runs from Los Angeles to Seattle. He’s got a secret that can land him in terrible trouble, and he has roughly one thousand miles to enlist the help of his fellow travelers – all of whom are reckoning with their own choices in search of a way forward. 

Told through a blend of imagined conversations and internal monologues, the play lets us hear what the characters might say if good manners didn’t get in the way. Funny, moving, and deeply human, The Coast Starlight is a story of reinvention—of finding connection in moments that almost pass us by.

What the critics say:

“A gentle, rueful play…. the ride it offers is as smooth as it is wistful. Because Bunin knows that any trip involves leaving something or someone behind. [It] sends up sparks … So let it do what any train should, which is to move you.” - The New York Times

“THE COAST STARLIGHT is [a] funny, moving dramatic jewel… Keith Bunin’s luminous play focuses on a group of strangers on a train … and what they say to each other (very little) in contrast to the thoughts, confessions, and fantasies that run through their heads and which they convey direct to the audience (a lot).” - The Daily Beast

For mature audiences, ages 12+ - No babes in arms.

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