10/16/2026
What happens when a teacher’s big feelings become…too big to hide? (‼️SPOILERS AHEAD‼️)
In the interactive play “Big Feelings,” (bigfeelingstheplay) audiences step into the role of first graders in Ms. Joy’s class, where everyday lessons take unexpected turns.
Written by Ryan Drake (Ryan Drake), directed by Sammy Zeisel (Sammy Zeisel) and starring Julia Greer (Julia Greer) as Ms. Joy, the play begins with cheerful greetings, familiar school routines and lessons about managing emotions. But beneath Ms. Joy’s seemingly endless enthusiasm, we’re slowly introduced to the fact that Ms. Joy is not okay.
If you’ve been seeing a lot of posts about the play but weren’t able to see it before it closed, you might be wondering: What is revealed during Ms. Joy’s breakdown in front of her students? As the play unfolds, we learn that beneath Ms. Joy’s cheery mask lies a complicated family history involving her father’s secret family, a sister she never knew about and a kidnapping Ms. Joy orchestrated that ends with her newfound sister disappearing without a trace. Suddenly, Ms. Joy’s big feelings start to make a little more sense, don’t they?
At its heart, “Big Feelings” explores the complicated emotions we carry beneath the surface. Blending dark comedy with psychological suspense, the play reminds us that even the people who seem the happiest can be struggling with experiences we know nothing about.
