Dark Comedy Meets Hard Truth in The Second-Best School Shooting at NextStop Theatre
NextStop Theatre in Herndon is hosting the U.S. premiere of The Second-Best School Shooting, a new dark comedy by Alice Stanley Jr. that has quickly become one of the most talked-about productions of the fall season. Directed by NextStop Artistic Director Heather Lanza, the play arrives in Northern Virginia fresh from an acclaimed run at the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and audiences have until October 11, 2026 to catch it before it closes.
The play follows two 16-year-old best friends, Ava and Parker, in the days after they survive a shooting at their high school. With classes canceled for three days, Ava spends the time at Parker's house, and the two try to make sense of what happened to them. There is a cruel twist, though. On the same day, a far deadlier shooting at another school claimed the lives of 15 students, and the national spotlight has moved on almost before the girls have caught their breath. Ava, restless and eager to be heard, finds herself envious of the attention and online support pouring in for survivors of the other tragedy. Parker, quieter and more guarded, insists it could have been much worse and buries herself in studying so she doesn't fall behind. Over the course of those three days, both discover that trauma can't be joked away or ignored, and that someone else's heartbreak doesn't erase your own.
Critics have been especially struck by how skillfully Stanley balances the devastating weight of the subject with the irreverent, absurd humor that comes so naturally to teenagers. These are girls who can argue just as passionately about what to say at a vigil as about which Pop-Tart flavor is superior, and the play finds genuine laughter in their friendship without ever losing sight of what they've lived through. Stanley, who brings experience from both Chicago's public schools and its improv scene, captures the voice of the post-Parkland generation with remarkable honesty.
The two performances at the center of this two-hander have drawn the loudest praise. Sadie Koopman plays Ava as bright, energetic, and hungry to make a difference, while Alexandra López gives Parker a steady, understated depth as a clarinet-playing student focused on earning a scholarship and getting to college. Together they create a bond that feels lived-in and completely believable, full of inside jokes, sisterly squabbles, and ride-or-die loyalty. Reviewers have singled out the way the actors move between giddy moments of teenage silliness and scenes of real despair and compassion, leaving audiences deeply moved by the time the lights come up.
The design team has also earned high marks. Shartoya Jn. Baptiste's set recreates a cluttered teenage bedroom, complete with beanbag, backpacks, and neon touches, while school desks and chairs hang suspended overhead as if frozen in the moment of chaos. Staged with the audience seated around the playing space, the production uses Hailey LaRoe's lighting and Mo Oslejsek's sound design to powerful effect, with muffled recordings from the day of the shooting growing clearer as the play goes on and school-style fluorescent fixtures flickering to life as the girls relive the event. Imari Pyles' costumes quietly tell their own story, contrasting Parker's comfy shorts and band sweatshirt with Ava's evolving parade of crop tops, flouncy skirts, and bow-trimmed jeans.
The Second-Best School Shooting is a bold bet on a brand-new work, one NextStop first nurtured through a staged reading in its NextDraft series for emerging playwrights. That gamble has paid off, and many who have seen it believe the play is headed for a long life on stages across the country. Local audiences have the chance to see it now, at the very beginning of that journey.
The Second-Best School Shooting runs approximately 80 minutes with no intermission and plays through October 11, 2026 at NextStop Theatre, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $48 and are available through NextStop's website or by calling 703-481-5930 x1. The production contains strong language, discussions of gun violence, and the sound of gunshots, though no violence is depicted onstage.