A Play by Christian Borle

Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee, Larry Lieberman, and Jack Kirby

Hammered: A Thor and Loki Story is presented through special arrangement with Concord Theatricals. All authorized performance materials are also supplied by Concord Theatricals.

Act One

EARTH: At a typical high school, a comic book geek and a jock strike up a conversation. The geek shares his love for comics, especially for Thor, and the jock is intrigued. The geek offers to allow the jock to read his comic, promising that it will change his life.

COSMIC VOID: A very old Thor Odinson is greeted by his three granddaughters. His memory has become very foggy, and the three girls help him remember details about his life. They settle in to listen to a story about a young Thor and his brother, Loki.

ASGARD:

A teenage Thor frantically searches his bedroom for a hammer. He is interrupted by a gloating Loki, his brother, and accuses Loki of stealing the hammer. The fight is interrupted by Freyja, who encourages the boys to stop fighting and focus on their upcoming exams. The boys unwillingly shake hands, and Loki again steals Thor’s hammer and leaves. Thor and Freyja talk about the weight of the crown that will one day rest on Thor’s shoulders.

Later that day, Thor arrives at his high school and greets his friends. Fandral is telling the story of how he “wooed” their friend Sif, but she quickly sets the record straight. The Herald arrives to announce the rules of the exams and the order of the examinees, much to the dismay of the high schooler. Odin arrives and gives Thor some dubious advice: relax before the exam with some mead.

After Loki aces his exams, Thor arrives in a drunken stupor. The professors, including his mother,  Freyja, are all quite confused. Thor staggers and asks to skip to the fighting, which they oblige. Sif is called and the two duel. Sif wins, and Thor’s drunkenness is called out by the examiners. His mother gives him a piece of her mind and he fails his exams.

Act Two

ASGARD:

A very depressed Thor is confronted in his bedroom by a gloating Loki. It turns out that it was not Odin who encouraged Thor to drink. It was a shapeshifting Loki.

COSMIC VOID:

Old Thor pauses in his story to his granddaughters, telling them about his own father, Odin. He then offers them another story of his relationship with Loki that takes place two years after the incident with the exams.

ASGARD:

Thor and Loki are trapped in a mine after the rocks cave in and block their escape. They bicker and struggle to find a way out, but eventually have a true heart to heart as brothers. Loki encourages Thor to call on the legendary hammer Mjolnir to break them out of the cave, which could result in Loki’s death. They hold hands and recite their brotherly oath before Thor raises a hand and calls to Mjolnir. The two escape to safety.

COSMIC VOID:

The three granddaughters weep at the sweet truce that the two brothers were able to establish and praise the heroics of the brothers… especially of Loki. Old Thor becomes suspicious after this, and it is revealed that the three granddaughters are actually Loki in disguise. The god of mischief can apparently escape Valhalla and visits his old brother daily, often playing games to see how long the old man will take to recognize the ruse. They share a moment and Loki returns to Valhalla.

EARTH:

The jock finishes the comic book, having enjoyed the story. A focused yearbook editor walks by and asks what he is reading. The jock shares the story and passes the comic book to the new reader and proudly declares that he is now a geek, too.