←Recommendations of Kings of the World

A hilarious piece about the hands to which our political fate resides. Well done.

I love this play, and still think about the wonderful production of it I saw at Oregon Contemporary Theatre last year. "Jeff" and "Bud" say everything in their dialogue and in the lingering subtext underneath the funny. Danley's penchant for snappy language, with a strong, driving forward movement, is here in full splendor. I can say with authority that the stage direction, "They all boogie down" is the permission we need right now. Read, consider, produce this play.

What a clever take on the power of music! So much of this tight play depends on rhythm and sound. It's a pleasure to read and I can only imagine how fun it would be to watch. I also like all the dichotomies in here: stagnation/movement, frustration/acceptance, empty/full, rich/poor...so many more!

Using the classic set-up of two boorish know-it-alls at a bar, Danley provides a nuanced dialogue that taps into the discontent of a particular chip-on-its-shoulder segment of society that has shaped our divisive reality. But then, unexpectedly, she turns it all on its ear as art, in the guise of a popular, unfamiliar song on the jukebox, both literally and figuratively changes the tune.

There's poetry in Danley's "Kings of the World" that has such a hypnotic effect while reading it that I'm sure would translate to the stage with the same quiet force. Plus, it's so funny which doesn't hurt at all. I love that music can move the world as much as Danley's words have moved me.

Danley perfectly captures all the wistful bluff, bravado, and resigned certainty of those who know exactly what's wrong with the world and how to fix it but do nothing about it (which is, let's be honest, all of us at one time or another), and then joyfully turns the tables on them (and us) by forcing them into a different point of view... and it's wonderful. For them, and for us. Lovely, exciting, and oh so real.

I just love the rhythm of the language in this poignant comedy. Darnley creates such a wonderful world here, funny and sharp, and all-too relevant. An arsenal of inventory would provide tremendous opportunity for a creative team. Brava!

A strong, humorous, melancholy take on the world and its problems, as viewed by two regulars at the local bar. Danley does a lot, at first with very little movement, and then with a beautiful choreographical challenge. She also captures - acutely - the desire to both try something brand new and the tendency to fall back on the familiar, suggesting that this keeps us from living up to our potential. Sharp and vivid, with a timing faintly reminiscent of David Ives (a very good thing in my book), but in a style all Danley's own. Vibrant and very cool.