←Recommendations of Alma

Anyone who believes a full-length play set in the (relative) here and now can't be engaging featuring only two actors in one continuous scene and setting must drop everything and read ALMA by Benjamin Benne. This mother/daughter play is touching, poignant, and realistic all at once, covering a specific yet universal experience for many in the Latino community in the United States. Benne's stylistic formatting and verse of the dialogue adds a literary dimension to an otherwise grounded setting and well-drawn characters. I can't wait to see this one live! Perfect for a professional black box-style theater.

A remarkable two-hander. I saw it at the Denver New Play Summit in 2020 and it's stuck with me ever-since. Beautiful depiction of a mother-daughter relationship as new immigrants to the United States.

Only two characters and yet reading this play reminded me of my family in so many ways! Excellent and precise, I can't wait to catch it on the stage!

"Alma (f.k.a. #nowall)" by Benjamin Benne is a beautiful play about a mother and daughter who are navigating their intense love for each other in a difficult and frightening world. I barely breathed from he first word to the last. Produce this play.

A beautiful play that shows the deep love of a mother and her daughter as they fight for dreams and each other. Gorgeously done.

A beautifully told, small story with wide-reaching scope and implications. Benne combines gloriously human, naturalistic, often funny dialogue with some truly divine poetry and theatrical magic. The rhythm of this piece as it unfolds in real-time is excellent too. I eagerly read this well-paced play in one sitting. I love a play that doesn't resort to overwrought melodrama but, instead, examines small seismic shifts in people and relationships. Alma and Angel are compelling and well-drawn characters, and I root for both of them throughout. I can't wait to see a production of this play!

A lovely play that personalizes the political in an extremely effective way.

This is a gorgeous, hilarious play about the deep love between a mother and daughter. The writing is tight, both roles are dreams for actors, and the hint of mystery and magic that permeate the realistic setting adds to the play's power. ALMA is ready to be produced, and should be.

Premiere Stages, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University, is pleased to recognize “Alma” by Benjamin Benne as a semifinalist for the 2019 Premiere Play Festival. “Alma” rose through a competitive selection process conducted by Premiere staff and a panel of outside theatre professionals to become one of 23 semifinalists out of 659 submissions. The panel was particularly impressed by the play’s extraordinary, natural yet poetic language; its vivid theatrical imagery and imagination; and its moving, heart-wrenching portrait of two women who love a country in which they feel they are unwelcome. Our congratulations and thanks to Benjamin.