←Recommendations of WONDER OF OUR STAGE

A delightful melange of science fiction, historical drama, coming-of-age story, and enough Shakespearean deep cuts to warm the coldest dramaturg's heart. Cross has invented her own genre of Elizabethan-age steampunk ("humourpunk?" "Lizpunk?") to tell the secret origin story of the alchemically-created automaton who went on to become William Shakespeare. In so doing, she has crafted a moving meditation on one of the great paradoxes of the arts - that in seeking to understand what it means to be human, we turn to the works of creators who were awkwardly figuring it out themselves. A blast.

A riff on the Frankenstein mythos, a speculative Shakespearean tale, and a coming-of-age story rolled into one delightful and surprisingly poignant package. I don’t generally care about Shakespeare, and sci-fi can be a hard sell for me, but the theme of wanting to be an independent person on your own terms while learning to articulate and define thorny human emotions resonated profoundly here. I was deeply engaged by William’s quest to become the person (or automaton) he was meant to become. I highly recommend this play for theaters seeking an accessible yet moving new play.

Adore this. Shakespeare a wooden robot? Cross "require[s] you do awake your faith"! And you will. Like Shakespeare in Love, you'll fall in love with Shakespeare all the more in his automaton form as he develops from "petty verses" to the "wonder of our stage" and somehow becomes "more completely human". The allusions throughout will keep lovers of the Bard's words amused and delighted. It's part Frankenstein, part Tempest, part alchemist Fantasy. Audiences and writers will adore as well. It's classic and timely all at once. (I really want to see that "goofy fellow with the dog" ;)

I had the privilege of directing the world premiere of this inventive and delightful script. Monica Cross's use of language is deft and powerful. The story is a delight, a meditation on what makes one human, while also being a romp through Elizabethan London. Other deep themes include the challenging relationships between parent and child as the child is growing into their own person. Easter eggs abound for those well-versed in Shakespeare, but none so obtrusive as to be a distraction.

Our audience included people ages 10-80 and they all had a great time. Strong recommend.

What if Shakespeare was an automaton? an intriguing question, and one that Monica Cross fantastically answers. It grabs your interest from curtain up and keeps you entertained until the very last page. This Bard Fangirl/bookworm/sci fi geek girl is very very happy!

I read this ages ago! Just getting around to recommending! Highly, highly, highly recommend! A feat of Shakespearean knowledge mixed with proper Elizabethan era sorcery. It’s a precursor to steam punk… wood punk? It’s amazing and could easily sit on my shelf next to my Complete Works and Yale Shakespeare collection!

A fun and fascinating piece of alternate Shakespearean history, positing that Dr. John Dee created William Shakespeare as an automaton to be a husband for Queen Elizabeth, but when she doesn't find him human enough, hires actors to instruct him in humanity. Clever and well-researched.

To be perfectly frank, I have no love for Shakespeare. If one claimed I hate his plays and their ever presence, how they are taught to school-age children, I could not quarrel with them. I say all of that to make it quite clear: for me to clear that hurdle... Monica Cross, as far as I'm concerned, has transcended the crutch of Shakespeare. In making him inhuman, she has made him more human than ever before. I forgot my dislike. He became a young man struggling for belonging, acceptance, love. I rooted for him.
Now I root for Monica Cross.

An utterly stunning, intricate, and wise take on the Shakespearean authorship question, in a sense. Monica Cross gives us a wonderfully nuanced historical sci-fi piece peppered with references for the knowing, which suggests that Shakespeare's sudden appearance and abrupt end on the London theatre scene came because he was not born, but made. I was continually thrilled with Cross's clever incorporation of elements from the era, including quotations, events, and rivals: the justification for the Q1 'Hamlet' text made me laugh with glee. This is such smart writing, efficient yet ambitious. I had a thoroughly great time.

Wonder of Our Stage offers an intriguing fantasia on the genesis of the writer we know as William Shakespeare. In this wondrous play, the monster far outgrows his Dr. Frankenstein and comes to a higher understanding of human nature that gives him a fulfilling and successful life.