←Recommendations of Ring Around the Rosary

Sometimes losing something precious to you helps you find what you needed most. The playwright sets up a great premise and hilariously-opposed characters, then draws them together in a fitting and touching conclusion. This show would be an audience favorite in any performed showcase of short plays.

I was fortunate to see a reading of this play at the 2024 Midwest Dramatists Conference in Kansas City. Is a funeral the right time and place to come out to your family? But they're going to figure it out, aren't they? And where did that rosary go? The play has a lot of laughs throughout, but ultimately becomes a rather touching love story.

It's been a few days since I heard this play read at the Midwest Dramatists Conference, and I'm still chuckling every time I think of dumpster diving for Jesus. This sweet little play effectively uses humor to show a pivotal moment in a family and a relationship. Everyone wants to be accepted for who they are, and who they love; this play advocates this important story, but is cotton candy in the telling!

This gem of a story has you thinking in one direction only to find that the Camilla's search for a missing rosary has more to it. Ward Kay's gentle approach to this story warms the heart but also makes us think that sometimes we don't get to choose when to say what we need to say, and even in a short play, we get the depth and range of emotions and character that are worthy of a full-length piece. Lovely. (9/28/24)

What a lovely piece of writing; complications of sexuality, coming out, family, timing of announcements and love all feature in this realistic duologue. Ward Kay imbues his characters with humanity and modernity and offers them dialogue which is punctuated with wit and wisdom. A delight.