←Recommendations of MOSQUITO COMMISSION

The question of “what have I gotten myself into” on a third date works on multiple levels here, from the “let’s get to work” objective that Colleen proposes with her savage lobster dinner to Ludlow’s blind dive into meeting his date’s young son. Will it be like workers facing mosquitoes at the Panama Canal or like the poor lobster facing an unfortunate scalding end? The dialogue is sensationally humorous, giving us much to think about regarding what we plunge into for the sake of potential romantic attachments.

It's a testament to Charles Scott Jones' writing that even as he gives us a wonderful ending, you want him to continue this date he's invited us to. And it's a date fraught with more than usual trepidation. This is the date where a woman is going to introduce her new beau to her child. So the stakes are higher but, if the intro goes well, the rewards are too. The dialogue hums along and even the odd juxtaposition of the pleasure of the dinner companions over the pain of the dinner participants makes this a terrific meal to witness.

Parents can be so protective of their children and those who have become single even more so. The introduction of that child to a potential new boyfriend or girlfriend must be one of the scariest moments to think of how this child will react with someone new. The dialogue of this play is so well written and the characters so completely fleshed out that you will feel as if you've just dropped in for a lobster dinner at the neighbor's house down the street.

Charles Scott Jones does an excellent job of conveying the nervous energy of a parent considering introducing their child to their new romantic partner. The stakes are so much higher than a typical third date and to watch the weight of the moment stress the early romance between Colleen and Ludlow is a feast of imagery, excellent dialogue and storytelling.

A CSJ play is pure surreal poetry. Every time, I know I’m in for a treat, and MOSQUITO COMMISSION provides with fun imagery and delightful language in spades. Dating is hard, love is harder, and maybe we’re actually monsters for the things we do to other humans. I mean, lobsters, sorry. Whoops.

Enjoyed the dialogue and the dimensions of these characters. Jones is skillful at world building so much so you feel like you're on the date with Colleen and Ludlow. The mosquito monologue is a pleasure and Timothy creates levity in all the right places. Fun ending.

Charles Scott Jones' dialogue is so natural, so ordinary in it's elegance and description. The interplay between Colleen and Ludlow exudes an awkwardness borne out of the early stages of a relationship. The advent of Timothy offers a new, carefully hewn, dynamic which disturbs what has taken place before. A fascinating, beautifully crafted piece which will leave you thinking....deeply.

Dating is hard enough before there are kids, but after there are kids, when you're involving more lives than just your own, it can feel nearly impossible. This short play follows a single mom and the man she's on a third date with, preparing dinner as they wait for her son to arrive and meet him for the first time. The dialogue is great, as Colleen reevaluates and second guesses herself over what's about to happen, and I loved the ending.

MOSQUITO COMMISSION by Charles Scott Jones transports you to a seashore town with characters that are incredibly vivid and distinct. The act of preparing dinner propels the story forward in dynamic ways, with writing that brings so much emotional truth to the hopes and fears of each character. And the ending captures a perfect moment, too, where a physical action conveys more than words ever could.