←Recommendations of Right Field of Dreams

In my experience, the very best sports stories aren’t really about sports; they’re about life, and sports functions as the lens the writer uses to reveal truths that register as powerfully off the field as on. Kaplan’s Right Field of Dreams certainly qualifies. A boy steps out of the shadow of a baseball-loving parent/coach to live life on his own terms with the hilarious help of a trailblazing ballplayer from the past. You can take me out to this ballgame any time!

This may be the most enchanting play about sports that I’ve ever read or seen. Tim has this gift of knowing himself that I wish could be spread around to all kids - like magic dust. In fact, this play has enough magic dust to give some to everyone. Read it. Produce it and catch the magic.

This short is DARLING. I love it. Tim is such a sweet, articulate kid and sees with way more clarity than the adults. I love the reveals and the ghost and the fact that it’s about sports but not about sports, because I’m with Tim: plays about baseball are better than actual baseball. Delightful from start to finish!

I love this. Love it, love it, love it: the magical realism, the history, the wit, the perfectly-timed reveals, and then that perfect ending. I love Tim's precociousness, his clarity about who he is - which, even though it doesn't feel to him like it's worth very much, is of course everything. Genuinely funny with well-earned sentiment, this was a home-run in my book.

What a delightful and affirming portrait of a reluctant right fielder. The stakes are high for poor Tim, but his anxiety is higher. An ethereal apparition tries to steady his nerves, but ultimately allows him to express his real feelings about his situation. The final reveal and the adult's reaction to Tim's declaration are most heartening.

Such a sweet and wonderfully written play for a younger actor to play! And I love the ghost. And I love the coach and the twist about who the coach really is. And the monologue is wonderful too. All the feels in this beautiful piece!

I love what Stephen Kaplan has created in the feel-good "Right Field of Dreams." There's a nice heaping helping of sports and fantasy in this 10-minute play, but at the core of this coming-of-age tale is the parent-child relationship. Ten-year-old Tim has spoken up, and his parent's reaction warms the heart.

This utterly charming play would be a delight onstage. Kaplan creates warm, instant rapport among the characters, with Tim in right field — Wishing someone would *see* him for the non-sportsy person he is. There's such lovely humor throughout, and a river of tempered, relatable emotion flowing underneath each perfect beat. This would be a dream to explore for any creative team: Bright, funny, with opportunities for dynamic physicality and deeply-felt heart. What more can you ask for?

Sometimes it's just about being a good listener to know what a player needs. A beautifully done piece that shows it's just about being human and there for each other.