An insightful, devilishly clever, modern reimagining of Julius Caesar, set in the world of a powerful social media influencer and his crew. Shakespearean references aside, it stands on its own as a moving, gripping drama with funny, rapid-fire dialogue. This would be well worth a look by any teacher struggling to get their students to connect with true drama, and any theatre looking to engage a wider audience. It's a fantastic play.

Marshall Logan Gibbs has taken on a monster of a task: take one of Shakespeare's most-produced and quoted plays and turn it to 21st Century tale of hubris in a setting for those of us who don't live or die by social media influencers. Fast-paced, witty and well-crafted dialogue, and characters who really come alive make this one of the best pieces seen at the 2024 Valdez Theatre Conference. And for those of us who struggled with "Julius Caesar" in high school or grad school seminars, this brings it to life and hits the spot.

This was one of my favorite plays at the Valdez Theatre Conference this year. We recognize these characters and the social media landscape they (and we) inhabit all too well. MONSTER is a wonderful satire about where we live now, but it is in addition a tragedy inspired by Shakespeare. But the tragedy is not born only of Monster's hubris and misogyny as Gibbs shrewdly forces us to see our complicity without a heavy hand. Smart, finely hewn, very funny, and of course hair-raising.