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Mike Solomonson

Recommended by Mike Solomonson

  • All Your Marxist Talk Is Disturbing Jesus by Lea McKenna-Garcia
    26 Apr. 2022
    “ I appreciate McKenna-Garcia's fluid handling of dialogue in this short play where two co-workers, Rosie and Grady, debate their role in a capitalistic construct that they find themselves working within. I found myself wanting to spend more time with her characters and see how their relationship might develop. ”
  • Feminine Nature by Alicia K. Garcia
    12 Mar. 2022
    “ Garcia has written a smart and and highly enjoyable exploration of gender roles and the expectations that often come with them. Ron's desire for Luna to conform to his expectation of what his ideal woman should be like explodes in an expected manner when Luna tunes into a TV nature documentary. The couple get a memorable lesson about the female/male dynamics in the mammal world and in their own relationship. ”
  • Baby Steps by Jane Elias
    12 Mar. 2022
    “ Self-assured Max has been diligently working as a life coach with Tanya, who appears to struggle with making decisive choices in her life. However, Elias entertainingly flips this script as we come to learn that Tanya has absorbed enough coaching lessons to demonstrate to her mentor that she understands there are more dire life choices that, when made, come with catastrophic outcomes. ”
  • Don Quixote de La Center by David Bareford
    3 Mar. 2022
    “ In adapting the legend of Don Quixote, this play beautifully explores the power of imagination and the clashing of individual realities. Bareford is able to create sublime moments of humor within a world dominated by the pain of dementia. And when the unavoidable ruin crashes down upon these characters we care about, there are hard-earned pearls of wisdom that remain which bring positive life-altering changes for those who must continue to joust with their own windmills, in the course of living after the loss. ”
  • Mountain Knowledge by David L. Caruso
    13 Feb. 2022
    “ Our quirky barista creates a sense of place and hints at the mystery and understanding that can only come from having roots within a community. Reading it felt like being lured into a privacy where a rarely shared secret is divulged just to you. By the end you were left wanting to know more about this place, which is a tribute to Caruso's short monologue. ”
  • The Remarkably Unremarkable Crucifixion of Emma Reynolds by Daniel Prillaman
    1 Jan. 2022
    “ An intriguing script that breaks the fourth wall and makes the audience an unwitting spectator to Emma's plight, which ultimately creates an uncomfortable level of cognitive dissonance as they consider what led to Emma's circumstances and their ultimate reaction to her predicament. ”
  • Sandcastles by Lauren Davenport
    26 Dec. 2021
    “ Using a hurricane that devastated New Jersey’s coast in 1944, Davenport creates war-weary characters that we care about. Their striving for a secure permanence, however, seems as elusive as the play’s title. Like many of the best historical dramas, we realize the playwright isn’t so much exploring the past as she is our present, or, as one character states: the “two Americas.” By the end, we recognize these characters, like ourselves, are products of a cultural schizophrenia who are forced to decide which America they will defend and who are the enemies to be destroyed. An enthusiastic recommendation! ”
  • Let's Dance by Rachel Feeny-Williams
    25 Dec. 2021
    “ The finality of losing a family member becomes the catalyst to mourning lost opportunities and personal disappointments and yet, in that somber moment of loss, a discovery is made that reminds Alice and James about the power of familial connections. ”
  • THE REVERSED NOËL by Dan Castellaneta
    24 Dec. 2021
    “ Ever felt like a failure? Ever felt you don’t measure up to the people who matter most to you? Ever yearn to go back and have a do-over? Leon returns home to assess the wreckage that is his life. Gloria, the town librarian, might be the person who can reverse his downward spiral, but past failures and revealed secrets threaten their tenuous connection. A simulated snowball fight and a pugilistic reindeer are just some of the memorable moments of hilarity in Castellaneta’s Christmas-themed comedy. ”
  • The Body Politic by Cory Skurdal
    12 Dec. 2021
    “ A juicy scandal is in the air, and Skurdal does great work in delaying the details to draw the audience into the play's world. What ultimately unfolds in this satire is a searing condemnation of the fear and self-serving amorality that threatens to flat-line the nation's political heartbeat. ”

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