Recommended by David Hansen

  • Complicit
    1 Sep. 2018
    An urgent work set ten-minutes into our future. How will you (or I) confront the government censorship which we may eventually face? Rahn-Lee creates a believable and harrowing scenario, one which is impossible to easily discount. Strongly recommended for production, before it is too late.
  • The Fall of Lady M
    12 Aug. 2018
    Perlmutter pairs characters Shakespeare never allowed to speak together to tell a well-known tale from the woman’s perspective, exploring and exploding preconceived ideas of ambition, and the frustration and madness that arise when your own advancement and success depend upon the actions of men. Sinister, satiric and sexy, compact and compelling. Highly recommended.
  • Cambodian Rock Band
    18 Jul. 2018
    Read this in "American Theater," and checked out the music on Spotify. Yee’s script is at once specific and transcendent, a survivor’s tale, describing how music can make us complacent in times of crisis, and also be a powerful weapon of hope and survival. A Cambodian Scheherazade preserves his own life through rock and roll, but his sacrifices are almost overwhelming. A powerful warning for our time, for those of us who fiddle while the world burns. Highly recommended.
  • An Evening with Valentine and Bratherford
    24 Jun. 2018
    Brett is a shining wit, master of the elegantly absurd (or absurdly elegant) turn of phrase, and the cleverly dropped pop culture reference. This brief script is a delightful, jewel-encrusted box of Cracker Jack, at once classy but déclassé. A high-tone howler. Hilarious!
  • The Wolves
    14 Jun. 2018
    THE WOLVES is a devastatingly insightful display of female drive and determination, which also poses a strong question for those charged with raising tomorrow's women; How far do we push children and young adults in the pursuit of excellence, achievement, love, and acceptance? A brilliantly urgent new work.
  • The Book of Will
    10 Jun. 2018
    Gunderson has written a concise, playful, and earnest tale of how Shakespeare’s First Folio might have come together. Surprisingly energetic for a story about publishing, the playwright also very successfully tackles such questions as what is the enduring attraction of Shakespeare, and why do we even produce and attend the theater? Finally, Gunderson once again squarely addresses the hardship and wonder of mortality with dignity, pathos, and joy. A brilliant work by one of our great modern playwrights.
  • Salvage
    11 May. 2018
    A full-length play but a swift read, an artful three-hander for women. There is an ethical dilemma involved; as writers, all we see and hear and experience form the basis for our work. But how much of what defines us doesn't belong to us alone? Or at what point do we say, you know what? Screw it, I'm a writer. I'm writing this. An urgent, compelling script.
  • Glass
    10 May. 2018
    Like a Yoruba folktale mash-up with the works of Sam Shepard, filled with animal characters in human form slouching in an existential, American tableau, “Glass” pulses with ancient magic as Life and Death engage in a barroom brawl with Anansi playing bartender. This script is fanciful and fierce and not to be missed.
  • Más
    9 May. 2018
    Ortiz's play is based on extensive interviews and documentation from those at the heart of a struggle to educate and empower our Latinx citizens. It includes song, dance and poetry, with mythical allusion and cultural depth. In spite of the disheartening nature of this true history, it is a story of hope. I wish I could see it, the pageantry might leaven the heartbreak of reading it. A beautiful and important work.
  • Elephant: A Comedy
    8 May. 2018
    "Elephant" is an outrageous condemnation of moneyed East Coast liberals, depicting a world in which it is difficult to discern exactly who is complicit in the destruction of the planet, until you realize it's pretty much everyone, including the (literal) elephant in the room. White people are insane and they are ruining everything. Not sure there is any argument against that at the moment. Awesome script!

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