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Paul Donnelly

Recommended by Paul Donnelly

  • Skin and Bone by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    12 Jan. 2019
    “ I came to Skin and Bone after finishing The Arsonists hungry for more by Jacqueline Goldfinger and was not disappointed. Skin and Bone has a different tone, more overtly comic and macabre, with a suspenseful story line and an ending that I did not see coming. Although I do have to say that I would root for two aging cannibals over Walmart any day! ”
  • Arsonist by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    12 Jan. 2019
    “ The Arsonists offers vigorous, vital and wholly compelling storytelling, both by the characters and in the central narrative. M. faces the excruciatingly difficult task of letting go and there is real suspense in watching her reluctantly make the choices and take the actions that allow her to finally do so. There were so many moments in which I was shaken in a way that "moved" doesn't quite capture by scenes of harrowing emotional resonance enacted with clarity or described with elegant simplicity. ”
  • Mrs. Harrison by R. Eric Thomas
    4 Jan. 2019
    “ Mrs. Harrison is an extraordinarily compelling two-hander about the construction and ownership of memory and the impact of race on both life and art. Holly's casual racism and sense of grievance slam hard against Aisha's identity, both the real and constructed parts. The riveting question pulsing under their confrontation is, does one own a story for having experienced it or must one also truly understand it? This is a piece that should be produced widely for its skill as well as for the issues it raises. ”
  • OLD COWBOY CHUCK: A MONOLOGUE FOR A GAY SENIOR by Asher Wyndham
    31 Dec. 2018
    “ Chuck is vivid and sympathetic and his dilemma is rendered poignantly but without self-pity. It's still chilling to see a man have to ask not to be hated in his old age. ”
  • PHOEBE (GOES BONKERS NEAR THE EDGE OF THE GRAND CANYON): A SUMMER VACATION MONOLOGUE by Asher Wyndham
    31 Dec. 2018
    “ I want to grow up to be Phoebe. Seriously. She is very, very funny and trenchantly self-aware. Her authentic responses also paint a withering portrait of her all too recognizable parents. While painful to her, her frustration is a joy to behold. ”
  • WACKY JACKIE AND AUNT EVANGELINE: A ONE-ACT PLAY by Asher Wyndham
    31 Dec. 2018
    “ Wyndham paints a powerful portrait of two women with ferocious, desperate, mutual need who are tragically unable to connect. Both are drawn with painstaking specificity and could, with just a touch more self-awareness, be deliciously comic instead of devastatingly lost. ”
  • TEACH: ANOTHER MONOLOGUE THAT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO WRITE by Asher Wyndham
    31 Dec. 2018
    “ Chilling. Even with the sense of foreboding, the word "autopsy" comes like a body blow when it's a teacher speaking of a student. A student he has shot. This is a powerful cautionary tale that I fear will be our reality all too soon. ”
  • SOME AMERICAN DAD: A MONOLOGUE by Asher Wyndham
    31 Dec. 2018
    “ Poignant and regrettably timely, or perhaps in our America timeless. A subtle and effective portrait of a father who only wants to protect his kids and yet is clearly ambivalent about the way he and his wife have chosen to protect them. He is a man facing the burden of only having bad choices. ”
  • LOVE SHOTS by Emma Goldman-Sherman
    30 Dec. 2018
    “ What a tart and tasty morsel. There's wit in the lines and wit in the reveal and wit in the reversal. It turns out that poor Pru has to be miserable to maintain her friendship with Dennis and Rhoda. And it's a bit chilling that she's willing to go along with their agenda for her. ”
  • TEACH by Donna Hoke
    30 Dec. 2018
    “ TEACH offers a riveting examination of gender and power dynamics between a teacher and student as issues of attraction and nurturing, responsibility and manipulation come to the fore. Hoke's exploration of gender in having a male and female teacher figure and a male and female student figure interact in varied configurations is far, far more than a theatrical device, although it is also spectacularly effective as a device. The cautionary figure of the principal who never gets beyond manipulation and self-absorption provides a compelling foil and effectively represents systemic shortcomings. All in all, a work that demands to be staged. ”

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