Recommended by Paul Donnelly

  • Paul Donnelly: On Queue

    What fun! A deliriously funny take on "Waiting for Godot," that requires no knowledge of "Waiting for Godot" to amuse. Meryl Streep and Michael Caine are referenced to great comic effect, one of countless witty bits in this most entertaining spoof.

    What fun! A deliriously funny take on "Waiting for Godot," that requires no knowledge of "Waiting for Godot" to amuse. Meryl Streep and Michael Caine are referenced to great comic effect, one of countless witty bits in this most entertaining spoof.

  • Paul Donnelly: Oh, No! I Flew Too Close to the Sun!

    Poor Festus doesn't know what he's getting into until he can't get out of it. A very clever premise and suitably witty dialogue make this play a comedic treasure.

    Poor Festus doesn't know what he's getting into until he can't get out of it. A very clever premise and suitably witty dialogue make this play a comedic treasure.

  • Paul Donnelly: Monsters of the American Cinema

    The monsters, real and metaphorical, are terrifying and haunting in this vividly theatrical coming of age play. Pup's journey is tortured and tortuous. The pain and the love he and Remy share are palpable. Both Pup and Remy are vividly drawn and compelling. I feel as though all my descriptions and attempts to capture my response to this play fall short of capturing how complex and riveting it really is.

    The monsters, real and metaphorical, are terrifying and haunting in this vividly theatrical coming of age play. Pup's journey is tortured and tortuous. The pain and the love he and Remy share are palpable. Both Pup and Remy are vividly drawn and compelling. I feel as though all my descriptions and attempts to capture my response to this play fall short of capturing how complex and riveting it really is.

  • Paul Donnelly: BOX OFFICE

    Painfully funny and painfully true to life, but mostly laugh-out-loud funny. The ignorance and sense of entitlement of the caller is made abundantly clear and Jack's forbearance in the face of his own fading dreams is quite wittily rendered.

    Painfully funny and painfully true to life, but mostly laugh-out-loud funny. The ignorance and sense of entitlement of the caller is made abundantly clear and Jack's forbearance in the face of his own fading dreams is quite wittily rendered.

  • Paul Donnelly: A 3-act, centuries-long love affair (abridged)

    What fun! So many genre conventions are satirized with such efficiency. This is a truly delightful spoof.

    What fun! So many genre conventions are satirized with such efficiency. This is a truly delightful spoof.

  • Paul Donnelly: Demons Helping Demons

    Alternately funny and poignant, this play presents a unique approach to coping with grief. The ineffectual demons are a hoot, but are ultimately, if inadvertently, capable of helping El to move to a different place in her journey of loss.

    Alternately funny and poignant, this play presents a unique approach to coping with grief. The ineffectual demons are a hoot, but are ultimately, if inadvertently, capable of helping El to move to a different place in her journey of loss.

  • Paul Donnelly: Bar Mitzvah Boy

    This humorous and wistful memory play builds to a gut-punch of an ending. Larry's complex family and youthful yearnings are exquisitely rendered. But Larry also learns that becoming a man can have a terrible price.

    This humorous and wistful memory play builds to a gut-punch of an ending. Larry's complex family and youthful yearnings are exquisitely rendered. But Larry also learns that becoming a man can have a terrible price.

  • Paul Donnelly: TROUBLE (at the Vista View Mobile Home Estates)

    Four women reveal so much of their differing strategies for coping with their hard-scrabble lives in the lead up to and execution of an unwanted birthday party. At the dark center is Euba, who has seemingly surrendered. She is surrounded by women whose faith and nurturing and willingness to take action buoy their spirits. Euba's despair is addressed through a highly theatrical encounter with a mystical raven. This play is poignant without being condescending and ultimately affirming without being cloying.

    Four women reveal so much of their differing strategies for coping with their hard-scrabble lives in the lead up to and execution of an unwanted birthday party. At the dark center is Euba, who has seemingly surrendered. She is surrounded by women whose faith and nurturing and willingness to take action buoy their spirits. Euba's despair is addressed through a highly theatrical encounter with a mystical raven. This play is poignant without being condescending and ultimately affirming without being cloying.

  • Paul Donnelly: THE EQUIVALENT OF SENSATION, full-length play for 5 Women

    I had the great pleasure of hearing this work in a Zoom reading last night. It offers a thrilling resurrection of the reputation and importance of the Cone sisters in the history of 20th century art. The parallels between the relationship between the sisters and between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas are vividly illustrated. All four characters are clearly drawn and compelling. The complex structure, moving from present to past to fantasy, is rendered with absolute clarity. This is a valuable and engaging historical work.

    I had the great pleasure of hearing this work in a Zoom reading last night. It offers a thrilling resurrection of the reputation and importance of the Cone sisters in the history of 20th century art. The parallels between the relationship between the sisters and between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas are vividly illustrated. All four characters are clearly drawn and compelling. The complex structure, moving from present to past to fantasy, is rendered with absolute clarity. This is a valuable and engaging historical work.

  • Paul Donnelly: The Dawning Of The Age Of Ganymede

    Clever and sexy, who could ask for anything more? Zeus and Hera unite in their ... appreciation ... of Ganymede and Ganymede accepts that he has no way out. This is a funny and eventually liberating journey.

    Clever and sexy, who could ask for anything more? Zeus and Hera unite in their ... appreciation ... of Ganymede and Ganymede accepts that he has no way out. This is a funny and eventually liberating journey.