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Nick Malakhow

Recommended by Nick Malakhow

  • June is The First Fall by Yilong Liu
    28 Feb. 2020
    “ I loved the simple beauty of this piece. Don is a compelling character who goes through a nuanced journey of coming to terms with family-related grief and guilt, as well as a desire to reconnect with distant family. Through Don's humorous and haunting mother and Don's funny and well-observed interactions between him and his other family members (and Scott), Liu paints the portrait of a young person grappling with who they are in relation to their family. A few gorgeous theatrical moments and specters from the past take the story to a whole other sublime, beautifully theatrical level. ”
  • The Mimosa War by Maximillian Gill
    28 Feb. 2020
    “ Max Gill, once again, shows himself to be a master of creating speculative worlds in theater! I appreciated the way he straddles comedy and dystopia while exploding the oft-used "four adults in an upscale living room" trope. Each character is fully fleshed out and has unique and pointed motivations. Because of that, the dark comedy naturally flows from their clashing desires vs. contrived playwright tricks. The disintegrating apartment is also a perfectly theatrical extended metaphor for the anarchic future America we see falling apart throughout the play. Rani's final monologue hits hard and is a compelling punctuation mark. ”
  • The Calorie Counters by Molly Wagner
    27 Feb. 2020
    “ I thoroughly enjoyed this subtly told, nuanced piece about self image, self-worth, relationships, and sisters. Maggie is a compelling protagonist who is realistic, charming, and goes through a powerful journey throughout. Jordan is an excellent foil for Maggie. Wagner makes her, at first, a sympathetic antagonist before Jordan's own complex and poignant baggage is revealed as the story unfolds. I particularly loved how this piece avoided melodramatics. Its moving conclusion was founded on small but effective seismic shifts within and between characters. The ending was satisfying even though it wasn't tied up with a neat bow. ”
  • A THOUSAND CRANES by David Caudle
    27 Feb. 2020
    “ A THOUSAND CRANES is a compelling, tightly written drama that offers many surprising twists as it explores the ways Walt's family has had to bend and limit themselves due to Walt's prejudices and indiscretions. Every single character is a fully fleshed out human being with their own arc. I was impressed with how Caudle was able to give everyone poignant and powerful stories without making the play feel "overpacked." His playing with time and space also creates a dynamic theatrical world. I'd love to see this on its feet! ”
  • The Best Damn Thing by Hanna Kime
    26 Feb. 2020
    “ This play is an exquisite and hilarious tour-de-force for two young women. Using bold theatrical conventions and a keen sense of humor, Hanna Kime explores the complex, confusing, manic, and heartbreaking reality of being an adolescent girl. Kime asks us to consider the ways that society pits young women against one another and female creativity against a miasma of patriarchal mediocrity. To break up the increasingly frenetic "workshopping" of this amazing musical, Kime opts for a subtle but all-too-clear turning point in the final quarter of the play. It is ambiguous but heartbreakingly evident what has happened. Excellent piece! ”
  • The Lonely (A Fictionally Non-Accurate Historical KiKi) by Andrew Rincon
    26 Feb. 2020
    “ I love this fantastical, intersectionally aware, and sharply observed exploration of being an artist of color living at the margins of the already marginalized queer community. Rincon establishes a clear, colorful, and hilarious theatrical world inhabited by some spot on renderings of these greats. I am perhaps most impressed by how the characters all work as nuanced and distinctly human people, while also serving a greater purpose as clever extended metaphors. This play is a delight as a piece in and of itself, and a helpful and inspiring reminder as a queer writer of color. ”
  • A Driving Beat by Jordan Ramirez Puckett
    25 Feb. 2020
    “ What a beautiful and tenderly written play! Mateo and Diane's relationship was realistically drawn, subtly shaded, and poignantly sweet and intimate. The poetry that punctuates deftly drawn scenes provides key insights into Mateo's identity and journey. Because we have those moments, Ramirez Puckett is able to tell us so much about Mateo without betraying that realistic tendency of teens to hold back and pick and choose what to share. I'm floored by how the dramatic action is so crystal clear, but entirely based off these small little seismic shifts within and between characters that are exquisite to watch. ”
  • Ronald Reagan Murdered My Mentors by C. Julian Jiménez
    25 Feb. 2020
    “ Fantastic! Christopher crafts a poetic and profane theatrical world full of spectacle and nodding to all kinds of theater and performance forms. All of the characters, but especially Lost, read as both credible and nuanced human beings while also representing large and significant themes and issues in queer male culture. Christopher offers a unique interrogation of desire, mentorship, connection, and a longing for peace and place among queer men. There is some outrageous and bold humor, but the overall feeling I left the play with was an empathy for and a great tenderness towards its complex central characters. ”
  • Awesometown by Hannah C Langley
    24 Feb. 2020
    “ Max was such a strong protagonist, and I found her harrowing journey compelling from start to end. I appreciated the way Langley played with time and space in the first act--the veritable chaotic kaleidoscope of action orbited around Max but wove an intriguing and surprising theatrical world. When things settled down in act two (well...relatively speaking!) Max's grounded and more naturalistic conversations with Officer Taft took on a great urgency due to the baggage we know about her from the start of the play. I hope to see this developed and to follow its journey! ”
  • In by Derick Edgren Otero
    24 Feb. 2020
    “ This is a beautiful, lyrical play that lives in its own bold, fully realized theatrical world. Gabriel is a compelling central character, and his relationship with his mother is deftly rendered. I was amazed at how this piece, in all of its non-linear, dreamy glory has such a clear arc and throughline. Otero pieces together a well fleshed out family in his sometimes spare, sometimes realistic, sometimes lyrical scenes. He also explores trauma with a deft hand--subtly, so that the moments that wrench us make their impact without histrionics or exploitative drama. I'd love to see this onstage! ”

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