Recommended by Tom Rowan

  • Tom Rowan: Fable

    It takes confidence to write dialogue for iconic figures from theatre history like Merman, Robbins, and Laurents; DeVita pulls it off with grace and an insider's savvy. The achievement here is that he corrects some of the musical's misrepresentations of Havoc's story while still celebrating its legendary power. All done with great ingenuity and economy; a cast of just seven manages to evoke the bustle and grandeur of 1959 Broadway.

    It takes confidence to write dialogue for iconic figures from theatre history like Merman, Robbins, and Laurents; DeVita pulls it off with grace and an insider's savvy. The achievement here is that he corrects some of the musical's misrepresentations of Havoc's story while still celebrating its legendary power. All done with great ingenuity and economy; a cast of just seven manages to evoke the bustle and grandeur of 1959 Broadway.

  • Tom Rowan: At Whose Expense

    This play boldly tackles a very timely issue: the racial tensions and free-speech controversies currently rocking the academic community. Shineman doesn't condescend to any of the characters and gives all of the contentious parties space to express their points of view. Ms. Schultz's decision provides a ray of hope--right before the play hits us with an effectively ominous coda. This is a risky, provocative piece.

    This play boldly tackles a very timely issue: the racial tensions and free-speech controversies currently rocking the academic community. Shineman doesn't condescend to any of the characters and gives all of the contentious parties space to express their points of view. Ms. Schultz's decision provides a ray of hope--right before the play hits us with an effectively ominous coda. This is a risky, provocative piece.

  • Tom Rowan: Cabana Boy

    Another thoughtful, atmospheric piece by Mr. Williams. The characters seem close to stereotypes at first but then surprise us more than once by being more complex and better people than we expect. There's some nice, effortless humor woven into the very natural dialogue, and the play is very sexy without being obvious or vulgar. It's all done with compassion and understated charm.

    Another thoughtful, atmospheric piece by Mr. Williams. The characters seem close to stereotypes at first but then surprise us more than once by being more complex and better people than we expect. There's some nice, effortless humor woven into the very natural dialogue, and the play is very sexy without being obvious or vulgar. It's all done with compassion and understated charm.

  • Tom Rowan: The Fierce Urgency Of Now

    DeVita skewers the work environment of a busy New York ad agency with terrific accuracy and economy. The characters are appealing even (especially?) when behaving atrociously, and DeVita imbues the relationships with growing emotional resonance without ever getting manipulative or sentimental. Expertly done.

    DeVita skewers the work environment of a busy New York ad agency with terrific accuracy and economy. The characters are appealing even (especially?) when behaving atrociously, and DeVita imbues the relationships with growing emotional resonance without ever getting manipulative or sentimental. Expertly done.

  • Tom Rowan: Cooler Near the Lake

    Returning to the place where you grew up—particularly for a funeral—can awaken all kinds of guilts, regrets, and other long-buried emotions. Williams explores this insightfully and with compassion. The play is full of authentic detail and atmosphere, the northern Michigan lakeside setting skillfully evoked. Themes of class prejudice and internalized homophobia are conveyed through nuanced character relationships.

    Returning to the place where you grew up—particularly for a funeral—can awaken all kinds of guilts, regrets, and other long-buried emotions. Williams explores this insightfully and with compassion. The play is full of authentic detail and atmosphere, the northern Michigan lakeside setting skillfully evoked. Themes of class prejudice and internalized homophobia are conveyed through nuanced character relationships.

  • Tom Rowan: Homecoming

    This powerful piece has more depth and emotional resonance than one would expect from a ten-minute play. The very economical dialogue crystallizes the characters and key moments in their history with pinpoint accuracy and honesty. I felt the pain and the anger, the guilt and the loss, the sense of those moments in a family's history where things are said that can't be unsaid. Memories are the ghosts that continue to haunt us.

    This powerful piece has more depth and emotional resonance than one would expect from a ten-minute play. The very economical dialogue crystallizes the characters and key moments in their history with pinpoint accuracy and honesty. I felt the pain and the anger, the guilt and the loss, the sense of those moments in a family's history where things are said that can't be unsaid. Memories are the ghosts that continue to haunt us.

  • Tom Rowan: Dark Twist

    This effectively atmospheric piece convincingly evokes the world of the traditional New England prep school: a fascinating subculture most of us have never experienced. Complex characters, literate dialogue, and concealed motivations keep the audience engaged and guessing. The view of the past is bleak, but the ending offers some welcome hope for the future.

    This effectively atmospheric piece convincingly evokes the world of the traditional New England prep school: a fascinating subculture most of us have never experienced. Complex characters, literate dialogue, and concealed motivations keep the audience engaged and guessing. The view of the past is bleak, but the ending offers some welcome hope for the future.

  • Tom Rowan: TOUCH MY HEART MASTERPIECE

    This ambitious piece evokes an aura of mystery and foreboding. Schizophrenia, sexual abuse, racism, murder, alcoholism, and the devastating legacies of the holocaust and Vietnam all play into the story of a family trying to unravel the knots of their past. The image of a dying playwright who turns to painting--after losing his sight--is original and unsettling.

    This ambitious piece evokes an aura of mystery and foreboding. Schizophrenia, sexual abuse, racism, murder, alcoholism, and the devastating legacies of the holocaust and Vietnam all play into the story of a family trying to unravel the knots of their past. The image of a dying playwright who turns to painting--after losing his sight--is original and unsettling.

  • Tom Rowan: Trade With Klan

    This is a well-researched and provocative piece. I learned things I didn't know about the Klan. By setting the play in a quaint Indiana community and peopling it with familiar small-town types, Baker cannily reveals the insidiousness of conspiracy theories, mob paranoia, and xenophobia: this can happen in "our town." A sharply effective cautionary tale that is disturbingly relevant in today's world.

    This is a well-researched and provocative piece. I learned things I didn't know about the Klan. By setting the play in a quaint Indiana community and peopling it with familiar small-town types, Baker cannily reveals the insidiousness of conspiracy theories, mob paranoia, and xenophobia: this can happen in "our town." A sharply effective cautionary tale that is disturbingly relevant in today's world.

  • Tom Rowan: The Tragedie of King John Falstaff

    O’Day has constructed a fast-paced alternative-historical epic, with elements of speculative fiction and magic surrealism. A heady mix, written in assured iambic pentameter (and some tetrameter!) and mock-Shakespearean prose. The play asks: What if the man least-suited to be king somehow ascended the throne? Witty parallels to recent American history are craftily insinuated, but not over-emphasized. A fun read!

    O’Day has constructed a fast-paced alternative-historical epic, with elements of speculative fiction and magic surrealism. A heady mix, written in assured iambic pentameter (and some tetrameter!) and mock-Shakespearean prose. The play asks: What if the man least-suited to be king somehow ascended the throne? Witty parallels to recent American history are craftily insinuated, but not over-emphasized. A fun read!