Recommended by Jacqueline Goldfinger

  • STARRY NIGHT
    18 Dec. 2018
    I love it when brilliant poets write plays! STARRY NIGHT is a funny, heartbreaking, and poetic force to be reckoned with by readers. I love these characters. The play digs deep into complex questions about how to define freedom in a modern, global society.
  • GALILEE
    18 Dec. 2018
    I had the pleasure of watching this play evolve during the PlayPenn New Play Conference. This beautiful, funny, moving new play is a unique approach to the topic of environmental dangers. Full of promise and possibility, these characters burst off the page with life and heart.
  • TINY HOUSES
    4 Oct. 2018
    Zadravec's language is astounding and her characters are flawed grace. I am a fan of her ELECTRIC BABY play. Read that one too, but read this first. Her use of humor has become more sophisticated, and underscores the complexities of both the personal and political situations that the characters find themselves in; allowing us to open up to their tragedy and possibility in new ways. Highly Recommend!
  • Storm Clouds for Lonely Hearts
    4 Sep. 2018
    A beautiful new play from an exciting emerging playwright. He is one to watch!
  • the shed, the fire, and what we found in the ashes: a gothic ghost story
    31 Aug. 2018
    Haygen-Brice Walker is a thrilling new voice in American theater. Always funny, always frightening, and always leading us to unexpected places where he inverts the mythologies of pop culture to help you see the world in new ways. SHED is a fantastic example of a Walker work, albeit in early draft form. Definitely add this to your reading list, and if you are looking for a play to develop this is a great choice. Run, do not walk, to your computer and email him. Now. I'll wait. ... I highly recommend supporting the development of this thrilling new play!
  • Man of the People
    16 Aug. 2018
    A historical piece that hits you in the solar plexus. A quirky, funny play that says more about today than it does about yesteryear. Given our current obsession with living longer and better, and our acceptance of “alternative facts,” it’s a play that should be produced right now. The writer has a gift for language and a huge heart. This makes the more challenging aspects of the story easier to experience and discuss afterwards. Also, a great play for colleges/universities due to historical subject matter, large cast possibilities, and the vital conversations it unleashes about our cultural moment.
  • The Way North
    15 Aug. 2018
    What an great read. This play needs to be staged right now. While most plays about immigration turn into political shout-fests, this writer had crafted a gorgeous, complex and very human play about the impact of social policy and social obligation on real lives. Highly recommend.
  • Boycott Esther
    15 Aug. 2018
    A vital play! This needs to be staged now. The writer tackles one of our most urgent social issues with a stunningly theatrical display of humor, compassion, insight and provocation. Highly recommend!!
  • Lyon's Den
    9 Aug. 2018
    Exciting new play from a beautiful fresh new voice. Young's piece honors the history of theater while telling a brave new story of return, a path to solace and redemption in America today. He turns the Greek Chorus into heart-full, hysterical Church ladies. He nods to the poetic tradition of the ancients but re-makes their poetic incantations into a vibrant, contemporary medley of high poetry and traditional dialogue. Always moving, this play; the characters, their world is always moving forward, and they trail behind, trying to heal themselves and each other. Gorgeous work! Put this on your reading list today.
  • Heartland
    9 Aug. 2018
    Put this one on your reading list today. I cried reading an early draft. From that draft to this one, the play has grown even stronger. Gorgeously drawn characters, firmly rooted in their own truth, trying to move forward in a socially progressive way but always - as all of us are - heartbreakingly constrained by our life experiences. However, there is a huge power in the striving for love, for understanding, for forgiveness, for a better world for all people - and Gabe brings all of that passion and power to the stage. A beautiful new play!

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