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Charles Scott Jones

Recommended by Charles Scott Jones

  • Moon in a Barrel by Rand Higbee
    29 Feb. 2024
    “ Some things never get old - like the moon - or the way Rand Higbee teases out the premise for MOON IN A BARREL. This comic triumph of wit and physical humor serves as inspiration - for the entertainer in me - to write plays for a wide age-range with terrific humor accessible to all. I’ve read it laughing and picturing a whole auditorium breaking up. Excellent. ”
  • When in Rome by Morey Norkin
    24 Feb. 2024
    “ WHEN IN ROME has pleasant associations with seeing a friend star in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. But this one has better title, better gags. The Romanesque names Morey Norkin comes up with are knee-slappers. The opening joke puts the silliness in motion and Norkin saves the best joke for last. And the homewrecker Isosceles Triangula is a force to be farced with. ”
  • When in Rome by Morey Norkin
    24 Feb. 2024
    “ WHEN IN ROME has pleasant associations with seeing a friend star in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. But this one has a better title, better gags. The Romanesque names Morey Norkin comes up with are knee-slappers. The opening joke puts the silliness in motion and Norkin saves the best joke for last. And the homewrecker Isosceles Triangula is a force to be farced with. ”
  • The Boys Across the Street (Monologue) by Donald E. Baker
    24 Feb. 2024
    “ Yes, she makes the brownies with love. Also with racism and homophobia. A fine monologue from Donald E. Baker, a reminder to me in diverse Hell's Kitchen that there are such folks as Mabel out there. ”
  • Strings by Brian Cern
    23 Feb. 2024
    “ STRINGS by Brian Cern is a new take on a familiar story. In fact it quite cleverly, and with a modern twist, circles back to the gender dynamic of the Pygmalion - Galatea myth that has fascinated generations of writers and readers. In performance I think the string action sequence with Lucrezia and Matt would be arresting and I like how the play’s physical movement pairs with the closing rhetorical flourish. ”
  • The Psychopomp by Aly Kantor
    22 Feb. 2024
    “ As social discourse has gotten meaner, it occurred to me that the meanness isn’t just for the living. Which is where THE PYSCHOPOMP, a brilliant two-hander in a car, by Ali Kantor, comes in. That we focus on the sensational negative - that ghosts are only known for the worst thing that ever happened to them - and that we aren’t better with our not-yet-dead. I love the modern parallel the driver Bethany makes with a haunted afterlife: “It’s like the TikTok kids who haven’t figured out that the internet is forever.” A fantastic ghost story. ”
  • In a Tiger's Eye by William Meurer
    21 Feb. 2024
    “ It’s so exciting when a writer comes up with an ambitious idea and teases it out perfectly. IN A TIGER’S EYE gives us the conversation between the spirits of two adult tigers behind glass at the tiger exhibit in the hall of Asian mammals at the New York Museum of Natural History. With great sensitivity and insight - through the spirit speak of Mahavir and Atma - playwright William Meurer gives us a poignant new take on ourselves and the animal kingdom we have so maligned. Tremendous play you will want to read, see, and hold dear. ”
  • A Horse Called Home by John Patrick Bray
    21 Feb. 2024
    “ “Now I’ve seen it all. A stranger that wants my ukulele and a horse that doesn’t want to be sold,” says SLIM TAKINGS - which is an approximation of the goings-on in the fetching and charming A HORSE CALLED HOME. I love John P Bray’s two tier strategy, the in-game and out-of-game that goes from childish imaginings of TV Westerns to anxious real-world realities children must cope with. The names are a hoot and I’m reminded in the best way of the award-winning Toy Story movies. ”
  • A Shop in The Darkness by Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn
    20 Feb. 2024
    “ A worthy continuation of the delightfully ribald, adult fairytale LIVE, LAUGH, LOBOTOMIZE. Jacquelyn Priskorn brings us A SHOP IN THE DARKNESS - a one-act that goes beyond Olivia’s troubled psyche. Added to the half-demon shopkeeper FLURK and the wood troll RAMIFORM is BROB, the stuff of children’s nightmares (the “booger” man in the closet, you’ll soon see why) who has lost his menace because “the little ones don’t even look up from their glowing rectangles.” A must-read for the twisted jokes, a new deeper darkness, an ominous presence, and big insights from Priskorn’s dark shop. ”
  • Everything In Between by John Mabey
    19 Feb. 2024
    “ A conversation that is mesmerizing and deep. Quietly awesome. The characters Deb (a hologram of Xan’s deceased mother) and Xan (her late teen or older young adult) are very engaging and endearing for their attempts to capture something of the past. With EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, John Mabey utilizes his rare ability to keep the reader slightly off-balance while writing perfectly natural dialogue. I love the hologram Deb’s touching attempts at humor in the same vein as the deceased mother. And her cyber-nagging is hilarious. Xan should've read the fine print. The closing science report on cicadas is magical. ”

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