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Charles Scott Jones

Recommended by Charles Scott Jones

  • A WOMAN IN NEED by Martha Patterson
    3 Jun. 2021
    “ This short and smart noir play by Martha Patterson teases with the detective genre and then turns it on its head - as femme fatale Randy is A WOMAN IN NEED. Detective Humphrey appraises her morally and physically as if she were a dime-store mannequin and not the woman picking his pocket and then some. I guess his attempt to reform her with top-shelf whiskey is short-lived. Funny! A WOMAN IN NEED offers a plausible new twist to the Chandler universe, and I love it that the perplexed Waiter gets the final words. Here's looking at you, playwright. ”
  • In The Jar (a ten minute play) by Mark Harvey Levine
    2 Jun. 2021
    “ IN THE JAR is hilarious, the insect version of Guardians of the Galaxy, only they're out to save themselves. The wonderful idea of 2 lightning bugs, a praying mantis, a daddy longlegs, a cricket, and a male ladybug trapped together in a glass jar is only exceeded by the confident execution of their interplay. The jokes manage to be familiar, unexpected, and perfectly timed. The verbal humor combined with the homespun special effects - I imagine - brings down about any house where IN THE JAR plays. Mark Harvey Levine is a writer's writer. ”
  • Joy Ride by Christine Foster
    1 Jun. 2021
    “ If you're feeling down over a recent loss, I can think of no better anodyne than Christine Foster's JOY RIDE. A delightful, cremation-urn tale on a plane, full of mother-daughter wisdom and wise cracks - I love the twists and turns and turbulence of this play. The sense of who these two women are arrives vividly and efficiently through the dialogue as they respond to a wicked scenario -- a plane ride, a picnic, and a memorial service rolled into one. A dark comedy that heals through humor, JOY RIDE is a must. ”
  • Tiny Empty Nest by David Beardsley
    29 May. 2021
    “ David Beardsley's TINY EMPTY NEST is built upon a splendid reality-show premise and its interior, the symbolic reconstruction of a marriage. NEST is furnished with charm, gentle humor (text messages with eggplant emoji), and insight. The dialogue rings true and reflects beautifully the workings of a late-phase marriage. For me, a poignant moment is when Ben describes contemplating the worst in his parked car as someone puts a flier in the windshield - as if no one were there. He might have met the fate of Willy Loman if not for his creative, assertive partner Claire! ”
  • THE WEDDING GIFT by Chisa Hutchinson
    21 May. 2021
    “ THE WEDDING GIFT by Chisa Hutchinson is a sci-fi parable, full of wit, intrigue, and haunting resonances for us humans. This magical play functions beautifully on three levels: physical, lucid, and unintelligible (with its own language!) Both old and new, GIFT starts with the territory of Herman Melville’s Typee and forges ahead into the future, as deep and wide-ranging as anything I’ve read in a long while. First heard of THE WEDDING GIFT in Tina Howe’s interview of Chisa Hutchinson in The Dramatist and it exceeded very high expectations. A gift to the gods and us! ”
  • meet you at the Galaxy Diner. by Gina Femia
    13 May. 2021
    “ Initially attracted to “meet you at the Galaxy Diner” because of the title but ended up feeling so connected to the space that AG and Bill create between NYC and Alaska - there's large small-talk and lovely line breaks (Shit. / I had a. / Huge crush on her.), carefully woven-in suicidal tendencies, AG’s funny poignant job interview, Bill’s theory of sadness, stage directions (as in the stars that freckle the air), alien sci-fantasy, awkward hilarity, virtual/real interplay, the slow wonderful build. I love so many things about Gina Femia's Galaxy play and didn't want it to end. Thanks! ”
  • VANITY by Emma Goldman-Sherman
    10 May. 2021
    “ Emma Goldman-Sherman’s pitch-perfect VANITY feels shocking and inevitable and omnipresent as the deepest of myths. Older sister Fran likes to catch her reflection in things to prove she exists. She is edged out of the vanity by younger sister Cali who rehearses a future where she will be seen as normal. The ensuing sorrocide with a scissors is a stab to our collective conscience – and that it merely offends their father Stu’s sense of propriety makes it all the more powerful. A haunting expressionistic portrait of two sisters and a mirror. Love this play! ”
  • Birdseed by John Mabey
    7 May. 2021
    “ BIRDSEED defies the convention of the overly-focussed, simplistic short play and instead offers a rich three-way character interaction that resonates. I love the thematic tension between planning and spontaneity and how even the structure reflects that tension. Yeah, feed the birds! ”
  • The Silence of My Lonely Room by Scott Sickles
    5 May. 2021
    “ Really love this demon play for its wonderfully melancholy tone. It's the rare stage play that I hurried back to read a second time for the pleasure of rereading the breathtaking details and the skill with which two characters build the story together - a connection supersedes conflict. The "I could hear everything" monologue that precedes the demon filled me with Lovecraftian awe. I have the sense of having seen this play staged somewhere at the periphery of wild imagination. ”
  • Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You Too August Wilson) by Rachel Lynett
    23 Apr. 2021
    “ What I really admire about APOLOGIES TO LORRAINE HANSBERRY is how generously Rachel Lynett writes so as to invite the performers to be creators in our national conversation about Blackness. I would love to see more than one performance because each would be a unique work of art. For me, Lynett belongs with the playwriting tradition that begins with Adrienne Kennedy, which is no apology, but very high praise. ”

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