“ An eerie carnival play with a mysterious refrain. In TAKE A DEEP BREATH, Nora Louise Syran takes us on a trip through the Haunted Hall of Mirrors through unsettling moments from Harriet’s past. The use of a crossing guard as a guide is compelling. This would be a blast for a creative team to bring to the stage. Mirrors make for terrifying intimate windows. ”

“ The eventual connection between seeming opposites - digital native FJ and her ornery Kansas grandmother Audrey - is so lovingly and painstakingly detailed it takes your breath away. I read BEES late at night and again in the morning and it gets better and better though my admiration started out big. FJ’s job as a natural language processor helps give her access as a sacred plant waterer or Libation Bearer to a ghost from Audrey’s past. Love Audrey’s heirloom seeds and hivemind insights. An astounding play as brilliant for the head as it is for the heart. ”

“ So cool that LA 8AM by Mark Harvey Levine was on the NPX homepage, resulting in a flashback to 2012 when I saw it at the Secret Theater in Long Island City, New York. What a methodical and melancholy and magical play! I remember leaving the festival stunned by how good it is. Sometimes sadness is so beautiful you savor it. Less is much more - and the most nothing argument turns out to be everything. I could watch this play over and over again. ”

“ In the context of the play’s action, the word “partake” cracked me up. I love the in-and-out Hendricks martini that Emma orders and the olives prompting the playful dirty talk. Christopher’s discomfort at the whole arrangement keeps you guessing that there’s more going on than seems apparent. BEAUTIFULLY SO by Brian Cern proves that it’s still sexy to be middle-aged and twisting the night away. ”