Recommended by Elizabeth A. M. Keel

  • The Ordeal of Water
    30 May. 2021
    A potent, high-stakes exploration of feminism that spans space and time. Ray and Margo are perfect foils who bring out the best in each other, and their epic experience is a truly impressive use of the stage. This is deep and unforgettable magic.
  • The Problem With Magic, Is:
    29 May. 2021
    Delicious, wise, and self-possessed. The Problem With Magic, Is: offers a rich and nuanced mystery, complete with all the chills of a good ghost story and the warmth of a real family.
  • HONEY GIRLS
    29 May. 2021
    An honest and gentle exploration of the process of saying goodbye. Honey Girls is as sweet as its title, and offers a notably well-rounded ensemble cast. This script will make you want to call your mother, and then eat cookies with an old friend.
  • Atlas, the Lonely Gibbon
    10 Apr. 2021
    This play, y'all. It voices so many of the little fears and microaggressions spurred on by the encroaching technology in our lives. (The homage to Gas Light in the form of a smart lightbulb is stunning.) And amidst the terrifying automation is a streak of delightful theatricality, with quick changes between VR and real life, animal transformations, and the puppetry behind the bionic arms. A definite conversation starter! This is vivid sci-fi.
  • (trans)formada
    6 Mar. 2021
    There’s an inherent nostalgia to watching teens mix tequila shots with gin. These young fools… simultaneously worried about the industrial prison complex and the likeliness of a kiss. The playwright does a terrific job laying out clear stakes for each party goer, as well as the pecking order. I also really enjoyed the surreal use of the Texas Hill Country - and nature, like the night sky, trees, and water - infiltrating the undefined space and serving as an anchor point to the various events in time and space. The fluidity of the space serves Sam’s fluidity brilliantly.
  • DIONYSUS ON THE DOWN LOW
    27 Feb. 2021
    I appreciated the play's comfortability in being sexy: the men share moments of real, raw intimacy. I also admired Matthew's journey in loosening up romantically: he actively discovers the courage in real time. It's a great arc for the actor to explore! Although we know from the prologue that the nervous Boston liberal and the Ugandan heartthrob are doomed, the play lets us find out how and why for ourselves, without broadcasting too much too soon. An excellent use of the stage to raise awareness for civil rights in Uganda.
  • Julie's Place
    27 Feb. 2021
    There's some great storytelling going on here! I loved the adult siblings' realistic relationship, and so many of the one-liners. We get to watch these adults navigate the new normal in the wake of their grief. The play is comfortable being exactly what it is, much like the titular restaurant. No bells or whistles: it's here on a mission to fill us all back up.
  • 9/10
    27 Feb. 2021
    The early 2000s feel so distant now, and I wasn't sure I would able to go through a play about this topic - but then 9/10 unfurls. The structure is terrific. (For one thing, it would be easy to rehearse the four vignettes separately with casts of pairs!) There's also a very satisfying payoff in each story line. The script wisely allows the audience to do the bulk of its own deep thinking and connections to what we know will happen the following day.
  • The Resurrectionist
    27 Feb. 2021
    A tight comedy with three killer female roles! My favorite line was, "Mountains are always mountains, but good luck navigating one range with the map of another." I really appreciated the intelligence and zestfulness of this piece. It's quite a thought experiment, simple enough once presented, but so achingly human in its execution. Kitt's profession is one that I have not seen onstage - except as a male, creepy, horror-centric subplot - and it was fascinating to watch her navigate the ethics of it.
  • The High Priestess
    27 Feb. 2021
    There are lots of dinner-party-gone-wrong plays, but The High Priestess swerves into a place of magic and depth. The play has so much subtlety, particularly around wealth and the way it ties marriages and people together, and the invisible struggles of motherhood. A sublime tension builds as we question what is real, and what is imagined. And I have to highlight the excellent little flashes of humanity present in each character, keeping them grounded and (maybe) forgivable.

Pages