Recommended by Scott Sickles

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    The most important lesson I've learned recently is: nobody votes against their own interests. They may vote against their *well-being...* but if they've voted in a way that's harmed themselves it's because something else was more important. Cern takes this postulate to its most honest extreme. Setting it in the rose-colored candy coated America of a Norman Rockwell paining brings the ideological horror to life. Alas the people who most need to see this likely won't be impacted by this reflection of their morals.

    The most important lesson I've learned recently is: nobody votes against their own interests. They may vote against their *well-being...* but if they've voted in a way that's harmed themselves it's because something else was more important. Cern takes this postulate to its most honest extreme. Setting it in the rose-colored candy coated America of a Norman Rockwell paining brings the ideological horror to life. Alas the people who most need to see this likely won't be impacted by this reflection of their morals.

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    An extraordinary tale of camaraderie, duty, and determination on the high seas. This sea is rising fast as the boat is going down. In yet another ten-minute masterpiece (truly, it is), Gatton knocks our heroes and his audience to and fro as emotions surge, buffeted by revelation and circumstance. The way he navigates our expectations and hopes for these characters is equal parts comforting and cruel. A perfect play that gets bonus points for a much discussed pop culture Easter egg. I wish I had written it.

    An extraordinary tale of camaraderie, duty, and determination on the high seas. This sea is rising fast as the boat is going down. In yet another ten-minute masterpiece (truly, it is), Gatton knocks our heroes and his audience to and fro as emotions surge, buffeted by revelation and circumstance. The way he navigates our expectations and hopes for these characters is equal parts comforting and cruel. A perfect play that gets bonus points for a much discussed pop culture Easter egg. I wish I had written it.

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    The very best horror stories are about everyday life. Yet for all of the characters’ ordinariness, Gibbs has placed us in the middle of a world unfamiliar to many – a family home in the Bible Belt. Leaving preconceptions at the door, Gibbs provided small town people whose tiny desires loom large to them. What struck me most was how Dellie and Rich Vitt’s challenge and accept impossible circumstances. Add a preternatural sorrow and the terror of seemingly unstoppable fate, and there’s homespun magic amidst exquisite horror.

    The very best horror stories are about everyday life. Yet for all of the characters’ ordinariness, Gibbs has placed us in the middle of a world unfamiliar to many – a family home in the Bible Belt. Leaving preconceptions at the door, Gibbs provided small town people whose tiny desires loom large to them. What struck me most was how Dellie and Rich Vitt’s challenge and accept impossible circumstances. Add a preternatural sorrow and the terror of seemingly unstoppable fate, and there’s homespun magic amidst exquisite horror.

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    I have a phobia about smoking. (It's called capnophobia - Google it.) As such it's EXTREMELY difficult for me to endure even references to it without agitation or nausea. It is a testament to Houk's skill that I made it through all ten minutes! The play perfectly captures that "eye of the inferno at the end of the world" vibe. While, the characters are all gorgeously rendered, I especially loved Vince who strives to reach a poetically beautiful objective while the world runs down the clock. Exquisite!

    I have a phobia about smoking. (It's called capnophobia - Google it.) As such it's EXTREMELY difficult for me to endure even references to it without agitation or nausea. It is a testament to Houk's skill that I made it through all ten minutes! The play perfectly captures that "eye of the inferno at the end of the world" vibe. While, the characters are all gorgeously rendered, I especially loved Vince who strives to reach a poetically beautiful objective while the world runs down the clock. Exquisite!

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    "Amateurs! Amateurs! I'm surrounded by amateurs!" I thought that was Noel Coward but apparently it was Cruella de Vil. Anyway, it's that sprit that pervades, fuels, and elevates this front-of-house farce populated with delightful characters you will recognize from your own life in the thea-tah! Jealousy, insecurity, and schadenfreude abound! Amen fills the play with delightful details amidst banter that pops! There are even a couple doors to slam but please don't! There's a show going on!

    "Amateurs! Amateurs! I'm surrounded by amateurs!" I thought that was Noel Coward but apparently it was Cruella de Vil. Anyway, it's that sprit that pervades, fuels, and elevates this front-of-house farce populated with delightful characters you will recognize from your own life in the thea-tah! Jealousy, insecurity, and schadenfreude abound! Amen fills the play with delightful details amidst banter that pops! There are even a couple doors to slam but please don't! There's a show going on!

  • Scott Sickles: Pancakes in Siberia by Mathew Green
    “

    I'm a sucker for a good father/son story, though here that classification is far more complicated. (You could cast it a few ways...) But I love a good dad doing his best for his troubled teen, especially when those troubles are both unexpected, complex, and utterly relatable. Green tells his story with simple elegance, breathtaking as the winter landscape out the window. (A certain breakfast metaphor has never been more lovingly executed.) A beautiful tale of comfort in exile as the ice breaks.

    I'm a sucker for a good father/son story, though here that classification is far more complicated. (You could cast it a few ways...) But I love a good dad doing his best for his troubled teen, especially when those troubles are both unexpected, complex, and utterly relatable. Green tells his story with simple elegance, breathtaking as the winter landscape out the window. (A certain breakfast metaphor has never been more lovingly executed.) A beautiful tale of comfort in exile as the ice breaks.

    ”
  • Scott Sickles: Duckie Finds a Hole by Mathew Green
    “

    In a day and age where integrity is only at a premium because it's under attack, many of us in the arts think were Charlottes. Then Green introduces her and us to Marsh - an authoritarian cog who's no dummy. The power dynamic is clear throughout as Charlotte is referred to by her first name and Marsh by his last. But the imbalance grows ever clearer as a conversation about children's lit escalates into literary material of another ilk. A harrowing reminder of how fragile integrity truly is.

    In a day and age where integrity is only at a premium because it's under attack, many of us in the arts think were Charlottes. Then Green introduces her and us to Marsh - an authoritarian cog who's no dummy. The power dynamic is clear throughout as Charlotte is referred to by her first name and Marsh by his last. But the imbalance grows ever clearer as a conversation about children's lit escalates into literary material of another ilk. A harrowing reminder of how fragile integrity truly is.

    ”
  • Scott Sickles: This Office is Permanently Closed by Mathew Green
    “

    Well, that's one way to answer the Passover Question. (This is not a play about Passover.)

    The more I read Matthew Green's work, the more I suspect he's pandering to me. Shamelessly!

    As ever, the dialogue is breezy and natural even though the stakes are high. The characters and situations are relatable even if you're a a finance bro or whatever these dudes do. Even the less likeable one you want to have a beer with. The economy of writing is subtly dazzling... as usual.

    And yet... And YET!

    Standing Ovation!

    Well, that's one way to answer the Passover Question. (This is not a play about Passover.)

    The more I read Matthew Green's work, the more I suspect he's pandering to me. Shamelessly!

    As ever, the dialogue is breezy and natural even though the stakes are high. The characters and situations are relatable even if you're a a finance bro or whatever these dudes do. Even the less likeable one you want to have a beer with. The economy of writing is subtly dazzling... as usual.

    And yet... And YET!

    Standing Ovation!

    ”
  • Scott Sickles: Amygdala, or The Rabbit by Mathew Green
    “

    One miracle of this piece is how Green takes an overused trope (talking to a figment of one's imagination that knows it's a figment of one's imagination) and weaves it into an effective manifestation of delayed grief. We all have conversations with ourselves and the dead, sometimes at the same time, but this one is imbued with remarkable specificity, even and especially when it gets a touch weird. It's Harvey for the Bergman set. Spoiler: I've never found the absence of a catharsis so satisfying.

    One miracle of this piece is how Green takes an overused trope (talking to a figment of one's imagination that knows it's a figment of one's imagination) and weaves it into an effective manifestation of delayed grief. We all have conversations with ourselves and the dead, sometimes at the same time, but this one is imbued with remarkable specificity, even and especially when it gets a touch weird. It's Harvey for the Bergman set. Spoiler: I've never found the absence of a catharsis so satisfying.

    ”
  • Scott Sickles: Civics by Maximillian Gill
    “

    I remember my Korean mother taking her citizenship test. I also remember her getting into a fender bender and the redneck driver of the other car calling her every Asian slur he could think of. As a mixed Asian first-generation American who has been called any number of things as a child by other children, CIVICS hits home as an acknowledgment of bigotry-fueled trauma and as a statement about the cultural commodification of its presumed catharsis. A smooth, funny, resonant banger of a satire.

    I remember my Korean mother taking her citizenship test. I also remember her getting into a fender bender and the redneck driver of the other car calling her every Asian slur he could think of. As a mixed Asian first-generation American who has been called any number of things as a child by other children, CIVICS hits home as an acknowledgment of bigotry-fueled trauma and as a statement about the cultural commodification of its presumed catharsis. A smooth, funny, resonant banger of a satire.

    ”