Recommended by Scott Sickles

While likely depedent upon the earlier pieces in the series, ACCELERATION lives up to its title. It begins with a deeply unethical situation and before too long, shows us how the characters got there. Sweson does a great job creating disconcerting scenarios that make us want to raise our hands and say, “wait, how can that be happening?” only to enlighten us later. The explanations are reliablly more messed up that we could have predicted. Best of all, they make perfect sense logically while being ethically horrific. A boom-boom-boom of storytelling!

I have a basic philosophy about healing and suffering. The examples change but it’s basically, “Your apocalypse doens’t make my paper cut hurt less.” People who’ve endured hardship in the past often push their resilience onto those enduring present pain. We can’t foist our paneceas on other people’s wounds.

However…

We can pass along our experiences and encourage the best.

PRE-WAR presents two survivors. O’Grady sheds just enough light on thier lives to inspire them to share more with each other, showing how history and simple gestures can heal great wounds.

What a gentle respite.

There’s something about the bond between fathers and daughters: a closeness during childhood that grows turbulant when daddy’s little girl evolves into a rebellious young woman.

Hunt gives us just a hint of life outside of this beautiful placid moment, but it’s enough to paint a panorama of two slowly diverging lives that, one hopes and believes, will never drift too far. The emotions are buttressed by a love for and from a lost grand/father whose nicknames were uncharacteristically sentimenal for a grounded man. It’s a sturdy family tree.

It’s okay to hate your mother.

Trust me.

it’s okay not to forgive her… to cut her out of your fucking life.

What’s not okay… what’s aboslutley unacceptable… is denying someone their anger at being hurt.

What’s not okay is to respond so someone’s rage with, “You have to forgive her. She’s the only mother you’ve got.”

So, I’m Team Karlie.

Donnelly paints a vivid portrait of the scorched earth of intergenerational abuse. Not only the pain but the pragmatic self-preservation. When joy isn’t worth the risk.

A gut-punch.

I have never partaken of The Ecstacy but if it’s even half as joyous as this play, I’d be in serious trouble.

I remember the eve of the millennium. So much anxiety. Gatton lands us in the middle of an oasis of bliss. Of hope. Of possiblity. At the end of an era where teenagers knew what checks were. And then… WOW!

The characters are as vivid and complex as the colors on an acid trip. The heart of this play overflows, grounded in an ordinariness that demands to be overcome by unconsidered delights.

A masterpiece.

While I didn’t picture Fred Savage and Peter Falk, this definitely has some Princess Bride Grandpa/Grandson vibes. A sweet celebration of intergenerational bonds that transcend separation while providing potent commentary on a society addicted to being indoors. A gem.

All sagas must come to an end and after traversing decades and jumping genres, Great Britain’s First Ever Vampire Teddy ties a snazzy bow on his adventures… for now… (He IS immortal…)

This epic finale (15-20 minutes!) is a solo tour de force!

What I’ve always loved The Bear that he’s a master of embellishment. It’s impossible to tell if he’s making it all up or, if in the universe of the play, this insanity is really happening. Does it matter? No! Which makes the magic more magical!

Give in to his dark plush embrace!

The path to glory does not always follow the map! Sometimes, one must journey away from the trodden path. Storming the castle can wait. There are other dragons to be slain, smaller in stature but formidable nonetheless, guarding even more precious treasure. Time time comes in every quest where one must roll for initiative… and GO!

SIDEQUEST is a delightful distraction from the quest of your day. It presents beautifully awkward likely neudivergent folks using real world magic to fight interior monsters in the maze of connection. Surprises abound, big and small. Roll the bones and cast that spell!

I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO PRODUCE THIS WITHOUT USING HARP MUSIC!!!
DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS???

I didn't think so!

But seriously, the possibilities for beautiful creative stage composition, costuming, music, and soundscapes are vast at the sky in this ode to longing with the most elegant lunar "get up off your ass" bitch-slap. The apathy of celestial beings to the plight of mere mortals has a blithely profound impact on the proceedings, reminding us we're all on our own... now what?

It is an open secret that Vince Gatton is a timeless being bearings witness to the passing of the ever-moving epochs of civilization.

Here, he's not even trying to hide it.

Past, present, and future all converge and diverge in the wake of a single indelible tragedy. Yet this is no time-travel tale: it's a simple domestic scene between mother and son, replete with cruelty-as-amusement, intergenerational music/fashion/tech/ideology, the parallels of rebellious youth in different eras, and rare affection.

The sociopolitical commentary is intimate as the wounds it recalls, but despite anguish there is beauty and somehow hope.