Recommended by Scott Sickles

Relentlessly hilarious, gorgeously observed, and eternally timely, the climate change satire delivers its message without being eclipsed by it.

I saw the Zoom presentation for Theater Resources Unlimited’s TRUspeak benefit. The characters are terrific, the exchanges are riddled with great dinosaur (and roach) humor, and things only get funnier as that meteor gets closer.

There are layers and layers to discuss but enjoy it for the great comedy it is first.

WHILE YOU CAN!!!

HA!!!

HA!!! YES!!! and OH, NO!!!

Cross’s Pantheon War plays are consistently delightful, but this one is extra special. Infused with irreverent humor yet never abandoning its arch classical tone, there are laughs, a battle, and a great twist all on one page!

Marveling at the economy of writing is but one tiny joy in this hilarious installment. What fun this would be to stage!!!

I wish I could remember the moment I realized “yes, this!” But then I’ve always been a ham.

Martin visualizes that moment perfectly, juxtaposing masterful contemporary entertainment with classic high art. One instantly imagines his heroine’s future, surrounded by philistines, forced into iconoclasm for her own sanity, the obstacles she survives fueling what will become her art. All distilled into this one minute.

I can’t wait for her to see DAY FOR NIGHT!

To call this play “thought provoking” would be a spectacular understatement. (Apologies if you did.) I saw the exquisite production at Portland Stage (online). Lam raises important questions about power and race, taking no prisoners. The civilization that evolved over 165 years without white people is no egalitarian paradise. They have a long memory for racism, yet embrace draconian authority. A dystopia would be a blessing on this planet. While it is funny, all thrusters burn brightest during moments of high conflict, when characters are negotiating for a landing or their lives. A sharp satire and searing indictment!

This horror play is a cliche-ridden disaster from beginning to end!

BRAVO!!!

It’s like Steve Coogan’s teacher in HAMLET 2 decided to stage every William Castle move at the same time! The only reason there isn’t a hand suddenly reaching out of a grave is because they’re in a house.

Even the character’s names are just perfect.

Soucy has written a love letter, nay, a blank verse sonnet complete with spandex walls for those of us who love bad horror.

Again, BRAVAAAAAAAAARRRRRGH! (Thud.)

After reading this out loud, I feel like I’ve gone ten rounds in a boxing ring. Which is how I impinge the titular speaker and all the teachers he represents must feel.

The whitewashing of education and erasure of other cultures is a complex and insidious method of instilling fascism into public schools and Wyndham calls it out!!! Not just the “non-divisive” curriculum but how white supremacist policies are forcing teachers to find other work to survive, leaving students at the mercy of stooges.

A hard-hitting piece that should be read at every public school and legislature.

Pets are family. Our non-human companions have their own thoughts, personalities, and preferences, and their most inexplicable traits are often the most endearing. When those whirlwinds of affection and idiosyncrasies are gone, the void is chaotic. We try to make sense of it, and that way lies agony.

Fields has fashioned a perfect non-eulogy eulogy for a beloved pup. Anyone who’s lost an animal companion, especially one they’ve had for a long time, will feel like they’re in a time machine. The details are perfect and you’ll mourn Bogie, like he was your dog too.

The thing about campfire stories is there are only so many of them. What makes them different are the details and the storyteller.

Daniel Prillaman is an exquisite storyteller.

Here, he’s created two impressive campfire raconteurs who spin creepy tales like spiders’ webs, using sleight of hand to ratchet suspense and deliver twists. As they creep each other out, Prillaman does the same to us.

There’s also a inevitability to horror. There’s no escape as the truth moves from the corners of your eyes and stands before you. The end is heartbreaking and the final image, lyrical.

“Don’t wish death on your enemies. Wish geese on them.”
~ a meme

Everyone who has come across them in a public park know that geese are Satan’s minions and that earth is their playground where they lie in wait for victims to bully. Many of us have experienced this encounter. Dickson dramatizes the geese/human conflict from the avian point of view and takes no prisoners. The characterizations are spot-on and the scene escalates with anthropomorphized realism. And indictment against thuggish winged oppressors that presents karmic consequences without judgement. It’s also great fun!

As a philosphy major with an armchair effection for deities and Elder Gods, this Evening felt like a gift.

With the weight of the universe and the lightness of a breeze, Soucy gives us a conversation for the ages. He somehow captures the enormity of omniscience, the complex nature of metaphysical ubiquity, and the symbiotic relationship to the human search for meaning in an infitnite ocean of meaninglessness. Yet he gives it all a comfortable, even personal/personable touch.

Humanity has never been rendered more insigifcant yet simultaneously been so seen. The final moments are elegance personified. A mindblower.