Recommended by Bethany Dickens Assaf

  • Romeo & Her Sister
    25 Jul. 2022
    WOW! I cannot say enough good things about this witty, aching, downright-lovely play. The dialogue is razor-sharp and the characters each have such unique and powerful (and, truly hilarious) voices. I really admire Blevins' ability to capture such important (if overlooked) histories without the work feeling like a deluge of facts; on the contrary, Romeo & Her Sister boasts a ripping pace and exciting twists and turns! Queerness, here, is also presented in commendable and fascinating period context, demanding we reevaluate rigid notions of identity, while also asking compelling and evergreen questions about belonging and queer love.
  • A Book By Any Other Cover
    10 Apr. 2022
    I would absolutely LOVE to see this play performed and hear the audience react to this play’s hysterically funny premise and sparkling dialogue. I also enjoyed meditating on the premise that the shallow things keeping us apart can also bring us together: if we would only be this honest and generous. One only hopes the best for these two lovely humans moving forward!
  • This Too Could Be Love
    12 Mar. 2022
    I admire this play's questioning, curious spirit and structural brilliance, as we are dropped into a series of fascinating conversations that ebb and flow based on emotional structure, as opposed to traditional exposition, heightening the audience's sense of connection to the themes of faith, purpose, and struggle. McKelvie has such a lovely feel for language and dialogue, her work is pure joy to read and experience. This is one of those plays that demands to be performed and belongs on the stage.
  • The Pee Test
    8 Mar. 2022
    I was so taken with this charming play: the conversational sparkles, without one false note, moving breezily from beat to beat. I was particularly intrigued and impressed with how Hoke sets things up that build up and pay off (Matt's insistence on no stopping, Darla's devil-may-care-water-drinking) while making the ramp-up look effortless. I have high hopes for Matt and Darla (and their hypothetical grandkids)!
  • Kitchen Garden
    7 Mar. 2022
    WOW! This play roped me in from the first page: the conversation between the two characters was natural and amiable, yet I was fascinated by a strange simmering of unresolved tension. Amos is enviably deft in crafting visual imagery through the evocative dialogue: I felt I lived every moment of George's story, which made me feel so connected to Ilsa in her own, evident imagining of events. Brilliant character work and story-telling, clear and high stakes, a shocker of an ending that absolutely works. Highly recommend!
  • Mead and Stu Talk About Penguins
    6 Mar. 2022
    There is so much to love about this short play: the characters are so affable and delightful, with Watson finding just the most sublime (and squirmiest) awkward moments to put them through! This is one that will certainly keep the audience in stitches. A highly enjoyable piece!
  • The Shark Play
    4 Mar. 2022
    I was really taken with this play: Jonte has placed two wonderful and well-crafted characters (with chemistry in spades) in a dynamic situation and allows everything to unfold naturally and with great pathos. The visuals and setting of this piece are compelling to imagine and would be terrific to see onstage. The play ends on the perfect beat, allowing the audience to reflect on the partners' future and the trade-offs we all make between love and self, passion and comfort. A rich and rewarding piece.
  • Perfecting the Kiss: a mockumentary for the stage
    4 Mar. 2022
    I FEEL SO SEEN BY THIS PLAY! I absolutely connected with the complex and painful insecurities of these artists, and despite their foibles, Sickles has crafted them with such care and empathy. He more than delivers on the Narrator's promise to show "what goes on in theater" in the strange land between off-Broadway and community theater (the Romeo and Juliet in the mind of Hitler - sheer comedic brilliance). This is a hilarious treat for all, but a particular love-letter to those of us who abide in theatre's easy (and often, empty) intimacies and hard-won moments of truth.
  • Toxic Norse-culinity
    21 Feb. 2022
    This play is everything one wants from a ten-minute piece: a relevant and empathetic premise delivered through the lens of a truly hilarious and ingenious concept. McLachlan's dialogue here is so witty and spot-on, as are his observations on masculinity and male friendships. This would be a true delight to produce as actors would get a lot of mileage out of these outrageously funny characters!
  • The Murder Play with Jack & Melissa
    21 Feb. 2022
    The Murder Play with Jack & Melissa is a delight: the work is brilliantly deft in its blending of tones and genres (let's see... it's a meet-cute/dark absurdist piece, mixed with a found family narrative and some true crime, topped with a Tarantino-esque amount of gleeful gore). McLachlan balances it all with wit and pathos and creates a singular journey for the audience. I was absolutely riveted!

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