Recommended by jose sebastian alberdi

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    A modern masterpiece. Malley starts us in a place of fast and furious intergenerational comedy before expertly and methodically ratcheting up the tension and unease of Walid's predicament, slowly stripping away any and all comforts and leaving us in a place of deeply upsetting, real life horror. (Although if we've been paying any attention, we'd know it was inevitable.) In a just world this play would be slated for production immediately.

    A modern masterpiece. Malley starts us in a place of fast and furious intergenerational comedy before expertly and methodically ratcheting up the tension and unease of Walid's predicament, slowly stripping away any and all comforts and leaving us in a place of deeply upsetting, real life horror. (Although if we've been paying any attention, we'd know it was inevitable.) In a just world this play would be slated for production immediately.

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    A play about Korean, and a laugh until you cry elegy that holds anyone who failed to learn a language well enough core (Kor) to their identity. I saw a reading of this play last night and it blew me away, the scene with Grandpapoots is theatrical brilliance & did that rare theatrical thing where you're like "Jesus Christ, I'm laughing, & I'm meant to be, but it's so awful! What the f---!" Ashil is a mad genius with a giant heart; I can't wait to see this play fully realized, hopefully very soon.

    A play about Korean, and a laugh until you cry elegy that holds anyone who failed to learn a language well enough core (Kor) to their identity. I saw a reading of this play last night and it blew me away, the scene with Grandpapoots is theatrical brilliance & did that rare theatrical thing where you're like "Jesus Christ, I'm laughing, & I'm meant to be, but it's so awful! What the f---!" Ashil is a mad genius with a giant heart; I can't wait to see this play fully realized, hopefully very soon.

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    WOOF! (And not just a sound hungry furries make ((read the play b4 you get mad at me)). A deceptively harrowing night of theatre that looks at the "justice" doled onto the villain(s) that shaped (y)our youth and early adulthood. Kaleidoscopic in feeling but simple like a magic trick in its playing--just two people on a stage playing pretend--Melt.Punish is scary, sad, and quietly answers its own thirst for blood and answers. Is it true? I don't know... but the witch will still melt regardless.

    WOOF! (And not just a sound hungry furries make ((read the play b4 you get mad at me)). A deceptively harrowing night of theatre that looks at the "justice" doled onto the villain(s) that shaped (y)our youth and early adulthood. Kaleidoscopic in feeling but simple like a magic trick in its playing--just two people on a stage playing pretend--Melt.Punish is scary, sad, and quietly answers its own thirst for blood and answers. Is it true? I don't know... but the witch will still melt regardless.

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    A snappy, hilarious, and ultimately heart-gripping play about teenaged girls on the brink of symbolic 15 year old womanhood trying to find their place--and missing friend-- in our often messed up world. Touches upon a bunch of different topics in a way that feels deft, natural, and best of all, story motivated. + an amazing P.S.

    A snappy, hilarious, and ultimately heart-gripping play about teenaged girls on the brink of symbolic 15 year old womanhood trying to find their place--and missing friend-- in our often messed up world. Touches upon a bunch of different topics in a way that feels deft, natural, and best of all, story motivated. + an amazing P.S.

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    A play that's as funny as it is distressing. There is so much to admire and enjoy in Malley's play--from the dialogue, to the humor, to the theatricality, to the poetry--but the thing I find most moving, the thing I keep coming back to, is the rare depiction of a grandmother and her grandson grappling with the ways in which the men in their romantic lives have used and hurt them. Like grandmother like grandson. A play that lets every actor shine. I can't wait to see it produced.

    A play that's as funny as it is distressing. There is so much to admire and enjoy in Malley's play--from the dialogue, to the humor, to the theatricality, to the poetry--but the thing I find most moving, the thing I keep coming back to, is the rare depiction of a grandmother and her grandson grappling with the ways in which the men in their romantic lives have used and hurt them. Like grandmother like grandson. A play that lets every actor shine. I can't wait to see it produced.

  • jose sebastian alberdi: Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them by A. Rey Pamatmat
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    One of my favorite plays of all times. When I first read it I remember knowing that I was deeply moved and enamored with the play, but I also feared thinking about it too much because I was afraid that it would unlock some eternal wailing inside of me, or make me reckon with something I'm still too afraid to touch inside of my heart. That's a very dramatic way to say this play is beautiful gem we should all experience at one point in our lifetime because we're all better people after it.

    One of my favorite plays of all times. When I first read it I remember knowing that I was deeply moved and enamored with the play, but I also feared thinking about it too much because I was afraid that it would unlock some eternal wailing inside of me, or make me reckon with something I'm still too afraid to touch inside of my heart. That's a very dramatic way to say this play is beautiful gem we should all experience at one point in our lifetime because we're all better people after it.

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  • jose sebastian alberdi: The RENT Play by Jan Rosenberg
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    This play made me laugh and fed my often-emotional nostalgia monster. A love letter to every theatre lover who started loving theatre because of musicals / online & IRL communities that touched and knew our deepest secrets and desires. This play exists as a deeply entertaining archive and snapshot of a bygone (very special but did we realize?) time in Broadway history and I'd love to see it on its feet. Thanks for this, Jan.

    This play made me laugh and fed my often-emotional nostalgia monster. A love letter to every theatre lover who started loving theatre because of musicals / online & IRL communities that touched and knew our deepest secrets and desires. This play exists as a deeply entertaining archive and snapshot of a bygone (very special but did we realize?) time in Broadway history and I'd love to see it on its feet. Thanks for this, Jan.

    ”
  • jose sebastian alberdi: Natural History by Collin Van Son
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    After seeing this play read twice at the O'Neill's National Playwrights Conference I've come to the conclusion that Collin Van Son is a poet, a folk historian, and a hilarious, thoughtful writer. A post-apocalyptic play that cleverly unfolds into a meditation on folk history, the gifts of our National Parks, and everything that is at stake in our rapidly warming planet with an ending that'll break your heart. I'd love to see this play produced, although I know I'd be a little devastated by the end of it—but maybe we deserve that?

    After seeing this play read twice at the O'Neill's National Playwrights Conference I've come to the conclusion that Collin Van Son is a poet, a folk historian, and a hilarious, thoughtful writer. A post-apocalyptic play that cleverly unfolds into a meditation on folk history, the gifts of our National Parks, and everything that is at stake in our rapidly warming planet with an ending that'll break your heart. I'd love to see this play produced, although I know I'd be a little devastated by the end of it—but maybe we deserve that?

    ”
  • jose sebastian alberdi: The Matriarchs by Liba Vaynberg
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    Liba Vaynberg's The Matriachs is brilliant. This play unfolds like one of those too-short nights spent (lovingly) arguing with your friends about the mysteries and complexities of human life and existence. I got to see two readings of the play at O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and both times left the theatre a little smiley, a little in awe, and a little heartbroken thinking about what it means to be a human, a parent, a child, and a friend in a world that feels more uncertain by the hour. I'd love to see this play produced ASAP!

    Liba Vaynberg's The Matriachs is brilliant. This play unfolds like one of those too-short nights spent (lovingly) arguing with your friends about the mysteries and complexities of human life and existence. I got to see two readings of the play at O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and both times left the theatre a little smiley, a little in awe, and a little heartbroken thinking about what it means to be a human, a parent, a child, and a friend in a world that feels more uncertain by the hour. I'd love to see this play produced ASAP!

    ”
  • jose sebastian alberdi: Love I AWETHU Further by a.k. payne
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    This play is gorgeous and tender and painful and beautiful. I saw a reading of it at the O'Neill's National Playwrights Conference and I've been craving a fully-realized production ever since. a.k.'s way of dramatizing love and tenderness and revolution between the people in this play is a thing of beauty and revelation. I think I'll be thinking about this play for a long, long time. I can't wait to see it produced.

    This play is gorgeous and tender and painful and beautiful. I saw a reading of it at the O'Neill's National Playwrights Conference and I've been craving a fully-realized production ever since. a.k.'s way of dramatizing love and tenderness and revolution between the people in this play is a thing of beauty and revelation. I think I'll be thinking about this play for a long, long time. I can't wait to see it produced.

    ”