Recommended by Doug DeVita

  • The Scenic View
    6 May. 2020
    Writing with Woody Allen's sense of existentialism, but with a lighter and less self-persecuting tone, Izzy Salant's "The Scenic View" is a killer comedy. I won't say anything more than I absolutely loved it; if you want to know why, read it and let Mike tell you.

  • Brothers on a Hotel Bed (15 minute play)
    5 May. 2020
    Sensitively drawn two-hander about half-brothers forced by circumstance to share a bed in a seedy hotel right after learning of each other’s existence. Beautifully handled all the way through, with lots of humor peppered through the poignancy. Two great roles for younger actors.
  • Meet Puberty
    5 May. 2020
    All the concurrently conflicting emotions of puberty are on vivid display and delightfully realized in this laugh-out-loud but poignant comedy. Particularly inventive is O’Doherty’s use of the emotions Joy and Anger, physically represented as speaking characters being goaded by a deviously charming Puberty, as a sort of Greek Chorus leading us — and Amelia, the main character — through the wildly fluctuating feelings the young protagonist experiences as she’s starting to face the changes she’s going to be going through. A totally winning little gem.
  • The Home for Retired Canadian Girlfriends
    4 May. 2020
    With more LOLs per second than should be legal anywhere in the world, John Bavoso's "The Home For Retired Canadian Girlfriends" exceeds its brilliant premise and becomes one of the most delightfully dizzy comedies I've read in a long time. And as much fun as it is to read, I can only imagine how dazzling it is to see it performed. Great, hilarious fun.
  • Sink
    4 May. 2020
    "Sink," part three of Alex Kulak's Father-Son Cycle, is the darkest, most emotionally shattering of the trio. Again, Kulak's dialogue flows naturally, beautifully specific to character, and builds the story to its intensely horrifying climax with ease. A terrific showcase for the two actors playing the toxic father and his damaged son.
  • Rebound
    4 May. 2020
    This second play in Alex Kulak's Father-Son Cycle explores emotional repression in a broken family in rural Illinois. Once again Kulak displays a fine hand in dissecting dysfunctional family dynamics; his dialogue flows easily from his well-defined characters, and tells their story simply, beautifully, and with a natural, raw power.
  • The Lawyer's Father
    4 May. 2020
    A terrific political drama spanning decades, Kulak's take on troubled Father-Son relationships across two generations within the same family, is never less than riveting, and frequently heartbreaking. The first of three Father-Son plays, I'm looking forward to reading the next two in the cycle.
  • Disappearing Magic
    4 May. 2020
    Eerily magical, Firestone's fantasy memory play packs a lot into its 12 pages, not the least of which is a rising line of tension that steadily builds to a wonderfully prestidigitatious conclusion.
  • Butterflies
    4 May. 2020
    A thrilling adventure ride through a dystopian future (or is it past?) with dark noir-ish tones, this is a relentless – and relentlessly riveting – work from Frandsen. Intricately plotted, with memorably drawn characters, this should prove to be a stunner when staged. Provocative, tense, edge-of-your-seat entertaining.
  • The Holding Space
    4 May. 2020
    The weight of grief, burdened by inbred prejudices and hate, becomes too much to bear for Bronze, the central character in Kate Schwartz' heartbreaking fable adapted from Anton Chekhov's short story, "Rothschild's Fiddle." Intensely theatrical, and deeply moving, this is a wonderful play, with plenty of opportunity for inventive staging.

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