Recommended by Doug DeVita

  • Henry, On Earth
    6 Mar. 2020
    Teen-age angst and a mid-life crisis clash on a school bus in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and the relationship between a father and his son faces its inevitable change. I don't think I've ever read as tender and honest a father-son story as Hilton has created here, and this slice-of-life, coming-of-age drama charms, yet cuts deeply by continuously peeling away layers and layers of feeling and meaning until one is gutted by the sheer sensitivity, beauty and truth invested in both the storytelling and characters. An absolutely lovely work.
  • The Most Beautiful Story
    6 Mar. 2020
    A fable, a folk tale, a morality play, a revenge tragedy, a romantic drama... call it what you will, "The Most Beautiful Story" is indeed beautiful. Intensely theatrical, intensely horrifying, intensely sad, and intensely... beautiful.
  • The Children Who Played at Slaughter
    6 Mar. 2020
    Oh. My. God. This play is savage. Riveting, horrifying, and savage. Because, truthfully, children ARE savage, and Hansen has painted a chilling portrait of children at their most utterly savage. I'm glad I read it in the morning, and not right before I went to sleep.
  • The Feline Optometrist
    5 Mar. 2020
    I can't stop laughing. Taking on film noir and cat lovers with a typically Bicknellian flair for zany logic and hilarious punch lines, this play is absolutely delightful: a good read that I'm willing to bet is an absolute hoot when staged. Truly the black and white cat's meow. Read it and weep – with laughter.
  • Make Way
    5 Mar. 2020
    Profoundly disturbing, and written in a matter-of-fact way that underlines how chilling this world is, despite the roaring fire at the center of the play. For that fire exists to burn books, which is to burn both knowledge and cherished memories. A truly heartbreaking, harrowing, and unfortunately necessary work, one of Osmundsen’s bleakest, and best.
  • Unfit Puzzle Pieces: A Monologue
    5 Mar. 2020
    Breakups suck. When they happen via text, they’re even worse. Deray captures those awful feelings with one long scream of pain which will be instantly recognizable for any one who’s gone through it, and will be a wonderful piece for any young actor to perform.
  • Cold Dead Heart
    5 Mar. 2020
    This is one of the wittiest, funniest, and most elegant plays about love I’ve read in quite a while. That its two lovers are a mortal and a vampire, each longing for what the other one has — ie: life vs. immortality — adds an underlying sense of pathos to the comedy which lets the script come alive with dazzling, bubbly force. Highly recommended.
  • TOES TAPPING WILDLY, a 30 minute comedy for 12+ actors
    5 Mar. 2020
    Highly theatrical, enormously charming, and just plain fun, this play is a densely packed ten minutes that seems longer — and in this case that’s a compliment — and yet one doesn’t want it to end. Absolutely wonderful.
  • PORK ROLL, EGG & CHEESE (Full-Length)
    3 Mar. 2020
    A delightful family/generational comedy drama, "Pork Roll, Egg & Cheese" piles on the issues facing a not-so-politically correct 20th Century man as he tries to negotiate his way through an Uber-sensitive 21st century world. Cavanaugh skillfully maneuvers through the various troubles and traumas his multi-plot script generates, and the laughs are genuine (if sometimes decidedly NOT politically correct) and the feels are real. Oh, and if you're not familiar with Pork Roll, a number of us know it better as Taylor Ham. Whatever it's called, it's delicious. Like this play.
  • Brian's Poems
    2 Mar. 2020
    This is one of Rinkel’s most intimate, poignant, and touching works. Smart, funny, easy to stage and with three great roles, it should be a no-brainer for inclusion in short play festivals everywhere. Beautiful work.

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