Recommended by Emily McClain

  • The Unexpected Delight of Snow Birds
    28 Dec. 2023
    I enjoyed hearing this beautiful play read aloud and found the relationship between the two characters to be completely charming and authentic. It's a wonderful exploration of how different people cope with loss and how that changes our experience of the holidays. While I wouldn't enjoy Brian's gift either, I would love to have a partner with that level of thoughtfulness, however off-the-mark it was. I hope their new holiday tradition lasts many more years!
  • TOADS!!! (an amphibious nativity play)
    28 Dec. 2023
    The ideal palate cleanser for too-much-Christmas would of course involve body horror and talking toads. What else could you ask for in a nativity play? Blevins brings her incredible talent to this new folktale and makes the absolutely most of this hilarious title. Read this play!
  • THE SEVERED HEAD ATOP THE TREE HAS A FEW THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THE HOLIDAY
    28 Dec. 2023
    As someone who is bullied into putting up Christmas decorations myself, the question at the heart of this wonderful short play really spoke to me: how important are traditions? How do we maintain connections with the past without rituals, especially if those rituals involve dusty talking oranments? Richter's play has excellet comic pacing and he's got a great ear for the perfect one-liners. Well done!
  • You Need Nutmeg in Fishkill
    28 Dec. 2023
    Like an episode of Father Knows Best watched through an A24 horror-filter, You Need Nutmeg in Fishkill takes familiar 1960's sitcom characters and peels back the layers to reveal the terrifying truth lurking beneath. Martin claims this is unproduceable but it's extremely readable and has a wonderfully satisfying ending moment. Cuddle up with your favorite demonic being and enjoy!
  • The United Plays of America - Nevada - The Loneliest Road in America
    3 Aug. 2023
    I love plays about complicated sibling relationships and when you add in a touch of science fiction and dark humor, I'm totally hooked! Wonderful work as always and I'm looking forward to checking out more from the United Plays collection.
  • Earth and Moon
    22 Apr. 2023
    We should all be so lucky to have a friend like Moon who tells Earth the truth and refuses to let us disconnect from reality. This really smart play would be a brilliant opener to a panel on climate change or in a festival of environmental-based plays. It prompts discussion with the allegory of a friend staging a much-needed intervention with a friend who is trouble. Excellent work!
  • The Happy Incident on Aisle 5 of the Delicioso Food Market & Deli at 11:47 P.M., or, In Passing [a 1-minute play]
    22 Apr. 2023
    We all need more whimsy in our lives and Steve Martin's delightful 1-minute play delivers a meaningful moment shared between strangers at a grocery store. It made my heart lighter to read it! Wonderful work!
  • The Polycule: A Comedy of Manners
    30 Mar. 2023
    A perfect satire of the complexities and piccadillos of polyamorous life. Moliere would be absolutely delighted by this titilating verse comedy-- and contemporary readers and audiences will too. A truely exceptional comedy of manners for the 21st century! I'm simply tartuffified! :)
  • Podcast Magic - A ONE MINUTE PLAY
    29 Mar. 2023
    This short play is an absolute delight and so spot-on accurate! So what if I find gristly descriptions of crimes retold by soothing female voices to be the perfect thing to fall asleep to? Mind your business! Thank you for making me feel very validated and seen, Debra!
  • Untimely, or, the Joy of Procrastination
    22 Jan. 2023
    I saw myself so deeply in Chuck's panic and frustration at Ginny's complete unflappable nature- I often ask my perpetually last-minute friends 'WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!?!" And yet, in the gentle and humorous way that is so representative of Martin's work and worldview, this play reflects the idea that Ginny's way isn't worse than Chuck's- it's just different. Love it!

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