Recommended by Abe Johnson

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    Deliciously grand, totally inviting, and bubbling with comedy, this play is a wildly fun love letter to ambition and status and divas of a bygone era. SO vivid, in visual language and written language, that's it's thrilling to think about what this could look like onstage. It's a dazzling, absurd, and somehow cozy world with twists that genuinely made me gasp. The relationship at the core is so singular, too— bizarre and tender and delightfully won. Referential yet totally original. Adored!!!

    Deliciously grand, totally inviting, and bubbling with comedy, this play is a wildly fun love letter to ambition and status and divas of a bygone era. SO vivid, in visual language and written language, that's it's thrilling to think about what this could look like onstage. It's a dazzling, absurd, and somehow cozy world with twists that genuinely made me gasp. The relationship at the core is so singular, too— bizarre and tender and delightfully won. Referential yet totally original. Adored!!!

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    A gorgeously theatrical, wildly fun Southern Fried fantasia, this jet-fueled comedy blends fast food staff training, morality play, ensemble character swapping, and campy whodunnit with precise comedy chops. Rockwell brilliantly highlights the more nuanced parts of Ch*k-F*l-A culture— the way that class, religion, family-first ideals, and Boomer legacy creates a singular, absurdly funny ecosystem. An absolute joy, I was giggling from the first page to the last! A wildfire success-- produce this!

    A gorgeously theatrical, wildly fun Southern Fried fantasia, this jet-fueled comedy blends fast food staff training, morality play, ensemble character swapping, and campy whodunnit with precise comedy chops. Rockwell brilliantly highlights the more nuanced parts of Ch*k-F*l-A culture— the way that class, religion, family-first ideals, and Boomer legacy creates a singular, absurdly funny ecosystem. An absolute joy, I was giggling from the first page to the last! A wildfire success-- produce this!

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    SWOON! SWOON! SWOON! Gorgeously paced, delicious character dynamics to track, with monologues that come swinging off the page like a fist, Maddie has once again crafted an instantly loveable play with a precise balance of nuance and heart and humor. Such a clear eyed, FUNNY, tenderly written love letter to horses, competition, and the very real responsibility of caretaking (two-legged and four-legged friends). The final scene and monologue? Hit me with a car! Smart producers should jump on this!

    SWOON! SWOON! SWOON! Gorgeously paced, delicious character dynamics to track, with monologues that come swinging off the page like a fist, Maddie has once again crafted an instantly loveable play with a precise balance of nuance and heart and humor. Such a clear eyed, FUNNY, tenderly written love letter to horses, competition, and the very real responsibility of caretaking (two-legged and four-legged friends). The final scene and monologue? Hit me with a car! Smart producers should jump on this!

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    Deliciously theatrical, whip-smart, and SO SO FUNNY (!!!), I'm obsessed with this script's ability to blend the surprising, gorgeously-big-swing plot moments that are both spectacular and totally grounded in the world Maddie has created??? Vanessa is an instant icon! A joy of a read, I was grinning from the first to last page. Thrilled, too, at the theatrical forms here-- the voice overs, the stage magic, the projections and "Lizzie Maguire Movie" style vespas through Italy? Total bliss!

    Deliciously theatrical, whip-smart, and SO SO FUNNY (!!!), I'm obsessed with this script's ability to blend the surprising, gorgeously-big-swing plot moments that are both spectacular and totally grounded in the world Maddie has created??? Vanessa is an instant icon! A joy of a read, I was grinning from the first to last page. Thrilled, too, at the theatrical forms here-- the voice overs, the stage magic, the projections and "Lizzie Maguire Movie" style vespas through Italy? Total bliss!

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    Is there anyone writing like Valles right now? The answer is no! This play is a visceral, tender, twisted love letter to the strange rituals of 9th grade boys and the things they consume. Valles' attention to detail is surgical-- clearly a teacher at heart, but thrillingly unafraid to mine the dark underbellies of 9th-grade boyhood. A wildfire play with totally singular relationships at the front and center. This play gave me goosebumps, broke my heart, and made me a little queasy. Produce this!

    Is there anyone writing like Valles right now? The answer is no! This play is a visceral, tender, twisted love letter to the strange rituals of 9th grade boys and the things they consume. Valles' attention to detail is surgical-- clearly a teacher at heart, but thrillingly unafraid to mine the dark underbellies of 9th-grade boyhood. A wildfire play with totally singular relationships at the front and center. This play gave me goosebumps, broke my heart, and made me a little queasy. Produce this!

  • Abe Johnson: WE FLY by TJ Young
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    I had goosebumps reading this from the first page to the last. A singular play. A ferocious, precise, richly layered satire that has a finger firmly pressed on every theatrical pressure-point. I'm thrilled at the kaleidoscope of forms being played with— part documentary, part Plantation historical reenactment, part rapture-story, (part Beyonce concert!?! Part Andy Cohen roast!?!)-- not to mention the pinpointed joke placements and a history that still finds a way to haunt every word. Young builds a world that is so expansive and supernatural, with tension and atmosphere ramping into that...

    I had goosebumps reading this from the first page to the last. A singular play. A ferocious, precise, richly layered satire that has a finger firmly pressed on every theatrical pressure-point. I'm thrilled at the kaleidoscope of forms being played with— part documentary, part Plantation historical reenactment, part rapture-story, (part Beyonce concert!?! Part Andy Cohen roast!?!)-- not to mention the pinpointed joke placements and a history that still finds a way to haunt every word. Young builds a world that is so expansive and supernatural, with tension and atmosphere ramping into that incredible retina-burn ending. Sprawling!!! Brilliant!!! Firestorm talent!!!

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    ”
  • Abe Johnson: Harsh Cacophonies I & II by Kev Berry
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    A gymnastic, verbose, thorough dissection of the boundary between gay intimacy/sex, I'm floored at how vivid and wide-reaching this one-person play is. Rodgers and Hammerstein one moment, then Rumi, then spinning into autobiography and love letters to the moon??? Go off! Berry captures the (frightening, almost violent) rituals of gay rejections based on inhuman body standards, then twists the bitterness with an eye towards the transcendental self. A pastiche of gay mythology and theology-- Whitman and Tim Miller and those horny holiday chain texts all rolled into one. To summarize is to reduce...

    A gymnastic, verbose, thorough dissection of the boundary between gay intimacy/sex, I'm floored at how vivid and wide-reaching this one-person play is. Rodgers and Hammerstein one moment, then Rumi, then spinning into autobiography and love letters to the moon??? Go off! Berry captures the (frightening, almost violent) rituals of gay rejections based on inhuman body standards, then twists the bitterness with an eye towards the transcendental self. A pastiche of gay mythology and theology-- Whitman and Tim Miller and those horny holiday chain texts all rolled into one. To summarize is to reduce, but gorgeously structured and wildly impressive.

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    ”
  • Abe Johnson: Everything, Devoured by Katherine Gwynn
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    A wildly queer firestorm of a play that hums with rich dramaturgy, spooky trans excellence, and a thrillingly theatrical deconstruction of Reagan's apocalyptic capitalism. Gwynn is a rip-roaring, fearless voice for our moment. There are so many lines in this play that genuinely made me gasp in their brave, full-throated rage at the 2024 America we all live in. Twisted in the best possible way. Not to mention the campy, glittery, survivalist climax? A gorgeous play to produce in the drag-club-post-capitalist-bunkers we could be living in soon

    A wildly queer firestorm of a play that hums with rich dramaturgy, spooky trans excellence, and a thrillingly theatrical deconstruction of Reagan's apocalyptic capitalism. Gwynn is a rip-roaring, fearless voice for our moment. There are so many lines in this play that genuinely made me gasp in their brave, full-throated rage at the 2024 America we all live in. Twisted in the best possible way. Not to mention the campy, glittery, survivalist climax? A gorgeous play to produce in the drag-club-post-capitalist-bunkers we could be living in soon

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  • Abe Johnson: Everything In Between by John Mabey
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    Tender and funny and wholly captivating, I adore this masterful 10-minute script. Mabey captures the rough edges of loss with wit and charm, not to mention the sniper-to-the-heart cicada ending? Oof! Electric and brilliant and expansive. I’ll be thinking about that 5th grade science report for a while. A gorgeous two-hander certain to steal the spotlight in any 10-minute play festival.

    Tender and funny and wholly captivating, I adore this masterful 10-minute script. Mabey captures the rough edges of loss with wit and charm, not to mention the sniper-to-the-heart cicada ending? Oof! Electric and brilliant and expansive. I’ll be thinking about that 5th grade science report for a while. A gorgeous two-hander certain to steal the spotlight in any 10-minute play festival.

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  • Abe Johnson: rachel, nevada by jose sebastian alberdi
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    Surgically precise in its craft, decadent in its sensuality, and fascinating in how expansive alberdi can craft a world in just four characters, this is a powerhouse of a play that captures loneliness and connection and sky-watching with truly flooring attention. Oofta. So smart and hot and wounded all at once, I'm obsessed with how theatrically inventive this play is, blending form and poetry and novelty with an expert's eye. I couldn't stop reading from the first page to the last. A twisted, lonely joy of a read that I would kill to see onstage.

    Surgically precise in its craft, decadent in its sensuality, and fascinating in how expansive alberdi can craft a world in just four characters, this is a powerhouse of a play that captures loneliness and connection and sky-watching with truly flooring attention. Oofta. So smart and hot and wounded all at once, I'm obsessed with how theatrically inventive this play is, blending form and poetry and novelty with an expert's eye. I couldn't stop reading from the first page to the last. A twisted, lonely joy of a read that I would kill to see onstage.

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