Recommended by Daniel Hirsch

  • Daniel Hirsch: Webster's Bitch (One-Act) by Jacqueline Bircher
    “

    I saw this play at the 2019 Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival and it made we want to both hoot "Yesss bitch!" at the top of my lungs AND deeply interrogate the gendered and political valance of such a phrase. A play that makes one want to do both those things at the same time is a real gem. Bircher has created something that is deeply funny, intelligent, and political all at once.

    I saw this play at the 2019 Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival and it made we want to both hoot "Yesss bitch!" at the top of my lungs AND deeply interrogate the gendered and political valance of such a phrase. A play that makes one want to do both those things at the same time is a real gem. Bircher has created something that is deeply funny, intelligent, and political all at once.

    ”
  • Daniel Hirsch: After Eternity by Eugenie Carabatsos
    “

    In this surreal, dreamy play, we watch the the entire arch of relationship unfold—full of joy, claustrophobia, and revelations. Eugenie Carabatsos has created a simple, yet imaginative framework, to explore what is most elemental about being human. I would love to a see a production of this play and think it would be very fun to work on.

    In this surreal, dreamy play, we watch the the entire arch of relationship unfold—full of joy, claustrophobia, and revelations. Eugenie Carabatsos has created a simple, yet imaginative framework, to explore what is most elemental about being human. I would love to a see a production of this play and think it would be very fun to work on.

    ”
  • Daniel Hirsch: Umbrellas for Everyone by Whitney Rowland
    “

    In a country where every week there seems to a be another Pulse or a Parkland shooting, this ever-relevant play is a satirical gut punch that will make you laugh, cringe, and then haunt you for sometime after you've seen it. I saw it at CMU's Playground Festival where it was staged in a public space and the gathered crowd was mesmerized, shocked, and ultimately very moved.

    In a country where every week there seems to a be another Pulse or a Parkland shooting, this ever-relevant play is a satirical gut punch that will make you laugh, cringe, and then haunt you for sometime after you've seen it. I saw it at CMU's Playground Festival where it was staged in a public space and the gathered crowd was mesmerized, shocked, and ultimately very moved.

    ”
  • Daniel Hirsch: GIANT SLALOM by Jess Honovich
    “

    A perfect example of how to find universal in the specific. "Giant Slalom" tells a story of teenage female competitive skiers—and does so with incredible authority and humor— but also one about the utterly complex and fraught dynamics of competition, friendship, and growing up. Whether or not you've ever taken a chairlift to the top of a mountain, this is a play that will grab you and move you in ways you may not expect.

    A perfect example of how to find universal in the specific. "Giant Slalom" tells a story of teenage female competitive skiers—and does so with incredible authority and humor— but also one about the utterly complex and fraught dynamics of competition, friendship, and growing up. Whether or not you've ever taken a chairlift to the top of a mountain, this is a play that will grab you and move you in ways you may not expect.

    ”
  • Daniel Hirsch: You Are What You by Mora V. Harris
    “

    I saw a staged reading of "You Are What You" as part of City Theatre's Momentum Reading Series. Much like the object of a competitive eater's eye—just one of this play's beautifully complex, startlingly original characters—it was a smorgasbord to take in. Funny above all else, but also moving and dynamic and strange (spoiler alert- there is a Pot Roast and she is delicious), Mora V. Harris has concocted a well-balanced meal of a play that had me thinking about food as nostalgia engine, toxic American consumption habits, and what it means to be in a family.

    I saw a staged reading of "You Are What You" as part of City Theatre's Momentum Reading Series. Much like the object of a competitive eater's eye—just one of this play's beautifully complex, startlingly original characters—it was a smorgasbord to take in. Funny above all else, but also moving and dynamic and strange (spoiler alert- there is a Pot Roast and she is delicious), Mora V. Harris has concocted a well-balanced meal of a play that had me thinking about food as nostalgia engine, toxic American consumption habits, and what it means to be in a family.

    ”