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Franky D. Gonzalez

Recommended by Franky D. Gonzalez

  • A Tree Grows in Longmont by Philip Middleton Williams
    22 Nov. 2019
    “ It had never occurred to me that memories and nostalgia are plays-within-plays until reading A TREE GROWS IN LONGMONT. For Philip Middleton Williams the memories become the literal stuff of dramas and bring audience, actors, and readers close to the playwright in unique ways. The play is meditative, melancholic, hopeful, somber, joyous, and ultimately heartfelt.

    Written with love and layered with heavy-yet-playful dialogue that bends the conventions of what we expect from a play, take this work and read. Watch how the parts flow, and see in real time a tree filled with love comes to life before you. ”
  • Into The River I Went by Nelson Diaz-Marcano
    11 Oct. 2019
    “ There is a magic that comes with Nelson Diaz-Marcano’s work that speaks to something immediate and necessary. In Into the River I Went, Nelson examines society at all levels but through the lens of horror. You will be taken in by the tension and the menace woven throughout. And while the play is a relevant and socially conscious piece of theatre, Diaz-Marciano does not trade the important message off for good narrative. It still is a darn interesting story and a work that will have people in all positions of the theatre excited to bring it to life. ”
  • A World Without Matthew Weaver by Scott Sickles
    2 Sep. 2019
    “ If all the world is a stage and we are but players, we may accept that on NPX we are a microcosm of that world. We are a world of playwrights, and Scott Sickles has imagined a world wherein characters are left without author. Unlike Pirandello's play, however, Sickles recalls the Messiah story of return after a time of absence. Then, if this is a microcosm of the world, is Weaver the promised one...and Sickles his prophet? But then...Oh, sweet baby Matthew Weaver...

    Or this is just a funny play you should with Matthew and Scott's other plays. ”
  • Cooler Near the Lake by Philip Middleton Williams
    1 Sep. 2019
    “ There's the kind of writing that when read, makes you feel as though you're experiencing a memory of your own past. Philip Middleton Williams creates that experience for a reader (and indeed, for any actor who takes these delightful characters on). We go to that summer home. We feel connected to the characters and their situations. We feel the humor and the weight of melancholy. We experience summer by the lake in Michigan and remember a time lost, or a time reclaimed in the reverie of souls coming together again before the season changes and eras end. A wonderful play. ”
  • The Distinguished Gentleman by Liza Powel O'Brien
    30 Aug. 2019
    “ Look, to quote the play:

    It’s strange.
    And sort of wonderful.
    And totally fucked up.

    Seriously, it's a play that is pitch black in its comedy but you will not stop reading. It's frenetic and boisterous. It says so much about our culture and still leaves you in stitches. Liza Powel O'Brien has made a madcap comedy that is at once absurdist and realistic. It's some amazing satire and story-telling here in The Distinguished Gentleman. It's so totally crazy in all the best ways. Read this play! ”
  • There and Back by raul garza
    30 Aug. 2019
    “ I wept. This play hurt so deeply at a wound I never realized I had. I hurt from how brilliant the dialogue was and how beautifully Raul Garza captured the movement of time in this play. It's a play that brings into startlingly clarity the immigrant experience. It shows the sacrifices we make for love and the betrayals of men to their wives. Raul demystifies that era of Camelot in America and presents a view from the second-class. It gives us an insight that if we all had, we'd be a better society than we are now. A beautiful play. ”
  • THE END OF BEAUTY by Cory Hinkle
    30 Aug. 2019
    “ It's a play that goes through time, ask questions of art and the heart. It's tough to get through without tears welling up because of how heartrendingly real it is. There are plays that you read and feel that something deeply mysterious but true is being related to you. And that's really what this play is. It's true. It's true in its beauty, in its heartbreak, in the way we try to find happiness and, tragically fail. This play clings to the past and rushes to the future, while you're let here in the present, in wonderment. ”
  • The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess
    30 Aug. 2019
    “ It's the play that goes there. It's a microcosm of our society and the conversations we're trying to have politely, and dares to get at the heart of the question of America's future. One room, two women, and explosive lines that shifts power and control of the dialogue at the turn of a phrase. It calls out everything from race, ageism, the definition of feminism across age, the notion of acceptable academia, and the list goes on. The play is no laundry list, though. It's a searing drama with the highest stakes. Highly recommended. ”
  • ABIGAIL by Sarah Tuft
    30 Aug. 2019
    “ This was the kind of play that left my skin crawling from how horribly, awfully, and believably real it was. Sarah Tuft lampoons the sacred cows in entertainment and explores, almost grimly, the cycle of predatory behavior and the excuses we make for the sake of our "geniuses." But that's not to say there aren't laughs here. Sarah creates witty, hilarious dialogue that actors wait whole careers to be able to sink their teeth into. ABIGAIL is compelling theatre and insightful critique of our industry. It's a play you need to read, produce, and watch real honest debate unfold afterward. ”
  • FRIENDS WITH GUNS by Stephanie Alison Walker
    30 Aug. 2019
    “ What can I say that hasn't already been said about this amazing play by Stephanie Alison Walker? It has compelling dialogue, it calls for a very long--and difficult--look at the deeply held beliefs and their potential for warping into toxic obsession and masculinity. Both in seeing the play in production and in reading it, I was left wondering about some of my own deeply held beliefs and began analyzing what my positions were and whether I held those beliefs with sincerity or with more sinister purpose. It's a gut-check of a play that will leave you debating long after reading. ”

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