Recommended by Danielle Frimer

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    What a beautiful, strange, timely, poetic piece! I love Kate Tarker's wit and really admire how she's crafted something here that has such a profound and resonant inner ache while painting with big, fun, primary colors. Tarker gifts her ensemble with generous stage directions that allow for robust play and true freedom of interpretation, and cares for her audience, too, by toggling between the alienating and the narratively familiar, thereby allowing us, through her words, to see this very strange world we're all inhabiting afresh...

    What a beautiful, strange, timely, poetic piece! I love Kate Tarker's wit and really admire how she's crafted something here that has such a profound and resonant inner ache while painting with big, fun, primary colors. Tarker gifts her ensemble with generous stage directions that allow for robust play and true freedom of interpretation, and cares for her audience, too, by toggling between the alienating and the narratively familiar, thereby allowing us, through her words, to see this very strange world we're all inhabiting afresh...

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    "The Matriarchs" is a stunning portrait of girls, womxn, mothers, and friends from a brilliant mind; a story made all the more universal because of its hyper specificity. Come for the girls arguing about Halachic law as it pertains to pimple popping, stay for the gorgeously observed nuances of growing up whilst female. I eagerly await seeing this play on stages soon.

    "The Matriarchs" is a stunning portrait of girls, womxn, mothers, and friends from a brilliant mind; a story made all the more universal because of its hyper specificity. Come for the girls arguing about Halachic law as it pertains to pimple popping, stay for the gorgeously observed nuances of growing up whilst female. I eagerly await seeing this play on stages soon.

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    A meet cute melange for our modern moment! Heyman nails quippy flirtation, cleverly utilizes a narrator as not just a storytelling device, but also to heighten the humor of the piece, and deftly and earnestly explores identity and modern relationship dynamics in this tightly structured one act. And hooray for bi representation! I look forward to reading more of this talented playwright's work.

    A meet cute melange for our modern moment! Heyman nails quippy flirtation, cleverly utilizes a narrator as not just a storytelling device, but also to heighten the humor of the piece, and deftly and earnestly explores identity and modern relationship dynamics in this tightly structured one act. And hooray for bi representation! I look forward to reading more of this talented playwright's work.

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    Unsparing & full throated, this play seamlessly makes ancient tropes new—and gives us a fresh lens with which to view them. We feel we KNOW these crystal clear characters, and in that way the Elizabethan shroud is lifted from The Bed Trick and we can see it for what it really is (and always was). Bravo to Blevins for courageously challenging her audience to question their complicity.

    Unsparing & full throated, this play seamlessly makes ancient tropes new—and gives us a fresh lens with which to view them. We feel we KNOW these crystal clear characters, and in that way the Elizabethan shroud is lifted from The Bed Trick and we can see it for what it really is (and always was). Bravo to Blevins for courageously challenging her audience to question their complicity.

  • Danielle Frimer: The Presidential Chili Cook Off by Scott Sickles
    “

    What glorious fun! Sickles had me laughing by the setting description. This play is a masterclass in quick-witted dialogue, clear and hilarious stage pictures, and economic, suspenseful storytelling for the stage. A truly vivid and wacky world springs to life from the jump, and the unfolding mystery is a hilarious thrill ride, while still managing to pack a meaningful punch. I experienced what felt like brain delight bubble pops every other second while reading this play, and I plan to read everything else this talented writer has ever written. Heartily recommend!

    What glorious fun! Sickles had me laughing by the setting description. This play is a masterclass in quick-witted dialogue, clear and hilarious stage pictures, and economic, suspenseful storytelling for the stage. A truly vivid and wacky world springs to life from the jump, and the unfolding mystery is a hilarious thrill ride, while still managing to pack a meaningful punch. I experienced what felt like brain delight bubble pops every other second while reading this play, and I plan to read everything else this talented writer has ever written. Heartily recommend!

    ”