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Larry Rinkel

Recommended by Larry Rinkel

  • Meet Murasaki Shikibu Followed by Book-Signing, and Other Things by Julia Izumi
    11 Apr. 2019
    “ I can only endorse the previous recommendations for this delightfully droll but ultimately elegiac commentary on the nature of creativity and fame. Izumi has no end of fun upending the convention of the author meet-and-greet followed by a questions-and-answers session, or is it a question-and-answer session, or a Q+A (this interchange must be hilarious performed), and then a book-signing. But afterwards the tone changes to something more contemplative and evocative about the nature of art and fame. You will also learn the meaning of the word "amayadori" which has no equivalent in English. ”
  • miku, and the gods. by Julia Izumi
    11 Apr. 2019
    “ A sweet, often funny parable of 12-year-old Miku, a Japanese-American girl who wants to be a god, her Jewish-Peruvian/American friend Ephraim who stutters and wants to be a champion swimmer, her grandma who makes the world's best onigiri (rice balls), and Shara, a god of war who also happens to be a terrific beautician. Who is God, who are the gods, and what is our relationship to them? The calligraphic layout of the script and its lively dialogue make this play as fun to read as it would undoubtedly be to see in performance. ”
  • Animal Kingdom (a one-minute play) by Matthew Weaver
    6 Apr. 2019
    “ While it is unclear how many representatives of each species should be included, or if humans should be among them, or if extinct species should be resurrected a la "Jurassic Park," or if a stage can be found to hold them all, or if they would all get along, there is no question that this play serves its intended function of being a very short play for an infinitely large cast. (And this review is longer than the play itself.) ”
  • *~*ElAgAb FaB*~* by Omer Abbas Salem
    5 Apr. 2019
    “ Dahling, you have simply got to read this FABULOUS monologuey thingy and then you have got to explode the costume budget to have it performed! The drugs1 the sex! the booze! the dress, oh my the dress! Cue lights, cue music, and let's get this Roman emperor to shine!! ”
  • The Boy Who Drew Cats by Greg Lam
    3 Apr. 2019
    “ An enigmatic piece, a kind of parable about the budding young artist who will not do what he is told and is eventually overwhelmed by the results of his creation. There are some production challenges with the sound effects and possibly projections on the stage, but it's a charming short piece I enjoyed reading. ”
  • Biscuit, CB and Whatshisface by Mark V Jones
    28 Feb. 2019
    “ I thought Jones's "Two Tongues" was very good; this one is even better - a powerful, compact, sometimes comic study about three black men unaware they are free even in 1865, and one woman who knows. And still the slaveowners and their dogs are heard offstage, unwilling to let the former slaves go. One of the four returns to the safety of the plantation, while the others continue to freedom and the unknown. The title is about the way these slaves were dehumanized by being given comic names. Jones's "Playwright's Thoughts" ought to be distributed with each program. ”
  • Two Tongues by Mark V Jones
    28 Feb. 2019
    “ Set during the presidency of Andrew Johnson, this play is more a set of twin monologues than a dialogue between the white ex-slaveowner woman and the black female ex-slave. Jones plainly sympathizes with black "Mammy," yet he treats the white woman without caricature. The play is largely written in verse, and among its stronger touches is how the dialogue between the two speakers intertwines at the same time neither is directly aware of the other. As with his powerful "Biscuit-CB-Whatshisname," Jones emphasizes how the black slaves were dehumanized by being deprived of their genuine names. ”
  • The Cages We Build by Emily Hageman
    20 Feb. 2019
    “ This long one-act is not only about teenagers, but for teenagers, in that it is not so complex to be above a young person's understanding, nor so simple as to be pat or superficial. The young protagonist Dean is for most of the play friendless, isolated, and an apparent trouble-maker at school because of his surly and hostile disposition. His parents and stepfather are of little help. But it takes a girl (Lucy) to break through Dean's self-erected cage and open him to the possibility of freedom. I'm reminded of Blake's phrase about our "mind-forged manacles." ”
  • RIPPLE by Rachael Carnes
    13 Feb. 2019
    “ Once again, Rachael Carnes contributes eight pages of inspired silliness. Two black holes about to collide, who may or may not also be characters in a play, who may or may not also be characters who are gay, who may or may not be directed by another character whose hair may be grey. Or Einsteinian white. (I mean his name is Albert and he speaks with a German accent, hint-hint.) One thing is for sure, you need some pretty massive actors for the two main parts. Or maybe not. ”
  • The Alphabet Play by John Blais
    12 Feb. 2019
    “ Prim grammar-school teacher Mrs. Hammermill (love the name) has her hands full with Corbett, who doesn't give the answer expected when she asks the class what letters can also be words. You know: I for eye, C for sea, P for (well), and one more that shocks poor Mrs. Hammermill to her core, yes indeed. A cute little monologue about teachers and their sometimes unpredictable students. ”

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