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Larry Rinkel

Recommended by Larry Rinkel

  • The Thought Doesn't Count by Emily Hageman
    21 Dec. 2018
    “ Happy to add my own recommendation to the many already. Taking a seemingly unpromising prop as a catalyst for communication, Emily creates a powerful arc where the couple's loss but ultimately their love for each other is revealed only as the play goes forward. ”
  • Storm Clouds for Lonely Hearts by Quinn Xavier Hernandez
    17 Dec. 2018
    “ Using rain as a central metaphor, the three short scenes of Hernandez's play seem to be told in reverse time-sequence: a night of incredible passion, a somewhat awkward first date, and a chance encounter on a bus. A beautiful small romantic play for the two women, one in which the author satisfies the reader with his compelling stage directions as much as the potential audience sitting in the theater. ”
  • Boner: A Symphony by Elijah Cox
    16 Dec. 2018
    “ The title: a multiple pun, about making mistakes (like hitting a peer in the nose with your trombone slide), playing the ungainly instrument, and getting an erection (which the inept instructor at this half-assed band camp seems to do). This wonderfully engaging, original, and musically knowledgeable "symphony" in 16 "movements" focuses on five high-school trombone students from Michigan and their rivalries, friendships, fears, and ambitions — including their attempt (ultimately successful) to perfect a difficult marching band choreography called a "trombone suicide." Per the author, actors must all play the trombone, though I think being able to simulate would suffice. ”
  • Admittance: A Letter to Northwestern University by Elijah Cox
    16 Dec. 2018
    “ Elijah Cox has written a lively short play about the pressure of getting into a top-flight school and whether it's all about the school itself or pleasing the applicant's parents. Strong dialogue and well-differentiated roles for the two high school students. ”
  • Paper Towels by Nelson Diaz-Marcano
    15 Dec. 2018
    “ Inexorably powerful and gripping. In the wake of Hurricane Maria and the hell on earth that is now Puerto Rico, cousins Mariel and Toño are locked in a stalemate where she tries to prevent him from committing mass murder to call attention to the neglected island's suffering. They resolve it by playing a kids' game with the result that Toño kills himself, and Mariel is left to wipe up his blood with the "paper towels" that were Donald Trump's horrifically insufficient response to the crisis. ”
  • The Play about the Play by David Folwell
    15 Dec. 2018
    “ Every playwright has nightmares about the production where all goes wrong, and in 10 brief pages David Folwell's hapless playwright suffers every imaginable mishap from director, actor, techie, wife, mom, and best of all the actor's Uncle Nick Galosano from Queens, "the guy who paid $15 bucks to see this piece of shit." This will be a lot of fun for anyone who knows what it's like to put on a play. And give Uncle Nick a refund, he's earned it. ”
  • EVERYBODY HATES MARIAH CAREY by Rachael Carnes
    15 Dec. 2018
    “ I so love plays that remind me of how much I dislike Christmas. Watch how Rachael structures this, with short speeches at the start as Alex tries to cheer Sam up, then Sam's story about how his/her dog was put down at Xmas (are there really any vets open that day?), leading to Alex's big speech when we find he/she has endured even more Xmas suffering than Sam. And last Mariah Carey: "the song of the devil oozing up from the eternal underworld to remind me of my pain." The more the characters suffer, the funnier the play.
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  • The Well-Tempered Clavier by Ron Hirsen
    13 Dec. 2018
    “ This deft, fast-moving soufflé calls out for inspired staging, with its cast of five playing twelve parts and stage-hands carrying harpsichords and trunks in and out. The great Bach is trying to gather his favorite sons to play his new Concerto for Four Harpsichords, but keeping the boys in line proves too much and by the end he is reduced to playing the Italian Concerto for Solo Harpsichord. You don't need a knowledge of classical music to enjoy all the clever twists and turns, but it won't hurt to recognize the many musical quotations whistled by son Carl. Great fun. ”
  • Countdown by Straton Rushing
    11 Dec. 2018
    “ This is so sweet, and crafted with a light touch. Best friends Danny and Rachel are ready to re-evaluate their relationship and make love for the first time (his first ever) on New Year's Eve. But complications ensue: her nosy friend Taylor, his nosy roommate AJ, how can you not watch NYE on TV, no condoms in today's pair of pants. Blackout and a kiss just when the ball drops, and fortunately there's a CVS just two blocks away. ”
  • Modern Art by Straton Rushing
    10 Dec. 2018
    “ The meaning of modern art is always ripe for satire, and Straton Rushing explores the topic in this charming small play. Many of the standard tropes about gallery-watching are here: the viewer who can't resist pedantically analyzing a simple painting of a church, the compliments to the performance artist's face that belie the viewers' actual disdain, the blank canvas presented as art. The deftest section in the play is the interplay between Robert and Sarah as they watch a video of performance artist Caeli as she strips naked and inserts cheese into her navel. ”

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