Recommended by Francis RTM Boyle

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    When listening to this play I imagined the indoors of a 4th century Christian church, with niches and candles, and ancient iconography. I could see it clinging to the side of a hill with flood waters rising from below and a race to preserve the strata of such an historic place. It is a character study, where the non-diluvian complications flow from people who are lived-in and complex. It's a testament to the power of the real place that Nora felt compelled to present it to us.

    When listening to this play I imagined the indoors of a 4th century Christian church, with niches and candles, and ancient iconography. I could see it clinging to the side of a hill with flood waters rising from below and a race to preserve the strata of such an historic place. It is a character study, where the non-diluvian complications flow from people who are lived-in and complex. It's a testament to the power of the real place that Nora felt compelled to present it to us.

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    Doxy is a less refined Eleanor Roosevelt, who once declared that "No one can make you feel inferior without your own consent." We live in an era of random stocks-er-pillories, and we're all guilty of something, so let's take Doxy's advice and fart as loud as we can.

    Pilloried is a fine example of wisdom arriving at the strangest of times and the most unlikely of people. Very well done, and no surprise that it won the OOB New Play Festival.

    Very proud to say of Jillian that I knew her when!

    Doxy is a less refined Eleanor Roosevelt, who once declared that "No one can make you feel inferior without your own consent." We live in an era of random stocks-er-pillories, and we're all guilty of something, so let's take Doxy's advice and fart as loud as we can.

    Pilloried is a fine example of wisdom arriving at the strangest of times and the most unlikely of people. Very well done, and no surprise that it won the OOB New Play Festival.

    Very proud to say of Jillian that I knew her when!

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    "The moral universe had not so much decayed here. It had been inverted, like some black hole, under the pressure of all the Earth’s malice..." -Thomas Kennally, Schindler's [List]

    Mere Waters deftly weaves the story of a gynecologist at Auschwitz with magical realism and matters of faith. It is an energetic testament to what people do in impossible situations.

    What will we do to survive; what will we do to help others survive; can we remain moral in a moral-less time, and can we ever be clean? Mere Waters challenges us to ask these questions.

    "The moral universe had not so much decayed here. It had been inverted, like some black hole, under the pressure of all the Earth’s malice..." -Thomas Kennally, Schindler's [List]

    Mere Waters deftly weaves the story of a gynecologist at Auschwitz with magical realism and matters of faith. It is an energetic testament to what people do in impossible situations.

    What will we do to survive; what will we do to help others survive; can we remain moral in a moral-less time, and can we ever be clean? Mere Waters challenges us to ask these questions.

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    I had very little knowledge of either Cushman sister before this play. Jillian Blevins has created a period piece that takes an audience member backstage into the people who orbit Charlotte Cushman, with every character fleshed out as we come to realize, along with Charlotte, that she is a star in a constellation and not the center of everything.

    A piece with opportunities for comedy, farce, drama, and period work, not to mention a bit of Shakespeare, Romeo & Her Sister delivers for all types of actors and audiences.

    I had very little knowledge of either Cushman sister before this play. Jillian Blevins has created a period piece that takes an audience member backstage into the people who orbit Charlotte Cushman, with every character fleshed out as we come to realize, along with Charlotte, that she is a star in a constellation and not the center of everything.

    A piece with opportunities for comedy, farce, drama, and period work, not to mention a bit of Shakespeare, Romeo & Her Sister delivers for all types of actors and audiences.

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    Postpartum is a chilling bit of horror that took me by surprise. Jillian's manipulation of a very real medical condition to its primal and distorted envelope is impactful and left me with a pit in my stomach. What begins as a heartfelt conversation with high stakes became a question of reality versus a strange supernatural force.

    Very well done. If you want to scare everyone in the audience, produce this.

    Postpartum is a chilling bit of horror that took me by surprise. Jillian's manipulation of a very real medical condition to its primal and distorted envelope is impactful and left me with a pit in my stomach. What begins as a heartfelt conversation with high stakes became a question of reality versus a strange supernatural force.

    Very well done. If you want to scare everyone in the audience, produce this.

  • Francis RTM Boyle: CYRANO ON THE MOON by Monica Cross
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    Monica Cross understands Cyrano, both the play and the character This play will serve magnificently, not only as a denoument of the Rostand, but also on its own virtues.

    Cross resurrects Cyrano, Roxanne, and Christian, all to ask the questions they might have pondered in their life, and to summon the bravery to seek different paths. Roxanne drafts Cyrano's afterlife, and, ultimately, she could not have created a better one.

    Cross has the trio face the hurts and fears of the former world and they find promise and possibility in the new. Very well done!

    Monica Cross understands Cyrano, both the play and the character This play will serve magnificently, not only as a denoument of the Rostand, but also on its own virtues.

    Cross resurrects Cyrano, Roxanne, and Christian, all to ask the questions they might have pondered in their life, and to summon the bravery to seek different paths. Roxanne drafts Cyrano's afterlife, and, ultimately, she could not have created a better one.

    Cross has the trio face the hurts and fears of the former world and they find promise and possibility in the new. Very well done!

    ”
  • Francis RTM Boyle: KRAMPUS MY STYLE - a monologue by Monica Cross
    “

    Okay, I want to play Krampus now. Monica Cross' fun monologue is filled with wonderful imagery, and I can see in my mind's eye a curmudgeonly yuletide chimera, echoing the old man in Garfield's Halloween Special, reminiscing about the old days of horrors. Great fun for anyone who gets to play it or see it.

    Okay, I want to play Krampus now. Monica Cross' fun monologue is filled with wonderful imagery, and I can see in my mind's eye a curmudgeonly yuletide chimera, echoing the old man in Garfield's Halloween Special, reminiscing about the old days of horrors. Great fun for anyone who gets to play it or see it.

    ”
  • Francis RTM Boyle: TILL: A Musical by DC Cathro
    “

    Before they were icons, Mamie and Emmett Till were a happy family. Mamie raised the dapper and entertaining Emmett, and, with some prodding from her mother Alma (who won't be contained), dared to explore love again. Beautiful things were on the horizon.

    Wisely, there's no foreshadowing to the horrible events, so they can come from left field. Emmett's brutal lynching is prudently kept offstage. Mamie's decision to display her son's gruesomely tortured body to the world is beautifully presented in the show's final number.

    Till is a musical tragedy with love as the greatest theme. It is a...

    Before they were icons, Mamie and Emmett Till were a happy family. Mamie raised the dapper and entertaining Emmett, and, with some prodding from her mother Alma (who won't be contained), dared to explore love again. Beautiful things were on the horizon.

    Wisely, there's no foreshadowing to the horrible events, so they can come from left field. Emmett's brutal lynching is prudently kept offstage. Mamie's decision to display her son's gruesomely tortured body to the world is beautifully presented in the show's final number.

    Till is a musical tragedy with love as the greatest theme. It is a secular Pieta.

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    ”
  • Francis RTM Boyle: The Unkissed by Matthew Weaver
    “

    Those who wait can be perplexing. To those who do not or will not wait are often confused by the "prudes" who will not simply settle for whatever comes along. And the difference is standards.

    I gratefully join the chorus of those who love this play. Those who will not settle are so beautifully represented, as is the people who come along to tempt us into a nothing. I am so happy the play ends as it does. Well done, Matthew!

    Those who wait can be perplexing. To those who do not or will not wait are often confused by the "prudes" who will not simply settle for whatever comes along. And the difference is standards.

    I gratefully join the chorus of those who love this play. Those who will not settle are so beautifully represented, as is the people who come along to tempt us into a nothing. I am so happy the play ends as it does. Well done, Matthew!

    ”
  • Francis RTM Boyle: Tipping by Jillian Blevins
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    "big Misery Fart" is inspired indeed. This play has me thinking about the song from Damn Yankees, "Two Lost Souls." There are a good many people who can relate to the two inhabitants of this play's world. Some of the most important things in life can happen when you're waiting for someone else to do their job.

    Our mismatched bar denizens make for great interplay, and their final moments are truly heartfelt.

    "big Misery Fart" is inspired indeed. This play has me thinking about the song from Damn Yankees, "Two Lost Souls." There are a good many people who can relate to the two inhabitants of this play's world. Some of the most important things in life can happen when you're waiting for someone else to do their job.

    Our mismatched bar denizens make for great interplay, and their final moments are truly heartfelt.

    ”