Recommended by Claudia Haas

  • The Bear - Takes Manhattan
    24 Mar. 2023
    So Bear has Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, too. As a former New Yorker, I would have loved to watch Bear take over the broadcasting system in NYC. Silly old Bear. Where were you when I needed you? Plumridge offers a clever romp through NYC and you wish it would never end.
  • Path of Love
    23 Mar. 2023
    George Burns and Gracie Allen could not have done this better (but wouldn’t you love to see them do this). This is all those candy message hearts come to life in a marriage proposal that means well but may have trouble with Cupid’s love arrow. McLindon shows us that the path of true love never does run smooth. But read it (produce it!) to see if All’s Well that Ends Well or is it all Love’s Labour Lost. All you need is love, right?
  • Crossover Fiction
    23 Mar. 2023
    The old adage of ‘be careful what you wish for” is now twisted into “be careful who you write for,” and “be careful of what you write.” Filled with sci-fi tropes and twisty twists, Lam pokes gleeful holes into writers who are enamored of themselves as creators of brave new worlds.
  • Text Misdirected
    23 Mar. 2023
    This play goes off the rails in the most delicious way. Mansfield lays out the minefields of technology and as most of us tiptoe through them, a woman has much more grandiose plans on what to do with this “techno-virtual-accept cookies” world. I saw a production of this. The audience howled at this while clutching their cell phones in fear for their virtual lives.
  • The Bear - Reborn
    23 Mar. 2023
    On a dark and stormy night, Bear gets the stuffing knocked out of him and grows fangs. And now (drumroll) let the thrills begin. Plumridge’s monologues are covered in just enough mystery, history, and a touch of horror that you are left wanting more.
  • Stiff Competition
    22 Mar. 2023
    Helicopter parents: beware. Someone may have their eyes on you. Busser led me up the garden path and demolished all of my preconceived notions of where this play was headed. A handy guide to the “new” science fair: enter at your own risk.
  • The Bear - Crib of Doom
    22 Mar. 2023
    I am reading the Bear monologues slowly - one a day to savor each one. Like the fine chocolates I hide from family, Bear goes well with morning tea or evening wine (this one with wine). I may not be able to bear the suspense as Bear’s predicaments are not for toddlers and I am amazed that I am rooting for this fuzzy-stuffy who has unusual powers that frighten me. I am enthralled with this Scare-Bear. You will be, too.
  • Envision
    21 Mar. 2023
    What happens when your paths cross with others? Do you agree to connect, shy away, deny? Wagner’s Envision takes us to a place of discovery and reflection but then asks us if that’s what we want. The answer isn’t easy but gives us pause to think.
  • The Bear - Beginnings
    21 Mar. 2023
    This play has my heart wrapped around it. The sights, noises, and smells that Bear experiences put me in the here and now of Bear’s existence. In a scant few minutes, Plumridge grants us access to a time that never should have been and a world we still need to atone for. I want every installment of Bear’s monologues - what a unique and theatrical way to grant us access to history through a child’s Bear.
  • Made by Thumb
    21 Mar. 2023
    You’re going to have a good time if you just read the stage directions. Sickles thumbs are magic. And a wee bit frightening if you know enough to beware of ants… and Brit comedy … and butlers ..and dashing Scotsman. I want to play all the parts but mostly I want to see this properly staged so we can find the theatrical glory in plays that don’t deliver an existential meaning but are pretty straight forward about ants. There’s not enough written on that subject.

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