Bookmarks

Wolf Play / by Claire Kiechel

Matthew and Juliette’s marriage is tested by their small town’s unusual tradition; this year the ancient and savage ritual makes Juliette question her role as the perfect wife and mother. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 37th Series

Edison/Tesla/Brain/Dave / by Kevin Mead and Darren Miller

"The War of the Currents" between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla becomes the backdrop to Brian and Dave's unraveling friendship during their final presentation of high school. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 37th Series

Missed Connection / by Catya McMullen

Two people meet up after one posts a Missed Connections on Craigslist, only to find out the person they are meeting is not who they expected to see. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 37th Series

Forgetting to Remember / by Greg Kalleres

A man awakens to find a strange woman in his bed…only to discover that it’s his wife of 30 years. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 37th Series

Naked Eyes / by Dean Imperial

A man resists talking to a drunk woman at a bar before realizing who she is. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 37th Series

Anniversary / by Rachel Bonds

While grappling with a significant loss, Penelope embarks on a new relationship, attempting to function in a world that seems to speed ahead without her. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 37th Series

Tornado / by Arlitia Jones

Hoping to pick a good team, a man tries to buy his son his first football uniform. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 38th Series

Dancing Turtle / by Thomas M. Atkinson

Dancing Turtle invites the audience into the inner life of a girl – damaged at birth – that is both painful and glorious, as she navigates the first longings of adulthood during a Native American stomp dance at a local Appalachian Festival. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 38th Series

Old Flame / by Mira Gibson

When a woman runs into her ex-boyfriend in a grocery store, life collides with what really matters. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 38th Series

Frisky & The Panda Man / by Ross Howard

This is a big interview. A big deal. The End. Animal conservationist Dr. Ogden has spent most of his life pandering to pandas. But lately they’ve been dropping like flies and now there’s just one panda left. Her name is Frisky and really she’s been nothing of the sort, which has always secretly suited Dr. Ogden. Motivation and crimes of passion are revealed in this interrogation of lost love, a lost world and the case of the last panda. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 38th Series

Tattoo You / by Lisa Kenner Grissom

When two women from the same town, yet with very different backgrounds, re-connect in the bathroom at their 20th high school reunion, their troubled past breaks the cool veneer of the present. Some scars don’t fade away. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 38th Series

Reality Play / by Mark Swaner

An actor explores and questions the authenticity of reality television by appropriating its essential elements in the form of a “play.” Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 38th Series

Mandate / by Kelly Younger

Forced into a guy’s night out by their wives, a stay-at-home dad and a stay-in-his-cubicle accountant go on a disastrous ‘first date’ only to learn that friendship really is magic. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 39th Series

et•y•mol•o•gy / by Jennifer Jasper

Seven words map the course of Susan Anne and Calvin’s journey through life. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 39th Series

A Wake For David's Fucked-Up Face / by Skylar Fox

David did something stupid on the way home from prom. Now, Cal’s covered in blood, eating Funyuns in his room, and Cal’s mom doesn’t know what to do with him. Why doesn’t he seem sad? Are live-action role-playing fantasy games really the answer? And where is David’s head? Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 39th Series

Taisetsu Na Hito / by Leah Nanako Winkler

Bethany and Charles, a wholesome American couple, become owners of Android Minami, a Japanese robo-maid. As Minami becomes integrated into their mundane lives, repressed emotions arise and the line between servitude and fetishism begin to collide. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 39th Series

The Logic / by Will Arbery

Evan and Andrew reconnect on Facebook. While Evan is starting a career in publishing in New York, Andrew is incarcerated in a Texas prison. As their childhood friendship starts to resurface, Andrew tries to push through the banality of digital communication to fulfill a plan they had when they were kids. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 39th Series

John, who's here from Cambridge / by Martyna Majok

Overworked, under-qualified, and broke, Jess takes on another job to make ends meet – as a personal caretaker for a graduate student named John. John has cerebral palsy. John is beautiful. And John is here from Cambridge. That is, Massachusetts. Where he went to undergrad, just in case you were wondering. One Friday night after the timesheet has been put away, music is played, assumptions are challenged, and two lonely people learn some things about each other. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 39th Series

All Things Considered… Probably the Most Productive Meeting the EUSD PTA Ever Had / by A.J. Ditty

The last three remaining members of The Escondido Unified School District PTA meet over Zoom. Attendance is taken. Motions are proposed. All Things Considered... takes place in various homes in Escondido, CA in July 2020, right at the point in the pandemic when people started to realize that this might be forever. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 46th Series

Dogs of Society / by Julia Grogan

Just how real is Reality TV? Who are the victims? Why are we so hungry for it? Dogs of Society exposes the lives of four reality TV stars as they grapple with their off-screen reality and thirst for fantasy. In a digital world of judgement and scrutiny, just how much can a human take? And who’s tuning in to watch? Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 46th Series

Grieved. / by Jahquale Mazyck

Another one dead. Another hashtag. Another funeral. The cycle repeats. A Black man and a Black woman sit together for what seems like just another wake. Both tired from the endless loop, their small talk quickly leads to a blowout as both parties must reconcile what it truly means for them to move on. Posing the question; how does one grieve in a time like this? Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 46th Series

pearl apple penguin / by Aisling Towl

On a hot evening at London Zoo, two women meet by the penguin enclosure. Pearl would really like to stay. Penguins are not mammals. Apple would like to clean up and go home. Most mammals have hair. They hurl questions at the universe. Most mammals don’t lay eggs. Where is Marcia? Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 46th Series

Kitchen Design / by Suzanne Willett

A look at the dichotomy of the public and private female experience, from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 46th Series

By Grace, Part Two / by Agyeiwaa Asante

A short play about two friends in an abortion clinic. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 46th Series

If All That You Take From This Is Courage, Then I’ve No Regrets / by Nicholas Pilapil

After a brush with danger, a strong-willed matriarch reminisces with her grandson on all the things their histories have taught them. If All That You Take From This Is Courage, Then I’ve No Regrets explores Filipino American identity, intergenerational disconnect, and weighing your wars to make sure you’re not fighting for nothing. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 47th Series

Shark Week / by Erika Phoebus

Kyri and Alex are synced. Like literally. They always get their periods at the same time. But Kyri’s got a secret, and it’s going to take an untamed ocean, forgotten tampons, and a little help from a very wise shark, to finally be able to say what’s right for her body and for her life. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 47th Series

Bugs / by Alex Moon

Two long-haul truckers are forced to reckon with unspoken grief in their friendship when it appears insects begin throwing themselves purposefully against their truck’s windshield. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 47th Series

Georgia Rose / by Onyekachi Iwu

A Black mother struggles to advocate for her teenage daughter at a teacher’s conference. The play is inspired by the real life story of Grace, a 15-year old Black girl who was incarcerated in 2020 due to not completing her schoolwork during the coronavirus pandemic. The play explores themes of motherhood, incarceration, and living in a world that sees Black girls’ thorns before their roses. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 47th Series

Chemistry / by Ben Holbrook

Did you hear? Jojo has a new job! She’s been walking around her neighborhood, memorizing messages and delivering them all around Brooklyn. This adventurous new endeavor eventually leads her to Thad, a kindred spirit at the laundromat. Their meeting beautifully unfolds into a conversation which ranges from love, to sex, to chemicals, in this short meditation on the chemistries that bring us together. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 47th Series

Too Much Lesbian Drama: One Star / by Jessie Field

Addison brings so much lesbian drama to therapy that her therapist needs a therapist. A ten-minute play about identity, love, and the unique connection forged with the person you pay to care about you. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 47th Series

Freestyle Hand Entry / by Elise Wien

Ches recounts their attempts to get to a bag of Bugles stuck in the vending machine in the JCC rec room. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 48th Series

DRAWBRIDGE / by Mallory Jane Weiss

The lexicographer is coming! Tuesday and Door have one job: lower the drawbridge. But what if the lexicographer comes bearing language for their feelings this time? That sounds… [like a word for when a bear is coming and you’re holding a ham sandwich]. DRAWBRIDGE is a play about the potential power of words and the people that help us find them. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 48th Series

Dugout Daisies / by Julissa Mishay Norment

During the longest inning of their lives, two bench warmers kill time by chatting about the things that matter most to them: why they are on the sidelines. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 48th Series

The Velociraptor's Very Good Day / by Sarah “Sair” Kaufman and Shane Dittmar

When an impossible-to-predict tragedy strikes, it’s up to Velociraptor to embrace who they really are and make a discovery that will change the world forever. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 48th Series

Nub City, USA! / by Nicholas Hulstine

Dwayne and Glen have discovered a gold mine! Not really, but they did discover that if they take a life insurance policy out for $500,000 before they go hunting, and if Glen “accidentally” loses and limb and doesn't die, the policy will pay out in full. They just need to go to a magical place called Nub City, USA! Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 48th Series

18 / by Darius M. Buckley

This play in verse tells the story of two teenage black boys in juvie reflecting on the lives they once lived and what the unknown future holds. Included in the anthology: Off Off Broadway Festival Plays, 48th Series

Thy Will Be Done / by Dennis A. Allen II

After a young pastor has died of COVID and left everything to the church, his widow is ready to expose the head pastor for his misgivings. But she’s no saint, and the head pastor may be struggling on his own. In the anthology: The Apollo Presents... A New Harlem Renaissance: Short Plays from the New Black Fest

The Moon, The Sun and the Stories We Play / by Dane Figueroa Edidi

A couple, Selene and Gregory, argue over the necessity for theatre about Black issues to cater to white audiences. All the while, the ghost of Selene’s grandmother describes the scene and Selene’s feelings through poetry. In the anthology: The Apollo Presents... A New Harlem Renaissance: Short Plays from the New Black Fest

Rampjaar / by James Ijames

An art student comes to a museum to take a painting. When a security guard tries to stop her, she reveals some haunting truths as to why it belongs to her. In the anthology: The Apollo Presents... A New Harlem Renaissance: Short Plays from the New Black Fest

It's Complicated / by Michael Bradford

Mason meets Magdalene at a museum located on a old plantation as he is researching his family line. They have an instant connection, but it sours as she reveals her relationship to the land they met on. In the anthology: The Apollo Presents... A New Harlem Renaissance: Short Plays from the New Black Fest

Holding / by Zora Howard

A woman waits on hold to speak to someone about a leak in her apartment, but the call eventually devolves into a plea for help. In the anthology: The Apollo Presents... A New Harlem Renaissance: Short Plays from the New Black Fest

Goddess Help Us / by Christina Anderson

When a young musician meets her musical hero and discusses collaborating on a new project, intentions are skewed and artistry takes a backseat to a media image. In the anthology: The Apollo Presents... A New Harlem Renaissance: Short Plays from the New Black Fest

Color Theory / by Eric Micha Holmes

The lives of two people intertwine around a misunderstood affair and a desire for new connection during the COVID pandemic. In the anthology: The Apollo Presents... A New Harlem Renaissance: Short Plays from the New Black Fest

Cliff & Clara & Her Baby / by Lauren Whitehead

An interracial couple is on the verge of having a baby when they hear a mouse in their apartment, bringing to light some strong feelings about becoming parents. In the anthology: The Apollo Presents... A New Harlem Renaissance: Short Plays from the New Black Fest

Freefalling / by Aurin Squire

Two passengers and a stewardess on a falling plane give their moment-by-moment account of what happens when tomorrow is no longer certain. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays, v.2

You Have Arrived / by Rob Ackerman

Dan and Kristin are navigating their first date, and fortunately, the other woman with them knows the way through the confusion into Brooklyn. That would be Cyndi, the GPS system in Dan's car. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays, v.2

Something from Nothing / by David Riedy

A stranger's intimate gesture on a New York subway causes a couple to reexamine their relationship, and it causes one person to get punched in the face. Told from all three characters' wildly different perspectives. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays, v.2

A Singular Kinda Guy / by David Ives

Mitch is a young guy talking to a girl in a bar. She's nice, but he's got this sort of confession, see. There's something she ought to know—on the inside, he isn't really a guy at all. He's an Olivetti electric self-correcting typewriter. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays, v.2

Self-Torture and Strenuous Exercise / by Harry Kondoleon

Carl tells Alvin that he's in love with another woman. "Good for you," says Alvin, who refuses to accept that Carl's, Adel, wife only attempted suicide—she's still alive. The woman Carl loves is Alvin's wife, Beth. But right now, Beth is so drunk she can't get up off the floor, much less run off with Carl, and Adel comes in with bandaged wrists saying Carl has been trying to kill her. These four have some issues to work out. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays, v.2

Poison / by John Patrick Shanley

Kenny has seen the depths of Kelly's self-hatred, and he'll never date her again—unless he drinks a fortune-teller's mysterious potion, which will kill his soul as dead as Kelly's. Can Kelly convince him to drink the potion? Can she convince herself? In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays, v.2

Closing Costs / by Arlene Hutton

After viewing four hundred apartments, has Harris finally found the right co-op, or simply the right real estate agent—Alice? Harris must decide if it’s time to trade in his artificial fish—and finally grow up. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays, v.2

The Closet / by Aoise Stratford

Kevin's dad has thrown his favorite toy, Bart Sponge, into the back of a closet. There, Bart meets a toy dinosaur and another toy he can't even begin to identify. Does a supposedly gay toy have a chance of making it out of the closet? In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays, v.2

Camberwell House / by Amelia Roper

Elderly neighbors Annie and Olive have been friends since they were children. At twenty, they agreed to “knock each other off” if they were still alive at seventy-five. Now they are seventy-five and one of them has changed her mind. A tale of old age, murder, and ginger nut biscuits. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays, v.2

Diversions / by Christopher Durang

A man is about to jump off a building when a nun tries to stop him. Aloysius thinks the nun is trying to push the man off and tries to stop the nun. A policeman tries to stop all of them, but he falls off the roof. The whole thing winds up in court, where a game of bridge breaks out and more bodies start to pile up. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

Weird Water / by Robert Lewis Vaughan

Sinking further into depression after the death of his son Tommy in Iraq, Hal resists his wife Libby’s attempts to help him heal. When Tommy’s lifelong best friend Jeff pays a surprise visit he brings a sense of hope with him, and the family finds a way to move forward. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

An Upset / by David Auburn

Two pro tennis players, a younger, polite Romanian on his way up and an older, argumentative American on his way out, are pitted against each other, on and off the court. But they may be more alike than they know, and, like a tennis match, the balance of power keeps shifting. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

A Second of Pleasure / by Neil LaBute

Kurt and Jess are waiting to board a train at Grand Central, when Jess says she doesn’t really want to go away for the weekend. Kurt is annoyed. Jess agreed to the trip weeks ago. Why did she wait until now to say something? Finally, Jess admits that it has something to do with her husband. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

Happy / by Alan Zweibel

Donald travels to Boca Raton to find “Happy” Haliday, a favorite baseball player from his youth, and to get his signature on a baseball. The ball has been signed by every member of the 1962 Mets except for Happy, whose career was cut short. But when Happy learns the ball will be worth $28,000 after he signs, and that it’s already been sold, will he still sign? In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

The Green Hill / by David Ives

Jake has a vision of a lovely green hill, where he feels free and at peace. He knows the hill is real, and he has to go there. He sees a poster of the hill in a travel agent’s window, but the hill’s real location proves to be elusive. But Jake is relentless in his search. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

Cell / by Cassandra Medley

The only jobs left in Flint, Michigan are at a detention center for illegal immigrants waiting to be deported. Rene has taken in her sister Cerise and niece Gwen, who were homeless, and gotten them jobs with her at the facility. But Gwen’s soft heart puts her at odds with the detention center’s rules against fraternization, and Rene will not let Gwen threaten her job. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

Breakfast and Bed / by Amy Fox

Lex wakes up hungover on the couch in her lover’s apartment and wonders where Chris has gone. Chris’s roommate, Eloise, is chatty and offers coffee but also asks a lot of probing questions. Is Eloise jealous? Protective? Or is there something else going on? In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

Bolero / by David Ives

A woman’s world threatens to come apart in the middle of the night, when she and her husband hear strange sounds and voices coming through their bedroom wall. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

Amateurs / by David Auburn

Politics and ethics collide when a young woman confronts an older politico about an attack ad he ran against her father years earlier that destroyed the father’s career. In the anthology: Outstanding Short Plays

Manual for a Desperate Crossing / by Maria Irene Fornes

The play is about Cubans trying to cross to the United States on a tiny raft. In the anthology: Letters from Cuba and Other Plays

Letters from Cuba / by Maria Irene Fornes

Based on three decades of letters Maria Irene Fornes received from her brother in Havana, Letters from Cuba moves from New York City to Cuba at the turn of the twenty-first century. A New York apartment dominates the stage, with Cuba represented simply as the roof above it. This apartment is shared by three young artists: Joseph, a poet, Marc, an artist, and Fran, a dancer studying in the city. Marc and Joseph discuss writing poetry and their love for Fran, while Fran weaves in and out of their sphere. Letters from her brother, Luis, punctuate her days. He has remained in Cuba with his wife and son, but life under a communist regime is tough for them all. Luis struggles being separated from his sister but, ultimately, he cannot leave his homeland behind. Letters from Cuba quietly explores the basic connections and separations between people and across borders, through an ethereal, dreamy lens. In the anthology: Letters from Cuba and Other Plays

The tip of the iceberg / by Bea Carmina

A couple on the skids, a woman having a nervous breakdown, a serial killer on the prowl and a girl holding onto a mewling cat make up the darkly, comic poetically ferocious world of The Tip of the Iceberg by contemporary Mexican dramatist Bea Carmina. In the anthology: Plays from the Alcyone Festival 2012: Four New Translations of Plays by Mexican Women Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tip_of_the_Iceberg/6o5NDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+tip+of+the+iceberg+/+by+Bea+Carmina&pg=PA8&printsec=frontcover

Two dead guys and a banjo : a story of mourning / by Mariana Hartasánchez

When a magician's hand escapes and seduces a psychiatrist, two fathers return from the dead in a battle of rhetoric and illusion over the living. In the anthology: Plays from the Alcyone Festival 2012: Four New Translations of Plays by Mexican Women

Freud Skating / by Sabina Berman

A dramatic rewriting of the famous case of Freud's "Dora." In the anthology: Plays from the Alcyone Festival 2012: Four New Translations of Plays by Mexican Women

A lover's dismantling : fragments of a scenic discourse / by Elena Guiochins

There are only two kinds of thoughts: memories and imagination. This story of two couples finding, living, and losing love wanders whimsically through time, distance, dreams, and heartbreak. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Lover_s_Dismantling_Fragments_of_a_Sce/0v6bDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+lover%27s+dismantling+:+fragments+of+a+scenic+discourse+/+by+Elena+Guiochins&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover In the anthology: Plays from the Alcyone Festival 2012: Four New Translations of Plays by Mexican Women

Running Dream / by Trish Cooke

Running Dream tells the story of three generations of West Indian women with warmth and humor. In the anthology: Six plays by black and Asian women

Song for a Sanctuary / by Rukhsana Ahmad

Song for a Sanctuary is set in a South London refuge and focuses on the lives and experiences of women who seek shelter after experiencing abuse. The story explores themes of domestic violence and abuse from different cultural perspectives. In the anthology: Six plays by black and Asian women

My Sister-Wife / by Meera Syal

The play revolves around Muslim ideals of femininity. According to the Koran, a man is legally entitled to "possess" up to four wives. Farah and Maryam are engaged in a cruel battle to win the commitment and love of their husband, Asif. Maryam emerges the 'winner', as the woman who retains her sanity. Farah's descent into madness is attributed by her advisor, Fauzia, to her adherence to Western values, which equate sharing with weakness. In the anthology: Six plays by black and Asian women

Leonora's Dance / by Zindika

Leonora always wanted to be a dancer, and her dreams are fulfilled when she joins the ballet. Here she experiences prejudice and alienation as in the ‘Black swan/White swan’ syndrome. Leonora’s life spirals out of control suffering from hypochondria, agoraphobia, and finally a mental breakdown. The spirit of Medusa embodies her negativity, which is aggravated by problems caused by her lodgers and a difficult relationship with her mother. In the anthology: Six plays by black and Asian women

Monsoon / by Maya Chowdhry

Monsoon portrays the return of sisters Jalaarnava and Kavitaa, two second-generation migrant young women, to their parents' birthplace in India. The play parallels the experience of menstruation with waiting for the seasonal monsoon. In the anthology: Six plays by black and Asian women

A Hero's Welcome / by Winsome Pinnock

A Hero’s Welcome follows the story of three young women growing up in the Caribbean in 1947 and the men who seem to offer a way out. In the anthology: Six plays by black and Asian women

Where we belong / by Madeline Sayet

Madeline Sayet’s one-person play is a celebration of language and investigation into the impulses that divide and connect us as people. The play follows Achokayis as she travels to England to pursue a degree in Shakespeare, grappling with the question of what it means to remain or leave her own home at Mohegan, as the Brexit vote threatens to disengage the United Kingdom from the wider world. Moving between nations that have failed to reckon with their ongoing roles in colonialism, she finds comfort in the journeys of her Mohegan ancestors who traveled to England in the 1700s to help her people. Achokayis’s transformation journey leaves us with the question, what does it mean to belong in an increasingly globalized world? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Where_We_Belong/SKtwEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Where+we+belong+/+by+Madeline+Sayet&printsec=frontcover

When you pass over my tomb / written by Sergio Blanco ; translated and adapted by Daniel Goldman

I remember thinking, what difference is there between donating my body to science and donating it to someone who might find pleasure in it when I'm dead. Sergio Blanco and Daniel Goldman collaborate again, after the success of their critically acclaimed Offie award-winning productions of Thebes Land and The Rage of Narcissus, to tell a mesmerising story of love and lust beyond the grave. Desire, friendship and eroticism intertwine in When You Pass Over My Tomb, a dazzling play by Latin America's leading living playwright that asks, how far would you go for love? And will the world allow it?

Trayf / by Lindsay Joelle

Zalmy lives a double life. By day, he drives a Chabad "Mitzvah Tank" through 1990s New York City with his best friend Shmuel. By night, he sneaks out of his orthodox community to roller skate and listen to rock and roll. But when a curious outsider offers him unfettered access to the secular world, is it worth jeopardizing everything he's ever known? This road trip bromance is a funny and heartwarming ode to the turbulence of youth, the universal suspicion that we don't quite fit in, and the faith and friends that see us through. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6338.pdf

To the bone / by Catherine Butterfield

After twenty years, the tough but deeply caring Kelly has finally arranged to meet the daughter she gave up for adoption in high school. Geneva, who has grown up with a fair amount of privilege, has been ready to meet her mother for years. When she arrives at Kelly's decidedly blue-collar Boston home with her roommate from Emerson, she's a little unsure what to make of her birth mother, aunt, and brother. The getting-to-know-you is a little more oil and water than desired, and when Kelly reveals why she has asked Geneva to come, it is not clear if their newfound relationship will last beyond this evening. Overflowing with tough love and plenty of heartfelt laughs, To the Bone proves that kindness is more than a shared family trait.

Tight end / by Rachel Bykowski

Ash (believe me, you do not want to call her Ashley) Miller's dream is to catch the winning touchdown pass for the Westmont High Titans' homecoming game. Football is in her blood. In order to make the team, Ash will have to prove she is one of the guys, even if that means sacrificing her body for the love of the game. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6429.pdf

Stoneface : (The rise and fall and rise of Buster Keaton) / by Vanessa Claire Stewart

In 1929, Buster Keaton was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood; he had a beautiful wife, two young sons, a mansion, and complete creative control over his films. But by the early 1930s, it was nearly all gone: his family, his money, and his Career. STONEFACE is a play with music that integrates comedy, silent film vignettes, and the theatricality to tell the story of Keaton's rise to fame, his struggles with alcoholism, and his battle to rebuild his life and his career. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6432.pdf

Small jokes about monsters / by Steven Strafford

Three brothers arrive in a rented beach house to read a letter from their estranged father after his funeral. Ryan, the middle brother, explains to his two brothers his theory of how there are three different kinds of funny people: Godzillas, Mothras, and Gameras. Godzillas destroy all they see with their jokes. Mothras, the silent but deadly types, lay a room flat with just one joke. And Gameras are the folks who don't even realize they're funny. When their tough-talking, no-nonsense mother arrives, more and more secrets are revealed, tempers flare, and the joking that was light and fun becomes cruel. Small Jokes About Monsters is about a family that uses humor to deflect their feelings, and what it means to confront the pain beneath the comedy so traumas can be healed. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6418.pdf

A Sherlock carol / by Mark Shanahan

Moriarty is dead, to begin with. And Sherlock Holmes is a haunted man. But, when a grown-up Tiny Tim asks Holmes to investigate the death of Ebenezer Scrooge, the Great Detective must use his gifts to solve a Dickens of a Christmas mystery! Six actors take on the beloved characters of Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens in this heartwarming and highly theatrical holiday treat for all ages!

The shark is broken / by Ian Shaw & Joseph Nixon

The first summer blockbuster movie is being filmed--but no one working on the film would know it. Dive deep into the tumultuous, murky waters of the making of a major motion picture with testy, feuding costars, unpredictable weather, and a shark prop whose constant breakdowns are looking like an omen for the future of the movie. In this comedy co-written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, the short tempers of Jaws stars Robert Shaw (father of co-writer Ian), Richard Dreyfuss, and Roy Scheider take center stage as they bond, argue, drink, gamble, and pray for an end to the shoot, not knowing it will change their lives forever.

Sex tips for straight women from a gay man / by Matt Murphy ; based on the book of the same name (© 2008) by Dan Anderson and Maggie Berman

When senior teaching fellow Robyn is a last-minute replacement moderator for a meet-the-author evening, she is surprised to find just how much the book Sex Tips For Straight Women From a Gay Man upends her life. With the help of the gay author himself, Dan, and his beautiful assistant, Stefan, this interactive, outrageously funny show teaches Robyn and the audience a thing or two that might prove useful sooner than one may think. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6455.pdf

Sex magick / by Nicholas Brown

After a workplace indiscretion shatters his elite footy physiotherapy career, Ard Panicker finds himself begging for work at a metaphysical health spa, selling Ayurvedic rubdowns to yummy mummies in Bondi. With his sense of self at an all time low and staring down a sea of healing crystals, green juices and sound baths, Ard wonders how the hell his life took him from sport to spirituality in one fell swoop. His search for answers takes him to Kerala, South India, where he meets an enlightened and enigmatic tantric guru. But when he returns to Sydney, Ard's body begins to shudder with mysterious seizures--accompanied by waking visions of a terrifying, all-powerful deity. What happened to Ard in India? ...And will he ever get his mind back?

Rightlynd / by Ike Holter

Rightlynd, the first play in Ike Holter's seven-play saga, is set in the fictional 51st Ward of Chicago. Abandoned storefronts crumble and the L stopped running a long time ago. Using her street smarts and determined to honor her mother's legacy, Nina Esposito runs for alderman on a righteous mission to save the place she and her people call home. She faces the extreme headwinds of cunning drug lords, greedy real estate conglomerates, and a vicious political machine; all fighting for control of the Windy City neighborhood. However, the greatest danger might be to Nina's soul, as her crusade threatens to turn her into just another cynical city politician holding on to power.

The remains / by Ken Urban

It’s just another dinner with the in-laws. Just another lasagna, another bottle of wine, maybe even some whiskey if the mood is right—or wrong. Kevin and Theo have been married for ten years, and they have decided its time to tell their nearest and dearest about their life-changing news. Balancing bitter and sweet with a deep sense of love, honesty, and irony, The Remains is a story of moving forward together yet apart, wherever the heart may take you.

Redbone coonhound / by Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton

Out for a walk in their Vancouver neighbourhood, interracial couple Mike and Marissa meet a dog with an unfortunate breed name: Redbone coonhound. This small detail unleashes a cascading debate between them about race and their relationship that manifests as a series of micro-plays, each satirizing contemporary perspectives on modern culture. Through hard-hitting comedic elements, Redbone Coonhound explores the intricacies of race, systemic power, and privilege in remarkable and surprising ways.

Red Rex / by Ike Holter

The sixth play in Ike Holter’s Rightlynd saga. Red Rex is a scrappy theater company that is on the brink—will they have the hit that puts their name on the map, or the wake-up call that it’s time to throw in the towel? A prodigal son actor and amateur neighborhood talent join the stage to perform a play that may or may not be based on a true story. Internal drama threatens to complicate the production further, causing fireworks both on and offstage. What else could go wrong? Complex and thought-provoking, RED REX asks us: What are we willing to sacrifice to share stories that must be heard, and where do we draw the line?

I ragazzi : ("The children") : una comedia in due atti / by David Goldsmith and Madeleine Goldsmith-Garner

Camille is spending her year abroad from her American liberal arts college in a boarding house in Ferrara, Italy. There, in that most romantic of settings, she and her instant family of foreign exchange students from Spain, Germany, and of course, Italy, find love, sex, food, music, conflicting passions, shifting allegiances, and impetuous treachery in this dramatic comedy featuring an exclusive twenty-something ensemble of actors. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6437.pdf

Primary trust / by Eboni Booth

Meet Kenneth, a 38-year-old bookstore worker who spends his evenings sipping mai tais at the local tiki bar. When he’s suddenly laid off, Kenneth finally begins to face a world he's long avoided – with transformative and even comical results. Primary Trust is a touching and inventive play about new beginnings, old friends and seeing the world for the first time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Primary_Trust/gn0aEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Primary+trust+/+by+Eboni+Booth&printsec=frontcover

Pouf! / by Lou Clyde

What happens when you mix hair spray, head lice, and a little dab of Elvis? Hairlarity. The year is 1958 and Betty finds herself unfulfilled as a housewife. She and her husband have been unsuccessful in starting a family and her husband will not "permit" her to get a job. With the encouragement of her sister, Betty secretly sets up an in-home salon, leveraging her prowess with hair spray and bobby pins. Betty begins to change the lives of neighborhood women by "poufing" their hair. POUF! is an "uplifting" comedy with big hair and even bigger laughs. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6425.pdf

Poor Clare / by Chiara Atik

It's 1211 in Assisi, Italy, and Clare's got beauty, wealth, and a rich suitor who showers her with expensive presents. So why is she so drawn to this guy Francis who gave up all his possessions just because poor people are suffering? Everyone in town says he's crazy. And yet... she starts seeing everything in her life differently. This hilarious, anachronistic telling of the real story of St. Clare considers the cost of doing good-- and how little has changed for the haves and the have-nots in almost a millennium. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6322.pdf

Plays for the plague year / by Suzan-Lori Parks

A stunning collection of plays from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks that captures the societal rupture of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 13, 2020, as theaters shut their doors and so many of us went into lockdown, Suzan-Lori Parks picked up her pen and set out to write a play every day. What emerged is a breathtaking chronicle of our collective experience throughout the troubling days and nights that followed. Plays for the Plague Year is at once a personal story of one family's daily lives, as well as a sweeping account of all we faced as a city, a nation, and a global community. Parks' groundbreaking new work is brimming with humanity, bears witness to what we've experienced, and offers inspiration as we look ahead Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Plays_for_the_Plague_Year/zLSEEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+for+the+plague+year+/+by+Suzan-Lori+Parks&printsec=frontcover

Our place / by Kanika Ambrose

The play is set in a fictional Caribbean restaurant, Jerk Pork Castle in Scarborough, where newcomers Andrea and Niesha work in exchange for cash under the table. As the two women scrape out a life in Canada, leaving their children in their Caribbean homelands, they must also navigate their status as undocumented workers. This funny, keenly observant script unveils the lives of these undocumented Caribbean workers who go to desperate lengths to get Canadian citizenship for the betterment of their children--a moving, timely story of those rendered invisible in a "welcoming" Canada."

On that day in Amsterdam / by Clarence Coo

Kevin is a first-generation Filipino-American college student who, on his last night in Amsterdam, has a one-night stand with Sammy, a guy he meets in a bar. But when his flight gets delayed, Kevin finds himself spending the day with Sammy and what began as a one-night stand becomes a deeper connection. Years later, Kevin is still trying to capture that day in writing. Sammy was a refugee without papers—what was his home country? Surely Kevin asked, right? Did Sammy want to study art, or was it Kevin who wanted him to study art? As his memories become more and more elusive, one truth remains: The pair have not heard from each other since, and Kevin cannot shake his regret. Weaving in historical figures who also were touched by art and the uncertainty of life, ON THAT DAY IN AMSTERDAM explores love, art, loss, and what it means to live. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6388.pdf

A Normal Kid / by Robert Lewis Vaughan

Perry, an aspiring artist, learns that he's been hired to illustrate a children's book while feeding the squirrels in Madison Square Park. This dream come true via text message prompts him to put the pieces of his life together-- how did he get here from there? He remembers the day his abusive father went too far, causing him to run away from home. He remembers the help he received as a runaway, specifically from TJ, the young hustler who saved him from that life. He remembers Davey and Joyce, the people who took him in and helped him. And he remembers the night he saw his picture on the side of a milk carton, forcing him to go home, where his mother had finally started getting herself together-- all of which shaped him ad put him on the path to the successful life he now leads. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6222.pdf

My neighbour Totoro / adapted by Tom Morton-Smith [from the Studio Ghibli animation by Hayao Miyazaki]

My Neighbour Totoro is a captivating coming-of-age tale that celebrates the wondrous magic of childhood and the transformative power of imagination. Two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, embark on the summer of their lives in the idyllic countryside. With their mother recovering from an illness at a rural convalescent hospital, their father decides to relocate the family so they can be closer to her. As they explore their enchanting new surroundings, Mei discovers fantastical creatures and encounters Totoro, the ancient and loveable guardian of the forest. Satsuki initially doubts her younger sister's claims, but soon finds herself joining in on their thrilling adventures. Along with their new friends, the siblings embark on a journey through a mystical world teeming with spirits, sprites, and breath-taking natural wonders. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_Neighbour_Totoro/2gXxEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+neighbour+Totoro+/+adapted+by+Tom+Morton-Smith+%5Bfrom+the+Studio+Ghibli+animation+by+Hayao+Miyazaki%5D&printsec=frontcover

My English Persian kitchen / by Hannah Khalil, from the story by Atoosa Sepehr

What would you take if you were forced to leave home with no hope of returning? How would you make a fresh start somewhere completely new? This is the true story of one woman who loses everything. Remembering the tastes and aromas of her mother's kitchen with live cooking on stage, she recreates the dishes of her childhood and homeland, building a new life and community around food. Written by award-winning Hannah Khalil from the story by Atoosa Sepehr, the life-affirming My English Persian Kitchen chronicles the journey of one woman's quest to start again. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_English_Persian_Kitchen/vwkXEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+English+Persian+kitchen+/+by+Hannah+Khalil,+from+the+story+by+Atoosa+Sepehr&printsec=frontcover

The Mother : A Black Farce / by Florian Zeller; adapted by Christopher Hampton

Anne's adult children are off living their own lives and her husband is busy with his career. So where does that leave Anne, who has built her identity around creating a family and being a good mother? On the night before her husband is set to leave on a business trip, her son comes home to sleep in his old room. Or does he? It's impossible to know for certain in this riveting play about a woman whose inner life is constantly shifting. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6088.pdf

Mambo mouth / by John Leguizamo

Playable by one actor or a small ensemble, Mambo Mouth excavates issues of adolescence, race, parenthood, and more. Agamemnon: A failed actor/misogynist public-access character who takes letters, calls, and reenacts woulda-been screen triumphs and personal vendettas. Loco Louie: A funny cautionary tale about why you shouldn't always be in a hurry to get older. Angel Garcia: A recently arrested man realizes that his behavior has consequences. Pepe: A man, cornered, tries to appeal to an officer by noting the contradictions of race in America. Manny the Fanny: A woman shares how she's taken care of herself with men. Inca Prince: A father tries to get his son to go to sleep with creative bedtime stories. Crossover King: A Latino man tries to teach the audience about passing as a different race to be more palatable to white Americans.

The making of a great moment / by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb

Mona Barnes and Terry Dean are actors on a mission: As members of the Victoria Canada Bicycle Theatre Company, they aspire to change people's lives with the power of theater--while traveling by bicycle and camping out on the side of the road. Their show is Great Moments in Human Achievement, an exploration of humanity's great forward leaps throughout history. The 'theaters' are makeshift, the camping is uncomfortable, and bicycling sixty miles is exhausting. But Mona and Terry's greatest challenge is within themselves: Why have they chosen to do what they do? Does it have impact? Is their life's work worth the effort or should they give up? As their tour grinds forward, the questions only mount as they reckon with the scope and significance of their own lives. What will their Great Moment be?

Lucy / By Erica Schmidt

On paper, Ashling is the perfect person to take care of Mary’s young children: a confident, highly qualified childcare professional with a sunny disposition and lots of experience. But from the moment Mary hires her, something starts to feel just a little off. Is Ashling as wonderful as she seems? Is the misunderstanding all in Mary’s overworked, stressed-out, sleep-deprived mind? Surely she hasn’t welcomed someone unstable into her home, has she? LUCY is a comedic thriller about what happens when you don’t trust the person who holds the key to your front door.

Lottery day / by Ike Holter

The final play in Ike Holter's Rightlynd saga. Lottery Day finds the matriarch of the neighborhood, Mallory, throwing a blowout party that brings together many of the characters from previous plays in the series. As Mallory reveals that her newly created holiday, Lottery Day, is the cause for celebration, the group discovers that their ties to each other, the community they love, and even their own morals get tested in ways that they could never expect: What is the price of gentrification? What is the price of letting go? And does everyone have a price?

The lonely Londoners / adapted by Roy Williams from the novel by Sam Selvon

London, 1956. Newly arrived from Trinidad, Henry 'Sir Galahad' Oliver is impatient to start his new life. Carrying just pyjamas and a toothbrush, he bursts through Moses Aloetta's door only to find Moses and his friends already deflated by city life. Will the London fog dampen Galahad's dreams? Or will these Lonely Londoners make a home in a city that sees them as a threat? In the first stage adaptation of Sam Selvon's iconic novel about the Windrush Generation, Roy Williams sweeps us back in time to shine a new light on London, friendship, and what we call home. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Lonely_Londoners/JdH3EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+lonely+Londoners+/+adapted+by+Roy+Williams&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Latin history for morons / by John Leguizamo

When John takes a peek at his son’s history textbooks, he is shocked to find…well nothing, at least when it comes to the impact of Latin culture over thousands of years. Excited to share his heritage with his son, John dives deep, exploring everything from the Mayans to modern-day heroes. To be performed by one person or an ensemble, this zippy, irreverent, and laugh-out-loud investigation of the past will make you take a second look at the present.

Kiss marry kill / by Daphna Attias

I'm a monster. You can't marry me. Jay and Paul are both serving life sentences for homophobic murders. Incredibly, they fall in love and seek permission to marry. Inspired by real-life events, Kiss Marry Kill is a provocative new play that reimagines the first same-sex wedding in a UK prison. The original Dante or Die production featured live music from rapper Lady Lykez, and enveloped audiences in the private spaces and conversations of a world rarely seen. Kiss Marry Kill zeroes in on the limits of our compassion, challenging our assumptions and preconceptions around sexuality, and the criminal justice system. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kiss_Marry_Kill/3poCEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kiss+marry+kill+/+by+Daphna+Attias&printsec=frontcover

King James / by Rajiv Joseph

“King” LeBron James’s years playing in Cleveland bring promise, prosperity, and renewal to a city in desperate need of all three. His tenure also unites Shawn and Matt in an unlikely bond forged by fandom. Over twelve years, from LeBron’s rookie season to an NBA Championship, the men navigate their turbulent friendship through their shared love of basketball—and the endless amiable arguments that erupt from that love. A clever comedy, King James is an intimate exploration of the place that sports occupy in our lives and relationships. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6470.pdf

Kerbs / by Michael Southan

Lucy and David are dating. Or at least, they're trying to. Faced with first-date disasters, a few crossed wires and Lucy's mum, what they really need is a bit of space, a bit of fun – and ideally some independence. Escaping for the weekend to a caravan park in Somerset, it's time for them to find out if their spark will finally catch, or burn everything to the ground. Kerbs gets real about romance, sex and disability, while tackling the universal challenge faced by anyone experiencing a new relationship: letting someone in. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kerbs/RydjEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kerbs+/+by+Michael+Southan&printsec=frontcover

Just like us / by Karen Zacarías ; based on the book by Helen Thorpe

Based on Helen Thorpe’s bestselling book, this documentary-style play follows four Latina teenage girls in Denver—two of whom are documented and two who are not—through young adulthood. Their close-knit friendships begin to unravel when immigration status dictates the girls’ opportunities, or lack thereof. When a political firestorm arises, each girl’s future becomes increasingly complicated. Just Like Us poses difficult yet essential questions about what makes us American.

Jaja's African hair braiding / by Jocelyn Bioh

Jaja's African Hair Braiding in Harlem is a salon full of funny, whip-smart, talented women ready to make you look and feel nice-nice. On this particularly muggy summer day, Jaja's rule-following daughter Marie is running the shop while her mother prepares for her courthouse, green-card wedding - to a man no one seems to particularly like. Just like her mother, Dreamer Marie is trying to secure her future; she's just graduated high school and all she wants to do is go to college. While Marie deals with the customers' and stylists' laugh-out-loud drama, news pierces the hearts of the women of the salon, galvanizing their connections and strengthening the community they have longed to make in the United States.

Jacky / by Declan Furber Gillick

Jacky is a smart, enterprising young blackfella in the big city. He skillfully negotiates the gig economy, skipping neatly from office internships to cultural performances to sex work. When his unemployable little brother Keith rolls into town, Jacky's carefully compartmentalised lives are set to collide.

Hotel buzz : a farce of Hollywood / by David Goldsmith

Set in a fictional, uber-chic bungalow hotel on the shores of Malibu in the time just before Facebook and the iPhone, this bedroom farce concerns the Hollywood agent-sharks Andrea and Adrian, who plot to poach Zeke Tadlow, the biggest movie star in the world, from the head of their agency and boss, Walter, to form an agency of their own, all while having a scandalous affair with each other. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6441.pdf

Ghetto klown / by John Leguizamo

In a retrospective on his career, John Leguizamo delves into how he started performing, from attending a tiny acting class on the fringes of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen to using his life as inspiration for his own one-man shows. All the success comes with ramifications, though: family, finances, and ego are all hit hard when his career's trajectory becomes unclear. Ghetto Klown embraces Leguizamo's trademark honesty and humor, proving the only way through life is forward.

Georgiana and Kitty : Christmas at Pemberley / by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon

Georgiana Darcy is an accomplished pianist but wary of romance. Kitty Bennet is a bright-eyed optimist and a perfect best friend. After years of being overshadowed by their older siblings, these two younger sisters are ready for their own adventures in life and love, starting with the arrival of an admirer and secret correspondent. Meddlesome families and out-moded expectations won’t stop these determined friends from forging their own way in a holiday tale filled with music, ambition, sisterhood, and forgiveness. The third and final play in the Pemberley trilogy which, continues the stories begun in Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice.

The garbologists / by Lindsay Joelle

Danny’s a white, blue-collar, New York City sanitation worker. Marlowe’s the Black, Ivy-educated newbie who just joined his route. Thrown together in the cab of a nineteen-ton garbage truck, they spend their first shifts sparring, one-upping each other, and practicing the secret art of mongo: hunting for discarded treasure. But as their lives become increasingly intertwined, these two essential workers from different worlds discover there’s more that binds them than picking up the trash.

For both resting and breeding / by Adam Meisner

t is 2150 in M-City, a peaceful society without gender where everyone uses the pronoun ish. When two historians discover an abandoned millennium-era house, they hatch a plan to turn the building into a museum that re-enacts life in the year 2000. The historians gather a group of locals to restore the building and animate the site for local visitors. Together, the volunteers explore the fashion, furnishing, and family roles of their millennial forebears, all through the lens of binary gender roles. But the project turns risky when one of the historians and the youngest volunteer start to explore illegal sexual acts in secret. Will the project upend the values of their society?

Flex / by Candrice Jones

The pressure is on for the 1998 Lady Train high school basketball team—on top of a battle to bring home the championship trophy, it is also college scouting season. But the team’s performance on the court is tested as it ruptures under the weight of its own infighting, and the once-tight players begin to focus on their individual futures. What does it mean to be a Black girl on the brink of freedom and womanhood in a small town in the South? Does honoring your own wants mean sacrificing your friends, family, and team? This funny and frank play about getting a full-court press from life will have audiences cheering.

Feral monster / by Bethan Marlow

Feral Monster follows Jax and her noisy, opinionated brain as they navigate love, identity, class and family. Mashing up grime, R&B, soul, pop and rap, the soundtrack takes us from the high highs to low lows of the hormonal rollercoaster of adolescence. A banging musical about an unremarkable teenager. Expelled from school and not even able to get a job at the chippy, Jax (she/they/whatever) is a cocky, loveable teen living with her Nan in a tiny, boring village. When Jax meets Ffion, with her smart talk and loud looks, sparks fly. Queer teenage lust brings together this unlikely match in all its messy, clumsy and awesome glory.

The EU killed my dad / by Aaron Kilercioglu

Berker travels from Britain to Turkey to meet his estranged father, but it's too late: his sister Elif informs him that their Baba has already died. A family reunion becomes an exhilarating whodunnit investigation as Berker discovers the truth about his roots, grieves for a man he will never truly know, and accidentally unravels a conspiracy that goes to the heart of global politics. Featuring British spies, Turkish soldiers, and London's kebab shops, Aaron Kilercioglu's The EU Killed My Dad is the winner of the Woven Voices Prize 2023 and an inventive, fast-paced exploration of identity, belonging, and history spanning five decades.

The dialysis project / a play by Leah Lewis ; with Evalyn Parry & Robert Chafe

The Dialysis Project is a one-woman play about the experience of a home dialysis patient administering her own medical treatments every other day. The play explores what it's like to live with a lifelong chronic condition requiring regular medical procedures for survival, and touches on themes of identity and resilience.

Deep blue sound / by Abe Koogler

On a picturesque island in Puget Sound, we find a town in a crisis: The whales have gone missing. While (unofficial) Mayor Annie searches for a solution, Chris tries to get back together with Mary; John reaches out to help Homeless Gary; Leslie longs for a faraway pen pal; Ali has come home to care for her mother; and Ella has a secret she only wants to share with local journalist Joy Mead, who she barely knows. But what about the whales? Is their absence just a seasonal glitch, or is it a sign of our collective failure to take care of the Earth? DEEP BLUE SOUND is a funny and moving play about the connections we make—and the ones we long to make—to other people, and to the world around us.

The Dao of unrepresentative British Chinese experience : (butterfly dream) / by Daniel York Loh

The 'British Chinese'. So often regarded as a 'model minority'. Quiet, high-achieving, polite, invisible...But when someone who is 'British Chinese' spends their life taking drugs, getting thrown out of school, claiming benefits, being chased in stolen cars, getting locked up, then rehabilitating onto the stage, where do they fit in? Oh, and they're not quite 'Chinese' enough anyway. Semi-autobiographical, free-form and explosive, Daniel York Loh's psychedelic gig-theatrical punk pop rap rock riff The Dao of Unrepresentative British Chinese Experience (Butterfly Dream) asks what path to choose, which identity politics to embrace or whether it's just easier to follow the 'Dao' of ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi and dream you're a butterfly. Or, be a butterfly dreaming of being 'Chinese'... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dao_of_Unrepresentative_British_Chin/3EsPEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Dao+of+unrepresentative+British+Chinese+experience+:+(butterfly+dream)+/+by+Daniel+York+Loh&printsec=frontcover

The Da Vinci code / adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel; based on the novel by Dan Brown

In this thrilling play, based on Dan Brown's bestselling international phenomenon, Professor Robert Langdon is called to the Louvre in the dead of night, where he unwittingly becomes the center of a murder investigation. When cryptologist Sophie Neveu arrives at the scene, she alerts Robert that, not only is he being asked to solve the crime, he is also the prime suspect. Soon they are in a race against time to clear Robert's name and decipher a labyrinthine code before a shocking historical secret is lost forever.

The Cottage / by Sandy Rustin

Sylvia and Beau find themselves in an English countryside cottage for their yearly rendezvous, and Sylvia knows this time it will be the beginning of their new life together. But when Beau demurs on a shared future, and their spouses arrive at the cottage, she realizes that this home-away-from-home is a refuge for determining a new path forward. With a tip of the hat to Noël Coward and sex comedies of the past, THE COTTAGE offers a perfect showcase for six actors with endless laughs, hilarious twists, daring physical comedy, and a happy ending for lovers everywhere. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6495.pdf

Continuity : a play in six takes / by Bess Wohl

It's magic hour in the New Mexico desert as an exhausted film crew races against the setting sun to shoot their blockbuster (but artsy) action movie, which takes place on an arctic (Styrofoam) ice floe, and features an ecoterrorist plotting a bombing mission to save all of humankind (supposedly). As the clock ticks and the desert sun beats down on the not-so-frozen landscape, personalities clash, artistic vision meets Hollywood demands, and the gap between fiction and science grows wider than ever. A dark but hilarious "play in six takes," CONTINUITY interrogates the role of storytelling in a world on the brink of actual environmental crisis.

Confidence (and the speech) : a play with history / by Susan Lambert Hatem

On July 4, 1979, President Carter canceled an important energy policy speech he was scheduled to give the next day and disappeared to Camp David. Ten days later, he emerged from his impromptu domestic summit and gave a new speech, the Crisis of Confidence speech, which became known as the "malaise" speech. The speech garnered overwhelmingly positive responses at first and many now view the speech as unprecedented, farsighted and insightful. Others think it may have ultimately cost him the White House. Forty years later, college professor Cynthia Cooper is approached by a stranger, a young man, and asked to recall her time with the Carter Administration during the days before the now infamous Crisis of Confidence speech. If she is going to tell her story of that time--the story told from her perspective--she is going to play the president. And the young man who wants to know her story? Well, he is going to play her. This unique cross-gender experience explores the confidence of a president, a nation in chaos, and women in politics. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6386.pdf

The comeuppance / by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

When group of old classmates meet to pre-game their twentieth high school reunion, everyone is nervous for the night ahead. As alcohol and pot help the self-declared "Multi-Ethnic Reject Group," let their guards down, they begin to reminisce about their teenage selves and reveal how their lives have unfolded since graduation. Did their friendships stand the test of time, or will they realize they don't have as much in common as they thought they did? Brilliantly witty, theatrical, and moving, The Comeuppance focuses on millennials and their reckoning with the world they will soon inherit

Cluedo / written by Sandy Rustin; based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn

It's a dark and stormy night, and you've been invited to a very unusual dinner party. Each of the guests has an alias, the butler offers a variety of weapons, and the host is, well...dead. So, whodunnit? Join the iconic oddballs known as Scarlet, Plum, White, Green, Peacock, and Mustard as they race to find the murderer in Boddy Manor before the body count stacks up. Based on the cult classic film and the popular board game, Cluedo is a madcap comedy that will keep you guessing until the final twist.

Christmas in Hanoi / by Edward Nguyen Borey

Winnie Ganley and her family are traveling to Vietnam, her late mother's birth country, during Christmas. Her Irish-American father is drinking too much, her Vietnamese grandfather is coming to believe his grandchildren are too assimilated, and her brother is seeing ghosts. As Winnie tries to uncover the real reason her father and grandfather have decided to make the trip, she--and the rest of her family--try to make peace with the past, with each other, and with themselves.

Chicken / by Eva O'Connor and Hildegard Ryan

Don Murphy is a proud Irish man, a hopeless ketamine addict and one of his generation's greatest actors. He also happens to be a chicken. A Kerry cock to be precise. Across one fateful night, the feathered Oscar winner shares his star-studded story with an intimate audience - from getting his big break, to his first bird-on-bird sexual experience, to navigating life in the (human-dominated) celebrity spotlight.

Casey and Diana / by Nick Green

As the Toronto AIDS hospice, Casey House, prepares for the historic visit of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1991, residents and staff are inspired to beat the odds as a plague continues to ravage a generation. This potent and moving drama by Nick Green, vividly captures a moment in time when a rebel Princess, alongside less famous caregivers and advocates, reshaped the course of a pandemic—and how those stricken by the virus found hard-won dignity, community and love in the face of astonishing hardship.

Blue mist / by Mohamed-Zain Dada

Chunkyz Shisha Lounge is a home away from home for Jihad, Rashid and Asif, a space where community whispers are heard, jokes are told, and new hustles are born. But its future is under threat, having become a target for local politicians. Aspiring journalist Jihad wants to fight back. After winning a competition to produce his own documentary, he sets out to create something that gives a voice to his community and challenges the usual stereotypes that fill the airwaves. Will he be able to create something that makes his boys proud? Or will his dreams of becoming a journalist come at a cost too high to bear?

Between the bars / by Lynn Clay Byrne

Within the confines of the Visit Room, emotionally charged meetings between incarcerated individuals and their visitors expose the reality of our American jail system. We observe how the impact of incarceration diminishes any chance of success for those who have served their time. Following five incarcerated individuals and their loved ones, this work brings to light critical systemic failures and questions who belongs on which side of the bars. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6422.pdf

American Guernica : or the twilight of democracy / by David Goldsmith

n this fractured historical fiction in two acts set in the months before the 2012 presidential election, when Democracy was strong, facts were facts, and a single surreptitious video could determine the course of history, a Black Republican political operative and his (male) GOP donor lover; a blue-collar bartender in his 60s and his liberal wife; a left-wing middle-aged painter, his twenty-year-old activist daughter, the conservative housewife with whom he’s having an affair, and her Jesus-loving daughter; and James Earl Carter IV, grandson of the 39th president of the United States, all find themselves connected to political events swirling around them, and to each other, in ways they never could have imagined. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6439.pdf

Algorithms / by Sadie Clark

Hopeless romantic Brooke is the algorithm writer for a dating app - she literally codes attraction - so when she finds herself unexpectedly single, she decides to give the science of love (online dating) a chance. A bisexual Bridget Jones for the online generation, this tragicomic one-woman show and its lovably hapless heroine is for anyone who’s ever felt like they were too much, and not enough at the same time.

Accommodation / by Greg Burdick

The mother of freshman and rising athletic star Michael Newsome stops by his guidance counselor's office for a meeting. While the administration is impressed with Michael's record-breaking times in the pool, his mother is more concerned that he's failing Mrs. Dawkins' science class. She thinks his poor performance may be because there aren't proper accommodations put into place to help with Michael's learning disability. When Mrs. Dawkins joins the meeting, the ramifications of generational shifts in America's expectations for education, parenting, and teaching rear their heads, to life-altering results.

Lady sunrise / by Marjorie Chan

From the glittering high-rise condos to the desperate streets of Vancouver, powerful stories told by women reveal the fraying social fabric among the wealthy and hangers-on in the city's Asian Canadian community. Lady Sunrise introduces us to six women who are risking everything, all motivated by the need for more money and the freedom it could buy, whether it's the allure of expensive items and real estate to substitute what's been lost or the safety of not being in abusive debt to anyone else just to survive. This heartbreaking examination of the effects of today's hyper-consumerist society will challenge perspectives of strength and power, exposing painfully raw consequences.

Word-play / by Rabiah Hussain

In the Downing Street Press Office an emergency meeting has been called. The Prime Minister has been ad-libbing on live TV (again) and his words are going viral. There is a flurry of accusations, and demands for an apology; but as his team debate what to do next, it's already too late. His words have found their way to dinner parties, bus journeys and newspaper columns across the nation – and not everyone is angry.

The wonderful world of Dissocia / Anthony Neilson

Lisa Jones is on a journey. It's a colorful and exciting off-kilter trip in search of one lost hour that has tipped the balance of her life. The inhabitants of the wonderful world she finds herself in - Dissocia - are a curious blend of the funny, the friendly and the brutal. As Neilson himself puts it, "if you like Alice in Wonderland but there's not enough sex and violence in it, then Dissocia is the show for you". Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Wonderful_World_of_Dissocia/iPKvEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+wonderful+world+of+Dissocia+/+Anthony+Neilson&printsec=frontcover

Winter of 88 : a play / by Mohammad Yaghoubi

A new apartment should be a warm and welcoming signal to a fresh chapter of life. It shouldn’t be where a family waits in the dark, surrounded by unpacked boxes, as missiles rain down around them. Already eight years into the Iran–Iraq war, Nasrin and her two adult children—daughter Nahid and son Mahyar—just want to feel safe and settled. Tensions are already high, from bickering over who gets what room and what goes where to why Nahid’s husband left her. Mahyar leaves the apartment in a heated moment, leaving Nasrin wracked with fear. As the missiles start to strike and the power goes out, Nahid tries to hold everything together. From that moment on, it’s about survival. This heart-wrenching meta-autobiographical play, presented in both English and Farsi, is a window into days when death was practically a neighbour in war-torn Tehran. It’s a dedication to those who are left behind with the trauma of war and survivors’ guilt. Author Mohammad Yaghoubi survived it, so he had to write about it.

A trip to the moon / by Tracy Wells

Set in the transformative summer of 1969, A Trip to the Moon tells the story of people reaching for their dreams … dreams of love, dreams of equality, dreams of the stars. Told around the time of the moon landing, this vignette-style play is comprised of 16 scenes, each named after an iconic song from 1969. From a girl trying to convince her parent to let her go to Woodstock in “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” to a woman trying to get a job at NASA in “Bad Moon Rising,” to a soldier giving the new guy a reality check in “Fortunate Son,” to a group of protestors showing a girl how to fight for what’s right in “Come Together,” these scenes and more use humor and heart to teach us about who we once were and reflect on who we could be and remind us that to achieve the impossible, we must reach for the stars. Online preview: https://media.dramaticpublishing.com/uploads/products/excerpt_file/524b9f6ac8ff86d4afea03c410c7233114ba83fe.pdf

Toni Stone / by Lydia R. Diamond

Toni Stone is an encyclopedia of baseball stats. She’s got a great arm. And she doesn’t understand why she can't play with the boys. About the first woman to go pro in the Negro League and featuring a bullpen of players crossing age, race and gender to portray all supporting roles, Toni Stone is a vibrant new play about staying in the game, playing hard, playing smart and playing your own way.

Tomorrow game / by Brandy N. Carie

Bell and Roe live in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that is so far gone they don’t even remember a time when there were grocery stores, safe drinking water, or 911. They each live in isolation, until they happen to meet. Bell shows Roe a game: take off your mask and see if you can breathe. Try this vegetable, and see if you wake up. Read a poem. Do more than just not die. Bell may also have ulterior motives. Roe’s shelter is stocked with years worth of canned goods and other priceless resources. Is their friendship true – or just another game?

STEW / by Zora Howard

Mama is up early to prepare an important meal and, even with her family on hand to help, time is running short. Tensions simmer with three generations of Tucker women under one roof, but things come to a boil as the violence hovering around the periphery of their lives begins to intrude upon the sanctity of Mama’s kitchen.

Sound of the underground / by Travis Alabanza

Ladies, gentlemen, and then all the legends that have realised gender is a trap -- introducing the Sound of the Underground. The sound of the underground is the sound of duct tape, lighting cigarettes, jangling tips and a whole lot of chaos. This is not your average night at the theatre. Legends of the London queer club scene come out from under the gutter to take over the Royal Court Theatre. Expect punk, profranity and a fierce fight about workers' rights written by Travis Alabanza and co-created and directed by Debbie Hannan. Hold for applause. Bring some change. Tip generously. Travis Alabanza's first play for the Royal Court spotlights London's iconic underground club culture and questions what it means to get your money's worth when it comes to art. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sound_of_the_Underground/KvmoEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sound+of+the+underground+/+by+Travis+Alabanza&printsec=frontcover

The sex party / by Terry Johnson

Four couples gather in a suburban London home for a night of wine, cheese, and more intimate pleasures. Some are curious newcomers, some are old hands, but one guest takes them all by surprise. Thus an evening full of promise is poised to go beyond anyone’s expectations.

The riots : from spoken evidence / by Gillian Slovo

The Riots is a play created by Gillian Slovo from spoken evidence, which explains and evaluates the events that took place during the 2011 England riots. The play is written in the style of verbatim theatre using interviews from politicians, police, rioters and victims involved in the riots.

Refugee boy / by Benjamin Zephaniah; adapted for the stage by Lemn Sissay.

An eye for an eye. It's very simple. You choose your homeland like a hyena picking and choosing where he steals his next meal from. Scavenger. Yes you grovel to the feet of Mengistu and when his people spit at you and kick you from the bowl you scuttle across the border. Scavenger. As a violent civil war rages back home in Ethiopia, teenager Alem and his father are in a bed and breakfast in Berkshire. It's his best holiday ever. The next morning his father is gone and has left a note explaining that he and his mother want to protect Alem from the war. This strange grey country of England is now his home. On his own, and in the hands of the social services and the Refugee Council, Alem lives from letter to letter, waiting to hear something from his father. Then he meets car-obsessed Mustapha, the lovely 'out-of-your-league' Ruth and dangerous Sweeney - three unexpected allies who spur him on in his fight to be seen as more than just the Refugee Boy.

The piano teacher : a healing key / a play by Dorothy Dittrich

The story of renowned concert pianist Erin, who after experiencing the loss of her husband, is unable to find solace in the music that once brought her so much joy. As she struggles to play her the piano again, an unconventional piano teacher helps release her past and a new friend invites possibilities for the future. The Piano Teacher is about loss, love, friendship, and the healing power of music. When Erin, a classical concert pianist, experiences the loss of the life she knew, she finds herself dealing with the departure of her own musical expression. Navigating her way through this change, she meets a piano teacher who turns out to be an extraordinary therapist. As Elaine gently reacquaints Erin with her instrument, Erin begins to make changes in the rest of her life as well. A simple change to her home, for instance, brings the unexpected companionship of her contractor, Tom. The Piano Teacher is replete with lessons about moving through grief, friendships, music as a healing art, the temptation of self-deception, compassion, and love.

Pandemexplosion : a verbatim play / Mark Wheeller

An actor (Top Boy), a rapper, a group of school students, a university scientist and two NGO activists from Beirut have little in common but their lives are all affected by Covid-19. Mark Wheeller’s new verbatim play tells their stories. It is explosive and fascinating in turns… it is not only their story… it’s ours too. These recollections offer positive journeys through the pandemic, contrasted with the horror of the 2020 Port of Beirut explosion, included as one of the student’s family decided to return to their Lebanon home during lockdown. This story provides the most heartbreaking moments.

Out the window / Liza Balkan

In August 2000, Liza Balkan witnessed the beating death of a man named Otto Vass during an altercation with the police in the west end of Toronto. Balkan kept careful track of the aftermath, then turned verbatim court transcripts, audio, video, and text derived from multiple interviews with lawyers from both sides of the bench, officers, family members of the deceased, activists, and artists, into a documentary theatre project that interrogates the subjects of policing and police violence, use of force, mental illness, racism, justice, memory, witnessing and theatre

Our dear dead drug lord / by Alexis Scheer

A gang of teenage girls gathers in an abandoned treehouse to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar. Are they messing with the actual spirit of the infamous cartel kingpin? Or are they really just messing with each other? A roller coaster ride through the danger and damage of girlhood – the teenage wasteland – has never been so much twisted fun.

Orlando / adapted by Neil Bartlett, originally by Virginia Woolf

From a teenage encounter with Elizabeth I, through infatuations, voyages and even a change of gender, Orlando lives out five centuries of life and love before they finally find the courage to truly be themselves. Neil Bartlett's sparkling adaptation of Virginia Woolf's famous fantasy finds powerful contemporary relevance in her vision of equal rights to love for bodies of every kind – and brings it to life on the stage with a kaleidoscope of theatrical styles, overseen by the haunting figure of Woolf herself.

Once Upon A Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia / by Josh Azouz

In this darkly comic, poignant, and at times surreal play, two couples in Tunisia — one Muslim and one Jewish — share a deep and complicated friendship before the German takeover of their country in World War II. Now under a brutal regime, they face the truth about their long-simmering feelings about friendship and romance as they struggle to save themselves from a Nazi commandant - named Grandma.

Mumsy / by Lydia Marchant

Sophie is about to become a single mum – a third-generation one – and she's terrified. How will she afford to feed her baby? Or a Deluxe Snuggle Pod? Can she hold on to her job? What if she's crap at parenthood? Surely she can count on her own mum and nan to help... Except her mum's got used to having a life of her own, and doesn't fancy giving up pole-dancing class and Tinder to go back to changing nappies and no sleep. Meanwhile, fresh out of hospital with a broken leg, her nan's having a three-quarter-life crisis of her own. From slammed doors to living-room karaoke, Lydia Marchant's play Mumsy is a sparky, soulful comedy drama about the highs and lows of motherhood.

Moreno / by Pravin Wilkins

August, 2016. The NFL is being shaken by Colin Kaepernick's monumental decision. While other players join him in taking a knee, star running back Luis Moreno is all about his game – and his pay check. A record-breaking season is in sight... but America's leadership is changing. When a destructive new reality hits close to home, Luis is forced to ask whether politics have a place on the field, and if he is willing to risk his career to take a stand for his own community.

The layover / by Tracy Wells

A couple of oddly intrusive passengers. A perplexing older couple. New parents. A loud family with a bratty kid. This is the company Dana keeps while she waits in a crowded airport for her next flight to … well … to wherever she’s going. But not all is as it seems as Dana, a self-proclaimed “bad girl,” tries to pass the time during this never-ending layover. As she interacts with the other waiting passengers, Dana begins to learn that if she wants to get where she’s going, she’ll have to figure out who she really is. Online preview: https://media.dramaticpublishing.com/uploads/products/excerpt_file/2d4cd89aa15aceb0a52239b410ef12bd89652ee5.pdf

Jar of fat / by Seayoung Yim

An absurdist comedy and fifteenth winner of the Yale Drama Prize, exploring family, religion, identity, desire, and beauty in Korean American culture In a fantastical fairy-tale world, two Korean American sisters are deemed too fat to fit in their family grave. Will the sisters’ close bond survive under the pressure of their community and fretful parents, who will spare no effort to make them tinier? Jar of Fat, the fifteenth winner of the Yale Drama Prize, is a phantasmagorical, absurdist Korean American tale about the allure and danger entangled within the quest for beauty and thinness. Both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply troubling, Seayoung Yim’s play burns through the accumulated rage that anti-fat bias produces to reclaim what it steals from us every day: grace, space, possibility, and breath. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jar_of_Fat/Y4DQEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jar+of+fat+/+by+Seayoung+Yim&printsec=frontcover

Is my microphone on? / by Jordan Tannahill

In another life I was a small bubble of foam on a wave coming to shore, and the wave broke, and I burst, and that was it. Before that I was a small stream, for centuries. And in another life I was a mortal girl. Which is this life. After thousands of years, I have a mouth. So if you don’t mind, Mom, Dad, I’m going to speak. I’m going to shout. When I become a human I’m going to use some words. Can you still hear me? Is my microphone on? Young people have inherited a burning world. In this urgent and lyrical play, they reckon with the generations who have come before them, questioning the choices that have been made, and the ones that they will yet be forced to make. Is My Microphone On? is a play in the form of a protest song, in which a chorus of young performers hold the audience to account, and invite them to experience the world together anew.

The invincibles / by Amanda Whittington

1917: World War One is raging in Europe. In Britain, Sterling Ladies – known as the Dagenham Invincibles – are playing to win. For two whirlwind seasons, they never lose a game. Yet once peace is restored, the factory girls must hang up their boots and see triumph fade into obscurity. 2023: Injured footballer Maya follows England's progress through the Women's World Cup. The world has changed, yet the roar of the Lionesses echoes the Invincibles' war-cry. Watching at home, Maya fears she'll never play again – but as she loses herself in the present, she hears the call of the past and finds fresh hope for the future. Amanda Whittington's play The Invincibles celebrates two generations of inspirational women, and their adventures on the football pitch a century apart.

I wanna fucking tear you apart / Morgan Gould

Samantha and Leo are a team—best friends and roommates, fat girl and gay guy against the world—until a new friend upends their cozy co-dependent diet of mutual self-loathing and Grey’s Anatomy marathons. An ode to the complications of friendship in its many fucked-up forms, with a special nod to a kind of love that sometimes looks a lot like rage.

The hero twins : blood race / by Ramon Esquivel

Who will win the Blood Race, an ancient competition between two tribes that takes place in the underworld? The winner rules the capital city and all the people who labor for it, while the loser remains trapped forever in the underworld. Cricket has trained for his entire life with his twin sister, Moth, and he is favored to be the first of their tribe to win the Blood Race. When Cricket fails, the high priestess, Iguana, challenges Moth to compete in the next race against King Jaguar. Moth’s strategies are unusual, baffling even Aquili, her spirit guide in the underworld. When Moth learns the truth of the Blood Race, she is faced with a choice that could turn the world upside down. An invented mythology inspired by classic Mayan narratives, The Hero Twins: Blood Race is an action-filled adventure that is also an allegory about inequality, justice and liberation. Online preview: https://media.dramaticpublishing.com/uploads/products/excerpt_file/4a6983bfdd35bb269bd86548e74603a032dc8061.pdf

Half-empty glasses / by Dipo Baruwa-Etti

Toye is preparing for his piano exam to get into a prestigious music school. He's doing it for the contacts, the opportunity, the love of art. But when he notices the lack of Black British history in his school's curriculum, he begins to question himself and the world around him. Toye wants to follow his dream. but he can't let these institutions write his story. He decides to teach his classmates about Black cultural icons himself, but quickly discovers that not everyone wants Black history to be celebrated. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Half_Empty_Glasses/X7N-EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Half-empty+glasses+/+by+Dipo+Baruwa-Etti&pg=PT92&printsec=frontcover

Grenfell : in the words of survivors / by Gillian Slovo

"'It was a tower block, but it was home.' The early hours of Wednesday 14 June 2017. The north-west corner of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. A twenty-four-storey residential tower. The scene of a national tragedy. This powerful verbatim play is drawn from the testimony of residents - a group of survivors and bereaved - at the heart of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. It reveals the impact of the multiple failures that led to the most devastating residential fire in the UK since the Second World War, and asks: how do we stop this ever happening again? Startling, urgent and deeply moving, Grenfell: in the words of survivors explores the courage and resilience of an ill-treated community and their continued campaign for justice. Created from interviews by Gillian Slovo.

The flea / by James Fritz

July 1889, London. A flea bites a rat. A rat spooks a horse. A horse kicks a man. As the chain reaction continues, a boy and his mother find themselves swept up in a national scandal that will reshape both their lives – and the country. James Fritz's play The Flea is a retelling of the Cleveland Street Scandal that shook England – from the streets of Bermondsey to the halls of Buckingham Palace – and features a flea, a horse, a detective, a queen, a pimp, a god, and Charlie, the telegraph boy who knelt before the Crown.

Farm Hall / by Katherine Moar

Summer 1945. Hitler is dead, but the war in the Pacific rages on. When six of Germany's top nuclear scientists – including three Nobel Prize winners – are detained by Allied forces at a stately home in the Cambridgeshire countryside, they find themselves shut off from the outside world. Their only distractions are board games, a broken piano and a copy of Blithe Spirit. But as the months go by, their attention turns to the ongoing war and thoughts of their broken homeland. The scientists' tranquil summer is shattered by the inconceivable news that the Americans have succeeded where the Germans have failed: the United States has not only built an atomic bomb, but they have used one against Japan.

Earthquakes in London / by Mike Bartlett

The play centres on the lives and loves of three sisters, abandoned long ago by their doom-mongering father. The father is a prominent climate scientist who predicts environmental apocalypse. The eldest sister is a cabinet minister who plans to halt all airport expansion, choosing environment over economy. The middle sister is heavily pregnant and growing increasingly depressed about the uncertain future her child is being born into. The youngest sister is a rebellious teenager and frequent nuisance to her career-minded eldest sister. As the three women attempt, in their own different ways, to come to terms with the fact that their father's pessimistic forecasts may be right, Freya, the middle sister, contemplates suicide to avoid bringing her child into an apocalyptic future and an opportunity presents itself for reconciliation with their estranged misanthropic father. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Earthquakes_in_London/SfA4EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Earthquakes+in+London+/+by+Mike+Bartlett&printsec=frontcover

The crown jewels : a play based on real events / by Simon Nye

It's 1671, and the charismatic and unpredictable Colonel Blood is planning the greatest heist of all time: stealing – in plain sight – the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. With an audacious plan and a gang of misfits by his side, can he possibly pull it off? And is King Charles II in any mood to have his crown jewels handled? Based on the scarcely believable true story, Simon Nye's play The Crown Jewels is a riotous and uproarious royal affair.

Cowboys and lesbians / by Billie Esplen

When repressed British schoolfriends Nina and Noa start writing a parody American coming-of-age romance, the colourful, familiar characters come to life and show them that they might just have a story of their own to tell. Cowboys and Lesbians is a queer romantic comedy which examines the intersection between sexuality and fantasy through the eyes of two closeted teenage girls, highlighting just how much the stories we consume affect the ones we tell about ourselves.

The children's republic : a play about Janusz Korczak / Hannah Moscovitch

Confined within the walls of the Warsaw Ghetto, Dr. Janusz Korczak struggles to protect the children at his orphanage from the horrors of the Second World War. There is not enough food or pairs of eyes to keep watch over them. Between a troublemaking thief, an abandoned girl, a malnourished boy, and a violin prodigy, Janusz has his hands full, but together they fight for beauty and hope in a world crumbling around them. Based on the WWII advocacy work of Dr. Janusz Korczak, The Children’s Republic is a reminder of the hope that can still be found in a world devoid of freedom and the necessities of life.

Checking in / by Tracy Wells

At the Regency Arms Hotel, the comfort of the guests comes first--and no one knows that better than bellhop Bernard and housepeeker Natasha. But while Bernard tries to woo Natasha and manage the guests' luggage, it's the other baggage the guests brought that keeps him on his toes! 'Checking In' tells a lifetime of stories including an expectant mom going into labor, a teenager learning to see the world beyond a screen, a couple finding love, the craziness of traveling with kids and, finally, waiting too long to take that dream vacation. These stories, and more, reflect the theme that 'life is a journey--travel it well' and remind us that as we travel through life, it's the people we journey with who make it special. Online preview: https://media.dramaticpublishing.com/uploads/products/excerpt_file/111d9f9f90d953b3e0ae66340df021d7c7f7b6ba.pdf

Chasing hares / by Sonali Bhattacharyya

By day, machine operator Prab struggles to survive the precarity and brutality of his factory job in West Bengal. By night, he writes stories for his baby daughter Amba. When a popular actress recruits him to write a play for her, Prab seizes the opportunity to expose the injustice of factory conditions and the rumours of child exploitation. But in his fight for change, is he ready to risk his future, his family and even his own life?

Candy / by Tim Fraser

Do you believe in love at first sight? Will didn't. It was just something people said to sound romantic at weddings and that. Though he'd not felt it himself, he was pretty sure love itself was a thing, it just wasn't, you know, the Cupid's-arrow/heart-eyes kind of love. He didn't even think he was missing out on anything; he was happy with his lot--a decent job, a good group of mates to get plastered with every weekend... even living with his mum and Great Aunt Toadface wasn't that bad, really. He was fine. Until he sees Candy. One look at her and his whole world turns upside down. And no, Candy's not her real name. Candy is his old schoolmate, dressed to the nines in thoroughly convincing drag. But to Will, she's another person entirely. An epiphany. A revelation. A woman. Candy tells the story of Will as he attempts to make sense of his newfound feelings, and everything he thought he knew about himself is brought into question. It's a one-man comedy-drama about identity, masculinity, mental health, sexuality and, most importantly, love.

Calpurnia / by Audrey Dwyer

Julie, a young Jamaican Canadian screenwriter, is passionately working on an adaptation of one of the most beloved American novels of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird, telling the story from the perspective of the Finch family's Black maid, Calpurnia. But within the safe confines of her wealthy father's home, and besides all the encouragement from their Filipina housekeeper Precy, Julie struggles with writer's block and numerous distractions as her family prepares for an important dinner party. When her brother challenges her, saying she's appropriating a culture she doesn't belong to, she goes to dramatic lengths to prove her point, only to find she has much to learn. Calpurnia is a witty and highly charged look at the complicated entanglements of intersectionality and allyship, exposing motives and biases that are clear as a bell one moment, and drowning in ambiguity the next.

The best we could : (a family tragedy) / by Emily Feldman

In this funny, wise, and heartbreaking debut from Emily Feldman, a daughter’s road trip with her father becomes a theatrical journey across more than just state lines. Though 36-year old Ella has nearly given up on life, she agrees to accompany her father Lou on a long-distance trip to adopt a rescue dog. Guided by a narrator called Maps and interspersed with memories and phone calls from Ella’s mother, Peg, their journey reveals hard truths as their pasts slowly rise to the surface.

The bandaged place / by Harrison David Rivers

Struggling to recover after an assault, Jonah realizes the only way to heal is by mending the relationships with his family. A brutal and lyrical portrait of the things we hang on to and the price of moving forward, the bandaged place tells of one man’s attempt to free himself from the abuses of his past.

A-typical rainbow / by JJ Green

An imaginative child's glorious fantasies – of dolphins and dragonflies, gingerbread houses and chocolate rivers – offer him an escape from hostile reality. When reality dictates he has to conform to the 'real world', he has to make a choice. Should he live authentically and risk stigma, or can he continue to hide? Based on real events from the perspective of the writer and the autistic community, JJ Green's A-Typical Rainbow is an uplifting play about the experience of growing up neurodivergent and queer in early 2000s Britain.

At the wedding / by Bryna Turner

You are cordially invited to the best day of someone else's life… but what if it's also the worst day of yours? Join Carlo as she attempts to make it through the night without drinking too much, talking too much, or trying to win back the bride. Bryna Turner's bittersweet play, a laugh-out-loud comedy that nonetheless addresses some big issues, is for anyone who has ever attended a wedding... or had their heart broken.

Animal / by Jon Bradfield ; from a story by Jon Bradfield and Josh Hepple

David is gay, disabled and profoundly horny. He can't eat, drink or shower by himself - or wank. Totally inexperienced, he embarks on a sexual and romantic odyssey, armed with a fierce brain, and dick pics that he has to get someone to take. Can he keep it casual whilst also relying on round-the-clock care? And will he manage the thrill and uncertainty of random hook-ups after a lifetime of knockbacks? Animal is a hilarious, challenging and heartbreaking play by Jon Bradfield, from a story by Bradfield and Josh Hepple. It won the inaugural Through the Mill Playwriting Prize, was shortlisted for the Papatango Prize.

Last Call / by Weldon Pless

In this light-hearted comedy about the perils of texting, a young couple’s connection is tested by their mode of expression. Is texting a valid and effective way to build and develop a romantic relationship? In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Irish Stew / by Cary Pepper

LAURETTA and CARLTON are getting on in years. They’re at that point where they’re losing their facility with language. And their short-term memory isn’t quite what it used to be. But years ago, when they saw this coming, they made a decision to not rage against it. As long as they had each other. And so, as they sit in their home, physically agile but mentally short a few key nouns... “Some days, sharp as a tack. Other days, dumb as hammers.”... They let it take as long as it does to find the Irish shoe Lauretta keeps asking for, remaining patient and loving amidst all the false starts that are oh-so-common now. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Actor / by Joe Maruzzo

In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Ski Lift / by Chris Holbrook

Two strangers share a ski lift –one, a consummate skier, the other without skis or poles. Quickly, they learn that sometimes you have more in common with a stranger than with the ones you love. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Right Sensation / by Rich Orloff

When a man and a woman who have met at a bar end up in her apartment, they both hope for sex but end up with something more. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Fractaland / by Andrea Sloan Pink

A kick to the head changes a man's life and sends him into the company of brilliant dreamers and mathematical decoders, and into world in which chance and destiny collide. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Goodnight Lovin' Trail / by John Patrick Bray

Mr. Coffee and Cigarettes has a problem: he got to drinking earlier, and he swears he left his special guitar behind at an-but-forgotten truck stop diner near the mythic Goodnight-Loving Trail. Lee, a waitress there, has an even bigger problem she keeps secret, buried deep. The play explores raw human emotions and consequences while these two desperate characters navigate and come to terms with the choices they've made on the road of life. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Goodnight_Lovin_Trail/Yhg3CwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Goodnight+Loving%27+Trail+/+by+John+Patrick+Bray&pg=PA4&printsec=frontcover

Let Rise / by I. B. Hopkins

In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Boulevard of Broken Dreams / by Lynne Bolen

In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Angel at My Door / by John Franceschini

An elderly, cantankerous, used-book store owner, depressed about the passing of his wife is contemplating imminent suicide. His plans get interrupted when a cheerful, persistent young woman enters his bookstore. She purports to be his spiritual guide to the afterlife but wants to live on earth for a while. So, she must convince him to change his plans and die a natural death. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

And Baby Makes Four / by Frank Farmer

A young lesbian's decision to have a child by a Father of her choice is thwarted when he refuses to donate to a sperm bank, nearly forcing her to conceive "conventionally", much to the annoyance of her older partner. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

A Match / by John Bolen

Married couple rediscovers love after argumentative date night. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Between / by John Guare

Between depicts a contentious meeting between a couple who tangle with memories and affections. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Old Boyfriend / by Neil Labute

Old Boyfriend tells the story of one woman's path to self forgiveness. After an unexpected run in with an old boyfriend, she must comes to terms with the guilt she has been carrying for 15 years. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Diminished Then Augmented / by Daniel Gallant

The short play follows a logician who is hired by the mob to track a turncoat. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

iBaby / by Laura Shaine Cunningham

An electronics probe deep into a young woman's intimate life and impregnate her with a phone. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

I Didn't Want a Mastodon / by Halley Feiffer

A couple wrangle over a blown glass mastadon. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Alt-Visions, Kiss Before Clouding / by Daniel F. Levin

A monologue that deliveres the story of the character’s connection with his constantly evolving girlfriend and the experiences and situations he endured throughout their relationship before she tragically died. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

This Side of New York / by Caridad Svich

Former lovers reunite after many missed connections In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

The Wet Echo / by Clay McLeod Chapman

A darkly comic work about a turn-of-the-century explorer who stumbles upon the discovery of a lifetime: the female anatomy. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

Johnny & Rosie / by Quincy Long

In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2013-2014

With a Bullet (Or, Surprise Me) / by John Patrick Bray

Refusing to surrender control of their lives, a staunch libertarian, a female Episcopal priest, and a wounded liberal walk into a bar on New Year's Eve in 1999 to debate love and loss; however, they learn that anyone can succumb to the phrase "it looks like rain." In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Vertical Constellation with Bomb / by Gwydion Suilebhan

New York during World War II. A nun, eagerly collecting scrap metal for the war effort, and Alexander Calder, desperate for raw material for a new sculpture, plead with a grieving mother, clutching a crushed tin airplane tightly to her chest. Will she let go? And for what? In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

There's No Here Here / by Craig Pospisil

Lance moves to Paris to follow his dream of becoming a writer, but his work goes badly. As does his relationship with Juliette, a beautiful Parisian. But a strangely familiar woman at their local bistro forces Lance to dig deeper into himself. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Gonna Need to See Some ID / by Donna Latham

Sizzurup? Bombs? A suspicious cashier interrogates customers as they attempt to make purchases. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Dolor / by Hal Corley

The only two people in a rural tavern on a slow Monday evening, seated back-to-back at nearby tables, suddenly find themselves embroiled in a strange one-upmanship: an attempt to establish which of them is the most sensitive. The apparent challenge: to conjure up a single image that best exemplifies a state of abject sadness. Melinda brainstorms imaginatively, but Teddy tries to control her rush of distracting details -- and reign in Melinda's creativity. In short order, they arrive at a heated impasse. Or do they? What sort of mind games are at work? And is their very circumstance -- meeting publicly if covertly -- the saddest thing possible? Dolor is a little black comedy about big feelings, those withheld and too readily voiced. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Sword Play / by Charlene A. Donaghy

In 1962 the city of New Orleans, like many cities across the country, is both embracing and rebelling against racial integration. That fight permeates the Catholic Church, putting Maeve Quinn in the crosshairs. Her struggles are deepened both by her care for a young child and the intrusion of a new priest into the parish she loves. As swords clash, which fight will win: the one for Maeve’s path to becoming a nun or the one for community and equality? In Maeve’s world, they are not the same. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome / by Michael Ross Albert

When a painter tears the artwork off the walls of a struggling independent gallery, the relationships between a group of emerging artists are also torn apart. A comedy about envy, friendship, sex, art, and our constant search for something better. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Winning / by Mercilee Jenkins

A conversation between two friends, one sick with cancer, during an Academy Awards viewing party. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

The Gulf / by Audrey Cefaly

The divide between Kendra and Betty mimics the very world that devours them: a vast and polarizing abyss. On a quiet summer evening, somewhere down in the Alabama Delta, Kendra and Betty troll the flats looking for red fish. After Betty begins diagnosing Kendra’s dead-end life with career picks from What Color is Your Parachute, their routine fishing excursion takes a violent turn. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Feathers / by Judd Lear Silverman

A couple deals with the departure of their child. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

The Subterraneans / by Adam Kraar

A teenage brother and sister have a conversation about life, family, and drugs. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

The Lilac Ticket / by C. J. Ehrlich

At the medical group, Sam and Barb confront two secrets that threaten their 50-year marriage: one happening now, in the waiting room, and the other, a long-buried secret. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

The Hour / by Susan Goodell

The Hour is a comical look at what can happen when you don't set your watch right. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Norma's Rest / by Jordan Morille

“Norma’s Rest” explores the poignant journey of Norma, a compassionate woman running a sober living home. As she battles cancer and confronts her mortality, a local pastor presents a tempting offer to buy the home, stirring inner conflict. The play delves into themes of forgiveness, second chances, and the shared humanity that unites us, revealing that even the most flawed individuals are not so different from the rest of us. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Super Hot Raven and Raven II: The Ravening / by Megan Gogerty

A sexy, silly spoof of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, Super Hot Raven and Raven II: The Ravening are two ten-minute plays reimagining the famous poem as a hot lesbian love story between a poet and a mysterious plumber in a Baltimore Ravens jersey. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

The Secret Keeper / by David Meyers

Ahmad is the groundskeeper at a cemetery in Afghanistan. When a local mother visits the cemetery, she befriends Ahmad and unearths a troubling secret that unites them both. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Petra / by John Yarbrough

The play initially seems like the comic premise of a couple who couldn't agree on whether they once went to Petra. But it evolves into a play about memory and the loss of memory, about love and pain from the past. About how far you would go to forgive. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Long Time Coming / by David Rusiecki

Two friends, both stand-up comics, discuss one of the friend's new girlfriend. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Losing Sight / by Kevin D. Ferguson

Sometimes we lose sight of what matters the most. Barry, an acclaimed artist, races the clock to finish his last painting before a progressive illness takes his sight. Haunted by the ghost of his grandfather (Nolan) and forced to rely on the help of a woman he jilted in high school (Amy), Barry must confront the lost and damaged relationships of his past before he can face his future. Will Barry be able to do this before he loses his sight? In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

B'Hoys Do Macbeth / by Jonathon Ward

In 1849, an African-American entrepreneur caught between rival gangs of New York and the Upper Ten Percent gets entangled in a Shakespearean-sized conflict that leads to the Astor Place Riot, one of the bloodiest in New York City's History. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2014-2015

Pissed Sister / by Elizabeth Hemmerdinger

Helene, a lawyer and faithful daughter, defends her decision to remove her mother from a nursing home. As she states her case and recounts her strange care-taking choices, what seems to be a case of toxic sibling rivalry reveals itself to be homicidal dementia. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

Particle Board / by Elizabeth Meriwether

The mini-biography of the world's first and foremost Particle Board comedian, Harold Cretts, who punctuated every joke by hitting himself on the head with a piece of wood. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

October/November / by Anne Washburn

In this lyrical coming-of-age story, 13-year-old David falls under the tutelage of 15-year-old Nikkie, an alluring older woman who seems to have quite a bit to teach him. Set at a street corner in 1982 in the East Village, scenes and monologues unfold the world of David and Nikkie's enigmatic relationship in this play about experience: how it creates you -- and how it destroys you. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

Look, a Latino! / by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas

Young and frustrated, Enrique is arrested for shoplifting. So when he shows up with an expensive pair of earrings for his mother's birthday, even his own mother can't help wondering if he's really turned over a new leaf or if he's up to his old tricks. Do we know Enrique? Or do we just know his stereotype? Inspired by Frantz Fanon's famous essay, "The Fact of Blackness," Look, a Latino! brings to light questions of race, identity, and truth in a world more complicated than labels or stereotypes. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

The Levee / by Taylor Mac

Paige returns home late one night and announces to her concerned husband, Keith, that a recent trip to the doctor has revealed that she is pregnant. But what would normally be cause for celebration stirs feelings of doubt and fear, as the couple has already suffered several miscarriages. Wanting to help put his wife at ease, Keith takes Paige on an imaginary ride into the future they both desperately want for themselves and their unborn child. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

Izzy Icarus Fell Off the World / by Aliza Goldstein

Dove is obsessed with taking pictures of Izzy, a local boy with autism, because she believes that Izzy can fly with the birds on the beach. Dove's friend Paige, a realist, is frustrated by her idealistic friend's futile quest to capture Izzy's flight on film. When Dove continues to follow Izzy, she ultimately learns a lesson about the nature of magic and the real world. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

How to Speak Man / by Sharyn Rothstein

When Alan Spalding returns to the office after a weekend with his girlfriend, his coworkers are shocked to discover that Alan has apparently forgotten how to speak like a man. Worried that their boss will discover his problem, Alan's buddies endeavor to re-train him to speak in that assertive and limited way that only real men can. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

Falling Up / by Trista Baldwin

During a mysterious citywide blackout, two office workers collide over drinks. As they get to know each other, the two discover that, despite their differences, they have one thing in common: a deep need for more than what their cubicles have to offer. A post-9/11 romantic comedy—with a lemon twist. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

Drew Barrymore and Sigmund Freud Meet the Cookie Monster / by Alex Broun

In this outrageous comedy that enters the often bizarre, sexual world of advertising, Kat thinks she has the winning pitch. But Lee has his own ideas, and the two of them compete for Wolf's climaxed approval. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

Cloudy / by Michael Griffo

After witnessing something terrible happen to her three children, Georgia cannot continue living in the real world. To cope with her grief, she has escaped into a private world in her mind, leaving behind her selfless and loyal husband, Dan. Will Dan's unwavering faith and love ever be enough to set Georgia free? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.7

Threesome / by Yussef El Guindi

Leila and Rashid, Egyptian Americans, attempt to solve their relationship issues by inviting a relative stranger into their bedroom to engage in a threesome. What begins as a hilariously awkward evening soon becomes an experience fraught with secrets, raising issues of sexism, possession, and independence. In the anthology: The Selected Works of Yussef El Guindi

Language Rooms / by Yussef El Guindi

Ahmed is a shining example of the American Dream, working as a translator in a Homeland Security detainment facility. His friend Nasser, the only other Muslim on the compound, soon brings him some bad news—that his loyalties are being called into question. As office politics take a turn for the absurd all around him, Ahmed realizes that much more than just his job hangs in the balance. In the anthology: The Selected Works of Yussef El Guindi

Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat / by Yussef El Guindi

Struggling writer Gamal hates the way his fellow Arab-Americans represent their culture on American media. It’s easy enough to take out his frustration on literature superstar Mohsen and local mosque leader, Sheikh Alfani. But when his own girlfriend and novelist Noor gets an offer from a major publisher backed with a national media campaign, how will Gamal manage his frustration? In the anthology: The Selected Works of Yussef El Guindi

Radical Departure / by Yussef El Guindi

A Muslim man prepares to board a plane under the suspicious eyes of his fellow passengers. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

The Review / by Yussef El Guindi

A writer’s relationship is on the line when his work reveals perhaps more about his own biases than he realizes. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

A Marriage Proposal / by Yussef El Guindi

An adaptation of Chekhov’s classic short comedy with a delightfully distinct Egyptian twist. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

The Sniper / by Yussef El Guindi

A man is casually introduced to an army sniper, and it provokes a deeply discomfiting reaction. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

So Unlike Me / by Yussef El Guindi

A battle-scarred peace activist struggles with her calling. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

The Monologist Suffers Her Monologue / by Yussef El Guindi

A ruminative monologue on Palestine. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

The Birds Flew In / by Yussef El Guindi

A mother’s son has made the ultimate sacrifice. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

The Tyrant / by Yussef El Guindi

A deposed ruler defends his record as a man devoted to his people. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

Picking up the Scent / by Yussef El Guindi

Archeologist Hisham feels compelled to enter a war zone to do his job. His wife, Nisrin, finds the risk too great. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

Brass Knuckles / by Yussef El Guindi

A woman, Maysoon, stands in front of a mirror, puts on her hijab, and girds herself to face the outside world. In the anthology: In a Clear Concise Arabic Tongue

Manus / by Nazanin Sahamizadeh, Leila Hekmatnia, and Keyvan Sarreshten

Manus is a Verbatim play of eight forgotten Iranian refugees who have been detained on their way to Australia in two islands of Manus and Nauru for more than five years now. Each of these persons reminisce their personal reasons for fleeing Iran, they recall and tell the story of all the pressure and risks they took throughout their journey and details of what they have been put through while in exile and imprisoned In the anthology: New Iranian Plays

Shame / by Sholeh Wolpé

How do we know what the right thing to do is? And what are the consequences of decisions made long ago? SHAME complicates the equation by adding cultural and religious differences into the mix. It is a timely debate happening now around the world. How much of a role should religion play in governing how people live? And how much room must we allow for differences in culture? In the anthology: New Iranian Plays

Isfahan Blues / by Torange Yeghiazarian

Inspired by Duke Ellington Orchestra’s 1963 tour to Iran, Isfahan Blues imagines an unlikely friendship between an American jazz musician and an Iranian actress. As they travel together to Isfahan, “the most beautiful city in the world,” Jazz inspires them to test the limits of freedom, creativity, and experimentation. Contrary to today’s political stalemate between the US and Iran, this production aims to shed light on a little-known historical moment when a uniquely American art form inspired generations of young Iranian musicians. In the anthology: New Iranian Plays

Dogs & My Mother's Bones / by Mojgan Khaleghi

The theme is about the Balkan wars in the early 1990s, focusing on women's issues in wars and the challenges and injuries they suffer. In the anthology: New Iranian Plays

A Moment of Silence / by Mohammad Yaghoubi

Shiva wakes up to find she has been asleep for three years. In that time, the world around her has changed drastically. Her friends and family seem different. Strangers act oddly. It’s Iran in 1980 and she has just slept through the Islamic Revolution. For the next ten years, Shiva continues to fall asleep for years at a time. Each time she wakes up there’s a new change she has to try to grasp: the war with Iraq, a series of murders of dissident artists as well as transformations in her own family. Meanwhile, the playwright creating Shiva’s story begins to receive phone calls threatening her life. In the anthology: New Iranian Plays

Home / by Naghmeh Samini

Home tells the story of a Persian family living in a house that is shirking in size. Written by one of the most prominent contemporary women playwrights in Iran, Naghmeh Samini, Home gives the audience a glimpse of what goes on inside an Iranian household, telling familiar stories of the fragility of the human psyche and the vulnerability of a family in a structure that is breaking down. In the anthology: New Iranian Plays

Sorry / by Timothy Mason

New York City can be an unforgiving and lonely place. But when Pat shoots Wayne, mistaking him for an intruder, the two are given an opportunity to make a connection. Although love can be found under strange circumstances, what will Pat think when she finds out the secret behind Wayne's true identity? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.6

Reading List / by Susan Miller

What happens when a place where we once roamed freely for answers to our questions is under siege? Reading List encounters people who, despite our present social and political climate, come to this place and are moved and transformed. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.6

Pumpkin Patch / by Patrick Gabridge

A battle over pumpkins brings out simmering racial and class conflicts in a newly gentrified neighborhood. How far will Sasha go to keep LaToya from taking fruit from the community garden? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.6

Light / by Jeni Mahoney

Helena is undergoing a spiritual rebirth under the guidance of a mysterious, self-proclaimed guru. Her childhood friend and recent divorcee, Abby, wants to share in Helena's happiness, but their joyous reunion is cut short when Abby discovers that Helena's new path requires her to forget her past -- and that includes Abby. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.6

Hum of the Arctic / by Sarah Hammond

While flipping through a scrapbook, Claire recounts the story of her deaf mother's intriguing meeting with a painter many years ago. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.6

Holier Ground / by Jonathan Denn

The Security Barrier now complete, a heart-broken Palestinian girl struggles to overcome religious turmoil and the loss of her family as she searches for the Jewish boy she's forbidden to love. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.6

The Grand Design / by Susan Miller

A scientist tries to come up with a new message about humanity to be sent into space while his mother walks across the United States. A tender portrait of what it means to let go... In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.6

Bike Wreck / by Qui Nguyen

A rookie to the world of Chinese food delivery learns the rules of the game. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.6

Who Doth Inhabit the Primary Position / by David Foubert, Jason King Jones, and Jay Leibowitz

An adaptation of the classic vaudeville routine made popular by Abbot and Costello -- in iambic pentameter. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

Waltzing De Niro / by Lynn Martin

When Joanna announces that she's going on vacation for two weeks with her mysterious, wealthy new boyfriend, her best friend Clara is deeply concerned. When Joanna announces he's Robert "Bobby" De Niro, Clara thinks she's certifiable. The women's friendship and Joanna's sanity are put to the test in this hilarious play about love, friendship, and finding happiness by accepting even the craziest circumstances. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

Missed Connections / by Samuel Brett Williams

Two people on a first date try to muster the courage necessary to NOT give love a chance. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

Remind Me Again / by Sharyn Rothstein

After a stranger tries to kiss straight-laced Miranda on her way to work, her eccentric co-workers surprise her by celebrating the romantic spontaneity of her assailant. This witty satire explores the good, bad and ugly of the unwanted attention women often receive just by walking down the street. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

Rabbi Hersh and the Talking Lobster / by Matthew Freeman

A giant lobster decides to convert to Judaism, and visits a lonely Rabbi on Chanukah. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

Love Always: A Comedy on the Pains of a Life of Love / by Jim Fagan

Starting in the sandbox all the way through to old age, the evolution of a man and woman's relationship is explored in this sweet, sentimental and funny montage about the stages of love. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

First Communion / by Mary Gallagher

It's Joan's first communion and she is thrilled to take part of this ancient ritual. But when she gets sick and returns from stepping out for some air, a massive nun appears and condemns her for making a spectacle of herself. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

Dr. Chekhov Makes a House Call / by Judy GeBauer

The eminent playwright and physician Anton Chekhov visits the country home of Pavla and her husband Mikhail Ivanovich to examine the couple's ailing daughter, Raissa. But when Chekhov arrives, nobody recognizes him but the maid. Pavla and Mikhail are distracted by an unwelcome visit from their covetous neighbor, Stepan Stepanovich, who has his eye on both the Ivanovich cherry orchard and Pavla. While solving Raissa's ailment and negotiating the sale of Pavla's cherry trees, Dr. Chekhov comes away with a brilliant idea for a new play... In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

Cuddle / by Bekah Brunstetter

Two lonely co-workers take to secret, anonymous cuddling in the office place -- until one of them takes it too far. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda / by Glenn Alterman

Yetta and Cy are having their usual morning battle over their son, Harold, which continues to escalate until Harold comes barging in, insisting that he can't work on his play with all the distraction. But when it is revealed that the subject matter of Harold's work is his parents, past secrets come to light and the line between fact and fiction becomes blurred as Harold tries to finish his play. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.5

Forget Hamlet / by Jawad Al-Assadi

In the anthology: Four Arab Hamlet Plays

A Theatre Company Found a Theatre and Theatred "Hamlet" / by Nader Omran

In the anthology: Four Arab Hamlet Plays

Hamlet Wakes Up Late / by Mamduh Adwan

Hamlet is a narcissistic prince, blissfully unaware of his people's bleak reality. Distracted by drink and theatre rehearsals, Hamlet fails to notice the rise of a brutal plutocratic dictatorship. In the anthology: Four Arab Hamlet Plays

Ophelia is Not Dead / by Nabyl Lahlou

The protagonists of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth are becoming actors who played their own role, in Lahlous’ play. They are stripped from their past roles and magnificence. The characters are voluntarily paralysed, and in constant need of a crutch or a wheelchair. The setting is always a confined space that resonates with the impasse of the characters: a room, hospital, prison cell, radio station or a theatre stage. Lahlou’s play takes place ten years after the characters get to know each-other, playing their role in Shakespeare plays. Another thirty year passes between the two acts. Act one lets us see into the actors’ confinement. Act two reveals to us how this has come to be. By the end Hamlet stays completely alone, not even sure who he is anymore, lamenting on a life spent waiting for the return of Ophelia, and something to change. In the anthology: Four Arab Hamlet Plays

Adoration of the Old Woman / by José Rivera

Set against the backdrop of Puerto Rico's struggle with the issue of statehood, a young woman, who speaks no Spanish, moves in with her 105-year-old great grandmother who speaks no English. Both women deal with problems of love ⁠—⁠ the younger with two new suitors and the older with the ghost of her husband's mistress. In the anthology: Boleros for the Disenchanted and Other Plays

Pablo and Andrew at the Altar of Words / by José Rivera

A moving play about two men who use their marriage vows to “say the things we never really say." In the anthology: Boleros for the Disenchanted and Other Plays

Brainpeople / by José Rivera

A wealthy woman invites two strangers to join her in a strange feast commemorating the death of her parents. Mayannah has done this every year but her dark purpose remains unclear. All that will change tonight when two damaged souls find their way to her table. Taking place in a not-so-distant future, the sounds of a war-torn Los Angeles fill the air. Tensions rise, true colors are revealed and the main course is not the only thing with claws … In the anthology: Boleros for the Disenchanted and Other Plays

Boleros for the Disenchanted / by José Rivera

Inspired by the true events of playwright Rivera's own parents. The play focuses follows them from their initial meeting to their eventual move from Puerto Rico to the United States. Once they are in the United States, Eusebio suffers health problems including losing part of his leg. The play explores emotions of love, change and culture. In the anthology: Boleros for the Disenchanted and Other Plays

peeling / by Kaite O'Reilly

An epic, post-modern production of The Trojan Women: Then and Now is in process. Stuck at the back, unlit, onstage, are the Chorus: Beaty, Coral and Alfa, three performers rendered almost immobile in their multi-layered, preposterous frocks. They spend most of the production waiting to say a few lines so that the management feel they have done their bit for "social inclusion". While they wait, they gossip and bitch, lie and heckle. Gradually devastating truths are uncovered which peel away their layers of pretense, along with the layers of their clothes. In the anthology: Graeae Plays, v.1

Into the Mystic / by Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf's play about DNA, genetic engineering and diseases of the mind paints a picture of doctors so incompetent, uncaring and arrogant that it adds to the idea that it might be safer to steer clear of hospitals. Jade, however, adores hospitals. They are her favourite place. She loves them so much that she's there every Monday in Accident and Emergency, the wounds on her body being tended to by Chris, a doctor who knows that, although blood is pouring out of her self-inflicted cuts, it is her mind that really hurts. He wants her to get professional help, but help arrives in the form of religious nutter Robbie. Will God or the doctors do for Jade first? It's a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea, particularly when Dr Chris is suspended from his job for negligence and starts to take a closer personal interest in Jade, who is by now displaying all the signs of stigmata. Her hands and feet weep blood and there is a wound in her side. In the anthology: Graeae Plays, v.1

Fittings: The Last Freak Show / by Mike Kenny

It is New Year's Eve 1999 and in the Millennium Dome in Greenwich it is the end of an era for Gustav Drool and his freak show. The trouble is that Aqua the mermaid, Avia, the woman with wings, and Christian the wobbly boy are no longer such a draw when you can turn on the TV any time and watch the Gerry Springer show. Besides, as we all so fervently seem to believe on the cusp of the millennium, the future is going to be just perfect. No room for Drool and his gang. But Drool is in combative mood and he's down fighting at the last chance saloon: exploiting his performers' weakness, manipulating their emotions and spurring them on to ever greater acts of degradation. And wouldn't you just know it, Drool is one of them. We all are. Drool knows all our weak spots, our prejudices and fears. "Who needs a hall of mirrors when you've got us?" In the anthology: Graeae Plays, v.1

Sympathy for the Devil / by Ray Harrison Graham

This play looks at the double impact of being both Black and disabled. The plays asks crucial questions of identity: Is a person Black or disabled first? Is discrimination compounded by this dual identity? What is the emotional impact of experiencing two contrasting forms of prejudice? In the anthology: Graeae Plays, v.1

Soft Vengeance / by April de Angelis

An adaptation of Albie Sach's life story of the fallout from a political bombing in South Africa. In the anthology: Graeae Plays, v.1

Hound / by Maria Oshodi

A sharp and witty account of the experiences of three blind people at a guide-dog training centre. With the arrival of a TV documentary team, they are forced to confront the media. In the anthology: Graeae Plays, v.1

One Step In / by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

Newly dead Fred arrives at the “preway station” of the Pearly Gates of Heaven. Before Fred can enter, he must answer for his actions on earth and find a replacement for his missing foot. Exploring religion and the idea of paradise, One Step In is a short, witty reflection on where we go when we die. In the anthology: Restless Spirits

The Curse of the Tiger Lily Two-Step / by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

At a conference, Native American researchers meet to investigate a curse affecting white, non-tribal powwows. They've been told that a small Native girl has been showing up at the events, but their investigation reveals something far more insidious. In the anthology: Restless Spirits

It Came from Across the Big Pond / by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

Inspired by 1950s science fiction films like It Came from Outer Space and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, this dark comedy dramatizes the invasion of a reservation by a team of “Assimilation Processors” who practice “social gentrification,” turning Native Americans into white people. In the anthology: Restless Spirits

To Cross / by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

At the border between two worlds, at the edge of a river bank, a young man named Rave makes the passage from the spirit world to ours with an ageless Native American as his guide. In the anthology: Restless Spirits

Wink-Dah / by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

Trickster Two Shoes meets Death on an empty road. When Death isn’t looking, Two Shoes sees and recognizes a name on Death’s list: his “Little Brother,” Jeremy, who lived a tortured existence as a young gay Native American in love with a white boy. When Jeremy’s friends learn about Jeremy being abused by his lover’s father, they vow to seek vengeance. Two Shoes attempts to save Jeremy’s life by playing a game with Death, but games with Death do not end well. In the anthology: Restless Spirits

Falling Distance / by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

Adam, longing for his lost love Shiyo, is trying to fly. His Uncle, the ageless and otherworldly Ink, helps him using a special mirror that transports the user. Shiyo, pining on the other side of the mirror, is having the same conversation with her Aunt Thomie, equally as agless and otherworldly. The lovers reach through, connected, and so do Ink and Thomie, recconecting as past lovers. A sweet, ethereal play, using intelligent literal mirror scenes about love and longing. In the anthology: Restless Spirits

Frog's Dance / by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

Frog is met by the spirits of his family to tell him he must take in his city-bred nephew, Elmo, and teach him Native American culture, specifically how to dance. Disillusioned and bitter from an accident and missing his relatives, Frog eventually teaches Elmo and reminds himself of the joy and power he feels in dancing. In the anthology: Restless Spirits

Wood Bones / by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

Wood Bones is the uniquely woven story of a haunted house that is a trapped spirit. The home, called 121, seeks freedom from its earthly existence, and through a dramatic and painful “renovation,” haunts the audience with its transformation. Yellow Robe's deeply spiritual and beautifully poetic play explores racism and personal greed vs. duty to community, and grapples with the consequences of American colonialism. In the anthology: Restless Spirits

Doughnut Hole / by Donna Hoke

In a dog-eat-doughnut world, the last peanut log can lead to life-changing decisions. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Security / by Israel Horovitz

An immigration agent at Newark International Airport confronts an Iranian mother and her son. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Man. Kind. / by Don X. Nguyen

A cave man on a plateau. He invents fire. A cavewoman arrives. She invented fire yesterday. She wants his help. But he knows bad things happen when people start to band together. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Rations / by Mark Bowen

Two sailors, making a cross country journey back to their ship prior to D-Day, are prevented from seeing their wives one last time as a result of OPA restrictions on gasoline. A chance encounter with the gas station owner, a gold star father from WWI, makes all three reflect on the true meaning of sacrifice, as they each resolve to practice one last random act of kindness for one another... In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Big Easy Death Party / by Mariah MacCarthy

The play tells the story of a married couple who take a vacation as a way to deal with the feeling of loss after Louise has a miscarriage. However, in New Orleans, the residents may teach them how to honor the dead and all they have left behind. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

The Hoodie Play / by Liz Amadio

In the moments after being shot, Darren reflects upon his life, his spiritual path and his connection to a diverse collective consciousness. Four characters, who appear isolated from one another, puncture the guise of their seeming differences. This highly stylized one-act play uses monologue, physical activity, shared language and eventually, character interaction to explore the diverse social and cultural impact of a piece of clothing – the hoodie. Juxtaposed against this backdrop is the unity of their collective emotion. But are they really separate people or simply aspects of Darren? In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

The Ladder in the Room / by Lisa Soland

An intergenerational camaraderie, as a woman living in a nursing home forms a friendship with her caregiver. Full of wit and warmth (with just a light touch of the fantastic), the plays serves as a reminder that the purpose of life is to "try to leave things better than we find them." In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Strays / by Kim Katzberg, in collaboration with Nora Woolley and Raquel Cion

STRAYS is inspired by autobiography, but is heavily fictionalized with larger than life characterizations and tons of meta-theatrical hijinks. The twisted, surprising story follows Terry, a zoned-out suicide prevention hotline operator, ex-exotic dancer and accidental pet detective whose attempts to locate a missing cat result in her revisiting a life she swore she left behind. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Easter at the Entrée Gold / by John Minigan

Although Peter has been sent by their school’s headmaster to give incapacitated Leverett a ride home from Montreal, he learns that Leverett, dressed in drag, has a different plan in mind. Peter attempts to get Leverett ready to return to the states, but the older man reveals the sexual secret that has caused him to flee their school and kept him from returning on his own. As Peter probes for the truth of Leverett’s transgressions, he discovers that Leverett’s goal has more to do with unearthing Peter’s secrets than in covering up his own. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Certain Unexplainable Events / by Cody Daigle-Orians

Four characters are forever changed by an event that is, well, unexplainable. We hear accounts from three of the characters, and watch the fourth do the unimaginable. But can we believe what we actually see? In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Magnolia Blossoms: A Civil War Melodrama, Episode 1: "If Tomorrow Never Comes...Until Today" / by Angela C. Hall

A central theme in this play is power. A wounded Confederate soldier, Massa Davison, returns home to his wife, Miss Eula, and his slaves. Miss Eula, who has had an affair with Jasper, tries to convince Davison that he is the father of their son. Miss Eula hopes to escape and start over; Davison has returned to start over (though he is now confined in a wheelchair), while Selma spends each day trying to find new ways for her and her family to stay together. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Before / by Penny Jackson

A teenage boy decides whether to kill his unfaithful girlfriend after his best friend gives him a gun as a present. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Childish Things / by Arthur M. Jolly

Jerry is faced with the task of telling his estranged adult daughter that he has a terminal illness. He plans on using a go-between: Teddy and Bunny, who initially seem to be her siblings but in fact are her childhood toys - a stuffed Teddy bear and a rabbit - which he used as puppets when she was a little girl. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

East of the Sun / by Darcy Parker Bruce

An adaptation of the Norwegian fairy-tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Untitled Radio Play / by Keelay Gipson

Benji Benedict is a radio talk show host in the age of the dying medium. After a late night encounter on a dating app, his following day is tinged with regret, systemic racism, and workplace politics. Will Benji make it through?" In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Bobo, Booboo, Bibi & Bourbon, or, The Clown Play / by Terry M. Sandler

Have you ever been in love with a friend? Have you poured your heart out only to be rejected? This is what happens to Bobo the Clown, who sulks behind a circus tent, not wanting to continue the show. After our hopes are dashed, how can we start over as if nothing had ever happened? In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

The Gun Show / by E. M. Lewis

In The Gun Show, award-winning playwright E.M. Lewis tells the story of America’s relationship with guns through the prism of her own personal experiences. From a farming community in rural Oregon to the big cities of Los Angeles and New York, an actor shares Ms. Lewis’s unique perspective and true stories about America’s most dangerous pastime as if they were his or her own, with brutal honesty and poignant humor. Leaning neither right nor left, The Gun Show jumps into the middle of the gun control debate and asks, “Can we have a conversation about this?” In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Four of Hearts / by Richard Chaney

A series of four short scenes about love and obsession. Set at a park bench with overlapping characters, these scenes are both about starting over and trying to continue when life deals the harshest blows. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Makin' IndiXns / by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

The playwright highlight how white society has sculpted Native Americans into tropes in popular media, their individual identities altered and blurred in order to fit a master narrative. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Turtles and Bulldogs / by Scott C. Sickles

Collin just ran into the guy he had a crush on in high school... thirty-five years later... at the cemetery. They have some catching up to do. In the anthology: The Best American Short Plays, 2015-2016

Regina Flector Wins the Science Fair / by Marco Ramirez

Middle schoolers Regina, Bradley, Tiffany, and Sam compete (somewhat viciously) for first place at their school Science Fair. Though everyone else's projects are flashier, from Sam's exploration of his mother's facelift to Tiffany's study of the effects of glitter consumption, Regina proudly finds within herself words to defend her project, which she did entirely herself. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.4

Knockers / by Chris Sheppard and Jeff Grove

Two door-to-door missionaries for the Church of the Eternal Spirit get more than they bargained for when they approach Thomas, a seemingly good prospect for spreading the word. But he quickly embraces their cause a little too fervently even for their taste, and he begins to question their own commitment to the religious lifestyle. Just when these missionaries think they've seen everything, Thomas pulls out one last shocker in this tight, fast-paced comedy. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.4

Inside the Department of the Exterior / by Philip Hall

A man goes to his local Zoning office with the simple request of wanting to install a new mailbox. But with all the forms, questions, and bureaucratic red tape, this "simple request" is about to get a whole lot more complicated. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.4

Home for the Chalidays / by Sharyn Rothstein

A suburban Jewish family returns home on the third night of Chanukah to find that their house had been broken into. Panic and distrust conspire to convince the family that their neighbor's latent anti-Semitism has played a role in the vandalism. Home for the Chalidays is a hysterical satire about the conflicting roles of secularism and cultural differences and, ultimately, the evolving nature of the American Jewish family. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.4

Hela & Troy / by Kelly McAllister

Hela, the Norse Goddess of Death, may have met her match in Troy during a round of speed dating -- but is a deity capable of finding true love? In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.4

The Break-Up / by Julia Cho

Lil and her mother have always been close -- maybe a little too close -- and when Lil realizes that her other relationships are starting to suffer, she decides she needs a life of her own. Lil must find a way to let her mother down easy, but how do you break up with the woman who raised you? In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.4

The Blueberry Hill Accord / by Daryl Watson

High school student Lindsay has bad news for her friend Hannah: she wants to end their 9-year friendship. But before they go their separate ways, there are a few things that need to be straightened out, put into writing, signed and notarized. After all, there's no need for a messy break-up when you can negotiate a peaceful truce... In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.4

Axel F / by Liz Flahive

Sitting at the reception of their father's second wedding, two sisters begrudgingly prepare to make their toasts to the happy couple. Though they spend the time leading up to their speeches bickering and taking digs at other wedding guests, somehow they find the words to congratulate the newlyweds with humor and sentiment. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.4

Audition / by Matthew Sheridan

An ambitious, haughty performer takes out her stress on her piano accompanist while waiting to audition for a well-regarded theatre composer, but when the time comes for her to strut her stuff, things take a turn for the hilarious. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.4

Two Bubbles / by Greg Romero

Three versions (past, present, future) of a young couple stay up all night trying to break the record. An eerie exploration of two souls looking for love. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.3

A Tall Order / by Sheri Wilner

During a dinner date, a woman stops time to ponder what meal to order, and in doing so ends up thoroughly deconstructing male/female relationships. In communication between the genders, are you what you order? When is a porkchop more than a porkchop? In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.3

picnic (pik' nik): v.i. / by Brendan Healey

All Sheila wants to do before getting married is picnic with her best friend Louise. But Louise is reluctant -- reluctant to wear a tuxedo, to use the word "picnic" as a verb and, perhaps most of all, to say goodbye to Sheila. A metatheatrical celebration of friendship, disco, and picnicking with friends. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.3

Mommy Says I'm Pretty on the Insides / by Lucy Alibar

Little Tzipporah O'Malley is a disfigured girl with a heart of gold. From her home in the cradle of the Confederacy she embarks on an odyssey to heal the world. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.3

The Mercury and the Magic / by Rolin Jones

The Open Road. Mike and Joe. Two possums contemplating their place in the universe. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.3

Fight Dreams / by Alison Weiss

How to kill your imaginary boyfriend. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.3

A Blooming of Ivy / by Garry Williams

Ivy Taylor, a widow of twenty years, and George Thomas, a widower for a year, have always been farm neighbors and friends. But one spring morning George awakens to the sound of Ivy's tractor, and realizes that this is the first morning he hasn't "woken up mad" since his wife died. He spruces up a bit and pays Ivy a call... In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.3

Banging Ann Coulter / by Michael Elyanow

A group of people talk about what it was like having a sexual encounter with the notorious conservative pundit. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.3

There Shall Be No Bottom (a bad play for worse actors) / by Mark O'Donnell

Jeff misinterprets his lines, Joe skips large sections of dialogue, Jane tries to hold the production together, and the fourth actor's stuck in traffic. Poor acting is afoot as three actors and a stage manager attempt to perform a drawing room drama. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

Saving Face / by Richard Keller

A pleasant dinner turns sour when Dick's new set of braces, his insecurity about his name, and his cultural insensitivity expose his wife and her friend's not-so-hidden feelings. A comic take on friendship, marriage, and the dangers of mixing the two. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

Ron Bobby Had Too Big a Heart / by Rolin Jones

A shotgun, some ammo, bottle of chloroform, the prom queen in a laundry bag...just two young girls of age packing for a road trip. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

The Proposal / by Paul Siemens

A marriage proposal goes awry when a series of misunderstandings sends the characters careening across the line between love and hate. A modern twist on the classic Chekhovian comedy. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

Post-Its (Notes on a Marriage) / by Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman

In this homage to Love Letters, an actor and actress read the Post-it Notes between a couple that span the duration of their lives together. Hilarious and moving, Post-its explores the ups and downs of a relationship that were unexpectedly captured on scraps of paper. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

Please Have a Seat and Someone Will Be With You Shortly / by Garth Wingfield

David and Sue sit there week after week in their shrinks' waiting room reading magazines. So who says you should never talk to strangers? In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

Left to Right / by Steven Dietz

Four people play a dangerous game with their hearts. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

Dorothy and Alice / by Itamar Moses

Two seemingly ordinary young girls meet and have lunch on their elementary school playground. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

Controlling Interest / by Wayne S. Rawley

Four successful young businessmen gather for their weekly staff meeting. Times are changing, and the issue of girls is on the table. Two persuasive young businesswomen arrive to negotiate the ultimate deal: the boys may start liking them, but only on the girls' terms. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

Blind Date / by Samara Siskind

Love is blind...or is it? Marcia is looking for love; Ted taps in. Will it be a match made in heaven, or a case of the blind leading the blind? In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.2

Yes, Mamet / by Matt Casarino

Two David Mamet-obsessed writers pitch their play to Reginald, an African-American theatre director. Their work is a derivative doozy -- a compilation of all things Mamet, including con artists, rhythmic dialogue, and lots and lots of profanity. Reginald sees right through their Mametisms and urges them to rediscover their own voices, but the boys find that maybe there's another hero out there to emulate... In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.1

Who's a Good Boy? / by Anthony Wood

A canine detective tries to retrieve a mysterious lost ball in this film noir dog show spoof. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.1

Snap / by Daryl Watson

Despite her severe stutter, Susan joins the Clarence Thomas High School Dozens Team, where she must learn to defend herself against merciless and fast-flying "Yo Mama" jokes. As the exhibition battle quickly approaches, the wildly eccentric Coach Latrell uses his tough-love training techniques to help Susan overcome her handicap. The situation seems hopeless until Susan goes head-to-head with Wayne "The Mouth Train" Evans in competition, and unleashes a surprising new tactic. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.1

Miss Kentucky / by Allison Williams

Trapped in an alley outside the Miss Kentucky pageant, a beauty queen and her mother fret as the interview portion of the pageant proceeds without them. Unable to find a way out, they finally confront each other about why they're really there. A hilarious and heartwarming comedy. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.1

How We Talk in South Boston / by David Lindsay-Abaire

A scathingly funny short play about a blue collar Irish Catholic family coming to terms with their absurd prejudices and their equally insane Boston accents. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.1

Heritage, Her-i-tage, and Hair-i-tage / by Adrienne Dawes

As Rebekah, a multiracial teenager, confronts herself in the mirror, the Nap Patrol storms in to prevent her from cutting off her hair. Armed with beauty supplies and armfuls of Ebony magazines, the Nap Patrol Officers are determined to teach Rebekah to "love her beautiful Black heritage," but on their own terms and within their own definition of what it is to "be Black." A poignant satire of racial politics, this play explores the rigid notions of beauty, race, and heritage within our society. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.1

The Fortune Cookie / by Tuan Phan

A philosophical argument about fortune cookies leads a university student to flights of farcical fantasy. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.1

Failing the Improv / by Werner Trieschmann

A failed TV writer returns to his rural Southern home to teach improvisation at the Delta Arts Center. In his first awkward class, the teacher gets a few life lessons from his two quirky students. In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.1

Bar Mitzvah Boy / by Samara Siskind

Thirteen-year-old Samuel Rosenbaum is finally a man. It's the day of his Bar Mitzvah and he's survived reading the Torah, ballroom dancing, and crazy relatives...but will he be able to get the girl? In the anthology: Great Short Comedies, v.1

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls / by Dave Deveau

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls is the story of nine-year-old Fin, who has come out as a boy. As he cuts his hair short and changes his name, Fin’s family works to understand and adjust to his gender identity. Dad accepts the change right away, but Mom struggles. We see Fin’s family grapple with their child’s transition with the best of intentions and, ultimately, begin to accept and embrace Fin for who he is. In the anthology: Cissy: Three Gender Plays

My Funny Valentine / by Dave Deveau

In 2008, 15 year-old Oxnard, California resident Lawrence King asked a boy in his class to be his valentine. The next day that boy shot and killed him during first period. My Funny Valentine explores the ripple effect hate has on a community by following fictional characters on the fringes of the murder who are forever changed because of it: Helen, who taught the dead student years prior, has become an advocate for changes in how schools navigate “problem” children; Gloria was down the hall in another classroom when the gunshot went off, but will forever be branded as a student who went to “that school”; Hal may have had online conversations with the young student prior to his death, and doesn’t want anyone to accuse him of anything unsavoury; Rhonda has just received one of the dead boy’s organs; Roger taught the boy, but doesn’t believe that his newfound martyrdom is called for; Ray’sson had an altercation in a locker room with the boy, something which will never be solved in the wake of his death; Bernard’s journalism career is catapulted forward by being the first on the scene, but he’s conflicted about prospering from the death. Haunting, moving, and strangely comedic, MyFunny Valentine cracks open the greater humanity of a community trying to heal a wound. In the anthology: Cissy: Three Gender Plays

Nelly Boy / by Dave Deveau

Nelly Boy explores what it means not to fit in and challenges one of the givens of humanity: gender. Though biologically a boy, Nelly is hardly male, nor female. A tumultuous teen in a family who can’t understand gender difference, Nelly takes the audience through a haunting tale of suburban life. An interrogator, in turn, attempts to put the pieces together in order to discover how Nelly was found running naked along a highway. This is a story about a person struggling to find space to exist between the black and white of the world. In the anthology: Cissy: Three Gender Plays

#communicate / by Clinnesha D. Sibley

The setting is electronic. It’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 2012. In the anthology: King Me

Paradox in the Parish / by Clinnesha D. Sibley

In the anthology: King Me

There's Only One Wayne Matthews / by Roy Williams

There's Only One Wayne Matthews tells the story of a young boy battling the odds (and the bullies) to master the beautiful game. Roy Williams' vibrant play explores friendship, forgiveness and finding out what you're good at. In the anthology: Roy Williams Plays 4

Baby Girl / by Roy Williams

Baby Girl centres on Kelle, a 13-year-old schoolgirl who is taunted at school for being a virgin. In order to prove everyone wrong, Kelle sleeps with the school nerd, Nathan, and finds herself pregnant. What is both shocking and poignant is the normality of the situation, as Williams depicts it. Kelle’s mum Sam had her daughter at 13 and now finds herself about to be a grandmother at 26. Kelle’s best friend Danielle is sleeping with Nathan’s older brother Richie, who, at just 17, already has three kids by three different mothers. This set of characters effectively shows the path Kelle’s life will take as a result of her mistake. But these consequences do not dawn on Kelle and Danielle at first, instead they consider being pregnant as almost fashionable, and a baby as simply “something to cuddle”. Their lack of shock at what is obviously a regular occurrence amongst their friends is shocking in itself. But, as her bump grows, so the weight of Kelle’s predicament dawns on her, illustrated by Williams in Richie’s baby-lumbered ex-girlfriend, and Sam, who struggles between maternal duty and the normal social desires of a 26-year-old. In the anthology: Roy Williams Plays 4

Sucker Punch / by Roy Williams

Two best mates, Leon and Troy, have spent their youth growing up in a boxing gym, figuring out a place in the world, vying for the approval of Charlie, their trainer. Soon Leon and Becky, Charlie’s daughter, are trying to keep a big secret. In a ruthless world. But there can only be one winner, and it’s time everyone stepped into the ring to face up to who they really are… This tender, bruising and funny play by leading British dramatist Roy Williams, brilliantly explores being young and black in the 80s. In the anthology: Roy Williams Plays 4 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sucker_Punch/t0S9BgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sucker+Punch+/+by+Roy+Williams&printsec=frontcover

Joe Guy / by Roy Williams

Joe Boateng’s days behind the counter of a cheap burger bar are far behind him, as is his childhood sweetheart Naomi and the kids who mocked him for his Ghanaian accent. Now a premiership football star, he’s never out of the papers and everyone wants a piece of him. The Cristal, the bad behaviour, now the rape allegations… what happened to the good boy who stayed out of trouble? In the anthology: Roy Williams Plays 4 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Joe_Guy/wtCiJ4knn0gC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Joe+Guy+/+by+Roy+Williams&printsec=frontcover

Clubland / by Roy Williams

Although Ben is married to Denise he’s still on the pull, Kenny’s looking for someone who’s “right”, Ade’s with Sandra but playing the field, and Nate’s a proud new father. Clubland is Roy Williams’ hilarious comedy of sexual politics in south London. In the anthology: Roy Williams Plays 2

The Gift / by Roy Williams

Since their childhood, when Heather left Jamaica to start a new life in England, her half-sister Bernice always claimed to have 'the gift' of raising spirits from the dead. Thirty years later, when Heather returns to the island after the murder of her much-loved son, she offers Bernice the deeds to the family house - if she can bring him back... In the anthology: Roy Williams Plays 2 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Gift/22ljAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Gift+/+by+Roy+Williams&printsec=frontcover

Subway Story (A Shooting) / by William Electric Black (aka Ian Ellis James)

"Subway Story ( A Shooting)" is the unfolding of an essay by an African-American teenage girl named Chevonn, which she must complete to pass junior English. It is supposed to be nonfiction but instead turns out surprisingly literary in style. In her composition, a troubled, abused high school student combs the subways, seeking to obtain a gun in order to shoot her mother. Her quest is narrated in a fantastical mashup of literary images that are part Lewis Carroll and part queasy reality, revealing issues affecting our children including alienation, discrimination, bullying and the easy availability of firearms. Chevonn's autobiographical tale strongly suggests how society needs to perceive the hopelessness that kids face and how this can make them lash out with guns or turn them on themselves. Chevonn has been physically abused by her mother and sexually abused by her father. The girl of her story, like many teens of lower income, dysfunctional households, seeks a gun to end the pain. Along the way, Chevonn meets subway-dwellers whose stories she captures in her composition book and she wrestles with her own destiny while encountering a succession of hidden sufferers. As their stories unfold, so do stories about assault, gender bias, homelessness, the plight of Dreamers, hatred toward Muslims and the effect of gun violence on people of color. Chief among the young woman's encounters is a transgender boy named Emmett who has a gun because he was bullied in school and seeks escape through suicide. He would like Chevonn to kill him and then use the gun against her mother. Others include a homeless veteran named Army who packs an assault weapon, suffers from PTSD and is pursued by the authorities. Dodging the police who are chasing Army, Chevonn retreats to the supposed "safety" of her mother's house, where she overcomes her inability to cry, using her tears to finally put out the fire in her soul. In the anthology: Gunplays: Five Plays on Inner City Violence and Guns

The Faculty Room / by William Electric Black (aka Ian Ellis James)

In this play, the faculty members of James Baldwin High School have found themselves in a mandatory lock down because two star players on the girls' basketball team have quarreled over a lover. Their argument has escalated to armed conflict because of the prevalence of guns in the school. Huddled together in the faculty room are the three women and a man. The middle-aged female security guard aims to manage the crisis with authority. The girls' phys ed teacher/basketball coach, who grew up in the neighborhood, has confiscated a pistol from one of her star hoopsters just the day before. The perky, idealistic teaching artist is relishing her first inner city teaching gig, hoping to inspire teens who have lost their way, lost their dreams, and lost family members. Finally, there is Mr. Cutter, a history teacher in his sunset years, who has taught his students that the epidemic of gun violence is just that, a disease. In the anthology: Gunplays: Five Plays on Inner City Violence and Guns

The Death of a Black Man (A Walk By) / by William Electric Black (aka Ian Ellis James)

The plot is carried in a series of vignettes, some of which are sometimes intercut and played out of order for dramatic effect. A girl named Teela and her friends encounter a secretly armed tough named Sweets in school and "diss" him. At noon time, he seeks out the girls, looking for Teela, and shoots the wrong one, Nina. The school cancels after school programs and everybody goes home. But Teela's protective brother, Boo, gets a gun and goes looking for Sweets. Teela also gets a gun, fearing for her life. A shootout ensues in the playground. Two other girls fall as well as Teela, Boo and Sweets. The toll is six kids in one day. The play includes not only these events, but also the police investigations, funerals, deliberations by school administrators and reactions of neighbors and families. There are projections of inner city buildings and police cars; the playground is suddenly assembled with fences on wheels. Church Pews on wheels glide into the playing area to suggest the location for a funeral. In the anthology: Gunplays: Five Plays on Inner City Violence and Guns

When Black Boys Die / by William Electric Black (aka Ian Ellis James)

The play is about Levon, an exceptional young teenager in the projects, who has received a basketball scholarship to Syracuse University. On a star-crossed July 4, while protecting a teenage girl from gang leaders, he has been accidentally shot and killed. Levon's mother tries to shame the community into action by posting lists of victims of shootings in her neighborhood while his sister goes on a quest for the truth of her brother's death. The girl Levon protected, whom all suppose to be the gang leader's trophy babe, manipulates others craftily and ruthlessly to obscure the truth of the tragedy. Meanwhile, Levon's shooting produces a mix of responses, some righteous and some violent, in the housing complex where he lived. A local art teacher tries to reach out peacefully to inspire the youth of the neighborhood while an elderly, beaten-down, ragtag street vendor rises from the street to take an unexpected revenge on the gang. When the smoke clears, it is revealed that family lines have been blurred and injustices have resulted, revealing how tragedies from gun violence can be compounded, even by the well meaning. In the anthology: Gunplays: Five Plays on Inner City Violence and Guns

Welcome Home Sonny T / by William Electric Black (aka Ian Ellis James)

The play centers on Reverend Miller, a middle-aged Staten Island activist minister (who might be partially based on Black's own father, who was a clergyman in Oyster Bay, Long Island). Rev. Miller had been a firebrand activist for civil rights, but has been worn down over his long career. He had rescued a troubled but promising teen known as Sonny T by channeling him into the army. Having served in Afghanistan, Sonny T is finally returning home and a welcoming party is planned. But there is discord, even shooting, in Sonny's neighborhood between the established blacks and Mexican newcomers. Sonny T's brother, Rodney, is under the influence of an angry, lost brigand named Big Boy who plans to threaten a protest march organized by a young Mexican man, whose brother has recently been shot and wounded. The play looks deeply into Rodney's home life, revealing the powerlessness of his mother and sister to guide him, and into the social injustice and peer pressures that drive his choices. The community's elders watch as their victories of past decades are undone by the plague of gun violence. Discouraged and yearning for redemption, they are ultimately capable of extreme bravery. In the anthology: Gunplays: Five Plays on Inner City Violence and Guns

Still Standing / by Anita Hollander

Her show tells her story from the diagnosis of her cancer to the very moment of performance. Her leg will not grow back, but her mind and spirit and soul have grown to more than compensate. She strides onstage wearing her prosthetic leg, and she could clearly play any role short of the chorus of 42nd Street. Tap dancing is probably beyond her, but not much else would be. After a while she takes the leg off and, for a few very strange minutes, tells her story with the leg draped over her shoulder. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

The Plague Plays / by Bradley Cherna

The play offers desperate vulnerability juxtaposed against a performatively sparse form. It is the cacophony of anxiety in the stillness of isolation. It explores COVID-19 through a lens of Critical Disability Studies and Disability activism. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Ex/centric Fixations Project / by Bree Hadley

The Ex/Centric Fixations Project is a postdramatic performance work which renders the feeling of otherness visceral for spectators, without anchoring it any specific singlular experience of otherness, with the text unfolding with the musical flow and rhythm of a fugue state. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Hiccups / by Ben Rosenblatt

In this solo play, one actor plays five roles. Hiccups is a part documentary/part autobiographical nosedive into life with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which was culled from hours of interviews, memory, real life experiences and imagination. Irreverent, funny and poignant, the play deeply enters the lives of four sufferers, confronting myths and misconceptions of OCD, while bringing the audience face-to-face with their own deepest fears and obsessive tendencies, in unique, interactive ways. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

The Brechtones / by Billy Butler

"Brechtones" is set at a beat night performance in a dive bar. Billy Bitter, a miserable, cynical, veteran substance abuser, leads the Brechtones, the poets' backup band, while Death serves drinks at the bar. When young writer Penny Diver takes to the stage, her poem asserts Bitter is her dad. Penny goes on to paint a miserable life as the daughter of a drug-addicted single mom, who dies when she's a teen, leaving Penny to fend for herself. There's no appeal, no softness in the assertion. Life has already hardened this one; a young, female version of Dad. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Dyscalculia / by Katrina Hall

Dyscalculia illustrates how, even while utterly unaware of being afflicted with dyscalculia (a condition that makes it hard to do math and tasks that involve math) for decades, it indelibly altered the course of a life. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Gramp / by Mandy Fox

A verbatim play created from reel-to-reel tapes of Earl Murdock, a blind pianist living in rural Ohio in the early 1960’s. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Tales of My Uncle / by Monica Raymond

The play is about a man whose apparently conventional life included many transformations In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman / by Carolyn Gage

The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman is a moving one-woman show about the greatest American actress of the nineteenth century. Charlotte Cushman, a large butch woman, was very “out” about her lesbianism, cross-dressing to play men’s roles and referring to her partner as “my wife.” In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Last Train In / by Adam Grant Warren

Last Train In is drawn from Adam’s lived experience. It is not, however, a typical story of disability and triumph over adversity. It is not about finding a way despite overwhelming odds. Instead, it’s about travel, romance, career expectations, and the all-too-human tendency to… embellish. Moving back and forth in time, Last Train In follows Adam through his first year as a high school teacher in a small town outside of London, England – a year that ends with Adam literally trapped in a UK train station, between two flights of stairs and without an elevator, for over an hour. That’s where audiences find him at the opening of the play. Because now, almost ten years later, there is still a part of him that’s trying to leave that station behind. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Crooked / by Seeley Quest

The actor dresses and undresses onstage, complicating the audience's assumptions about both gender identity and disability. They wear clothing associated with masculine and feminine gender identities. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Invisidisability / by (Anonymous)

The playwright describes several instances in which those around her have known about her disability, and yet she remains largely in a state of non-disclosure. Is the "out of the closet"? In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Tinted / by Amy Bethan Evans

‘There’s no access guide to sex; how to consensually sh*g your blind girlfriend.’ Undateable? Laura is funny, creative and sexy. She wishes she could move out of her parents’ house occasionally, but being visually impaired is not a flaw, even if some people treat it as one. But when you’re disabled, the lines of consent get a bit… tinted. Originally written as a disabled response to #MeToo, Tinted examines bodily autonomy in the group society often leaves behind. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Why This Monologue Isn't Memorized (A True Story) / by Kurt Sass

The play explores the playwright's experience as someone who has endured electric shock treatments. Once depressed and suicidal, this therapy has morphed him into a shadow of his former self. He’s no longer causing physical harm, but is left with a mind so scattered he won’t remember us tomorrow. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

A Performer's Monologue / by Connor Long

In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

I Come from Hoarders / by Carly Jo Geer

This play is the real story of what it's like to grow up in a family who are hoarders but also - just like any other family - fight and love, grow and get sick, live and pass away. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Whack Job / by Kate Devorak

Kate Devorak has adapted the structure of the irreverent nightclub comedian, providing the audience-entertainer conventions necessary to bluntly address her lived experience. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

RPM / by Graham Bryant

The play explores Bryant's challenges--not in coming to terms with himself, but in the difficulty navigating the social gauntles around him, with negative consequences whether he chooses to disclose or not. As with sexuality, to "come out" remains a duanting risk for many disabled individuals. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

An Open Letter to the Usher at the Theatre Who Asked Me if I Was "the Sick Girl" / by Amy Oestreicher

Amy Oestreicher's epistolary monologue demonstreates more than simply the need for front of house staff to speak with tact; it perfectly frames the problem with approaching "accessibility" as a dichotomy of "normal" versus "special needs" audience members." In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

The 2018 Invisible Man / by Leroy F. Moore, Jr.

In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

STIFF / by Sherry Jo Ward

Stiff is the hit fast-paced comedy about moving slow that has been an award-winning audience favorite at festivals, conferences, and theatres across the country. Ward was suddenly facing a career-ending diagnosis with a super-rare neuromuscular disease called Stiff Person Syndrome. Instead, she turned it into an autobiographical one woman show that demonstrates her resilience, and her “sick” sense of humor. It’s a unique hour of theatre that promises to stay with you. In the anthology: At the Intersection of Disability and Drama

Egyptian Products / by Laila Soliman

Hadia is an independent woman in Cairo. Gasir is a painfully awkward lab assistant with attachment issues over his dead mother. Is he really her knight in shining armour? In the anthology: Plays from the Arab World

The House / by Arze Khodr

Nadia wants to remain in the house she grew up in. For her sister, Reem, it is filled with painful memories. Are their differences over the future of the house irreconcilable? In the anthology: Plays from the Arab World

Damage / by Kamal Khalladi

Three weeks after Youssef and Sana'a's wedding, Youssef accepts a military peacekeeping expedition in the Congo. Will either of them be the same people when he returns? In the anthology: Plays from the Arab World

603 / by Imad Farajin

Four Palestinian men share a cramped prison cell listening to the buses come and go outside. Will the next bus be the one to take them home? In the anthology: Plays from the Arab World

Withdrawal / by Mohammad Al Attar

Ahmad and Nour rent a flat so that they can spend time together away from their families, but is having a space to themselves going to solve all their problems? In the anthology: Plays from the Arab World

Men Suck / by J. Holtham

The ultimate pick up line... In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

Love / by Stephen Belber

Three restaurant guys seek love amidst the clutter of food cans, life, manhood and rope. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

Letting Billy / by Diana Amsterdam

In the middle of the night, Franny gets a call from her young lover, who also happens to be a recent ex-student. He wants to come over, but she has many reasons he shouldn't, including her sleeping children, work responsibilities, and the nearness of dawn. Is his need strong enough to overcome her practicality? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

Joan of Arkansas / by Sheri Wilner

Two lonely students are distracted from their studies when a bird becomes trapped in their college library. Their efforts to catch the bird bring them together, but the issue of what to do next with the bird jeopardizes their potential romance. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

Invitation to a Funeral / by Julie McKee

Prior to expiring, a deadbeat ex-hippie sent a memo to his former wives inviting them to his funeral, and two of the women on the rather long list happen to meet at the open-coffin viewing. Neither has many good memories of their former husband, and his current state of near-nudity (save a strategically placed cowboy hat) doesn't exactly help matters. But bad memories or not, it's time for both to find a way to make peace and move on. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

Going Out / by Dan Aibel

Over a beer, two post-college buddies jab and joke as they discuss the one thing that comes between them -- a girl. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

Everything Else / by Julian Sheppard

Phil and Jane's calm existence is altered when a disagreement erupts over Jane's purchase of a purple hat. An innocent question about how the hat looks leads to a startling moment of truth for a couple who didn't even know they were in trouble. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

Doppelganger / by Jo Adamson

In a Punch cartoon come to life, the false pride, poise, and sophistication of youth confront the secure, accepting self-knowledge of age. Three poetic frames reveal the tension between a young model and elderly poetess aboard a luxury liner. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

The Beauty Inside (one-act version) / by Catherine Filloux

A young girl in southeastern Turkey becomes the target of an honor killing. In a terrifying clash of value systems, the girl's traditionalist mother and her Westernized female lawyer struggle with one another to seal her fate. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

Aphra Does Antwerp / by Liz Duffy Adams

Antwerp, 1660. Aphra Behn -- Englishwoman, poet, spy, and soon to become the first professional female playwright -- is flat broke and waiting to meet her contact and ex-lover, the double agent William Scot. She must use all her wiles and wit -- and a dalliance with the landlord's daughter -- to pay off her inn bill and get safely back to London. A brief Restoration-style comedy in rhyming couplets. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.5

Temptation / by David Kosh

Temptation tells the classic story of boy meets girl. But when the boy, Leon, is a repressed office drone and the girl, Cybele, is a free-spirited temp, the question of who gets whom becomes a bit complicated. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.4

Photographs from S-21 / by Catherine Filloux

Two photos come to life in an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City. They are a young Cambodian woman and man whose photos were taken by the Khmer Rouge right after removing their blindfolds, moments before their execution. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.4

Passive Belligerence / by Stephen Belber

Gail is interviewing two men simultaneously for the same job. Dan is an avowed pacifist, prone to falling into a state of full-body limpness at the slightest provocation. Jeff, on the other hand, has something of a violent streak, bordering on the psychopathic. It's extremely difficult for Gail to tell which applicant is better qualified for her very particular purposes... In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.4

Oh, the Humanity / by Will Eno

Two people and their two chairs seek to find meaning and direction in life, seek to find just the tiniest shred of certainty, consistency. A stranger arrives -- though he doesn't do what strangers always do, when strangers arrive. If you were ever born, and expect to ever die, this might be a play for you. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.4

Lights Out / by Doug Rand

Business partners Jeremy and Kate can't afford to miss their next deadline -- and then the power goes out. Ginny the intern investigates the cause: A broken circuit? A blackout? A massive, unprecedented solar flare? How would they know if the sun had exploded, and everyone had only eight more minutes left on Earth? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.4

A Holmes Family Christmas / by Judy GeBauer

Christmas Eve finds Sherlock Holmes dressed as Santa Claus. A new case, or just the spirit of the season? Watson isn't sure what to make of this costume, or of the mysterious woman who calls on them. A new client, or something more sinister? All the faithful doctor knows is that he once knew her... In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.4

Hell and Back / by Sheri Wilner

Three generations of veterans -- grandfather, father, and recently returned son -- discover vast and disturbing differences in their methods of coping with the brutal scars of war. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.4

Forward Motion / by Jonathan Elliott

Two weeks before they leave for college, James and Izzy throw words back and forth and find themselves in a conversation that changes everything. A short play about the boundaries between two brilliant young suburbanites as they tackle issues of sexuality, love, and the uncertain future. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.4

Double Date / by J. Holtham

A man is torn between the life he's chosen and the life he turned away. Over the course of a dinner date with his glamorous, career-minded girlfriend, he relives a similar meeting with the sad but loving young woman he left behind. Both encounters merge in a painful, vivid climax of memory and regret. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.4

A Young Housewife / by Judy GeBauer

In a surreal soliloquy of passion and violence, a young woman tries to come to terms with having murdered a drifter. Her only listeners are two wild creatures, a lizard and a butterfly. Bewildered and fighting panic, she faces not only her sudden violent act but also the violence she has known all her life. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.3

The Yellow Line / by Kira Obolensky

Pearl and Buster get married. As they drive from the wedding to their final destination, their journey takes them through the entirety of their relationship -- from youth to middle age to old age. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.3

Wildlife / by Barry Hall

While waiting for the increasingly unlikely arrival of two women, two men at a bar discuss the stranger sexual behaviors of the animal kingdom. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.3

School of the Americas / by J. Holtham

Mom's assembling an M-16, Dad's in trouble with the Generals, Tad is missing, and Missy is packing heat -- a day in the life of an all-American family on a top-secret Army base. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.3

White Trash / by Catherine Filloux

Based on a true story: At a wildlife refuge in Cape Cod, thousands of common seagulls are poisoned in order to save their endangered cousin, the piping plover. In this play, one of these gulls spends its final moments alongside a plover, equally traumatized but chosen for survival. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.3

Information / by Nicole Quinn

College students discuss rape, sexual assault, and power abuse at a TV studio on the campus of a small Midwestern college. As each recounts his or her experiences, one fact become clear in this striking play: no matter your race, gender, or disabilities, anyone can be a victim. Are college campuses ready to step up and show some accountability? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.3

The First Night of Chanukah / by Sheri Wilner

It's the first night of Chanukah and David Schwartz is stranded in the Devil's Lake, North Dakota airport. As he bemoans his fate of being "the only Jew who's ever been in North Dakota," a mysterious stranger named Morris Rosenberg appears with a menorah that he asks David to help him light. Although David protests that his cigarette lighter is empty, Morris proves that through the power of faith, miracles do happen. This play draws on historical research about Jewish homesteaders in North Dakota during the turn of the century. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.3

The Concorde Fallacy / by Doug Rand

Julie is a dating coach who trains her clients to give every date a second chance. Veronica is a dating coach who trains her clients to be utterly mercenary. Now Veronica is Julie's dating coach, and these dueling philosophies are head to head. Will Julie listen to her biological clock, or follow her heart? What does that even mean? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.3

A Backward Glance / by Julie McKee

Auckland, New Zealand, 1979. A cheerfully heavy-drinking divorcee spots her former neighbor's daughter taking a peek around the old neighborhood, having just returned after years of aimlessness abroad. As they sit down for an awkward drink, their hilarious forced pleasantries soon peel away, revealing the long-buried longings and regrets they both carry with them. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.3

Views / by Mrinalini Kamath

David and Diane were high school sweethearts who married after Diane became pregnant. Now they live in a cramped studio apartment in Manhattan, where Diane takes care of their two-year old son. When David announces that his boss has fired him, the couple spirals into an argument that forces them to reevaluate their married life together. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

The Miracle of Chanukah / by Sheri Wilner

Ryan's mother Marilyn has invented a Chanukah ritual to ensure her family acknowledges the holiday's true meaning; after the first candle is lit, each person must talk about a miracle that happened to them during the year. When Ryan's new girlfriend Leila describes a miracle that's too fantastic for the others to believe, she forces them to accept the limits of their faith. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

The Lessons of My Father / by Catherine Filloux

Odile, a French-Algerian woman, vividly recollects her just-deceased father, through the eyes of her childhood self. How can you go on breathing when the man who taught you how is gone? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

The Last Woman on Earth / by Liz Duffy Adams

It's the year 2509, exactly ten minutes before the end of the world -- and the Oldest Living Human, a 512-year-old Earthling, refuses to evacuate. Can the Captain of the last transport and her Lunatic adjunct persuade the memory-choked old woman to leave her home? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

The John Philip Sousa Workshop / by Stephen Gregg

Welcome to the staged reading of "Misericordia Quintet," featuring the composer, the conductor, the musicians...and not a single musical instrument in sight. When the last note is read aloud, the armchair critics talk-back with a vengeance. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

God Like a Jumpstart / by Stephen Belber

People seek faith, love and congruity in a church; but it's not easy when you're forced to wiggle and prance and dance. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

Gandhi Goes Fishing / by Al Sjoerdsma

A nervous truck driver named Bob and a saintly world leader named Mohandas Gandhi spend a quiet morning fishing together. Bob suspects his wife of infidelity, and Gandhi offers him some hard-won advice on love and non-violence. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

A Free Man in Paris / by Brooke Berman

Isa listens to Joni Mitchell and spends her nights smoking cigarettes and driving through "The Emerald City" with her punk rock best friend, JT. Nothing's simple for Isa, but in this poetic evocation of late teen-hood, friendship can ease anything. Can't it? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

But Who's Counting / by Larry Loebell

New Year's Eve, 1999. A charismatic young woman has invited a guy back to her stylishly furnished apartment and chained him up tight, in anticipation of her 2,000th sexual escapade. But she is no crazed dominatrix: Sweet, cultured, with a zest for the pleasures of life, she's kept detailed notes on every enlightening coupling over the last twenty years. And tonight she's going to share with the audience a bit of what she's learned, in one racy, rollicking monologue. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

Aisle 17B / by John Walch

What's the difference between the Turkey & Giblets Dinner and Fisherman's Catch Banquet? This seemingly benign question arises in the pet food aisle of a grocery store as privileged college grads Michael and Conrad argue over the ethics of caring for an abandoned cat in their apartment complex. But as their debate heats up, Michael has a surprising and unsettling encounter that starts to reveal the complexity and proximity of the world hunger crisis. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.2

Two Guys Moving Heavy Stuff / by David Riedy

A coupla guys discuss beer, love, and furniture while one helps the other move a couch from an ex-girlfriend's place. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

The Rebirth of Beautiful / by John Walch

Joseph wants a baby to help put his life back in order, but Mary isn't ready to consider a baby until Joseph puts his life back in order. And his truth-telling puppet therapy is bringing up things they'd both rather not hear, in this funny and moving examination of a shaky marriage. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

Patriot Act / by D. Tucker Smith

In the summer of 1975, Judith, a bright-eyed American volunteer and Tzvika, an Israeli kibbutznik, find themselves in a watermelon field beneath a star-filled sky. Their mutual attraction proves as combustive as the tensions running through the Middle East. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

Moving Shortly / by Sheri Wilner

Days after 9/11, a Sikh man and an American woman find themselves alone on a stalled New York City subway train. Through their inner thoughts, we witness her fear of being trapped underground with "a madman," and his newly discovered fear of living in a city where the people "need to know the name of every bird in Central Park but can't tell a Muslim from a Sikh." In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

Margo at Sea / by J. Holtham

A young woman struggles to choose between her self-consciously struggling photographer boyfriend and the possibility of a new, more glamorous life. Margo at Sea captures the fragility and sadness of a relationship nearing its breaking point. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

Here and Now / by Barry Hall

Two lovers argue heatedly, in painfully repeating circles, with no resolution in sight. A darkly funny and woefullhereandnowy on-the-mark dissection of a relationship in crisis. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

Good Night, Valsetz / by Judy GeBauer

It is the early 1980s, the timber industry in the Pacific Northwest is collapsing, and the company town of Valsetz is about to be razed. A young man comes back to see the town for the last time, and to reconnect, momentarily, with his mother and the sister he tried to murder. But like the town, he has gone through major changes. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

Christmas Breaks / by Patrick Gabridge

Christmas is the perfect time to be in love, or so Marcie thought. When her boyfriend surprises her with a variety of gifts to help her deal with him breaking up with her, Marcie's holiday plans take a nosedive. But endings can bring on new beginnings in this clever comedy about exes, neuroses, and the power of poetry. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

Bloody Thanksgiving / by Brooke Berman

This Thanksgiving, Nina leaves New York City to visit her obituary-obsessed grandmother and cranky aunt. She quickly begins to regret the decision, especially when her grandmother's refusal to give her the car keys has Nina seeing red in more ways than one. A clever and quirky comedy about the mysteries of what makes us want to go home again. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

Big Ole Washing Machine / by Stephen Belber

Two actors prepare for their roles...and end up confusing it all with their actual lives. Which gets tricky as far as Sri Lanka, intense machismo, and loud self-importance are concerned. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.1

Unsinkable / by Michael McKeever

It's April 15th, 1912, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Harland and Claire Wydner-Doyle have just been informed that the ship they're standing on, the unsinkable Titanic, is in fact sinking. Hogwash! Even more ludicrous, Mrs. Wydner-Doyle's lifebelt is quite odorous, and everyone's too busy panicking to bring them a tipple of champagne. The shame of it! In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.10

Treed / by Hal Corley

Three distinctly different ornaments -- a hand-carved St. Nicholas figurine, an all-American angel, and a mass-produced snowman -- relish the first night of their annual re-appearance on the family Christmas tree. However, when news of a potential divorce in the family threatens their status as beloved decorations, anxiety and conflict begin to upstage the celebration. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.10

Sleep / by Adam Szymkowicz

When 18-year-old Darla falls into a mysterious coma, three of her close friends are left to wonder why it happened, when she will return to them, and whether they are to blame. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.10

The Sandalwood Box / by Mac Wellman

Student Marsha Gates has lost her voice to the great Unseen, but on her way to speech therapy, she becomes entangled with Professor Claudia Marshall, a mysterious collector of catastrophes. This surreal and unsettling short explores themes of trauma and violence inside a fantastical world that is at once familiar and strange. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.10

The Moon Please / by Diana Son

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, a young married couple argues over who is going to work and who will stay with their newborn baby. A tense new parent squabble takes on an extra dimension when we realize Ciel's office is at the World Trade Center. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.10

The Latest News from the Primordial Ooze / by Rich Orloff

Barry and Marjorie find their relationship at a crossroads when one begins evolving faster than the other...literally! Can love between two primordial creatures survive when one yearns for more than their swampy existence? In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.10

I, Carpenter / by Greg Oliver Bodine

On a quiet summer evening, a master carpenter named Rick is caught finishing his work on a gazebo when his younger boss shows up after receiving a noise complaint. This tightly paced drama explores the consequences of taking away one's reason to be when that reason is simply to work. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.10

Extremely / by Rolin Jones

Johnny and Josh are extreme. Extreme extreme. You can't even handle how extreme they are. Neither, it seems, can they. A riotous short about going to -- and over -- the limit. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.10

Comedy of Errs / by Jim Leonard

Two Hoosiers chew the fat about inclement weather, breakfast meats, and Shakespeare in this contemplative "slice-of-life" comedy. In the anthology: Great Short Plays, v.10

The Drunken Days / by Sa'dallah Wannous

The play may be seen as a contemporary Arab supplement to the archetypal modern feminist play, Doll's House. In the anthology: Four Plays from Syria

Rituals of Signs and Transformations / by Sa'dallah Wannous

The play takes as its point of departure the historian Fakhri al-Barudi's account of an incident in the 1880s in Damascus in which two clerics were involved in a feud that split the city into two factions. One was the Mufti, the chief religious legal authority, also referred to in the play as Sheik Qassim, and the Naqib-Al Ashraf, also referred to as Sir Abdallah, the leader of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. When the chief of police arrested the Naqib while he was engaged in lovemaking with his mistress in his semi-private garden, the Mufti concocted a scheme to save the Naqib's reputation. In the anthology: Four Plays from Syria

The Adventure of the Mamluk Jaber's Head / by Sa'dallah Wannous

Set in a coffee house and features a hakawati (a storyteller) who also functions as a kind of Brechtian narrator. As the hakawati engages in this ancient form of performance, the clients of the cafe, who want him to tell a happy tolktale about Arab solidarity instead of the story of the savage betrayal of the slave Jaber, interrupt the narrator and comment on the action, often sarcastically. Simultaneously, actors on another part of the stage perform the story, which is obviously based in large part on the historical sacking of Baghdad by Hulagu Khan in 1258. In the anthology: Four Plays from Syria

The Evening Party for the Fifth of June / by Sa'dallah Wannous

A once ardent Nasserite, Wannous expertly uses the medium of theater to deride the perceived failings of the Arab nationalist governments of the late 1960s. A story very much rooted in a time and place, Wannous sought to bring theater beyond that stage, integrating the audience into the show in hopes that activism within the theater would spill over into society at large. Despite its importance, this piece has only recently been translated into English, allowing a new body of readers to become acquainted with Wannous and his unique take on politicizing theater. In the anthology: Four Plays from Syria

Taha / by Amer Hlehel

A lyrical story of the life of Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali. Taha Muhammad Ali is the beautiful optimistic picture of the Palestinian people – of all of us. In his beloved verses, Taha documents hopeful survival after 50 years of loss – loss of his home, his lover, his friends and his shop in Saffuriyeh in Galilee. In the anthology: Stories Under Occuapation and Other Plays from Palestine

The Siege / by Nabil AlRaee

A group of armed men seek sanctuary in one of the world’s holiest sites as the Israeli army closes in with helicopters, tanks and snipers. Along with the fighters are some 200 priests, nuns and civilians. The siege lasts for 39 days, paralysing the center of Bethlehem and keeping tens of thousands under curfew. Inside the Church of Nativity the besieged are hungry and weakening. The smell of unwashed bodies and broken lavatories is mixed with the stench from the suppurating wounds of the injured. Two dead bodies are decomposing in a cave below the church. While the world is watching, the fighters are faced with the question of whether to struggle to the end or to surrender. No matter what they choose, they will have to leave their families and their homeland behind forever. In the anthology: Stories Under Occuapation and Other Plays from Palestine

3 in 1 / by Ihab Zahdeh

The play explores the difficulty of artistic expression in a conservative society. In the anthology: Stories Under Occuapation and Other Plays from Palestine

Shakespeare's Sisters / by Pietro Floridia

Samira is a forty years old university professor who lives alone in her own house. She dedicates her life to teaching and research in the field of literature. One night, Samira finds herself in front of another woman who raided her home in what seemed like a nightmare. Nisma is a rebellious woman who has many personal dreams and ambitions in fashion design. Nisma lives for short while at Samira’s house, but she turns her life upside down! Nisma, the adventurous young woman, leads Samira and other women on a journey to discover a different life style, which does justice to a woman and gives her natural right to live in equality and justice. In the anthology: Stories Under Occuapation and Other Plays from Palestine

We are the Children of the Camp / by Abdelfattah Abusrour

The play retraces the history of Palestine starting with the Balfour Declaration on 2 November 1917. The play includes the 1948 war, the exile of Palestinians into tents, the recollection of demolished villages and the new Hebrew names they were given, the refugee camps and their locations. The play also includes children's impressions of their lives in the camps, the intifada, the claims of the Palestinians, the claims of the media, accounts of the checkpoints and the experience of oppression. The play concludes with so-called “Peace negotiations.” In the anthology: Stories Under Occuapation and Other Plays from Palestine

Stories Under Occupation / by Al-Kasaba Ensemble

An ongoing series of sketches by the Al-Kasaba players centering on the theme of media representation. Alive From Palestine: Stories Under Occupation is a theatrical expression of how Palestinians and their stories have become just another news item for the rest of the world, whilst for Palestinians, it is their life, humanity and existence. The show depicts Palestinians living, dying, crying, laughing and struggling for a normal existence against a backdrop of disaster and uncertainty. In the anthology: Stories Under Occuapation and Other Plays from Palestine

Twenty-One Positions: A Cartographic Dream of the Middle East / by Abdelfattah AbuSrour, Lisa Schlesinger, and Naomi Wallace

When Fawaz, a young Palestinian-American, travels to Israel and the Occupied West Bank for the wedding of his estranged brother, he finds only Hala, his fiery fiancée, abandoned at the altar. Amidst the rumors and suspicions surrounding his brother’s mysterious disappearance, Fawaz sets out on a dangerous quest through the militarized landscape of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories to find his brother at whatever cost. Boldly political and humorously provocative, TWENTY ONE POSITIONS is an odyssey for our time. In the anthology: Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diaspora

Tales of a City by the Sea / by Samah Sabawi

A Palestinian journalist writes poetry on the beach. A doctor must decide to stay or leave. Then come the missiles and the phosphorus showers. This is a furious and tender exploration of the fragility of freedom. The national collides with the personal as activism and reporting take to the stage. Tales of a City by the Sea uses poetry, tenderness and humour to explore the love between those who have choices, and those who do not. Language fails us when it comes to displacement and grief; yet Samah Sabawi’s language cracks grief open and remains present, like the sea. In the anthology: Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diaspora

Sperm Count / by Stephen Orlov

This comedy-drama set in North America is about a Jewish writer who seeks help from a Palestinian doctor to solve his infertility problem. And of course David Stein's burned-out wife, his Holocaust-survivor father, and a sperm figment of his imagintion all come along for the rollercoaster ride into the bizarre world of reproductive technology. In the anthology: Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diaspora

Sabra Falling / by Ismail Khalidi

Sabra Falling takes audiences back to August 1982, to a Sabra refugee camp in a war-torn Beirut. The specter of a massacre looms as the Akawi family receives an unexpected visitor that brings the past rushing back and alters the course of events to come. In the anthology: Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diaspora

The Peace Maker / by Natasha Greenblatt

It’s about a young woman named Sophie who goes on Birthright and volunteers at a music center in the West Bank and gets the idea to bring Palestinian kids to play for Holocaust survivors in Israel. She ends up making the Palestinian community angry, because they feel she is undermining their struggle against Israel. In the anthology: Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diaspora

Facts / by Arthur Milner

Facts is a murder mystery set in Hebron. It is a work of fiction, but its starting point is an actual event: the murder in 1992 of Dr. Albert Glock, an American archaeologist teaching at Birzeit University in Ramallah. Two detectives, one Israeli, the other Palestinian, investigate the murder of an American archaeologist. Their main suspect is an Israeli settler. They’re pretty sure he’s guilty, but of what? In the anthology: Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diaspora

Bitterenders / by Hannah Khalil

Bitterenders is set in Jerusalem where a family of Palestinians have been ordered by a court to share their house with Israeli settlers. So, they draw a line down the middle and live in one part of the house only. In the anthology: Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diaspora

Harlequinade / by Terence Rattigan

Harlequinade follows a classical theatre company whose members intrigues and dalliances are accidentally revealed with increasingly calamitous consequences in an affectionate celebration of the lunatic art of putting on a play. One of two Shakespearean ham actors touring the provinces has a dubious and shady past. Arthur and Edna Gosport are opening a Shakespearian tour to produce The Winter's Tale and Romeo and Juliet. During the dress rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet, a pallid spectre turns up out of Arthur's past, claiming to be his daughter. In a few moments before the curtain rises, the harassed Arthur makes wild attempts to solve this imbroglio.

Purvis / by Denis Johnson

Purvis's seven reverse-chronological scenes catalog the fall and rise of Melvin Purvis, the G-man who brought down John Dillinger and Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Johnson takes us from Washington's back rooms to a Midwestern cornfield, dramatizing the seductive allure of power and our own human capacity for both pettiness and grace.

All Hallow's Eve / by David Pinner

All Hallows' Eve is a psychological ghost story exploring one of the greatest taboos. Sisters Francesca and Lucinda are forced to face up to the erotic demons in their past; as they make this dark journey of discovery they will all but destroy each other along the way. When Arthur, a limping stranger with a sinister presence, opens Pandora's Box on All Hallows' Eve, the past is horrifically brought into the light.

The Teddy Bears' Picnic / by David Pinner

The Teddy Bears' Picnic is an ironic comedy which shows Stalin playing relaxed host and bon viveur in his country dacha. The smiling, malignant 'Uncle Joe' torments his Politburo with brash insults, crude practical jokes and the ever-lurking threat of being 'purged'.

Ubu Anew (A Play For Strange People) / by Jen Silverman

A shortened and extremely loose adaptation of Ubu Roi, featuring Pixy Stix and Hillary Clinton.

The Visitations / by Jen Silverman

Dana has been alone in her home for a bit too long. Either she is losing it or she is having an increasingly intimate relationship with a ghost.

Hippos of the Eastern Enclosure / by Jen Silverman

On Thanksgiving, a nervous male zookeeper is overwhelmed by three female hippos, who all get their periods. While the zookeeper, his girlfriend, and his co-worker decide who is on clean-up, the hippos interrogate the nature of ambition.

Real American Dinner Party / by Jen Silverman

In Jen Silverman's potent, absurdist short play, a typical American upper-class dinner between two jealous sisters and their boyfriends takes a dark turn when the characters' eyeballs start popping out.

Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom / by Suzan-Lori Parks

Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks calls Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom “an African-American experience in the shadow of the photographic image.” In four scenes connected by a dreamlike logic rather than a developing narrative, characters struggle to find themselves in that shadow—the representations and definitions made by white folks. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays

Before It Hits Home / by Cheryl L. West

Wendal, a jazz musician who has never managed to make it big, has just been diagnosed with having the AIDS virus. To a string of questioning doctors, he indignantly denies having had any sexual relations with others but by the end of the first act we see him in two simultaneous bedroom scenes, one between him and his fiancee, Simone, who is pregnant, and one between him and his male lover, Douglas, who is actually a married man and father. In these combined scenes, Wendal’s denial and confusion are painfully obvious as he tries to hide the truth about his health from both of his partners; he seems especially intent to hide from Douglas the extent of his undisclosed promiscuity. In the second act, Wendal has drifted away from both Simone and Douglas, unable to sustain the lies that had been keeping his two worlds apart and in balance. He returns home to his mother and father, but upon confiding the truth to them, he is abandoned by his mother who, in a wrathful explosion of raw emotion, indicts Wendal for immorality and takes with her his teenage son from a previous marriage. Wendal’s father, however, overcomes his facade of masculine pride and takes up caring for Wendal in his final days, eventually enacting a tentative reconciliation between the family members only in time for Wendal to die. The final image of the play lingers as Simone reappears, her own health and the life of her unborn child in question. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Before_it_Hits_Home/OdR7utvlZyAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Before+It+Hits+Home+/+by+Cheryl+L.+West&printsec=frontcover

Crying Holy / by Wayne Corbitt

In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays

Come Down Burning / by Kia Corthron

Skoolie lives in a clean, tiny shack at the top of the big hill, across from the small grocer. She doesn’t have the use of her legs and uses a cart built close to the ground to get to the store, and around the house where her appliances are cut close to the floor. Her sister, Tee, is living with her, again, with her three small children. Though Tee is welcome, it is a hardship to support everyone on Skoolie’s income from plaiting hair and occasionally performing abortions. As time goes on, it grows increasingly difficult for Skoolie to handle the extra people; last time Tee came to live, two of her children died from lack of food. Tee is very simple in the way she looks at the world, sometimes too much so, which causes a familiar family antagonism between the women—a caring but at-odds view on how to better their lives. When Skoolie discovers that Tee is again pregnant, she tries to convince her to give up the baby. Tee loves her children and though at first does not want to think about it knows that she doesn’t want to jeopardize the three living ones to possibly bury another. Bink, Skoolie’s lifelong girlfriend, comes to visit and get her hair done. She also asks Skoolie to perform an abortion; she and her husband are not ready for children. She follows Skoolie’s advice, does not eat, does as she’s told and the abortion is clean. Tee tries harder to be in charge of her life and her children’s lives. When she notices a mark on her daughter’s arm, put there by a negligent teacher, she wants to confront the teacher herself, but Skoolie, knowing Tee’s social skills are not good, confronts the teacher for her, winning a small victory for them all but making Tee feel more inadequate. Failing at taking care of her children, Tee tries to take care of her own abortion but tragically fails at that too. Skoolie comes home in the afternoon to find her sister dying. While she tries in vain to keep Tee from slipping away, Skoolie knows she must again bear the burden of taking on and taking care of a loving but sorrow-filled family. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays

Shakin' the Mess Outta Misery / by Shay Youngblood

Shakin' the Mess Outta Misery is the story of a young black girl's coming of age in the South in the 1960s. Daughter, the main character and 25-year-old narrator whose mother died when she was very young, was raised by women in the community, some blood related, some not. When she was 12 years old she began her journey to womanhood guided by these very diverse, nontraditional, older black women. Daughter begins the play as an adult reflecting on the summer of her 12th year in the now empty house of her childhood. She shares with the audience how her Big Mamas prepared her for womanhood. As she remembers, the women enter to tell their stories and Daughter becomes a child again reliving her vivid memories of growing up--recalling the rituals, the faith healings, the stories she was told and the lessons she learned about survival, healing, deep faith and mystery. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exShakinTheMessSA6.pdf

Big Butt Girls, Hard-Headed Women / by Rhodessa Jones

The story follows the real-life adventures and misadventures of an artist hired by the California Arts Council to teach "aerobics" in San Francisco's city jail. While teaching there she meets and hears the horrifying, dangerous, and sometimes profoundly touching stories of the incarcerated women. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays

Fierce Love / by Pomo Afro Homos

Fierce Love was conceived, written, and performed as a response to the absence of three-dimensional black, gay men on the American stage. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays

for black boys who have considered homicide when the streets were too much / by Keith Antar Mason

A 'Rite of Becoming' play about black men, their beliefs, loves, and traumas. The play examines the effects and outcomes of life in the streets. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays

Re/Membering Aunt Jemima: A Menstrual Show / by Breena Clarke and Glenda Dickerson

This ensemble work with music patterned after the traditional minstrel show pushes the boundaries of traditional African American theater, shattering myths and stereotypes that have plagued African American women for centuries. The playwrights have used their experiences of motherhood, daughterhood, wifehood, sisterhood, friendship, bereavement, sexism, racism, and classism to show Jemima not as a stereotype of African American women, but as an icon rooted in the ancient African tradition of household orisha. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays

The Little Tommy Parker Celebrated Colored Minstrel Show / by Carlyle Brown

Six black minstrel players in a Pullman porter railroad car on a cold winter’s afternoon in February, 1895, outside the rural town of Hannibal, Missouri, wait for showtime to arrive. The chilly wind blows outside as they pass the time with stories and memories. Suddenly one member, Percy, so far absent, bursts in and collapses on the floor. When the troupe realizes their friend has been chased by a white mob, they must find a way to protect him and themselves. Fear, anxiety and deep honesty surface as these black men blacken their faces with burnt cork, trying to allow their friend to avoid detection. The white mob realizes where Percy is and shows up at the train where Percy goes out to face them, hoping to save the others. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Little_Tommy_Parker_Celebrated_Color/8hWgJPwM_mwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Little+Tommy+Parker+Celebrated+Colored+Minstrel+Show+/+by+Carlyle+Brown&printsec=frontcover

I Ain't Yo' Uncle / by Robert Alexander

This play takes Harriet Beecher Stowe's abolitionist novel and spins it on its ear. Old stereotypes get to meet their creator, as Uncle Tom, Topsy and Eliza put Harriet Beecher Stowe on trial for not only perpetuating negative stereotypes but also for failing to "get their story right." In this play these same stereotypes reinvent themselves, while the story gets updated from their own Afrocentric perspective in such a way that it not only retains the story's original power, but also draws sharp parallels on matters of race between yesterday and today. If Uncle Tom's Cabin was the novel that helped start the Civil War, I Ain't Yo' Uncle reminds us that the war for equality in America still continues. In the anthology: Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Plays Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exIAintYoUncleI54.pdf

Bald Diva!: The Ionesco Parody Your Mother Warned You About / by David Koteles

Queer-Eyed boys get an absurdist makeover a la Eugene Ionesco in this tragic spectacle of la vie Chelsea, featuring sizzling firemen, probing detectives, saucy maids, steamroom escapades, provocative party games, low-rent musical numbers on fabulous cardboard sets, piping-hot celebrity dish, the latest fashion trends and beauty secrets, narrow escapes of reality, death-defying mental acrobatics and more Divas than you can shake your stick at! In the anthology: Playing with Canons

The Man Who Laughs / by Kiran Rikhye

Gwynplaine was disfigured by criminals who wanted to force him into a sideshow act; his face is in a permanent grin. Later abandoned by his abductors, he saves the life of a young blind girl, Dea and is taken in by a crotchety ventriloquist, Ursus. Dea and Gwynplaine join Ursus's ventriloquist act, a generally satisfying life. But Gwynplaine wants more. He rebels against constantly playing a grinning clown in Ursus's show. He knows he can be taken seriously as a dramatic actor, if the audience just gets a chance to see him perform. Naturally, things do not turn out as Gwynplaine hopes, and his foray into dramatic acting takes a tragic turn when he encounters the bored and decadent Duchess Josiana and her paramour Lord David Dirry-Moir. Repulsed and attracted by Gwynplaine's disfigurement, she attempts to seduce him. It ends badly for everyone. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Northanger Abbey / by Lynn Marie Macy

Austen’s Northanger Abbey is to the gothic novel genre what the Scream movie is to the horror film genre – a hilarious send up everyone can enjoy. Comedy! Adventure! Romance!... Murder? Lynn Marie Macy’s comic adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel follows the adventures of Catherine Morland, a passionate - though impressionable English country village girl, who is perhaps too devoted to reading gothic thrillers. Young Catherine hungers for adventure and soon finds it in the fashionable spa resort of Bath. Hosted by Mr. & Mrs. Allen, her wealthy neighbors from home, she is caught up in the Thorpe and Tilney family’s social whirl all the while obsessively reading her exciting new novel, Radcliffe’s "The Mysteries Of Udolpho". Scenes from the novel, experienced in Catherine's vivid imagination, are melded with her comparably civil yet equally adventurous real life. The outcome is a swashbuckling coming-of-age journey through Catherine's two realities, as all roads lead to an unforeseen trip to the Tilney's mysterious estate, Northanger Abbey. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Frankenstein / by Rob Reese

While Mary Shelley's macabre nineteenth century tragedy about an eighteenth century man discovering the secret of life resounds to this day, the lessons of the novel are often confused and confounded by the themes and images perpetrated by James Whale's 1931 film adaptation of the story. The lumbering, flat headed, bolt-necked, Boris Karloff monster is repeatedly invoked as a symbol of man's scientific reach exceeding his grasp. This invocation invariably follows each scientific or technological advance that frightens any section of the population. Villagers with torches and pitchforks have decried the approach of the Internet, personal computers, mobile communications, mass media, transplants, cloning, stem cell research, and an ongoing list that awakens Victor Frankenstein every time his fictional name is uttered. But Shelley's doctor and monster are a far different pair than Whale's, which now lives more solidly in our collective subconscious. The benevolent doctor trying his best to defend his poor, dumb, misunderstood, rampaging beast from the angry town and all of their black and white fury is almost the anti-Victor to Shelley's morose and disturbed doctor who fears success so much that he turns from his creation and leaves it to fend for himself in an unfamiliar world. Shelley's Monster is a gentle, articulate being who teaches himself to speak, read, and reason. It is only after a series of wrongs done to him based upon his countenance that he consciously chooses to seek vengeance against his creator and the world. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Bartleby the Scrivener / by R. L. Lane

In “Bartleby,” Melville turned from the vast ocean and endless sky that dominated Moby Dick to the hermetically sealed world of a mid-nineteenth century Wall Street lawyer’s office. Into this stifling environment of copiers of legal documents comes a pale, thin, ghost-like young man (Bartleby) who overturns the lives of all whom he meets including Standard, his boss. Bartleby is the epitome of the outsider, who puts social norms, human feelings, and finally life itself into question. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Salem / by Alex Roe

Inspired by Nathanial Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown." In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Bel Canto / by Renee Flemings

Gangsters and jazz In the anthology: Playing with Canons

The Brothers Karamazov, parts I and II / by Alexander Harrington

It tells the story of the perverse and debauched landowner and moneylender Fyodor Karamazov and his three sons: the passionate and sensual Dmitry, the intellectual Ivan and the deeply religious Alyosha. When Fyodor is murdered, suspicion naturally falls on Dmitry, who has been fighting with his father over money and competing with him for the affections of the femme fatale Grushenka Svetlova. But, is Dmitry really the murderer? In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Story of an Unknown Man / by Anthony P. Pennino

A darkly comic and breathtakingly imaginative play that blends an early story by Anton Chekhov with his life and work, yielding a dazzling bit of meta-theatre that is as enjoyable as it is smart. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Uncle Jack / by Jeff Cohen

Professor Kaufman has gathered the family together to tell them of his desire to sell the estate; this announcement enrages Jack, who sees in Kaufman's plan connivance and betrayal-this is a frontal assault on the very foundation of Jack's sense of self-worth. He cries out against Kaufman and to his family in real pain. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Principia / by Michael Maiello and Andrew Recinos

A peppy musical fable based on the Principia Discordia and other post-modern legends. This comic, musical exploration of religion, philosophy and conspiracy theories, (and also, how to take over the world), premiered at FringeNYC 2003. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

The Eumenides / by David Johnston

A modern adaptation of the last play of the Oresteia of Aeschylus. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Genesis / by Matthew Freeman

Contemporary re-imagination of five medieval Mystery plays telling familiar Bible stories. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Titus X / by Shawn Northrip

Titus X is the story of a victorious soldier returning home to Rome after losing most of his sons to war. He observes the rights of human sacrifice, killing the son of Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and setting in motion a violent chain reaction of revenge. Titus sets his own gory revenge in motion, killing Tamora’s two remaining sons and feeding them to her at a banquet, by the end of which all of the guests are dead. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

La Tempestad / by Larry Loebell

On the tropical island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, Prospero practices the antiquarian arts in self-imposed exile. After a stormy crossing, three couples, including Prospero’s daughter Miranda and her fiancé Ferdinand, are swept up in the island’s history of passion, politics, and magic. As U.S. military pilots practice for the invasion of Iraq in the unpredictable skies overhead, each couple ponders the prospects of marriage and tests the limits of their love. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

Want's Unwisht Work / by Kirk Wood Bromley

When Elisa comes home tired from work, she learns that her husband, Richard, has written something for her birthday that he’d like to do for her. She reluctantly agrees. Richard and his friends then perform a play about a group of young women (Corme, Marla, Lydia) who start a house of feminist studies under the guidance of their mentor, Bertha Lerner, into which men are not allowed. But, of course, where there’s a wall there’s a way. First, Professor Lerner has exempted her therapist, Dr. Marvin Kling, from that restriction, and he brings along his pupil, Erad, both of whom cause romantic havoc. Two of the young women’s boyfriends, Warren and Leavus, dress up as women to gain access to the house. A group of horny inebriated locals called The Rambling Fanatics do all they can to get inside. And the attic is infested with Vazoline, Richard’s cross-dressing alter ego. When a troupe of Birthday Gram actors show up at the door to wish Corme happy birthday, the whole scenario comes toppling down in a comedic explosion of chastisements, confessions, and blueberries. In the anthology: Playing with Canons

The Girl Who Swam Forever / by Marie Clements

The action unfolds from the perspective of the girl, who – to claim her past and secure her future – must undergo a shape-shifting transformation and meet her grandmother’s ancestral spirit in the form of a hundred-year-old sturgeon. Set in a small northern B.C. mill town in the 1960s.

The Resemblance Between a Violin Case and a Coffin / by Beth Henley

Tom and his sister Roe’s childhood comes to a painful end when Richard Miles, who moves in light, arrives in town with his violin in a case. In the anthology: Desire: Six One-Act Plays Based on the Short Stories of Tennessee Williams

You Lied to Me About Centralia / by John Guare

Jim, the Gentleman Caller, leaves the Wingfields’ disastrous dinner party to meet his fiancée Betty’s train. The evening won’t turn out the way either of them expected. In the anthology: Desire: Six One-Act Plays Based on the Short Stories of Tennessee Williams

Oriflamme / by David Grimm

Oriflamme (noun): A red or scarlet banner; a knight’s standard; a rallying principle…Sickly Anna Kimball, on her final day, reaches out for, and becomes, all of these. In the anthology: Desire: Six One-Act Plays Based on the Short Stories of Tennessee Williams

The Field of Blue Children / by Rebecca Gilman

Everything in Layley’s life is going according to plan. She belongs to the best sorority at her university and has a devoted boyfriend who could easily become a devoted husband. But Layley suspects that there is more to life than stifling conformity. So she signs up for a poetry class in the hopes of expressing herself. There she meets Dylan, a sensitive poet with whom she enjoys a night of passion that opens up a truly revolutionary prospect: living a life of her own. In the anthology: Desire: Six One-Act Plays Based on the Short Stories of Tennessee Williams

Desire Quenched by Touch / by Marcus Gardley

In 1950s New Orleans, a black masseur must account for the disappearance of his favorite white customer. People don’t just vanish inside massage parlors… In the anthology: Desire: Six One-Act Plays Based on the Short Stories of Tennessee Williams

Weekend Lovers / by Alfred Fagon

There is a lazy man, addicted to drink and drugs and a frustrated woman trying to make him turn over and new leaf. The big issue is whether they will ever be able to leave what she describes as “a ghetto” and start a new life. It would spoil the surprise to reveal the answer. In the anthology: Alfred Fagon: Selected Plays

Small World / by Alfred Fagon

The play focuses on the Job-like John, who runs a youth advice centre in the Kilburn district of north-west London. Despite interminable problems, including his long-suffering partner’s loss of faith, funding issues and a desire to take on the burden of so many troubled young people, a man who could be overwhelmed by all these difficulties is determined to carry on. However, by the end of the play, he finds new hope following a change of direction. In the anthology: Alfred Fagon: Selected Plays

Shakespeare Country / by Alfred Fagon

An actor with a bad attitude and a perpetual grudge reacts badly to another failed audition. When not whining, he is happy to sponge off and beat up his partner, showing signs of incipient madness—to an extent driven there by racial prejudice. In the anthology: Alfred Fagon: Selected Plays

No Soldiers in St. Paul's / by Alfred Fagon

This play features members of the Caribbean community in Bristol’s St Paul’s area. The archetypal man is unemployed, gambles, smokes ganja and beats up his “woman” on a regular basis. In return, their much put-upon ladies provide funds and skivvy but inexplicably won’t leave. As one character so eloquently expresses her plight, “we women can't win. If you live with a black man he beats you up. If you talk to a white man you're a prostitute or a informer.” The main threats come both from the predatory police and the slovenly attitudes of these characters, who might generally be persecuted or merely suffering from a persecution complex. In the anthology: Alfred Fagon: Selected Plays

Four Hundred Pounds / by Alfred Fagon

This brief conversation piece features two London-based friends who have been close since their youth in Jamaica. The catalyst for what could be an irreparable breach comes when the duo, who have become successful pool hustlers, lose the titular £400 when one of them finds Jesus at an inopportune moment. What follows is a conversation largely centred on the divergence between lives motivated by philosophy and money. In the anthology: Alfred Fagon: Selected Plays

Adventure Inside Thirteen / by Alfred Fagon

A group of do-gooders, both black and white, are attempting to populate and popularise the eponymous adventure playground, trying to keep multiracial youth off the streets. However, the potentially threatening police presence along with difficulties in an associated hostel add to other difficulties that include a threatened intervention by the National Front, a stabbing and failures to communicate between races and across generations. In the anthology: Alfred Fagon: Selected Plays

A Day in the Bristol Air Raid Shelter / by Alfred Fagon

This conversation between an unnamed black male poet and white female sculptor is stronger on issues than content or narrative drive. They give the impression of being high, while discussing politics, race, arts and, eventually, love. In the anthology: Alfred Fagon: Selected Plays

Waiting to Be Invited / by S. M. Shephard-Massat

It's the summer of 1964 in Atlanta, Georgia. Four middle-aged black women, co-workers from a local doll factory, travel by city bus to a "whites only" eating establishment inside a downtown Atlanta department store. Their purpose is to "test" their newly acquired civil rights handed down by the Supreme Court outlawing segregation in eating establishments. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000

¡Curanderas! Serpents of the Clouds / by Elaine Romero

Magic and medicine mix in ¡Curanderas! Serpents of the Clouds, a powerful and moving new drama by award-winning playwright Elaine Romero. This mysterious play tells the story of a young Latina doctor who makes a spiritually transforming journey to Mexico where she meets a "curandera" (a female folk healer), encounters an ancient Aztec scroll, and discovers her own gift of healing. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000

Miracles / by Nina Kossman

In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000

Two-Headed / by Julie Jensen

The play begins in Utah in 1857—the year more than 100 California-bound immigrants traveling from Missouri and Arkansas were killed in what became known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Hettie and Lavinia, 10-year-old friends at the time, know about the nearby massacre, an event that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. We follow their friendship through 40 years (set at 10-year intervals) as they each find their place in an intolerant, patriarchal Mormon society and the polygamy it espouses. The relationship between the women is tested when Hettie marries Lavinia's father, a breach of trust that Lavinia condemns. Lavinia's lifelong hatred of her father becomes clear when Hettie learns that her friend was an eyewitness to the Mountain Meadows Massacre—carried out by Mormons and planned by Lavinia's father. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Two_headed/gzmm9ePIqGMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Two-Headed+/+by+Julie+Jensen&printsec=frontcover

Landlocked / by Cusi Cram

LANDLOCKED is the comedic love story of a Bolivian restaurant manager and a Swiss-German collage artist. The couple engages on a wild ride throughout Europe, where they encounter a sculptress, a dentist, an ex-garbage man, and an underwater archaelogist, all of whom have an impact on their lives. This hilarious play, results in the contention that sometimes people need to lose everything before they discover what they truly have. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000

Full Bloom / by Suzanne Bradbeer

Something is different about teenage Phoebe when she returns from her summer vacation in Italy. Suddenly, she can't bear society's obsession with youth and beauty. She becomes reckless -- skipping school, and going out with guys she barely knows. Her fragile self-image is further shaken by her family and friends' constant commentary on her appearance, her neighbor's plans for plastic surgery, and her father's recent move to live with a much-younger mistress. When Phoebe's behavior takes a drastic turn, it's up to those she loves most to save her from herself before it's too late. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000

Lobster Alice / by Kira Obolensky

Alice Horowitz, coffee-bearing secretary, wants life to be interesting. John Finch, an animator at work on Disney's Alice in Wonderland, wants Alice. When the great and outrageous Salvador Dali arrives at the studio to work on a short animated film, life becomes curiouser and curiouser. Dali scanDALIzes the conservative Finch; Alice, coffee-bearing secretary, becomes Alice, girl in a rabbit hole; and Finch and Alice both experience the surreal vagaries of the human heart. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1999

A Small Delegation / by Janet Neipris

Three American professors come to teach in China the summer before Tiananmen Square. The Cultural Revolution is over, but when Remy, the American professor, attempts to bond with her Chinese translator, Sun, the friendship proves to be impossible for political reasons. Remy means to do good but fails to understand the cultural differences between the Western world and the Orient. When she tempts Sun with an opportunity to teach in America, offering what she thinks is the expected bribe to the passport officer, she tragically destroys the life of her Chinese friend. A gift is only a gift if you can afford to receive it. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1999

The Exact Center of the Universe / by Joan Vail Thorne

Vada Love Powell, the self-appointed doyenne of a small Southern town, has invited Mary Lou Mele to tea. It’s Vada’s intention to scare off another prospective bride for her beloved son, Apple, but she meets her match in Mary Lou, who’s pretending to be her twin sister, Mary Ann, whom Apple secretly married that very afternoon. Now Vada must face her best friends, Marybell Baxter and Enid Symonds in Enid’s tree house, where the three gather to “play canasta and consume sweets. “They agree that Vada “had this one coming,” but she pretends nothing has happened. It’s a complete surprise when Apple returns with his shy bride, who astounds even Vada with her love for him. Ten years pass and “The Tree House Gang has grown old.” Vada “summons” Mary Lou, now an anthropologist, to discuss some photographs she took of a nearly nude tribe. Vada is appalled that Mary Ann is going to let her twins take these “suggestive” pictures to school. Apple blames his mother for offending his wife, warns her not to mention the photographs to the girls, and runs out before she can tell him she already has. Vada also “summons” Enid and Marybell to discuss the “unrest” in their beloved church guild. During their discussion Apple telephones that the twins have run away from school. After some panic, Mary Ann reports they’ve been found, but she holds Vada accountable: The girls ran away because Vada had said they should be ashamed of the photos. Vada apologizes to Mary Ann, and reveals to Apple “this little heart problem,” that she’s not going to let “change her life.” She asks him to plan her funeral, then proceeds to tell him exactly what to do! In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1999

Sweatlodge Pork / by Mark Anthony Rolo

This is a surreal farce, which turns tribal and American popular culture history upside down in order to suggest that opposing perspectives of Indians and whites remain constant. Ultimately, this is a play about unbroken connections in relationship--that it is not good for Indians to "go solo." In the anthology: What's an Indian Woman to Do? and Other Plays

Mama Earth Loves Lace / by Mark Anthony Rolo

This plays is intended to capture the spirit and laughs of classic living room farce. Monique and Trigger Olson are absurd Native caricatures bent on achieving the American dream at any means. The play offers no apologies for the low-down, self-serving behavior of the hopeless couple. Also, the play offers up no political or social insight into the plight of many contemporary Indians. What the play does reveal is how contrary and complex Native people have become in needing to adapt, survive in a postcolonial world. In the anthology: What's an Indian Woman to Do? and Other Plays

The Way Down Story / by Mark Anthony Rolo

Old Tree Woman's life has left her hard as birch; she "ain't about family." Yet, somehow, she has found herself the sole guardian of her two teenage grandchildren. As the family struggles to survive in the inner city of Minneapolis, Old Tree Woman begins to realize that a malignant darkness has invaded her home. Soon, secrets will surface, truths will come to light. Can she brave her past to save her family's future? In the anthology: What's an Indian Woman to Do? and Other Plays

What's an Indian Woman to Do? / by Mark Anthony Rolo

Belle, the daughter of an Ojibwe father and a white mother, identifies herself exclusively with her Native American heritage. Her former best friend, the blonde and blue-eyed Katrina, wounds Belle doubly, first stealing Belle's lover Kyle, and then violating cultural boundaries when Katrina learns to speak the Ojibwe language and adopts an Indian name and otherwise immersing herself in tribal lore. In the anthology: What's an Indian Woman to Do? and Other Plays

Windmill Baby / by David Milroy

Maymay has come back to the pastoral station she worked on as a domestic half a century ago. As she beavers away around the old washing line, she recalls the season of love and revenge which swept through and turned this dusty collection of bungalows into the scene of an achingly beautiful tragedy. Windmill Baby is the story of Black Australians in the service of White Australia. It’s also an ancient tale of unexpected love and sudden ruination. Milroy’s wily humour and Maymay’s magnificent forbearance make Windmill Baby an act of grace. It finds meaning in a useless act of violence, and carries the meaning on in spite of the blunting powers of time and the wilful failures of the national memory. And most wonderfully of all, Windmill Baby is that rare thing: a real love story. In the anthology: Contemporary Indigenous Plays

Rainbow's End / by Jane Harrison

Jane Harrison’s 2007 play ‘Rainbow’s End’ invites its audience into the household of three Indigenous women as they struggle to realise their dreams in an era of racial segregation and dispossession. Set in the 1950s, Harrison backdrops the fight for housing rights and the Queen’s first visit to Australia to remind its audiences how little has changed since the establishment of Rumbalara. Alongside this political backdrop, Harrison constructs a coming of age story where Dolly’s personal struggle to retain control and agency over herself and her dreams serves as a representation of the story’s parallel political struggle for Indigenous sovereignty. In the anthology: Contemporary Indigenous Plays

King Hit / by David Milroy and Geoffrey Narkle

This recounting of the story of Geoffrey Narkle’s life starts in early childhood, growing up in a loving home with Largy, his hard-working and respected father, and Bella, his strict but affectionate mother. Moving from one reservation to another around Narrogin, at the whim of the Native Welfare Department, fond childhood memories are bound up with the security of belonging Geoffrey feels with his extended family, as well as a child’s fascination for camp pets with plenty of personality – the Noongar-language speaking Cocky and Two-Up Dog. Largy wants to make a better life for his family, through small dreams such as a new dress for Bella. His industry earns him citizenship, but Bella’s scepticism of the ‘dog licence’ is proved sadly accurate when the parents return from a family funeral in Perth to find their children removed to Wandering Mission. Geoffrey gets his first big disillusionments there. Haphazard educational decisions made for him find him struggling with learning a trade in Perth, and he takes advantage of turning 18 to leave and make his own life – drinking and lying around in parks. He eventually takes up with George Stewart’s Boxing Troupe as a tent boxer, finding a route to respect and a way to channel years of anger through fights, before walking away and finding a way to live life for himself.

Black Medea / by Wesley Enoch

Black Medea is Wesley Enoch’s richly poetic adaptation of Euripides’ Medea. Blending the cultures of Ancient Greek and Indigenous storytelling, Enoch weaves a commentary on contemporary Aboriginal experience. In the anthology: Contemporary Indigenous Plays

Bitin' Back / by Vivienne Cleven

Bitin' Back is a rollicking comedy that nimbly blends the realities of smalltown prejudice and racial intolerance. When the Blackouts' star player Nevil Dooley wakes one morning to don a frock and 'eyeshada', his mother's idle days at the bingo hall are gone forever. In the anthology: Contemporary Indigenous Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bitin_Back/iJ8FEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bitin%27+Back+/+by+Vivienne+Cleven&printsec=frontcover

Self Defense / by Carson Kreitzer

Seven white men have been found dead along I-95 in Florida. A prostitute is arrested and charged with their murders. The police say she's a serial killer. She claims seven separate acts of self-defense. Inspired by the true story of Aileen Wuornos, Self Defense, or death of some salesmen is a whirlwind seven acts in 95 minutes. The play is fast and furious, shocking and funny, and at its center, a portrait of a very complicated human being. She is complex, charismatic, dangerous, damaged, full of love and anger; above all else, she is alive. An investigation of capital punishment, destitution, violence against (and by) women, and whether a prostitute is considered a person under our justice system. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2002 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Self_Defense_and_Other_Plays/uXUsAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Self+Defense+/+by+Carson+Kreitzer&printsec=frontcover

Lapis Blue Blood Red / by Cathy Caplan

Based on the tumultuous life of Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, "Lapis Blue Blood Red" dramatizes an extraordinary woman's struggle to define herself in the face of overwhelming personal and social odds. The play samples from Gentileschi's letters and the official text of the trial of the man accused of raping her and stealing one of her paintings, unveiling the passion and complexity of a true 17th century story. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2002

Homecoming / by Lauren Weedman

The show revolves around Lauren, who is trying to find her mom, her step-mom, her bossy sister, her aging grandmother, and her boyfriend. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2002

Golden Ladder / by Donna Spector

Adolescent Catherine is caught between a Christian mother and a Jewish father who hides his heritage in order to please his narrow minded wife. This bittersweet coming of age comedy explores Catherine's journey through Catholicism, evangelical Christianity, existentialism and first love—until finally she finds the answer in her favorite childhood story. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2002

Degas in New Orleans / by Rosary O'Neill

Degas in New Orleans explores the inner turmoil and conflict of Edgar Degas, the great French Impressionist painter, as he visits his New Orleans family to pursue painting but tumbles into bankruptcy and adultery. Edgar Degas must choose between passion and painting. This riveting play is inspired by true events in the life of Edgar Degas and is set in scandalous post-Civil War Louisiana. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2002

Windshook / by Mary Gallagher

When Marlin Carroll sells the family farm without telling his son, he sets in motion an inexorable trap for his two children—the idealistic Rafe, and the strong, beautiful Ruby, who cling with equal stubbornness to their opposing dreams. The sale of the farm brings in two strangers who become catalysts for the events that follow: Evan Brooks, a wealthy young investor and developer, and Dylan, a handsome, lonely drifter who survives by telling people what they want to hear. As Ruby and her desperately unhappy mother, Ceelie, both look to Dylan for magical escape, Rafe determines to buy back the farm at any cost. Dylan falls in love with Ruby, but his longing for a home grows as strong as his need for her. When Brooks—the man with all the money—is also attracted to Ruby, the whole family, along with Dylan, begin to see her as the answer to their prayers. As the characters are entwined in threads of anger and violence, their conflicting dreams and needs converge in a catastrophe that changes them forever. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1996 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Windshook/9LcpRe0Jns8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Windshook+/+by+Mary+Gallagher&printsec=frontcover

View of the Dome / by Theresa Rebeck

This humor-filled tale of political corruption, ingratitude, and revenge concerns an idealistic young Washington attorney who persuades her former law professor, a man of lofty rhetoric, to run for Congress. Ideals shrivel in the Washington air as the professor is swept into an insider’s circle that includes a leering, power-drunk senator and a slinky, Southern power broker. When the heroine is snubbed by the politically powerful at a fancy restaurant, her hurt feelings precipitate an all-out war. She promotes a sex scandal that unexpectedly makes her the darling of the religious right. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1996 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/View_of_the_Dome/WVSgvCBXm9oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=View+of+the+Dome+/+by+Theresa+Rebeck&printsec=frontcover

Nine Armenians / by Leslie Ayvazian

Three generations of an Armenian-American family yell, dance, carry food around, play tambourines, rollerblade, cry, scream, laugh and support each other. When daughter, Ani, 21, travels to Armenia, she learns more of her history and troubled heritage. When she returns, she learns much from her recently widowed her grandmother, Non, who teaches her how to incorporate this new knowledge into her life. In doing so, Ani empowers her mother, who embarks on her own pilgrimage to the homeland. These are kind-hearted people, embracing life even as they discover their historical tragedies. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1996 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nine_Armenians/EXr5Hpg5QqgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Nine+Armenians+/+by+Leslie+Ayvazian&printsec=frontcover

Kicking Inside / by Jeannie Zusy

A contemporary New Yorker who needs to conceive a child to release the pain and creativity she holds inside. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1996

Do Something With Yourself! The Life of Charlotte Bronte / by Linda Manning

This is the story of Charlotte Brontë’s emergence as a world class novelist as she carves out her own path between the provincial constrained existence of her Victorian reality and the fantasy world of her novels where so much more is possible. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1996

Vladivostok Blues / by Jocelyn A. Beard

Russian kidnappers’ plans are foiled when their abduction elicits golden PR for their victim, Mexico’s most famous female soap star. Both sides use the headline-grabbing escapade for unanticipated gains. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1995

Sacrilege / by Diane Shaffer

Ellen Burstyn starred on Broadway in this riveting drama about a devout Roman Catholic nun who fights the Vatican to allow women in the priesthood. Sister Grace befriends Ramon, a homeless hustler, and restores his faith in himself, the Church and God. Eventually Ramon becomes a priest while Grace gains national notoriety challenging conservative Church doctrine. To silence her, the Vatican holds a hearing based on trumped up charges and Father Ramon must testify against her. Presiding over the hearing is Grace's old friend and mentor, Cardinal King, a former political activist and "street priest" who is now an advisor to the Pope. Grace is found guilty and expelled from her order. Her expulsion forces the main characters to re examine the meaning of faith, spiritual violence and the redeeming grace of God. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1995

Green Icebergs / by Cecilia Fannon

On vacation in the Tuscan Hills of Italy, book editor Justus mistakes Veronica, a food garnish specialist and fellow Californian, for his wife. The innocent and awkward moment leads to the discovery of a mutual passion for 15th-century Italian artist and monk Fra Filippo Lippi. Their interest sweeps them into an affair, mirroring Lippi’s own abandoned inhibitions. Their spouses, Claude, a talkative and unhappy computer teacher, and Beth, a mousy document illuminator, cannot understand Justus and Veronica’s interest in museums nor in anything that takes a person away from his daily routine. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1995

Emma's Child / by Kristine Thatcher

Jean and Henry Farrell, after years of unsuccessfully attempting to have a baby of their own, decide to adopt. Emma, the birth mother, approves of the couple. Now a new waiting game begins: awaiting the birth of their child. To help Jean through, her best friend Franny comes for a visit, but brings more baggage than a normal traveler as she is separating from her husband, Sam. When the time arrives it is not a happy occasion however, as the baby boy, Robin, is born hydrocephalic and will not live long. Jean falls for this child anyway; the attention she pays to Robin not only threatens to tear her marriage apart but causes trouble at the hospital as well. Jean has no parental rights, even though Emma has disappeared, and the administrators (despite what the nursing staff have to say) are wary. Eventually Robin succumbs to his condition, leaving Jean and Henry not only having to repair their marriage, but right back where they started—interviewing with a new birth mother. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1995 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Emma_s_Child/gy433aTgCXwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Emma%27s+Child+/+by+Kristine+Thatcher&printsec=frontcover

Dance with Me / by Jean Reynolds

Physician Ray, long happily married to Ruth and seemingly safely past the danger zone of so-called midlife crisis, sees a woman in a red dress sitting alone in the bar car of a train on one of his frequent trips to or from his home in upstate New York to the state capitol. There's magic about a train, a capsule that encloses one as it hurtles through time and space. There's magic about Grace, the woman in the red dress. Ray and Grace talk, they banter, they dance, alone in the bar car traveling through the night. Grace is mysterious, alluring. Ray is intrigued--and he is smack into midlife crisis. Grace becomes his lover, and he hires her as his office secretary. Meanwhile home alone as usual, little Miss Sit-by-the-Fire Ruth, no dummy as we soon see, thinks things over and invites the new secretary to tea, which becomes gin, and then more gin, and then more. Elliptical dialogue is spoken in jagged staccato rhythms like Pinter's--oblique talk in circles that skirts the truth and skates on thin ice. Ray enters; the twosome becomes a threesome. "It's a game," says Ray. If it's badminton, Ray's the birdie--or is he? The ladies have him cornered--or have they? In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1995

Hurricane / by Erin Cressida Wilson

Hurricane tells the story of five seemingly disconnected people, who share their world views, loves, and personalities, reflecting the Woman's voice. In Utah, a female resident of the town of Hurricane discusses the Bomb and how the US government has threatened her town and livelihood. In New York, a couple in the fashion industry discuss their relationship, a politically correct actor enjoys butt-pinching all the beautiful women he meets, and an ex-prisoner of war endures a journalists painful interview questions about maintaining sanity in insane circumstances. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998

Give Me Shelter / by Wendy Weiner

Give Me Shelter chronicles a young woman's hilarious and desperate search for a livable New York City apartment. It's a lively solo performance piece, with one actress playing the parts of numerous personae who show the hapless heroine prospective new dwelling places. It's modern (wo)man's search for a suitable home and the universal search for human connection. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998

Marguerite Bonet / by Val Smith

Marguerite Bonet is a young medium in 1920s England. While subject to scientific scrutiny, Marguerite tests the faith of George Crawford, a distinguished physicist still reeling from the loss of his son in the First World War. This poignant and often humorous play looks at what Einstein called the fundamental emotion of the mysterious, and how we confront the most profound mysteries of life and death In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998

True Confessions of a Go-Go Girl / by Jill Morley

True Confessions is a melange of monologues, characters, music, dance and slides culled from Jill’s metamorphosis from tomboy to top ranked bikini dancer. Jill likens it to stepping through the looking glass–only her Wonderland consists of seedy go-go bars off the Jersey Turnpike. Several other characters make cameos, such a s Jill’s gay male roommate who puts her ‘in touch with her femininity” and the bouncer that teaches her how to “hump air.” Through it all, Jill ponders the rewards and dangers of the go-go business. In True Confessions of a Go-Go Girl, Jill brings a host of characters to life: Edna, a Colombian women who defies club policy by flashing her breast for bigger tips; Hayley, a biker chick who ‘Pudding Wrestles’ and gets off on harassing her patron; Donna, a 45 year-old Midwesterner who enjoys the sensuality of her job; and Nina, a high class stripper with implants paid for by her club owning boyfriend. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998

The Water Children / by Wendy MacLeod

Megan is an actress somewhere between “ingenue” and “Mom.” When she loses an important role to a younger woman, her agent convinces her to take a part in a commercial for Life Force, an anti-abortion group. Megan, having had an abortion, and being a staunch liberal, is conflicted about the job. She complicates her life even more when she begins to date Randall, the organization’s executive director. Megan and Randall hit it off and they try to put their personal beliefs aside, but when Randall’s colleagues become militant, things suddenly become more difficult. And when Megan learns she is pregnant, it sends her on the personal journey of her life, spinning into her past, magnifying her present, and leaving her completely at a loss as to her future. To get away from it all, she accepts a job in a Japanese commercial. In Japan, she learns of the shrines to the mizuko—the “water children.” She makes a pilgrimage to the temple and learns of Japan’s beliefs about abortion—the very reason for the temple’s being. While at the shrine, Megan meets the soul of the child she aborted those many years ago and finally makes her own peace and a decision about the child she’s now carrying. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Water_Children/t30hx-lUG6IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Water+Children+/+by+Wendy+MacLeod&printsec=frontcover

Refuge / by Jessica Goldberg

Set in a rundown house somewhere in America, REFUGE tells the darkly funny and touching story of a young woman, Amy, forced to care for her younger brother and sister after her parents have abandoned the family and fled to Florida for a vacation from which they will never return. The siblings are in great need of care: Nat, a brain tumor survivor, is stuttering and barely able to move; and Becca is an Ecstasy-popping needy child. In a desperate attempt at connection, Amy brings home a drifter, Sam, for a one-night stand. But Sam is so lonely and lost that once he encounters this unusual family’s bonds of loyalty, he sees them as his only refuge. REFUGE is a profoundly honest and original look at four young lives—lost and unsure of what’s ahead, seeking a safe place but uncertain of what safety means. The only refuge in sight may be in the distinctively heartbreaking and brutally funny language of the world Ms. Goldberg’s characters inhabit. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Refuge/D21p4uAilj0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Refuge+/+by+Jessica+Goldberg&printsec=frontcover

Jodie's Body / by Aviva Jane Carlin

Jodie, an overweight artist's model poses nude for a London art class three days after the first elections in South Africa. Part of that country's white upper class, Jodie muses about political issues. According to a statement, she realizes that "if the mighty structure which upheld apartheid could be dismantled, why should we not also take apart the one which governs our image of our physical selves?" In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998

The Ornamental Hermit / by Jocelyn Beard

Abolitionists risk everything for one final rescue in Antebellum South Carolina. Set in 1859 in South Carolina, the play is an eloquent tale of social and spiritual liberation. A mysterious hermit comes to live on a plantation and serves as a catalyst for the community, evoking both a literal and metaphoric understanding of slavery and freedom in us all. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998

Escape from Paradise / by Regina Taylor

It's a one-of-a-kind one-woman show, performed with astonishing energy and force by Taylor as she explores-in a myth of her own making-her family, her heritage, her wildest dreams. Her heroine is Jenine, a writer wishing to get away from it all with a trip to romantic Italy. She begins with a taxi ride in Manhattan and ends with a gondola trip in Venice, but in her play, the fun, and terror, is in between, in the process of the journey. This is not a standard guided tour, but rather a frenetic, electric trip through the ghosts, dead memories, forgotten incidents and immediate family of her past. In Jenine's journey, it is always 3 a.m., a time in the middle of nowhere in which she spills out stream-of-consciousness impressions of her sister, brother, mother, father, friends. She writes of them from deep inside her; at one point, her writing shows up on the walls of the stage, projected there in a blood-red color. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1997

The House of Bernarda Alba / adapted by Emily Mann; original by Federico Lorca

A masterpiece of the modern theater, THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA was written in 1936, just before the start of the Spanish Civil War. The play takes place in a small village in southern Spain following the funeral of Bernarda Alba’s second husband. After the mourners depart, the tyrannical matriarch announces to her five daughters that their period of mourning will last eight years. Obsessed with family honor, Bernarda rules the household with an iron fist, but all of her daughters secretly harbor a passion for Pepe el Romano, the handsomest man in the village. The eldest daughter is engaged to him, but the arrangement is a financial one, and it is the youngest daughter, Adela, who becomes his lover. When the truth finally breaks through the atmosphere of suppressed desire, jealousy, anger, and fear, the consequences are tragic. Adela takes her own life and Bernarda makes a desperate attempt to maintain control of her shattered household. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1997 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_House_of_Bernarda_Alba/NOXxlusWLtgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+House+of+Bernarda+Alba+/+by+Emily+Mann&printsec=frontcover

Tatjana in Color / by Julia Jordan

In 1912, the painter Egon Schiele was accused of raping a twelve-year-old girl. She refused to testify against him. All they could prove was that she saw his paintings. He was convicted and served twenty-eight days for “Corruption of Morals.” In life, he never painted her. This play imagines that he had and tells the story from her point of view. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1997

Defying Gravity / by Jane Anderson

This free-structured look at the 1986 Challenger disaster places the teacher who died with six others as they hurtled into space at the center of an exploration of our need to reach beyond ourselves and dare the universe. Defying Gravity artfully interweaves the past with the present and the lives of participants and bystanders, drawing parallels among painter Claude Monet's artistic quest, the zest of the teacher selected to the first civilian astronaut, the perspectives of her grieving daughter, the aspirations of elderly tourists who drive their Winnebago to Florida to watch the space shot and dream of hotels in space, the guilt felt by a NASA mechanic, and his girlfriend's fear of heights. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1997

Analiese / by Lynne Alvarez

Two teens living in nineteenth century Denmark are separated when the boy, Christian, mysteriously departs with Nina, an exotic older woman. The girl, Analiese, fearing Christian may be in danger, begins to search for him in a small boat, her only traveling companion being a small insightful Toucan. Alvarez reveals a world that is boldly theatrical and classically intellligent. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1997

String Fever / by Jacquelyn Reingold

Lily juggles the big issues: turning forty, artificial insemination and the elusive scientific Theory of Everything. Lily’s world includes an Icelandic comedian, her wisecracking best friend, a cat-loving physicist, her no-longer-suicidal father and an ex-boyfriend who carries around a chair. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2003 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/String_Fever/BP3c01tH7zsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=String+Fever+/+by+Jacquelyn+Reingold&printsec=frontcover

The Last Schwartz / by Deborah Zoe Laufer

The Schwartz family is on its last legs. Their father's dead and their Catskills home is up for sale. Norma's husband hasn't spoken to her since she turned their 15 year old son in for smoking pot. After five miscarriages it appears Herb's wife won't provide him with an heir. Simon has one foot on the moon. Gene's girlfriend is about to have an abortion. And nobody seems very clear about what it is to be a family anyway. What is it to be a family? Does anybody care any more? Is Judaism all there is to hold the family together? Or is that what it will take to push the family apart? As Simon says, the Earth as we know it is really on its last legs too. When all of mankind is blown into oblivion, who's going to care whether there were Jews? Or how hard a few generations fought to keep the faith alive? The Cherry Orchard takes a holiday in the Catskills as the Schwartz family congregates, maybe for the last time, on the one-year anniversary of their father's death. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2003 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Last_Schwartz/IZktYNwAlYIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Last+Schwartz+/+by+Deborah+Zoe+Laufer&printsec=frontcover

Daisy in the Dreamtime / by Lynne Kaufman

In 1913, an Irish émigré, Daisy Bates, pitched a tent in the Australian outback and lived there with the aborigines for 30 years. She fed them, doctored them, and recorded their stories and rituals. She was the first white woman to be initiated into aboriginal dreamtime. Her only enemies were the Trans-Australian Railway and Annie Lock, the Lutheran missionary. Daisy's people called her Kabbarli, the great white spirit of the never-never. This is her story and theirs. The play explores Daisy's life and why she abandoned her husband, child and all the comforts of civilization to live in the bleakest place on earth with the most primitive people and proclaim herself blessed. It traces the spiritual quest of a woman in a culture that is free of the two great obsessions of modern civilization: the pressure of time and the accumulation of goods. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2003 Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exDaisyInTheDreamtimeD89.pdf

The Dianalogues / by Laurel Haines

Through a series of monologues, THE DIANALOGUES creates a mosaic of eleven women from various backgrounds including a Princess Di impersonator to a homicidal cabbie! These women don’t know each other but they have one thing in common: each of the women were touched deeply by the 20th century fairytale life and death of the “People’s Princess.” In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2003

The Psychic Life of Savages / by Amy Freed

A witty, outrageous new play about lunatics, lovers, and poet laureates. Inspired by eccentricities, infidelities, and poet excesses of several notorious contemporary poets, playwright Amy Freed takes a savagely funny look at the perils of genius. Join Bob, Ted, Anne and Sylvia as they trade poems and partners at the intersection of love and literature. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2003

Come to Leave / by Allison Eve Zell

A Jewish undergraduate remembers how losing her father during her freshman year helped shape her four years at Vassar. She remembers the loss through the small details of daily life–her reading lists, her wine drinking, her desperate trips to the nurse. She sometimes slips into more abstract word play, chanting the words “meaning” and “me” repeatedly–a game that goes some distance to thoughtfully connect the two. But her words are strongest as she describes the most familiar landmarks of an upper-class education. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1994

Girl Gone / by Jacquelyn Reingold

Tish is a young woman who dances in a topless bar. When her best friend is brutally murdered, Tish becomes obsessed with who killed her friend and why. The action moves rapidly from the past to the present, in and out of Tish’s mind from a topless bar, to a hustler’s apartment, to the middle of the street, as she tries to put together a fractured world where the pieces no longer fit. Tish finds her suspect playing the saxophone in a jazz club and risks her own life by coercing him into a reenactment of the crime. In a shocking turnaround, Tish finds what she’s looking for. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1994 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Girl_Gone/vBHXS1fcdBYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Girl+Gone+/+by+Jacquelyn+Reingold&printsec=frontcover

The Family of Mann / by Theresa Rebeck

A young writer learns that comedy can be a grim business when she gets a job working on a television sitcom. Her colleagues insist that the show is both decent and real while their world descends into a ferocious madness. The Family of Mann hilariously questions who and what are invited into homes when the television is turned on. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1994 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Family_of_Mann/j7G5Lyj6IpMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Family+of+Mann+/+by+Theresa+Rebeck&printsec=frontcover

Moe's Lucky Seven / by Marlane Meyer

Patsy has a moth-to-the-flame thing with Drew, and there’s plenty of physical give-and-take in the joint to keep things sparking. The scruffy bunch also includes Drew’s mangy union cronies, the old-line union leader and a slick outside agitator organizing not for workers’ rights but to get the men to join a larger, Eastern-controlled shop (he knows that today the men “want things, not democracy”). Then there’s a mystical, outspoken barkeep and a couple who narrate the events, sort of, and talk a lot about Adam, Eve and the snake. But Patsy and Drew are the main attraction. Careening from one spot to the next, she’s at once explosive and smoldering, a barely containable force of nature as Patsy tries heroically to figure out who is worth loving and who is worthy of her love. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1994

The Reincarnation of Jaimie Brown / by Lynne Alvarez

The separate quests of a young New York street poet seeking fame and fortune and a wealthy entrepreneur who will stop at nothing to find his son who committed suicide nineteen years ago collide with astrological proportions, helped by a mystical and androgynous couple. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1994

Off the Map / by Joan Ackermann

Bo Groden looks back on the summer when she was eleven years old and everything changed. Serving as narrator, she sifts through the memories of an unusual childhood spent in the wilds of northern New Mexico where her enterprising parents forged a rich life off the land and the local dump. Desperate to escape as a child, longing for modern amenities and normalcy, now she yearns to go back. This is the summer when Charley, her father, spiraled into depression. Usually able to build and fix anything, he is unable to fix himself, but the family carries on, thanks in large part to the earthy strength of Arlene, Bo’s resourceful mother. George, Charley’s lifelong friend, offers watercolors and silence. Lonely for her father’s companionship, Bo amuses herself by writing letters for free samples and praying for a miracle to deliver her from a mother who gardens in the nude and a father who cannot stop weeping. The miracle arrives in the form of William Gibbs, a displaced IRS agent who arrives in a fever and never leaves. As the artist within William emerges, each member of the family is touched and affected. By the time a boat arrives at the end of the play, the family’s sails have been filled. This offbeat evocative comedy has a compelling and lyrical quality. Through unswerving love and compassion, the characters stumble into glimpses of self-discovery and unexpected moments of grace. In the anthology: Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1994 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Off_the_Map/UsrJKp1luMQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Off+the+Map+/+by+Joan+Ackermann&printsec=frontcover

Rhyme Deferred / by Kamilah Forbes and Hip Hop Theatre Junction

With the last show of the season, we take a look at the reason for rhyme with the hip hop influenced, Rhyme Deferred by Kamilah Forbes, who asks the question; Is hip-hop all about high style–fast cars, ready women, flashy clothes? Or is it something deeper, something akin to jazz and spirituals and Shakespeare, a street-savvy, tradition-rich portal to the soul? This performance answers the question with a myth called “Rhyme Deferred,” which naturally argues for hip-hop’s higher purpose. Exaggerating good and evil doesn’t keep they playwright from making her case with flair in this poetic fairy tale, with a title based loosely on Langston Hughes and a storyline that takes riffs from the Cain and Abel story. In the anthology: The First this Time: African American Plays for the 21st Century

A Preface to the Alien Garden / by Robert Alexander

A PREFACE TO THE ALIEN GARDEN takes a hard look at the gangsta lifestyle in present-day Kansas City. In the anthology: The First this Time: African American Plays for the 21st Century

The Dark Kalamazoo / by Oni Faida Lampley

The Dark Kalamazoo is autobiographical and tells of Lampley's first trip overseas at the age of 19—to Africa, no less. Not surprisingly, she doesn't find what she expects to find in "The Motherland." In the anthology: The First this Time: African American Plays for the 21st Century

Civil Sex / by Brian Freeman

Bayard Rustin was born in 1912 and died in 1987. He conceived, and was the prime organizer behind, the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August of 1963, at which Martin Luther King delivered his unforgettable 'I Have a Dream' speech. Just a few weeks prior to the March, Rustin was denounced on the floor of the United States Senate by Strom Thurmond, for the charge of 'sex perversion' stemming from a lewd vagrancy charge ten years earlier. Despite such attacks, Rustin remained extraordinarily open about, and comfortable with, his sexual orientation throughout his adult life. The play examines the complicated life of this important figure through a series of kaleidoscopic scenes that range from 1940 through 1987 and mirror the turbulent changes which America itself endured during those years. The play's complex portrait of Rustin is created through the accumulation of many diverging perspectives on Rustin from people who knew him throughout his life-including lovers, friends and foes In the anthology: The First this Time: African American Plays for the 21st Century

Crooked Parts / by Azure D. Osborne-Lee

"Crooked Parts" is a family dramedy set in yesteryear and yesterday. Freddy, a Black queer trans man, returns to his family home in the South after his fiancé breaks up with him. Once there, Freddy must navigate the tension created by his transition and his brother’s serial incarceration. Meanwhile, in his past, 13 year-old Winifred struggles to balance her relationship with her mother with her desire to better fit in with her peers. Crooked Parts is poignant, queer, funny, and definitely definitely Black. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays

Firebird Tattoo / by Ty Defoe

Sky Red Rope goes on a quest to find her father, ultimately finding out she is queer by getting a tattoo. This play features themes of queer two-spirit identity on the Indigenous reservatoin in Anishinaabe territory. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays

Doctor Voynich and Her Children / by Leanna Keyes

Doctor Rue Voynich and her apprentice Fade travel the American Heartland dispensing herbal medications. Covertly, they perform abortions--long ago made illegal. Fade tries to help local youth Hannah complete her abortion, using knowledge from an ancient manuscript, before her mother and the sheriff can nail them for the “attempted murder of an unborn person.” This post-Roe v. Wade play about mothers and daughters is poetic, sexy, vulgar, queer, and a little too real. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays

The Devils Between Us / by Sharifa Yasmin

In a small town in the boonies of South Carolina, a closeted mechanic named George is trying to figure out how to keep his late father's business running, only to be faced with a ghost from his youth. A Muslim woman, who he knew as his boyhood lover Latif, has returned as Latifa to take care of her estranged fathers funeral. Forced to confront devils both have been avoiding, they find that their only way out of the past, is through each other. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays

She He Me / by Raphael Amahl Khouri

She He Me is the first Arab transgender play. It follows the true stories of three Arab characters who challenge gender norms. Randa is an Algerian transwoman who is expelled under the threat of death from her homeland because of her LGBT activism there. Omar is a Jordanian gay man, who rather than body dysphoria, suffers social dysphoria when it comes to the strict codes of masculinity imposed and expected of him by both the heterosexual and gay community around him. Rok is a Lebanese transman. His main challenge is convincing his very conservative religious mother that her daughter is actually a boy. Through humour and horror, the three characters come up against the state, society, the family, but also themselves. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays

how to clean your room / by j. chavez

Spencer begins to clean their room and reflect on their relationships with the people around them. Who can and can't we control in our lives, does caring mean anything beyond words, and does infatuation go both ways? A play in two cycles with anxiety, depression, and puppets. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays

The Betterment Society / by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen

Three women on a godforsaken mountain wrestle with the elements, with each other, and with a world that does not value their way of life. As their resources dwindle, Gertie, Lynette, and Doreen try to redefine what it means to be civilized--a mission that forces them to confront what they value and what they're willing to sacrifice. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays

Sagittarius Ponderosa / by MJ Kaufman

Archer (still Angela to his family) doesn’t want to move back to his childhood home in eastern Oregon when his father falls ill. But at night under the oldest Ponderosa Pine, he meets a stranger who knows the history of the forests and the sadness of losing endangered things. As Archer accepts big changes in his family he discovers the power of names and the histories they make and mask. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays

Jacobson and the Kiowa Five / by Russ Tall Chief

The Kiowa Five's work marks the genesis of contemporary Native art in Oklahoma as well as Native arts as its own American art form. The art which emerged from this group of determined and passionate Kiowa's was a visual memoir of their own religio-cultural experiences as well as the preservation of the cultural memories of their Kiowa elders, of life before the reservation, government schools, and assimilation. In the anthology: The Native American New Play Festival

Chalk in the Rain / by Bret Jones

The story of a former foster child returning to the home where she grew up. In the anthology: The Native American New Play Festival

Salvage / by Diane Glancy

Eking out a hardscrabble existence operating a salvage yard on the outskirts of the Blackfeet Reservation in northwestern Montana, Wolf depends on his work ethic and devotion to his wife and children for emotional stability. Wolf’s adoring wife Memela is committed to her Christian faith to combat horrific memories of an impoverished childhood. Wolf’s aging father Wolfert, mourning the loss of his wife, is devoted to the ancient ways of the Blackfeet people. When, in a moment of distraction, Wolf is involved in a deadly auto accident that kills and maims members of a neighboring family, Wolf’s family is swept into a downward spiral of doubt, recrimination and vengeance. Glancy is captivatingly economical with scenic structure and dialogue, revealing only the essence of the conflicting interactions that set each protagonist on an individual journey for survival. In the anthology: The Native American New Play Festival

Dirty Laundry / by Ranell Collins

The play explores the emotional and familial complexities of the sandwich generation. The play focuses on 54-year-old Ruth, a divorcee struggling to cope with life as she finds herself having to care for her terminally ill mother, Jenny. Ruth’s 30-something son, a drifter who takes advantage of his mother’s vulnerability, completes the generational sandwich with his own lack of willingness to support or provide assistance to the family. The play chronicles Ruth’s inner turmoil as she strives to carve out some semblance of happiness for herself while dealing with the guilt and resentment she feels towards her situation. In the anthology: The Native American New Play Festival

WET: A DACAmented Journey / by Alex Alpharaoh

WET: A DACAmented Journey, is the story of what it means to be an American in every sense of the word except for one: on paper. It chronicles the story of Anner Cividanis' Journey of living his whole life in the United States as an undocumented American. The play captures the desperation that DREAMers feel when considering the very limited options of adjustment of status, by being forced to navigate through a broken U.S. Immigration System. The play examines the mental, emotional, and psychological hardship one man has to endure in order to secure his livelihood in the only home he has known: Los Angeles. In the anthology: Seeking Common Ground: Latinx and Latin American Theatre and Performance

10 Million / by Carlos Celdrán

“10 Million” is an autobiographical play by Carlos Celdrán, the founder of Argos Teatros. The play started its life as Celdrán’s diary about the relationships he shared with both of his parents. It is almost like a stream of consciousness as the characters alternate between dialogue, narration, and monologue. The writing is poetic and narrative. In the anthology: Seeking Common Ground: Latinx and Latin American Theatre and Performance

Miss Julia / by J.Ed Araiza

Set in Colombia on Midsummer Eve, Miss Julia and her servant Juan have an encounter that will change their lives forever. As Juan tries to rise from the depths of his servile life, Miss Julia wants to escape the bonds that tie her to a meaningless upper-class existence. The result is a power play of love, lust and a battle of the classes that becomes violent and seemingly out of control. A bilingual adaptation by J.Ed Araiza, based on the original play Miss Julie, by August Strindberg. In the anthology: Seeking Common Ground: Latinx and Latin American Theatre and Performance

Dementia / by Evelina Fernandez

Skeletons aren’t the only things that come out of the closet in this award-winning Latino swansong about the glamorous death of Moises (his friends call him Moe.) Mortality never seemed so fabulous as he invites his closest friends over for a “going away for good party.” Demented fantasies abound as his alter ego, a torch singing drag queen, tempts him into his famous final scene. In the anthology: Seeking Common Ground: Latinx and Latin American Theatre and Performance

The Lively Lad / by Quincy Long

Jonathan Van Huffle, a wealthy but weak-willed widower, has promised his immensely spoiled daughter, Little Eva, a eunuch for her birthday. All the other girls have one. It’s an absolute requirement in her society, where the daughters of the wealthy are introduced to the joys and perils of sophistication by their personal eunuchs. The trouble is, Jonathan has also fallen in love with the scrumptious but scrupulous Miss McCracken, a progressive waitress at a tea shop who is adamantly opposed to the castration and sale of human beings. How can Jonathan reconcile the powerful desires of his daughter and his beloved? With the help and hindrance of a pair of nutty household servants, Little Eva goes on to triumph at the ball, though not in the way she or anyone else expects in this faux-Victorian comedy with songs. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2003 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Lively_Lad/Ex3ld3iV66AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Lively+Lad+/+by+Quincy+Long&printsec=frontcover

Fit for Feet / by Jordan Harrison

A groom-to-be develops a sudden passion for dance that leaves his fiancé questioning about how much they actually know one another as their wedding rapidly approaches. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2003

Orange Lemon Egg Canary / by Rinne Groff

A mysterious love story of lies, tricks, and illusions, filled with disappearing coins, floating objects, and seemingly impossible feats. Trilby, a young waitress with a hidden agenda, seduces a skilled magician known as Great, and convinces him to share his magic secrets with her. She is especially insistent on learning his renowned Hypnotic Balance, an illusion he made famous with his previous assistant/girlfriend. But when the trick goes horribly awry, and love is the true illusion, magic becomes a matter of life and death. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2003

Trash Anthem / by Dan Dietz

“Trash Anthem” is about a woman who is talking to a pair of boots after murdering her husband, after he had an affair with the neighbor. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2003

The Second Death of Priscilla / by Russell Davis

The play takes place in Priscilla’s bedroom, in a forest, and in the big blue sky outside. A friend named Peter comes to visit Priscilla. There is a wolf who lives in a fabulous land next door. It is a play about Priscilla who sets out in her mind to slay this beast that lurks outside her window. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2003

Slide Glide the Slippery Slope / by Kia Corthron

Reclusive farmwoman Erm is alarmed when she's unexpectedly reunited with twin sister Elo, whom she has not seen since they were babies. Elo has left her husband and suddenly wants to be a part of her sister's life. Erm just wants to be left alone. However, when a storm strands the two women in Erm's farmhouse, the siblings gradually warm to each other. Elo is still grieving over the loss of her beloved daughter, who was killed in a car accident that she blames herself for. Having suffered through a half-dozen miscarriages, Elo dreams of cloning "another" daughter for herself. And Erm finds herself torn between Elo and her genuinely loving foster sister, who is the person she has been raised with and considers her "real" sister. Erm is made even more uncomfortable when Elo arranges a reconciliation between them and the irresponsible mother who put them up for adoption years earlier. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2003

The Faculty Room / by Bridget Carpenter

In The Faculty Room, Bridget Carpenter explores the darker side of high school life from the inside of that mythic room, the teacher’s lounge. English teacher Adam, Drama teacher Zoe, and Ethics teacher Bill, along with mysterious new World History teacher Carver, are all taunted by the disembodied voice of Principal Dennis on the P.A. system. Dedicated yet desperate, inspired yet burnt out, hateful yet loving – the teachers of Madison Feury High are a bundle of contradictions in Carpenter’s rich portrait. A funny and caustic look at how truly f*cked up the relationships between teachers and students can get, The Faculty Room erupts with gunshots, desperate longing, and a growing wave of spiritual fanaticism. Our education system may never recover. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2003

The Roads that Lead Here / by Lee Blessing

Three brothers reunite annually to share their contributions to "the project," a nationwide road trip to collect pictures, sounds, and objects from a vanishing America -- but this year their sponsor, "the Eminent," has other plans in store... In the anthology: Humana Festival 2003

Trade / by Mark O'Halloran

In a guesthouse in Dublin’s north inner city, a vulnerable and confused young rent-boy sits with a middle-aged client. It’s not the first time they’ve met but today the older man has blood on his shirt. A lot has happened since they last met. Trade is a provocative and moving exploration of desire, morality and duty, and is O’Halloran’s first stage play in ten years.

Conversations After Sex / by Mark O'Halloran

In a series of unexpected and unguarded conversations after anonymous sexual encounters, a woman discovers men with the same deep need to communicate and connect in the lonely, atomised city.

20th Century Blues / by Susan Miller

Four women meet once a year for a ritual photo shoot, chronicling their changing (and aging) selves as they navigate love, careers, children, and the complications of history. But when these private photographs threaten to go public, relationships are tested, forcing the women to confront who they are and how they’ll deal with whatever lies ahead. 20TH CENTURY BLUES is a sharply funny and evocative play by Obie Award and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winner Susan Miller that questions our place in the world and with one another. In the anthology: Plays by Women from the Contemporary American Theater Festival Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/20th_Century_Blues/Y7t9DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=20th+Century+Blues+/+by+Susan+Miller&printsec=frontcover

Memoirs of a Forgotten Man / by D. W. Gregory

A Soviet journalist with the gift of total recall. A psychologist seeking to rehabilitate herself. A government censor with a secret past. Over two decades their fates become entwined as victims and collaborators in Stalin’s campaign to rewrite public memory. Long before ‘fake news’ was an Internet meme, it was called propaganda. And in the Soviet Union, circa 1938, it was the grease that kept Stalin’s machinery of terror in motion. By taking us to this world, where justice is arbitrary and freedom as we think of it does not exist, Memoirs of a Forgotten Man forces the audience to consider the fragility of democracy in an era when facts are fungible and history is whatever Dear Leader says it is. In the anthology: Plays by Women from the Contemporary American Theater Festival

The Niceties / by Eleanor Burgess

Zoe, a Black student at a liberal arts college, is called into her white professor’s office to discuss her paper about slavery’s effect on the American Revolution. What begins as a polite clash in perspectives explodes into an urgent debate about race, history and power. In the anthology: Plays by Women from the Contemporary American Theater Festival Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Niceties/z3oTEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Niceties+/+by+Eleanor+Burgess&printsec=frontcover

Grand Horizons / by Bess Wohl

Fifty years into her marriage to Bill, Nancy wants a divorce. While her husband seems unfazed by the decision, her two adult sons are shaken to the core, forced to reexamine everything they thought they knew about their parents’ outwardly happy lives. As the family grapples with their new reality, each must reckon with their own imperfect past and how their love for each other might express itself in new and unlikely forms. In the anthology: The Height of Summer: New Plays from Williamstown Theatre Festival 2015-2021

Selling Kabul / by Sylvia Khoury

Taroon once served as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Now it is 2013, and the Americans — and their promises of safety — have begun to withdraw. Taroon spends his days in hiding, a target of the increasingly powerful Taliban. On the eve of his son’s birth, he must remain in his sister’s apartment, or risk his life to see his child. With shattering precision, Sylvia Khoury’s tense drama traces the human cost of U.S. immigration policy and the legacy of our longest war. In the anthology: The Height of Summer: New Plays from Williamstown Theatre Festival 2015-2021

Where Storms Are Born / by Harrison David Rivers

Mourning the loss of her elder son Myles, Bethea tries to help her younger son Gideon through his grief. But as revelations surrounding Myles’ incarceration and death emerge, both mother and son must decide whether to fight or let go. With wit and empathy, this play reminds us of the courage and resilience it takes to chart a better way forward for the ones we love. In the anthology: The Height of Summer: New Plays from Williamstown Theatre Festival 2015-2021

Actually / by Anna Ziegler

Amber and Tom, finding their way as freshmen at Princeton, spend a night together that alters the course of their lives. They agree on the drinking, they agree on the attraction, but consent is foggy, and if unspoken, can it be called consent? With lyricism and wit, ACTUALLY investigates gender and race politics, our crippling desire to fit in, and the three sides to every story. In the anthology: The Height of Summer: New Plays from Williamstown Theatre Festival 2015-2021 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Actually/Z_tKDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Actually+/+by+Anna+Ziegler&printsec=frontcover

7/11 / by Kia Corthron

For a year after the World Trade Centre came down an Iraqi man has been in prison and not charged with anything. He was rounded up in a sweep to find aliens In the anthology: American Political Plays in the Age of Terrorism

The Break of Noon / by Neil LaBute

Amidst the chaos and horror of the worst office shooting in American history, John Smith sees the face of God. His modern-day revelation creates a maelstrom of disbelief among everyone he knows. A newcomer to faith, John urgently searches for a modern response to the age-old question: at what cost salvation? In the anthology: American Political Plays in the Age of Terrorism Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Break_of_Noon/AF-hjmDp7OwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Break+of+Noon+/+by+Neil+LaBute&printsec=frontcover

Disgrace / by John O'Keefe

Three women try to escape a mysterious shared trauma. In the anthology: Plays from the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival

The Tight Fit / by Susan Mosakowski

In the anthology: Plays from the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival

The Chemistry of Change / by Marlane Meyer

An idiosyncratic look at the way love can remake our lives in the most surprising ways, THE CHEMISTRY OF CHANGE is the story of a dysfunctional family who must learn to function when the matriarch, Lee, falls unexpectedly and deeply in love with Smokey, the owner of a carnival attraction called the Hell Hole. Curiously, Smokey appears to be somewhat less than human, with horns and claws instead of hands, which Lee can’t help but find charming. After they elope, Lee brings Smokey back to the house and her nonplussed children, setting the stage for a showdown of devilish proportions that, ultimately, reveals love as the element of chemistry that makes change possible. In the anthology: Plays from the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Chemistry_of_Change/Kh1psyhfry0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Chemistry+of+Change+/+by+Marlane+Meyer&printsec=frontcover

Freeze / by Murray Mednick

“Freeze” tells the story of a young unmarried woman from the Christian right and the Jewish couple she cons into paying for the expenses of her pregnancy. Kurt impregnates Tracy, a beautiful, lost soul. Her father, a hypocritical Christian talk-radio host, and mother, kick her out of the house. For appearances’ sake, they continue to play the role of her parents but offer no guidance or support. She turns to her malevolent friend Jamie. Jamie suggests that Tracy find an infertile couple to pay her medical expenses in the expectation they will adopt the baby. “You can always change your mind after the birth,” she assures her friend. Tracy finds the perfect couple, the Goodmans, who enter into a good-faith agreement with her for the baby, and even Jamie manages to weasel a little money out of the Goodmans for herself as well. The only characters who are really vulnerable and human in this brittle, funny, disturbing play are Tracy--who begins to feel a haltering allegiance to the couple--and the Goodmans themselves, who never appear in the play. They are constantly evoked, though, as we learn their story through the other characters. No one seems bothered by the awful shell game played on them, except for Tracy, whose awareness of what she is doing grows as steadily as the being in her body. In the anthology: Plays from the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival

Steak Knife Bacchae / by Joe Goodrich

A contemporary, fever-dream poetic retelling of Euripides's Bacchae. In the anthology: Plays from the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival

Terra Incognita / by Maria Irene Fornes

The musical follows three young American tourists making a cultural exploration of the Americas through space and time. In the anthology: Plays from the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival

Failure to Thrive / by Neena Beber

Failure to Thrive is about a man who may be a killer constantly stifling a woman from self-improvement, as they observe their daughter, who may not be their daughter, act like a bird, which she thinks she is. In the anthology: Plays from the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival

Let the Big Dog Eat / by Elizabeth Wong

When four famous captains of industry meet to play a friendly game of golf, their competitive banter evolves into a debate weighing the pleasure of sheer accumulation against the scramble to spend on the public good. Exploring the game of giving, this bouncy comedy offers a highly imaginative look at the image-driven rivalries of the ultra-rich In the anthology: Humana Festival 1998

The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek / by Naomi Wallace

High atop a railroad trestle that spans a bone dry creek, two teenagers plan to race across the bridge against an oncoming locomotive. At first their scheme adds excitement to life in a small factory town during the Great Depression, then sensual experience awakens dangerous passions in an era of stifled ambitions. With theatrical flourish and lyrical finesse, Naomi Wallace delves into a world where people struggle to change lives that bear down upon them. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1998

Resident Alien / by Stuart Spencer

A comedy about Michael, a Kierkegaard-quoting intellectual in small town Wisconsin, who doesn't know what to do about the “AWOL alien busboy” who has decided to spend his shoreleave in Michael's living room watching reality TV and eating Cheese Doodles. Will the real alien please stand up? In the anthology: Humana Festival 1998

Meow / by Val Smith

It's happy hour and, for two professional women, it's time to dish a little after work. Amidst friendly wisecracks, fried wontons, and foibles of a scatterbrained waitress, these long-time friends discover some disquieting truth in cattiness--and the cattiness of truth. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1998

Like Totally Weird / by William Mastrosimone

Like Totally Weird is William Mastrosimone's suspenseful, darkly comical drama about two teen-age boys who kidnap a famous Hollywood producer and his girlfriend while acting out violent scenes from movies that he produced. Like Totally Weird examines the effect of gratuitous cinema violence on young people. It uses humour to expose taboos and allows people to laugh at uncomfortable or awkward situations that they normally shy away from. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1998

Mr. Bundy / by Jane Martin

This powerful drama examines the fears of parents driven to do "the right thing" when the safety of their daughter is in doubt. A mother and father who learn that the next door neighbor is a convicted child molester consider both vigilance and vigilantism before being forced into action by a pair of child advocacy crusaders. The shocking climax hits a raw nerve, leaving the audience to consider where the line between right and wrong lies. Mr. Bundy was a hit at the 1998 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1998 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mr_Bundy/xeYAH2bJrnsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mr.+Bundy+/+by+Jane+Martin&printsec=frontcover

Acorn / by David Graziano

Acorn is a Brooklyn romance about a 26 year-old, unemployed union carpenter who puts his heart on a clothesline and the 18 year-old girl who folds it in half. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1998

TI Jean Blues / by JoAnne Akalaitis, adapted from the works of Jack Keroauc

In his writing, Jack Kerouac poured forth memory, passion, the wonder of turbulent cities, a restless search for spirituality and the wild freedom of travel, drugs and sex. adapter/director Joanne Akalaitis weaves the life and writing of Kerouac into an exuberantly brilliant dramatic fabric. Using stylised movement and both individual and choral expressions of Kerouac's dynamic language, TI Jean Blues captures the sizzle of the Beat Poet's life journey. This avant-garde work also features a score sampled from jazz greats Young, Mingus and Parker with original music by Philip Glass In the anthology: Humana Festival 1998

The Hard Weather Boating Party / by Naomi Wallace

As a poisoned city disintegrates around them, three men, almost strangers, meet in a Louisville hotel room to plan an ugly crime against Rubbertown’s most powerful industry. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2009

3:59am: a drag race for two actors / by Marco Ramirez

Two men on the edge find salvation behind a driving wheel. It's summer in the city, and Laz and Hector are both on the run from something they can't quite name. Maybe the sudden need for speed has something to do with Laz's sister, who took off two weeks ago, or with Hector's wife, who just called from the hospital. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2009

Under Construction / by Charles L. Mee

The play examines two very different artists: Norman Rockwell, with his indelible Saturday Evening Post images of small-town America; and Jason Rhodes, whose controversial, three-dimensional, sex-drenched installations have been characterized as orgies of narrative art that ran amok. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2009

Wild Blessings: A Celebration of Wendell Berry / adapted by Marc Masterson and Adrien-Alice Hansel

Masterson and Hansel pulled together thirty-six poems from Berry’s fifty years of poetry. Four unnamed characters — an older and a younger couple — made up the cast, along with a musician who provided a kind of one-man Greek chorus. There is no “plot” to Wild Blessings, except for the anecdotal nature of some of the poems. The actors recite them as monologues or dialogues, and in many places, the effect is quite dramatic and moving. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2009

Roanoke / by Michael Lew, music/lyrics by Matt Schatz

Butter churns, hardtack and...musical numbers? This hilarious inside look at the high-stakes, hardcore world of historical re-enactors pits accuracy against exuberance against inter-office politics in the Lost Colony of Roanoke. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2009

On the Porch One Crisp Spring Morning / by Alex Dremann

Mother and daughter sip coffee on the porch one gloriously crisp spring morning. And then try to kill each other. The end. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2009

The Unseen / by Craig Wright

Imprisoned by a totalitarian regime and mercilessly tortured for unknown crimes, Wallace and Valdez live without hope of escape or release. When an enigmatic new prisoner arrives and begins communicating in code, both men develop new relationships to each other, their captors, and themselves. A darkly humorous examination of faith in an uncertain world. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2007

The As If Body Loop / by Ken Weitzman

Hebrew legend has it there are thirty-six people who must carry all the pain of the world. When Aaron discovers that his sister, who has suddenly fallen ill, might be one of them, he sets off on a comic misadventure to help heal her. A misadventure that includes everything from quantum physics to professional football as he wrestles with the question: is it ever possible to really heal another person? In the anthology: Humana Festival 2007

I am not Batman / by Marco Ramirez

A street kid with a stomach full of grocery store brand macaroni and cheese fulfills the ultimate Batman fantasy. It’s the story of a young poor hispanic boy, 8 to 12 years old, that dreams of being Batman because he wants to live a similar life. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2007

Mr. and Mrs. / by Julie Marie Myatt

During their first dance as husband and wife, the bride reveals that she married the groom for his money and the groom admits that he married the bride for her looks. It's all downhill from there. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2007

Batch: An American Bachelor/ette Party Spectacle in six sexes / by Alice Tuan; conceived by Whit McLaughlin and Alice Tuan

Batch takes on the pre-marriage rituals of bachelor and bachelorette parties, exposing the homosocial bonding that leaves actual marriage secondary to this “last chance” to play with same-sex friends. Batch revels in Dionysian rituals of abandon and celebration, in final flings of freedom. These parties, the play suggests, release something primal that (if we let it) would upend the socially sanctioned marriage pact. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2007

Clarisse and Larmon / by Deb Margolin

Clarisse and Larmon is about a husband and wife who are left with only a picture of their son's foot after he is killed at war. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2007

When Something Wonderful Ends / by Sherry Kramer

WHEN SOMETHING WONDERFUL ENDS explores the loss of one's mother, America's dependence on foreign oil, and Barbie dolls in an ingenious, whimsical, touching, funny, infuriating manner that only playwright Sherry Kramer could achieve. While packing up her parents' home following the death of her mother, Sherry uncovers the treasure trove of Barbies from her baby-boom childhood while embarking on the homework of a lifetime: discovering the roots of Islamic hatred of America and our dependence on the oil in the Middle East. As a Jewish girl growing up in the epicenter of the Bible belt, Sherry knows a thing or two about religious fervor and the passions it engenders. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2007

Strike-Slip / by Naomi Iizuka

The stories of diverse Angeleno families intertwine, though the characters generally remain unaware of their connections; they believe they’re at the mercy of random events rather than one another’s choices. Dreams are dashed at every turn in this densely plotted script: Young lovers ache to see the world together, but before long they’re exchanging well-worn reproaches. A single mom fights to prevent her son from following in his dad’s footsteps. A yuppie couple’s attempts to create a home and family are ruined by secrets. An immigrant father can’t relate to his kids, let alone protect them. The characters cross paths repeatedly as they’re blindsided by teen pregnancy, drug deals, infidelity, closeted homosexuality, a car accident, a cancer scare—and an irreparable crime. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2007

The Scene / by Theresa Rebeck

A young social climber leads an actor into an extra-marital affair, from which he then creates a full-on downward spiral into alcoholism and bummery. His wife runs off with his best friend, his girlfriend leaves, and he's left with ... nothing. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2006 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Scene/qhnJnBM0PHEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Scene+/+by+Theresa+Rebeck&printsec=frontcover

Hotel Cassiopeia / by Charles L. Mee

Hotel Cassiopeia is a work of rigorous and unexpected juxtapositions and the search for the perfect articulation of the moments that make a life worth living. The American collage artist Joseph Cornell made wooden boxes filled with pocket watches, coiled springs, maps of the stars, a forest of thimbles, parrots, seashells, broken glass, children’s alphabet blocks, brightly colored balls, soap bubbles, whale teeth, a colored lithograph of the moon in the night sky and star fish. Like one of Cornell’s boxes, the play follows Cornell as he observes the city he so loved, overhears—and fabricates—parts of conversations, is inspired by movies and overwhelmed by the glorious bustle of Manhattan’s streets. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2006

Listeners / by Jane Martin

Eleanor Leftwich is a law-abiding citizen, but technology has identified her to the government as someone who might be holding a few grudges. When her assigned listeners descend to offer her the chance to speak directly to the big guy, she speaks freely -- but for the last time. A darkly comic look at American citizens' freedoms in these days of domestic wiretapping. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2006

Sovereignty / by Rolin Jones

The neighbors are acting strange and the mail is piling up, but Mrs. Elsbeth is determined to turn a blind eye. A scathing and satiric play about the people right next door. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2006

Act a Lady / by Jordan Harrison

When the men of a small Prohibition-era town decide to put on a play dressed in "fancy-type, women-type clothes," the whole community is affected: gender lines blur, eyebrows raise, identities explode, and life and art are forever entangled. A thoughtful and exuberant Midwestern fable about the woman in every man, the man in every woman and the power of theatre to uncover both. Accompanied by accordion. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2006

Low / by Rha Goddess

LOW poses the question: What is insanity? This one-woman multi-media work explores the stigma and isolation surrounding mental illness and asserts that reaching a real state of “well being” is a revolutionary act. The text for LOW is a series of poems and monologues that reveal the multi-layered personality of Lowquesha through a mixture of reality, fantasy, insanity and truth. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2006

Natural Selection / by Eric Coble

We're in the very near future, where technology rules supreme and the Culture Fiesta Theme Park needs to restock the natives of the Native American Pavilion. So curator Henry Carson must venture into the wastes of North America to find a genuine Indian. Between his wife's blogging, his son's packed schedule at virtual school, the unearthly rain, and his Indian turning out to be very different than he expected, will Henry have time to notice the world's sliding towards apocalypse? In the anthology: Humana Festival 2006

Three Guys and a Brenda / by Adam Bock

Three guys sit around while one tries to screw up the courage to talk to a female co-worker. He does, and more. It may be hard being a guy, but these three manage to find a bit of bliss. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2006

One Short Sleepe / by Naomi Wallace

In the anthology: Humana Festival 2008

In Paris You Will Find Many Baguettes but Only One True Love / by Michael Lew

Liz is looking for true love and Lindy is looking to fix her broken heart, so they head, of course, to Paris. When Liz finds the man of her dreams, Lindy faces a dilemma: can she just let her friend be happy? In the anthology: Humana Festival 2008

the break/s / by Marc Bamuthi Joseph

Poet and performer Marc Bamuthi Joseph conveys the history of the hip-hop generation through his own personal coming-of-age story using verse, dance, and film in this dramatic multimedia performance, a "mixtape for the stage." Joseph collaborates with award-winning author Jeff Chang, whose book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop captures the creation of the hip-hop culture as a local, political, and artistic movement. To embrace the power of improvisation, the sound score and visual projections are mixed in the moment by a DJ and a beatboxer. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2008

Dead Right / by Elaine Jarvik

A friend's tedious, grammatically incorrect obituary plunges Penny and Bill into a prickly discussion at the breakfast table. How could Bill read the paper when they have their own obituaries to plan? A touching comedy about how we hope to be remembered. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2008

Tongue, Tied / by M. Thomas Cooper

A man and a woman fall in love through their hand puppets. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2008 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tongue_Tied_and_Other_Short_Plays/muwxbGrjgsQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tongue,+Tied+/+by+M.+Thomas+Cooper&printsec=frontcover

Helen at Risk / by Dana Yeaton

Helen takes her ideals to prison along with her workshop in creative mask-making. When a wise-guy inmate starts acting up, however, self-expression takes a nasty turn, and art provides the imprimatur for deadly craft. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1995

Between the Lines / by Regina Taylor

After graduating from college, Becca and Nina set off on an unpredictable journey. While Nina stays home to pursue a career, Becca empties her trust fund to travel the globe. Soon Becca's adventures fuel Nina's discomfort with a life devoid of real passion, intimacy and romance. So when Becca returns, Nina's already primed to make a few radical--and violent--changes. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1995

Middle-Aged White Guys / by Jane Martin

This wild comedy is set at a toxic waste dump in the Midwest. Three brothers are there to toast the memory of R.V., wife to one and lover to the others, who committed suicide. Roy, the honorary mayor who is dressed as Lincoln to deliver the Gettysburg Address at Fourth of July celebrations, is worried because the town newspaper has revealed that the barrels he imports aren't "food additives" and because his wife now knows about his girlfriend. After brother Moon, a soldier of fortune who has been away killing third world people, talks Roy's wife out of shooting him, R.V. appears looking unchanged by twenty years of being dead. She says the men must march 600 miles to the Washington Monument, naked with a sign that reads "We're Sorry." When their recently deceased mother also appears to chastise them for their sins and for dispersing her ashes at Wendy's instead of Hardee's, the men know what they must do. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1995 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Middle_aged_White_Guys/3AKIWue-_fkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Middle-Aged+White+Guys+/+by+Jane+Martin&printsec=frontcover

Beast on the Moon / by Richard Kalinoski

Inspired by harrowing true events, Beast on the Moon follows the lives of an immigrant refugee and his teenage, mail-order bride. Seta and Aram are two polar opposites who have one tragic experience in common. The play, set in early 1920s Milwaukee, unfolds around the effort of the couple to have a child. Infertility threatens not only their dreams, but also their relationship, until the presence of an orphaned boy forces them to reckon with each other and the past. Peppered with humor, irony, and bittersweet surprise, theirs is a universal story of hope, healing, redemption, and finally, love. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1995

Below the Belt / by Richard Dresser

Dobbitt has been posted to a dismal, distant place, a grim industrial compound that uncomfortably resembles a prison where his quarters have bunks (one freezing cold and the other boiling hot), a table, and an ancient typewriter. He is a checker; he checks though he has no idea what is being made with an irascible coworker who has been in this place for years. Their inept boss possesses a singular talent for fomenting dissent. The comic interplay among these men, one bullying and truculent, one ambitious and evasive, and the third a trembling mass of insecurity and arrogance, is irresistibly funny. As they comically maneuver in their pointless quest for status, sinister little animals encroach on the compound. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1995 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Below_the_Belt/2e1v4YmJFc8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Below+the+Belt+/+by+Richard+Dresser&printsec=frontcover

Head On / by Elizabeth Dewberry

Only minutes before an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, a therapist specialising in multi-orgasmic sex must find a common ground with a woman who's witnessed a head-on collision. In this age of sensational media disclosures, it's surprising to watch what can happen off-camera when real intimacy is given a chance In the anthology: Humana Festival 1995

Your Obituary is a Dance / by Benard Cummings

Returning to his Texas hometown, a young man dying of AIDS attempts to say goodbye. Unable to overcome his own and his family's prejudices, his pain goes unresolved until he's reunited with another outsider who was his childhood friend In the anthology: Humana Festival 1995

Tough Choices for the New Century / by Jane Anderson

This satirical entry in the 19th Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays is fashioned as a seminar in which a lecturer offers preparedness advice on a spectrum of catastrophes. Meanwhile his wife/assistant slowly and hilariously disintegrates in fear. A second lecturer, the charismatic Arden Shingles, deftly makes her argument for why everyone in the audience should be packing a gun. Written in 1995, it's even more relevant today as gun advocates and "preppers" play on our fears to make their case for self-defense. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1995 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tough_Choices_for_the_New_Century/UUfXzh7ANkUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tough+Choices+for+the+New+Century+/+by+Jane+Anderson&printsec=frontcover

No One as Nasty / by Susan Nussbaum

Janet is a drily witty, erudite woman in a wheelchair, but the Janet of her memories is a belligerent woman who curses fluidly and abuses the aides who bathe and dress her. Hence the play’s title. Through these two personalities Nussbaum offers her audience an honest, entertaining look at the life of “a crip,” as Janet terms herself. In the anthology: Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Disabled Playwrights

A Summer Evening in Des Moines / by Charles L. Mee

Summer Evening in Des Moines is peopled with characters searching for happiness and fulfillment–a tourist, a dysfunctional family, a man in a mouse suit, a ventriloquist, and a cross-dresser. Trapped in Mee’s absurd amusement park, they avoid the hopelessness and despair of their daily lives to find meaning in their existence. In the anthology: Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Disabled Playwrights

Gretty Good Time / by John Belluso

Though she suffers from post-polio paralysis, Gretty's feisty and warm nature makes her a popular patient in her nursing home. But without family or money, Gretty faces the threat of being sent away to a state institution. Soon she will be unable to function on her own, and she begins to contemplate assisted suicide to maintain her dignity. Perhaps the support of a new young doctor, an eccentric fellow patient, and an imagined guest on her favorite TV show, can show Gretty the possibilities of leading a life of joy and hope in the face of disability. In the anthology: Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Disabled Playwrights

The History of Bowling / by Mike Ervin

The History of Bowling punctures both the lowly and the mighty as two mismatched lovers take on an alternative PE assignment in order to finally graduate. The History of Bowling is a sly campus comedy with equal parts irony and romance. Along the way this quick-paced drama challenges the dehumanization of people with disabilities and argues for social and personal acceptance. In the anthology: Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Disabled Playwrights

Shoot! / by Lynn Manning

The play is based on the true story of the playwright's blind friend who navigated L.A.’s mean streets with a 9-mm handgun for protection In the anthology: Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Disabled Playwrights

Creeps / by David Freeman

The play explores the plight of cerebral palsy victims trapped in a Zolaesque sweatshop that masquerades as a rehabilitation center. The entire play takes place in the men's toilet, one room the CP patients can be themselves in. The playwright, himself a victim of cerebral palsy, shows us that even CP victims get bored with rug weaving and block making and folding boxes. In the anthology: Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Disabled Playwrights Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Creeps/lZlsifR3pPcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Creeps+/+by+David+Freeman&printsec=frontcover

Trip's Cinch / by Phyllis Nagy

Trip's Cinch is an engaging and thought provoking piece that tackles the issues of class, entitlement and justice. The Accused: Benjamin Trip. Handsome, charming and well-groomed. The Victim: Lucy Parks. Good-looking, witty and self-assured. The Academic researcher: Val Greco. Opinionated, formidable and charismatic she interviews Benjamin Trip, a high-profile business executive who has been acquitted of rape. He wipes his hands whenever he touches her. Val then attempts to interview Lucy Parks, the school crossing guard Trip was accused of raping. But Parks refuses to cooperate, hiding behind a series of entrenched defences and the $500,000 Trip gave her after she lost her job to the publicity the case generated. Finally, we flash back to the beach where the alleged rape took place and watch as Trip plies Parks, dressed in her Little orange crossing-guard raincoat, with gin. In this caustic and wry play, Phyllis Nagy gives us both the truth and the lie about this random meeting of two people and the politics of sexual pursuit. Her taut, precise dialogue cunningly treads a fine line between what we see and what we hear and brings into sharp focus a world where pinning down words leads not to clarity and truth but to lies and obfuscation. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994

My Left Breast / by Susan Miller

"I am a one-breasted, menopausal, Jewish, bisexual lesbian Mom, and I'm coming soon to a theatre near you!" A woman's humorous and moving encounters with relationships, parenthood, cancer, and her ever-changing self are charted in this searingly honest solo piece. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994

Stones and Bones / by Marion McClinton

A poetically resonant 10-minute play about male-female relationships between two black couples, with sharp contrasts in verbal and body language. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994

The Survivor: A Cambodian Odyssey / by Jon Lipsky

The biography of Dr. Haing Ngor, who narrowly escaped the horrors perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge army forces in his native Cambodia and went on to relive the struggle in the film, The Killing Fields, which won him an Oscar. A story of unspeakable struggle and unwavering hope, The Survivor reveals the spirit of a man tempered by hate and sustained by love. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994

Shotgun / by Romulus Linney

Whose tongue was peace, while his heart was colored with blood? A passage from the Last of the Mohicans begins one man's retreat to the wilderness of his lost boyhood. In a lakeside cottage, this habitually compliant son and husband brings together his long divorced parents, his wife and his best friend to face the disintegration of his marriage. Civility and enlightenment inevitably fall prey to the ferocity of his unexamined resentment. In the hands of Romulus Linney, a simple story of betrayal becomes a masterly parable of spiritual damage In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994

1969 / by Tina Landau

1969 captures the horror of high school and the chaos of the late 1960s. In a swirl of images, events and music of that year, a lonely high school senior takes a psychedelic journey towards sexual and political identity. Unable to conform and needing to escape, he travels along a Yellow Brick Road of the mind, encountering such personalities as Dr. Timothy Leary, Janis Joplin and Neil Armstrong--he is propelled headlong into the terrifying, hot center of the counterculture. Here, in the collective hallucination of the revolution, he embraces the possibility of reinventing himself and discovers the quirky spirit which will lead him into the gay Greenwich Village of the early 1970s. 1969 captures a generation's yearning to expand outward--into psychedelia, over the rainbow, to the moon. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994

Slavs! Thinking about the Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness / by Tony Kushner

The play explores the collapse of the Soviet Union and its rebirth as independent states. The play is a tragicomedy that takes place between 1985 and 1992 and is made up of a series of linked sketches. It includes scenes set in a secret chamber in Moscow that houses Lenin's brain and a Siberian hospital for children mutated by nuclear experiments. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Thinking_About_the_Longstanding_Problems/wkz6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Slavs!+Thinking+about+the+Longstanding+Problems+of+Virtue+and+Happiness+/+by+Tony+Kushner&printsec=frontcover

Betty the Yeti / by Jon Klein

Deep in the forests of northern Oregon, environmentalists clash with loggers in a furious battle to determine the future of the land. Which is more important: the preservation of the natural landscape or the lives of the men and women who depend on the harvesting of lumber? Russ T. Sawyer is one logger who thought he knew where he stood. Having recently lost his wife to the zealous leader of an environmentalist group, he’s been sitting in the treetops, mourning both his state of unemployment and his new-found bachelorhood. Suddenly, a female sasquatch emerges from the forest. Russ is torn: should he go against his politics and protect the trusting animal, whom he has named Betty, or cash in on a deal that will destroy the poor creature’s habitat? Then when he and Betty become, well…involved… In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Betty_the_Yeti/97FVmhXBszUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Betty+the+Yeti+/+by+Jon+Klein&printsec=frontcover

Julie Johnson / by Wendy Hammond

Julie seems to be having a breakdown. Her two teenage children can’t get her to stop crying so they send for her best friend, Claire, to help. Julie has, over time, become completely disillusioned with her life as a New Jersey housewife and mother: Although she dearly loves her children, she is in a loveless marriage, with an abusive policeman husband; she’s a high school dropout and feels her life is one big nothing. After Claire and her children get her through this bad period, Julie picks herself up and decides to start her life over. She kicks her husband out and for the first time, she and the kids are on their own. After a few very rocky days, Claire shows up and asks to move in with them because she, too, has left her husband. The two women begin an odyssey of odd jobs, education and self improvement. The mutual support and life-long love soon turns into an affair between the two. Julie eventually falls deeply in love with Claire, but Claire cannot readily accept the relationship. She’s afraid of what people will think, including Julie’s children. The road to bettering themselves splits and Julie soars. With the encouragement of a school professor, she becomes proficient with computers, eventually winning a scholarship. With Julie’s rise, Claire is left behind, and as close as the women are, Claire decides she must return to her husband. Julie, on the other hand, is now what she’s always wanted to be: a full woman, loving mother, and whole human being. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Julie_Johnson/W60nyRssCmkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Julie+Johnson+/+by+Wendy+Hammond&printsec=frontcover

The Last Time We Saw Her / by Jane Anderson

A productive, female employee comes to her boss’s office to divulge that she has been married to a woman for the past eight years. While he states that he does not care, he prevents her from sharing this information with the rest of their coworkers. She must try to make him see the necessity behind honesty and openness in the office. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1994

Description Beggared; or the Allegory of Whiteness / by Mac Wellman, music by Michael Roth

Whiteness chronicles the saga of the Outermost Ring family living in a mythical "Rhode Island" that seems to encompass all of North America. Los Angeles-based composer Michael Roth wrote the music. Whiteness includes a White Dwarf, a White Zebra, blizzards, an errant Uncle Fraser and references to, among many other things, mechanical flea circuses. It is a poetic, metaphorical play whose subject includes -- but is not limited to -- an investigation of white identity. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2001

Bobrauschenbergamerica / by Charles L. Mee

Crafted as a “fantastical road trip through the American landscape”, bobrauschenbergamerica is the result of the collision between the irreverent freeform of Robert Rauschenberg’s art and the wildly experimental style of Charles Mee. Robert “Bob” Rauschenberg took everyday objects like light bulbs, tires, mirrors, and scarves and combined them into collages that often seemed to defy logic. Charles Mee took the same concept and used found text to create bobrauschenbergamerica. The play is as much an homage to Rauschenberg’s style as it is to the man himself. Though he never appears in the play, the audience is taken on a tour of America as seen through Rauschenberg’s eyes. We meet a series of eccentric characters and get glimpses into their lives: people like Phil, a folksy trucker, Becker the derelict, and Susan the hapless lover. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2001

Quake / by Melanie Marnich

Lucy is on a cross-country mission, looking for the love of her life. Her journey takes her across the American landscape, through hilarious and eccentric relationships in which time and emotion pass in a warped instant. When her quest becomes intertwined with that of a quirky female serial killer (an astrophysicist gone bad), the landscape changes once again, as they cross state lines and faultlines, exploring the geography of the human heart. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2001

When the Sea Drowns in Sand / by Eduardo Machado

Exiled from his homeland for forty years, a Cuban-American returns home to mend his broken heart. With the help of a devoted friend and an entrepreneurial cab driver, FedErico discovers that there's no embargo on feelings in this era of family reconciliation. Funny, angry, and deeply passionate, this post-cold-war comedy points to the personal hardships caused by political stand-offs. As Cuban activists cry out for the return of a young boy named Elian, a grown-up Lost Boy ponders how one powerful nation could steal another's children, and what happens four decades later if it does. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2001

Chad Curtiss, Lost Again / by Arthur Kopit

A charming spoof on old movie serials in a serial format of three separate short plays. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2001

Wonderful World / by Richard Dresser

A close-knit New England family is shaken to its core when a minor misunderstanding spirals out of control. Max and Barry, brothers, find themselves at odds when Barry's wife, Patty, misinterprets a dinner invitation, feels she was deliberately excluded and embarks on a full-scale scorched-earth policy of truthtelling. Max's girlfriend, Jennifer, and mother, Lydia, are drawn into the fray as loyalties shift and relationships are ruthlessly examined. Patty's campaign to cut through accepted family truths forces them all to confront awkward sexual attraction, long-ago affairs, debilitating illness and, finally, a reconfigured family. Wonderful World probes the subterranean truths of an American family and ultimately affirms the mysterious powerful bonds that hold a family together. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2001 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wonderful_World/Hbg6TzHSvSMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wonderful+World+/+by+Richard+Dresser&pg=PA4&printsec=frontcover

Bake Off / by Sheri Wilner

Last year, the largest cash prize in Bake Off history was awarded to a man; this year, one female contestant will make sure that the male entrants get their just desserts... In the anthology: Humana Festival 2002

Finer Noble Gases / by Adam Rapp

In this freakishly funny and vividly imagined absurdist nightmare for our time, the inert occupants of an East Village apartment ⁠—⁠ members of a band once called “Lester’s Surprise,” now remembered simply as “Less” ⁠—⁠ are going numb. Pill-popping Chase and Staples, who look like they’ve been living on their sofa since the previous spring, sit mesmerized in front of the television until its untimely demise. Desperately in need of technological stimulus, they decide to call up their weird neighbor, luring him upstairs and under Chase’s narrative spell so that Staples can steal his Magnavox via the fire escape. The strange arrivals and events that follow move from the hilarious to the disturbingly existential, as Rapp’s electronic-age creatures long to feel something, to be part of something, or to be of use. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2002

The Mystery of Attraction / by Marlane Meyer

The Mystery of Attraction is about two brothers who struggle to free themselves from the attractions of gambling, drugs, violence, and each other's wives. How far can a man sink and still clutch at the moral high ground? Ray is a down-on-his-luck Los Angeles-area attorney with a problem: a $20,000 gambling debt, and the collector is getting restless. Warren, his younger brother, has some problems of his own – demotion from detective to working the evidence room, a drug habit so bad he stole Ray's car for drug money, and an admiration for Ray so deep that Warren even stole Ray's wife. Ray just met a potential client that could make all his problems go away, if he could just get this guy's stepdaughter cleared of a murder charge. Only problem is, Ray knows damn well that she did it – and up to now, he's always believed there were some depths to which he would not sink. Tough choices are all that Warren and Ray have, and lately they've both been making all the wrong decisions. The Mystery of Attraction is a darkly comic exploration of that primordial force that makes us slow down at the scene of an accident or eavesdrop on a fight in an adjacent motel room. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2002 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Mystery_of_Attraction/zVBOs8W1zBoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Mystery+of+Attraction+/+by+Marlane+Meyer&printsec=frontcover

Limonade Tous Les Jours / by Charles L. Mee

Here, late-middle-age American tourist Andrew has a fling with Ya Ya, a Parisienne half his age. Love is often irrational, and so are lovers. Discussing their complicated attraction to each other from the moment they meet at a Paris sidewalk cafe, Ya Ya and Andrew continue battling over the bottomless topic like two dogs over a bone. Whether they’re in bed together or visiting a couturier’s salon or other establishments around town, they parse in often laugh-worthy phrases what it is about themselves and each other that draws them together and repels them and how unlikely it is that they will extend their infatuation beyond the limits of an average fling. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2002

Nightswim / by Julia Jordan

Black water, black sky, midnight-it's a beautiful night for a swim, but for two young girls, the lake holds the promise of both velvety warmth and danger. Will Rosie convince Christina to come out and play? In the anthology: Humana Festival 2002

Classyass / by Caleen Sinnette Jennings

A naive college DJ gets more than he bargains for when Big B arrives from the downtown women's shelter to discuss the complexities of classical music and social responsibility. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2002 Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exClassyassCC7.pdf

Rembrandt's Gift / by Tina Howe

Rembrandt's Gift is a romantic and whimsical journey of discovery. Written by Tina Howe, multiple Tony and Pulitzer-nominated author of Painting Churches and Pride's Crossing, Rembrandt's Gift takes us deep into the world of Walter and Polly, two present-day, aging and self-obsessed artists who get a surprise visit from Rembrandt Van Rijn. The humorous clash of contemporary and classic worlds prompts a self-awakening that will leave audiences refreshed and renewed. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2002

a.m. Sunday / by Jerome Hairston

a.m. Sunday is a play about the tensions of interracial marriage and the world that is understood the children of such marriages. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2002

Icarus / by Edwin Sanchez

An empty beachhouse settled between dunes and the roar of the sea … a perfect spot for swimming — though it’s the middle of March! A woman, her brother, and an eccentric dream catcher set up camp, but a masked stranger’s arrival complicates their fantastic plan to swim out to touch the sun. This poignant comedy of loneliness and escape reevaluates notions of beauty as five outcasts discover just how much they’ll give — and give up — for love. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1997

In Her Sight / by Carol Mack

A play about the tragic relationship of the charismatic Dr. Franz Mesmer and his famous patient, the blind pianist, Maria Theresa Paradies (for whom Mozart wrote the 'Paradies Concerto'). The scandal that drove Mesmer out of Vienna and then Paris and drove Maria back to blindness is the hub of a battle between the forces of mechanistic science and the insightful vision of the artist. The play begins at the “Concert of the Blind Pianist”, April, 1784 in the Tuileries, Paris, where Mesmer's trial is conducted by Benjamin Franklin and moves into the memory of its star witness: MARIA Paradies and her experiences in the cruel world of Vienna where she briefly regained her sight. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1997

Stars / by Romulus Linney

At a soiree in Manhattan, on a beautiful penthouse terrace, two strangers strike up a conversation. Inspired by the summer stars, they confide shocking truths--or delectable lies, take your pick. Either way, their road to love is paved with strange intentions... In the anthology: Humana Festival 1997

Waterbabies / by Adam LeFevre

LeFevre's Waterbabies pits a young mother against a swim instructor with a knack for teaching infants to swim. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1997

Polaroid Stories / by Naomi Iizuka

A visceral blend of classical mythology and real life stories told by street kids, Naomi lizuka's Polaroid Stories journeys into a dangerous world where myth-making fulfills a fierce need for transcendence, where storytelling has the power to transform a reality in which characters' lives are continually threatened, devalued and effaced. Not all the stories these characters tell are true; some are lies, wild yams, clever deceits, baroque fabrications. But whether or not a homeless kid invents an incredible history for himself isn't the point. Inspired in part by Ovid's Metamorphoses, Iizuka's Polaroid Stories takes place on an abandoned pier on the outermost edge of a city, a way stop for dreamers, dealers and desperadoes, a no-man's land where runaways seek camaraderie, refuge and escape. Serpentine routes from the street to the heart characterize the interactions in this spellbinding tale of young people pushed to society's fringe. Informed, as well, by interviews with young prostitutes and street kids, Polaroid Stories conveys a whirlwind of psychic disturbance, confusion and longing. Like their mythic counterparts, these modem-day mortals are engulfed by needs that burn and consume. Their language mixes poetry and profanity, imbuing the play with lyricism and great theatrical force. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1997 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Polaroid_Stories/wsJ9mrhmvE8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Polaroid+Stories+/+by+Naomi+Iizuka&printsec=frontcover

Gun-Shy / by Richard Dresser

Remember your first marriage? It's back. Gun-Shy is a no-holds-barred comedy about marriage, divorce, infidelity, infertility, incompatibility, eternal love, household accidents, and diets no one should try. Evie and Duncan have divorced after 15 years. Evie is having a wild, tumultuous affair with an aggressively insecure coffee salesman named Carter. Duncan finds himself with Caitlin, a young, extremely, weight-conscious gun-control lobbyist. When the dust clears, Evie and Duncan's divorce is in shambles and true love endures. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1997 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gun_shy/q1XzDqNc-YoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gun-Shy+/+by+Richard+Dresser&pg=PA6&printsec=frontcover

Private Eyes / by Steven Dietz

PRIVATE EYES is a comedy of suspicion in which nothing is ever quite what it seems. Matthew’s wife, Lisa, is having an affair with Adrian, a British theatre director. Or perhaps the affair is part of the play being rehearsed. Or perhaps Matthew has imagined all of it simply to have something to report to Frank, his therapist. And, finally, there is Cory—the mysterious woman who seems to shadow the others—who brings the story to its surprising conclusion. Or does she? The audience itself plays the role of detective in this hilarious “relationship thriller” about love, lust and the power of deception. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1997 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Private_Eyes/Fty9IdK0Hi4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Private+Eyes+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

Misreadings / by Neena Beber

Personalities collide as Ruth—a professor of nineteenth century literature—attempts to guide Simone—one of her failing students. While Ruth is stuck living in century-old literature, Simone tries to argue that living in the present is the only way to live. Perhaps in this case, the student is teaching the professor. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1997

Lighting Up the Two-Year Old / by Benjie Aerenson

Take three men who each have a lot to lose if a horse farm goes under, and a thoroughbred with a lot of insurance on him, and you have the ingredients of LIGHTING UP THE TWO-YEAR OLD, a terse comic drama that easily maneuvers in the world of North Florida stables as well as the one of South Florida yachts. In the shadow of a once-powerful stable owner, a trainer conspires with a groom who gambles, and an owner’s son with a money problem, to save the farm…in the process betraying the horses, each other and themselves. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1997 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lighting_Up_the_Two_year_Old/I1S-BZ3HG5YC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lighting+Up+the+Two-Year+Old+/+by+Benjie+Aerenson&printsec=frontcover

Standard Time / by Naomi Wallace

Frustrated by elusive promises of the American dream - fast cars, brand names and easy money - a young man takes his destiny into his own hands. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2000

Touch / by Toni Press-Coffman

Kyle Kalke, an astronomer since childhood, a high school “science nerd,” falls in love with flamboyant, outspoken, openhearted Zoe, who—astonishingly—loves him back. When she is kidnapped and murdered, Kyle barricades himself by devoting himself more feverishly to the cosmos and losing himself in loveless sex. TOUCH is about a man in despair questioning whether there is any point to rediscovering passion, risking connection, groping toward the touch that will rekindle joy. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2000

Big Love / by Charles L. Mee

Fifty brides flee their fifty grooms and seek refuge in a villa on the coast of Italy in this modern re-making of one of the western world's oldest plays, The Danaids by Aeschylus. And, in this villa on the Italian coast, the fifty grooms catch up with the brides, and mayhem ensues: the grooms arriving by helicopter in their flight suits, women throwing themselves over and over again to the ground, pop songs and romantic dances, and, finally, unable to escape their forced marriages, 49 of the brides murder 49 of the grooms-and one bride falls in love. About the same odds as today. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2000

Anton in Show Business / by Jane Martin

This madcap comedy follows three actresses across the footlights, down the rabbit hole, and into a strangely familiar Wonderland that looks a lot like American theatre – the resemblance is uncanny! As these women pursue their dream of performing Chekhov in Texas, they’re whisked through a maelstrom of “good ideas” that offer unique solutions to the Three Sisters’ need to have life’s deeper purpose revealed. In the tradition of great backstage comedies, Anton in Show Business conveys the joys, pains, and absurdities of “putting on a play” at the turn of the century. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2000 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Anton_in_Show_Business/E6mvUWninqoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Anton+in+Show+Business+/+by+Jane+Martin&printsec=frontcover

Arabian Nights / by David Ives

Utterly normal Norman walks into utterly ordinary Flora’s shop looking for a souvenir of his travels and together they find whirlwind romance, spurred on by a wacky translator. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2000

War of the Worlds / conceived by Anne Bogart, written by Naomi Iizuka

War of the Worlds takes an unsparing look at the relativity of truth. Intriguing parallels are drawn between the life of the master manipulator who set America on its collective ear with his ingenious, panic-inducing 1938 radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds (Invasion from Mars) a little stunt that revealed our shocking vulnerability to misinformation, our willingness to be duped and that of Citizen Kane’s Charles Foster Kane, Welles’ most famous protagonist. Bogart’s deftly realized theatrical conceit is to cast the two in the same probing light. The equally potent realities of Welles and his cinematic doppelgänger are juxtaposed with artfully conceived flashbacks that mirror and play off the film’s unforgettable images, conjuring a world true to the one inhabited by the tragically embattled artist. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2000

The Divine Fallacy / by Tina Howe

A camera-shy novelist needs a head shot for her upcoming novel. Chaos ensues during her photo shoot with a suave fashion photographer. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2000

No. 11 (Blue and White) / by Alexandra Cunningham

At the top of her affluent school's social pecking order, Alex shares the throne with her best friend Reid. When Reid is accused of rape, Alex rallies to clear his name, with fierce and ruthless loyalty. How far would you go to defend the devil you know? In the anthology: Humana Festival 2000

One Flea Spare / by Naomi Wallace

By turns hilarious and deeply moving, ONE FLEA SPARE is set in plague-ravaged 17th-century London where social roles and the boundaries that describe them have been thrust into chaos. The definition of morality is up for grabs. History is being tantalized. And whilst the wealthy William Snelgrave dreams of sweating, swearing tars, and of how sailors satisfy their “baser instincts” so far away from female company, his own wife, untouched for 40 years, is discovering that her dreadfully burned body may not be numb after all. The human heart craves comfort, contact, tenderness. Survival may take many forms. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1996

Missing Marisa and Kissing Christine / by John Patrick Shanley

Missing Marisa. Terry and Eli are friends with a woman in common: Marisa. Marisa was Eli's wife. Then she ran off with Terry. Now she has abandoned Terry as well. Terry comes to Eli's apartment looking for Marisa. Did she return to Eli? Eli is not forthcoming. The two men circle each other, combative and vulnerable. Eli wants friendship. Terry just wants Marisa back. Neither man can get what he wants. The phone rings. Is it Marisa? Eli won't pick it up. Terry grabs the receiver and says hello. But the caller hangs up. Eli is baking a chicken. Terry wants to know who's coming to dinner. Eli will not say. Finally, Terry, excluded from Eli and Marisa's life, begs for at least a taste of chicken. Eli gives Terry one tiny taste. This is Terry's portion in life. He is the eternal wanderer, the outcast. He thanks Eli for the little he is allowed and prepares to move on. (2 men.) Kissing Christine. Larry and Christine meet at a Thai restaurant for dinner. It's a first date, and they know nothing about each other. In the course of conversation, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary couple. Christine is a reconfigured person. A couple of years before she fell through an open trapdoor in a store and landed on her head. As a result of this accident, her face had to be reconstructed. So she looks different. Pretty, but a different pretty. Even more significantly, she received a severe concussion which, among other things, changed her personality. She has become a much nicer person. But she has fallen out of life a little bit. Larry listens to this in astonishment. But he has revelations of his own. He is married and has two children. His wife and he are having terrible problems. Out of loneliness and frustration he has gone on a date. Two people who, through different kinds of trauma, have disconnected from the flow of life. In this play, they help each other by deeply talking to each other. And finally, they reconnect with something vital through a kiss. (1 man, 2 women.) In the anthology: Humana Festival 1996

Chilean Holiday / by Guillermo Reyes

As Santiago celebrates the second anniversary of Pinochet's coup d'etat in 1973, one Chilean family marches to its own Latin rhythms. Romance, a birthday and plenty of homemade brew make theirs a festive backyard soiree--until plans to emigrate are revealed and collaborators are confronted. At a time when the darkest secrets are known only to secret police, this political-romantic comedy pries into the future of two cynics who are hatefully in love In the anthology: Humana Festival 1996

Jack and Jill / by Jane Martin

With her signature offbeat humor and fierce passion, the author of Keely and Du and other well known plays examines the many labors of love in a modern comedy of manners. While most romances focus on the search for Mr. or Ms. Right, Jack and Jill explores what happens after two people find the right fit. From an awkward courtship to marital bliss and beyond, the author playfully portrays the hard work of love that requires balancing intimacy with commitment, self discovery, and personal change. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1996 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jack_and_Jill/isgHgT92nNoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jack+and+Jill+/+by+Jane+Martin&printsec=frontcover

What I Meant Was / by Craig Lucas

In 1968 a family sits down to a seemingly everyday meal, but the conversation that unfolds exposes all the subtext of their family drama. Lucas’ tale illustrates how honesty and forgiveness go hand in hand. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1996 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/What_I_Meant_Was/EVv6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=What+I+Meant+Was+/+by+Craig+Lucas&printsec=frontcover

Reverse Transcription / by Tony Kushner

Six playwrights come together to bury their contemporary and friend, Ding. They discuss and brood on their lives, writings, and loves. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1996

Flesh and Blood / by Elizabeth Dewberry

Two southern sisters, one dead father, one canceled wedding, and a knife—all part of a recipe for family trouble in this darkly humorous drama about people who understand their shared past so differently that they can't connect in the present. Crystal has canceled her second wedding and returned to her mother's home for a makeshift dinner instead of a reception, and family tension is running high. Her mother, her sister and her sister's husband all try to help ease her pain, but when comfort fails and talk won't yield to understanding, they find themselves facing their own discontent- with themselves and with each other. The disclosure of family lies brings this play to a shattering conclusion as it poses painful questions about what family values are, what the value of family is, and how history repeats itself from generation to generation. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1996 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Flesh_and_Blood/vILyOwZ2ZlQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Flesh+and+Blood+/+by+Elizabeth+Dewberry&printsec=frontcover

Contract with Jackie / by Jimmy Breslin

What would happen in America if politicians first tested their schemes for our nation at home? Turns out some have, according to playwright/journalist Jimmy Breslin, in this high-spirited send-up of politics brought down to their most personal and revealing level. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1996

The Batting Cage / by Joan Ackermann

In a Holiday Inn in romantic St. Augustine, Florida, two estranged sisters travel unlikely journeys as they struggle to regain their bearings after the loss of their much-loved third sister. One talks, the other doesn’t. Their efforts at redefining themselves and their relationship are both poignant and humorous. A dashing conquistador, a lost suitcase, a bellhop with a barnacle growing in his ear are but a few of the many surprising turns in this unusual and very moving story. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1996 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Batting_Cage/QikPHAULwhgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Batting+Cage+/+by+Joan+Ackermann&printsec=frontcover

Foul Territory / by Craig Wright

Owen and Ruth attend a Yankee's game to take a pause from the recent disappointments in their life. However, their problems are as recurrant as the wayward baseball that continuously hits Owen in the head. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2004

Tallgrass Gothic / by Melanie Marnich

The longing, isolation, desire and fear of the classic Jacobean tragedy The Changeling are transported to the Great Plains of the Midwest in this haunting tale. At the center of the story is Laura, whose need to leave her small, rural home and controlling husband is ignited when she falls in love with a man who offers her escape and a future. But in this place where history and its ghosts populate the landscape, Laura's hunger for a new beginning sets off a violent chain of events that leads her not out of town, but to a profound (and terrifying) understanding of her true nature. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2004

At the Vanishing Point / by Naomi Iizuka

Developed from interviews and research Iizuka did in Butchertown, the meat-packing district of Louisville, Kentucky, the 80-minute play consists entirely of interlocking monologues. The story jumps around in time and place, with each character contributing details and a different perspective. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2004

Kid-Simple, A Radio Play in the Flesh / by Jordan Harrison

Moll, a girl who invents things, wins the science fair with a machine for hearing sounds that can't be heard. But when a shapeshifting Mercenary steals the invention (and her heart), she must embark on a quest to save noise as we know it. Accompanied by the last boy-virgin in the eleventh grade, Moll crosses chasms and rafts rivers into a world where sound is always more than what meets the ear. A quirky fable of innocence and experience, featuring live sound effects, mutinous onomatopoeia, and a host of woodsy temptations. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2004

The Spot / by Steven Dietz

Everyone wants to be in "The Spot," a television endorsement for a prominent political candidate. But with clueless directors, a ruthless campaign advisor, and an actress with too much heart, it's hard to tell who is telling the truth, who is playing the game, and who is dominating the polls. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2004

A Bone Close to My Brain / by Dan Dietz

What are the limits of brotherly love? And what do they have to do with the 32 bones huddling tight inside your mouth? Through spare dialogue and childlike illustrations, a man describes his relationship with his younger brother -- who is both brilliant and mentally ill -- and the heartbreaking decision he has to make. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2004

Kuwait / by Vincent Delaney

An American journalist is caught sneaking onto the front lines in the Middle East. She is captured and interrogated by an American soldier. When his authority unravels and her actions are pardoned, they both have to question what would drive a man to apprehend an innocent woman. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2004

Anhelos por Oaxaca = Yearnings for Oaxaca / by Silviana Wood

This is the story of Don Felipe and his grandson Rudy. Felipe is an impatient, grouchy, retired railroad worker who lives with his daughter. He is very critical of Rudy, who doesn't seem to have any manners or respect for his grandfather, and worse, refuses to speak Spanish. In the anthology: Barrio Dreams

Yo, Casimiro Flores = I, Casimiro Flores / by Silviana Wood

The play begins during Halloween in a small understaff, underfunded general hospital. The second half of the play takes place in a mythical Aztec place of the dead. The protagonist, Casimiro, is a Yaqui Mexican hospital janitor and is a lonely, bitter man without friends or relatives. In the anthology: Barrio Dreams

A drunkard's tale of melted wings and memories / by Silviana Wood

Nacho Robles is a paralyzed WWII veteran who lives in a lean-to shed in the backyard of a west-side Tucson barrio sarcastically nicknamed "Hollywood." In the anthology: Barrio Dreams

Amor de hija = A daughter's love / by Silviana Wood

A story that encompasses four generations. The protagonist is Consuelo, a forceful and confident woman in her mid-forties who is discovering new freedom now that her children are grown and on their own. The construction company that she owns with her husband is doing well, and she no longer has to work full-time. Her life changes abruptly when her father dies suddenly; the death affects her mother profoundly, and she begins to deteriorate physically, mentally, and emotionally. In the anthology: Barrio Dreams

Una vez en un barrio de sueños = Once upon a time in a barrio of dreams / by Silviana Wood

A play composed of an introduction and three short sketches, offering glimpses into the barrio and its dwellers. The various characters are identified as residents and each brings a unique sensibility. The characters share the bittersweet themes of dreams that are never fulfilled or realized, dreams that are put on a "layaway plan," and dreams that come true. In the anthology: Barrio Dreams

The Popular Mechanicals / by Keith Robinson and Tony Taylor

The popular mechanicals are Shakespeare’s greatest clowns – the endearingly amateur acting ensemble led by Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Here, they take centre-stage in a wild imagining of what goes on in the wings. The troupe is bumbling its way through rehearsals of Pyramus and Thisbe, somehow surviving the misadventures brought on by their own sheer idiocy. The result is a riotously funny mix of Shakespearean verse, songs and dance that is lewd, rude and ingenious. Clowning, vaudeville, slapstick, farce, stand-up comedy and some hilarious puppetry come together to create an unhinged feast of wit and profanity. In the anthology: Contemporary Australian Plays

The 7 Stages of Grieving / by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman

This is a proud milestone in Australian theatre history; a contemporary Indigenous performance text from the highly acclaimed Kooemba Jdarra. Appropriating western forms whilst using traditional storytelling, it gives emotional insight into Murri life. This one-woman show follows the journey of an Aboriginal ‘Everywoman’ as she tells poignant and humorous stories of grief and reconciliation. A powerful, demanding and culturally profound text, The 7 Stages of Grieving is a celebration of Indigenous survival, an invitation to grieve publicly, a time to exorcize pain. It has a universal theme told through the personal experiences of one incredible character. In the anthology: Contemporary Australian Plays

Two / by Ron Elisha

Two takes place in a German town between March and May 1948. Anna comes to Rabbi Chaim Levi for language lessons in order to facilitate her journey to Palestine. We soon discover that Anna's lessons have a much deeper significance. Anna pleads with the Rabbi to help her become a Jew but will not reveal the reason it is so important to her. Finally, in a heated confrontation, Anna calls the Rabbi a Muselman. Chaim: "You were in the camps, weren't you!...That's the only place you could have heard such a word. Muselman...you know what it means? Yes, of course, you must. The walking dead. Those who had given up all hope. Where did you hear it?" Anna: "I...was also...in Auschwitz." Chaim: "But...you have no number." Anna: "No...No, I was not a prisoner...I was a member of the S.S." Ron Elisha examines some fundamental moral concepts as he unfolds the individual stories of two people trying to reconcile their tormented pasts in order to accept and renew life. In the anthology: Contemporary Australian Plays

Dead White Males / by David Williamson

Postmodernism versus liberal humanism—can an older male academic convert a young female student to a post-structural, post-patriarchal view of literature and seduce her at the same time? In the anthology: Contemporary Australian Plays

Hotel Sorrento / by Hannie Rayson

Three sisters reunite in the sleepy Australian town of Sorrento after a ten-year hiatus. One of the three has written a book called Melancholy which is a thinly disguised version of their lives. In the anthology: Contemporary Australian Plays

STARS / by Mojisola Adebayo

An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey Meet Mrs: a lady who goes into outer space… in search of her own orgasm. Isn’t that where all orgasms go? Her quest is sparked by three encounters: a young neighbour who discloses a secret, an old friend who reveals she is intersex, and a would-be lesbian lover in a launderette who offers Mrs two drops of her own pressed lavender and a smile that says, ‘I handle delicates with care’. In the anthology: Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners

Bashment / by Riddi Beadle-Blair

J. J. an aspiring M. C. newly arrived on London's exciting outlaw urban music scene. He's got the skills, he's got the rhymes, he's got the drive. One Problem - not only is J. J. a white boy from the sticks - he's also gay. In the anthology: Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bashment/RKD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bashment+/+by+Riddi+Beadle-Blair&printsec=frontcover

Sin Dykes / by Valerie Mason-John

Sin Dykes is the story of one woman’s exploration of sexuality. “Dykers are out of the closet. Black dykes openly do SM, dykes openly sleep with gay men. There is dialogue, debate and outrage, and no one is listening anymore.” In the anthology: Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners

Boy with Beer / by Paul Boakye

Boy with Beer is the story of a growing love affair between two black men, fraught with prejudice and the pressures of machismo. Upwardly mobile Ghanaian photographer, Karl, is the older man in search of his "African Prince." What he finds is Donovan, a confused twenty-one-year-old Caribbean van driver he met in a heterosexual nightclub. The two men exchange telephone numbers and agree to meet. The play opens as Donovan shows up outside Karl's flat the next night. Boakye covers a good deal of this affair from the first unromantic, unprotected coupling to a semblance of understanding and shared brotherhood one month later, followed by a final admission of love and acceptance between the two men albeit under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. In the final act, Donovan's pregnant girlfriend has discovered that she is HIV-positive. She has decided to terminate their child. Donovan turns up at Karl's home in tears. As the poetry writing, thoughtful sort, what should Karl do? He is in love with this confused, inarticulate homeboy, and Donovan, too, finally accepts his sexuality and that he has liked Karl from the start. In the anthology: Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners

Basin / by Jacqueline Rudet

Three lifelong friends are at crucial stages in their lives. Mona is coming to terms with an unsatisfying relationship, Susan is about to be offered a breakthrough acting opportunity, and Michele has a child to raise on her own. They question what it might mean to be a woman, if a woman is defined by her role as a mother, and if one can truly find where girlhood ends and adulthood begins. On their road to self discovery, Mona and Susan wonder if their close bond means they could be each other’s ‘zammie’. In the anthology: Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners

Watermelon Rinds / by Regina Taylor

A satire that explores contemporary African-American attitudes about family and politics. At a family get-together to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, thoughts about the current state of King's dream are discussed, and, as the author describes it, 'the insanity of martyrdom and its relation to cannibalism and the Eucharist are revealed.' The play, also explores the universal theme of family ties, class tension and the denial of kin and kinship. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1993

Tape / by José Rivera

A person is left to listen to a tape of the lies that he/she has told throughout his/her life. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1993

Poof! / by Lynn Nottage

When a housewife comes to the end of her rope with her abusive husband, she doesn't expect him to spontaneously combust. Now she has a pile of ashes on the floor, and a life to reclaim. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1993

What We Do With It / by Bruce MacDonald

A father and daughter who have not spoken for several years are finally coming out to discuss some long buried secrets. John claims that Cheryl is mentally ill, but Cheryl is only beginning to remember what life was like with her father. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1993

The Ice-Fishing Play / by Kevin Kling

In an ice fishing house on a lake in northern Minnesota, Ron, an ice fisherman extraordinaire, struggles to catch "the big one" only "the big one" doesn't just mean the biggest fish in the lake. A funny, vibrant exploration of the struggle to connect in a world of blizzards, frozen minnows, memories and miracles. A glimpse of the secret inner world of that mystical icon, the ice fisherman. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1993

Shooting Simone / by Lynne Kaufman

Paris 1937, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, the Bogie and Bacall of the Intelligentsia, make a vow to always be each other's "necessary love." They will, of course, have "contingent" love affairs, but nothing that will threaten their primary and equal relationship. Enter Olga, Simone's young country cousin who bewitches Sartre, undermines Simone, and very nearly destroys the "writing couple." Simone, naturally, kills Olga - at least on paper. Paris 1980. Kate, a young documentary filmmaker who has modeled her life after the great feminist, is attempting to resurrect the details of the affair and to find the true Simone. Through her disillusionment, Kate finds her own individuality. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1993 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shooting_Simone/ju8mDqdmuDsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Shooting+Simone+/+by+Lynne+Kaufman&printsec=frontcover

Deadly Virtues / by Brian Jucha

Deadly Virtues is a high energy exploration of virtue and sin which calls into question what would seem the obvious delineation between the two. Text from the worlds of modern-day sinners informs the medieval concepts of good and evil, and Jucha's sculptural choreography manifests these ideas. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1993

Stanton's Garage / by Joan Ackermann

In a ramshackle garage miles from anywhere two cars, both of which were en route to a wedding, await repairs. One is Ron's, the ex husband of the bride to be, a man who missed his divorce and certainly doesn't want to miss his wife's wedding. A bridesmaid who is engaged to the best man owns the other, a Volvo. She has her intended's teenage daughter with her. They miss the wedding because the shop's mechanic has never seen a Volvo, much less worked on one. Ron finally does get off to the wedding, lugging a case of anti freeze as a wedding gift. He staggers back later to warn the Volvo driver that her husband to be is a world class jerk. Meanwhile, the teenager falls in love with with the amorous store gofer. In the anthology: Humana Festival 1993 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stanton_s_Garage/CDmcsXjfokMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stanton%27s+Garage+/+by+Joan+Ackermann&printsec=frontcover

Boy in a Dress / by La John Joseph

Boy in a Dress follows the life story thus far of La JohnJoseph, a transgender, fallen Catholic, ex-fashion model from the wrong side of the tracks. In this autobiographical, raucously political, and accidentally profound piece, La JohnJoseph brings together an outrageous but heartfelt slew of true-life tales of catholicism and drag, public sexuality and body dysmorphia. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Generous_Lover_Boy_in_a_Dress/16L8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+generous+lover+/+by+La+John+Joseph&printsec=frontcover

Revelations / by David Pinner

When a miraculous stranger comes to the aid of a desolate cliff-top village that is ravaged by devastating storms and erosion, he is proclaimed as the new Messiah, even though the stranger protests that he is atheist. 'In Revelations' he enjoys his power without accepting responsibility for his actions until he meets his spiritual nemesis in the storm of the century

Eating pomegranates naked / by Andrea Scott

Eating Pomegranates Naked examines two couples and their single frenemy as they scratch the surface of their relationships over too much wine. What do infertility, religion, toxoplasmosis, and ice-cream have to do with Tulipmania? Maybe more than you think.

Brute / by Izzy Tennyson

The true story of a rather twisted schoolgirl. Poppy's just started at an all-girls state school in a provincial English town, where there are rules with no logic, sadistic jokes that aren't actually funny, and the most sinister games played out of boredom.

Mojada / by Luis Alfaro

Medea and Jason have escaped the worst. After a harrowing journey across the Mexican–American border, the couple has made it safely to the States, where they can work toward a better life for their family. While Jason is convinced the future looks bright, Medea fears a darker fate as they face the challenges of living without documentation. Blending Euripides’ classic with Mexican folklore, Luis Alfaro examines the tragedy behind America’s immigration system and the destiny of one family caught in its grip. In the anthology: The Greek Trilogy Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Greek_Trilogy_of_Luis_Alfaro/i9H7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Oedipus+El+Rey+/+by+Luis+Alfaro&printsec=frontcover

Oedipus El Rey / by Luis Alfaro

As he approaches the end of a lengthy prison sentence, Oedipus is ready to taste his long-awaited freedom. But liberation comes at a price, and life on the outside proves its own kind of prison ruled by a cruel and violent fate. Based on Sophocles’ classic tale, OEDIPUS EL REY is an urgent examination of modern institutions, social barriers, and the power of storytelling for those bold enough to challenge the gods of our time In the anthology: The Greek Trilogy Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Greek_Trilogy_of_Luis_Alfaro/i9H7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Oedipus+El+Rey+/+by+Luis+Alfaro&printsec=frontcover

Electricidad / by Luis Alfaro

In the years following the murder of her father by her mother, Electricidad is committed to vengeance. To get it, she’ll need her brother, Orestes, to return from Las Vegas and help her finish the job. Transporting Sophocles’ Electra to the Los Angeles barrios, Luis Alfaro investigates violence, loss, and redemption through the lens of this age-old tragedy. In the anthology: The Greek Trilogy Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Greek_Trilogy_of_Luis_Alfaro/i9H7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Electricidad+/+by+Luis+Alfaro&printsec=frontcover

a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (--noun) / by debbie tucker green

Three couples. What might be. What once was. What could have been. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Black British writers

40 days / by Firdos Ali

On the morning following the Brexit vote, a British Black Muslim boy goes upstairs after seeing the results on TV, lies down on his bed, and never gets up again. Firdos Ali's 40 Days is an unperformed play exploring the impact of state violence on Black and brown children. It examines the difficulties facing Black Muslim parents as they wrestle with how to protect their Black Muslim son, as well as preparing him for the hostile world they live in. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Black British writers

Burgerz / by Travis Alabanza

Hurled words. Thrown objects. Dodged Burgers. After someone threw a burger at them and shouted a transphobic slur, performance artist Travis Alabanza became obsessed with burgers. How they are made, how they feel, and smell. How they travel through the air. How the mayonnaise feels on your skin. This show is the climax of their obsession – exploring how trans bodies survive and how, by them reclaiming an act of violence, we can address our own complicity. Travis Alabanza's Burgerz is timely, unsettling and powerful play from one of the UK's most prominent trans voices. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Black British writers Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Burgerz/qaH8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Burgerz+/+by+Travis+Alabanza&printsec=frontcover

Misty / by Arinzé Kene

Fusing live music, spoken word, and absurdist comedy, Misty is an exhilarating journey through a city in flux, transporting audiences to the streets of gentrifying London in an exploration of the pressures and expectations that come with being an artist in our time. In a performance that is part poem, part concert, part confession, Olivier Award–nominee Arinzé Kene self-consciously wrestles with cultural representation and identity politics as they pertain to a new play he has been commissioned to write. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Black British writers

Blue / by Ursula Rani Sarma

Three childhood friends have a week to go to the end of school, to the end of innocence, to the end of friendship. Des, Danny and Joe live in an isolated sea-side village where every day seems like a carbon copy of the previous. They devise a deadly daily ritual to break the repetition of small town life. Together they jump from the cliffs deep into the blue of the ocean, and in those panicked seconds they believe anything is possible, and that their hope s and dreams just may come true. Until one dark day, when everything goes horribly wrong. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blue_Touched/2tL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=...touched...+/+by+Ursula+Rani+Sarma&printsec=frontcover

In Arabia, we'd all be kings / by Stephen Adly Guirgis

Lenny is a recently released ex-convict. Despite his imposing size, he was gang raped repeatedly while incarcerated and struggles to find his manhood on the outside. Daisy, his alcoholic girlfriend, craves a “real” life with a “real” man and abandons him at a seedy pre-Giuliani Times Square bar in pursuit of some cheap Chinese takeout. At the bar is Skank, a former failed actor turned junkie, who is trying to outlast the rain storm and get a buyback from the long-missing Irish bartender as he begins to go through withdrawals. Also at the bar is Sammy, an old, dying, guilt-ridden drunk who exists somewhere between reality and the afterlife. DeMaris, a seventeen-year-old gun-brandishing single mother, wants to learn to turn tricks. She enlists the aid of Chickie, Skank’s girlfriend, a young crackhead hooker who plays Go Fish with the simple-minded day bartender Charlie, who thinks he’s a Jedi warrior and who buys meals for Chickie because he loves her and because he lives for the day they can go out, “just as friends.” The owner of the bar is Jake. The place was his father’s before him, and after thirty years, he longs for the chance to leave “this sewer” for a reinvented life in Florida. The real-estate boom, “gentrification” and the emergence of Disney in Times Square affords him that opportunity. Unaware that their last piece of home is about to be pulled out from under them, the bar patrons struggle on. Their sense of humor, their misguided hopes and dreams, and their lack of self-pity are badges that are tattooed to their souls. They will all, before the end, demand and take the chance to face head-on their complicated and sad truths. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_Arabia_We_d_All_be_Kings/koXRlHTaCCIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In+Arabia,+we%27d+all+be+kings+/+by+Stephen+Adly+Guirgis&printsec=frontcover

Jesus hopped the A train / by Stephen Adly Guirgis

Angel Cruz is a thirty-year-old bike messenger from NYC who has lost his best friend to a religious cult. At the opening of the play, he is in his second night of incarceration, awaiting trial for shooting the leader of that cult in the “ass.” He is on his knees, alone and terrified, trying to say a prayer he no longer remembers to a God he has all but forgotten. Angel’s public defender is Mary Jane Hanrahan, still relatively young but very nearly disillusioned. At their first meeting, she mistakes Angel for another case. Wounded by her pride and Angel’s sharp attacks, she mangles this initial interview and walks out. A crisis of conscience and an unresolved connection to her childhood brings her back, and Angel’s heartfelt, persuasive arguments against the cult leader persuade her to champion his cause. By this time, the cult leader, Reverend Kim, has died on the operating table, and the charge against Angel is now murder. Angel has been beaten regularly by other inmates and is discovered in his cell barely conscious with a bed sheet tied around his neck. He is transferred to a special twenty-three-hour lockdown wing of protective custody. His jailer is Valdez, a brutally direct prison guard who believes in a world of black and white only. No gray areas permitted. Valdez has taken the post of Charlie D’Amico, a guard Angel never meets. For one hour a day, Angel experiences daylight from a cage on the Riker’s Island Prison roof. His only source of human contact is the lone inmate who is also in protective custody. Lucius Jenkins, a.k.a. “the Black Plague,” works out furiously in the cage next to Angel. A sociopathic serial killer awaiting extradition to Florida, Lucius pauses from his workouts only to chain smoke and to “save” Angel. Lucius Jenkins has found God, and Angel’s life and the course of his trial will be changed forever. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jesus_Hopped_the_A_Train/1JVVJV9695MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jesus+hopped+the+A+train++/+by+Stephen+Adly+Guirgis&printsec=frontcover

Friar Falstaff / by Jules Tasca

A new take on one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters. Recently dismissed by the king for his dissolute ways, Falstaff arrives at the monastery where his only brother is a novice. Falstaff has been evicted by his landlady, and can't stand living with his mother. He tells his brother that their mother desperately want him to leave the monastery and father children because she's afraid that their line will die out. The brother believes Falstaff's story and escapes from the monastery.

The Macduff Tragedy / by Jules Tasca

A new take on characters from Shakespeare's Macbeth. As Macduff surveys the carnage and the corpses of his dead family, they come to life and vent their recriminations against him for his actions. It's better to be alive and in sorrow than to be dead.

Prince Lear / by Jules Tasca

A new take on characters from Shakespeare's King Lear. The King's three daughters await the birth of another child. The king is hoping for a son, an heir. The girls hope otherwise. Their mother dies in childbirth, and by the time the King returns home, the baby is dead as well.

Dear Mr. Buchwald / by Yvette Nolan

In the anthology: Indian Act: Residential School Plays

kihew / by Curtis Peeteetuce

In the anthology: Indian Act: Residential School Plays

God and the Indian / by Drew Hayden Taylor

While panhandling outside a coffee shop, Johnny, a Cree woman who lives on the streets, is shocked to recognize a face from her childhood, which was spent in a residential school. Desperate to hear the man acknowledge the terrible abuse he inflicted on her and other children at the school, Johnny follows Anglican bishop George King to his office to confront him. Inside King’s office, Johnny’s memories are fluid, shifting, and her voice cracks with raw emotion. Is the bishop actually guilty of what she claims, or has her ability to recollect been altered by poverty, abuse, and starvation experienced on the streets? Can her memories be trusted? Who is responsible for what? At its core, God and the Indian, by celebrated Aboriginal playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, explores the complex process of healing through dialogue. Loosely based on Death and the Maiden by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman, the play identifies the ambiguities that frame past traumatic events. Against the backdrop of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has facilitated the recent outpouring of stories from residential school survivors across the country, the play explores what is possible when the abused meets the abuser and is given a free forum for expression. In the anthology: Indian Act: Residential School Plays

They Know Not What They Do / by Tara Beagan

The play follows three separate yet parallel journeys through Residential School. Stories of survival weave through time, and as we hear from Elders in the present day and moments in their own voices as small children, we are reminded that these atrocities were perpetrated on vulnerable young people. Within these stories of survival live the strength and wisdom of our ancestors, past, present, and future. In the anthology: Indian Act: Residential School Plays

Bunk #7 / by Larry Guno

Bunk #7 is the true story of six boys and a riot at Edmonton Indian Residential School in St. Albert, Alberta in 1960-61. When their favourite English Supervisor is suddenly fired, a perfect storm ignites, causing the boys to rise up and revolt against conditions and incidents at the institution. Its central image is cultural resilience - the capability of a cultural system to absorb adversity, deal with change and continue to develop. In the anthology: Indian Act: Residential School Plays

Nôhkom / by Michael Greyeyes

A first-person, yet lyrical effort to recover what Greyeyes can of his grandmother’s story from scraps and memories. In the anthology: Indian Act: Residential School Plays

The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God / by Djanet Sears

From Governor General's Literary Award–winning playwright Djanet Sears comes a beautiful and deeply moving story set in present-day Negro Creek, a two-hundred-year-old black community in Western Ontario. Rainey Baldwin-Jackson, a country doctor, struggles to come to terms with the loss of her daughter, the disintegration of her marriage, and an eccentric elderly father on an astonishing crusade. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.2

Consecrated Ground / by George Elroy Boyd

Consecrated Ground depicts the consequences to a Black family of the razing of Africville on the outskirts of Halifax in the 1960s and the relocation of its 400 residents to more "progressive" public housing. Africville's roots went back to the 1830s, when it began to be settled by descendants of the Black Loyalists, the Black Pioneers and others who fled the horrors of slavery in America for the relative freedom of Canada. Africville flourished for generations as a tight-knit agricultural settlement, and its people had every right to expect the public services available to all other citizens of the Halifax peninsula. Homeowners in Africville paid city taxes, but after years of being unfairly and ruthlessly denied even the most basic of modern conveniences, including electricity, running water, and a proper sewage system, which were readily available to all of the rest of the citizens of Halifax, the decision by city officials to locate the municipal dump a stone's throw from Africville created a rat-infested, slum-like environment for the already beleaguered neighbourhood. Condemned as unsanitary, its residents were told to sell their homes if they could, before finally being evicted without compensation as the bulldozers moved in. The final injustice was that part of Africville was demolished to make way for an off-leash dog park; the rest of the land was used to build the approaches to the A. Murray MacKay Bridge. In Consecrated Ground, award-winning playwright George Boyd retells the struggle of Africville's residents to save their homes and their dignity. With tremendous wit and gravity, George Boyd resurrects Africville on the verge of extinction, making us a gift of people believable in their vulnerabilities, their courage, and their outrage. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.2

yagayah: two.womyn.black.griots / by debbie young and naila belvett

yagayah is a two-woman play that tells the story of a pair of close friends growing up in Jamaica and their painful separation when one of them immigrates to Canada. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.2

Somebody Somebody's Returning / by Frederick Ward

In this one-act tragicomedy, a girl, two women, and the spectre of a cross-dressing man must resolve the chaos and sorrows wrought by homophobia, anti-transvestitism, and philistinism. At base, its three female principals are beset by self-induced guilt that cancels their ability to love. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.2

'da Kink in my hair: voices of black womyn / by Trey Anthony

Set in a West Indian hair salon in Toronto, da Kink in my hair gives voice to a group of women who tell us their unforgettable, moving, and often hilarious stories. Mixing laughter and tears—and told in words, music, and dance—the stories explore the hardship, struggles, and joys of black women's lives. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.2

Québécité : a jazz libretto in three cantos / by George Elliott Clarke

George Elliott Clarke's Québécité is a three-act multicultural romance set in modern-day Québec. It tells the story of two interracial couples whose blossoming relationships expose the perils and possibilities of loving across racial and cultural lines. Québécité is an expanded, poetic rendering of a libretto George Elliott Clarke wrote at the request of the Guelph Jazz Festival, with music composed by Juno award-winning pianist D.D. Jackson. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.2

Jean and Dinah Who Have Been Locked Away in a World Famous Calypso Since 1956 Speak Their Minds Publicly / by Tony Hall with Rhoma Spencer & Susan Sandiford

The play starts on jouvay morning, the dawn of carnival morn, and Jean comes to take her friend Dinah to play mas as they usually do for the past forty years and more. However, this year Dinah is tired and ailing, she would not go. Jean tries to rally her into making their annual pilgrimage of the streets, as they play the perennial sailor mas. In the ensuing battle to get Dinah out of bed onto the streets of Port of Spain, both women discover things about themselves that shaped the outcome of their lives. But more than that, Dinah wants Jean to the reveal the part she played in her (Dinah) subsequent blindness. She wants Jean to accept responsibility of the steelband clash and the bottle-pelting incident that caused her blindness. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.2

A Common Man's Guide to Loving Women / by Andrew Moodie

A Common Man's Guide to Loving Women is a male-bonding play about four black men who meet on the eve of a wedding. Just as the stag party is about to begin, the bride cancels the wedding. Chris, the jilted fiancé, is a walking wounded, but as his three buddies Wendle, Robin and Greg attempt consolation we discover that they, too, are relationship-challenged. The four guys sit around and talk about sex, love, women… and the meaning of life. Jocular and playful, these men can also be frank in revealing their vulnerability and profound desire for love and understanding. A Common Man's Guide to Loving Women examines the dynamics of group conformity, gender equity and political correctness. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.2

Angélique / by Lorena Gayle

"And in seventeen thirty-four a Negro slave set fire to the City of Montreal and was hanged..." With this bald statement of history as a basis, Lorena Gale constructs a vivid portrait of a time when captive people had no say in the outcome of their lives. A rich, poetic evocation of a graceful yet cruel time—a time when “civilized” citizens still bought and sold slaves. This is a time when the thoughts and feelings of these captive people had no bearing on the outcome of their lives, unless they were outraged and brave enough to try and shake their bonds. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.2

Harlem Duet / by Djanet Sears

In what could be a prelude to Shakespeare’s Othello, Djanet Sears’s Harlem Duet recounts the story of Othello and his first wife, Billie (before Desdemona). Their history is told through the lives of three couples during eras of special significance in the Black American Experience. Set in contemporary Harlem at the corner of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Boulevards, the tale tows the line of racial identity, sexual politics, and mental illness in the black community. Sears’ script diffuses the action through three timelines: the 1860s, 1928 and the present. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

Tightrope Time: Ain't Nuthin' More than some Itty Bitty Madness Between Twilight & Dawn / by Walter Borden

Semi-autobiographical in nature, emotions and communication between actor and audience are central to this work. Tightrope Time is not so much an historical documentation of the quest of a person for a place in the Nova Scotian—or indeed the Canadian—mosaic, as it is an illumination of the resiliency of the human spirit. Ultimately Tightrope Time is simply about survival—traversing that tightrope which we all must cross in order to embrace the fact that, in spite of everything, "we done made it over." A solo performance featuring 10 characters, Walter explores homosexuality from a Black perspective and offers an experience of the resiliency of the human spirit. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

dark diaspora... in dub / by ahdri zhina mandiela

The play offers a stunning discourse on Black woman's creativity, Black womanhood, Black feminism, and presents a solution for Black female emancipation. The text is comprised of poems. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

When He Was Free and Young and He Used to Wear Silks / by Austin Clarke

An examination of the Caribbean immigrant experience in Canada of the mid-sixties and early seventies. The play attempts to expose issues of both Canadian racism and Caribbean immigrant racial hypocrisy. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

Come Good Rain / by George Seremba

Abducted, tortured, and eventually left for dead in Uganda's notorious Namanve forest, George Seremba's autobiographical account of his experiences in Come Good Rain is a montage of dramatic forces that work together to produce a simple, stunning, poetic tale of one young man's survival against all odds. Set in Uganda during the turbulent and murderous regimes of Milton Obote as well as Idi Amin, Come Good Rain, chronicles George Seremba's life as a young man growing up and witnessing the reckless abandon with which the "Pearl of Africa" becomes its own festering curse. While pursuing studies in literature and drama he becomes swept up in the polarized tide of power struggles, living with constant fear for his companions, contemporaries, and most of all, his family. Combining African mythology, history and dynamic narrative (and the presence of an African drummer); this play emerges finally as a celebration of the indefatigable nature of the human spirit. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

sistahs / by maxine bailey and sharon m. lewis

Five women meet to create soup. Each brings components that they want to add to the soup which, once ready, will be consumed by all on that Sunday afternoon. Just as soup is a melding of flavours and tactile experiences, this Sunday meeting is no less – it is not an accident. It is a melding of sistahs into a new family for Assata, the teenage daughter of Sandra who has late stage and painful terminal cancer. But Sandra’s plan goes further. She is concerned whether Assata will accept her new community, family, sistahood. And so the act of constructing a soup is contrasted by Sandra’s desire to help Assata into that new community by deconstructing their relationship and pushing her away. Thus the invitation to the nontraditional family including her lover Dehlia, her halfsister Rea and Cerise, a friend, to be there to provide support to Assata during the afternoon. Set in Toronto, but representative of any city hosting a Caribbean immigrant population, SISTAHS displays three distinct time perspectives - the present - today’s story-telling, ancestral time characterized by Caribbean rhythm and slow movement, and lecture mode - flashbacks to Sandra's university lectures on blacks and slavery. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

Whylah Falls / by George Elliott Clarke

By turns joyous and sorrowful, rollicking and razor-sharp, the play recounts the lives of poor Black Canadians in rural southwestern Nova Scotia in the 1930s. The story focuses on the Clemence family: the parents, abusive Saul and the bountiful but long-suffering Cora, Cora’s daughter Missy Jarvis from a relationship prior to Saul, their children Othello, Pushkin, Selah, Shelley and Amarantha, and the various lovers who intersect their lives, especially Xavier Zachary and Pablo Gabriel. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

Prodigals in a Promised Land / by h. jay bunyan

Two people from Jamaica with a dream of bettering themselves by moving to Canada. Canada was to them the land of milk and honey. Racism never seems to enter their minds. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

Coups and Calypsos / by M. Nourbese Philip

Elvira is African. Rohan is Indian. They are both Trinidadian. They live in London but are stranded on the holiday island of Tobago during the 1990 coup in neighbouring Trinidad. Coups & Calypsos is the uncompromising story of their love at risk from civil unrest, from local prejudice, but most of all from the racism which their marriage encounters no matter where they are. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

Riot / by Andrew Moodie

A dramatic and often humorous look at six black Canadians of diverse backgrounds who share a Toronto house. Their lives unfold against the backdrop of civil unrest which erupted when the Los Angeles police officers on trial for the beating of Rodney King are acquitted. The fracas outside keeps intruding as characters clash, collide and swap jokes about everything from racism to the status of Quebec as a distinct society, from Malcolm X to The Road to Avonlea. In the anthology: Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, v.1

Inside Out / by Pamela Boyd

The young mother’s increasing cabin fever and exasperation come through better by means of the grotesque baby puppet whose velcro grip she is unable to escape, and through the voiced-over babble that never lets up through the play, than via the spoken word. But the caged mother / callous father syndrome has worn thin by now, and Ellen’s plight fails to convince. It may be a pity that she makes sacrifices in order to bring up her child, but the portrayal of her plight does not make convincing drama. In the anthology: NeWest Plays by Women

The Occupation of Heather Rose / by Wendy Lill

Young, naïve, and inadequately trained, urban health care/social worker Heather Rose flirts with the pilot as she wings her way north in a bush plane, to land in an isolated and remote northern/Native community, carrying her Canada Food Guides, plans for fitness classes and community social activities with her. She is met, when she lands, with what she initially perceives as a careless disrespect for anything she has understood to date of culture and civilization. The destitute, wretched and alienated Native population she has been sent to “move forward” meet her bright imperial gaze with the blank stares that arise from relentless years of exploitation and broken promises. Nine months later Heather Rose is “bushed”—utterly disillusioned by the growing horror of her new-found realization that what her culture has to offer this community: the alcohol bootlegged in by the charming bush pilot; the unsuitable clothing sold by the thoughtless proprietor of the general store; the gasoline used as much by the youth of the community to get high as to afford them access to what has become the tractless wilderness they inhabit; she finally understands is less than nothing—total dependency. She returns, compelled, like Marlowe in Heart of Darkness to tell her story to others—like her missing supervisor, whose empty office she “occupies” on her return, illustrating her monologue of despair on a blackboard to an absent colonial authority for which the audience stands in as its silent and complicit witness. In the anthology: NeWest Plays by Women

Play Memory / by Joanna M. Glass

A Canadian salesman and father determined to drink himself to death. Cam MacMillan is full of pride for his heritage as a descendant of the Scottish laird who originally settled the area and for his success as a salesman. His downfall begins during World War II when he gets involved in black-marketing gas rationing coupons. Although he does not go to jail, he loses his job and spends the rest of his life waiting for the world to come to him and apologize. In the anthology: NeWest Plays by Women Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Play_Memory/Z5kJuO575ZAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Play+Memory+/+by+Joanna+M.+Glass&printsec=frontcover

Whiskey Six Cadenza / by Sharon Pollock

It’s Prohibition time in the country at large. But you wouldn’t know it in the small coal-mining town of Blairmore in the Crow’s Nest Pass. It’s the centre of Emile Picarelli’s lucrative rum-running operation. And who wouldn’t be charmed by Mr Big, as the locals call him, for he’s a larger than life charismatic personality, gifted with a golden tongue. When he takes a shine to young Johnny Farley and offers him a job behind the wheel of a Maxwell Whiskey Six sedan running booze through the Rocky Mountains, Johnny doesn’t have to think twice despite his fundamentalist mother’s objections. Mr Big’s adopted daughter Leah and Johnny are soon tentatively striking up more than a friendship, that is till his mother whispers an ugly rumour. Leah is more mistress than daughter to Mr Big. True or not, the seed of doubt in Johnny’s mind foreshadows a ramping up of police weapons with increasing violence, trust, love, and relationships are in jeopardy as tragedy stalks Mr Big’s world and all in it. In the anthology: NeWest Plays by Women

Wellesley Girl / by Brendan Pelsue

The year is 2465, and little remains of the United States. For the few survivors living inside a walled citadel, politics carry on as usual - with all the pageantry and partisanship of an old government that is now a distant memory. But when an opposing army shows up at their gates, the citizens of the new United States are confronted with the most important decision of their lives. Wellesley Girl asks us to confront the question: what if your vote could truly determine the future of the country? In the anthology: Humana Festival 2016

Trudy, Carolyn, Martha, and Regina Travel to Outer Space and Have a Pretty Terrible Time There / by James Kennedy

A crew of astronauts share the quiet beauty of infinite space and a peaceful reflection on our place in the universe. But it's been nineteen weeks. And that's just about long enough. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2016

Residence / by Laura Jacqmin

When new mom and medical supply saleswoman Maggie moves into an extended-stay hotel in Tempe, Arizona, she brings a troubled history and tenuous grasp on the future with her. While trying to secure her first sale since returning to work, she befriends two hotel employees whose careers and life paths are nearly as shaky as her own. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2016

This Quintessence of Dust / by Cory Hinkle

A play about that time when Jane went on vacation to Los Angeles to meet up with friends, but in a moment of weakness had coffee with her ex-boyfriend Chip . . . and then the end of the world happened. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2016

Coffee Break / by Tasha Gordon-Solmon

The unexpected comes when a woman starts seeing interesting patterns in her beverage created from the steamed milk, or latte art and starts wondering what it means. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2016

Halfway / by Emily Schwend

When her sister visits her at a halfway house in East Texas, Kat is desperate to impress and win Melissa’s forgiveness and love. Eager to reclaim her place in the family, Kat soon discovers that redemption might be more difficult and complicated than she thought. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2013

Two Conversations Overheard on Airplanes / by Sarah Ruhl

Four incredibly different people had two strikingly weird conversations, and their personalities are all revealed piece by piece until complications lead to the plane crashing. Through a diverse group of characters, the short play tackled issues like race, politics and age rather fluidly, and it was something quite special to see the interactions between them. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2013

The Delling Shore / by Sam Marks

A dark comedy about two feuding middle-aged novelists and their daughters who reunite for a disastrous weekend in the country. Marks is a savagely funny playwright who avoids easy distinctions between winners and underdogs as the two writers pick at old wounds and land fresh blows. The power exchanges between characters are delicately wrought but wielded like daggers, and in the end, neither man looks good in his daughter's eyes. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2013

27 Ways I Didn't Say "Hi" to Laurence Fishburne / by Jonathan Josephson

One of Jonathan's favorite actors is sitting right over there. Just sitting there. He'd love to speak to him, but will he be able to build up the nerve? This "hilarious" meta-within-meta-theatrical comedy was championed a "2013 Humana Festival Hit." In the anthology: Humana Festival 2013

Gnit / by Will Eno

Is laziness the opposite of love? Is the search for the Self for total nobodies? These are questions posed through the prolific pen of Will Eno, one of America's leading contemporary playwrights, whose talents for playful idiosyncratic language shine through in Gnit. Watch closely as Peter Gnit, a funny-enough but so-so specimen of humanity, makes a lifetime of bad decisions, on the search for his True Self, which is disintegrating while he searches. A rollicking and very cautionary tale about, among other things, how the opposite of love is laziness. Gnit is a faithful, unfaithful, and willfully American reading of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, a 19th-century Norwegian play which is famous for all the wrong reasons, written by Will Eno, who has never been to Norway. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2013 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gnit/6Fn6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gnit+/+by+Will+Eno&printsec=frontcover

O Guru Guru Guru, or why I don't want to go to yoga class with you / by Mallery Avidon

Lila grew up in an ashram, but she does not want to go to yoga class with you. Not because she doesn’t like stretching or has no discipline or worries she might be bad at it. Not because she doesn’t like you. The reason Lila doesn’t want to go to yoga class is not easy to explain—but let her try. A disarming look at the precarious process of becoming yourself. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2013

Cry Old Kingdom / by Jeff Augustin

Haiti, 1964. Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier’s repressive regime has forced once-successful artist Edwin into hiding, turning him into a walking ghost. When Edwin finds a young man building a boat to escape to America, and persuades him to pose for a painting, he finally feels alive again. But with cries for revolution resounding through the nation and the regime’s death squads on the prowl, no one’s life is safe. Sometimes trying to dream and survive forces impossible choices. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2013

A Devil at Noon / by Anne Washburn

A Devil at Noon features science fiction writer Chet, who is working on another book. His imagination runs wild, and the journey becomes addicting, powerful, and altogether dangerous. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2011

The Edge of Our Bodies / by Adam Rapp

Bernadette is 16. She is pregnant. Her boyfriend doesn’t know. Much more importantly than all that, however, she will soon be auditioning for her high school’s production of Genet’s The Maids. As she stands on the cusp of adulthood, she must learn to untangle the real world outside from the thorns of her imagination. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2011

Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them / by A. Rey Pamatmat

Three kids – Kenny, his sister Edith, and their friend Benji – are all but abandoned on a farm in remotest Middle America. With little adult supervision, they feed and care for each other, making up the rules as they go. But when Kenny's and Benji's relationship becomes more than friendship, and Edith shoots something she really shouldn't shoot, the formerly indifferent outside world comes barging in whether they want it to or not. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2011

BOB / by Peter Shinn Nachtrieb

BOB chronicles the highly unusual life of Bob and his lifelong quest to become a “Great Man.” Born and abandoned in the bathroom of a fast food restaurant, Bob energetically embarks on an epic journey across America and encounters inspiring generosity, crushing hardships, blissful happiness, stunning coincidences, wrong turns, lucky breaks, true love and heartbreaking loss. Along the way, Bob meets a myriad of fellow countrymen all struggling to find their own place in the hullaballoo of it all. Will Bob’s real life ever be able to live up to his dream? BOB is a comedic exploration of American mythology and values, the treacherous pursuit of happiness, and discovering what it means to be truly “great." In the anthology: Humana Festival 2011 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bob/QJ2WWHnny7AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BOB+/+by+Peter+Shinn+Nachtrieb&printsec=frontcover

Elemeno Pea / by Molly Smith Metzler

It’s just after Labor Day and Martha’s Vineyard has started emptying out, but you can still smell the suntan lotion (the expensive kind). And the expensive life is just what Simone is living these days as personal assistant to Michaela Kell, trophy wife of an absurdly rich (and often absent) New York ad man. When Simone’s older sister, a social worker from blue-collar Buffalo, comes to visit, lifestyles – and worlds – collide. This keenly observed comedy about class, family, and the choices that shape who we are unfolds in real time; fast, furious, and funny. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2011

Chicago, Sudan / by Marc Bamuthi Joseph

A short play which uses movement and verse to unlock a mother’s connection between an East African genocide and a Midwestern homicide. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2011

Hygiene / by Gregory Hischak

Wendy has been sent home from school with a parasite growing out of her head. This rhythmic display of family dysfunction proves the old adage: the trouble with normal is that it always gets worse. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2011

Mr. Smitten / by Laura Eason

Anna comes unglued in the veterinarian's office when she discovers her beloved cat is not long for this world. Strangers find comfort and connection in this surprising comedy about pets and their people. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2011

Last of the Pearl Fishers / by Hannah Khalil

Last of the Pearl Fishers is a radio play set in contemporary Dubai in which an ex-pat English woman becomes obsessed with her maid's disappearance. Resolving to find her, her search throughout Dubai proves more of a challenge that she bargained for. In the anthology: Plays of Arabic Heritage

A Negotiation / by Hannah Khalil

A Negotiation is a monologue performed by an unnamed Iraqi woman at the site of a threatened antiquity about the power and legacy of artefacts. In the anthology: Plays of Arabic Heritage

Plan D / by Hannah Khalil

Plan D looks at the Palestinian experience through the eyes of a family living through the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. In the anthology: Plays of Arabic Heritage

The Dungeons and the Dragons / by Kyle John Schmidt

An elf, a warrior and a wizard fight a necromancer in an enchanted village . . . while their real-life counterparts suffer as teenagers in rural America. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2012

The Ballad of 423 and 424 / by Nicholas C. Pappas

When a new neighbor moves in next door to one of the most popular and reclusive novelists in the world, she knocks his entire obsessive routine out of balance. In this opening-and-closing-door ballet of love and loneliness, will either be brave enough to answer the other's knock? In the anthology: Humana Festival 2012

The Hour of Feeling / by Mona Mansour

It’s 1967, and the map of the Middle East is about to change drastically. Fueled by a love of English Romantic poetry, Adham journeys from Palestine to London with his new wife, Abir, to deliver a career-defining lecture. As the young couple’s marriage is tested, Adham struggles to reconcile his ambitions with the pull of family and home. But what if seizing the moment means letting go of everything he knows? In the anthology: Humana Festival 2012

The Veri**on Play / by Lisa Kron

When Jenni called customer service all she wanted was to fix a minor problem with her cell phone bill. Instead she was sucked into a vortex of unimaginable horror. Now she wants revenge - or to get her cell phone service turned back on. Part thriller, part screwball comedy, part based on actual events that have undoubtedly happened to YOU. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2012

Michael von Siebenburg Melts Through the Floorboards / by Greg Kotis

Immortality was once tasty for 500-year-old Austrian baron Michael von Siebenburg, but the existential grind of modern living has worn him down. A dark comedy about the monsters that still lurk in our midst, and the age-old struggle to stay hungry and relevant. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2012

Hero Dad / by Laura Jacqmin

In the anthology: Humana Festival 2012

Death Tax / by Lucas Hnath

It’s December 2010. Infirm Maxine thinks her daughter is paying Nurse Tina to gently nudge her into the grave before the new year. Maxine thinks Tina’s doing this so her daughter doesn’t have to pay hefty estate taxes, taxes that take effect on January 1. Nurse Tina adamantly denies Maxine’s accusations, but when Maxine offers Tina a portion of her sizable estate on the condition that she lives until the 1st, Tina changes her tune. But of course, the plan doesn’t go according to plan. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2012 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Death_Tax/Nl-2MkkA1G4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Death+Tax+/+by+Lucas+Hnath&printsec=frontcover

How We Got On / by Idris Goodwin

Hank, Julian, and Luann are three talented, determined suburban teens coming of age in the 1980s. Dreaming of fame and fortune in the new Hip-Hop music scene, they must overcome cultural isolation, familial dysfunction, and ruthless rivalries to make the music that defines their lives. A sultry DJ spins their stories with her own meta-theatrical perspective in this contemporary ode to the roots of rap. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2012

Joshua Consumed an Unfortunate Pear / by Steve Yockey

Joshua and Amelia are having relationship problems. Surprisingly, the immortality-granting pears he comes home with don’t seem to help either of them. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2015

So Unnatural a Level / by Gary Winter

A hilarious little set piece about in ineffective bureaucrats and hazmat-clad lab rats confronted with an ecological disaster of amusing proportions. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2015

The Glory of the World / by Charles Mee

A series of toasts to Thomas Merton on the occasion of his 100th birthday erupts into a raucous party. 17 men in party hats toast Merton’s many facets, asking: What makes a man? What makes a saint? What if nothing is sacred and everything is? As the night devolves, each facet of Merton’s contested image—silent monk, poet, spiritual anarchist, Buddhist thinker—inspires more speeches, slow dances, makeouts, fist fights, and silent reflections, and considers how we can live fully in all our contradictions, and leap into the unknown. A layered portrait of what it is to be a human being, full of contradictions and life. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2015

I Will Be Gone / by Erin Courtney

Seventeen-year-old Penelope goes to live with her Aunt Josephine in a small town in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains after her mom dies. Everyone in this small town—built right next door to a ghost town—is haunted by something or someone, and no one knows how to behave. Filled with apparitions, earthquakes, and strange attempts to mourn, this play explores the beauty and awkwardness of living with the knowledge that everything ends. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2015

Rules of Comedy / by Patricia Cotter

Caroline is really, really not funny. Which is why she hires Guy, a stand-up comedian with some hang-ups of his own, to teach her how to tell jokes. But it turns out that they both have things to learn from one another, about life as well as laughter. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2015

Some Prepared Remarks (A History in Speech) / by Jason Gray Platt

The story of one life is told over the course of seven short speeches. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2014

Poor Shem / by Gregory Hischak

A semi-compassionate business woman struggles to treat the death of a co-worker with respect despite the overriding Office Mentality that permeates her and her two colleagues, but when faced with the decision of whether to call for help or call for a technician to fix the printer her co-worker died in, she joins her co-workers in feeling the printer’s functioning is more important. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2014

The Grown-Up / by Jordan Harrison

Ten year old Kai is given a magical crystal door-knob by his grandfather that enables him to travel through space and time to see future events in his life. The further along he goes, the less he feels like he's seeing into his future, but more that he is living life as most people do; all too quickly. Both poignantly sad and zany, Pulitzer Prize finalist Jordan Harrison expands on the notion that life is too short to miss any moment of it. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2014

Partners / by Dorothy Fortenberry

Partners by Dorothy Fortenberry tackles adult partnerships as it involves complex relationships. Four friends in Brooklyn share many common interests. Clare is a gourmet chef just out of culinary school who photographs food for advertising agencies. Her best friend and potential business partner, Ezra is a gay man who strives to “make it’ by creating a mobile Mexican-styled food truck with Clare. Clare is determined to have Ezra and Brady get married. She wants that more than Ezra and Brady. Meanwhile, Paul is the supportive yet subtly domineering husband to Clare. Partners cleverly explores how often we become more obsessed with getting our friends (partners) toward what we think they should be (or do) than what they may actually want. Ezra cares more about Clare’s career than she does; Brady is more comfortable supporting Ezra than Ezra is about supporting himself. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2014

Winter Games / by Rachel Bonds

It's the dead of winter in this small Pennsylvania town, a day like all the others: the stray cats roam; the customers huddle outside; Jamie cheerfully prepares to open the bakery. But all is not right with Mary... As stray cats prowl and dough rises, two sardonic twenty-somethings flirt with dreams of Olympic glory - or maybe just escape from the small town bakery where they work. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2014

HEIST! / by Deborah Stein

The delightfully cliché-ridden story line is built around a much-anticipated, socially prominent museum event unveiling a priceless new work by reclusive contemporary art legend Archie Pellago. Security is tight, but undeterred art thieves still manage to steal the masterpiece in a stunning coup. Scotland Yard, Interpol, and tough-talking Louisville Police Commissioner Jefferson Washington Franklin join forces to apprehend the perpetrators, who appear to have global interconnections. Commissioner Franklin enlists museum goers in the hunt for the criminals by assigning them to groups that uncover chunks of information in different museum settings that provide back stories. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2010

The Cherry Sisters Revisted / by Dan O'Brien, music by Michael Friedman

How far can you go with ambition, gumption, a good heart -- and no talent? The Cherry Sisters' dreams of Vaudeville took them from their Iowa barn to Broadway, where their inept acrobatics and tone-deaf caterwauling continually sold out, bringing them fame -- and a barrage of rotten cabbages. Based on a true story and with music by Michael Friedman, Dan O'Brien's thought-provoking comedy takes a look at the insatiable urge to perform, and the audience's inability to look away. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2010

The Method Gun / by Kirk Lynn

The Method Gun explores the life and techniques of Stella Burden, actor-training guru of the 60s and 70s, whose sudden emigration to South America still haunts her most fervent followers. Ms. Burden’s training technique, The Approach (often referred to as “the most dangerous acting technique in the world”), fused Western acting methods with risk-based rituals in order to infuse even the smallest role with sex, death and violence. A play about the ecstasy and excesses of performing, the dangers of public intimacy and the incompatibility of truth on stage and sanity in real life. Using found text from the journals and performance reports of Stella Burden’s company, The Method Gun re-enacts the final months of her company’s rehearsals for their nine-years-in-the-making production of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Stella left the company under mysterious circumstances in 1972. Diaries and letters from actors in the company express a sense of desperation, inadequacy, and frustration inherent to the process of creating meaningful work for the stage and in everyday life. Set amid swinging pendulums and talking tigers, The Method Gun bounces between interior monologues, rehearsal sequences of “Streetcar,” and group interactions – all gleaned from historical documents – to express a longing for the return of inspiration and a more believable presentation of self in everyday life. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2010

Sirens / by Deborah Zoe Laufer

When Sam Abrams first fell in love with Rose he wrote her a song which has been covered by every recording artist and translated to every language. It is heard in every elevator and on every cell phone ringtone. And for twenty-five years, Sam has been looking for the creative spark that this first flush of love had inspired in him – to no avail. Sam and Rose are now celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary with a cruise in the Mediterranean. And while on this cruise, Sam hears the most sublime music ever heard, jumps overboard, and winds up with a Siren. And there on her island he must struggle with the terrors of middle age, the tortures of creative failure, and the desire to live in his past rather than face his uncertain future. And he must find a way to get home and win his wife back. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2010 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sirens/gTWk30NrRUIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sirens+/+by+Deborah+Zoe+Laufer&printsec=frontcover

An Examination of the Whole Playground / Actor Relationship Presented as Some Kind of Cop Show Parody / by Greg Kotis

The play will leave you doubled up in stitches as it brilliantly marries metatheatrical lunacy with police drama. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2010

Post Wave Spectacular / by Diana Grisanti

Three plucky women, united by one man’s addictive charms, invite his latest conquest to tea. When the party becomes an intervention, this sudden sisterhood takes a turn. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2010

Lobster Boy / by Dan Dietz

One-act drama exploring the nature of sibling rivalry and the life-long consequences of loss through the story of two brothers, one of whom can literally feel no pain. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2010

Let Bygones Be / by Gamal Abdel Chasten

In the anthology: Humana Festival 2010

You Across from Me / by Jaclyn Backhaus, Dipika Guha, Brian Otano, and Jason Gray Platt

We gather at tables on good days and bad, for ordinary rituals and once-in-a-lifetime encounters. But in polarizing times, what does it really mean to come to the table? Does it bring us together, or reveal just how far apart we truly are? With electric wit and fierce imagination, four writers explore this surprisingly complicated act, and the many ways we connect, confront and compromise. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2018

Marginal Loss / by Deborah Stein

Days after 9/11, the few surviving employees of an investment firm based near the top of the Twin Towers gather in a New Jersey warehouse. Shell-shocked and grief-stricken, they work around the clock to reconstruct what’s left of their company with determination, pen and paper, and a temp who just wants to help. But as they struggle to recoup their losses, they wonder: what does getting “back to normal” really mean? In the anthology: Humana Festival 2018

we, the invisibles / by Susan Soon He Stanton

In 2011, the director of the International Monetary Fund was accused of sexual assault by a hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo, but all charges were dismissed. we, the invisibles introduces hotel workers like Diallo who have come to New York from all over the globe. This play is an investigation of the complicated relationship between the movers and shakers and the people who change their sheets. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2018

Evocation to Visible Appearance / by Mark Schultz

You wanna know what the future looks like? Samantha, 17 and possibly pregnant, longs for solid ground—but she’s haunted by the sense that nothing will last. Her college-bound boyfriend wants to go sing on The Voice, her dad’s asleep on the couch, and her older sister’s in treatment. When Sam befriends a tattooed musician, has she found someone who understands this fallen world? With black humor and black metal, this gripping new play gives form to a gathering darkness. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2018

Do You Feel Anger? / by Mara Nelson-Greenberg

Sofia was recently hired as an empathy coach at a debt collection agency—and clearly, she has her work cut out for her. These employees can barely identify what an emotion is, much less practice deep, radical compassion for others. And while they painstakingly stumble towards enlightenment, someone keeps mugging Eva in the kitchen. An outrageous comedy about the absurdity—and the danger—of a world where some people’s feelings matter more than others’. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2018 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Do_You_Feel_Anger/aDr1DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Do+You+Feel+Anger%3F+/+by+Mara+Nelson-Greenberg&printsec=frontcover

We've Come to Believe / by Kara Lee Corthron, Emily Feldman, and Matthew Paul Olmos

Consider the raw power of groupthink: hordes of collectors losing their minds over the latest consumer fad, hundreds of followers duped by a charismatic leader, and entire communities gripped by irrational panic. How do so many people come to share the same bizarre beliefs? How would we know if we are the ones who are deluded? Writing for the actors in this season’s Professional Training Company, three fearless playwrights dive into the absurd and sometimes hilarious world of collective delusion, and the alarming places it can lead. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2019

The Corpse Washer / adapted for the stage by Ismail Khalidi and Naomi Wallace

In an Iraq beset by decades of war and occupation, Jawad faces a difficult choice. Must he follow in his father’s footsteps washing the bodies of the dead—an honored Muslim tradition—or can he pursue his dreams of being an artist? Adapted from Iraqi writer Sinan Antoon’s award-winning novel, The Corpse Washer is a haunting portrait of a young man coming of age and a society’s fight for survival, in a country where life and death are inextricably intertwined. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2019

The Thin Place / by Lucas Hnath

The Thin Place is the story of two women, Hilda and Linda. Linda communicates, professionally, with the dead, who are still here, just in a different part of here, in the "thin place." She can make those who believe hear them, offering them peace and closure and meaning. Originally from rural England, she’s reestablished herself in the U.S.—birthplace of spiritualism—where she has continued to build a career out of her gift. Hilda, a keen listener and observer who’s grappling with loss, takes a great interest in Linda’s abilities. She befriends the veteran medium, seeking answers that lie across the fragile boundary between our world and the other one. Hnath’s play bristles with disquieting suggestion, probing the most timeless questions about reality, the impressionability of the mind, and the omnipresence of death as we float through life. Ever gifted at taking the pulse of the world around him, Hnath matches these universals with a timely resonance, distilling collective feelings of national chaos—and our political and spiritual vulnerabilities therein—to a chillingly personal scale. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2019

Everybody Black / by Dave Harris

A MAD BLACK HISTORIAN is offered lots of money to record the definitive version of THE BLACK EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA even though he has never met another Black person before. With capitalism and white approval on his side, he assembles a pastiche of Blackness in America a la George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum, which includes a Slave and a Black Millennial arguing about whose day was harder, a talk show for Black people who are addicted to dating white people, a Tyler Perry spoof, and a visit from Barack Obama. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2019

God's Ear / by Jenny Schwartz

A husband and wife have trouble coping with the loss of their son, they find themselves speaking in cliches and the husband travels to forget. The wife stays with their daughter and the tooth fairy and tries to figure out how to cope from home. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/God_s_Ear/jVBe9Se95VkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=God%27s+Ear+/+by+Jenny+Schwartz&printsec=frontcover

Project: Balangiga / by Ralph B. Peña and Sun Rno

The play is a documentary-style inquiry into the ongoing debate surrounding the proposed repatriation of the church bells taken by American soldiers from the town of Balangiga during the Philippine American War. The excerpted scene imagines a virtual town meeting between the residents of Balangiga and Cheyenne, Wyoming, where the bells are presently installed. In the anthology: Savage Stage: Plays by Ma-Yi Theatre Company

The Romance of Magno Rubio / by Lonnie Carter

Set in the central valleys of California in the 1930s, the play focuses on Magno Rubio, an illiterate Filipino farm worker and his pen-pal courtship with Clarabelle, a white woman from Arkansas who advertises in the back pages of a “lonely hearts” magazine. Believing he’s found the woman of his dreams, Magno fantasizes about their life together, only to soon realize that reality and dreams do not always align. In the anthology: Savage Stage: Plays by Ma-Yi Theatre Company

PeregriNasyon / by Chris B. Millado

The play is based on Carlos Bulasan's book America Is in the Heart. The story concerns workers in the shipyards of Seattle, the canneries of Alaska and the fields of central California, and their continuing connections with their families in the Philippines. In the anthology: Savage Stage: Plays by Ma-Yi Theatre Company

Flipzoids / by Ralph B. Peña

In Flipzoids, a 70-year-old woman — a recent immigrant from the Philippines – crosses paths with a young Filipino man on a deserted beach in Southern California. Far from their native land, a cautious friendship ensues as they attempt to reconcile their very different understandings of their old home, and try to fit in to their new one. In the anthology: Savage Stage: Plays by Ma-Yi Theatre Company

Savage Acts / by Kia Corthron, Jorge Igancio Cortinas, Han Ong, and Sung Rno

Savage Acts examines how the perceptions and representations of ethnicity have changed over the past 100 years. At the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, thousands of ethnic tribes from America’s budding colonial empire were put on display for a paying public. Ainus from Japan, Batwa from the Congo, Patagonian Giants, Sioux, Maricopa, Cheyenne Indians, and dogeaters from the Philippines performed before audiences simultaneously awed and repelled by displays of exotic beauty and primitive savagery. 100 years later, have we learned anything? In the anthology: Savage Stage: Plays by Ma-Yi Theatre Company

Trial by Water / by Qui Nguyen

Hung and his brother are forced to flee a war-ridden Vietnam to America. But what should be a lucky escape becomes more horrifying than they ever imagined when their boat breaks down in the middle of the ocean. Now Hung must fight to hold on to his humanity amid a desperate struggle to survive. Based on the real Vietnamese Bolinao crisis, this deeply affecting drama tells a harrowing tale with wit, humor, and utmost care. In the anthology: Savage Stage: Plays by Ma-Yi Theatre Company

Middle Finger / by Han Ong

Ong tells the story of teenage boys in a repressive Catholic school, capturing perfectly their language, circumstances, and angst. The school, with its ignorant leaders, lays a burden of sin and guilt on its young charges which some survive, while others do not. Specifically, the tale is about Jakob and Benjamin, two Filipino/American boys, each of whom comes to terms with life in his own way. Benjamin, the conscientious student, is treated more unfairly than Jakob, and ultimately cracks. But the rebellious Jakob, Ong's anti-hero, survives—and survives on his own terms. The title itself encapsulates his attitude toward authority. But he moves from petty acts of sabotage, to a new, sophisticated level of control behind a façade of compliance. In the anthology: Savage Stage: Plays by Ma-Yi Theatre Company

Alchemy of Desire/Dead-Man's Blues / by Caridad Svich

A play with original songs set in a primeval landscape of swamp and burnt-out woods. The death of a young soldier (killed in a recent war) sends his widow, and a community of women left behind, on a journey where the soldier’s ghost, fried chicken and other mysteries of spirit and nature come together in a search for pure grace. In the anthology: Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theatre and Performance Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Alchemy_of_Desire_Dead_Man_s_Blues/6kPTAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Alchemy+of+Desire/Dead-Man%27s+Blues+/+by+Caridad+Svich&printsec=frontcover

Greetings from a Queer Señorita / by Monica Palacios

In the anthology: Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theatre and Performance

Trash: A Monologue / by Pedro R. Monge-Rafuls

In the anthology: Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theatre and Performance

Ragged Time / by Oliver Mayer

1898 in a Deep South of the Mind. A blind black streetsinger buys a Mexican child to be his lead boy; the two of them come face to face to the real America - then and now. In the anthology: Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theatre and Performance

Skin: An Adaptation of Buchner's Woyzeck / by Naomi Iizuka

Skin is a modern re-telling of Georg Buchner’s classic play Woyzeck. Set in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s, it tells the story of a young man who is desperately searching for something to believe in as his world is torn apart by the infidelity of his girlfriend. In the anthology: Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theatre and Performance

Fur: A Play in Nineteen Scenes / by Migdalia Cruz

In the midst of a post-apocalyptic sandstorm, Citrona, a young woman whose body is covered in fur, is purchased, caged and fetishized by a pet shop owner named Michael. When he hires beautiful Nena to hunt for Citrona’s food, an absurd and captivating love triangle ensnares all three characters. Intense, primal and delightfully bizarre, Migdalia Cruz‘s FUR exposes the beating heart of impulsive, unconventional desire. In the anthology: Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theatre and Performance

Stuff / by Coco Fusco and Nao Bustamante

In 1996, the playwrights came together to create a performance that dealt with Latin women, food and sex. They decided that tourism was the thread that tied all of our interests together. Though only five percent of the world’s population travels for leisure, the international tourist industry is the second largest employer in today’s global economy, and the most important link to North America for much of South America’’s population. Stuff is their look at the cultural myths that link Latin women and food to the erotic in the Western popular imagination. They weave their way through multilingual sex guides, fast food menus, bawdy border humor, and much more. Their spoof, however, is not without a serious side. Latin American literature is full of references to cannibalism - as the European fear of the indigenous “other” as a cannibal, as a trope for Europe and America’s ravaging of Latin America’s resources, and finally, as the symbolic revenge of the colonized who feed off the colonial. If food here serves as a metaphor for sex, then eating represents consumption in its crudest form. Cultural consumption involves the trafficking of that which is most dear to us all - our identities, our myths and our bodies. Stuff is the playwrights' commentary on how globalization and “cultural tourism” leave Latin women little choice other than to satisfy consumer desires for “a bit of the other. ” In the anthology: Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theatre and Performance

Straight as a Line / by Luis Alfaro

He is an ex-hustler dying of AIDS in New York City. She is his mother, an ex-prostitute dying to have him come live with her in Las Vegas. Brilliant comedy teams are supposed to be oil and water, opposites who drive audiences to risible distraction. Paulie and Mum may be the first conjoined twins who rate on the laughter scale because they are each other and just don't know it. The critical comic difference is the Kaposi Sarcoma that has derailed Paulie's go-go-boy career and sent him to the subway station to hurl himself under the next express train. That's where Luis Alfaro's comedy "Straight as a Line" begins, and it is typical of the verbal Punch and Judy humor in his two-character play that while Mum isn't outraged she is definitely concerned, in her own Las Vegas sort of way. In the anthology: Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theatre and Performance

NSFW / by Lucy Kirkwood

A sharp comedy about power games and privacy in the media and beyond. Carrie's getting them out for the lads, Charlotte's just grateful to have a job, Sam's being asked to sell more than his body, and Aidan's trying to keep his magazine from going under. Set in the cut-throat media world, Lucy Kirkwood's comedy exposes power games and privacy in the age of Photoshop. [NSFW = Not Safe For Work, online material which the viewer may not want to be seen accessing in a public or formal setting such as at work.] In the anthology: Chimerica and Other Plays

small hours / by Lucy Kirkwood

A collaborative theatre piece created by playwrights Lucy Kirkwood and Ed Hime with theatre director Katie Mitchell, small hours is an intimate dissection of the claustrophobic world of a new mother struggling to cope on her own. In the anthology: Chimerica and Other Plays

it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now / by Lucy Kirkwood

A luminous journey exploring the life of Dijana Polancec: professional romantic, eternal optimist and accidental prostitute. Lucy Kirkwood's it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now is a play about modern-day sex trafficking. In the anthology: Chimerica and Other Plays

The Naked Eye / by Jez Butterworth

A family gears up to catch Halley's Comet as it passes through the night sky, knowing that it won't be back for another hundred years. In the anthology: Mojo and Other Plays

Leavings / by Jez Butterworth

Ken's dog Dolly has gone missing. Without her, all he's left with are his fading memories and the sound of the sea for comfort. In the anthology: Mojo and Other Plays

The Winterling / by Jez Butterworth

West waits in a burnt-out farmhouse, on Dartmoor, in the depths of winter, for two associates from the city. The wine has been poured and the revolver loaded. But who is waiting upstairs? Here, Dartmoor becomes the Siberia of the south-west. Len West, an exiled gangster turfed out for untrustworthiness, gradually claims his territory off local badger-fighting hobo Draycott. However, the past comes a-knocking, when Wally, West’s former associate, turns up with new recruit Patsy in tow. The choice is between two communities, neither of which society would condone. In the anthology: Mojo and Other Plays

The Night Heron / by Jez Butterworth

The Night Heron tells the tale of two gardeners battling an oppressive religious cult. The sighting of a rare bird attracts attention to the bleak countryside east of Cambridge University. The visiting birdwatchers cannot know what dangers lie in the freezing darkness of the marshes where two laid-off Cambridge University gardeners struggle to survive the winter in a ramshackle cabin. Wattmore, bruised and bleeding, is recording the Old Testament. Griffin arrives with fish and chips. To help make ends meet, they enter a local poetry competition and take in a female lodger, the intense and mysterious ex-convict Bolla Fogg, who subsequently kidnaps a student at a Cambridge poetry society meeting with the hopes of having him write the winning poem. Meanwhile, the local townsfolk are stirring... one of the gardeners, who has become involved in a mad cult religion, stands accused of sexually abusing a young boy and the town is out for revenge. In the anthology: Mojo and Other Plays

Rice Boy / by Sunil Kuruvilla

In front of a house in India, sixteen-year-old Tina learns the ancient art of kolam from her grandmother, the creation of elaborate patterns with rice powder, in preparation for a man she has never met. In front of a house in Canada, Tina’s cousin Tommy sits in a tree, trying to make sense of his heritage. As the stories of Tina and Tommy become more intertwined, a pattern of quiet rebellion and enduring love between generations and cultures emerges. In the anthology: Version 3.0: Contemporary Asian American Plays

Swoony Planet / by Han Ong

The play presents a lyrical story of Asian immigrants searching for missing family members, and seeking for happiness in all the wrong places in modern-day America. In the anthology: Version 3.0: Contemporary Asian American Plays

wAve / by Sung Rno

M, who has emigrated to America with her computer-career husband Jason but continues to feel alienated. Meanwhile, Jason fits into the new culture more easily and son Junior more easily still. wAve is a loose adaptation of Medea. In the anthology: Version 3.0: Contemporary Asian American Plays

Last of the Suns / by Alice Tuan

The play tells of a Chinese Nationalist army general shriveling away under the harsh California sun as his failed and defecting ice-skating granddaughter comes to visit him on his 100th birthday. In the anthology: Version 3.0: Contemporary Asian American Plays

Question 27, Question 28 / by Chay Yew

In the wake of America’s entry into World War II, more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were forced to leave their homes, possessions, and communities and report to relocation centers and internment camps. This federal action, authorized by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 through Executive Order 9066, led to the suspension of many civil rights of Japanese Americans. Every February 19, the internment of Japanese Americans is remembered both for the hardship it caused and the lessons that can be learned with the hope that history will not repeat itself. One lasting legacy of the internment experience was the so-called “loyalty questionnaire,” which was designed to test the loyalty of the incarcerated Japanese Americans. Two questions, #27 (willingness to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces) and #28 (willingness to swear unqualified allegiance to the United States and forswear allegiance to any other nation or government), were both disturbing and confusing to the internees. Using these questions as a focal point to reveal the unfair treatment of the internees, Question 27, Question 28 vividly brings to life not only the experiences of the imprisoned Japanese Americans, but also of their non-Japanese contemporaries and how some of them reacted to this violation of civil rights. Told exclusively through the perspectives of women, Question 27, Question 28 is based on verbatim excerpts from oral histories and interviews. In the anthology: Version 3.0: Contemporary Asian American Plays

Zafira the Olive Oil Warrior / by Kathryn Haddad

"Zafira" shows us an Arab American school teacher sent to an internment camp along with other Arab and Muslim women. She tells her story from the present when she is homeless and living under the rebuilt 35W bridge in Minneapolis. Just days after the September 11 attacks, there were calls made to various radio stations across the United States, asking for Arab Americans to be placed in internment camps. Kofi Annan said, "When the world is compelled to coin a new term to take account of increasingly widespread bigotry, that is a sad and troubling development. Such is the case with Islamophobia." Haddad's play takes a compelling and critical look at Arab American identity, institutional racism, the struggles of different generations of immigrants, fears of Arabs and Muslims, and the possibility of a collective punishment in the U.S. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

The Wong Street Journal / by Kristina Wong

Part plushy TED lecture, part amateur hip-hop extravaganza, and part travelogue, The Wong Street Journal breaks down the complexities of global poverty, privilege and economic theory using uneasy-to-read charts, live hashtag wars, and riveting slideshows from post-conflict Northern Uganda. Wong tells the story of how she as a not-so-white savior, became a hip hop star in Northern Uganda. Wong combines self-skewering personal narrative with a hilarious interrogation of America’s legacy on the rest of the world. All of this plays against an all felt version of the New York Stock Exchange that Wong sewed with her own hands. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

The Wild Inside / by Cusi Cram

In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

The Adventures at Camp KaKeeKwaSha and the Magic Musky Casino! / by Marcie R. Rendon

In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Sun Sisters / by Vasanti Saxena

Sun Sisters is the story of a Chinese-American woman who is called home to take care of her mother, who is in the final stages of a terminal cancer. It is also the story of a lesbian who yearns for her mother's acceptance, and of a woman from her mother's past who had to face the pervasive homophobia of the 1960s and 1970s. The intersection of these parallel stories brings to light some of the differences in the LGBT experience today versus not so long ago. Differences that we can't afford to take for granted. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Standoff at Hwy#37 / by Vickie Ramirez

When a Native-American land-claim protest in upstate New York gets out of hand, Private Thomas Lee Doxdater, a Tuscarora member of the National Guard, turns his gun on his mentor and commanding officer. Now a fugitive from the government and a liability to his own people, Doxdater must decide whether to make a run for the Border or to make a stand. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Our Voices Will be Heard / by Vera Starbard

Set in a fictional Tlingit village in the late 19th century, “Our Voices Will Be Heard” is Vera Starbard’s semi-autobiographical story of a mother whose daughter is sexually abused by a relative. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

N*gg* / by Lynn Nottage

N*gg* is Nottage's personal exploration of a far too common word that has trailed her through life, at times inflicting invisible wound and challenging her to fight against the confines of its definition. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Lines in the Dust / by Nikkole Salter

2010, Essex County, NJ. When Denitra loses the charter school lottery for her daughter, she must find another way to escape from their underperforming neighborhood school. The answer seems like a risk well worth taking, but may end up requiring a bigger sacrifice than she ever could have imagined. Set over a half-century after Brown Versus The Board of Education, LINES IN THE DUST questions how far we've come and more importantly, where we go from here. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

He Lei no Kākā'āko: Woven Memories / by Tammy Haili'opua Baker

The play weaves together stories of today addressing the issues that former and current residents of Kākā'āko encounter in this rapidly evolving neighborhood. The play is an opportunity to offer perspectives on the transofrmation and loss in the community, to examine the challenges they face, adn to celebrate the diverse tapestry that we know as Hawai'i. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Gunshot Medley / by Dionna Michelle Daniel

Gunshot Medley confronts America’s racism through live music and spoken word as told by Betty, Alvis and George, all of whom are based on historically documented slaves who died in North Carolina before the signing of The Emancipation Proclamation. The three occupy a “hereafter” limbo space reminiscent of the site of their deaths—a cemetery-like space dominated by a tree, from which they were presumably lynched. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Food and Fadwa / by Lameece Issaq and Jacob Kader

Meet Fadwa Faranesh, an unmarried, 30-something Palestinian woman living in Bethlehem in the politically volatile West Bank. Known for her delectable cooking and deep-seated sense of duty to her family and aging father, our kitchen maven insists on continuing the preparations for the wedding of her younger sister, despite constraints of daily life under occupation. Politics blend with family tensions to create a sometimes humorous and sometimes heartbreaking meal. This new play melds the fight a Palestinian family wages to hold onto its traditional culture with its need to celebrate love, joy and hope. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Etchings in the Sand / by Meena Natarajan and Ananya Chatterjea

An exploration of memories, fragments of the past that remained with the playwrights as they traveled across continents. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary / by Marissa Chibas

In this one-woman tour de force, L.A.-based theater artist Marissa Chibas tells an astonishing tale centered on three towering figures in her life: her father, Raul, who co-wrote the manifesto for the Cuban revolution with Fidel Castro; her uncle, Eddy, who was the frontrunner for the Cuban presidency in 1951 before committing suicide; and her mother, Dalia, Miss Cuba runner-up in 1959. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Clothes / by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Clothes is about a young Indian woman, Sumita, and her cultural transition to America that is symbolized by her clothes and the color of her clothes. The traditional Indian attire for a woman is a sari and each one has its own purpose. Her clothes also indicate her progression from daughter, to wife, to woman. In the anthology: Contemporary Plays by Women of Color (2nd edition)

Nursing / by Adam Rapp

Nursing dramatizes a horrifying future: In 2053, the hallway is now a museum in which the financially desperate are injected with obsolete diseases for the amusement of a public that doesn’t know what it means to suffer, or to love.

Paraffin / by Adam Rapp

In Paraffin, an unhappily married couple is thrown together with a paralyzed war veteran, a bungling super and other lost souls searching to connect during the 2003 blackout.

The Small / by Anne Washburn

In which a man struggles to assemble a reality from his dreams, the dog very much wants to be taken for a walk, and the Natural Food store isn’t.

Hurricane / by Nilo Cruz

In Hurricane, a damaged family—a fire-and-brimstone missionary; his wife, who he saved in more than the spiritual sense; and their adopted son, who seems to have materialized from the ocean—face a shocking crisis when a hurricane ravages their Caribbean town. A celebration of humility, generosity, and kindness, Cruz's play explores the nature of identity, faith, and the redemptive power of love.

Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side / by Adrienne Kennedy

One of the American theater’s seminal writers, Adrienne Kennedy captures the Black experience in America in the 20th century with a trademark embrace of symbolism, lyricism, and mythic figures. Etta and Ella Harrison are talented academics on the Upper West Side – as well as sisters and rivals. After a lifetime of competition, they are on the verge of destroying each other.

What would Crazy Horse do? / by Larissa FastHorse

Inspired by historical interest in the KKK’s collaborations with Indigenous groups, What Would Crazy Horse Do? examines the lives of Calvin and Journey—twins who are the last two members of Marahotah clan. Floundering after their grandfather’s passing, they form a suicide pact in case their lives on the reservation become too hopeless. However, when two white strangers arrive claiming their families have a shared history, the twins’ world is torn wide open. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Thanksgiving_Play_What_Would_Crazy_H/PraZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+thanksgiving+play+/+by+Larissa+FastHorse&printsec=frontcover

The Same / by Enda Walsh

Two women called Lisa meet in a psychiatric institution, where each tells their story about moving to a new city and crossing paths with one another.

Woolf's Orlando / by Sarah Ruhl

Spanning three centuries, Orlando chronicles the boisterous adventures of a young nobleman in Queen Elizabeth’s court who awakens in the middle of his life to discover he is now a she – and immortal to boot. Sarah Ruhl’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel is a wild, fantastical trip through space, time and gender. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chekhov_s_Three_Sisters_and_Woolf_s_Orla/GO3oCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Woolf%27s+Orlando+/+by+Sarah+Ruhl&printsec=frontcover

Melancholy Play / by Sarah Ruhl

Tilly’s melancholy is of an exquisite quality. She turns her melancholy into a sexy thing, and every stranger she meets falls in love with her. One day, inexplicably, Tilly becomes happy, and wreaks havoc on the lives of her paramours. Frances, Tilly’s hairdresser, becomes so melancholy that she turns into an almond. It is up to Tilly to get her back.

Late: a Cowboy Song / by Sarah Ruhl

This play is for all the lady cowboys of heart and mind who ride outside the city limits of convention. Mary, always late and always married, meets a lady cowboy outside the city limits of Pittsburgh who teaches her how to ride a horse. Mary’s husband, Crick, buys a painting with the last of their savings. Mary and Crick have a baby, but they can’t decide on the baby’s name, or the baby’s gender. A story of one woman’s education and her search to find true love outside the box.

The Uneasy Chair / by Evan Smith

Somewhere in the nineteenth century, Amelia Pickles, a prim and proper spinster of modest means, agrees to let out a room in her Victorian London establishment to a retired military man, Josiah Wickett. The arrangement seems to be working out until Mr. Wickett decides to play matchmaker with Miss Pickles’ prissy niece Alexandrina, and his nephew, Darlington, an officer in the cavalry. Through a gross misinterpretation, Miss Pickles believes she, not Alexandrina, is the object of Mr. Wickett’s, not Darlington’s, affection. Miss Pickles is convinced Mr. Wickett will soon ask for her hand in marriage. When he denies, she decides to take her boarder to a court of law for breach of promise. Mr. Wickett loses the trial. Or does he win? He doesn’t wish to pay Miss Pickles her settlement and instead he opts to marry the lonely woman. Through the musings, regrets, anecdotes, and comedic bickerings between their forced duet it seems as though just maybe they were meant to be together after all. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1998 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Uneasy_Chair/vlLMN2LRSZYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Uneasy+Chair+/+by+Evan+Smith&printsec=frontcover

The One-Eyed Man is King / by Carter W. Lewis

The One-Eyed Man is King is a charming and witty modern fable that addresses what it means to be “normal.” In telling this tale, Carter W. Lewis has flip-flopped the plot of H.G. Wells story, “The Country of the Blind,” which recalls the fate of a sighted man who stumbles into a lost South American society story of Bendalli, a wise and charming, yet blind, thief, who breaks into the stagnant, shrouded household of Lise and her husband, who has been terminally ill for several years. A perverse kinship is formed and in an unlikely twist of fate, Bendalli opens the eyes of his hostess, bringing something to her rather than taking it away. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1998

Snakebit / by David Marshall Grant

A study of modern friendship when put to the test, the play centers on Jonathan and his wife, Jenifer, while they visit their oldest friend, Michael, at his home in Los Angeles. Jonathan, an actor, is in L.A. auditioning for a film—his first big break at stardom—and he’s dragged Jenifer with him for support. Jenifer is distant because their daughter was left at home with a relative, and she’s become ill. Michael is distracted as his boyfriend has left him, and one of the children he counsels was beaten and put in a hospital where he cannot see her. At first the focus is on the universal questions we all face at one point or another, specifically self-doubt, and our selfish need for support. With the arrival of a guest, the play becomes deeper and forces us to see how ugly we can be when we look only at ourselves when we really should remember to look at others—especially those we love. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1998 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Snakebit/zXs4sZH7EtYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Snakebit+/+by+David+Marshall+Grant&printsec=frontcover

Nobody Dies on Friday / by Robert Brustein

When Marilyn Monroe quarrelled with her husband or felt the need for private acting lessons, she would seek asylum at the house of her acting coach Lee Strasberg, founder of the Actor’s Studio and guru of “the Method.” This heartfelt new play charts the impact of Monroe on the Strasberg family during one day in their life. An examination of the poisoning effect of celebrity on human relationships, Nobody Dies on Friday dramatizes the emotional and intellectual tensions among the four Strasbergs, whose quarrels over art, theater, and the purpose of acting threaten to tear the family apart. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1998

The Job / by Shem Bitterman

Frank, a down on his luck con artist, is trying to go straight and sober. His hooker girlfriend wants to get married. He applies at an "agency" where a contractor places him in the perfect "job." When Frank realizes he has been hired to murder an unemployed engineer who wants the insurance money for his family, he panics and subcontracts the hit to his old partner, a slick operator who is now making it as a fire and brimstone evangelist. There are deals, subdeals, and counterdeals, changes of mind and heart. Was Martin really knocked off? Where is the body? Will the Agency take revenge on Frank for a double cross? What really happened in Kansas City? In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1998 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Job/8HnjrNJjmsEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Job+/+by+Shem+Bitterman&printsec=frontcover

Hunger / by Sheri Wilner

A ravenous, inexplicable hunger wakens Diana in the middle of the night, hours after accepting Adam's marriage proposal. She eats all of the food in his Nantucket cabin, but her hunger is not abated and she is compelled to venture out to the beach alone. A mysterious stranger named Seymour emerges from the depths of the ocean, and presents her not only with oysters, but the opportunity to accompany him back into the sea. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1999

Prodigal Kiss / by Caridad Svich

A play with original songs that traces a young Cuban woman’s journey from the perilous Florida straits to various hidden corners of America. Both hallucination and dream, this play casts a lens on migration, longing and the often darkly humorous encounters of an exile on the road, caught between desire and faith. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1999

A Hotel on Marvin Gardens / by Nagle Jackson

“All I want is to run everything and always be right; now is that so much to ask?” Thus speaks K.C., the no-nonsense editor of ME magazine, a popular rag dedicated to the upwardly mobile. K.C. lives by herself on an island off the Connecticut coast, the island’s only inhabitant. It is April Fool’s Day. K.C. and her publisher-lover, Bo, are hosting their annual all-day Monopoly game. They have invited ME editor Henry, who brings along Food and Restaurant critic, Erna Tinker—"a bit of a dingbat, but she’s got a terrific palate.” Through the course of two acts we follow the game—both the familiar board game and the corporate game. What Henry does not know: K.C. intends to fire him after ten years of service. But that is not her main concern on this day: “I always put a hotel on Marvin Gardens, and I always win.” Suddenly, there is a knock at the door and a storm-bedraggled girl enters. Rose, a young schoolteacher, has been dumped on this island by a frustrated seducer. It is her presence and contrast to these terribly affluent and sophisticated New Yorkers that eventually leads to a showdown. Henry wants to “start a new life” with this young charmer; Bo and Erna end up having hanky-panky “in the pump house"; and K.C.—having eventually finagled Marvin Gardens—ends up all alone on her island. “I win” she says, sitting like a little girl among her toys. The discussions of “Passing Go,” “landing on Boardwalk,” etc., delight audiences who know this game by heart and the double meanings of corporate gamesmanship ring wickedly true, as America’s favorite board game becomes the metaphor for American greed. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1999 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Hotel_on_Marvin_Gardens/X0HIO5gdLdkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+Hotel+on+Marvin+Gardens+/+by+Nagle+Jackson&printsec=frontcover

Hearts / by Willy Holtzman

Donald Waldman is an 18-year-old Jewish street kid when he graduates high school in June of 1944. Six months later he's fighting for his life in the Battle of the Bulge and beyond as a forward observer for the 71st Infantry. Hearts moves back and forth between the closing days of combat and Donald's postwar pursuit of the American Dream. He has a life, a family, a small business and three wise-cracking, card-playing friends who would walk through fire for him. He also has an eating compulsion, chronic insomnia and bouts of depression that eventually land him on a psychiatric ward. Rather than surrender to the trauma of the past, Donald finds the courage to search back through memory to liberation day at Buchenwald and the tragic secret that has nearly devoured him. When he later meets a camp survivor on the Internet, of all places, he finally finds the absolution and peace he has hungered for in his heart. From the foxholes of Europe to the frontiers of cyberspace, Hearts looks at the invisible wounds of the "Greatest Generation" with humanity and surprising humor. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1999 Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exHeartsH81.pdf

Tiny Island / by Michael Hollinger

As little girls, nestled in the tiny projection booth of their family-owned cinema, Hazel and Muriel flew to exotic islands with their mother, lofted by the plane-like whir of the projectors. In her teens, Muriel found her first kiss there, underscored by the stirring music of a Hollywood romance. Now, in middle-age, Muriel returns to the fading movie palace where her estranged sister screens old films for a dwindling audience, and a new phenomenon called a video store has forebodingly appeared across the street. When Hazel, bitterly separated from her husband, insists she wants nothing to do with her sister, Muriel confesses she’s been hearing voices—little girls’ voices, late at night—and begs Hazel to help her resurrect the cinema and her own failing marriage. A poignant, powerful play about the limits of love and the limitless magic of the movies. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1999 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tiny_Island/Y9kTr1rGd6wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tiny+Island+/+by+Michael+Hollinger&printsec=frontcover

What Corbin Knew / by Jeffrey Hatcher

What Corbin Knew is a comedy about Richard Corbin who is an architect that has a fancy skybox. He meets and invites two new couples to enjoy his skybox. One couple is rich and obnoxious and the other is also obnoxious but struggling financially. By the end of Act 1, a death has occurred. The play shows one series of actions in Act 1. In Act 2, the audience sees a reinterpretation of the events that took place when Corbin was out of the room. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 1999

Psych / by Evan Smith

Molly's best friend Sunny Goldfarb is sweeter than sweet, a clinical psychology student, and a part-time dominatrix. When a female classmate accuses Sunny of verbal harassment, she is pulled into a world where psychological power reigns supreme and empathy is psychotic. It seems Molly must decide whom to betray: herself or Sunny. But is judging trust and betrayal really a matter of black and white? In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2001

Be Aggressive / by Annie Weisman

Vista Del Sol is paradise. Sandy beaches. Avocado-lined streets. But for seventeen-year-old cheerleader Laura, everything changes when her mother is killed in a car crash, and she is thrust into the role of caregiver for her precocious younger sister, Hannah, and her brittle father, Phil. Escape comes in the form of a ferocious fellow cheerleader. Leslie has a brochure about the Spirit Institute of the South, a two-week intensive where they can learn real cheer, the kind with Bible belt intensity. All they need is two weeks and a thousand bucks. Leslie gets her money easily, manipulating her overwrought single mother, Judy. But Laura has it harder. Her father is a consultant on a new and controversial freeway project, and he needs her home, taking care of Hannah. Desperate, Laura finally steals the money, and she and Leslie sneak off. Armed with only a Mobil card, the girls must face the open road together while a frantic Phil and Judy must cope with missing daughters. Once a part of the freeway protests, Judy now takes Phil’s side, and in each other, they see the mutual pain of a California dream lost. Hannah longs for her sister, and some order, to return. When Laura and Leslie finally arrive at their destination, a terrible realization awaits. The brochure that Leslie read was from twenty years ago, a relic she believed in out of desperation. In the void of the abandoned schoolyard, Laura finally confronts her mother’s loss. She’s ready to go home. Back at home, Phil, Judy and Leslie stand together at the freeway opening, cheering as they cut the ribbon. Laura refuses, taking Hannah to the beach to write things in the sand. It’s a dangerous, shifting place they live in, but facing the ocean they see hope and renewal there too. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2001 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Be_Aggressive/byXnafXUiMoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Be+Aggressive+/+by+Annie+Weisman&printsec=frontcover

Diva / by Howard Michael Gould

Behind the scenes of a tempestuous hit television sitcom, a no holds barred confrontation pits movie turned television star Deanna Denniger against her show's creator producer Isaac Brooks. After this explosive opening the scene shifts backward through time to the show's well intentioned origins. Shifting allegiances and surprising layers of interlocking relationships surface to provide constantly surprising revelations. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2001 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Diva/YhKOEQoIrgcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Diva+/+by+Howard+Michael+Gould&printsec=frontcover

Music from a Sparkling Planet / by Douglas Carter Beane

Whatever became of Tamara Tomorrow? In the early seventies, this local television host, in her antennae and space suit, made cheery predictions of how exciting the future was going to be. Her sudden disappearance from the public eye was one of the great mysteries of the Philadelphia area. Three fans of Tamara, all grown up and disenchanted with the “future” as she predicted, decide to go in search of this “Delaware Valley Greta Garbo.” What they find along the way teaches them more about themselves than they really thought they could know. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2001 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Music_from_a_Sparkling_Planet/_gACerX7jSQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Music+from+a+Sparkling+Planet+/+by+Douglas+Carter+Beane&printsec=frontcover

Chagrin Falls / by Mia McCullough

To live in Chagrin Falls, Oklahoma is to be in the killing business. The town’s major employers are a cattle slaughterhouse and a penitentiary where lethal injection is administered. Whether they work at the slaughterhouse, or play preacher or guard to death row inmates, or merely offer a bed and a hot meal to those visiting the prison, each resident of Chagrin Falls makes their living off of death and captivity. A week prior to a particular execution, an Asian-American graduate student comes to town — purportedly to do a story on a man who is scheduled to die. As this would-be journalist interviews a cross-section of the population she finds her subjects revealing far more than their opinions on capital punishment. She is repelled by the recently-retired slaughterhouse employee’s morbid humor and his strangely intense interest in her background. She is seduced by one prison guard’s painful tale of sacrifice, and is comforted by the naivete and kindness of another. Though she never gets what she came for, when she witnesses the execution she becomes one of them: a participant in the killing, an honorary resident of Chagrin Falls. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2001

Mothers/Son / by Lewis Morrow

John is black. Lydia is white. He's young(er), she's old(er). He's a man. She's a woman. His marriage is ending. Lydia's will endure forever no matter what. He's her son, she's his mother and that may be the only connection they have; it may also be the only connection they need. What starts off as him opening his home to her in a last ditch effort to help her get clean, soon turns into them both unpacking the past that has never been discussed and certainly from which they've never healed. In the anthology: Black Matters: Lewis Morrow Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Black_Matters_Lewis_Morrow_Plays/nNpzEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Black+matters+:+Lewis+Morrow+plays+/+by+Lewis+Morrrow&pg=PR4&printsec=frontcover

Begetters / by Lewis Morrow

Norma and Spicer have been married for forty years and should be enjoying their golden years. Spicer certainly worked hard enough throughout the years and they were blessed with beautiful children and grandchildren. However, after a recent tragedy strikes, they turn to therapy in an effort to answer questions no one else can answer. Through flashbacks and brutal realizations, they must come to terms with the truths that seemed to elude them for so long and maybe things were never what they seemed. In the anthology: Black Matters: Lewis Morrow Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Black_Matters_Lewis_Morrow_Plays/nNpzEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Black+matters+:+Lewis+Morrow+plays+/+by+Lewis+Morrrow&pg=PR4&printsec=frontcover

The Talls / by Anna Kerrigan

The Clarke family is dealing with some very tall problems. Just ask 17-year-old Isabelle Clarke. Negotiating Catholicism, politics and virginity in the 1970s can make the tallest girl feel really small. A comic Drama about coming of age when life's lessons come in all sizes. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2012

The Navigator / by Eddie Antar

Dave has had a run of bad luck. He's been out of work for 6 months, his wife and he are contemplating separating, his daughter's experimenting with drugs and he's just lot a ton of money in the stock market. He's afraid of making one more decision in his life. He suddenly gets a gift. His car navigation system begins to give him the answer to every issue in his life. Everything. He's grateful. He's happy. He'll never have to worry again. That's great, right? RIGHT??? In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2012

The Invested / by Sharyn Rothstein

Catherine Murdoch is the head of wealth management at MetroBank – one of the largest and most powerful banks in the world – where she was just passed over for CEO. When the corruption of the new CEO threatens her world and her values, Murdoch must decide where her alliances will lie – does she follow her ambitions or does she follow her conscience. Drawn from the financial crisis of 2008, THE INVESTED shows the rivalries, betrayals and alliances that could bring the world to the brink of economic disaster. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2012

CQ/CX / by Gabe McKinley

Jay, an up and coming reporter at The New York Times has dreams of becoming a famous journalist. But in a flash, they come crashing down when he becomes the center of a plagarism scandal. Exciting young playwright, Gabe McKinley weaves a revealing and complex story about the collatoral damage of unchecked ambition and compounded lies. In this new play inspired by current events, truth becomes slippery and racial tensions reach a boiling point. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2012

After / by Chad Beckim

When a wrongfully imprisoned man is exonerated by DNA evidence after seventeen years in prison, he is forced to re-assimilate into a cold, foreign world of toothbrush shopping, doggy day care, and a friendship with an anxious young woman with secrets of her own. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2012

phat girls / by Debbie Lamedman

phat girls is a fast-paced account of the struggle many women experience dealing with weight and body image. the audience is transported from childhood to adulthood, witnessing the development and many facets of an eating disorder, in addition to how these women learn to survive in a body-conscious society. We see inner demons personified as we follow each woman on her journey to self-acceptance. phat girls relates to these issues with humor, poignancy, and an honesty that everyone will be able to relate to. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2003

Homebound / by Javon Johnson

Homebound is set in a juvenile detention home. With a passionate intensity that leaves ample room for humor, he relentlessly exposes the fears, obsessions, and psychic wounds of his adolescent protagonists–a murderer, arsonist, drug dealer, and rapist–as they struggle to find hope in a world that’s labeled them expendable. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2003

Spanish Girl / by Hunt Holman

In Spanish Girl, a college student and his girlfriend receive a sudden visit from a 15 year old girl whom the man happened to have an affair with the previous summer. Naturally, things are not the same afterwards. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2003

Midnight / by David Epstein

Every good play becomes a mediocre movie. It is the winter of 1954. Neurotic Hollywood director James Halloway checks into the Ritz to try and salvage his career at a meeting with a powerful producer. Bumbling bellboys, out-of-work actors, drunken lawyers, loudmouth floozies and street-smart thugs, all converge at a mile a minute in this door slamming period farce. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2003

Corner Wars / by Tim Dowlin

The grim realities of life on the street and the battle for daily survival are the topical themes of Corner Wars. This new play with music by Tim Dowlin was inspired in part by events surrounding the deaths of seven drug dealers in Philadelphia. The fact that a lot of these troubled teens weren't users didn't change the fact that they were being used as pawns in a deadly business. Corner Wars reveals both the creative desires and the competitive edge shared by a group of young people forced to hustle to earn a meager living. Dowlin incorporates everything from junkies who need their next fix to dealers who are trying to get an education, and paints indelible portraits with each new character introduced. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2003

Smashing / by Brooke Berman

Twenty-one-year-old it-girl Abby and her plucky best friend, Clea, embark on a spur-of-the-moment revenge trip to London ⁠—⁠ Abby, in pursuit of the young novelist who has cannibalized her in his literary debut and Clea desperately seeking Madonna. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2003

Absolving Buckner / by Liam Kuhn

Three friends meet in a bar and, over the course of a long, booze-soaked night, discover that one of them is having an affair with the other's wife. A darkly comic tale of friendship, masculinity and forgiveness that plays out with Game Six of the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and Mets as a backdrop. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2002

Professional Skepticism / by James Rasheed

The play centers on four auditors at a Big Five CPA firm in Charleston, South Carolina, and their daily struggle to survive while swimming with sharks. An audit scandal threatens to change these characters into headline-making personalities. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2002

Unequalibrium / by Alexander Lyras and Robert McCaskill

Unequalibrium recounts five hysterical lives bound for collision during one of New York City’s nastiest snow storms. Like the tempest that links them, the monologues escalate toward a unifying climax that is hilarious and horrifying. A science teacher shaken by an impending sabbatical, a Greek plumber with a fail-safe Black-Jack system, a laid-off web-designer with a confrontational girlfriend, and a criminally minded defense attorney stumbling into a botched murder/robbery. Off-balance in their own way, the lives exposed in unequalibrium come full circle in a single chance event. At the storm’s height, the straight-laced scientist witnesses the crisis that pierces each character’s veil and instantly connects these four lives, forever. Teetering on the brink of insanity, life itself is grasped the only way it should ever be: tightly and with both hands. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2002

Birth / by Bless ji Jaja

In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2002

The West End Horror / by Anthony Dodge and Marcia Milgrom Dodge

A despicable theatre critic has been murdered, and Holmes and Watson are soon visited by George Bernard Shaw, an aspiring Irish playwright who entices Holmes to take the case. As they cross swords with the most famous literary luminaries of the day -- Oscar Wilde, Gilbert & Sullivan, Henry Irving, Bram Stoker, and a young H.G. Wells, Holmes and Watson come face to face with their own celebrity as they pursue the killer in this rollickingly funny whodunit. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2002

Boys and Girls / by Tom Donaghy

BOYS AND GIRLS is a contemporary look at family. Two couples in their early thirties, with a complicated history of love and loss, reach across vast obstacles in order to grow up, settle down and raise a child. But not necessarily in that order. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2002 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Boys_and_Girls/cvswzFCKWM8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Boy+and+Girls+/+by+Tom+Donaghy&printsec=frontcover

Cowboy versus Samurai / by Michael Golamco

A politically edgy examination of inter-racial dating and identity through irony, humor, and social commentary, Cowboy Versus Samurai is a laugh-out-loud, romantic comedy exploring the sexual dynamics that surface around race when an attractive Korean American woman moves to town. Travis Park is a high school English teacher and the only Korean American man living in a dusty cowboy town known as Breakneck, Wyoming. When a gorgeous, whip-smart Asian American woman moves into town, he immediately falls for her; the only problem is that she only dates white men. In this savagely funny and often-moving re-telling of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano De Bergerac, one man must choose allegiance between his cowboy friend (a dim, handsome, Caucasian P.E. teacher named Del) and his Asian Brother-with-a-Capital-B (crazed, militant Asian of Unknown Origin, Chester). He must choose between the Asian American and the American within himself – between Cowboy and Samurai – in a pursuit of a love that may only be as real as the love letters he writes for someone else. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2006 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cowboy_Versus_Samurai/eg58knfpzZIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Cowboy+versus+Samurai+/+by+Michael+Golamco&printsec=frontcover

Indoor/Outdoor / by Kenny Finkle

In this unabashedly sentimental comedy, a cat named Samantha has just started living with a guy named Shuman who she believes is her true love. At first everything seems to be going great. Samantha can't get enough of Shuman, and she can't get enough of him. But soon Samantha realizes that Shuman doesn't always seem to understand her. Worse yet, Shuman doesn't always seem all that interested in trying to understand her. Things become truly problematic when one night Oscar, a sexy alley cat, shows up at the door. Suddenly Samantha begins to wonder whether she's an indoor or an outdoor cat. To make matters more complicated, a quirky aspiring cat therapist named Matilda inserts herself into the mix, thinking she can solve everyone's problems but only seems to make things worse. Eventually Samantha finds herself on a journey, both physical and emotional, that leads her to discover what having a home and being loved really mean to her. INDOOR/OUTDOOR is an allegory about the difficulties and joys of all manner of relationships. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2006

War in Paramus / by Barbara Dana

It’s about a wild, rebellious, fifteen year old girl in a conservative family living in Paramus, New Jersey, who’s conventional older sister, who always does everything right, is getting married because she’s twenty-two and that’s what you do. Tensions rise until the young girl sets fire to Ethical Culture where the wedding is scheduled to take place. Set in 1970, the war in the family is so all consuming that the Vietnam War, happening somewhere “over there”, is an afterthought. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2006

Almost, Maine / by John Cariani

Welcome to Almost, Maine, a place that’s so far north, it’s almost not in the United States. It’s almost in Canada. And it’s not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it almost doesn’t exist. One cold, clear, winter night, as the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost, Maine, find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night’s dream. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2006 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Almost_Maine/Dv0Ej5WEJ-AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Almost,+Maine+/+by+John+Cariani&printsec=frontcover

Wild with Happy / by Colman Domingo

From the mind of Colman Domingo comes a deeply imaginative and utterly outrageous new work that explores the bizarre comedy that lies within death and healing. Gil, an actor who's struggling to carve out his own new life, finds his worlds colliding when his mother dies and he decides to have her cremated. But where should he scatter the ashes? And can he make a fairytale ending for her in the one place that made her WILD WITH HAPPY? In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2013 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wild_with_Happy/Mxz5lp26h8MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wild+with+Happy+/+by+Colman+Domingo&printsec=frontcover

The Vandal / by Hamish Linklater

Night, cold, a bus stop in Kingston, New York. A woman waits. A boy comes up. A stranger wants to make small talk at the bus stop. Oh man, why can’t he go find another bench? That seems to be the thought process of the woman in The Vandal, who is waiting for her ride when the teenage boy next to her attempts a chat. The woman, a foul-mouthed misanthrope, sniffs and pulls her jacket tighter as she bristles against the New York evening chill and the boy’s concentrated efforts at conversation. But gradually and intentionally, the boy transitions from irritating to endearing. He weasels his way into the woman’s affections, then drops a little bomb: he wants her to buy him some booze. Who can blame him? He’s a 17-year-old kid. The two of them sit and banter for a while, and she gives in. This does not exactly solidify her spot as an unflawed character, despite her proud efforts to appear distinguished. But somehow we don’t blame the woman any more than we do the boy. Neither does the grim fellow who owns the liquor store, once he forces her backstory out of her. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2013 Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/4723.pdf

Paloma / by Anne García-Romero

When NYU students Ibrahim and Paloma study an ancient Muslim treatise on the art and practice of love, they debate the complexities of romantic relationships while falling into one. When tragedy strikes this interfaith romance, it tests the limits of love in a post-9/11 world and Ibrahim must seek the help of his friend Jared, a young Jewish attorney, to clear his name. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2013

The Norwegians / by C. Denby Swanson

A strong, bitter comedy about women scorned in Minnesota and the really, really nice gangsters—Norwegian hit men—they hire to whack their ex-boyfriends. Olive is a transplant from Texas and Betty is a transplant from Kentucky, but neither of them was prepared for the Norwegian men they would fall in love with there: the practical, warm, thoughtful, destructive, evil, jilting kind. If you’re a hit man in Minnesota, 83% of your clients want to take out their ex (oofda!). Betty has referred Olive to Gus and Tor, a partnership in the whacking business. What Tor doesn’t know is that Gus has been sleeping with the clients. What Olive doesn’t know is that Gus is Betty’s own ex, and she has already put out a hit on him with a Swiss firm. Can Betty call off the job in time to let Gus do his? Should she? In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2013 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Norwegians/DERbBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Norwegians+/+by+C.+Denby+Swanson&printsec=frontcover

Bethany / by Laura Marks

At the height of the foreclosure crisis, single mother Crystal loses more than her house. She struggles to stay positive, though—with plenty of help from a roommate with conspiracy theories, a motivational speaker with a secret and her colleagues at the local Saturn dealership. But optimism is no match for a bad economy, and before long Crystal’s desperate quest to regain what she’s lost turns into the fight of her life. This darkly comic thriller explores just how far we’ll go to get back what’s ours. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2013 Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/4702.pdf

Book Group / by Marisa Smith

In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2004

Bee-Luther-Hatchee / by Thomas Gibbons

Shelita Burns, an African-American editor, publishes Bee-luther-hatchee, the autobiography of a reclusive 72-year-old woman named Libby Price. Shelita has never met Libby, and when the book wins a prestigious award she decides to deliver it to her in person. To her profound shock, the actual author of the book is a white man named Sean Leonard. Furious and resentful, Shelita accuses Sean of perpetrating a hoax, while he defends the book as a truthful work of imagination. Their confrontation, played out on the edge of the racial divide, builds to a jarring act of violence. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2004

Sisters of the Winter Madrigal / by Beth Henley

Calaih and Taretta, the orphaned daughters of Joshua the Cow Herder, live together in a hut outside a medieval village. Calaih, a girl with beautiful long red hair, roams the hills with her cow and falls desperately in love with Stephan, the Shoemaker’s son. Taretta, the older sister, is a ravishing seductress who is the most sought after prostitute in the land. Fortune changes for the two sisters when the High Lord proclaims he will marry Calaih because he is obsessed with her glorious hair, and Taretta’s arm becomes afflicted with a menacing disease.

L-Play / by Beth Henley

L-PLAY is a fascinating study of style, character and rhythm. The play is written in twelve scenes. Each scene has a unique style and is a mini play in itself. The element that unites these pieces is that each scene title begins with the letter L. The scenes include: “Learner,” a young student struggles to gain the affection of his beloved through poetry; “Lunatic,” an isolated woman fights going mad, goes mad, and after circling the edge finds redemption; “Leaving,” a piece performed in masks in which a granddaughter seeks to find the secrets of her dying grandmother’s life; “Loser,” a small-town guy tries to get his best friend to hit on his girlfriend to test her loyalty. The final piece, “Life,” is primarily a dance where the primitive family of Ones encounters the Shoe who presents them with the terrible joy of life.

Control Freaks / by Beth Henley

Sister Willard (a troubled woman who struggles with three personalities: Sister, Spaghetti and Pinkie) returns from jury duty to discover her brother, Carl, has married Betty. Carl and Betty have big plans to open up Furniture World. All they need is Sister’s signature on the papers, and the building will be theirs. Paul, the owner of the building, is invited over to sign the papers and have cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Sister decides to “set her cap” for Paul because she wants Carl to see that “she can get a man.” Betty doesn’t like this plan because she is secretly and very sexually involved with the seductive Paul. Murder, mayhem and memories unfold as these four desperate characters vie for ultimate control.

The Actor / by Horton Foote

This play tells the hilarious and moving story of a young man, bitten by the acting bug, who’ll make any sacrifice to keep his dream of a theatrical career from being crushed under the weight of his parents’ expectations for him. It’s a charming exploration of artistic ambition from one of modern theatre’s greatest artists. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blind_Date_and_The_Actor/xlwwRYOAFq0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Actor+/+by+Horton+Foote&printsec=frontcover

Down and Dirty / by Lee Blessing

The play evokes recent white-on-black and black-on-white killings in the American South. In a style poised carefully on the edge of absurdism, we discover a man dying in a car’s windshield as people argue over whether or not to save him. Part of Flag Day: A Play in two plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Flag_Day/MOxMMUNtNTcC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Ajax / by A. R. Gurney

An intrepid student adapts Sophocles’ defining war epic to the amusement of his English professor, a passionate ex-actress, who finds herself entangled with every aspect of the play—including the playwright. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Two_Class_Acts/Qs43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Squash+/+by+A.R.+Gurney&printsec=frontcover

3C (1978) / David Adjmi

The war in Vietnam is over and Brad, an ex-serviceman, lands in L.A. to start a new life. When he winds up trashed in Connie and Linda’s kitchen after a wild night of partying, the three strike a deal for an arrangement that has hilarious and devastating consequences for everyone. Inspired by 1970s sitcoms, 1950s existentialist comedy, Chekhov and Disco anthems, 3C is a terrifying yet amusing look at a culture that likes to amuse itself, even as it teeters on the brink of ruin.

Anthem / by Kristen Kosmas

ANTHEM, a companion play to THE MAYOR OF BALTIMORE, is the strangely empathetic and gentle monologue of a transient manufacturer of erotic blindfolds.

I cannot lie to the stars that made me / by Catherine Hernandez

This musical explores themes of resilience, lust, and the intersections between poverty and race. While the play has a lot to offer, the discussions of trauma may be triggering for some listeners. In three acts, these women come into their grief, embark on the fraught journey of healing, and endure the honest difficulty of this process.

¿Que pasa with la Raza, eh? / by Carmen Aguirre

¿QUE PASA with LA RAZA, eh? is the title of a play that deliberately mixes its English and Spanish to make a point about Vancouver's Latin-American community, asking "What's up with our race, eh?" Based on the experiences of the young people in The Latino Theatre Group, with whom it was co-written, the play looks at the stories of six people, each from a different Latin American country, as they cope with issues of sex, love, cultural identity, deportation and poverty after their arrival in Vancouver's eastside, including a young woman who must decide how to confront the man she recognizes from her childhood in Guatemala – one of the secret police members who "disappeared" her parents. In the anthology: Chili Con Carne and Other Early Works

Chile con carne / by Carmen Aguirre

Chile Con Carne is a darkly comic, semi-autobiographical monologue on the theme of exile, culture shock, and internalized racism from the point of view of a child torn between two worlds. Manuelita, the daughter of Chilean political refugees, desperately wants to fit in with her white, middle-class Canadian peers. But she's also keenly aware that she's an outsider, with parents who speak only Spanish, regard Canada as just a temporary haven and devote all their energies to opposing the military dictatorship of Chile's Pinochet regime that sent them into exile in mid 1970s Vancouver. In the anthology: Chili Con Carne and Other Early Works

Learning Curve / by Rogelio Martinez

Whilst he is asleep, photography major Sally takes some candid photographs of boyfriend David. One has her bra draped across his face. She exhibits the photographs and tells her professor that the black man in the photos is a homeless man she met. David's militant friend Henry sees the photographs and berates David for allowing a white girl to take the pictures. Later David, Henry, and other black students take over the University offices demanding a black studies program and more black professors. Years later, David teaches Black Studies and this university take over is part of the course In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2005

Texas Homos / by Jan Buttram

In the hilarious aftermath of a police sting operation in a public restroom, three men face the music when the morning paper announces their arrests. a prominent doctor, a Methodist preacher and a young wannabe-superstar dispute the truth while their lawyer prepares for their arraignment. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2005

Comfort Women / by Chungmi Kim

During World War II, the Japanese Imperial Forces drafted more than two hundred thousand women from Asian countries, the majority from Korea, and forced them to serve as sex slaves known as "comfort women" for Japanese soldiers. This is an emotional story of the Korean "comfort women" who suffered in silence, as their stories remained buried for decades. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2005

Swimming in the Shallows / by Adam Bock

Barb finds out that Buddhist monks in Thailand only own eight things -- and wonders if that is all she wants. She starts giving away her things but her husband Bob keeps buying her new ones. Donna wants Carla Carla to marry her, but Carla Carla doesn't like that Donna smokes. Nick meets a shark at the aquarium -- they go on a date to the beach and Nick tries not to sleep with the shark too fast. Plus dream sequences. Plus a wedding. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2005

Jesus Hates Me / by Wayne Lemon

Somewhere in South Central Texas is the “Blood of the Lamb” Miniature Golf Course. Ethan, an ex-high school football star, is desperate to find identity, sanity, faith and freedom under the gaze of a Wal-Mart mannequin transformed into Jesus on the cross at the 17th hole. Follow Ethan on an insightful, unpredictable and hilarious week as he tries to escape from his religious fanatic mother, a suicidal dishwasher, a pot-smoking cop, a beer-swillin’ good ol’ boy, possibly the love of his life, and of course the J-man. An insightful and hilarious collision of faith and blasphemy for those desperate to find identity, sanity, faith and freedom

No Child... / by Nilaja Sun

NO CHILD…is a tour-de-force exploration of the New York City public school system. An insightful, hilarious and touching master class not to be missed by anyone who is concerned about the state of our education system and how we might fix it. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2007 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/No_Child/pgjgycDpmp4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=No+Child...+/+by+Nilaja+Sun&printsec=frontcover

Living Room in Africa / by Bathsheba Doran

Childhood friends, Edward and Marie, have moved to a village in Africa while Edward is setting up a museum there with money from the West. Within weeks it becomes apparent that they have moved to an area devastated by AIDS. Questions about their own personal and political responsibilities become impossible to ignore and as Edward becomes increasingly anxious to leave, Marie makes the unexpected decision to stay there without him. When news of Edward's imminent departure reaches Anthony, the African contractor for the gallery, he goes to beg Edward, for the last time, to help him escape to America, forcing the couple into a final analysis of what their experience in Africa means to them, and what they mean to each other. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2007 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Living_Room_in_Africa/njAMqLlWv7cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Living+Room+in+Africa+/+by+Bathsheba+Doran&printsec=frontcover

Intellectuals / by Scott C. Sickles

Psychologist Margot leaves her philosophy professor husband Philip to "explore untapped feminine potential" by giving lesbianism a whirl. The separation leaves them and their gay best friend Brighton to their own devices, schemes, and unexpected romances. Mayhem ensues. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2007

Wittenberg / by David Davalos

It is October 1517 in northern Germany. The beginning of another fall semester at the University of Wittenberg finds certain members of the faculty and student body at personal and professional crossroads. Hamlet (senior, class of 1518) is returning from a summer in Poland spent studying astronomy, where he has come in contact with a revolutionary scientific theory that threatens the very order of the universe, resulting in psychic trauma and a crisis of faith for him. His teacher and mentor John Faustus (professor, philosophy) has decided at long last to make an honest woman of his paramour, Helen, a former nun who is now one of the Continent’s most sought-after courtesans. And Faustus’ colleague and Hamlet’s instructor and priest, Martin Luther (professor, theology), is dealing with the spiritual and medical consequences of his long-simmering outrage at certain abusive practices of the Church—the same Church to which he has sworn undying obedience. How these three men’s sagas overlap and intertwine and how they end up irrevocably affecting the course of each other’s lives is the substance of WITTENBERG, a comedy that reveals the story behind the stories of Hamlet, Doctor Faustus and the Protestant Reformation. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2011 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wittenberg/Sp_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wittenberg+/+by+David+Davalos&printsec=frontcover

Now Circa Then / by Carly Mensch

Meet Julian and Josephine, an immigrant couple on New York's Lower East Side, circa 1890. Meet Gideon and Margie, an unlikely pair of historical reenactors, circa now. A museum tour goes off the rails in this jaunty tale of old places, new beginnings and timeless questions. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2011

Slasher / by Allison Moore

When she's cast as the "last girl" in a low-budget slasher flick, Sheena thinks it's the big break she's been waiting for. But news of the movie unleashes her malingering mother's thwarted feminist rage, and Mom is prepared to do anything to stop filming...even if it kills her. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2010 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Slasher/r6MoHgNPZbAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Slasher++/+by+Allison+Moore&printsec=frontcover

Phoenix / by Scott Organ

When Bruce and Sue meet four weeks after an uncharacteristic one-night-stand, Sue has this to say to him: one, I had a great time with you that night and two, let's never see each other again. Thus begins a 4,000 mile journey well beyond the confines of their carefully structured worlds. Bruce is fueled by an overwhelming but undefined compulsion to join her in Phoenix. Sue is reluctantly charmed by his persistence, but steadfast in her resolve to keep him at bay. Both are forced to consider a whole new world of possibility, though not one free of difficulty and loss. A dramatic comedy about courage. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2010 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Phoenix/NkGWHJB7YFUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Phoenix+/+by+Scott+Organ&printsec=frontcover

Graceland / by Ellen Fairey

Chicago’s oldest cemetery is the backdrop for GRACELAND, the story of four lonely Chicagoans whose lives collide one August weekend while the Blue Angels airshow is in town. As fighter jets buzz the skies from dusk till dawn, estranged brother and sister Sam and Sara try to make sense of their father’s recent suicide. Sara’s one-night stand with Joe, an aging lothario, brings further trouble in the form of Joe’s mercurial teenage son, Miles. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays, 2010 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Graceland/NmM2NtliB9IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Graceland+/+by+Ellen+Fairey&printsec=frontcover

The Thugs / by Adam Bock

A dark comedy about work, thunder, and the mysterious things that are happening on the 9th floor of a big law firm. When a group of temps try to discover the secrets that lurk in the hidden crevices of their workplace, they realize they would rather believe in gossip and rumors than face dangerous realities. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Office_Plays/YmQODy77B3kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+office+plays+:+the+receptionist+%3B+the+thugs+/+by+Adam+Bock&printsec=frontcover

The Roommate / by Jen Silverman

Sharon, in her mid-fifties, is recently divorced and needs a roommate to share her Iowa home. Robyn, also in her mid-fifties, needs a place to hide and a chance to start over. But as Sharon begins to uncover Robyn’s secrets, they encourage her own deep-seated desire to transform her life completely. A dark comedy about what it takes to re-route your life – and what happens when the wheels come off.

Generations / by Debbie Tucker Green

A 30-minute drama about three generations of a black South African family who contest their relative culinary skills. But food isn't the only topic and the family numbers are declining...

Circle in the Dirt: El Pueblo de East Palo Alto / by Cherrie L. Moraga

Based on a series of interviews conducted and watched by Cherríe Moraga, Circle in the Dirt takes place on the day two buildings in East Palo Alto are scheduled to be demolished. Residents of the Coolie apartments gather around a projected screen to look at photographs of the people who have been forced to leave East Palo Alto: business people, local activists, and families, all people of color. The community is fraught with tension as they discuss the of two buildings and the closing of a local school.

Watsonville: Some Place not Here / by Cherrie L. Moraga

It is the 1990s, and workers at the Pajaro Valley Cannery in Watsonville, California strike for rights and better wages using protest theater and hunger strikes. The Latinx community faces divisions as anti-immigration legislation is proposed in California. Politicians deliberate on Bill 1519, which is intended to separate the workers into legal residents and illegal immigrants as a way to prevent them from organizing. The characters in the foreground of Watsonville are the people who are typically in the shadows of labor organizing: women, mothers, LGBTQ people, and youth. By bringing marginalized characters to the center of her play, Moraga highlights their invisibility and how social movements are often willing to make human sacrifices. Many characters are forced to leave parts of their identities at the door in order to assume various roles in their lives and in the movement. This story is pure imagination, based loosely on three actual events that took place in a central Californian coastal farm work town. Those events include the cannery strikes from 1985 to 1987, the 7.1 earthquake of 1989, and the appearance of the Virgen de Guadalupe on the face of an oak tree in Pinto Lake County Park in 1992.

Heroes and Saints / by Cherrie L. Moraga

Heroes and Saints has won particular critical acclaim due to its intervention in the history of the Chicano people. It grows out of the struggle of the United Farm Workers in 1988 and the revelations of a so-called cancer cluster in McFarland, California in which many Chicano children were diagnosed with cancer or stricken with birth defects. The play also draws from the Luis Valdez drama The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa in which the head speaks and is the principle actor in the drama. In the anthology: Heroes and Saints and Other Plays

Shadow of a Man / by Cherrie L. Moraga

The Rodriguez family lives in the Los Angeles area. Manuel is a typical Mexican father. He is stubborn and follows the ethical order faithfully. Lupe is the younger daughter who is a lesbian. She’s only twelve and the environment she grows up in has taught her homosexuality is “evil”. She is struggling with her identity.. Manuel tries to find his position in this new society. The confusion about identity finally brings Manuel to suicide. But that also gives the women in this family a chance to start their new life. In the anthology: Heroes and Saints and Other Plays

Giving up the Ghost / by Cherrie L. Moraga

The play is about a Chicana lesbian who has survived racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, nationalism and sexual exploitation. In the anthology: Heroes and Saints and Other Plays

Heart of the Earth: A Popul Vuh Story / by Cherrie L. Moraga

In Heart of the Earth, a feminist revisioning of the Quiché Maya Popul Vuh story, Moraga creates an allegory for contemporary Chicanismo in which the enemy is white, patriarchal, and greedy for hearts, both female and fecund. Through humor and inventive tale twisting, Moraga brings her vatos locos home from the deadly underworld to reveal that the real power of creation is found in the masa Grandma is grinding up in her metate. In the anthology: The Hungry Woman

The Hungry Woman: A Mexican Medea / by Cherrie L. Moraga

In "The Hungry Woman," an apocalyptic play written at the end of the millennium, Moraga uses mythology and an intimate realism to describe the embattled position of Chicanos and Chicanas, not only in the United States but in relation to one another. Drawing from the Greek Medea and the Mexican myth of La Llorona, she portrays a woman gone mad in the struggle between her longing for another woman and for the Indian nation denied to her. In the anthology: The Hungry Woman

A Song for Nisei Fisherman / by Philip Kan Gotanda

Song for a Nisei Fisherman is a so-called dream play, which begins in the present with an elderly Japanese-American man describing his trout-fishing technique as he mimes it. The play then switches back and forth in time, using the catching, preparing, cooking and eating of the fish as triggers to the past. The fisherman, called Itsu Matsumoto in the play but clearly Gotanda's father, was born in Hawaii to Japanese parents. He came to the mainland United States and received his medical degree at the University of Arkansas. While practicing medicine in California, he and his wife were shipped to a World War II internment camp in Arkansas. The couple had two sons. One became a physician; the other graduated from law school but became a writer: Gotanda himself, obviously. That linear narrative becomes a rich theatrical mosaic in "Song for a Nisei Fisherman" - as much a poem as a play. In the anthology: Fish Head Soup and Other Plays

Fish Head Soup / by Philip Kan Gotanda

The play is an often violent portrayal of the familial and generational conflicts tearing apart a Japanese American family in the San Joaquin Valley. Mat Iwasaki, who had years before faked his suicide, returns home to find his father existing in an illusory world, his mother having an affair with a white man enamored of Orientalism, and his brother still reliving the nightmare of the Vietnam War. While Mat attempts to get the family to mortgage the house to finance his cinematic aspirations, each member confronts the internal manifestations of racism that ironically bind them together. In the anthology: Fish Head Soup and Other Plays

Under the Rainbow, a Play of Two One Acts / by Philip Kan Gotanda

Philip Kan Gotanda brings two new one-acts to the stage in Under the Rainbow. The first, “Natalie Wood Is Dead”, focuses on a mother and daughter and their experiences with the Hollywood acting scene. Rainbow’s provocative second piece, “White Manifesto”, is a monologue by a privileged white male with a penchant for Asian women… In the anthology: No More Cherry Blossoms

Ballad of Yachiyo / by Philip Kan Gotanda

The time is 1919, a period of limited prosperity for Japanese families toiling in the sugarcane fields of the Hawaiian islands. Yachiyo, a young peasant girl, is destined for life in the fields and for a marriage to Willie, a lowly worker. Cashing in on an old family debt, she is sent by her parents to board with a pottery artist, Hiro Takamura, and his wife, on a distant island where she will learn proper Japanese manners and traditions. The education that she receives is more about life’s cruelties than its civilities. Hiro, consumed by bitterness over his father’s success, is a perfectionist potter stuck in a loveless marriage. While his wife waits for him to learn to love her, she mentors Yachiyo on how to ascend the social ladder and in doing so becomes her confidant. Hiro is inspired by the young visitor and his pottery flourishes as Okusan begins to become suspicious of her husband and Yachiyo’s growing fascination with him. The story unfolds with Yachiyo’s discovery of life’s beauties, her sexual awakening and the infinite possibilities that ultimately lead to a tragic end. In the anthology: No More Cherry Blossoms Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ballad_of_Yachiyo/VH5tEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ballad+of+Yachiyo+/+by+Philip+Kan+Gotanda&printsec=frontcover

Sisters Matsumoto / by Philip Kan Gotanda

Stockton, California 1945. Three Japanese-American sisters return to their farm after years in an internment camp, but the once prosperous family finds it’s not easy to pick up the pieces of their former lives. As the details of their deceased father’s final arrangements emerge, the sisters must work together to keep their dreams alive. In the anthology: No More Cherry Blossoms

Wine in the Wilderness / by Alice Childress

The drama was woven around a young girl, played by Abbey Lincoln, befriended by an artist looking for a model of a grass-roots woman, ignorant and unattractive, for his triptych. It opens amidst Negro riots that have burned the girl out of her apartment and Abbey gets off a few cracks that hit home when the artist and his friends haul out the Afro-American bit by crying, 'The Afro-Americans burnt down my home. They holler 'Whitey' but who did they burn down—me!' There were many poignant moments as the two were magnetically drawn together and pushed apart. Abbey's fear of falling in love with the artist, his desire to hold her there only long enough to paint her for his triptych, her disillusionment when she finds out, from Old Timer, one of the neighborhood's characters, that he wants a woman who's ugly and ignorant for his model. What WINE IN THE WILDERNESS captured was the turmoil the blacks feel, the pretenses they assume—like wearing straight-haired wigs—the looting of their own people in a riot—something Old Timer rationalized in a humorous manner. In the anthology: Selected Plays of Alice Childress Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wine_in_the_Wilderness/KhC0wr6GJAIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wine+in+the+Wilderness+/+by+Alice+Childress&printsec=frontcover

Gold through the Trees / by Alice Childress

This is a dramatic piece with music made up of vignettes that trace out periods of struggle from the African continent to America and back, from the time of the Middle Passage to the contemporary struggles of South Africa. It is poignant, passionate and revolutionary. She champions the spirit of pressing on, of self sacrifice for the greater good, while mourning the dead and remembering the oppressed. Her play is nuanced and, as with the rest of her work, dramatically focused. Her scenarios and characterizations often contrast idealism and realism, or perhaps strength in mission and the flagging of spirit that comes in the long arc of struggle as a moral universe turns imperceptibly on its own axis. Again, women are the leading players and the stories of cultural strain are told through their lives and interactions. They are the heroes/heroines and the struggling workers. There’s not a place here for the antagonist, who stays ever outside the frame of the story. These are the intimate conversations after the battle, outside or before the heat of conflict. In the anthology: Selected Plays of Alice Childress

Florence / by Alice Childress

The setting for the play is a segregated railroad station in which a black woman and a white woman wait for a train to take them to New York City. The play focused on the corrosive effects of racism and stereotyping and how prevalent they were during this period. Childress uses realism to depict the prejudices that many white people had about African Americans. She also challenges ideas about what should constitute a suitable career for African American women. In the anthology: Selected Plays of Alice Childress

Tod, the Boy, Tod / by Talvin Wilks

The play takes place in the mind of Tod (a young Black man suffering from cultural schizophrenia) during an "electrical brainstorm." It's a war-torn battlefield. His psyche is a battleground on which every point of him is a contradiction. He undergoes a trial by fire through the revelation of truth which brings clarity to his purpose, journey, and battle. Through the books containing the history of racism, he discovers the centuries of denigration and violence perpetrated through false definitions and lies. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

The Meeting / by Jeff Stetson

Fascinating and dramatically compelling, this eloquent play depicts the supposed meeting of two of the most important men of modern times: Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Differing in their philosophies, but alike in their mutual respect, the two men debate their varying approaches to the same grave social problems, both prepared to die for their beliefs but neither aware of how soon their assassins’ bullets would await them. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Meeting/UMSOwuMsUwoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Meeting+/+by+Jeff+Stetson&printsec=frontcover

In Dahomey / by Shauneille Perry

The musical comedy, In Dahomey, was the first of its kind to feature the talents of Black creatives on and off a Broadway stage. The premise of the musical was inspired by the backdrop of the back-to-Africa movement supported by the American Colonization Society which called for Black Americans to return to Africa to reclaim their land. The musical follows the schemes and journeys of two conmen, Shylock Homestead and Rareback Punkerton, who discover a pot of gold and hatch a plan to return to Africa to take over Dahomey (now considered as modern-day Benin). Before they can even get there, money gets in the way of their friendship, their lives are threatened, and the musical peaks with a legendary cakewalk (a style of dance made famous by Blacks who would gather on slave plantations). In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

Good Black Don't Crack / by Rob Penny

Good Black Don't Crack confronts several customary concepts: an older woman and younger man's relationship, young people attempting to define their own value system, and the human and social values society should prize. In this play, the playwright contends that the only values a society should prize are those that speed an individual toward social freedom and a full enriched life. The play primarily follows a single mother-waitress (Dalejean) and her three children. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

Buses / by Denise Nicholas

Buses imagines a meeting between Parks, who played a pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, and Mary Ellen Pleasant, who won an anti-discrimination suit against the Omnibus Trolley Company nearly 100 years earlier. For many, Parks is the more familiar: a humble but unyielding symbol of moral rectitude. But in Nicholas' interpretation, the secretary to the NAACP was as much precipitator against as reactor to racial injustice. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

Love's Light in Flight / by Charles Michael Moore

LOVE'S LIGHT IN FLIGHT is a rolling, rollicking love story about Halsted Bridges, a man who "loved not wisely, but too well." At the opening, we see where Halsted has just left his girlfriend of 5 years only to fall head over heels for his best friend's cousin; a woman who just happens to be his boss... and married. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

Henrietta / by Karen Jones-Meadows

Henrietta emphasizes several of the social issues of the 1980s, including homelessness and lack of aid for people who have mental health and drug problems. Henrietta, makes a very minimal amount of money selling fruit. She spends most of her days sitting on a crate on a busy sidewalk criticizing people who pass by. Sheleeah, a somewhat successful accountant, wishes Henrietta would go away; despite that, she believes Henreitta has found a way to beat the system. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

Harvest the Frost / by Nubia Kai

Set in Detroit in 1982, the play presents an African American family on the point of collapse. Renson, the patriarch of the family and a man of endless compassion and pride, is trying to accept the fact that his wife Nancy suddenly left him a year ago. His cynical father, Grandpa Early, spouts nonsense about a woman’s duty to serve her man. Renson’s son Ray returned from Vietnam a psychotic, alcoholic mess, and his daughter Tracey is married to a man who apparently abuses her. His eldest son, Kwame, tries his best to reconcile everyone’s differences, while his youngest son, John, simply stares at his family in bewilderment, likening them to a bad dream. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

Sisters / by Marsha A. Jackson

Two women are trapped in their office block when down town Atlanta becomes snowbound. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

Iago / by C. Bernard Jackson

A radically revisionistic slant to Shakespeare’s “Othello,” Iago could best be described as a “What If?” play. What if Iago were not a scheming dastard after all, but a much-maligned victim of racism and internecine politics? In Jackson’s version, Iago is himself a Moor, a towering hero intent on saving his old friend Othello from the evil machinations of Cassio. Iago’s fervent apologist is his wife, Emilia, an exasperated ghost who pours out her tale into the ear of the Author, hoping at last to set the record straight. But first, the pompously academic Author must engage in a role-playing “game,” a mutant reprise of Shakespeare’s drama that dangerously blurs the borders of reality for the hapless scholar. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil / by Bill Harris

Legend has it that Robert Johnson made a pact with the devil, selling his soul in return for mastering the guitar as no one has before or since. It is said that the great Delta bluesman disappeared for several months and came back strumming so well that he could "play the ticks off a yard dog." In this retelling of the famous tale, one which Johnson himself fueled in his "Cross Roads Blues," Johnson arrives at Georgia's Colored Jook Joint in 1937 to meet his final end at the ripe age of 27. In the anthology: The National Black Drama Anthology

Man in the Flying Lawn Chair / by Caroline Cromelin, Eric Nightengale, Monica Read, Kimberly Reiss, Troy W. Taber, and Toby Wherry

This high altitude comedy of errors based on the true story of Larry Walters, a man dedicated to getting the best view, was developed through improvisation at the78th Street Theatre Lab. Larry, with the help of fifty surplus weather balloons, launched himself to 1,600 feet in an aluminum lawn chair and lived to tell about it. After being spotted by passing aircraft, he descended by shooting several of the balloons with a pellet gun, got entangled in power lines and was arrested by the FAA for violating commercial airspace in an unauthorized vehicle. Mr. Walters dropped out of sight after a brief time in the spotlight including an appearance on the David Letterman show, but not before securing his place as a cult hero for weird daredevils everywhere. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Man_in_the_Flying_Lawn_Chair/73_uJVSSo9AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Man+in+the+Flying+Lawn+Chair+/+by+Caroline+Cromelin,+Eric+Nightengale,+Monica+Read,+Kimberly+Reiss,+Troy+W.+Taber,+and+Toby+Wherry&printsec=frontcover

Jolson & Company / by Stephen Mo Hanan and Jay Berkow

This musical captures on stage the story of America's greatest entertainer during his years as a star in the 1920s and his comeback in the 1940s. While Al Jolson recalls colorful moments from his life during an interview, two actors play all of the other characters, including some show business luminaries and his wives, Ruby Keeler among them. The vivid memories his mother, vaudeville, Broadway, feature films and five marriages together with unforgettable renditions of "Swanee," "You Made Me Love You," "Sonny Boy," "California Here I Come," "April Showers," "Mammy" and other Jolson standards made this sparkling bio musical a hit Off-Broadway and in London. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jolson_Company/o7PuaiU68-0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jolson+%26+Company+/+by+Stephen+Mo+Hanan+and+Jay+Berkow&printsec=frontcover

Knock Me a Kiss / by Charles Smith

Knock Me a Kiss is a fictional account inspired by the actual events surrounding the 1928 marriage of W.E.B. Du Bois' daughter Yolande to one of Harlem's great poets, Countee Cullen. The marriage marked the height of the Harlem Renaissance and was viewed as the perfect union of Negro talent and beauty. It united the daughter of America's foremost black intellectual, co-founder of the NAACP and publisher of Crisis Magazine, with a poet whose work was considered to be one of the flagships for the New Negro movement. The play opens as jazz bandleader, Jimmy Lunceford, continues his pursuit of a willing but apprehensive Yolande. She demurs, insisting that she and Jimmy be married in a manner consistent with her stature. Meanwhile, Du Bois tries to convince Cullen to take a wife of great breeding, stature and education. When Countee realizes that Yolande possesses all of the attributes outlined by the elder Du Bois, he sets out to win her affection. When Yolande is forced to choose between her passion for Jimmy and marrying Countee, her devotion to her father overwhelms her heart. The marriage is a triumph of pomp and pageantry but fails to be a union of man and woman. Eventually Countee goes to Paris with his close friend Harold Jackman, and Yolande returns to Jimmy only to find that she is no longer wanted. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Knock_Me_a_Kiss/Kfv5Vjas1gsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Knock+Me+a+Kiss+/+by+Charles+Smith&pg=RA2-PT7&printsec=frontcover

Adult Fiction / by Brian Mori

Brian Richard Mori’s critically acclaimed play is set in an adult bookshop and movie arcade in Times Square on a scorching summer day in 1979. The story revolves around Earl, the middle-aged manager of the shop, who feels a weary disappointment on how his life has evolved, and his young friend, Mikie, a naïve and inexperienced nineteen-year-old. Despite the seamy surroundings, Earl has a strong sense of basic morality, and he wants to help Mikie achieve a better life than his own. When Earl sets up Mikie on a date with a waitress friend of his, the story takes a hilarious turn. The play explores themes of morality, friendship, sexuality, and the yearning for love. Therein lies much of the irony and comedy and timeliness of ADULT FICTION. In the anthology: New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2000

Under Their Influence / by Wayne Buchanan

Randoulf is in hospital, a convicted murderer. His doctor unravels the incidents leading to the murder and his mental collapse. The play raises questions about the way black people are perceived and treated in the mental health system. In the anthology: Black and Asian Plays

Calcutta Kosher / by Shelley Silas

In a crumbling Calcutta home, two sisters are forced to come to terms with their mother's secret history. In this funny and moving play, award-winning writer Shelley Silas examines how family and culture, time and distance, influence our sense of who we are. Set in the Indian Jewish community, it explores conflicts between old and new, east and west, tradition and truth. If the past is another country, where is home? In the anthology: Black and Asian Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Calcutta_Kosher/Zp38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Calcutta+Kosher+/+by+Shelley+Silas&printsec=frontcover

Brother to Brother / by Michael McMillan

A verbal tapestry of interwoven stories exploring the experience of being black and male in Britain. In the anthology: Black and Asian Plays

Made in England / by Parv Bancil

A young musician is faced with the dilemma of denying his cultural identity for success or remaining in obscurity. In the anthology: Black and Asian Plays

Harvest / by Manjula Padmanabhan

A futuristic satire on the west's exploitation of third world countries – a society in which the trade of body organs to rich westerners is seen as the only route out of poverty. Winner of the Onassis Award for Playwriting. Om, a young man is driven by unemployment to sell his body parts for cash. Guards arrive to make his home into a germ-free zone. When Jeetu, his brother returns unexpectedly, he is taken away as the donor. Om can't accept this. Java, his wife is left alone. Will she too be seduced into selling her body for use by the rich westerners? In the anthology: Black and Asian Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Harvest/WUKeDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Harvest+/+by+Manjula+Padmanabhan&printsec=frontcover

Detaining Justice / by Bola Agbaje

Justice is locked in a cold dark cell, his asylum application pending. His sister Grace would like to help, but has been told to leave it in God’s hands. Government Prosecutor Mark Cole has an infallible reputation for successful prosecutions – however he has had a change of heart – and job. His first case is for the defence of Justice. In the anthology: Not Black and White

Seize the Day / by Kwame Kwei-Armah

Seize the Day is a smart and pacy political drama about Jeremy Charles, a man who could be London’s first black mayor. He seems ideal: a well-spoken, good-looking Londoner who made his name on television, and made his way into the hearts of the public by slapping a knife-wielding teenager. He’s idealistic too, and determined to make a difference to the lives of underprivileged black children. Jeremy’s even invited the teenager, Lavelle, to his house, to mentor him as part of his probation. But he’s about to find out that the harsh realpolitik of the campaign and the complexities of real life mean it’s not quite so easy to distinguish wrong and right. In the anthology: Not Black and White

Category B / by Roy Williams

Saul runs a tip top wing – the screws love him for it, prisoners follow his rules and it’s all gravy. But Saul’s number two position is vacant, new inmates are flooding in and everyone’s feeling the heat. No one wants to go to Cat B, but the world on the outside is a different story. In the anthology: Not Black and White

El Grito del Bronx / by Migdalia Cruz

El Grito del Bronx is the story of Lulu, a poet, & Papo, her incarcerated brother. It is about how their fractured search for home has led one to marriage and the other to death. A play filled with memories and ghosts—violence and love, it‘s a story ultimately about how the darkest rage can lead to redemption. In the anthology: El Grito del Bronx & Other Plays

Salt / by Migdalia Cruz

Salt is an adaptation of John Ford’s “Tis Pity She’s a Whore” that tells the story of a reluctant messiah named Rocket who tries to drown out the prayers of those who need him by listening to disco music. But the prayers of Belen, a 13 year-old girl who is forced to prostitute herself, breaks through and Rocket is forced to help her and her family find salvation. In the anthology: El Grito del Bronx & Other Plays

Yellow Eyes / by Migdalia Cruz

A young woman walks the streets of the South Bronx at the risk of danger. Friendship does not so easily come in a social labyrinth where racial tension is accompanied with harassing and bodily assaults. The only safe space for Isabel is her great grandfather's home. At the age of 112, he teaches his great grandchild the colonial history of Puerto Rico from slavery to the migrant exodus of Puerto Ricans from the countryside to the mainland. After learning that she is the daughter of three races--Taino, African, and Hispanic--Isabel is empowered to articulate her diasporic identity and to wisely handle her racially mixed circle of friends. In the anthology: El Grito del Bronx & Other Plays

Bombay Black / by Anosh Irani

Set in present-day India, Bombay Black is a powerful story of vengeance, betrayal, and seduction. Anosh has a provocative theatrical sensibility and a gift for bringing together magical fables and the gritty reality of Indian street life. His play is the story of Apsara, residing in Bombay with her mother Padma, making a living by selling erotic dances to wealthy men. When a blind man named Kamal arrives for an appointment, the complex and brutal past of the three characters slowly rises to the surface as Apsara dances for him. Featuring a remarkable poetic text, bold theatrical imagery and a combination of contemporary Bombay bar dancing and Indian classical dance, Bombay Black is challenging yet often comic work by one of Canada’s leading voices. In the anthology: The Bombay Plays

The Matka King / by Anosh Irani

In The Matka King, a story that pits human nature against love and chance, a landscape of betrayal and redemption comes to life in the red-light district of Bombay, India. One very powerful eunuch, Top Rani, operates an illicit lottery through his brothel, and when a gambler who is deeply in debt makes an unexpected wager, the stakes become life and death. Can a fortune teller and a ten-year-old girl beat Top Rani at his own game? In the anthology: The Bombay Plays

A Language of Their Own / by Chay Yew

A Language of Their Own is a lyrical and dramatic meditation on the nature of desire and sexuality as four men –– three Asian and one white –– come together and drift apart in a series of interconnective stories. In the anthology: Two Plays by Chay Yew

Porcelain / by Chay Yew

Porcelain is an examination of a young man’s crime of passion. Triply scorned — as an Asian, a homosexual, and now a murderer — 19-year-old John Lee has confessed to shooting his lover in a public lavatory in London. A winner of the London Fringe Award for Best Play and nominated for L.A Weekly's Best Playwriting Award, Porcelain dissects the crime through a prism of conflicting voices: newscasts, flashbacks, and John’s own recollections to a prison psychiatrist. In the anthology: Two Plays by Chay Yew Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Porcelain_and/AY0BZcMDb68C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Porcelain+/+by+Chay+Yew&printsec=frontcover

The Gimmick / by Dael Orlandersmith

THE GIMMICK tells the story of Alexis and Jimmy, a pair of outsiders who forge a friendship through their shared passion for art. Theirs is a love more powerful than the ghetto gimmicks that devastate much of the Harlem of their youth. When one falls, the bond that has kept them whole threatens to destroy them both. In the anthology: Three Plays by Dael Orlandersmith Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Gimmick/pLphBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Gimmick+/+by+Dael+Orlandersmith&printsec=frontcover

Monster / by Dael Orlandersmith

A violent family history passes from one generation to the next. The narrator, a young woman, uses stories, poetry and characters to introduce and juxtapose situations. Through her powerful eyes we witness violence, friendship, alienation, family love and loyalty. In the anthology: Three Plays by Dael Orlandersmith

Beauty's Daughter / by Dael Orlandersmith

One woman’s journey with many obstacles stacked against her. The heroine or “anti-heroine” can choose to be a victim of the violent cards life has dealt her or she can use her poetry and music as a creative means to deal. The audience sees the character’s inability and ultimate ability to deal with other people and triumph in the end. In the anthology: Three Plays by Dael Orlandersmith Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beauty_s_Daughter_Monster_The_Gimmick/uk6rFlGrTLoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Beauty%27s+Daughter+/+by+Dael+Orlandersmith&printsec=frontcover

The Insolvencies / by Jon Robin Baitz

In The Insolvencies, two men—one younger, one older, one a professor, one a former student—recall their relationship and the time they felt “the piercing sting of simply being seen.” A study of sex and pleasure, of justice and shame, this short, stirring play completes the affecting pair of new works from Baitz, “the American theatre’s most fascinating playwright of conscience”

I'll Be Seein' Ya / by Jon Robin Baitz

Allie Murchow, a retired Hollywood makeup artist, is stuck inside her apartment, stuck in her daydreams of bygone celebrity and glamour, and stuck on hold with her pharmacist. She tries to make sense of the Los Angeles outside her windows, the LA of 2020, but she can’t hear herself think over the echo of sirens and her chatty brother’s interjections. I’ll Be Seein’ Ya, written by Jon Robin Baitz, the author of Other Desert Cities and Vicuña, is an unflinchingly funny new play that takes on our anxieties and delusions and reveals new truths about our strange reality. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/I_ll_Be_Seein_Ya_A_Play/NZpsEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=I%27ll+Be+Seein%27+Ya+/+by+Jon+Robin+Baitz&printsec=frontcover

Pullman, WA / by Young Jean Lee

Three ordinary, awkward characters in street clothes address audience members directly in an earnest, frequently disastrous attempt to show them how to live a better life. In the anthology: Three Plays by Young Jean Lee

The Appeal / by Young Jean Lee

William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, and Dorothy Wordsworth get drunk, hang out, and commiserate in England and the Swiss Alps. An irreverent, historically inaccurate look at the English Romantic poets In the anthology: Three Plays by Young Jean Lee

Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals / by Young Jean Lee

The Chinese arch-villain Fu Manchu, with the help of his daughter Fah Lo See, attempts to steal the mask and shield of Genghis Khan from the white couple Terrence and Sheila, which will enable Fu Manchu to bring together all the Asian nations in order to defeat the West. In the anthology: Three Plays by Young Jean Lee

Lear / by Young Jean Lee

A collision between Shakespeare’s King Lear, Sesame Street, and Young Jean Lee’s own take on the theme of dealing with a father’s mortality, Lee’s LEAR focuses not on the aging Lear and Gloucester, but rather on their adult children who turned their backs on their fathers’ suffering. An absurdist tragedy about familial piety, despair, and the end of life.

The Shipment / by Young Jean Lee

The first half is structured like a minstrel show—dance, stand-up routine, sketches, and a song—and was written to address the stereotypes the cast members felt they had to deal with as Black performers. For the second half of the show, Lee asked the actors to come up with roles they’d always wanted to play, and wrote a naturalistic comedy in response to their requests.

Yaggoo / by Young Jean Lee

In YAGGOO, a whaler obsesses over his social interactions with his shipmates on a whaling ship. In the anthology: Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and Other Plays

Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven / by Young Jean Lee

SONGS OF THE DRAGONS FLYING TO HEAVEN follows a character named “Korean-American” as she navigates the increasingly disturbing levels of a pseudo-Korean world like a contestant in an identity-politics video game. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a white couple appears and launches into a dysfunctional relationship drama that eventually takes over the play. In the anthology: Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and Other Plays

Church / by Young Jean Lee

Acclaimed playwright and director Young Jean Lee transforms her life-long struggle with Christianity into an exuberant church service. Both celebratory and confrontational, CHURCH will test the expectations of religious and non-religious alike—looking deep into why we believe what we believe. In the anthology: Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and Other Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Church/L-NcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Church+/+by+Young+Jean+Lee&printsec=frontcover

State Without Grace / by Linda Faigao-Hall

State without Grace is a woman's play taking place in 1978 in the Philippines. In a suburb of the capital, Quezon City, Celia returns to her homeland after 10 years of living in America. Four of those most recent years she was married to a Caucasian man named Mark. Celia's homecoming is marked by trouble at her Lola's (grandmother's) home. Her aunt Rosa and uncle Leon have had to move their three girls, Elise, Laura, and Nene, into Lola's home because Leon is unemployed. Just as Celia is headstrong and independent so, she discovers, is her cousin, Elise. In fact, Elise is going through what she went through at a younger age. Elise is causing a family scandal because her fiancé is a non-Christian, Ifugao researcher. The fact that he is a pagan, with primitive roots in the mountain people of the Philippines, roots he plans to go back to, is unacceptable to Lola. Celia is used as an unwilling emissary to bring Elise back. We soon learn that Celia's marriage was not the ideal she reported. That very traumatic event brought her back to the islands. At one point, she adds her voice to Lola's in trying to bring Elise back so her young cousin will not make the same mistakes she has made. Lola, in an effort to end the dispute, gives Elise an ultimatum: She can stay with her pagan lover but her whole side of the family, mother, father, and sisters will be thrown out of her house. Elise makes the difficult choice of leaving her fiancé and returning to Lola's home but in doing so breaks her relationship with Celia. Celia, realizing she too, must make her own decision, returns to America. In the anthology: The Female Heart and Other Plays

God, Sex and Blue Water / by Linda Faigao-Hall

This unconventional farce about religion and family love, set in the Filipino community of Hoboken, focuses on the Kintanar family’s attempts to assimilate in America. Laling, a deeply religious woman, plans on crucifying herself during the Easter pasyon, which puts her in conflict with the local parish priest. Her brother Dadong runs a successful business and tries to discourage her. Her daughter, a Clarita, a healer with a secret, has just arrived in the US from a childhood in a convent, and has met Brian, an American “master of the universe” badly in need of salvation. In the anthology: The Female Heart and Other Plays

The Female Heart / by Linda Faigao-Hall

Faigao-Hall revisits “Smokey Mountain, “the infamous garbage dump outside Manila. Although demolished in 1993, it has been replaced by several dumpsites that still exist today. In July 1996, one of them, in the city of Payatas, collapsed killing hundreds of people living at its base. The play takes place in the late 1980’s and tells the story of two siblings living in the so-called “Smokey." When Anghel, the elder sibling, succumbs to a life-threatening disease, Adelfa, his sister, decides to become a mail-order bride to a Brooklyn man who is willing — at a price — to send money to pay for Anghel’s medical expenses. In the anthology: The Female Heart and Other Plays

(becoming) Hue Man / by T. Anthony Marotta

Hue, the puppet, is assigned a gender. With guidance from his well-meaning role model, Hue must MAN-euver through the stereotypes and out of the boxes to uncover his huMAN potential. A modern-day Pinocchio, Hue Man looks beyond the boy and asks, “what kind of man–or more precisely, huMAN–can this puppet become?” This one-man show features a dozen puppets, a clown, masks, shadow-play, media, a hungry caterpillar, and a puppet circumcision – engendering a conversation about MASK-ulinities learned and lived. In the anthology: The Best Plays from American Theatre Festivals, 2015

Hamlet-Mobile / by Lauren Ludwig

Hamlet-Mobile is eight one act plays about and using the language of Hamlet that is performed in and around a van. We designed and built the set for the show, which became a cabinet-of-curiosities style traveling wagon, that also fit into a Ford Econoline. The set is a physical representation of the acting troupe that inhabits it - messy, decadent, and littered with the history of their careers and lives. In the anthology: The Best Plays from American Theatre Festivals, 2015

St. Francis / by Miranda Jonte

Tessa, a veterinarian who now runs a dog rescue in Northern CA, is outspoken, has an over inflated sense of justice, and probably drinks too much. Tessa is desperate to find a new building for her no kill shelter, being forced out by an incoming Starbucks. She is at the mercy of the disapproving city council, is confronted with her high school sweetheart moving back home, and all the while is mentoring teenage volunteer and budding vet Molly Mattie, who has a penchant for pop culture, and thinks Tessa is the greatest thing since sliced bread. At the end of her rope, Tessa is left with approaching her estranged father for financial assistance to keep the rescue open to save the dogs, and ultimately, herself. In the anthology: The Best Plays from American Theatre Festivals, 2015

SCHOOLED / by Lisa Lewis

SCHOOLED explores the widening chasm between privilege, economic class, and the opportunities for success. Two film students vie for a competitive grant from their roguish professor in a taut threesome that tests their romantic relationship and their ethics. A biting drama with surprising humor, Schooled is an examination of the lies we tell ourselves, and the truths we refuse to believe. In the anthology: The Best Plays from American Theatre Festivals, 2015

girls. in boys pants / by Kato McNickle

The world of art and the world of words are set to collide as Danni prepares to interview Sophia for a story she writing about the content of art on their college campus. A debate ensues, a dance begins, as an unconventional romance, of sorts, unfolds. Accompanying Danni and Sophia on their journey is a chorus that becomes both the inner and outer worlds occupied by the two women. They are Sophia’s art, Danni’s story, inhabitants of the coffee shop and martini bar, the buildings around them, and their thoughts put into the air to be breathed. In the anthology: The Best Plays from American Theatre Festivals, 2015

Spit Like a Big Girl / by Clarinda Ross

In this funny, poignant, and highly personal family memoir, Ross takes us on a humorous journey through the back-roads of her southern childhood. Inspired by the discovery of her father’s journals after his untimely death. Ms. Ross examines the colorful personalities of her college professor parents, and the many people she meets on her way to adulthood. Her parents and grandparents give her an appreciation for the simple things in life. Most importantly, the play expresses how well her parents’ lessons have served her as the mother of a disabled child. In SPIT LIKE A BIG GIRL Ross becomes a “big girl” a southern Mama with enough “spit” to allow her own special daughter to move into an adult group-living home and become a "big girl" in her own right. In the anthology: The Best Plays from American Theatre Festivals, 2015

What Happened When / by Daniel Talbott

Late on a winter night in an old farmhouse in a small town, a younger brother wakes up in the middle of the night to find his deceased older brother sitting in the dark in a corner of his bedroom. As the brothers wait for the snow to start falling outside, they share stories of their family and the people of their town-misfortunes, bizarre coincidences, and many a strange passing. Both haunted by the loss of their sister and the recent and sudden death of their Father in a car crash, an unraveling of memory and secrets begins that will lead to the beginning of a life for one and the release into death for the other In the anthology: The Best Plays from American Theatre Festivals, 2015

Now Comes the Night / by E. M. Lewis

After being held hostage in Iraq for eighteen months, American journalist Michael Aprés has been released by his captors. But his colleague is beginning to suspect that Michael isn't free yet. An explosive television interview puts their friendship to the test. Secrets, lies, and betrayal haunt both men. When one last opportunity to be a hero presents itself, they are determined to take it. But at what cost? In the anthology: The Best Plays from American Theatre Festivals, 2015

Helvetica / by (Katie) Will Coleman

Helvetica Burke: adventurer, writer, and cynic, has spent her life packaging Death neatly between the lines of her beloved children's books, with her trusty stuffed bear Myron by her side. When she encounters Death head-on however, she finds the storybook truths within the realities of her past, present, and future. In the anthology: The Best Plays from American Theatre Festivals, 2015

Enter the Night / by Maria Irene Fornes

Tressa, a nurse is hosting a reunion that includes two old friends: Paula, an older woman who lives in a house in the country, and Jack, a young playwright currently working as an assistant stage manager. Anyone who has attended a reunion as an outsider will appreciate the predicament of the audience here: there exists an insoluble chemistry and a language that defies translation, a celebration of a type of love that is not necessarily transcendent. In the anthology: What of the Night? Selected Plays

What of the Night? / by Maria Irene Fornes

What of the Night? is about sex, power, institutional failure, human frailty, betrayal, dreams, and madness. It follows an extended family whose lives are intertwined even as they try to escape the ties that bind them. When the just-married 14-year-old Birdie leaves her impoverished home to seek a better life, she unwittingly sets in motion a sprawling epic told in intimate vignettes (four short plays) that span across time and geography. Rainbow finds love. Charlie finds solace in loyalty. Ray finds the trappings of success. Though their yearnings are briefly rewarded, the lyrical story lays bare the difference between the hunger of the soul and the hunger of the ego. In the anthology: What of the Night? Selected Plays

The Summer in Gossensass / by Maria Irene Fornes

A group of friends are keeping a light alive for each other. They are talking in a lighted room on a winter night, like college students in a dorm or actors in a coffee shop. In The Summer at Gossensass, internationally acclaimed Cuban-American playwright Maria Irene Fornés follows three women fascinated by Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler in the months when the play was first written — as they stand together for the right to create, to define their own experiences and choose their own intimate relationships. In the anthology: What of the Night? Selected Plays

Abingdon Square / by Maria Irene Fornes

Fornes depicts an orphaned girl who accepts the proposal of a much older family friend because he is the only person she feels happy and comfortable with. When the play opens with Marion, the 15-year-old bride, romping with Juster's teenage son Michael predictability seems just around the corner. But Fornes chooses corners of her own and the opening scene proves merely a character sketch of the two. The maturing of Marion brings bewilderment, rebellion and pain. Her elderly husband, who expects his pleasant life to jog contentedly onward, is attacked by unexpected growing pains. Marion's attraction to a younger man, the torment of leaving home, the deranged obsessive pursuit of Juster and a surprising conclusion that encompasses what Juster and Marion learn about themselves and the nature of their relationship are carefully chiseled by Fornes into a play full of depths and unexpected byways. In the anthology: What of the Night? Selected Plays

Trying to Find Chinatown / by David Henry Hwang

Trying to Find Chinatown describes an encounter between Benjamin, an ethnic Caucasian who considers himself Asian, and Ronnie, an ethnic Asian who knows little about his Asian heritage. Benjamin, adopted into a Chinese-American family, is trying to find his father’s birth house in New York’s Chinatown. He stops to ask Ronnie, a street musician playing a violin, for directions, assuming the Asian man would know his way around Chinatown. When Benjamin refers to Ronnie’s instrument as a “fiddle,” Ronnie is insulted and calls Benjamin a hick. Benjamin berates Ronnie for not knowing much about his cultural heritage. Ronnie returns with a passionate defense of American musical heritage, referencing both African and European elements. When Benjamin finally reaches his father’s home, he is ecstatic to find himself completely immersed in Chinese culture and recollects the struggles of his immigrant family. Hwang’s play points out that one’s racial identity is often based not on skin color, but on connections. In the anthology: Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Trying_to_Find_Chinatown/KyNNkZnM1nAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Trying+to+Find+Chinatown+/+by+David+Henry+Hwang&printsec=frontcover

Bondage / by David Henry Hwang

In a Los Angeles S&M parlor, a dominatrix and her client are clad head-to-toe in leather costumes that conceal their faces and ethnicities. These elaborate disguises allow them to play out fantasies based on racial stereotypes and sexual mythologies: She pretends to be an African-American woman to his white, liberal man; he transforms into an Asian-American and she into a blond WASP, etc. Exchanging biting social observations with stinging humor, they progress through their power games to expose the arbitrariness of racially minded thinking. All the while, however, they are haunted by an awareness that in spite of their efforts, they may be moving towards the most terrifying reality of all—a true intimacy that transcends the bounds of race. In the anthology: Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays

The Voyage / by David Henry Hwang

Alternating between the exploration of space, and Columbus’ exploration of the seas, A Voyage is a general study of exploration - of the oceans, of space and time and of the mind. In the anthology: Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays

The House of Sleeping Beauties / by David Henry Hwang

A well-known novelist, Kawabata, visits a brothel in order to learn why older men frequent it. However this establishment is quite different from what he expected. Here the men simply sleep in the same bed with the beautiful young women provided, and the women never awaken or see them. The madam who runs the home carefully screens all of her potential guests and only accepts men who she deems worthy. Kawabata intends to write about the house, but slowly falls under its spell and finds himself unable to write the piece. He is troubled by thoughts of his own mortality and the suicide of his friend, the author Mishima. But the madam soothes him and with the aid of a mild sleeping potion, Kawabata finally sleeps. In the end he is able to write the story and has achieved an inner peace. With his newfound tranquillity, he asks the madam to make him some tea, but instead of the sleeping powder, he wants her to add a poison to it. Both the novelist and the madam drink the tea and slowly drift off to sleep. In the anthology: Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays

The Sound of a Voice / by David Henry Hwang

Inspired by Japanese ghost stories, The Sound of a Voice tells of a lone samurai warrior who goes into the woods to kill a woman rumored to be a witch, but ends up falling in love with her instead. In the anthology: Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays

Family Devotions / by David Henry Hwang

Family Devotions depicts a clash of West and East among three generations of an Americanized Chinese family in a Los Angeles suburb. Ama and Popo, two elderly and devoutly Christian Chinese sisters, live with their Americanized children in Bel Air. Their grandchildren Jenny and Chester seek to escape superficial world of their parents. The whole family eagerly awaits a visit from Di-Gou, the brother whom the sisters have not seen in over thirty years. When he arrives, it is clear he is not the man his sisters remember. In the anthology: Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays

The Dance and the Railroad / by David Henry Hwang

While his fellow workers are striking for higher pay, Lone, once an actor in China, exercises and practices alone on a mountaintop the ritual gestures used in Chinese opera. Ma, a slightly younger man, who wishes to become an actor, approaches him. Lone spurns him and insults the naive young man, but Ma returns day after day, eventually convincing Lone to train him as an actor. As Lone trains Ma in the ways of the Chinese opera, he also heaps a good deal of abuse on him, trying to rid him of some of his gullibility and to dissuade him from pursuing acting if he does not truly have the drive to suffer through all the work necessary to become a master of the art. Ma, however, is quite determined in his desire to become an actor and finally wins over Lone, just as the Chinese workers win their strike. In the anthology: Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays

FOB / by David Henry Hwang

Moving between myth and reality, FOB ("Fresh off the boat") explores assimilation, immigration, and the struggle of Asian American identity. Grace and Dale are cousins, living in the Los Angeles area and attending college. Dale, an “ABC” or “American Born Chinese,” just wants to fit in to white American culture. Grace, who was born in Taiwan, feels less ambivalent about her Chinese heritage. The arrival of Steve, an exchange student and “fresh off the boat” newcomer from Hong Kong, forces them to confront conflicting feelings about America, China and themselves. In the anthology: Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/FOB_And_The_House_of_Sleeping_Beauties/lDRPluw8t50C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=FOB+/+by+David+Henry+Hwang&printsec=frontcover

Aloha Las Vegas / by Edward Sakamoto

Aloha Las Vegas centers on a retired baker, land rich but cash poor, who wrestles with the decision to relocate to Las Vegas in 1994. In the anthology: Aloha Las Vegas and Other Plays

Stew Rice / by Edward Sakamoto

Stew Rice, juxtaposing the hopes of the late 1950s with the realities of the late 1970s, charts the fortunes of three highschool buddies and the consequences of their individual decisions to leave or remain in Hawai'i. In the anthology: Aloha Las Vegas and Other Plays

A'ala Park / by Edward Sakamoto

A'ala Park explores a working-class milieu with honesty and humor in this gripping study of a young man stunted by a slum environment at the time of statehood. In the anthology: Aloha Las Vegas and Other Plays

Burn Gloom / by Elaine Avila

14 Writers, from Canton to Tasmania to Malawi to New York City, went out on December 31st, 1999 from 9pm -1am. Burn Gloom is the result of what they saw--the story of a Coca-Cola executive whose land rover breaks down on the way to Mount Kilimanjaro, a choreographer at an underground lesbian celebration in Singapore, a New York City police officer prepares for possible terrorist attacks, and Parisian Party goers end up in an environmental disaster. Where were you when the ball dropped? In the anthology: Jane Austen, Action Figure and Other Plays

At Water's Edge / by Elaine Avila

Alice is Japanese –Canadian. Paulo is Portuguese-American. When Paulo’s start-up business suddenly does well, they hire Cecilia, one of the top architects in the world, to design their house. As all three struggle to create a visionary relationship to their future and the natural world, ghosts from their pasts awake…threatening their basic hopes—to make a home. In the anthology: Jane Austen, Action Figure and Other Plays

Quality: The Shoe Play / by Elaine Avila

Roxanne is the manager of Tremendulo boutique, one of the most exclusive shoe shops in the world. Pippa aspires to be her protégé—helped only by her uncanny gift to channel fantasies behind shoes (from gladiators to astronauts). A dark, comic struggle for power, Quality explores the relationship between commerce and art, the legacy women pass down to each other, and how the world is serving the very wealthy. In the anthology: Jane Austen, Action Figure and Other Plays

Jane Austen, Action Figure / by Elaine Avila

Does it take superpowers to be a writer, a traveller, a parent, a lover….or Jane Austen? A collection of short plays, from comic to tragic, exploring key events in the lives of famous authors, a mother writing while raising a small child, orgasms throughout history, and a couple continually re-creating their love. In the anthology: Jane Austen, Action Figure and Other Plays

The Life of the Land / by Edward Sakamoto

Part Three of the Hawaii No Ka Oi trilogy. Reunion and reconciliation are the themes as Sakamoto continues the exploration of how families keep their ethnic and cultural identity even though members move away from one another in many ways. The ambitious young man who left home for the mainland to seek a career at the end of 'Manoa Valley' returns to Hawaii, and the Kamiya family gathers on a beach to celebrate the visit. His decision to stay at home and give up his career in California leads to shared memories of hopes and failures and makes them realize that, while they are all 20 years older, none are much wiser than before. In the anthology: Hawaii No Ka Oi: The Kamiya Family Trilogy

Mānoa Valley / by Edward Sakamoto

Manoa Valley, second of Ed Sakamoto's Hawaii No Ka Oi trilogy which follows a Japanese Hawaiian family over a sixty-year period. In the summer of 1959, Elvis is king and optimism abounds as the Kamiya clan is assembling for a celebration of Hawaiian statehood. The two brothers Kamiya, first introduced as young men in The Taste of Kona Coffee, now have come into their own and raised their own respective families. Rascal Aki has a successful nursery business, but he and wife Tomi must cope with changes in family structure as their only son Nobu has married a haole (Caucasian) from the mainland. World War II was still vivid in the minds of Americans and such marriages were rare, unthinkable and in some states illegal. Younger brother Tosh has become a prosperous building contractor and has moved from Honolulu to the beautiful Manoa Valley. Tosh expects his son Spencer to take over the business. But Spencer has dreams of his own, big dreams that will take him to the mainland to build airplanes and rockets, and he must find the courage to tell his father. His sister Laura has married Toku, a good but unambitious man. If it were up to her, Toku would take over the family business, but if it were up to Toku, he'd be out fishing every day. Meanwhile, Laura and Toku have a secret of their own. In the anthology: Hawaii No Ka Oi: The Kamiya Family Trilogy

The Taste of Kona Coffee / by Edward Sakamoto

In The Taste of Kona Coffee, two nisei brothers, Aki and Tosh, fight to free themselves from the prison of old-world traditions and poverty only to find themselves bound by the constraints of neocolonialism. This comedy-drama depicts the life of Japanese Americans in Kona, Hawai‘i in 1929. In the anthology: Hawaii No Ka Oi: The Kamiya Family Trilogy

Wonderland / by Chay Yew

In Wonderland , a young man recounts his childhood with his architect father and his immigrant mother who dream of a bright future for their son and a charmed life in a picturesque house overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As the Asian American family works toward building their American Dream, dramatic and unexpected developments that threaten to shatter its hopes. In the anthology: The Hyphenated American: Four Plays by Chay Yew

A Beautiful Country / by Chay Yew

Using dance, documentary theatre, performance and drama, A Beautiful Country follows 150 years of Asian American history in vignettes, told through the eyes of Miss Visa Denied, a transgender drag queen, who guides the audience through the turbulent history of Asian peoples coming and living in the United States. Addressing issues of race, gender, and appropriation, the play also explores this country’s history of xenophobia toward Asian Americans, assimilation and the intersecting identities of immigrants, including what it means to be an American. In the anthology: The Hyphenated American: Four Plays by Chay Yew

Scissors / by Chay Yew

An elderly barber guts the hair of his former master. The two speak nostalgically of their lives together before the great social eggbeater of massive immigration took over, when relations between master and servant were more formal. The formality, which the rich white gentleman (Arye Gross) stubbornly maintains with the haircutter (Soon-Tek Oh), may have been emphasized the distance between the two men, but it allowed for depth of emotion, even a reserved kind of love and physical attraction. In the anthology: The Hyphenated American: Four Plays by Chay Yew

Red / by Chay Yew

When Chairman Mao's turbulent Cultural Revolution swept through China, the ancient, glorious art form of the Beijing Opera became a pawn in the dangerous game of new politics versus old traditions. For a man whose life plays out on the stage and a woman caught up in the Revolution, they become embroiled in clashes over artistic purpose, political power, and changing values. As the conflicts play out, decisions made from good intentions produce unexpected, far-reaching consequences. Only years later will they realize that art can withstand the blows of history and bonds may prove too strong to be broken. In the anthology: The Hyphenated American: Four Plays by Chay Yew

Sia(b) / by May Lee-Yang

Sia(b) articulates the stakes of telling the personal story and plays with the fine line between autobiography and fiction, ethnic informant, and artist. It confronts the anthropological gaze that tries to reduce Hmong people to primitive objects of fascination or to media cliches of needy refugees. It argues both in Hmong and English about the nature of community and the possibility of translation. And perhaps most movingly, it reframes relationships between parents and children as affected not just by differences in assimilation but also by the legacies of the Cold War. In the anthology: Asian American Plays for a New Generation

Bahala Na (Let It Go) / by Clarence Coo

Spanning decades from the 1920’s in China to the 1990’s in America, Bahala Na (Let It Go) is about an aging Chinese woman who conjures up memories of her life in China and the Philippines, in hopes of transforming her gay grandson. Her memories, steeped in conflicts about race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and generational differences, open doors to the past, grip her heart, and lead her to an unexpected ending. In the anthology: Asian American Plays for a New Generation

Asiamnesia / by Sun Mee Chomet

Asiamnesia is a piece that explores historical stereotypes of Asian women in Hollywood and how those early representations resonate to this day. As a whole, the plays dramatize timely themes that are familiar to Asian Americans. In the anthology: Asian American Plays for a New Generation

Happy Valley / by Aurorae Khoo

Happy Valley is set amid the tremendous turmoil of 1997, as Hong Kong returns from British rule to Mainland Chinese control. Through the charming prism of a young girl, Tuppy and her uncle, Khoo, explore racism between Asian ethnic groups, the struggles of adolescence, and the life-changing nature of emigration. In the anthology: Asian American Plays for a New Generation

Walleye Kid: The Musical / book by Rick A. Shiomi and Sundraya Kase; music and lyrics by Kurt Miyashiro

In this contemporary folk tale, Walleye Kid: The Musical tells the story of a modern day Minnesota couple who long for a child. One night while ice fishing, they reel in a colossal walleye, from which emerges a Korean baby girl. When the girl turns eight, she takes a magical journey to the land of her birth and back as she explores her life between two cultures. Songs, mask dance, and powerful drum rhythms create a timeless setting for this tale that conveys the unique challenges and rewards of adoption. In the anthology: Asian American Plays for a New Generation

Indian Cowboy / by Zaraawar Mistry

Indian Cowboy chronicles the misadventures of a young man who always seems to be a stranger in a strange land. Found under a banyan tree in Hyderabad, India, and raised by three Parsi brothers, this foundling is looking for his place in the world.It follows his trials and tribulations as an actor in the United States while lightly satirizing immigrant fantasies of American culture alongside New Age fascination with India, yuppies, method acting, and high-tech modernization. In the anthology: Asian American Plays for a New Generation

Annunciation / by Carl Morse

This short play affirms that gay people come in all shapes and sizes and, by raising the consciousness of his very pregnant protagonist, reminds those who might need to hear it that there is no shame in--nor did they fail by--having a gay child; in fact, it can be rather a pleasure. In the anthology: Gay and Lesbian Plays Today

Intimacies; and More Intimacies / by Michael Kearns

Solo performance pieces that emphasize that AIDS isn't just a gay disease. By including disparate people--a Hispanic flamenco dancer, a Catholic priest, a street hooker, a Southern religious fanatic--in his portraits of twelve diagnosed people, he powerfully reminds us of the truth of the activist slogan "a virus knowns no morals" and "AIDS does not discriminate." In the anthology: Gay and Lesbian Plays Today

Tell / by Victor Bumbalo

A man hospitalized with an unnamed (but obvious) disease is able to reawaken his sexual feelings thanks to a description a visitor provides of his own sexual experience, and to satisfy these feelings via the hand of a lonely nurse who, while being a caring professional to her patient, fulfills her own need to connect and satisfies some of her own sexual inclinations The play touchingly demonstrates that sexual feelings don't disappear with age or after a diagnosis of illness, and that they can find some kind of release in unorthodox but risk-free ways. In the anthology: Gay and Lesbian Plays Today

A Quiet End / by Robin Swados

Three men – a teacher, an aspiring jazz pianist and an unemployed actor – are in a run-down Manhattan apartment. All have lost their jobs and are shunned by their families; they have AIDS. Their interaction with a psychiatrist, heard but not seen throughout the play, and the entrance of an ex-lover, healthy yet unsure of his future, provide a forum for exploring the meaning of friendship, loyalty and love. By celebrating the lives of men who, in the face of death, become fearlessly life-embracing, the play explores the human side of the AIDS crisis. In the anthology: Gay and Lesbian Plays Today Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Quiet_End/8haY9KE-_mUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+Quiet+End+/+by+Robin+Swados&printsec=frontcover

One Tit, a Dyke, & Gin! / by Pennell Somsen

Louise has a doctor's appointment - she has recently had a breast removed. She takes off her clothes, puts them in a cupboard - which locks shut and puts on a paper gown ready for the examination. However, the doctor and nurse have forgotten she is there and close for the night locking her in. She telephones Miss Tate who works in the clothing department of a store where she has an account and asks her to bring her something to wear. Louise finds some cigarettes in a drawer and lights up when the Night Security Officer bursts in ordering her to put out the cigarette and put her hands up. But she cannot do both. the officer, Rosemary does not believe Louise's story to begin with but soon a sort of friendship develops. Rosemary tries telephoning her girl friend Gina to ask her to bring something over for Louise to wear but there is no reply. Rosemary thinks that she is in the dog house as she has forgotten it was their anniversary. the two start to play cards - gin - and Louise, much to Rosemary's chagrin wins each time. Gina arrives with champagne to celebrate, followed by Miss Tate with clothes. Whilst Louise is putting them on, Miss Tate reveals that her partner of 38 years had recently died - Louise had not realised that Miss Tate was lesbian. the four decide that they will meet regularly to play poker. In the anthology: Gay and Lesbian Plays Today

Eye of the Gull / by Jane Chambers

Pat and Maggie run a bed and breakfast establishment - Gull House. the front of the building is decorated with a large painting of a gull with its "eye" being the attic window. Living with Pat and Maggie is Pat's sister Sara who although is 27 has the mind of a 12 year old. Pat is over protective of her sister. Maggie feels that Sara should be given more responsibilities and should not be sharing their bedroom. there are various guests at the b&b some longer term others for the weekend. Pat and Jessie are celebrating the anniversary of their first meeting at Gull House. Tally and Margo - Margo is a Broadway star and is afraid that she will be recognised and the fact that she is a lesbian will get out to the Media. Denny a school teacher who had had a long term relationship with Tally is teaching Sara to read. Margo thinks that Tally still loves Denny. Pat decides that it is time to repaint the gull - a job that falls to Maggie. Maggie makes a start but asks Sara to help. Whilst up the twenty foot ladder that is needed for the job - Sara sees the attic room. a room that has no access through the house. She also hears Pat and Maggie disagreeing on what is best for her. Pat is very angry that Sara is up the ladder and insists that she come down. Later unbeknown to the others Sara sneaks out with her 30 dollars of savings. When Pat realises that she is gone she is frantic and is convinced that Sara will come to harm. Search parties are organised - but there is no sign of her. When they are about to report her missing to the police - a light is seen in the attic window. Sara is in there - she had bought a blind for the window and is setting about putting it up. She had paid for it with her money and also got a part time job sweeping up at the general store. She announces that the attic room is now hers and that she will not give it up. Pat has to accept that Sara is starting to stand on her own two feet. In the anthology: Gay and Lesbian Plays Today

Belle Reprieve / by Bette Bourne, Peggy Shaw, Paul Shaw, and Lois Weaver

The playwrights take on Tennessee Williams’ Streetcar Named Desire and the mythic proportions of Stanley and Blanche. Both steamy and hysterical, Belle Reprieve looks at gay and lesbian sex in the 1940’s and both honors Williams and turns him on his head. Functionally, Belle Reprieve is a deconstructed version of Tennessee Williams’ Street Car Named Desire. Each performer played their identities against each character in the play: butch lesbian-Stanley; femme lesbian-Stella; drag queen-Blanche and male fairy-Mitch. The events of Williams’ play were taken as a framework on which to hang the individual performers’ autobiographies. In the anthology: Gay and Lesbian Plays Today

The Baltimore Waltz / by Paula Vogel

When Anna, an unmarried schoolteacher, is diagnosed with ATD, Acquired Toilet Disease, a fatal new malady with a high risk factor for elementary school teachers, she and her brother Carl take flight to Europe. Anna decides she wants to drown herself in the sensuality of food and sex, while Carl becomes involved in a wild Third Mannish espionage scheme to find a cure for his sister on the Continent. Something is not quite right with the scenario, and the largest hint is dropped when Anna shows slides of their trip to Europe where each frame looks exactly like Baltimore. Carl’s quest for a cure dead ends with a mad Viennese quack. Their European idyll is broken by Carl’s death, and the tragic revelation that the entire play was Anna’s valiant fantasy to keep alive her brother’s spirit when she could not save his life. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Anthology of American Women Playwrights, 1970-2020 Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Baltimore_Waltz/nysrRVAPp9sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Baltimore+Waltz+/+by+Paula+Vogel&printsec=frontcover

Spell #7 / by Ntzoka Shange

This striking choreopoem by the author of For Colored Girls... is set in a bar frequented by Black artists and musicians. A meditation on the irony of being Black in a white world, Spell #7 presents artists baring their souls in confessional soliloquies, many of which are illustrated through dance. The play is a sometimes desperate, often unsettling, yet deeply joyous celebration of the fight to maintain sanity and personal integrity in a world where the rules have been dictated rather than chosen. In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Anthology of American Women Playwrights, 1970-2020

Gun / by Susan Yankowitz

Gun opens with a mother's nightmare about the future of her newborn son. In a series of biting, fragmented scenes that move backwards and forwards in time, her nightmare comes true. The play was inspired by the escalating acts of violence in our country -- mass school shootings, assassinations, serial killings - carried out usually by young white men from middle-class families. Again and again, we ask why? Where does responsibility lie? What leads a loved child like Donald to commit a horrific, senseless murder? Like the killer’s shocked mother and father, GUN careens from one perspective to another in a search for understanding. (Previously published with the title: A Knife in the Heart) In the anthology: The Methuen Drama Anthology of American Women Playwrights, 1970-2020

Roosters / by Milcha Sanchez-Scott

The setting is a simple wood-frame house in the American Southwest. Hector, a young campesino, is apprehensively awaiting the return of his father, Gallo, who has been serving a jail term for manslaughter. Gallo, who is obsessed with cock fighting, is a philandering, high-living macho type, who finds it difficult to communicate with, much less understand, his contemplative, questioning son. The crux of the play is the battle for supremacy between the father, who wants to exploit the fighting cock which his son has been looking after for him, and Hector, who argues that they should sell the animal and use the proceeds for family needs. Drawn into the dispute are Hector’s sister, Angela, an otherworldly creature who wears angel wings and blots out unpleasant reality by hiding under the front porch; his lusty, profane aunt, Chata, whose overt sexuality is both fascinating and disturbing to her impressionable nephew; and his long-suffering mother, Juana, who wishes that her family would stop bickering and live in peace. Mingling scenes of explosive drama with moments of fanciful imagery, the play deftly blends its two natures as it moves to its conclusion when, in a theatrically magical moment, illusion and reality achieve a remarkable synthesis. In the anthology: On New Grounds: Contemporary Hispanic-American Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Roosters/UfntCIlICBEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Roosters+/+by+Milcha+Sanchez-Scott&printsec=frontcover

The house of Ramon Iglesia / by José Rivera

It’s 1983, and the Iglesia family is caught between two worlds. Aging and ailing, parents Ramón and Dolores are eager to leave their rickety house in New Jersey and return to their native Puerto Rico – but their three sons, all raised in America, are deeply divided on whether or not to go. Tough, genuine, and insightful, The House of Ramón Iglesia asks just as much as it answers. What do we owe our parents, and our children? What do we mean when we say “country,” or “family,” or “home?” As they struggle through gaps of language, age, and culture, will the Iglesia family find common ground? Or are their rifts too wide to heal? In the anthology: On New Grounds: Contemporary Hispanic-American Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_House_of_Ram%C3%B3n_Iglesia/1gNwwzR2yh8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+house+of+Ramon+Iglesia+/+by+Jose%CC%81+Rivera&printsec=frontcover

White water / by John Jesurun

In the anthology: On New Grounds: Contemporary Hispanic-American Plays

The conduct of life / by Maria Irene Fornes

The Conduct of Life, one of María Irene Fornés’ most critically acclaimed plays, is a powerful and disturbing work that brings together politics, gender, and sexuality to show how forms of national and domestic violence often exist in direct relationship to one another. It’s the tale of a military officer in a fascist regime in Latin America who kidnaps a young girl who increasingly cannot separate the boundaries of his military and private space. Fornes’ pointed dialogue examines the pace by which we, as a society, become desensitized to violence. In the anthology: On New Grounds: Contemporary Hispanic-American Plays

The guitarrón / by Lynne Alvarez

Bathed in music, moonlight, and surf, The Guitarron is the story of Guicho, a young fisherman, who is transformed by love and music. Meanwhile, the cellist who inspired Guicho rises from the dead and starts life anew as a fisherman. In the anthology: On New Grounds: Contemporary Hispanic-American Plays

Melto Man and Lady Mantis / by Eric Pfeffinger

One office suite. Two unnatural fiends. Because even monsters have meetings, and these taxes aren't going to file themselves. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2017: The Complete Plays.

Home Invasion / by Krista Knight

Two ghosts have lured robbers to an expensive apartment they've rented out on AirBnB. The robbers think they have outsmarted the absent tenants, but are about to become trapped themselves. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2017: The Complete Plays.

I Now Pronounce / by Tasha Gordon-Solmon

Adam and Nicole's marriage gets off to an inauspicious start when the elderly rabbi officiating their wedding drops dead during the ceremony. The members of the wedding party struggle heroically to turn around the mood at the reception, but they're much too preoccupied with their own flailing relationships to keep the festivities running smoothly. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2017: The Complete Plays.

The New Line / by Will Eno

The New Line plays with the conventions of a fashion show, moving deftly between eloquent descriptions of clothing and profound questions like, "Who are you supposed to be?" In the anthology: Humana Festival 2017: The Complete Plays.

Recent Alien Abductions / by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas

A Puerto Rican man describes an episode of The X-Files that he swears has been inexplicably revised. When the play takes a leap in time, that tale becomes a window to understanding the erasure of other difficult truths. Cortiñas's play interrogates the implications of power and complicity, asking us to consider who gets silenced, and whose stories are told. In the anthology: Humana Festival 2017: The Complete Plays.

Eastern standard / by Richard Greenberg

Four Manhattan yuppies strike up a friendship in a chic uptown restaurant after a bag lady involves them in an altercation. A month later, the four self-involved Manhattanites (three men and one woman), having fallen instantly in love with one another, converge at a seaside residence, hoping to alleviate their shared sense of alienation and purposelessness with a misguided attempt at rehabilitating May, the bag lady who brought them all together. In their pretense at public mindedness, they all seek either an escape from their own problems or redemption from the lives they used to live. How do you tell the man who’s eagerly pursuing you, and whom you really love, that you have the AIDS virus? How does your sister react to the news of your illness when she’s trying to start a new relationship of her own? How does an immensely successful architect make amends to society for years of blotting our cities’ skylines with his postmodern monstrosities? And can all these questions really be answered by taking May off her medication and teaching her about the finer things in life, like preparing place settings for a dinner party? Ultimately not, and in the end, sobered but still game, the two couples, one heterosexual, one homosexual, have remained together to drink a toast to the “accidental happiness” that, with luck, may still come their way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Eastern_Standard/Qj8wu3eIdOgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Eastern+standard+/+by+Richard+Greenberg&printsec=frontcover

Safe Sex / by Harvey Fierstein

A collection containing the following three plays by Harvey Fierstein: Manny and Jake: Two young men meet in a bar. Manny is literally praying for sex; Jake is only too eager to oblige. What the latter does not know is that Manny has AIDS. Safe Sex: Two recently reconciled male lovers confront the challenge of their on-again, off-again relationship in the time of AIDS. Ghee, an aging, congenial gay man, may be using guidelines for safe sex as an excuse for his fading sex drive. This dismays Mead, a virile and no-nonsense blue-collar type. The emotional seesaw of their interactions creates the compelling dynamics of this fascinating short piece. On Tidy Endings: A man has died of AIDS, leaving behind a son, a male lover, and an ex-wife. She still loves him and accepts the fact that he was gay, and that he died in the arms of his male lover, who selflessly cared for him right up until the end. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Safe_Sex/QpCukwx5FtAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Safe+Sex+/+by+Harvey+Fierstein&printsec=frontcover

Louie and Ophelia / by Gus Edwards

Romance in middle age can be complicated while balancing children, ex-spouses, jobs, and ambitions. In this charming tale, a working-class couple falls in love and struggles to maintain a relationship without giving up their old dreams, habits and commitments. Ophelia is a go-getter and fiercely devoted to the idea that her children become professionals, while Louie is a gregarious family man who just wants to build a home. The play paints a real, gently humorous portrait of contemporary love and its trials.

Dear / by Rosalyn Drexler

one of the most tender yet devastating plays of the Drexlerian oeuvre is the musical romance Dear. It takes place in the Eisenhower Fifties, the early years of television. There is an elegiac quality for the tragicomedy punctuated by the sentimental music of the era...The play is about Jessie Clup, a Queens housewife whose philandering husband has deserted her. Her only culpa is her fixation on Perry Como, the ex-barber, crooner kin, reigning TV star. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dear/dOwGKKK3MlYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dear+/+by+Rosalyn+Drexler&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover

The night Larry Kramer kissed me / by David Drake

David Drake's smash hit one-man show tells the story of his call to gay pride and activism through a series of vignettes exploring thoughts and emotions shared by a whole generation of gay men and women.

The day room / by Don DeLillo

The play opens in a brightly lit hospital room occupied by two men. One, the amiable Budge, does Tai Chi exercises while trying, without much success, to strike up a conversation with his taciturn roommate, Wyatt. Then, slowly but inexorably, their world begins to spin away from reality as they are visited by a series of fellow patients and hospital staffers, all of whom, it turns out, may not be what they seem. Oddly normal, but also oddly frightening, it is soon apparent that they have strayed in from the psychiatric ward of the adjacent Arno Klein Wing and are all quite mad. In the second act, which is set in the day room of the psychiatric ward, the same performers reappear but with different identities. Some of them, claiming to be actors, transform the room into a tacky motel suite in which a play-within-the-play is to take place; others become tourists searching for the renowned “Arno Klein Theater Company"; and one man, strait-jacketed and tied in a chair, “becomes” a television set. At last Arno Klein himself appears, and proves to be the man (Budge) who started the play. So, in the end, we have come full circle, with appearance and reality, madness and normality, still tantalizingly undefined, and with the growing conviction that all the world may indeed be no more than a stage—and all its inhabitants merely players. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Day_Room/0q_-oa-0uUMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+day+room+/+by+Don+DeLillo&printsec=frontcover

The boys in the band / by Mart Crowley

In his Upper East Side apartment, Michael is throwing a birthday party for Harold, a self-avowed “thirty-two-year-old, pockmarked, Jew fairy,” complete with surprise gift: “Cowboy,” a street hustler. As the evening wears on – fueled by drugs and alcohol – bitter, unresolved resentments among the guests come to light when a game of “Truth” goes terribly wrong. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Boys_in_the_Band/Y6YHBo6XqgwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+boys+in+the+band+/+by+Mart+Crowley&printsec=frontcover

My blue heaven : a comedy in two acts / by Jane Chambers

In this two-act comedy, college English professor finds herself trapped in a snowbound cabin with her current lover, her former lover, her very first lover, and her future partner, all of whom are women.

Last summer at Bluefish Cove : a play in two acts / by Jane Chambers

Last Summer at Bluefish Cove is the story of a dissatisfied straight woman who leaves her husband to spend some quiet time by herself, and who unwittingly and naively wanders into the midst of a group of seven lesbians at the beginning of their annual beachside vacation ... The friendships, the laughter, the love, the fears of being outed, the difficulties of being gay and how it affects relationships with family, children, parents and careers, the demonstrations of what the painful price could be for a gay life 30 years ago in everyday America, had never before been told with such respect. Chambers' comedic dialogue, sensitivity to human nature and tender treatment of her characters help the play transcend preconceptions and show the universality of these women's journeys

Sex, drugs, rock & roll / by Eric Bogosian

Bogosian's characters are daring and audacious. They form a composite picture of the complex, sometimes alarming, always fascination society that is America in the 1990's. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sex_Drugs_Rock_Roll/3FX6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sex,+drugs,+rock+%26+roll+/+by+Eric+Bogosian&printsec=frontcover

Hidden parts / by Lynne Alvarez

Set in a cornfield in the Midwest, HIDDEN PARTS depicts the troubled reunion of a young concert pianist, his estranged farmer parents, and their teenage gypsy niece.

Juneteenth Street / by Reginald Edmund

JUNETEENTH STREET is the journey of a family, a church, and a community after the death of their patriarch and head pastor. His loss not only leaves the family reeling, but now the community and church are at risk of being torn down due to gentrification promoted by one of their own.

The net will appear / by Erin Mallon

Erin Mallon's The Net Will Appear traces an unlikely friendship between two neighbors: the hardened 75-year-old veteran Bernard and the optimistic, tireless 9-year-old schoolgirl Rory. The plot is developed entirely through conversations exchanged from their respective rooftops. Their first chat is initiated by Rory's mere childish curiosity in Bernard's solitude, but over the course of several months, they find in each other the love of a 'bonus' father and daughter which is missing from their lives.

No good things dwell in the flesh / by Christina Masciotti

Set in present-day Queens, NO GOOD THINGS DWELL IN THE FLESH features an immigrant master tailor struggling to convince her assistant to take over her business as she loosens her grip on the material world. When her deranged ex-boyfriend begins to stalk her in her shop, she’s forced to reconsider what her legacy can be and make peace with what can’t be fixed, salvaged, or even known.

Pony up / by Mallory Jane Weiss

A Wild West: A world where men ride horses and women ride bicycles. A world that is changed forever when Ruthie’s husband, Jack (biggest pistol in town), wins three larger-than-life stallions in an auction. Hell-bent on riding the stallions, Ruthie finds herself enticed by Rooster and Pearl, two women with their eyes set on the horizon line, on a place impossible to reach by bicycle. With the help from a forward-thinking heifer (yes, a cow), the women discover the kind of strength female friendship can inspire. And ultimately, they try to find a place all their own.

Skin hungry / by Erin Mallon

Ruth is a 74-year-old woman. Rowan is a 23-year-old man. They’re in love. And Ruth’s 43-year-old son is freaking the hell out.

Black Mexican / by Rachel Lynett

Who gets to be part of Latinidad? While Valery fights to prove Ximena isn't Cuban, Alia has given up fighting that she is Latine. As the women in this play discover the truth about themselves and each other, they also have to face the internal bias that allowed a white women to be Cuban but didn't allow a Belizean to call herself Latine.

Well-intentioned white people / by Rachel Lynett

After an attack influenced by her race, Cass wants to just forget about it and move on with her life but her (white) roommate and the dean of the university push her to “make an example of it.” Suddenly Cass is roped into planning a diversity day and trying to convince her roommate not to plan a sit-in. WELL-INTENTIONED WHITE PEOPLE explores how liberals attempt to deal with discrimination not directed at them and how sometimes “well intentions” can be just as problematic.

September shoes / by Jose Cruz Gonzalez

September Shoes is a visually evocative, lyrical play about four people in search of redemption. On a visit to their childhood home in the desert town of Dolores, Gail and Alberto, a middle-aged couple, struggle to come to terms with the past, including Gail's relationship with her Aunt Lily and the accidental death of Alberto's sister, Ana, 30 years before. Two local residents, Huilo, a cemetery groundsman, and Cuki, a hotel maid, deal with their own losses in unusual ways. Slowly, each of their heart-wrenching tales comes to light until, with gorgeous simplicity, all four realize that they are inextricably bound together. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exSeptemberShoesSL6.pdf

Salt & Pepper / by Jose Cruz Gonzalez

Salt & Pepper explores family, friendship and illiteracy. Salt's grandfather can't read or write. He's ashamed to tell anyone, and his silence has had a devastating effect on the entire family. Salt can barely read, and Pepper, his new friend, reads voraciously. Together they discover a past, the secrets of which are revealed in an old box of mysterious postcards. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exSaltAndPepperSG3.pdf

Harvest moon / by José Cruz González

Harvest Moon is a full-length play about Mariluz, a Chicana muralist dying of cancer who paints a mural for her son, telling the story of the farmworkers' struggle for life. As her son uncovers the past, the mural comes alive. An "ancestral agricultural memory," this story chronicles four generations of a Mexican-American farmworker family, celebrating life and art. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exHarvestMoonH79.pdf

Gross indecency : the three trials of Oscar Wilde / Moises Kaufman

In April 1895 Oscar Wilde brought a libel suit against the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of his youthful lover, who had publicly maligned him as a sodomite. In doing so, England's reigning man of letters set in motion a series of events that would culminate in his ruin and imprisonment. For within a year the bewildered Wilde himself was on trial for acts of 'gross indecency' and -- implicitly -- for a vision of art that outraged Victorian propriety. In this work of the theater -- a smash hit Off Broadway -- Moises Kaufman turns the trials of Oscar Wilde into a riveting human and intellectual drama. Expertly interweaving courtroom testimony with excerpts from Wilde's writings and the words of his contemporaries, Gross Indecency unveils its subject in all his genius and human frailty, his age in all its complacency and repression. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gross_Indecency/LHrEzMumXYIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gross+indecency+:+the+three+trials+of+Oscar+Wilde+/+Moises+Kaufman&printsec=frontcover

Bocón! / by Lisa Loomer

¡Bocón!, a fable filled with humor and mysticism and song, tells the story of 12-year-old Miguel who flees a repressive military regime in Central America for Los Angeles. A natural storyteller and irrepressible "big mouth" or bocón, Miguel loses his voice when his parents are taken and begins a metaphorical journey north to the City of Angels. Along the way he meets up with an unusual traveling companion, La Llorona, the legendary "Weeping Woman" of Mexican and Central American mythology. Through their magical friendship, Miguel finds his voice and the courage to cross the border to a new life. Miguel's story is relevant to immigrant children from all parts of the world … and to any child who is learning the many meanings of finding one's own "voice." Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBoconB36.pdf

Accelerando / by Lisa Loomer

This romantic comedy employs twelve scenes to reveal a relationship that spans an entire nighttime, because: A) with the way the world is speeding up nowadays, a nighttime is really what a lifetime used to be; B) HE’s busy, and; C) SHE’s in a rush. HE is a classical musician and filmmaker who lives for Art. SHE is a dancer determined to find Love. (The audience will ultimately be asked to vote on which is more important.) Other obstacles are their Mothers (Puerto Rican and WASP), who appear in dreams, or when reason takes a walk or a giant leap, leaving the door open for all mothers…And Fathers, who appear as slides—not quite flesh and blood, but still able to have left an impression. A live musician accompanies all the fun. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Accelerando/KUh4FfBkUFUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Accelerando+/+by+Lisa+Loomer&printsec=frontcover

Simply Maria, or, The American dream/ by Josefina López

This wildly funny play tells the story of Maria, a young, precocious Latina aspiring to be an actor, and her dream of going to college. The story begins in Mexico with Maria's parents eloping. Maria is born, and shortly after they leave for the U.S. her father, Ricardo, tells Maria that in America, with an education, she can have the American dream. Maria believes him and studies hard. However, when she tells her parents she wants to go to college, they order her to get married instead. Maria is so upset she cries herself to sleep and has a nightmare in which her American self and her Mexican self wrestle with each other. She gets married and gives birth to six babies. Her wedding dress attacks her and a giant tortilla squashes her. Maria is awakened by her mother's crying and overhears her confronting Ricardo about his affairs. Maria is shocked by the news and realizes she has to go to college in order to be economically independent of men and have the life that she wants, one that combines the best of her two worlds. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exSimplyMariaSB4.pdf

Confessions of women from East L.A. / by Josefina López

A celebration of being Latina and being women in the U.S., this play challenges the stereotypes of Latinas as "virgins, mothers and whores," with the vibrant humor and authentic voices of women from East L.A. telling their stories with imagination and poetry. Four actors play nine unforgettable characters including: Marquez-Bemstein, Ph.D., 35, a woman who encourages Latinas to marry Jewish men in her "How To Be A Super Latina" seminar; Calletana, 40, a street vendor who challenges city hall for her right to earn a living; Lolita Corazon, 25, who teases and punishes men with her powerful sexuality; Yoko Martinez, 28, a Latina who's trying to pass for Japanese; Roxie, 30, a self-defense instructor who accidentally attacks a man who was merely going to ask her for the time; Tiffany, 20, a valley girl and a Chicana activist who finds courage and strength in Frida Kahlo's paintings; Dofia Conception, 55, a grandmother who, after her husband dies, is forced to come to terms with her sexuality when she discovers her husband gave her AIDS; Doija Florinda, 45, a soap opera addict in recovery; and Valentina, 26, a Chicana activist who is trying to organize her people to fight racism and Proposition 187. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exConfessionsOfWomenCA1.pdf

Real women have curves/ by Josefina López

Set in a tiny sewing factory in East L.A., this is the outrageously funny story of five full-figured Mexican-American women who are racing to meet nearly impossible production deadlines in order to keep their tiny factory from going under. And while they work, hiding from the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), they talk... about their husbands and lovers, their children, their dreams for the future. The story is told from the point of view of Ana, the youngest among them. Just graduated from high school, Ana dreams of getting out of the barrio and going off to college and becoming a famous writer. Although she needs the money, Ana doesn't like working at the factory and has little respect for the coworkers, who make fun of her ambitions and what they consider her idealistic feminist philosophies. However, Ana keeps coming to her job and chronicling her experiences in a journal. As the summer unfolds, she slowly gains an understanding and appreciation of the work and the women, eventually writing an essay that wins her a journalism fellowship which will take her to New York City. This play, a microcosm of the Latina immigrant experience, celebrates real women's bodies, the power of women, and the incredible bond that happens when women work together. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exRealWomenHaveCurvesR60.pdf

Unconquered spirits : a historical play / by Josefina López

This is the story of Xochimilco, a ten-year-old Mexican girl who, when misbehaving, is told the legend of La Llorona ("The Crying Woman") by her mother. As the legend goes, an Indian woman and a Spaniard fell in love and had two children. The man left her to marry a Spanish woman, and for revenge the Indian woman killed her children, cut them up and threw them into a river. She then killed herself, but God wouldn't let her spirit into heaven and ordered her to go back to earth to find her children. The ghost of La Llorona now roams by the rivers, weeping and wailing, searching for children to take the place of the ones she lost. The first act, set in the 16th century, explores the origin of the legend and finds that the woman was raped and sacrificed her half-breed children to the Aztec gods to give her people strength to fight the Spaniards. Thus, the weeping woman is not a murderer, but a martyr who sacrificed her children to save her people. In the second act, we are in San Antonio, Texas, 1938. We see Xochimilco as a grown woman becoming a modern day La Llorona. She is raped by a white supervisor from her factory and has to get a "back alley" abortion, from which she nearly dies. God pardons her by letting her live so she can take care of her five children and gives her the courage to confront her rapist. Xochimilco goes on to become a heroine in the organization of the Latino labor union movement. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exUnconqueredSpiritsU22.pdf

The whipping man / by Matthew Lopez

It is April, 1865. The Civil War is over and throughout the south, slaves are being freed, soldiers are returning home and in Jewish homes, the annual celebration of Passover is being celebrated. Into the chaos of war-torn Richmond comes Caleb DeLeon, a young Confederate officer who has been severely wounded. He finds his family's home in ruins and abandoned, save for two former slaves, Simon and John, who wait in the empty house for the family's return. As the three men wait for signs of life to return to the city, they wrestle with their shared past, the bitter irony of Jewish slave-owning and the reality of the new world in which they find themselves. The sun sets on the last night of Passover and Simon - having adopted the religion of his masters - prepares a humble Seder to observe the ancient celebration of the freeing of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt, noting with particular satisfaction the parallels to their current situation. But the pain of their enslavement will not be soothed by this tradition, and deep-buried secrets from the past refuse to be hidden forever as the play comes to its shocking climax. The Whipping Man is a play about redemption and foregiveness, about the lasting scars of slavery, and the responsibility that comes with freedom. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Whipping_Man/7FxLVc83ghAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+whipping+man+/+by+Matthew+Lopez&printsec=frontcover

Sonia flew / by Melinda Lopez

When Sonia learns of her son’s decision to leave college, enlist in the military and fight against terror in Afghanistan in the weeks following 9/11, memories of her own childhood overwhelm her. She struggles to reconcile being forced as a young girl to leave Cuba at the dawn of Fidel Castro’s rule with her own responsibilities as a mother facing uncertainty. Sonia must find a way to come to terms with her past, her lost parents, her own children and her adopted country—or risk losing everything that she loves. Set between post-revolutionary Cuba and post-9/11 America, SONIA FLEW telescopes the large cultural and political forces of a historic moment to examine their impact on the intimate lives of ordinary men and women. What do we owe our parents? Can we forgive the past? This poetic and urgent play bridges time and culture in a drama about the cost of forgiveness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sonia_Flew/4oBQL39F3cgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sonia+flew+/+by+Melinda+Lopez&printsec=frontcover

The modern ladies of Guanabacoa / by Eduardo Machado

The Modern Ladies of Guanabacoa shows one family's climb to wealth in the Cuba of 1928-31. The play is at once a political drama and social comedy, ranging from melodrama to farce. Questions of power, control and revolution within the family mirror society's wider conflicts. The father is a butcher who rules his wife and four grown children with an iron hand, even as he spends most of his time philandering outside the house. The only daughter, aged 27, is accused of having lost her virginity simply because she may once have kissed the now-deceased man who courted her for seven years. While her three brothers live less-cloistered sex lives, they benefit from a double standard that allows young Cuban men to go whoring to satisfy their "special needs." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Modern_Ladies_of_Guanabacoa/0WTt1rb5nEIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+modern+ladies+of+Guanabacoa+/+by+Eduardo+Machado&printsec=frontcover

In the eye of the hurricane / by Eduardo Machado

It is 1960 in a small Cuban town. A family gathers for a sumptuous, leisurely lunch of shrimp and avocado only to find Fidel Castro is nationalizing the family bus company: the business in which the entire family has invested all of its energies and all of its resources. The business is the symbol of the family and everything they want: money and a lot of it. Machado describes In the Eye of the Hurricane as a play about "the moment...It's about when their lives were really in crisis. It's not about recalling. It's not about getting there. It's about the moment when you lose everything." This play is a part of Machado's Before and After the Revolution series, a group of four plays about the Cuban Revolution.

Havana journal / by Eduardo Machado

Ruth, a disillusioned writer and radical, leaves the halls of American academia to travel to Cuba. She hopes to find people there who share her beliefs and validate her struggle. It's not until her return to Columbia University that she is confronted by the realities of sacrifice and idealism.

Body of faith / by Luis Alfaro

How does faith unite and divide us? It is a theatrical celebration and examination of a lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender interfaith community, examining the complex and dynamic relationship between faith and identity. The story is told in a vignette, modern vaudeville-style, at once a choral assemblage and a presentation of monologues and scenes that chronicle a community in search of its authenticity. The play was created by the playwright and 19 participants whose life stories form the basis for this multidisciplined theatre piece. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBodyOfFaithBB4.pdf

Beauty of the father / by Nilo Cruz

This play is set in Andalusia, Spain, where the restless ghost of the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca still wanders through the streets and converses with the living. Beauty of the Father is about a young American girl who travels to this part of the world to meet her estranged father and becomes romantically involved with his Moroccan companion. This passionate triangle explores the conflict between love and sacrifice. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beauty_of_the_Father/KQ5AGQr9xu8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Beauty+of+the+father+/+by+Nilo+Cruz&printsec=frontcover

Big white fog / by Theodore Ward

Big White Fog is a play by American playwright Theodore Ward and his first major work. The play follows the fictional Mason family across three generations between 1922 and 1933. Half of the family supports a return to Africa and Garveyism, while the other half of the family seeks the American Dream.

Moon-child / by Derek Walcott

In Moon-Child, the poet and playwright Derek Walcott returns to the island of St. Lucia for a lush and vivid tale of spirituality and the supernatural. In this lyrical new work, the crafty Planter (who may or may not be the Devil in disguise) schemes to take over the island for development. Between him and his goal lies the Bouton family, whose ailing matriarch strikes a bargain: if any of her three sons can get the Devil to feel anger and human weakness, the islanders will win the right to spend the rest of their days in wealth and peace. In a fable that reaches from St. Lucia's verdant forests to an explosive ending amid its plantation homes, Walcott has crafted a masterwork rich in flowing language and colorful Creole patois. With roots in Caribbean folklore and an eye toward the island's postcolonial legacy and complex racial identities, Moon-Child marks a remarkable new addition to the canon of one of the world's most prolific Caribbean playwrights. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Moon_Child/N1SOAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Moon-child+/+by+Derek+Walcott&printsec=frontcover

The Odyssey : a stage version / by Derek Walcott

Dramatizes events and characters from Homer's Odyssey, including Proteus, the Old Man of the Sea, the Cyclops, Circe, ghosts, and mermaids. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Odyssey/AXUOBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Odyssey+:+a+stage+version+/+by+Derek+Walcott&printsec=frontcover

Twilight--Los Angeles, 1992 on the road : a search for American character / by Anna Deavere Smith

Twilight is Anna Deavere Smith's stunning new work of "documentary theater" in which she uses the verbatim words of people who experienced the Los Angeles riots to expose and explore the devastating human impact of that event. From nine months of interviews with more than two hundred people, Smith has chosen the voices that best reflect the diversity and tension of a city in turmoil: a disabled Korean man, a white male Hollywood talent agent, a Panamanian immigrant mother, a teenage black gang member, a macho Mexican-American artist, Rodney King's aunt, beaten truck driver Reginald Denny, former Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates, and other witnesses. A work that goes directly to the heart of the issues of race and class, Twilight ruthlessly probes the language and the lives of its subjects, offering stark insight into the complex and pressing social, economic, and political issues that fueled the flames in the wake of the Rodney King verdict.participants, and victims. Combining Smith's introduction exploring Twilight's evolution from the streets to the stage, the complete play script, and photos of the author in character, Twilight is a captivating work of dramatic literature - and a unique first-person portrait of a pivotal moment in current history. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Twilight_Los_Angeles_1992/2DpEBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Twilight--Los+Angeles,+1992+on+the+road+:+a+search+for+American+character+/+by+Anna+Deavere+Smith&printsec=frontcover

Bootycandy / by Robert O'Hara

Sutter is on an outrageous odyssey through his childhood home, his church, dive bars, motel rooms, and even nursing homes. Playwright Robert O'Hara weaves together scenes, sermons, sketches, and daring meta-theatrics to create a kaleidoscopic portrayal of growing up gay and Black. Uproarious satire crashes headlong into the murky terrain of pain and pleasure and… Bootycandy.

Insurrection : holding history / by Robert O'Hara

The story of a young African-American graduate student transported back through time, with his 189-year-old great-great-grandfather, to Nat Turner's infamous slave rebellion, this play is a metaphorical investigation of the scars of repression on both race and homosexuality in America. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Insurrection_Holding_History/OFz6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Insurrection+:+holding+history+/+by+Robert+O%27Hara&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover

Crumbs from the table of joy / by Lynn Nottage

Recently widowed Godfrey, and his daughters Ernestine and Ermina, move from Florida to Brooklyn for a better life. Not knowing how to parent, Godfrey turns to religion, and expecially to Father Divine... Lily, Godfrey's sister-in-law, shows up from Harlem, having promised her sister that if anything ever happened, she'd look out for the girls. Lily, while fascinating to her nieces, stands for everything Godfrey dislikes: communism, sexual freedom and the fight against racial discrimination. As the racial and social issues of the late 1950s escalate, personal issues between Godfrey and Lily explode, prompting him to walk out. A few days later, he returns, with a new wife—a white German immigrant, Gerte. With Godfrey immersed in religion, Lily claiming to be a part of the new revolution, and quiet, stoic Gerte coming from the horrors of Germany, life in the household gets heated. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Crumbs_from_the_Table_of_Joy/sYAagKyeJJUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Crumbs+from+the+table+of+joy+/+by+Lynn+Nottage&printsec=frontcover

Proof of love / by Chisa Hutchinson

Constance Daley has never known financial want. Her husband, Maurice, had a very different upbringing. Decades into their perfect marriage, Maurice has fallen into a coma after a near-fatal car accident, shattering the world they once knew. As Constance sits faithfully by his side, she learns the unsettling truth behind their lives together, calling into question everything she knows about class, race, success, and love.

Surely goodness and mercy / by Chisa Hutchinson

Shy, bullied, and parentless, Tino finds solace in the Bible and Miss Bernadette, the crabby old lunch lady at school. When Tino makes an unlikely new friend, the two set out to help Miss Bernadette with a worsening medical issue, in spite of her attempts at keeping her ailment a secret. But obstacles at home threaten their well-intentioned project, forcing Tino to take extreme measures for the sake of the greater good. Tino and Miss Bernadette will need each other more than ever as they each learn what it means to be a blessing unto others.

Born bad / by Debbie Tucker Green

Dawta wants the family to talk. But they have never talked like this before. Once this conversation starts, nobody leaves. BORN BAD dives headlong into the powerful heart of this family, unleashing wit and verbal dexterity along the way. debbie tucker green's play born bad dives headlong into the powerful heart of this family, unleashing wit, ferocity and verbal dexterity on the way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Born_Bad/BLJsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Born+bad+/+by+Debbie+Tucker+Green&printsec=frontcover

Dirty butterfly / by Debbie Tucker Green

A mesmerising and startling play about voyeurism, power and guilt. Listening through their thin walls, Amelia and Jason are drawn into the dark and compelling world of their mutual neighbour Jo.

Stoning Mary / by Debbie Tucker Green

Mysterious yet compelling, bewildering yet intoxicating, a play that mixes poetic rhythms with vernacular phrases, rap-song repetitions with complex psychology. A husband and wife row about a prescription. A mother and father row about their son, who has become a child soldier. Two sisters row about which one is superior to the other. It emerges that the younger sister, Mary, has killed the child soldier. She is to be stoned to death... What if all these things were happening here? And what if these people were white?

Really / by Jackie Sibblies Drury

When a grieving mother visits her late son's girlfriend, the two women look back at the man they both loved, each jockeying for a claim to his legacy as a son, lover, and artist. REALLY is a play about mourning, intimacy, and the conflict between goodness and greatness as seen through the lens of photography. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/5912.pdf

A song for Coretta / by Pearl Cleage

On February 6, 2006, people began lining up at dawn outside of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church to pay their respects to the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose body lay in state in the small sanctuary. By mid-morning, the crowd wound down the street and around the corner of the old red brick building. People of all ages stood patiently for hours, waiting to say goodbye. Sometimes they murmured to each other quietly. Sometimes they shared memories of Mrs. King's extraordinary life and expressed sorrow at her passing. When a cold rain began to fall at sunset, those who had thought to bring umbrellas shared them with those whose resolve was the only thing not dampened by the drizzle. At close to midnight, the crowd had dwindled to a determined few. The five fictional characters in this play are at the end of that long line of mourners. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Song_for_Coretta/lmyl8Q040vgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+song+for+Coretta+/+by+Pearl+Cleage&printsec=frontcover

Bourbon at the border / by Pearl Cleage

When May and Charlie joined hundreds of other Americans who went to Mississippi in the summer of 1964 for a massive voter registration drive, they had no idea their lives were about to change forever. As students at Howard University, their campus activism had been met with calls to their parents and threats of expulsion. The stakes in Mississippi were a lot higher. White supremacists, outraged at the challenge to their segregated way of life, responded with violence that left three civil rights workers dead and many wounded. Years later, May and Charlie are still searching for a way back from the damage that was done to them during that long ago "Freedom Summer." Unable to confide even in her best friend, Rosa, about the demons that haunt her dreams and twist Charlie's love for her into something she can no longer recognize, May is convinced that if she can just get Charlie to leave Detroit and cross the bridge to Canada, they can start a new life. But when Rosa's friend Tyrone gets Charlie a job as a truck driver, the madness of that summer bubbles over until it threatens all of their very lives. Bourbon at the Border takes a look at the lives of two ordinary people who gave everything they had to the African-American freedom struggle but who have now been largely forgotten. In telling May and Charlie's story, Bourbon at the Border puts a human face on the unknown soldiers of the civil rights movement by refusing to romanticize them even as it honors their specific sacrifices and the price they paid.

Blues for an Alabama sky / by Pearl Cleage

It is the summer of 1930 in Harlem, New York, The creative euphoria of the Harlem Renaissance has given way to the harsher realities of the Great Depression. Young Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., is feeding the hungry and preaching an activist gospel at Abyssinian Baptist Church. Black Nationalist visionary Marcus Garvey has been discredited and deported. Birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger is opening a new family planning clinic on 126th Street, and the doctors at Harlem Hospital are scrambling to care for a population whose most deadly disease is poverty. The play brings together a rich cast of characters who reflect the conflicting currents of the time through their overlapping personalities and politics. Set in the Harlem apartment of Guy, a popular costume designer, and his friend, Angel a recently fired cotton Club back up singer, the cast also includes Sam, a hard-working, jazz-loving doctor at Harlem Hospital; Delia, an equally dedicated member of the staff at the Sanger clinic; and Leland, a recent transplant from Tuskegee, who sees in Angel a memory of lost love and a reminder of those "Alabama skies where the stars are so thick it's bright as day." Invoking the image of African-American expatriate extraordinaire Josephine Baker as both muse and myth, Cleage's characters struggle, as Guy says, "to look beyond 125th Street" for the fulfillment of their dreams. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blues_for_an_Alabama_Sky/2MqIAHnENPcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blues+for+an+Alabama+sky+/+by+Pearl+Cleage&printsec=frontcover

Flyin' west / by Pearl Cleage

Facing problems ranging from the inevitability of long, cold winters, to the possibility of domestic violence, to the continuing spectra of racial conflict, the women of FLYIN’ WEST include Miss Leah, the old woman whose memories of slavery and its aftermath comprise a living oral history; Sophie Washington, whose determination to protect her land and those she loves puts to rest forever the requirement that western archetypes be white and male; Fannie Mae Dove, the gentle sister, trying to civilize the frontier with fine china and roses, who finds herself falling in love with their soft-spoken neighbor, Wil Parish; and Minnie Dove Charles, the headstrong baby sister whose mulatto husband, Frank, introduces a danger into the household that tests their sisterhood in unexpected ways. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Flyin_West/TD8Kbz1LvuYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Flyin%27+west+/+by+Pearl+Cleage&printsec=frontcover

Wedding band: a love/hate story in black and white / by Alice Childress

It is the summer of 1918: There is a war in Europe, and a smaller war in South Carolina. Julia is an African-American seamstress. Herman is a white man that has kept company with her for years. As their growing attraction accelerates into an affair, they must of course, deal with the prejudices and wrath of ignorance in early 20th-century America. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wedding_Band/0_G5lYIpRQkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wedding+band+alice+childress&printsec=frontcover

Aliens in America / by Sandra Tsing Loh

Contemporary satirist Sandra Tsing Loh spins a darkly comic, autobiographical tale of growing up middle class Chinese-German in Southern California. This witty monologue is for sons and daughters everywhere who feel that their parents must have been beamed to earth from another planet.

The madwoman in the Volvo / by Sandra Tsing Loh

In ancient times, tribal women went alone to caves during menopause. Today, the 50 million menopausal women in America turn to cheery self-help books. As for Loh and her female friends, they are determined not to go quietly into their sixth decade, but instead opt for a desert festival of debauchery and half-nude stoners. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Madwoman_in_the_Volvo/VCJHDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+madwoman+in+the+Volvo+/+by+Sandra+Tsing+Loh&printsec=frontcover

Dogeaters : a play about the Philippines / by Jessica Hagedorn

Jessica Hagedorn has transformed her bestselling novel about the Philippines during the reign of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos into an equally powerful theatrical piece that is a multi-layered tour de force. As Harold Bloom writes, “Hagedorn expresses the conflicts experienced by Asian immigrants caught between cultures . . . she takes aim at racism in the U.S. and develops in her dramas the themes of displacement and the search for belonging.” Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dogeaters/9fnoCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dogeaters+:+a+play+about+the+Philippines+/+by+Jessica+Hagedorn&printsec=frontcover

Among the dead / by Hansol Jung

Ana is a Korean American who travels to Seoul in 1975 to retrieve her recently deceased father's ashes. Luke is a young American soldier fighting in the jungles of Myanmar in 1944. Number Four is the name of a Korean comfort woman camping out on a bridge in Seoul in 1950, waiting for the return of the young American soldier who fathered her daughter. Three separate time periods collide in a small hotel room in Korea, mediated by a shape-shifting Jesus who first shows up as a bellboy. Among the Dead is a dark comedy about a family broken apart by betrayed promises, and finding each other again through SPAM, journals, and Jesus. Mostly Jesus.

No more sad things / by Hansol Jung

A girl catches a last-minute flight to Maui. A boy finds girl on the shores of Ka’anapali. Something strange and something familiar pulls them closer. They have sex on the beach. They are surprised. They spend the week together. But eventually girl catches the flight back home to Akron, Ohio. The girl is thirty-two. The boy is fifteen.

Ching chong Chinaman / by Lauren Yee

The ultra-assimilated Wong family is as Chinese-American as apple pie: teenager Upton dreams of World of Warcraft superstardom; his sister Desdemona dreams of early admission to Princeton. Unfortunately, Upton's chores and homework get in the way of his 24/7 videogaming, and Desi's math grades don't fit the Asian-American stereotype. Then Upton comes up with a novel solution for both problems: he acquires a Chinese indentured servant, who harbors an American dream of his own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ching_Chong_Chinaman/uiHJLHKWTUsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ching+chong+Chinaman+/+by+Lauren+Yee&printsec=frontcover

China doll : the imagined life of an American actress / by Elizabeth Wong

Dragon Lady. Lotus blossom. The woman who died a thousand deaths. This is the story of a Chinatown girl who dreams about making it big in Hollywood. An award-winning play, this sensual fantasia takes inspiration from the remarkable life of Anny May Wong, America's first and brightest Chinese American movie star. Her loves. Her struggles. Her humiliations. Her triumphs. From humble beginnings to the rigors of training in the studio system of L.B. Mayer and Samuel Goldwyn, to the heights of success in such classic films as Shanghai Express with Marlene Dietrich. This is a loving and unflinching homage to a woman ahead of her time. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exChinaDollCD3.pdf

Boid & Oskar : a play / by Elizabeth Wong

Prince Oskar is the spirit of a shiny red classic Corvette convertible—without a care in the world. But, placed as a monument high above the city, he alone sees the suffering below—a young girl conflicted by feelings of inferiority, a young boy without a home living in the streets, a writer who has lost the desire to write. With the help of a wise-cracking sparrow named Boid, the prince makes it his mission to help the townspeople. A chorus of swallows and townspeople, even a hungry band of alley cats, help the prince and Boid understand the meaning of charity and unselfishness. Inspired by Oscar Wilde's classic, "The Happy Prince," Boid & Oskar is a hip, humorous and heartwarming parable about sacrifice and the lessons of true friendship. Commissioned and produced by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBoidAndOskarBA7.pdf

Counter offence : a play / by Rahul Varma

An East Indian immigrant daughter marries a foreign student from Iran. One day their world is turned upside down: she charges him with wife battering and he, in turn, charges the police of being racist in their handling of his arrest. What happens when the "race-card" is used as a ruse to evade responsibility for violence against women?

Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s exotic Oriental murder mystery / by Lloyd Suh

In 1967, Berkeley grad student Frank Chan and his artist-activist girlfriend Kathy Ching are staging a revolution. Amid the backdrop of ongoing war in Vietnam and a peak in the Civil Rights movement, they devise a wild, impulsive theatrical trip through the history of Asians in America, from the ancestral railways of their forebears to the shameful legacy of Charlie Chan stereotypes, all in pursuit of establishing a brand new political identity they've decided to call "Asian America." CHARLES FRANCIS CHAN JR.'S EXOTIC ORIENTAL MURDER MYSTERY is a harmless sing-song orientalist minstrel show that ends in a grotesque carnival of murder!!! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Charles_Francis_Chan_Jr_s_Exotic_Orienta/Xe4lEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Charles+Francis+Chan+Jr.%27s+exotic+Oriental+murder+mystery+/+by+Lloyd+Suh&printsec=frontcover

Woman from the other side of the world / by Linda Faigao Hall

Emilya, a young Filipino woman, has come to the United States with her son, Jason, to start a new life after the death of her husband. A nanny, Ines, is sent to help, bringing with her beliefs and ways from the old world. Ines tells Jason riveting stories of fairies, angels, ogres and magical chants and lullabies. Emilya considers her superstitious and ignorant, rejecting her mysticism. However, Ines has observed a deep confusion and rage in Emilya and, wanting to purge her of her pain, casts a spell and lays healing hands on her. The appearance of a spirit, which Emilya recognizes, breaks her resistance and reveals her past. Forced by her father to marry a wealthy landowner, Emilya suffered physical and psychological abuse from her violent husband. Pushed beyond her limits, she murdered her husband, and, unsuspected, fled to the United States. Now, confronted by her crime, she must come to terms with her guilt. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Woman_from_the_Other_Side_of_the_World/Wb56fAzRiXQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Woman+from+the+other+side+of+the+world+/+by+Linda+Faigao+Hall&printsec=frontcover

Lidless / by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

It’s been fifteen years since Guantánamo, fifteen years since Bashir last saw his U.S. Army interrogator, Alice. Bashir is now dying of a disease of the liver, an organ that he believes is the home of the soul. He tracks down Alice in Texas and demands that she donate half her liver as restitution for the damage wrought during her interrogations. But Alice doesn’t remember Bashir; a PTSD pill trial she participated in while in the army has left her without any memory of her time there. It is only when her inquisitive fourteen-year-old daughter begins her own investigation that the fragile peace of mind that Alice’s drug-induced oblivion enabled begins to falter. Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s powerful drama asks important and difficult questions: Is guilt a necessary form of moral reckoning, or is it an obstacle to be overcome? Will the price of our national political amnesia be paid only by the next generation -- the daughters and sons who were never there? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lidless/girLAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lidless+/+by+Frances+Ya-Chu+Cowhig&printsec=frontcover

M. Butterfly / by David Henry Hwang

When 'M. Butterfly' premiered in 1988, its remarkable story of international espionage and personal betrayal solidified its status as a modern classic. Based on the real-life affair between a French diplomat and a mysterious Chinese opera singer, it blurred the boundaries between male and female, East and West. For the 2017 Broadway Revival Version, Hwang has incorporated new material inspired by details of the relationship that have emerged since the play first seduced audiences. This intoxicating reimagining of 'M. Butterfly' examines the nature of love and the devastating cost of deceit. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/M_Butterfly/vubuCQXYJSoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=M.+Butterfly+/+by+David+Henry+Hwang&printsec=frontcover

Golden child / by David Henry Hwang

In the winter of 1918, progressive Chinese landowner Eng Tieng-Bin’s interest in Westernization and Christianity sets off a power struggle among his three wives, which will determine the future of his daughter, Ahn, Tieng-Bin’s favorite, his “golden child." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Golden_Child/alnr1QU12_cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Golden+child+/+by+David+Henry+Hwang&printsec=frontcover

The wind cries Mary : loosely adapted from Ibsen's Hedda Gabler / by Philip Kan Gotanda

Loosely based on Hedda Gabler, THE WIND CRIES MARY is set on a college campus in the late '60s. Amidst the turbulent anti-war demonstrations and beginnings of Asian-American identity politics, we follow an extraordinary young woman, Eiko Hanabi, through the course of several days' events which in the end will alter her life forever. Eiko finds herself caught between life choices made during a different political and racial climate, and a newer emergent model that promises more freedom and choice. Eiko is a woman caught on the cusp of a world changing from Oriental to Asian American. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Wind_Cries_Mary/2pUHF7tmwy4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+wind+cries+Mary&printsec=frontcover

The wash / by Philip Kan Gotanda

Nobu Matsumoto has separated from his wife, Masi, at her request, though both of them are in their sixties. Nobu’s newfound bachelor life is regularly interrupted by Masi who comes by to pick up and drop off Nobu’s weekly laundry as part of the duties she still feels a Japanese wife owes to her husband. Their two daughters have opposing feelings about the breakup; Marsha, the more traditional of the daughters, wants to reunite her parents, but not even Nobu and Masi’s nostalgia for their courtship in a World War II Japanese-American internment camp can bring them back together again. The other daughter, Judy, who’s been estranged from her father since marrying a black American, has been supportive of her mother’s attempt at freedom. It is not until Masi tentatively begins a relationship with Sadao, a widower, that the severity of Nobu’s traditional values reveals itself; he is inconsolable, obstinate and reclusive, leaving Kiyoko, a widowed restaurant owner who has fallen in love with him, unable to break down his defenses and get him to begin a new life with her. Finally, Masi’s decision to divorce Nobu pushes him to the point where he begs her to return to him, but the marriage is irreparable, and Nobu is left at the end of the play contemplating how best to reacquaint himself with his daughters, friends and most important, his ex-wife now that he begins to perceive that things can never again be as they were. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Wash/QVF6ijpkpKYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+wash+/+by+Philip+Kan+Gotanda&printsec=frontcover

Yankee dawg you die / by Philip Kan Gotanda

Bradley Yamashita is one of the new breed of Asian-American actors. Highly political and outspoken, he will only take on acting roles that are dignified and unstereotypic. He has recently starred in a small independent film that is the darling of the art crowd, and he arrives in Hollywood full of himself and his politics. Vincent Chang is a survivor. He cut his teeth on the old “Chop Suey” circuit as a hoofer and went on to star in feature films, even garnering an Oscar nomination in the 1950s. Now, though still regal and debonair, Vincent is forced into taking often stereotypic and undignified roles. Through a series of quick-moving scenes, we follow the two men as they meet, form a tenuous friendship, and together do battle amidst the often humorous and at times ruthless backdrop of the Hollywood film world. While maintaining the portrayal of integrity as all important, Bradley must face the reality of the same lack of work for Asian actors as Vincent faced in the early days of film. Vincent also teaches Bradley the dignity of survival as he learns to take on more of the cultural responsibility Bradley wishes him to accept. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Yankee_Dawg_You_Die/S4v_8VFDJ-oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Yankee+dawg+you+die+/+by+Philip+Kan+Gotanda&printsec=frontcover

Day Standing On Its Head / by Philip Kan Gotanda

Harry Kitamura, a successful law professor, begins to find his life unraveling when he starts researching a paper about his involvement in a campus strike in the early 1970s. Odd characters with violent and overt sexual impulses begin to invade his night dreams, eventually spilling over into his waking life. Soon he is unable to distinguish between the two worlds, sending him on an uncontrollable ride of obsession and ultimate revelation. The 1960s, the Red Guard, Eric Clapton and a Japanese Peggy Lee impersonator all make their presences known in this tale of a heart lost and a heart found.

The contest / by Shirley Lauro

A naturalistic family comedy/drama centering on a shy young adolescent, Bevvie Sue, caught in the web of her hilarious but powerful mother's fantasies of gaining fame and fortune through complusive contest entries, her beloved immigrant father's broken dreams and ambitions, and her rich judgmental relatives. Set in a small midwestern city in the middle of World War II, the story sweeps through a year in this American Jewish family's life, as Bevvie Sue struggles to disentangle herself and emerge as her own person: a young woman, eager for life, on her way to finding her own place in the sun. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Contest/MEQNPVwQ4S0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+contest+/+by+Shirley+Lauro&printsec=frontcover

Spinning into butter / by Rebecca Gilman

Spinning Into Butter explores the dangers of both racism and political correctness in America today. When one of the few African American students at liberal Belmont College begins receiving hate mail, the campus erupts, first with shock, then with mutual recrimination as faculty and students alike try to prove their own tolerance by condemning one another. At the center of this maelstrom is Sarah Daniels, the dean of students. As the administration sponsors public "race forums" and the students start their activist groups, Sarah is forced to explore her own feelings of racism. Her self-examination leads to some surprising discoveries and painful insights, the consequences of which even she can't predict. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Spinning_into_Butter/xzuGkg_vXyEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Spinning+into+butter+/+by+Rebecca+Gilman&pg=PP4&printsec=frontcover

The inland sea / by Naomi Wallace

We are in the early 1760s and Aquith Brown, younger brother of the famous landscaper, Capability, is trying to create the perfect view from a great house in Yorkshire. There is a village marring this and the villagers seem reluctant to move. A morality play about improving on Nature, the INLAND SEA is about class, labour and sexuality. It features spirits both living and dead and uncovers a dark crime from the past.

QED / by Peter Parnell

The late physicist Richard Feynman is the subject of Peter Parnell's nearly one-man show, QED, a recent Broadway triumph for Alan Alda in the role of Feynman. Set in Feynman's office on the weekend in which he discovers he has terminal cancer, this play is a tour-de-force that captures his unique and puckish genius. As we read about his work on the Manhattan Project, his reconstruction of the space shuttle Challenger disaster, and his Nobel prize-winning quantum electrodynamics theory, as well as the intimate details of Feynman's personal life, we grow to love the man behind the science. And we read in fascination as he puzzles over the problem of his own death to a powerful conclusion. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/QED/BmgYgICum6wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=QED+/+by+Peter+Parnell&printsec=frontcover

Wonder of the world / by David Lindsay-Abaire

Nothing will prepare you for the dirty little secret Cass discovers in her husband’s sweater drawer. It is so shocking that our heroine has no choice but to flee to the honeymoon capital of the world in a frantic search for the life she thinks she missed out on. It’s a wild ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel of laughs as Cass embarks on a journey of self-discovery that has her crossing paths with a blithely suicidal alcoholic, a lonely tour-boat captain, a pair of bickering private detectives, and a strange caper involving a gargantuan jar of peanut butter, all of which pushes her perilously close to the water’s edge. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wonder_of_the_World/t1eMMBLXGd0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wonder+of+the+world+/+by+David+Lindsay-Abaire&printsec=frontcover

Demonology / by Kelly Stuart

Los Angeles playwright Kelly Stuart's hilarious satire of the male dominated workplace is set in a baby formula company, where the men even determine the feeding and care of infants. But when Gina, a mother who breast-feeds, joins the staff, things begin to change: the company falls under political sabotage, orders are rerouted, and the building is shut down. As the play comes to its climax, the boss, Joe de Martini, suspects either himself or Gina of Madness as he sees devil shadows and child assassins, and Gina's body is possessed by an ancient Greek spirit. Despite the fantastic circumstances, Stuart concludes on a realistic note, which jars the reader into reevaluating the gender-based power structure and the illusions that support it.

The mercy seat / by Neil LaBute

The Mercy Seat is a 2002 play by Neil LaBute that was among the first major theatrical responses to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Set on September 12, it concerns Ben, a man who worked at the World Trade Center but was away from the office during the attack, with his mistress, Abby, who is also his boss. Expecting that his family believes that he was killed in the towers' collapse, Ben contemplates using the tragedy to run away and start a new life with his lover. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Mercy_Seat/wnn0iyzXYk0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+mercy+seat+/+by+Neil+LaBute&pg=PP5&printsec=frontcover

Delirium of interpretations / by Fiona Templeton

This play represents a frenzy of interpretations--various explanations, in this case, of the life of Camille Claudel, mistress to Auguste Rodin and sister to French playwright Paul Claudel, as well as being an artist herself. As this work reveals, however, Camille was, in part, betrayed by the men surrounding her and most of her art was destoryed, while both her lover and brother institutionalized her in an asylum where she died. This story has been told before, but never with such poetic force and objectivity, as the author explores the multitude of truths surrounding this artist and--by extension--all aritsts locked in the give-and-take pulls of creativity.

The deatherians / by John O'Keefe

A startling, exuberant anti-musical, The Deatherians, in best Grand Guignol tradition, takes Life by its throat! It is Amsterdam, the future, Euthanasia is State-sponsored and under the direction of the reluctant Dr. Krator. Having little enthusiasm for his job, Dr. Krator is faced with killing his colleague, Vordigger, head of Mental Health. Krator's assistant at the Halcyon Foundation, Torvald, has just discovered that 1.5% of the population is immortal. Seeking solace in the underbelly of the Red-Light District, Hess Krator falls in love with Morivia, who concocts a brilliant scheme for redemption.

36 views / by Naomi Iizuka

In this play, Naomi Iizuka has created a carefully textured exploration of the meaning of truth - not just in the art world but in the human heart as well. Taking its title from the series of woodblock prints by nineteenth-century Japanese artist Hokusai (which, contrary to its label, consists of forty-six images of Mount Fuji), the play has several threads, but at its heart is an art dealer and an art historian who discover what they think is an ancient manuscript - a priceless Japanese pillow book - and try to learn whether it's authentic. Their search becomes an erotic game of greed, love, and mental hide-and-seek as the play explores the relationships between feelings and words, objects and photographs of objects, antiques and perfect copies, and a woman's heritage and her physical features.

The outrageous times of Larry Bruce Mitchell /by Wade Hall

In this play based on real life, a middle-aged gay man mourns the sudden departure of his longtime companion and the death of his beloved mother when a mysterious but familiar stranger arrives to prod and goad him into revealing perhaps more of himself and his own faults than he realizes. As his mood gradually changes from anger and despair to hope and renewal, he recounts his unusual boyhood growing up in the hills of northeast Alabama, where his family attends a Holiness church that practices serpent handling as a testimony of faith that sometimes ends in death.

The Stendhal syndrome / by Terrence McNally

The Stendhal Syndrome is named for the French novelist, who on a visit to Florence had such a visceral and physical reaction to its beauty that he wrote, 'I felt a pulsating in my heart. Life was draining out of me, while I walked fearing a fall.' Consists of two short plays: Full Frontal Nudity explores the reaction of three American tourists to the perfection and beauty of Michelangelo's David. In Prelude & Liebestod, a renowned conductor watches his life unravel while conducting Wagner's musical masterpiece. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Stendhal_Syndrome/m6cIEBoRS2oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Stendhal+syndrome+/+by+Terrence+McNally&pg=PP8&printsec=frontcover

Fat pig / by Neil LaBute

Cow. Slob. Pig. How many insults can you hear before you have to stand up and defend the woman you love? Tom faces just that question when he falls for Helen, a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus-sized -- and then some. Forced to explain his new relationship to his shallow (although shockingly funny) friends, he finally comes to terms with his own preconceptions of the importance of conventional looks. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fat_Pig/UQtS_zCaMEUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fat+pig+/+by+Neil+LaBute&printsec=frontcover

National anthems / by Dennis McIntyre

In their sumptuous home, the Reeds have hosted a party for their neighbors. It is late and everyone has gone when a final guest arrives, a fireman who is not of the Reeds' socio economic position. Nonetheless, the Reeds are gracious until the guest's desperation for material comforts, status and pride surfaces and things get nasty. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/National_Anthems/4-RUV4oa8FoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=National+anthems+/+by+Dennis+McIntyre&printsec=frontcover

Some girl(s) : a romance / by Neil LaBute

Your career as a writer is blossoming, your beautiful, young fiancée is waiting to get married and rush off to Cancún by your side ⁠—⁠ so what is your natural reaction? Well, if you're a man, it's probably to get nervous and start calling up old girlfriends. And so begins a single man's odyssey through four hotel rooms, as he flies across the country in search of the perfect woman (whom he's already broken up with). In grand LaBute fashion, this by turns outrageously funny and deadly serious portrait of the artist as a young seducer casts a truthful, hilarious light on a typical young American male as he wanders through the heart of darkness that is himself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Some_Girl_s/JZrZmzvZ4hUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Some+girl(s)+:+a+romance+/+by+Neil+LaBute&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

Tooth of crime : (second dance) : a play with music in two acts / Sam Shepard

One of the plays that first announced Sam Shepard as an original voice in American theater, Tooth of Crime is his thrillingly innovative rock drama, published here in a revised edition that is as fresh and provocative as the original was more than thirty years ago. An aging rock star in a world in which entertainment and street warfare go hand in hand, Hoss must defend himself against Crow, a newcomer who battles him for fame. Combining musical styles and intense dialogue in an unconventional musical-fantasy, Tooth of Crime riffs brilliantly on rising stars and fading legends, and rock lived and died for. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tooth_of_Crime/iifGLsHnpm0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tooth+of+crime+/+Sam+Shepard&printsec=frontcover

Seven guitars / by August Wilson

It is the spring of 1948. In the still cool evenings of Pittsburgh's Hill district, familiar sounds fill the air. A rooster crows. Screen doors slam. The laughter of friends gathered for a backyard card game rises just above the wail of a mother who has lost her son. And there's the sound of the blues, played and sung by young men and women with little more than a guitar in their hands and a dream in their hearts. August Wilson's Seven Guitars is the sixth chapter in his continuing theatrical saga that explores the hope, heartbreak, and heritage of the African-American experience in the twentieth century. The story follows a small group of friends who gather following the untimely death of Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton, a local blues guitarist on the edge of stardom. Together, they reminisce about his short life and discover the unspoken passions and undying spirit that live within each of them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Seven_Guitars/ktJ-VNeQymYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Seven+guitars+/+by+August+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

Joe Turner's come and gone/ by August Wilson

When Herald Loomis arrives at an African-American Pittsburgh boardinghouse, after seven years' impressed labor on Joe Turner's chain gang, he is a free man--in body. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Joe_Turner_s_Come_and_Gone/JE-iDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Joe+Turner%27s+come+and+gone/+by+August+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

Fences / by August Wilson

This drama takes you into the world of Troy Maxson, former baseball player with the Negro leagues. Troy is now a garbage man who feels his life has been hemmed in by others, but as the story unfolds he is forced to confront his role in the building of his life's fences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fences/1AnZxhgeogAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fences+/+by+August+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

The Wright place / by Judith Pratt

You can choose your house, sometimes you can even choose your family, but you have to choose.

In a dark dark house / by Neil LaBute

Two brothers meet on the grounds of a private psychiatric facility. Drew, has been court-confined for observation and has called his older brother, Terry, to corroborate his claim of childhood sexual abuse by a young man from many summers ago. Drew’s request releases barely-hidden animosities between the two: Is he using these repressed memories to save himself while smearing the name of his brother’s friend? Through pain and acknowledged betrayal, the brothers come to grips with and begin to understand the legacy of abuse, both inside and outside their family home. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_a_Dark_Dark_House/RYXRvnj1FUAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In+a+dark+dark+house+/+by+Neil+LaBute&printsec=frontcover

Dead man's cell phone / by Sarah Ruhl

An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet café. A stranger at the next table who has had enough of it. And a dead man-with a lot of loose ends. So begins Dead Man's Cell Phone.Dead Man's Cellphone is a work about how we remember the dead – and how that memorialization changes us. It is the journey of a woman forced to confront her presumptions about morality, redemption, and isolation in a technologically obsessed society. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dead_Man_s_Cell_Phone_TCG_Edition/a_DoCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dead+man%27s+cell+phone+/+by+Sarah+Ruhl&printsec=frontcover

In the red and brown water / by Tarell Alvin McCraney

In the sweltering heat of Louisiana, Oya dreams of competing alongside star athletes. She never feels so right as when she's burning up the track. As a girl, she must choose between her dream and caring for her mother. As a woman, she's torn between the man she lives with and the man she loves.

Stick fly / by Lydia R. Diamond

The affluent, African-American LeVay family is gathering at their Martha’s Vineyard home for the weekend, and brothers Kent and Flip have each brought their respective ladies home to meet the parents for the first time. Kent’s fiancée, Taylor, an academic whose absent father was a prominent author, struggles to fit into the LeVay’s upper-crust lifestyle. Kimber, on the other hand, is a self-described WASP who works with inner-city school children, fits in more easily with the family. Joining these two couples are the demanding LeVay patriarch, Joe, and Cheryl, the daughter of the family’s longtime housekeeper. As the two newcomers butt heads over issues of race and privilege, long-standing family tensions bubble under the surface and reach a boiling point when secrets are revealed. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stick_Fly/RxgfEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stick+fly+/+by+Lydia+R.+Diamond&printsec=frontcover

The English Channel : a play about William Shakespeare / by Robert Brustein

The English Channel examines the murky relationship between great writers and their proclivity to "borrow" ideas and material, tracing Shakespeare's relationship with The Earl of Southampton, the Dark Lady of the Sonnets, and Christopher Marlowe during the turbulent months before Marlowe's death.

The unmentionables / by Bruce Norris

Set in western equitorial Africa on the estate of a wealthy American businessman, The Unmentionables opens with a pugnacious monologue warning the audience to get out now, while they still have a chance to do something really fun, like watch cable television. For those who choose to stay despite the allure of TV, the play follows the intersecting lives of members of the local population with the various Americans who have come to "do good in the world": a young Christian missionary who brings both food and the New Testament to the local children (and whose predecessor met with a grisly fate); a disenchanted Hollywood actress in search of meaning but finding only brutality; and the aging businessman and his wife, a woman simply desperate for conversation. Over the course of one long night their humanitarian notions of themselves are called into question as they come up against the realities of money, politics, and power. As the events escalate from calm to crisis with shocking speed, the worth of one American life is measured against the worth of their so-called American values, as they become the agents of violence against one sixteen-year-old African boy.

Cocktail / by Vince LiCata and Ping Chong

Cocktail is a play about one woman's audacious crusade to fight the AIDS epidemic and the pharmaceutical industry's unyielding control over lifesaving drugs.

Hello failure / by Kristen Kosmas

The play opens quietly, more or less, on the Eastern Seaboard and then closes, more or less miraculously, somewhere else altogether, achieving on its happy and troublous way all the things a reader or audience member could hope for - distance, speed, heart, submersion, emergence, truth, mystery, and more. By the end, in a plain and simple and fairly sad way, everything stands for everything else, nothing is not filled with mystery, and to be a living human being is seen to be - despite the drawbacks - the most enviable thing of all.

Four places / by Joel Drake Johnson

Sketched together on a deceptively simple frame, this emotionally precise play uses its spare structure to devastating and darkly comic effect. A brother and sister have received word from their parents’ caretaker that their elderly parents may be a danger to each other. The brother breaks his routine to join his sister and mother on their weekly lunch date in hopes that together he and his sister can get a clearer picture of the situation. As the mother confronts the indignities of age and the children stare down a mounting list of losses and disappointments, an image of the family emerges that is true to life. Johnson gives readers an unwavering exploration of the ways that the love and knowledge family members have of one another creates both hurt and comfort. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Four_Places/YLArDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Four+places+/+by+Joel+Drake+Johnson&printsec=frontcover

Mrs. Packard : inspired by a true story / by Emily Mann

Illinois, 1861: Without proof of insanity, Elizabeth Packard is committed by her husband to an asylum. Based on historical events, Emily Mann tells the story of one woman's struggle to right a system gone wrong. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mrs_Packard/IcuY4vO29DsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mrs.+Packard+:+inspired+by+a+true+story+/+by+Emily+Mann&printsec=frontcover

The crowd you're in with/ by Rebecca Gilman

The Crowd You're in With is the fifth play by award-winning American playwright Rebecca Gilman. In it, a Fourth of July backyard barbecue is the setting for a comic, thought-provoking, ultimately disquieting exploration of the question of whether to have children. Melinda and Jasper, the hosts, are deeply divided by the issue; Tom and Karen, their landlords, decided long ago to remain childless; Windsong and her husband, Dan, are expecting a baby. As the play progresses, the motivations of these characters reveal themselves as ever more complex. Even as the characters often speak in very practical terms about their decisions, Gilman never loses sight of the mystery underlying a life-shaping decision guided by both rational thought and biological imperative, which ultimately speaks to the even larger question of free will and determinism faced by every person. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Crowd_You_re_In_With/fKXwuVy0FJQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+crowd+you%27re+in+with/+by+Rebecca+Gilman&printsec=frontcover

DAI : (enough) / by Iris Bahr

Set in a Tel Aviv café in the moments before a suicide bomber enters, Iris Bahr’s 2008 Lucille Lortel Award–winning DAI (enough) courageously speaks to tragic current events. Bahr plays eleven different characters who span the ideological and class spectrum of Israeli society, including a Zionist kibbutznik, an evangelical from America funding an Armageddon fantasy, a West Bank settler, a snooty expat living in Long Island, and a Palestinian professor trying to keep her son from taking the path of extremism. Thanks to the emotional depth and honesty with which Bahr endows these characters and their individual stories, a complex portrait of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict emerges. Alternately very funny and tragic, DAI (enough) is a brave attempt to humanize the headlines. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/DAI_enough/nVJn_E7CkucC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=DAI+:+(enough)+/+by+Iris+Bahr&printsec=frontcover

Chalino : a chronicle play of fulgor and death = una crónica teatral de fulgor y muerte / by Julián Camacho Segura

Rosalino "Chalino" Sanchez was a Mexican immigrant from the Mexican state of Sinaloa who came to the US in search of opportunity. In his pursuit of perseverance his gift and talent for writing corridos for the common working class man initiated a world wind phenomena that appealed to Mexican-American youth in Los Angeles, California. Chalino's corridos provided a cultural medium in which Chicanos identified with their own roots. Chalino's contribution to the musical genre of corridos bridged Mexican immigrant music of the Mexican corrido with Mexican-American youth Chalino's corridos and music have forever changed the social fabric of Chicanos in the music scene in Los Angeles. His music helped many Chicanos have a cultural reaffirmation of who they are, allowing Mexican youth in Los Angeles to immerse more deeply into their own Mexican Norte o culture. Chalino's unique singing style turned him into a legend that many have tried to imitate, but there will never be another man like him. Chalino defied the odds and became successful starting his own legacy as the king of corridos. Through his art form Chalino left behind his fame and a corrido legacy that was materialized and created in el rancho de Los Angeles, California.

A steady rain / by Keith Huff

Joey and Denny have been best friends since kindergarten, and after working together for several years as policemen in Chicago, they are practically family: Joey helps out with Denny's wife and kids; Denny keeps Joey away from the bottle. But when a domestic disturbance call takes a turn for the worse, their friendship is put on the line. The result is a difficult journey into a moral gray area where trust and loyalty struggle for survival against a sobering backdrop of pimps, prostitutes, and criminal lowlifes. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Steady_Rain/BBRN-B1tzy4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+steady+rain+/+by+Keith+Huff&printsec=frontcover

The metal children : a play / by Adam Rapp

In small-town America, a young adult novel about teen pregnancy is banned by the local school board, igniting a fierce and violent debate over abortion, religious beliefs, and modern feminism. When the novel's directionless New York City author arrives in town to defend the book, he finds that it has inspired a group of local teens to rebel in strange and unexpected ways. A timely and unforgettable drama about the failure of urban and heartland America to understand each other, The Metal Children explores what happens when fiction becomes a matter of life and death. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Metal_Children/OAKQMDN1FIAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+metal+children+:+a+play+/+by+Adam+Rapp&printsec=frontcover

Foreplay : Hannah Arendt, the two Adornos, and Walter Benjamin / by Carl Djerassi

Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor W. Adorno were intellectual giants of the first half of the twentieth century. The drama Foreplay explores their deeply human and psychologically intriguing private lives, focusing on professional and personal jealousies, the mutual dislike of Theodor Adorno and Hannah Arendt, the association between Walter Benjamin and Georges Bataille, and the border between erotica and pornography. Djerassi’s extensive biographical research brings to light many fascinating details revealed in the dialogues among the characters, including Adorno’s obsession with his dreams, Benjamin’s admiration for Franz Kafka, and the intimate correspondence between Gretel Adorno and Walter Benjamin. The introduction of a fictitious character, Fräulein X, intensifies the complex interplay among the four lead protagonists and allows for a comparison of Adorno’s philandering and the similar behavior of Martin Heidegger, whose affair with Hannah Arendt is well known. Foreplay brims with intrigue and the friction created when strong personalities clash. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Foreplay/8S3_Yi7FNUQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Foreplay+:+Hannah+Arendt,+the+two+Adornos,+and+Walter+Benjamin+/+by+Carl+Djerassi&printsec=frontcover

Nothing is the end of the world : (except for the end of the world) / by Bekah Brunstetter

In the near-distant future, an NYC charter school becomes the first to welcome artificially intelligent students. However, new AI students Olive and Godfrey receive a chilly welcome from the already self-conscious and stressed-out members of the Junior class. When a reality show swoops in to capture this social experiment on camera, the priorities and moralities of the student body are turned inside-out. At turns both droll and touching, this dark new play questions how we reconcile the thin line between our ever-improving technologies and what it means to be human.

The secret in the wings/ by Mary Zimmerman

Mary Zimmerman’s The Secret in the Wings adapts a group of lesser-known fairy tales to create a theatrical work that sets their dark mystery against her signature wit and humor. The framing story concerns a child and the frightening babysitter with whom her parents leave her. As the babysitter reads from a book, the characters in each of the tales materialize, with each tale breaking off just at its bleakest moment before giving way to the next one. The central tale is told without interruption, after which each previous tale is successively resumed, with each looming disaster averted. As in Zimmerman’s other productions, here she uses costumes, props, sets, and lighting to brilliant effect, creating images and feelings that render the fairy tales in all their elemental and enduring power. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Secret_in_the_Wings/wsxwBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+secret+in+the+wings/+by+Mary+Zimmerman&printsec=frontcover

Serial black face / by Janine Nabers

The year is 1979 and a serial killer in Atlanta is abducting and murdering young black children. Against a backdrop of fear and uncertainty, playwright Janine Nabers explores the emotional battleground where an African-American single mother wars with her teenage daughter, each coping in her own way with personal tragedy and loss. The volatility of their situation is intensified when a severely damaged and devastatingly handsome stranger becomes an integral part of their lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Serial_Black_Face/OhqDCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Serial+black+face+/+by+Janine+Nabers&printsec=frontcover

The taming : a comedy / by Lauren Gunderson

Tweetering, pandashrews, and undying giddiness for James Madison -- what else could you expect to find at a Miss America pageant? In this hilarious, raucous, all-female 'power-play' inspired by Shakespeare's Shrew, contestant Katherine has political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions. All she needs to revolutionize the American government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator's aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough, and one bleeding-heart liberal blogger who will do anything for her cause. Well, that and a semi-historically-accurate ether trip. Here's lookin' at you, America

Airline highway : a play / by Lisa D'Amour

Airline highway is a rollicking play that, with great insight, humor, and subtlety, examines a tight-knit community of "outsiders" over the course of a single, legendary day. The Hummingbird Hotel is the figurative or literal home for a group of strippers, French Quarter service workers, hustlers, and poets who are bound together by their bad luck, bad decisions, and complete lack of pretense. Presiding over them is Miss Roby, a beloved former burlesque performer who has requested a funeral before she dies. As the people whose lives she has touched gather to celebrate her, they must face themselves, each other, and the consequence of the choices they have made. Airline highway shows us the tenuous hold that community, authenticity, and real-time ritual have on a rapidly gentrifying New Orleans. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Airline_Highway/lreZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Airline+highway+:+a+play+/+by+Lisa+D%27Amour&printsec=frontcover

Now that we're men / by Katie Cappiello

In the weeks leading up to prom, the close friendships of five high school guys are put to the test...'cause Andrew must be gay, Marcus knocked up his girl, Derek's falling in love, Nick is a little too addicted to fetish porn, and Evan pushed a hook-up too far and downed a bottle of pills. A companion play to SLUT, critically acclaimed for depicting sexual violence in schools experienced by girls, Now That We're Men wrestles with misogyny, double standards, and harmful expectations of masculinity told by boys on the cusp of adulthood. This urgent, insightful intervention brings to light how sexist culture harms all young people, and includes an afterword by playwright Jonathan Marc Sherman

All American boys / adapted for the stage by Jody Drezner Alperin & Vicky Finney Crouch from the novel by Brendan Kiely & Jason Reynolds

Rashad is absent today. The graffiti tag begins to appear everywhere after a white cop at the corner store viciously beats a black teenager for a theft he didn't commit. But for Rashad himself, the question is: What about tomorrow? Before his broken ribs have even healed, Rashad faces not only rising tension among his family over who's to blame and what he should do, but also the discovery that a protest movement is growing in his name. He wants to move on--but how can he, when this could happen to someone else? Meanwhile, Quinn, a white classmate who barely knows Rashad, wrestles with a secret: He witnessed the attack, but the officer is a close friend to his family. He's not sure he can stay silent, but what will it cost to speak up? Rashad and Quinn's perspectives alternate throughout this galvanizing adaptation of the acclaimed novel, as the two young men work through a complex web of family loyalties and community ties to find a way to take action.

Pike St. / Nilaja Sun

Pike St., Nilaja Sun's highly praised sixth play, vividly brings to life a family on New York's Lower East Side. As a storm approaches, Evelyn is trying to assure the safety of her teenage daughter, Candi, whose unidentified illness has immobilized her. Caring for Candi has forced Evelyn to quit her job as a subway conductor; still, she helps support both her philandering father and her brother, who has returned to New York from Afghanistan and suffers from PTSD. Just behind the grace and humor with which Evelyn manages to hold together her own life and those of the people who depend on her is the constant threat of both natural and man-made disasters. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pike_St/E8o0DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pike+St.+/+Nilaja+Sun&printsec=frontcover

How to fight loneliness / by Neil Labute

A young wife and her husband seek a third party to help them out with something they can't quite manage themselves. Brad and Jodie need Tate to do them a favor. A really big favor. Brad is married to Jodie. Jodie went to school with Tate. Tate doesn't trust Brad. Brad and Jodie are at a life-changing crossroads and struggling to make a monumental decision about their life and love, and Tate - just maybe - has been there before

Guess who's coming to dinner / by Todd Kreidler ; based on the screenplay by William Rose

A progressive white couple's proud liberal sensibilities are put to the test when their daughter brings her black fiance home to meet them in this fresh and relevant stage adaptation of the iconic film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Blindsided by their daughter's whirlwind romance and fearful for her future, Matt and Christina Drayton quickly come to realize the difference between supporting a mixed-race couple in your newspaper and welcoming one into your family--especially in 1967. But they're surprised to find they aren't the only ones with concerns about the match, and it's not long before a multi-family clash of racial and generational difference sweeps across the Draytons' idyllic San Francisco terrace. At the end of the day, will the love between young Joanna and John prevail?

Cal in camo / by William Francis Hoffman

Cal's desperation mounts as she strains to breastfeed and care for her newborn, while her husband Tim resents his struggle to make sales in his new territory. But the extent of the unease that pervades this couple's new house won't fully come to light until Cal's brother Flynt arrives, reeling from the recent death of his wife. Do the wounds of the past irrevocably impact our capacity to connect? Heartbreaking and mysterious, Cal in Camo probes the nature of family bonds with lacerating humor and moments of blinding revelation

Blackademics : a play / by Idris Goodwin

There's something strange about the trendy new restaurant in town. When Ann and Rachelle meet there for dinner, there's already tension in the friendship they've built on their common experience navigating academia as black women: While Ann just got tenure at her tony liberal arts college, Rachelle's struggling to find her place at the less prestigious state university. So at first it's easy to overlook odd things like the single water glass they're offered, or the mysterious server who keeps assigning points to their conversational gambits. But as the hunger sets in, the two professors find themselves the unknowing stars of an absurdist dinner theater performance of black plight. Somebody's got to get the first bite, after all. A sharp, surreal satire about who gets a place at the table.

Gertie and Alice by the sea : (you are to me) / by Caridad Svich

In the last house in the world, two women live out their days. They could be the famous Gertie and Alice, but they are not necessarily. They still do the things we do -- eating, talking, laughing with friends and lovers - until what they know begins to slip away, and all that is left is desire. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gertie_and_Alice_by_the_Sea/ClZ-DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gertie+and+Alice+by+the+sea+:+(you+are+to+me)+/+by+Caridad+Svich&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover

Ashes : prose play / by Kenneth Weene and Umar O. Abdul

Hundreds of years have separated Wyndel Blackman and his mother from his father’s homeland in Africa. Now they have come from America to scatter his father’s Ashes. What will they learn on this journey? What will they teach the people of that distant community? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ashes/TYurDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ashes+:+prose+play+/+by+Kenneth+Weene+and+Umar+O.+Abdul&printsec=frontcover

The last thing I'll ever write : (part one) / by Adam Lauver

You feel The Spiral unfurling within you. You're moving carefully, carelessly (take your pick), past a window or a tree or a person, and in the back of your head suddenly you hear the voice of the Spiral wheeze: "Onward and upward and outward, this is growth, this is evolution. You are in this city and I am here too, with you and without you. I'm here to connect you with the outside, with what's been trying to get in, trying to get you on and up and out. Take my hand and you can be as elastic and as flexible as me. I'll stretch your insides thinner and thinner until finally you'll be able to expand, extend, expend yourself onward and upward and outward, and you'll escape this city, you'll escape that window and that tree and that person, every person that you feel such love/hate/indifference for (take your pick) and you'll grow thinner and paler and ever more transparent, but you'll be taller and longer and your eyes will be clearer and your imaginary embrace will encompass not only this city but all cities, all worlds, and your compassion will exceed even that of God's by virtue of your complete, utter, perfect inability to act on it, to spend it, to waste it on anyone at all. You'll finally be able to keep your love to yourself, untouched, untapped, pure and deep and preserved by your own inevitable valueless hate. And together we'll continue to unfurl, carefully, carelessly (take your pick), until we cover so much space that regardless of what we look like to others we'll know that we've discovered something we can finally un-call Truth." And you say: "Fuck off Spiral, I have shit to do." A full-length debut on communication, intimacy, and despair as told through poetry, dreamscapes, and scenes from an existential sitcom, Adam Lauver's The Last Thing I'll Ever Write (Part One) will lovingly reach down your throat and pull out a series of vaguely Jurassic noises you can't quite identify as a laugh or a sob.

The people's republic of Valerie, living room edition / by Kristen Kosmas

In the Bright Future, the environmental rampage will have ended, amnesty will be given to all those who return to their senses, and it will be said, "We are not free yet, but we are on our way!" On an asterism situated between two constellations in a universe not far from this one, a motley assortment of well-meaning but ineffectual people -- who have been psychically kidnapped -- train and prepare for the Bright Future, an almost-utopia they will eventually be deployed to enact back on planet Earth. Part boot-camp space-travel memoir, part how-to manual for the construction of a paradise, The People's Republic of Valerie, Living Room Edition is an attempt to transform feelings of despair, grief, and rage into something of value, into positive action, into something of beauty that might uplift and create space and occasion for imagination and community.

Hype man : a break beat play / by Idris Goodwin

A rapper, beat-maker, and hype man start to find success making music together, but harmony is harder to find when the interracial hip-hop trio clashes over how to use their newfound platform in the wake of a police shooting. Hype Man is a rhythmically woven drama exploring race, representation, fame and friendship.

Happy talk / by Jesse Eisenberg

Lorraine is a saint of the suburbs. On top of trying to save her dying mother, miserable husband and estranged daughter, she's starring as Bloody Mary in the Jewish Community Center production of South Pacific. When her mother's home aide, Serbian immigrant Ljuba, asks for help finding a husband, Lorraine takes on her most challenging role to date: matchmaker. In Jesse Eisenberg's hysterical and devastating play, Happy Talk, he reveals the absurd lengths people go to save themselves in the name of saving others. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Happy_Talk/V1CSDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Happy+talk+/+by+Jesse+Eisenberg&printsec=frontcover

The white card : a play in one act / by Claudia Rankine

"A play about the imagined fault line between black and white lives by Claudia Rankine, the author of Citizen. The White Card stages a conversation that is both informed and derailed by the black/white American drama. The scenes in this one-act play, for all the characters' disagreements, stalemates, and seeming impasses, explore what happens if one is willing to stay in the room when it is painful to bear the pressure to listen and the obligation to respond. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_White_Card/qo92DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+white+card+:+a+play+in+one+act+/+by+Claudia+Rankine&printsec=frontcover

Wings of night sky, wings of morning light / by Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo's play Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light is the centerpiece of this collection that includes essays and interviews concerning the roots and the reaches of contemporary Native Theater. Harjo blends storytelling, music, movement, and poetic language in Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light. The collection is accompanied by interviews with Native theater artists Rolland Meinholtz and Randy Reinholz, and it includes essays on Harjo's work by Mary Kathryn Nagle (an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee nation, playwright, and attorney) and by Priscilla Page (of Wiyot heritage, a writer, performer, and educator), who looks at indigenous feminism, jazz, and performance as influences on Harjo's theatrical work. From musician, poet, and playwright Joy Harjo (Mvskoke) comes a deeply compelling journey of struggle, displacement, self-discovery, and healing. Invoking spoken word, storytelling, and song, Harjo combines character-driven narrative with tales inspired by the traditions of her people—and takes a few turns blowing a mean jazz saxophone. An allegorical work of tremendous power, Wings demonstrates how theater and art can bring life full circle. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wings_of_Night_Sky_Wings_of_Morning_Ligh/k6WSDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wings+of+night+sky,+wings+of+morning+light+/+by+Joy+Harjo&printsec=frontcover

Sender : a play / by Ike Holter

The third play in the Rightlynd saga. It has been exactly one year and one day since Lynx went missing. For those who cared about him most, it was a year of anger, grief, and a begrudging acceptance of his disappearance. But when he suddenly comes back to town, his girlfriend and best friend are shocked to discover that they might just upend everything for a chance to start over. This stunningly frank, full-hearted dramedy asks us to confront the hard truths we run away from and shines a light on what adulthood really means: moving forward. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sender/2zZCEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sender+:+a+play+/+by+Ike+Holter&printsec=frontcover

Prowess : a play / by Ike Holter

Avenging Chicagoans form an avengers style battalion in Ike Holter's superhero-inspired play, Prowess. In this heartfelt yet fantastical homage to Chicago, award-winning playwright Ike Holter introduces us to a quartet of "average" citizens who have been the victims of violence and felt powerless because of it. In the face of the city's seemingly intractable ills, the play's characters join forces to rescue Chicago--and themselves. But how? With heart, wit, and wisdom, Holter explores how one responds to violence. Does a person focus on self-defense and personal survival? Or fight back--with more violence? Pulsating and physical, Prowess is about vulnerability, vigilantism, heroism, and self-knowledge. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Prowess/3fuwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Prowess+:+a+play+/+by+Ike+Holter&printsec=frontcover

We could all be perfect / by Hannah Morley

A teenage girl steps over a barrier and destroys an painting. Another steals a lipstick. Another has her first kiss in the dark. A fourth walks into a supermarket...and starts a republic. Everyone is feeling everything at all times, even if they don't want us to know it. This is the superpower. It doesn't all happen here. It doesn't all happen now. A furious and funny new play for anyone who has ever witnessed the power of a teenage girl.

Today is my birthday / by Susan Soon He Stanton

Emily, a would-be writer, retreats home to O'ahu after Manhattan finally gets the best of her. Trading one island for another doesn't help, though, and when she stumbles into a gig as an actor on a shock-jock radio dating show, she finds herself strangely determined to turn fantasy into reality. Told through a playful mixture of phone calls, voicemails, and live radio spots, Today Is My Birthday is a comedy about loneliness in the age of connection.

These demons / by Rachel Bellman

When an event puts her aunt Mirah in hospital, 17-year-old Leah takes it upon herself to find the perpetrator and exact revenge. But as she puts together her plan, the lines of reality become blurred. Her search for answers becomes a search for demons – metaphorical and… not. Despite what her sister Danielle tells her, the shadows in their aunt’s remote cottage seem to move. Surrounded by books about Jewish exorcisms, the two sisters fight the sinking suspicion that they’re not alone. These Demons is a thrilling dark comedy-horror exploring family ties, sisterhood and Jewish demonology.

Shhhh / by Clare Barron

Penny flirts at a morbid anatomy museum. Kyle tells stories of dismemberment. Sally turns you on with tea and biscuits, and Shareen prepares a mysterious potion. A study in kink, trauma, pleasure, and revenge…

On Clover Road / by Steven Dietz

At an abandoned motel on a desolate American road, a mother meets with a cult deprogrammer, believing she will be reunited with her runaway daughter. What happens instead – in this smart, harrowing, edge-of-your-seat thriller – is something that will shock her to her core. What will a mother do to get her daughter back? Whatever it takes.

Mariela in the desert / by Karen Zacarías

Mariela and José were once the golden couple of the Mexican artists' inner circle. Together they built a family and an artist colony to host friends Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Rufino Tamayo. But now their daughter has grown up and run away, their friends are too famous to call, and artistic inspiration has been strangled by isolation and lies. Set in the northern Mexican desert in 1950, Mariela in the Desert is a deadly mystery - a layered yet profoundly honest story of what happens to a family when creativity is forced to dry and wither away.

The loved ones / by Erica Murray

In a remote renovated farmhouse, Nell prepares to scatter her son's ashes with her grieving daughter-in-law, Orla, while Cheryl-Ann, a visitor from America, settles in for an idyllic break in the wilds of West Clare. However, their weekend plans will be turned upside down when an unexpected guest arrives looking for shelter, solace and understanding.

Laughs in Spanish / by Alexis Scheer

It's Art Basel, and the stakes are high for the gallery that Mariana runs in the Wynwood Arts District in Miami. And when Mariana's movie-star mother tries to help out, things get even more complicado. Laughs in Spanish is a fast-paced, cafecíto-induced comedy about art and success - and mothers and daughters.

The last resort / by Tom Ziegler

The Last Resort proves that love not only can germinate, but can grow and flourish even in the most deathly environments. Marjorie Kendrick, a widow half paralyzed by a stroke, is dumped into a posh Long Island nursing home by her son. Most of the other elderly patients she meets in the home’s recreation room are kept docile and cooperative by the use of drugs. The only exception is Henry Downs, who, as Marjorie soon learns, avoids the diet of pills by collaborating with the nursing home’s management. Like most women her age, Marjorie has lived her life doing as she was told. But that changes following her brush with death, and as she fights her own paralysis, she strives to shake off the paralysis of the others. Little by little, the group comes to life until finally Marjorie galvanizes them into an all-out revolt. Even the sedentary Henry discovers that yes, there certainly can be not only life, but romance after 70.

I'm revolting / by Gracie Gardner

Four patients go to a skin cancer hospital for treatment, but among the two doctors, the patients and the people supporting them, questions arise concerning who is sick, who is healing, and who has the power to decide.

Evanston salt costs climbing / by Will Arbery

Winters keep getting worse in Evanston, IL, where salt truck drivers Peter and Basil battle the ice and snow and pass the time with jokes and stories. But what's with this creeping sense of dread? Is it because their boss Maiworm has noble visions of new green technology that would make their jobs obsolete? Or is there a more terrifying warning calling out from under these roads? At least they have each other, right? Pulitzer Prize finalist Will Arbery confronts humanity's darkest fears with humor, warmth and the fortitude of municipal public servants in this play about climate and change.

Dial M for murder / adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher ; from the original by Frederick Knott

A new version of the celebrated murder mystery that inspired Hitchcock’s masterpiece! Tony is convinced that his wife Margot has been cheating on him. Now it seems that the affair is over, but in his jealousy Tony spins a web of suspicion and deception that will tighten around them and ensnare them both in danger, recrimination and murder.

Cowbois / by Charlie Josephine

In a sleepy town in the Wild West, the women drift through their days like tumbleweed. Their husbands, swept up in the goldrush, have been missing for almost a year and show no sign of returning. In fact, the town is almost cut off from outsiders entirely, with only one drunken sheriff for protection. That is until handsome bandit Jack Cannon swaggers up to the town's saloon, looking for a place to hide from the bounty hunters on his tail. Armed with whiskey and a wink, and a gun by their side for good measure, Jack's explosive arrival inspires a gender revolution, and starts a fire under the petticoat of every one of the town's repressed inhabitants.

Corsicana / by Will Arbery

In Corsicana, a small city in Texas, a woman with Down syndrome named Ginny and her half-brother Christopher are unmoored in the wake of their mother's death. Their close family friend, Justice, introduces them to a local artist named Lot, a recluse and outsider, hoping that he and Ginny can make a song together. Maybe that'll help somehow. In this restless quartet about caretaking and caregiving, in which the very fabric of reality is up for debate, Will Arbery charts the quiet, particular contracts of the heart that forge a new family.

A case for the existence of God / by Samuel D. Hunter

A Case for the Existence of God unfolds in a cubicle where two seated people unexpectedly choose to bring one another into their fragile worlds. Keith, a mortgage broker, and Ryan, a yogurt plant worker seeking to buy a plot of land that belonged to his family many decades ago, realize they share a "specific kind of sadness." At this desk in the middle of America, loan talk opens up into a discussion about the chokehold of financial insecurity and a bond over the precariousness of parenthood. With humor, empathy and wrenching honesty, Hunter commingles two lives and deftly bridges disparate experiences of marginality.

Becky Nurse of Salem / by Sarah Ruhl

A wry, innovative reckoning with the legacy of the Salem witch trials from one of America's foremost playwrights. Becky Nurse is an outspoken, sharp-witted tour guide at the Salem Museum of Witchcraft who's just trying to get by in post-Obama America. She's also the descendant of Rebecca Nurse, who was infamously executed for witchcraft in 1692-but things have changed for women since then...haven't they? After losing her job for calling out The Crucible in front of schoolkids, Becky visits a local witch for help. One spell leads to another, and then everything really goes off the rails. A darkly comic play about a woman coming to terms with her family's legacy and finding her voice in the "lock her up" era. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Becky_Nurse_of_Salem_TCG_Edition/AyJvEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Becky+Nurse+of+Salem+/+by+Sarah+Ruhl&printsec=frontcover

Anthropology / by Lauren Gunderson

Merril is one of Silicon Valley's leading software engineers, but her life disintegrates when her younger sister Angie vanishes on her way home from college. A year later, when the police have long abandoned their search, Merril assembles all the digital material Angie has left behind and sets about building herself a digital simulation of her sister. The resultant 'virtual Angie' offers her some solace – until, that is, it starts to reveal new details about the real Angie's disappearance… Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/anthropology/DyPWEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Anthropology+/+by+Lauren+Gunderson&printsec=frontcover

72 miles to go... / by Hilary Bettis

72 miles. It's the distance between Tucson, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico - and the distance between deported immigrant Anita and her American-born husband and children. 72 Miles to Go... follows one family over a decade as they come of age, fall in love, fight in wars and fight for each other - against the backdrop of deportation, DACA and changing immigration laws.

The war being waged / by Darla Contois

The War Being Waged is a poetic and unflinchingly truthful examination of what happens when patriotism and sovereignty collide. An Indigenous mother becomes an activist while her brother becomes a soldier. A grandmother speaks to her granddaughter from prison. A granddaughter, filled with turmoil, struggles to accept her family's history. Three generations of Indigenous women try to connect the pieces of their lives after experiencing all the ways Canada has torn them apart. A mix of three performance genres --monologue, poetry with video and movement, and contemporary dance -- are woven together in this stunning work by Winnipeg theatre artist Darla Contois.

Mahabharata / by Miriam Fernandes & Ravi Jain

A contemporary dramatic take on a 4,000-year-old Sanskrit epic that is foundational to Indian culture. Why Not Theatre's large-scale, once-in-a-generation retelling of Mahabharata brings together a cast of performers entirely from the South Asian diaspora, blending cultures and art forms in a spectacular production at the Shaw Festival and the Barbican Theatre in London. Over two parts (Karma and Dharma) and a communal meal (Khana), this translation and adaptation of Mahabharata spans generations and takes audiences into the hearts and minds of some of the most complex and enduring characters ever created. With warring families and devious revenge plots, Mahabharata tells the story of an ancient feud with philosophical and spiritual questions that are no less urgent today. In times of division, how do we find wholeness? Are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors? And how can we build a new world when we have nearly destroyed this one?

The intelligent homosexual's guide to capitalism and socialism with a key to the scriptures : a play / by Tony Kushner

Gus Marcantonio, a retired longshoreman, summons his adult children home to the family's Brooklyn brownstone to discuss his recent decision to commit suicide. With his trademark mix of soaring intellect, searing emotion, and biting wit, Kushner unfurls an epic tale of revolution, radicalism, family, love, sex, politics, real estate, unions, and debts both unpaid and unpayable.

The good dad : (a love story) / by Gail Louw

The whole family knew he was a good dad. A really good dad. And Donna was special; he loved her the most. So why is Donna in prison? Based on real events from the 1980s, The Good Dad is a haunting family drama by multi-award winning playwright Gail Louw. Told from the unique perspectives of mother, daughter and sister, this three-time Off West End Award nominated solo show is presented in support of the charity Victim Support.

Frank and Percy / by Ben Weatherill

People cross our paths for a reason. That, no doubt, reads like a horrible cliché but I never claimed to be a good writer, only an honest one. I believe the reason I met you was to become comfortable in my own skin. Ever seen a couple of old boys on a park bench and wondered what they are chatting about? In his new play Ben Weatherill lets us overhear Frank and Percy as they discuss the weather, then their dogs and then each other and so much more. Will the widowed schoolteacher and the elder statesman dare to risk changing their lives or let sleeping dogs lie? Frank and Percy is a poignant and witty take on the unexpected relationship that blossoms between two men. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Frank_and_Percy/aibKEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Frank+and+Percy+/+by+Ben+Weatherill&pg=PP4&printsec=frontcover

Burning mom / by Mieko Ouchi

After nearly a year of mourning her husband's death, sixtysomething Dorothy needs to feel alive. So she pitches a road-trip idea to her family--attending Burning Man, the massive arts festival known for its carefree nature that draws half a million people, and she wants to drive there in the RV she had purchased with her husband before he died. After she learns how to drive the RV and her family gets over their shock, Dorothy's son and his friend join her for her journey, sleeping in parking lots along the way, visiting a sex shop for costumes, and showing her around the massive, dusty grounds in Nevada. But once Dorothy starts to explore alone, whether its finding hilarious chaos in the middle of a naked bike ride parade or experiencing sweet solace and acceptance through art, she learns that she can do more in life than she ever imagined. This comical play, which is based on author Mieko Ouchi's mother's own experiences, shows that the search for courage and independence can be lighthearted even when rooted in grief.

Body so fluorescent / by Amanda Cordner, David Di Giovanni

What happened last night on the dance floor? Gary knows he went to the club with his friend Desiree, but now all he has is a fuzzy memory and a text saying, "We're done." Desiree has known something's been up with Gary, but she always kept her thoughts to herself. Until last night ended in an explosive fight. As Gary and Desiree retrace their steps to figure out the chain of events, perspectives shift from self to alter-ego to untangle the facts. And after the dust settles, can their friendship be rebuilt? Body So Fluorescent is an electrifying exploration that asks difficult questions about Blackness, otherness, and appropriation.

Beneatha's Place / by Kwame Kwei-Armah

Some things we do for those we are responsible for, some things for ourselves, and some things we do for the ancestors. Today, it's all three! 1959. The first wave of independence is sweeping across Africa and Beneatha has left the prejudice of 1950s America for a brighter future with her Nigerian husband in Lagos. But on the day they move into their new house in the white suburbs, it doesn't take long for cracks to appear, changing the course of the rest of their lives.Present day. Now a renowned Dean whose colleagues are questioning the role of African American studies for future generations, Beneatha returns to the same house in search of answers. Inspired by the ground-breaking modern classic A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha's Place is a razor-sharp satire from Young Vic Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah about the power of knowing your history and the cost of letting it go. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beneatha_s_Place/ZCbKEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Beneatha%27s+Place+/+by+Kwame+Kwei-Armah&pg=PP7&printsec=frontcover

The asylum workshop / by Colin Murphy

You think this is dignified? A bunch of students playing with someone's medical records? Why did 20th-century Ireland lock up so many people? After all the scandals about Ireland's institutions-- the industrial schools, the mother and baby homes, the Magdalene Laundries-- why have we still barely investigated the largest institutions of them all: the psychiatric hospitals? Today, Grangegorman is home to the open new campus of Technological University Dublin. But for nearly 200 years, it housed a forbidding institution behind high walls. The Asylum Workshop is a new documentary play by Colin Murphy about the history of Ireland's first public psychiatric hospital. Drawing on unique access to the hospital's archives, it weaves together verbatim testimony from patients and families, reports from doctors and nurses, and analysis from historians and psychiatrists. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Asylum_Workshop/LQ7CEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+asylum+workshop+/+by+Colin+Murphy&printsec=frontcover

Among men / by David Yee

1959, Ameliasburgh, Prince Edward County, Canada. On the edge of spring, two men are finishing an A-frame cabin on Roblin Lake. In the coming decade all three of them--Al, Milt, and the A-frame--will become famous and change the face of Canadian poetry. But now all they have is the stench of sweat, whiskey, and words. From Governor General's Literary Award-winner David Yee, am is a poetic and charged portrait of male friendship in uncertain times, and a story of how Canadian literature was changed forever.

Adults / by Kieran Hurley

A black comedy that is by turns explosive and tender, Adults follows acclaimed playwright Kieran Hurley's TravFest19 smash-hit Mouthpiece. Amongst a raft of anonymous Airbnbs in Edinburgh, thirty-something Zara is running her own business and trying to make her way in the world. A new client has just arrived, but her colleague is running late. Tensions are high. Also, the business is a brothel, the client is her old teacher, and her colleague is having an existential panic attack about growing up. They're all convinced that they're the most hard done by, and that the mess of a world that's around them definitely isn't their fault. But maybe something has to break between them, before anything can really change. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Adults/6BPOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Adults+/+by+Kieran+Hurley&printsec=frontcover

White girls in moccasins / by Yolanda Bonnell

Something is missing from Miskozi's life... so she goes on a search for herself and her culture, accompanied by her inner white girl, Waabishkizi, and guided by Ziibi, a manifestation of an ancestral river. Miskozi begins the journey back before she was even born, right at the seeds of colonization when her ancestors were forced to hide their culture anywhere they could. Burying their language. Their teachings. Their bundles. Their moccasins. White Girls in Moccasins is a hilarious and poignant reclamation story that world-hops between dreams, memories, and a surreal game show. Along the way, Miskozi is forced to grapple with her own truth, while existing in a society steeped in white supremacy.

It's a motherf**king pleasure / based on an original concept by Sam Brewer

Usually, disabled people just want to do the right thing. But what if they didn’t? What if they were out to make as much money as possible from the guilt of nondisabled, anxious people (like you)? In PR office RIZE, blind talent manager Tim has worked out how to monetise disability. Together with wannabe blind influencer Ross, and anxious HR manager Helen, he is determined to cash in on ‘Able Anxiety’. But their mission has unintended consequences, as it turns out that manipulating people’s desire to fit in is even easier than you think. Meanwhile Aarian, Sam and Chloe are here to deliver a fully accessible show. Or they’re trying to. They’re worthy, they’re dedicated, they’re just fundamentally good people (unlike you). But there’s a problem, the captions can’t be seen by the blind audience and the audio description is going over the heads of the deaf. Not to mention the gay jokes, the gender pay gap and the climate crisis...

Fat ham / James Ijames

Fat Ham reinvents Shakespeare's masterpiece in startling and hilarious ways amidst the backdrop of a family barbecue in the American South. Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in Hamlet's woes. What's different is Juicy himself, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man trying to break the cycles of trauma, violence, and toxic masculinity in service of his own liberation. From an uproarious family barbecue emerges a vibrant and compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fat_Ham/4qB9EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fat+ham+/+James+Ijames&printsec=frontcover

English / by Sanaz Toossi

It’s 2008, and four Iranians assemble triweekly in a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) class in Karaj, Iran. The students are led by Marjan, an anglophile who abolishes Farsi from her classroom. They translate Ricky Martin and endure major preposition confusion; they discover how to be funny in English and ponder what they will lose in the process. As the class slowly devolves into a linguistic mess, some students cling tighter to their mother tongue while others embrace the possibilities of a new language.

Bullring techno makeout jamz / by Nathan Queeley Dennis

Nathaniel is a serious romantic, the human manifestation of “I Will Always Love You” (The Whitney Houston version) and every homemade Slow Jamz cassette from the 90s; he sees love as a fine art. He’s looking for the Mona Lisa to his da Vinci, and tonight is the night: his date with Destiny…’s Child. Nathan Queeley-Dennis’ debut play is a love letter to Birmingham, exploring Black masculinity through Beyoncé lyrics, techno raves, and the deeply intimate relationship between a man and his barber.

Brown Face / by Carissa Atallah

Gracia is a Chicana writer and DREAMer. In order to draw attention to her work but not her undocumented status, Gracia convinces her white and US-born best friend Mariza to perform her poetry. When Gracia's words launch Mariza into gaining a following as a Latinx artist and activist, their friendship is tested by issues of privilege and cultural appropriation. Part play, part poetry slam, Brown Face follows a group of college students as they navigate their identities in the competitive world of spoken word poetry.

A view of the harbor / by Richard Dresser

Nick is a child of privilege who grew up with every possible advantage. But along the way he came to believe that he could never measure up to the demands of his father, Daniel, a powerful and mercurial man who has run the family businesses with ruthless cunning. So Nick disappears, reinventing himself as a blue-collar worker in a factory owned by his family. For the first time, he takes control of his life. He works hard, makes friends, and falls in love with Paige, a beautiful young woman. He discovers that he's a lot happier getting by on a living wage than wallowing in the limitless wealth of his family. He's free. When Nick hears from his sister, Kathryn, that his father has had a stroke, he realizes that he must face the towering figure in his life, the man who caused him to run away. So Nick and Paige travel to the coast of Maine, where Daniel and Kathryn live in the rambling, mysterious, run-down mansion where Nick grew up. Nick finds himself yanked back into the increasingly twisted orbit of his family. Paige is shocked to see the confident man she fell in love with reverting before her eyes to a small frightened child. Paige becomes the catalyst for long-buried family secrets finally seeing the light of day. In the end, the family is reconfigured in surprising ways as Nick reconnects with his sister and finally finds the strength to face the demons in his life. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exViewOfTheHarborV37.pdf

The defiant muse : the story of the life, work and times of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz / by Nicholas A. Patricca

This play tells the story of how one extraordinary woman overcomes the restrictions of her family, church and culture to realize her identity as an artist, scholar and independent person. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz managed to develop a rich spiritual life as a nun while leading an astonishingly accomplished worldly life at the 17th-century court of the viceroy of New Spain. As an intimate friend of "Lisi," the vicereine, and as an advisor to the Council of Mexico City, Sor Juana exercised a unique political and cultural power for the benefit of orphans, abandoned women, and women who wanted to act freely in civil society. The Defiant Muse explores in parallel scenes Sor Juana's passionate private life as well as her carefully scrutinized public life. Through dynamic wit, the interplay between Sor Juana and her imaginary friend, Don Juan, permits the audience to see and hear, and to feel, the passionate spirit that drives Sor Juana to be true to herself. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is considered to be the greatest woman poet of Latin America. Sor Juana's La Respuesta, her essay in defense of herself as a scholar and as an artist, stands for all time as one of the most elegant and learned defenses of the rights of women to equal opportunity in human culture. To this day, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is honored as Mexico's greatest hero. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exDefiantMuseDA2.pdf

College : the musical / by Drew Fornrola, Scott Elmegreen

This story takes place over the course of a weekend in the common room of 212 Gauss Hall, the greatest party room on campus. We follow Nathan, our starry-eyed, enthusiastic, and slightly awkward freshman protagonist, as he meets the members of the room and their friends: the charismatic and mysterious ringleader, Jay; lovesick Sarah; athletic Eddie; studious Simon; overextended and highly caffeinated Amy; video-game addict, Rob; seductive Lindsay; obsessed public safety officer, Agnes; and the rest of an energetic cast in this whacky but familiar world. And then there's Katharine, the girl everyone knows Nathan ought to end up with but whom he constantly overlooks, distracted by his newfound freedom and the excitement of college life. Soon Nathan learns about the joys of sleeping in, partying, playing video games, skipping class, and living the "ideal" life of leisure championed by Jay and his roommates. But as life progresses and events start quickly spiraling out of control, Nathan realizes (with some help from Katharine) that maybe the world of 212 Gauss Hall isn't everything it's cracked up to be. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exCOLLEGETheMusicalCF4.pdf

Harm's way / by Shem Bitterman

The story begins in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where Major Jonathan Fredericks, a widower, lives with his troubled daughter, Bianca. Fredericks is a career army prosecutor charged with investigating soldiers for war crimes. His son, who was also in the military, was recently killed in Afghanistan. Bianca, tortured by her brother's sudden death, now makes it her mission to protect the boys her father is charged with prosecuting. With this in mind, she seeks out Nick Granville, a young soldier who has been charged with a heinous crime. Bianca convinces Nick to run away with her in order to save himself. They take off for Montana where Nick hopes to get help from his former commander, Sergeant Samuel Havesford. Fredericks gets leave to search for the young couple. But Constance Durell, the reporter who broke Nick's story, offers Fredericks her reporter's tracking expertise in exchange for an exclusive, and his desperation forces him to take her along. Soon they are romantically entwined despite their vast ideological differences. The impending tragedy builds to an inescapable conclusion that topples all their worlds in a cataclysm of violence and heartbreak, and Fredericks is forced to reassess both himself and the actions of his country. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exHarmsWayHA5.pdf

Can't believe it / by R.N. Sandberg

Can't Believe It traces the intertwined paths of Teresa, a malleable, confused high-school freshman, and Ron, a confidant, popular high-school junior who is about to nail down a college soccer scholarship. Teresa thinks Ron may be the perfect guy—good-looking, smart, funny—with the perfect life. How can a shy kid like her even talk to him? She is urged by her friend Callie to go after Ron and all the things she wants. That means being sexually forward, shoplifting for kicks, going wild at parties and never telling her parents the truth. Teresa and Ron do connect. But when each gets caught doing something they shouldn't, they have to think about what they believe—about themselves, each other and what they truly want. Questions of honesty, trust and personal responsibility run through the lives of all the characters, adult and teen, in this comic drama drawn from the real lives of students, teachers and parents. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exCantBelieveItCF2.pdf

Becoming Eleanor / by Marsha Lee Sheiness

Becoming Eleanor dramatizes the events that shaped the early life and character of Eleanor of Aquitaine from ages 15 to 29. Considered the most extraordinary woman in 12th-century European history, Eleanor was a key figure in both French and English politics until her death at age 82. She defied the church and tradition, redefining what a woman could be and could do. Her remarkable journey, told in this play, shows how she became the most influential woman of her time, eventually ruling as queen of both France and England. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBecomingEleanorBD9.pdf

Wonderlands / by Katherine Thomson

In 1931, Alice, a white station owner, goes riding with her Aboriginal head stockman and friend, Jim. During the course of the afternoon, they come to an agreement about the running and ownership of the property, Ambertrue. Many years later, in an environment of white paranoia fed by misinformation, Alice’s great nephew Lon finds himself running Ambertrue. When Lon receives a letter announcing a native title claim in the area, he is terrified that his dream of passing the family property on to his son-in-law will be shattered.

The drowning bride / by Michael Futcher and Helen Howard

An intimate and moving drama about love, betrayal and the struggle to forgive. In this powerful clash between generations and cultures, a young Brisbane artist tracks down her estranged grandfather in the US, where he fled to escape his troubled past. Is he a wise old widower, a war criminal or a womaniser? The Drowning Bride is a quest for truth, with love and history at stake. A haunting account of prejudice, injustice and brutality, tempered by a celebration of human kindness and indomitable hope.

Winyanboga Yurringa / by Andrea James

Six indigenous women gather on country for what seems like a fun camping trip by the river, a chance to get away from the daily grind, a time to natter and laugh. A photographer, a museum curator, a community leader, a young and troubled niece, a besieged mother and a park ranger -- these strikingly different contemporary Aboriginal women joke and bicker, rile each other one minute and comfort each other the next. And when the peace of the campsite if upended, they band together to make it right. Winyanboga Yurringa weaves through questions about place and trauma, blackness and community, responsibility and ownership.

BecauseHeCan / by Arthur Kopit

He calls himself ISeeU, but you can't see him. And if it's you he wants, nothing can stop him. In a plot worthy of Kafka or Orwell, this alarming, sinister and erotic tale propels an unsuspecting married couple into their worst nightmare: a world with no secrets in which private lives are no longer private. For this couple, the future has arrived and they are among its first casualties. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/BecauseHeCan/UZpS0V42BAEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BecauseHeCan+/+by+Arthur+Kopit&printsec=frontcover

The floating light bulb / by Woody Allen

A bittersweet comedy by the author of Play it Again Sam, Don't Drink the Water and other favorites, premiered on Broadway at Lincoln Center starring Beatrice Arthur as long-suffered Enid matriarch of the Pollack clan. Errant husband Max, 13-year-old Steve and Paul, amateur magician and narrator of the story. Set in 1945 Brooklyn (Canarsie section),The Floating Light Bulb is an evocative drama of a family in crisis leavened by wit, charm and hope. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Floating_Light_Bulb/oYhumhjOkbQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+floating+light+bulb+/+by+Woody+Allen&printsec=frontcover

Chaim's love song / by Marvin Chernoff

Chaim Shotsky, a retired mailman in Brooklyn, is an American Tevye who tells his life story to Kelly Burke from Iowa. His exotic tale is rich with vitality. His friends include a philosophical baker, a Holocaust survivor with many secrets, his son and daughter, a matchmaker to end all matchmakers, movie star pigeons and a host of Israelis. Chaim's story, a love song for life, is one of innocence, tragedy, struggle, humor, humanity and ultimately triumph. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chaim_s_Love_Song/p6D4BwAYKtcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Chaim%27s+love+song+/+by+Marvin+Chernoff&printsec=frontcover

Into the fire / by Deborah Baley Brevoort

An isolated Alaskan fishing village is torn apart by a morals controversy when the mayor's wife walks naked through town in a desperate attempt to get the attention of her philandering husband. At the height of the crisis a mysterious man is washed ashore, setting the community on fire in more than one way. This humorous and poetic drama explores awakening, rebirth and small town life in a style that has a been described as magical realism with an Alaskan twist. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Into_the_Fire/6ZSjLKj3sp0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Into+the+fire+/+by+Deborah+Baley+Brevoort&printsec=frontcover

Everybody's Ruby / by Thulani Davis

This hard-hitting and intense drama, a sensation Off Broadway, is based on a murder that happened in a small town in Florida in 1952. Ruby McCollum, a black woman, is accused of killing a socially prominent white doctor. Famed writer Zora Neale Hurston is covering her trial for the national black press. With help from another famous reporter, Zora uncovers an explosive collision of race, sex, and class that is key to understanding the truth about the murder. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Everybody_s_Ruby/kN1wK9P4O-MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Everybody%27s+Ruby+/+by+Thulani+Davis&printsec=frontcover

Tongue of a bird / by Ellen McLaughlin

Maxine, a search and rescue pilot, returns in midwinter to her childhood home in the Adirondacks. There she conducts a search for a girl who, while on a field trip in the mountains, was abducted by a stranger in a black pick up truck. The search lasts for three days. Each night Maxine must face the girl's distraught mother, Dessa, and her own grandmother, Zofia, a reclusive Polish refugee. In sleep, Maxine is prey to nightmares and fragmented memories of a mother who abandoned her in childhood and was lost to insanity. Cherry Jones starred Off Broadway in this powerful consideration of the notions of loss, motherhood and the vexed yearning for release. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tongue_of_a_Bird/8laDKB3L8E8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tongue+of+a+bird+/+by+Ellen+McLaughlin&printsec=frontcover

Love in the title / by Hugh Leonard

When Katie arrives in the field of Corcamore to paint a watercolor of the legendary stone of Clough E. Regan, she is accompanied by youthful versions of her mother and grandmother. Katie exists in the present while the others are in their own time. Their conversations companionable and hostile by turns reveal family history and its intricate relation to the wider story of Irish culture. Humorous discussions of social prejudice, religious fervor and perennial man trouble movingly evoke the mixture of nostalgia and progressiveness that characterized the twentieth century.

Joyful noise / by Tim Slover

George Frederick Handel is in trouble: his last opera flopped, he is no longer in favor with King George II and preachers are raging that his latest work is blasphemous. In this climate, he struggles to present "The Messiah." Handel's travails are linked with those of his leading soprano. Forced into retirement because of a scandal, she is slated to make her comeback in his new masterpiece and fears a nasty reception. A malicious, back stabbing alternate is waiting in the wings to replace her. A devious bishop and Handel's bulky librettist add to the conflict in this true story of the politics and passion that nearly prevented "The Messiah" from ever being performed. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Joyful_Noise/G6fraoodhNEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Joyful+noise+/+by+Tim+Slover&printsec=frontcover

Shakespeare for my father : a one-woman play in two acts / by Lynn Redgrave

In the renowned actress's first foray into playwriting, family reminiscences develop into a complex, funny, and moving portrait of a child's longing for the love of the inscrutable, daunting, and charismatic Shakespearean actor who was her father. Acclaimed in America and Great Britain, Shakespeare for My Father weaves scenes from the Bard that delightfully coalesce with events in Ms. Redgrave's young life, eliciting memories of Sir Michael and engaging impressions of the celebrated stars who frequented the Redgrave's home and lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shakespeare_for_My_Father/OSwVgQgyaTsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Shakespeare+for+my+father+/+by+Lynn+Redgrave&printsec=frontcover

BAFO (best and final offer) / by Tom Strelich

BAFO is a scathing black comedy set in the declining defense industry. It takes a group of middle class white men and one black woman from Human Resources HR on a hilarious downward spiral from affirmative action to downsizing and then to a disgruntled ex employee on a small arms rampage who asks each one for their "best and final offer." Described as "Dr. Strangelove" meets "Dog Day Afternoon", BAFO is an unapologetically testicular satire that asks the millennial question, "Where's the threat?" At its philosophical core, the play is about threats: Precambrian, primitive, emotional, physical, political, social and technical a whole food chain of threats. Comedy of the blackest stripe is the only way to deal with such primal currents, and the defense industry setting of the play is the perfect metaphor since it is devoted to the process of seeking and neutralizing threats: our national autoimmune system. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/BAFO_best_and_Final_Offer/85pB6XJqfeMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BAFO+(best+and+final+offer)+/+by+Tom+Strelich&printsec=frontcover

Gumshoe rendezvous : two one-act plays / by Eliot Byerrum

Two one act plays combine comedy, mystery and romance in fast paced detective stories. In Remedial Surveillance, would be private investigator Irene a buyer for Bloomingdales takes detecting lessons from hard luck P.I. Buzz. He wants her out of the class, but she perseveres and, in the process, uncovers Buzz's personal history and his dangerous liaison with a femme fatale. By Deja Rendez-vous, Buzz and Irene are partners in a new office next door to a Singing Bees telegram service, which drives Buzz crazy. The return of the femme fatale could prove fatal when she arrives to exact revenge on Buzz. Irene is intent on snagging a reward for turning in this lethal lady. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gumshoe_Rendezvous/zaQy8KOnMw8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gumshoe+rendezvous+:+two+one-act+plays+/+by+Eliot+Byerrum&printsec=frontcover

An enchanted land : a play about Haiti / by Dale Wasserman

This steamy, tragic tale of love, jealousy, revenge and betrayal in Haiti is by the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Enchanted_Land/XpjUPoD070EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=An+enchanted+land+:+a+play+about+Haiti+/+by+Dale+Wasserman&printsec=frontcover

Concertina's rainbow / by Glyn O'Malley

The hit of New York's Cherry Lane Alternative Mentor Project 2001, this moving yet witty play takes place during the Serbian bombing of Sarajevo. Fate brings two remarkably different American women together on a flight to Austria. Memories, war, art and an Albanian Gypsy girl help Maisy and Maureen forge a totally unexpected bond of healing and freedom. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Concertina_s_Rainbow/hmzzuURgh8QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Concertina%27s+rainbow+/+by+Glyn+O%27Malley&printsec=frontcover

A slight hangover / by Ian Ogilvy

At the end of Noel Coward's Design for Living , two men and a woman embark on a menage a trois founded on mutual attraction and a conscious flouting of societal norms. This witty and warm hearted comedy continues their story. It is 1985. Orson Woodley and Sir Lewis Messenger share a house in the West Indies, their beloved Giselle having died some years before. Their peaceful lives are turned upside down when Olga, Giselle's daughter, arrives determined to find out which of them is her father. Olga's daughter, a spitting image of Giselle, stirs further memories in a funny and moving exploration of this unusual family's history. The lightness of touch and sureness of characterization would even please Coward.

The circus animals' desertion / by Don Nigro

Set in the early 1940's, this funny play tells the eerie story of frustrating, neurotic, and irresponsible but resilient and strangely appealing Becky Armitage. This young lady leaves a trail of chaos but always manages to land on her feet. Because her mother died when she was born, she was raised by aunts who do not know what to do with her. Nobody will tell her who her father is. When the DeFlores carnival comes to town, she is seduced in the hall of mirrors by Romeo DeFlores. He skips town leaving her pregnant. She marries the town librarian and he is a good father to her child, but when the carnival returns she conceives another child in the labyrinth of mirrors, and her gentle husband begins to lose his mind. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Circus_Animals_Desertion/VkrXqESesV4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+circus+animals%27+desertion+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Just say yes! / by Jack Sharkey & Tom Sharkey

Needing to prove his theories work, an author of books on success through self confidence picks the world's biggest loser and makes him a winner nearly losing everything to him in the process. Popular author Jack Sharkey's last comedy, Just Say Yes! was written with his brother, Tom Sharkey, the composer and librettist of It's a Wonderful Life.

The werewolf's curse, or, Hair today, gone tomorrow : a totally outrageous supernatural comedy / by Billy St. John

Poor Harry Pate! An American student at the University of Lipsync in Rumania, he is bitten by a werewolf cub while on a field trip. During the full moon, Harry sprouts hair and craves rare roast beef, to the dismay of his vegetarian fiancee. So it's off to Dr. Frank Einstein's castle to consult Madam Clara Voyant, where the doctor decides to make Harry a full fledged werewolf he can sell to Professor Wonder. This hilarious spoof of 1930's horror movies also features a mummy, a vampire who drinks juice (his mother was a fruit bat), a puny strongman, a belly dancer and other members of a carnival troupe as well as seven villagers who are all played by the same quick changing actor. If you are looking for outrageous comedy, this play is a howl! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Werewolf_s_Curse/UBoOwMVk47gC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+werewolf%27s+curse+/+by+Billy+St.+John&pg=PA106&printsec=frontcover

November / by Don Nigro

In the autumn of 1980, Aunt Liz is trapped in a nursing home in the hilly agricultural country of east Ohio while her niece Becky and Becky's revolting husband try to steal and destroy her farm. Her life is further complicated by a harried but sympathetic young nurse, her nomadic nephew, a bewildered friend, and her sisters, cranky Molly and Dorothy, a deaf mute piano player. Memories of her beautiful and long dead sister Jessie also intrude, as well as her outrageous fellow inmate, Mr. Kafka, who tries to teach her about muskrat traps and immortality. This funny and moving play was first produced with great success at Capital Rep in Albany; it has particularly rich roles for a mature cast. This play is part of the author's series Pendragon Plays. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/November/KiDbJ4jLJg4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=November+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Beast with two backs / by Don Nigro

In Greenwich Village in the late 1920s Al, an artist, moves into a rooming house on Macdougal Street and finds himself being pulled deeper and deeper into the lives of its inhabitants. Above him live Mary Margaret, a lost actress from Ohio, and her philandering poet boyfriend, Jem. Al meets Mary Margaret when she comes home drunk one night and blunders into his bed. He falls in love with her. The landlord, McLish, keeps bursting into Al's room to help him with his romance. McLish, a failed writer, has his own troubles: a beautiful but compulsively disloyal wife. And somebody keeps playing "The Saint James Infirmary Blues." Al's attempt to rescue Mary Margaret is the core of this richly atmospheric love story which vividly recreates the world of artists and writers in this era. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beast_with_Two_Backs/4Aw38ecXJogC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Beast+with+two+backs+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Deflores : and other plays / by Don Nigro

Includes the plays: Deflores -- Gogol -- Broadway macabre -- Wolfbane -- The Irish girl kissed in the rain -- Creatures lurking in the churchyard -- Doctor Faustus. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Deflores/pErtrJhtfuAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Deflores+:+and+other+plays+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Jerry and Tom / by Rick Cleveland

A man who is tied to a chair with a bag over his head is telling jokes to Jerry and Tom while they wait for a phone call instructing them to kill him. In a series of similarly intense vignettes, a Chicago hit man plays mentor to his impatient cohort in this horrifyingly hysterical comedy.

Defiled, or, The convenience of a short-haired dog / by Lee Kalcheim

A nerdy, technophobic librarian clutches in his sweaty hands the detonator that will obliterate the library if his beloved card catalog is carted away. He is pitted against a harried police negotiator in this fast paced debate on society's obsession with computers. Jason Alexander and Peter Falk starred in the California premier.

Nighthawks / by Lynn Rosen

Inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper, including "Nighthawks," "Sunlight in a Cafeteria," "Conference at Night" and "Summertime," this funny, sober play captures a night in the lives of eight lonely city dwellers desperate to connect with another person. For weeks, Jo and Ned watched each other from their windows. When they finally meet, will expectations be met? Jim and Mitzi have a dramatic first encounter at a cafeteria, but are they who they say they are? Three disgruntled office workers plot a surprise for the boss, but the surprise may be on them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nighthawks/MX__7Izm_G8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Nighthawks+/+by+Lynn+Rosen&printsec=frontcover

The survivor / by Susan Nanus, based on the memoirs of Jack Eisner

This gripping drama takes place in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. A group of determined teenagers organize to resist the Nazis. They begin by smuggling food into the ghetto. Eventually they form the nucleus of the Warsaw uprising. These heroic young people make a pact: if anyone survives their dreadful ordeal, he or she will tell the story of what happened to them. There was only one survivor and this is the story he told. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Survivor/r-YTqQL-unMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+survivor+/++by+Susan+Nanus&printsec=frontcover

Amazing grace / by Michael Cristofer

Marsha Mason returned to the New York stage to play the lead in this story of one woman's journey to redemption by the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Shadow Box. Selma Goodall is a lonely, middle aged woman trapped in a life that is suffocating her. She tries to escape through prescription drug abuse. Confused by her religious upbringing and haunted by the ghost of sexual abuse, she sinks into despair and finds herself on trial for a series of murders of which she has no recollection. Convicted and sentenced to death, Selma spends her last days in prison where, ironically, she comes finally to an understanding of life, love and herself. The long journey out of the darkness ends in the light. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Amazing_Grace/PdiaFwbEn8AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Amazing+grace+/+by+Michael+Cristofer&printsec=frontcover

Armitage / by Don Nigro

Zachary Pendragon rages among the tombstones of the family burial plot. Filled with hatred and waiting for him to die, his stepdaughter Margaret watches from their Gothic mansion in the east Ohio woods. So begins the dark and labyrinthine tale of a family with a complex and terrible history. Through Margaret's journal, Zach's memories, the batty poetry of Margaret's mother, and the memories of Zach's tormented son John, a Gothic tale woven back and forth in time and space emerges. It is a tale of desperate love and suspicious deaths, of desire, murder, madness, grief and terror. Having the richness and beauty of a complex Gothic novel or a Jacobean nightmare, this remarkable saga of happenings in the Pendragon mansion builds to a stunning conclusion that is guaranteed to surprise. Perhaps the most haunting of the author's cycle of Pendragon Plays, this mystery is both funny and grotesque, moving and hypnotic. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Armitage/ktEgfEXsY9wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Armitage+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

The bequest / by Dale Wasserman

Eyebrows rise in a small town in Wisconsin when a notorious playboy dies leaving a large bequest to a local resident, the lovely and beloved wife of a local newspaper reporter. She refuses to explain why this windfall has come her way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Bequest/SIRt3KbwaPUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+bequest+/+by+Dale+Wasserman&printsec=frontcover

The Dinner Party / by Neil Simon

Here is a decidedly French dinner party served up in a chaotic mode that only a master of comedy could create: Five people are invited to dine at a first-rate restaurant in Paris. They do not know who the other guests will be or why they have been invited. Tossed together in a private dining room, they have a sneaking suspicion that this unorthodox dinner party will forever change their lives. John Ritter and Henry Winkler starred in the wildly successful Kennedy Center production and on Broadway. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dinner_Party/SyODpfPnOKEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Dinner+Party+/+by+Neil+Simon&printsec=frontcover

Paradise Island / by Benjie Aerenson

Only the scenes fly by faster than the insults and accusations that Emma and her unmarried daughter Terri throw at each other while they are on vacation in the Bahamas. The harrowing exchanges between this ordinary mother and daughter over clothes, dieting, shopping, TV and other commonplace activities provide an engaging and original dramatic adventure. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Paradise_Island/kqJUwWa5ZoAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Paradise+Island+/+by+Benjie+Aerenson&printsec=frontcover

Buying time / by Michael Weller

A prominent law firm in the Southwest suffers a crisis of conscience when caught between the demands of a huge industrial client and a pro bono environmental group. The firm's idealistic leader, Bennett Traube, struggles to keep his colleagues on track while negotiating firm politics, career choices and the appeals of a provocative, driven environmental attorney. Based on a true story, this gripping drama takes a cinematic journey into boardrooms, barrooms, National Parks, corporate offices, hotel rooms and a mansion copied from a Scottish castle. It paints a vivid and unusual portrait of lawyers trying to make ethical choices under enormous pressure. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Buying_Time/tLFiXeoziKcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Buying+time+/+by+Michael+Weller&printsec=frontcover

Funny about love / by Terence Frisby

Rosie has been dumped for a younger woman by Piers, her middle-aged husband. Rosie is quietly living alone when Darren, the abandoned husband of Piers' pregnant mistress, tricks his way into meeting her. Darren's rage at being left ignites Rosie's and together they plot revenge. Darren also awakens long-latent feelings in Rosie and, as they embark on their unlikely romance, Piers' world starts to fall apart - with hilarious and surprising results. In the published edition the author gives two endings, and he would prefer the second ending be used.

Fisher king / by Don Nigro

Arthurian legends are reborn in the Civil War era in this addition to the author's Pendragon cycle of plays. In the autumn of 1864, Major Pendragon and some of his men wander in a dark forest, unable to find their way back to the Union Army. They encounter a young man who wants to become a soldier, a tattered revival tent where a demented preacher speaks gibberish while his daughter operates a pump organ, and an old man fishing near a haunted mansion who leads them to the Holy Grail. This eerie play offers new insights into characters also seen in Armitage, Green Man, and Sorceress. This play earned the author a Playwriting Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fisher_King/XESkRGMl8WEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fisher+king++/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Senior follies / by Billy St. John

The rocking is not done in chairs at the Pleasant Valley Retirement Home, especially since Howard discovered Viagra! The feisty divorcee and lovely widow who are constantly scurrying out if his reach and refuse to play strip poker or skinny dip in the hot tub breathe a sigh of relief when a new resident actually seems to enjoy Howard's advances. She turns out to be a con artist intent on fleecing Howard and, with the help of her brother, a shy spinster. Other roles for senior actors include a less than energetic wife and her husband, a gardening fanatic. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Senior_Follies/M8qrgPNpR6kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Senior+follies+/+by+Billy+St.+John&printsec=frontcover

Dramatis personae / by Don Nigro

In April of 1946 the elderly Alison Armitage is sitting by her window. She is certain the young man she sees leaning against his black Chevy at the end of the lane is Death and that he has come for her. What is left of the Pendragon family is waiting downstairs to see her, but she refuses to let them in. As they wait they are forced to speak to each other for the first time in years, confronting some longstanding grudges and considering some looming dilemmas. Featuring characters from several other installments in the author's cycle of Pendragon plays, Dramatis Personae offers fascinating insights into this complex and compelling family. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dramatis_Personae/9ljQm_iBcOoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dramatis+personae+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Pendragon / by Don Nigro

In this robust and compelling tale commissioned and produced by the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, John Rhys Pendragon is at Guernica during the Fascist bombing in 1937. His memories take him back to 1910 and conjure up Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, James J. Jeffries and Ernest Hemingway as the play pieces together his remarkable life, recalls his three lost loves and vividly portrays colorful characters he has interviewed. This unique American love story is part of the author's cycle the Pendragon Plays . Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pendragon/P01mFyQ3Hq0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pendragon+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Laestrygonians / by Don Nigro

Silent film starlet Mary Margaret is alone in her Hollywood bungalow, about to kill herself. John Rose, a former Shakespearean stage actor, now a drunken silent movie leading man with a bad reputation, calls on her and tries to convince her to face life. In the course of their hilarious conflict, images of the actor's past emerge. His efforts to help Mary Margaret live force him to deal with his own demons and find a way to cope with the terrible secret that eats away at him like the cannibal Laestrygonians in Homer's Odyssey. Funny and rich in character and language, this powerful and unusual love story is central to the Pendragon series of plays. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Laestrygonians/8zusxn6VJCAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Laestrygonians+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Barking sharks / by Israel Horovitz

A solid hit with diverse audiences in Gloucester, New York City and Fairbanks, this startling town and country drama is built around the son of a Gloucester fisherman who finds himself, at age forty, living in New York City where he runs a hip ad agency in Tribeca. He dreams of his roots: of being a fisherman in the waters off Massachusetts. When he does follow his dream back to Gloucester, he brings havoc into the lives of friends and family.

Blue : a play / by Charles Randolph-Wright ; music by Nona Hendryx ; lyrics by Nona Hendryx and Charles Randolph-Wright

Using music as an integral part of the storytelling, Blue spans nearly twenty years in the life of the affluent African American Clark family in rural South Carolina. Events are seen through the eyes of the eldest son Reuben, who evolves from a preteen trumpet player into an adult artist. His mother, a relentlessly chic matriarch with dark secrets who is out of place in the her provincial surroundings, holds court at family gatherings. She lays out grandiose plans for her two sons while the mesmerizing music of sexy jazz singer Blue Williams adds a unique dimension. Meanwhile, her husband runs a profitable funeral home, grandmother offers unsolicited advice and Ruben's brother runs with the girls. This humorous family portrait abounds with tenderness, acceptance and the search for unconditional love while introducing audiences to an African American family the likes of which is seldom portrayed on stage or screen. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blue/k14rq9rr0VAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blue+:+a+play+/+by+Charles+Randolph-Wright&printsec=frontcover

In order of appearance / by Gardner McKay

Tom Vickery has a secret. Or did. Twenty years ago he wrote a play that his agent, Morris Bonecream, told him was too personally embarrassing to produce. Tom set fire to him. Bonecream sued Tom for arson. Tom disappeared. He is presumed dead, but in reality is living in the Maine woods bottling cranberry brandy and married to Gemma Jones, a woman who knows nothing of his past. Suddenly, Bonecream appears; Tom's play is a huge hit in London under an Englishman's name, Dunlop Sablehand. Bonecream needs Tom's script as evidence to get his commission from the plagiarist. Gemma reads the play and leaves Tom. A character from the play, Shelley Vickery, turns up. She straightens Tom out. The hired man falls in love with her. Gemma comes back to Tom. Bonecream finds God, or someone like him. In Order of Appearance is a sequel to Gardner McKay’s play Untold Damage. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_Order_of_Appearance/RlR8DoxExMgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In+order+of+appearance+/+by+Gardner+McKay&printsec=frontcover

The king's horses / by David L. Paterson

Carter, a carpenter with a mysterious past, steps into unknown territory when he accepts a job from Cassie, a graduate of the same high school. Cassie is overseeing the recovery of her older sister Hannah, who was savagely beaten and thrown into a ditch. This random act of violence has created a surreal scene of sibling rivalry around Carter, who is flattered by the attention but knows trouble when he sees it. As Hannah physically improves, her competitive interest in Carter grows. Old resentments, including how each sister handled the illness and recent death of their mother, further antagonize the sisters, to the detriment of all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_King_s_Horses/d0UfYk1Lan8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+king%27s+horses+/+by+David+L.+Paterson&printsec=frontcover

Tristan / by Don Nigro

A mysterious young girl appears at the aging Pendragon mansion in Armitage, Ohio one night in the midst of a storm and is rescued by Rhys. This young man is enchanted by the girl, but the servant girl Sarah, who loves Rhys, resents her, and Rhys's parents are disturbed by her resemblance to a sorceress who was driven from the house long ago. Betrayal and family violence follow in this darkly powerful chapter in the author's series the Pendragon Plays. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tristan/rqtiku2G39cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tristan+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Chronicles / by Don Nigro

In 1920 the Pendragons gather for the first time in years at the crumbling family mansion in Ohio where Matt Armitage lies dying. As his daughter Dorothy, who can neither hear nor speak, provides a running commentary which is heard only by the audience, her wild sister Jessie chases their half brother John Rose from room to room and tries to fathom what betrayal is behind her father's refusal to speak to her mother. Uncle David, an eccentric poet, is back from scouring Europe for a lost girl. John Rhys Pendragon, the journalist, broods over his wife's death and the loss of his beloved daughter. Sister Lizzy bustles around trying to feed everybody while enduring her own grief as Sarah, the housekeeper, is being driven mad by the confusion. Trapped in the labyrinth of a darkly cruel history, these people nevertheless love each other and make each other laugh. Richly textured and intricately woven through time and space, a funny and moving addition to the author's series the Pendragon Plays. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chronicles/gTHQsPy-yKcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Chronicles+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

The mayor's limo / by Mark Nassar

A major bust is called off for political reasons, leaving three veteran detectives stewing in the squad room of New York's seedy 9th Precinct. A loud mouthed hooker who tempts and taunts has been cuffed to a chair when a whacked out man is hauled in for relieving himself on the Mayor's limousine during a demonstration orchestrated by advocates for the homeless. The politically motivated Captain orders an investigation, hoping to uncover past crimes to offset the Mayor's embarrassment. Disgusted by the assignment and by the culprit's filth but intrigued by his quick witted barbs, the detectives learn that "Banzai" was a high school football star who lost his entire family in a fire. Before he disappeared, he apparently assaulted the acquitted arsonists with a baseball bat. While they weigh their sympathies and personal values against their obligations as police officers, a reporter for the Village Voice and a spokesman for the homeless ignite events that unleash Banzai's lurking demons.

Murder in Baker Street / by Judd Woldin

A quiet evening at 221B is disrupted by Cecil Forrester, a harried industrialist seeking protection from assailants. Sherlock Holmes is not interested in such mundane matters, until he recognizes the method of attack: an "Oriental Death Touch". He shelters his new client in a locked and bolted room and explores the roof with Dr. Watson, where they are suddenly attacked by a ninja. In the morning Forrester is discovered murdered. An aggressive prosecutor uncovers a connection between the victim and Dr. Watson, and he hypothesizes a method by which Watson could have committed the crime within the locked room. Watson is convicted and condemned. To save his friend, Holmes confesses and, from a cell in Pentonville Prison, the legendary detective solves the baffling murder.

You could die laughing! / by Billy St. John

Television mogul Jacque St. Yves invites eleven has been comics to his island lodge off the Canadian coast to audition for the central in role his new TV series. It's an opportunity to die for ... and that is someone's intention! Shortly after arriving, the comics find they are stranded along with the pilot of St. Yves's private jet, the attractive flight attendant and the couple employed as housekeeper and handyman. That night, the housekeeper disappears during a violent thunderstorm and her husband drops dead after ingesting candy that any of them could have sampled. Laughs and chills abound until the startling truth emerges and the tension mounts. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/You_Could_Die_Laughing/0L_WN_3IHCMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=You+could+die+laughing!+/+by+Billy+St.+John&printsec=frontcover

Saint Lucy's eyes / by Bridgette Wimberly

Set in Memphis in 1968 against a backdrop of the garbage worker strikes and Martin Luther King's assassination. A young girl "in trouble" has to go to "Grandma" to have an abortion. Years later the young woman, now a lawyer, repays the favour to "Grandma" by defending her.

Three prayers : an evening of one-act plays / by Greg Zittel

Interrelated one-act plays portray a young woman entering womanhood in rural New Jersey during the early 1930's. In Valley of Tears, Molly Farrell finds that her father is missing and her mother is drunk. When young Bill Dunphy drops by, sparks of love ignite between these two teenagers. In Glory Be, Bill Jr. is seen in the masculine atmosphere of his father's saloon, where he handles the patrons and settles an employee problem with his fists. The evening concludes with Joyous Strain, in which Molly takes charge of her life, buries her father, cares for her younger brother and becomes an adult in her struggling mother's eyes. Molly's dramatic journey ends optimistically with the promise of a job at the phone company. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Three_Prayers/XLj4JFl9VikC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Three+prayers+:+an+evening+of+one-act+plays+/+by+Greg+Zittel&printsec=frontcover

Blackpool and Parrish / by David Belke

For five millennia Harry Blackpool has been the agent for all Evil on Earth, while Rachel Parrish has represented Good. These implacable foes meet in a private club every twenty five years. With the end of the world scheduled for tomorrow at teatime, they must pass their duties to their oblivious heirs: a mild mannered physical education teacher and an aggressively Bohemian artist. Caught in the middle of their cosmic gamesmanship is an anxious club manager. As the sole representative of humanity, he may be the key to Armageddon's outcome in this fast paced comedy of apocalyptic proportions by the author of That Darn Plot.

Taller than a dwarf / by Elaine May

Matthew Broderick and Parker Posey starred on Broadway as Howard and Selma, just another urban, Jewish, almost generic white couple from Queens, until the mundane stresses of a leaky shower and a citation for littering overwhelm them and Howard takes to bed. His parents, mother-in-law and boss hysterically elevate his childish rebellion to Civil Disobedience worthy of Thoreau in this skewed comic version of an urban angst from veteran humorist Elaine May.

45 Seconds from Broadway / by Neil Simon

From America's master of Contemporary Broadway Comedy, here is another revealing comedy behind the scenes in the entertainment world, this time near the heart of the theatre district. 45 Seconds from Broadway takes place in the legendary "Polish Tea Room" on New York's 47th Street. Here Broadway theatre personalities washed-up and on-the-rise, gather to schmooz even as they lose. This touching valentine to New York offers great acting roles as Neil Simon continues his exploration of the foibles and funny in the human comedy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Neil_Simon_s_45_Seconds_from_Broadway/AtzYE6FOkBgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=45+Seconds+from+Broadway+/+by+Neil+Simon&printsec=frontcover

Murder-go-round/ by Fred Carmichael

As soon as Pat Kirby arrives for safe keeping at an off season summer cottage with Susan, her Witness Protection Program representative, the laughter and intrigue begin. Pat, the key witness in a murder trial, saw an executive shot for control of his overseas account. As he was wheeled into the operating room, she saw him transmit the numbers needed to access the off shore account, but she can't figure how to find those numbers. Soon the place is swarming with government agents and cohorts of the hit man. Who can Pat trust? Is the resident shopkeeper a substitute? Why does the local interior decorator seem out of place? What about the man who claims to be her husband or the girl claiming to be her daughter? Her protector? The young fellow from which agency? And most of all, the head of the WPP who is experiencing temporary amnesia? Everyone wants the numbers in this hilarious comedy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Murder_go_round/82yT5ZsWyHsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Murder-go-round/+by+Fred+Carmichael&printsec=frontcover

Henna night / by Amy Rosenthal

Judith leaves her ex-boyfriend a desperate message on his answerphone saying that she is not coping with their break-up, that she has brought some razor blades and some henna in order to either slash her wrists or dye her hair and she might be pregnant. However, it is his new partner, Ros, who hears the message and it is she that rushes to Judith's bedsit. An evening of emotion, combined with subtle humour, ensues that will conclude with the two women, despite their differences and rivalry, finding friendship and gaining something positive from each other.

Bill & Bob : a play / by H. Connolly

Forklift drivers Bill's and Bob's banter at work masks their domestic difficulties. Bill and his wife Jane mourn the cot death of their baby, and Jane turns to alcohol for release. Bob's wife Mo is looking for a change in her life now that the children have grown. Contains strong language. Running time approximately one hour.

Sixteen wounded / by Eliam Kraiem

Sixteen Wounded is a play told with both humour and heart wrenching honesty, which revolves around the fateful colliding of two seemingly disparate lives - a lonely, emotionally remote Jewish baker, and a passionate, young Palestinian far from home. A friendship evolves as the two men struggle with their personal identities and their loyalties - to their past, their beliefs, and, finally, to each other. But can this relationship stave off the inevitable? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sixteen_Wounded/yaBBpTgdgEkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sixteen+wounded+/+by+Eliam+Kraiem&printsec=frontcover

Nobody don't like Yogi / by Tom Lysaght

In 1985, 16 games into the baseball season, George Steinbrenner fired Yankee manager Yogi Berra and insulted Berra's ballplayer son. Some people say baseball needed Steinbrenner the way Jesus needed Judas. Not Yogi. He never says anything bad about anybody. So he wouldn't reveal what George said, but he vowed never to return to Yankee Stadium so long as Steinbrenner owned the team. And he didn't, not even for Old Timers' games – until 1999. In relief of the recently deceased Joe Dimaggio, Yogi returned to the Stadium to throw out the first pitch of the new season. What so hurt that Yoda of a Yankee that he held a grudge for 14 years? And what really brought him “home”? That is the dramatic question. Wrapped in the chocolate of comedy, Yogi's tough questions about fathering and family get chewed on as he nervously prepares for his homecoming speech... and re-lives his face-off with George. He's arrived where he started – in the catacombs of the clubhouse of Yankee Stadium, that cathedral of baseball – but comes home for the first time.

Women on fire / by Irene O'Garden

This evening of twelve emotionally charged monologues starred Judith Ivey Off Broadway, where its run was extended twice. From ad exec to Midwest mom to care-giver to construction worker, each character is on fire in her own way - with passion, fear, self-discovery, even shopping! Exploring the breadth of women's issues with humor and wisdom, the monologues offer excellent roles for one or more mature actresses.

The sweepers / by John C. Picardi

Bella, Mary, and Dotty have been friends and next-door neighbors in Boston’s North End Italian neighborhood since childhood. Husbands and sons are away fighting, and World War II impacts the neighborhood, exerting unsettling pressure to assimilate and change with the times on those who cherish traditions, values, and cultural heritage. Against this backdrop, Bella’s son is about to marry into an affluent Italian American family with connections to Beacon Hill. Secrets are revealed, lies are bared, and truths are told as the war winds down and powerful emotions strain life-long friendships. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sweepers/rYez2_6uksMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+sweepers+/+by+John+C.+Picardi&printsec=frontcover

Seven rabbits on a pole / by John C. Picardi

Love, lust, opera and art occupy the Padroni family, Italian immigrants living on a vegetable farm near Boston in the 1930s. Widower Enio is the proud father of three children: Peter, the backbone of the family; Lawrence, the young idealist and duaghter Julia, whose simpleminded longing is for love. A meddling neighbor and a stranger selling rabbits trigger emotional upheavals that uncover secrets and alter lives. Seven Rabbits on a Pole played to sold out houses in New York City. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Seven_Rabbits_on_a_Pole/6oQBjGr40qEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Seven+rabbits+on+a+pole+/+by+John+C.+Picardi&printsec=frontcover

The beard of Avon / Amy Freed

In the play, Shakspere abandons his wife, Anne Hathaway in Stratford-on-Avon after a visit from a touring company of players. He makes his way to London, determined to be an actor, and seeks out the theater troupe. After an audition scene that is a sendup of how directors and actors can treat one another, he is offered a silent "spear shaker" role. Through the troupe, Shakspere meets de Vere, who, as a nobleman, would be ostracized if it were discovered that he writes plays for performances by commoners before the public. A deal is struck and a writing partnership is formed - to which Shakspere will eventually make considerable contributions.

Rose's dilemma / by Neil Simon

In her beach house in the Hamptons, celebrated writer Rose Stern stands at a crossroads: she hasn't written anything in years and money is getting short. Her former lover, literary lion Walsh McLaren, offers her-from beyond the grave-an opportunity to regain her celebrity and gross millions. It's not going to be easy and a "ghost" writer is required setting in motion another touching and unpredictable romantic theatrical by America's premier Pulitzer Prize-winning comic playwright.

The curse of Ravensdurn : a comedy / by Nick Hall

Six short plays by the author of Around the Clock and other popular plays tell the history of the most hideous, hilarious stately home in England. Ghosts, secret passages, romance, fortune hunters, big game hunters, stolen jewels, a heathen idol, a missing heir, faithful butlers, unfaithful butlers, murder, betrayal, Americans and thunder and lightning-lots of thunder and lightening-enliven these affectionate but macabre tales of one hysterically cursed family.

Noir suspicions : a comic interactive mystery in tribute to the movie "Casablanca" / by David Landau

In this hard boiled comic mystery sequel to the ever-popular Murder at Cafe Noir, ex-private eye Rick Archer is now the confused manager of Cafe Noir on the island of Mustique. He is confronted with a corpse on the dock, a mysterious femme fatale, a French blackmailer and a businessman who wants both the cafe and the woman. Rick is arrested after the blackmailer is murdered in his club. It is up to the audience to convince the magistrate that he is innocence. A tribute to Casablanca with many references to the classic movie, Noir Suspicions is guaranteed to delight audiences whether or not they are familiar with Murder at Cafe Noir.

Oscar and Felix : a new look at The odd couple / by Neil Simon

America's comic mastermind has updated his classic comedy The Odd Couple, bringing the trials and tribulations of Felix Unger and Oscar Madison to the present day. Those who love the original version will laugh all over again at the classic characters in an all-new setting.

Here comes the bride--and there goes the groom : a comedy in one act / by Billy St. John

When Millie Compton's fiance bolts from the altar, she rushes into the church dressing room in tears. She is joined by her sister (the matron of honor), her mother and grandmother and her best friend (a bridesmaid). Unable to fathom Pardue's flight, they admit his mother and sister, also a bridesmaid, who are equally bewildered. Consolation turns to recrimination as the mothers take each other on in a purse-smacking fight. Hilarity gives way to a happy ending when Pardue calls to confess that prenuptial nerves sent him dashing to the men's room to be sick, but now the wedding can go on.

Around the clock : a play / by Nick Hall

A medieval German clock with life-sized moving figures of a saint, an angel, a knight and a wicked pagan queen has been acquired by a small American town, and six women want to stage a publicity event: an enactment of the movements of this amazing clock. The relationships among the ladies are nearly as intricate as the clockworks: two have been married to the same man, the young teacher is after another's husband and, of course, the ex-show girl wants to star. Polly, who is hosting a rehearsal, finds having her bossy adult daughter living in her house again difficult. Hilarious complications arise as this explosive group works out the casting and the choreography. Beneath their laughter lurks the truth about who is an angel and who is more like the sinister queen. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Around_the_Clock/OmdMl1Jg99cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Around+the+clock+:+a+play+/+by+Nick+Hall&pg=PA55&printsec=frontcover

The good German : a play / by David Wiltse

Despite his prejudices, Karl Vogel offers refuge to a fugitive Jew during World War II to please his wife. Karl strongly dislikes Wilhelm Braun, but even after his wife dies he refuses to betray his devotion to her and her faith in his decency by evicting him. Karl's friend Siemi, a man who has anti Semitic sympathies but does not agree with the German government's campaign to demonize Jews, has even become fond of Braun. Even so, Siemi becomes convinced he must betray Braun to the Gestapo in order to save Karl and himself. Karl is forced to decide whether his sense of decency is stronger than his sense of self preservation. Should he protect his unwanted guest or allow him to be turned over to a regime he finds repugnant? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Good_German/EoGYOMV1FlsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+good+German+:+a+play+/+by+David+Wiltse&printsec=frontcover

The last of Jane Austen : a comedy / by Shirl Hendryx

Two elderly, usually quite proper sisters in a small Midwestern town inexplicably have developed a passion for watching boxing on television. When a shabby transient shows up at their door looking for odd jobs, they spot a photo of him in boxing trunks and excitedly invite him to stay for dinner. Throwing caution to the wind, the sisters decide to get him back into fighting trim. Their unorthodox version of training incudes plenty of home cooking and custard pie. Is he who they think he is, or is he a glib opportunist reveling in the attentions of two old ladies? Will he demolish their dream or provide them with a satisfying adventure in their waning years?

Barbra's wedding : a comedy / by Daniel Stern

Jerry and Molly Schiff are the only non-celebrities in their Malibu neighborhood; in fact, their shabby beachfront ranch is next to Barbra Striesand's mansion. As the play opens, Jerry is working himself into a frenzy over the media circus surrounding their famous neighbor's 1998 wedding. Limos are clogging the streets, helicopters hover noisily overhead and news crews are broadcasting from their front lawn. Jerry, an out of work television actor whose only claim to fame was a small role as a wacky neighbor in a sitcom, is reminded by all of the commotion of his own obscurity he wasn't even invited to the wedding! He rages against Streisand, Hollywood, the media, his wife and anything else that comes to mind. An argument escalates into a full blown fight with his wife that threatens to wreck their marriage; she'd leave if only Arnold Schwartzennegger's Humvee wasn't blocking the driveway. This anti show business comedy by a Hollywood insider is a hilarious send up with a happy ending. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Barbra_s_Wedding/NA_YBvJz7vcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Barbra%27s+wedding+:+a+comedy+/+by+Daniel+Stern&printsec=frontcover

The reeves tale / by Don Nigro

A modern retelling of a spirited and lusty chapter in The Canterbury Tales , this addition to the author's cycle of Pendragon plays is set in 1972. The disreputable Reeves family has rented the decaying Pendragon mansion in east Ohio. Strange happenings begin to plague the family's crude and brutal patriarch and his angry wife, luscious daughter and demented grandfather-in-law as well as their two boarders, both lustful college drop-outs. Eerie colors appear in the yard at night, trees seem to move around, animals disappear and there is something at the bottom of the well. This funny and frightening work was first produced in New York by the Red Moon Ensemble. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Reeves_Tale/bT6Z7yqAZDcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+reeve%27s+tale+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Adult entertainment : a play / by Elaine May

There is a cloud over porn queen Heidi the 'Ho's usually cheery cable TV show. Her guests are wearing armbands to mourn the passing of their employer and mentor, a legendary porn filmmaker. Tired of working for others, this motley group of adult video veterans decides to write and shoot their own extravaganza, an "art" film. The script doesn't live up to their expectations so they bring in a new writer, one who insists they read the classics to prepare for their roles. Unexpected ideas develop as the hilarity escalates bringing the play to a raucous and riotous conclusion.

My old lady / Israel Horovitz

When a down on his luck middle aged man inherits an apartment in Paris, he plans to solve his financial woes by selling it. He arrives on the doorstep and discovers, to his dismay, that the elderly woman living there has lifetime habitation rights under an arcane French law and she is not about to give them up. Because he has no other place to go, she invites him to stay in the spacious apartment. A spiral of friendship, romance with the old lady's outspoken daughter, and some uncomfortable revelations about his unmourned father affect all in this poignant play with strong roles for all three actors. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Israel_Horovitz_s_My_Old_Lady/tnXfSZOhkoIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+old+lady+/+Israel+Horovitz&printsec=frontcover

Scrambled eggs / by Robin Amos Kahn & Gary Richards

A uniquely funny, poignant play about a woman re-evaluating her life at a time of crisis, revisiting the choices she's made and the people who have affected and influenced those choices. Written with both humor and candor, Karen Hoffman struggles to create a meaningful life while coping with crazy parents, inner doubt, marital strife, familial responsibilities and hormonal hysteria. With only three actors on stage, it's a tour de force for the actress who plays the part of Karen and a great challenge for the actors who perform all the other characters in Karen's life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Scrambled_Eggs/T0VakxqkQMAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Scrambled+eggs+/+by+Robin+Amos+Kahn+%26+Gary+Richards&printsec=frontcover

Queen Milli of Galt / by Gary Kirkham

Based on a true story. A lovely romantic comedy with a handy supply of humor, this play is a genuinely witty exploration of unexpected love. In 1972, the Duke of Windsor (Edward VIII) dies while living in exile at the age of 78. Two weeks later in Canada, an 80 year-old woman from a small town named Galt has her tombstone engraved, claiming to be his wife. A young journalist appears at her door, eager for answers. Flashback to 1919 as Edward, then holding the official title of the Prince of Wales, visits Canada as an emissary of the King. Bored with the pomp and circumstance, he slips away from his official duties and begins a romance with a charming young woman. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Queen_Milli_of_Galt/_I5sSDhZoI4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Queen+Milli+of+Galt+/+by+Gary+Kirkham&printsec=frontcover

Monkey soup : a play / by Don Nigro

Set on the stage of a New York theatre in the 1930s, this demented, madcap, no holds barred, galloping farce is a loving parody and homage to the sort of movie the Marx Brothers might have made after a hundred cups of coffee with their hair on fire. The language is rapid fire and the physical comedy is maniacal. Mrs. Lillian Quackenfurter, a once renowned actress, has written the worst play in the history of the theatre, Lady Furtwinger's Lover, which she hopes to star in to revive her career after a forty year hiatus, and has hired a person she believes to be the internationally renowned director, Dr Cornelius T. Fartwhistle, a rude, fast-talking con man who insults her constantly and makes hash of her play. He's actually a dentist named Hassenfusser who accidentally killed Fartwhistle with laughing gas while filling a cavity. The stage manager, Boccalucci, and his wild, girl-chasing, mute assistant, Goosey, who have worked with the real Fartwhistle in the past (and slept with his wife) blackmail Fartwhistle-Hassenfusser into letting them appear in the play, planning to disable the other actors by feeding them bad fish and putting vodka in the water cooler. Lucy the maid is determined to get through her exposition, despite the fact that she's forced to talk into a goose instead of a telephone, and is being constantly bombarded by bird carcasses. Edgar is insanely jealous over his blond bombshell wife Thelma, who is unconscious for much of the second act. Dick, the leading man, plays tennis and announces that he has three balls. Somebody has put tranquilizer darts in the prop gun. Non-stop lunacy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Monkey_Soup/p0xOano7fYgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Monkey+soup+:+a+play+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Wise women : a poignant comedy in two acts / by Ron Osborne

It's almost Christmas, 1944. In Knoxville, Tennessee, a frustrated mother with a secret and a teenage daughter with a dream take in two young roomers who work at a nearby bomb-making plant. Both girls are asserting their independence, one in the company of servicemen, the other as a contestant in a Miss Bombshell U.S.A. competition, an action that puts her at odds with her father, a preacher in a small Virginia town. Along the way, the teenage daughter, who worries more about rumors of an asteroid said to be streaking toward nearby Chattanooga than a vicious war raging around the world, bamboozles her mother into allowing her to attend a Frank Sinatra concert at the local USO. When she brings home a young war-bound Marine as naive as herself, this colorful collection of characters is pulled apart, then mended with humor, romance, twists, turns and revelations. As these women struggle, grow and ultimately succeed, at least for one fragile moment in time-they remind us that we're all "family" and, in each other's company, we may find ourselves. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wise_Women/O0vlxO4FnVUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wise+women/+by+Ron+Osborne&printsec=frontcover

Boar's Head : a play / by Don Nigro

This big, colorful, uproariously funny and ultimately moving play tells the story of the Shakespearean characters who meet at the Boar's Head Tavern in East Cheap. We see the scenes Shakespeare tells us about but leaves out of Henry IV, Parts One and Two; Henry V; and The Merry Wives of Windsor, centering on Doll Tearsheet, her unrequited love for Ned Poins, Ned's sister Nell, impregnated by Prince Hal, and Robin, a girl masquerading as a tavern boy, also in love with Ned. Bardolph, Mistress Quickley, Justice Shallow, Pistol, Jane Nightwork and a host of other characters who live at the edge of Shakespeare move to the center in this play, along with Jack Falstaff and a dead Windmill Keeper who might be Shakespeare himself. The language is rich, the characterizations compelling, and the play has a surprisingly powerful resonance of its own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Boar_s_Head/cv8KfdZyLDcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Boar%27s+Head+:+a+play+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Spin : a musical myth / book, music and lyrics by M. Kilburg Reedy

Spin is a modern rock/gospel musical that gives a new twist to an ancient tale. Arachne is a young artist determined to achieve success and fame. Four of the Muses visit her, to give her encouragement. Following her defeat in a local contest, and criticism from her father, the Muses persuade Arachne to leave her village for the big city. When she arrives there, Athena challenges Arachne to prove her skills, then destroys the tapesty Arachne has created. Crushed by her failures, Arachne vows never to weave again, but a new friend helps her to heal and reclaim the joy of creating. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Spin/tlt9uHb5Bu4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Spin+:+a+musical+myth+/+book,+music+and+lyrics+by+M.+Kilburg+Reedy&printsec=frontcover

White chocolate / by William Hamilton

White Chocolate is about a couple who went to bed extremely wealthy and white, but woke up black. Boston Brahmin Brandon Beale was hoping to be named the new Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art that day. His Jewish wife, Deborah Zucker Beale, is a witty columnist whose rich father gave a wing to the Met to help his son in law's chances over his competition, Ashley Brown, a black lawyer. Brandon's sister Vivian - a verbally extravagant, personally disappointed woman - is visiting amidst the change, but does not notice. Daughter Louise, who arrives from Yale with a Chinese American finacee, doesn't notice either. Subsequently, Brandon follows Beale tradition as best he can under the circumstances. His competition, Ashley Brown arrives, not recognizing the black Brandon. Vivian falls in love with Ashley. The Beales seem to the others to turn back white, but not to each other. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/White_Chocolate/O8yfELU-uYcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=White+chocolate+/+by+William+Hamilton&pg=PA4&printsec=frontcover

Murder me once (The tangled snarl II) : a play in one act / by John Rustan & Frank Semerano

A slime-ball named Coins Fontaine has cashed in. When his account is closed, there's evidence of foul play. Who would want to kill Coins? Everybody! The fingers of suspicion especially point to Coins' hot young widow, a woman with the kind of shape that makes two great first impressions. Then there is Coins' two beautiful grown daughters, one with a Girl Scout fixation; and the other with a head for figures, perched atop a pretty good figure of her own. Watch out, Spuds, danger is everywhere! An affectionate homage to the hard-boiled private dicks who could handle guns and bodacious babes with equal aplomb. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Murder_Me_Once_The_Tangled_Snarl_II/7U5OqyTOYbMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Murder+me+once+/+by+John+Rustan+%26+Frank+Semerano&printsec=frontcover

First kisses : a play in two acts / by Jay D. Hanagan

In this multi-prize-winning love story, we follow the lives of Mary and John as they grow up and grow old together from the age of eleven to seventy-two. It starts with their first kiss, when John's hamster dies, and continues through all their joys and losses, bad dresses and old girlfriends, and even condoms in their daughter's sock drawer. This piece is a tour de force for two exceptional actors, or a tremendous opportunity to show off your company's extraordinary talent base. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/First_Kisses/fdFUXJpXeQ4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=First+kisses++/+by+Jay+D.+Hanagan&printsec=frontcover

Sun is shining / by Matthew Wilkinson

Two people, two cultures and two outlooks equal one unlikely love affair told at the breakneck speed of city life. A recovering alcoholic, she is a petite Scottish artist who likes to look at the stars. He is an Anglo Chinese stockbroker all flash suits, fancy cars, fast dogs and endless bottles of champagne. This razor sharp portrait of their doomed affair, set in London, Corfu and New York, garnered rave reviews at the King's Head Theatre, BAC and 59E59 Theaters New York, twice appearing on the Time Out Critics’ Choice List. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sun_is_Shining/uSX7ELHkDKEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sun+is+shining+/+by+Matthew+Wilkinson&printsec=frontcover

Hot flashes : a play in two acts / by Dori Appel and Carolyn Myers

What previously forbidden subject is now a hot topic for baby boomers and beyond? Hot Flashes is a fast-paced, highly original comedy about menopause which has been delighting audiences throughout the United States and abroad.
 Flexible casting possibilities allow from two to twenty actresses to perform nine scenes about the unique challenges and comical adventures of menopause. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hot_Flashes/S9SNwQ2OY-UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hot+flashes+/+by+Dori+Appel+and+Carolyn+Myers&printsec=frontcover

A distant country called youth / adapted by Steve Lawson from The Selected Letters of Tennessee Williams, Vol. I, 1920-1945

Spanning the twenty five years from boyhood to the opening of The Glass Menagerie, this one man show evokes the evolution of an American genius through his extraordinary correspondence with family, friends, lovers and other writers. Hilarious, raunchy and poetic in turn, the piece spotlights these fairly obscure years in William's life. Here is a young Thomas Lanier Williams growing up, exploring and finding his artistic voice as Tennessee Williams. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Distant_Country_Called_Youth/3VLNXBRg1c4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+distant+country+called+youth+/+adapted+by+Steve+Lawson&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover

This is not what I ordered : a play in several courses / by Stephen Fife

Ever walked into a restaurant and seen an attractive couple in the back talking excitedly, their hands gesturing wildly, their expressions changing swiftly from joy to sadness and back again? Ever wondered what they were saying? Well, we have no clue about that, but if you want a really funny and touching play about men and women in restaurants and bars looking for love and finding much more than they bargained for, then check out This is Not What I Ordered. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/This_is_Not_what_I_Ordered/cTLcR0G_SAAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=This+is+not+what+I+ordered+/+by+Stephen+Fife&pg=PA11&printsec=frontcover

Jewish girlz / book, music & lyrics by Elizabeth Swados

During a weekend retreat sponsored by two female rabbis, the atmosphere in the country log cabin evolves from shyness and contempt into a tell-all session among adolescent Jewish girls from all types of families and backgrounds. Stories and songs transcend stereotypes to find individuality, heart and humor and to touch on sensitive issues such as pressure, self-esteem, the fast pace of this decade and what it means to be a girl--not just a Jewish girl--in modern society. Meet the loner with the inflatable mattress, the rich girl, the observant young woman with the gay brother, the anarchist, the all-too-mature teen and an intriguing mix of other vivid personalities. Songs range from contemporary to pop tunes to upbeat numbers based on religious liturgy, all by the author of Runaways, The Red Sneaks and other challenging musicals for young casts. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jewish_Girlz/Vk1VTw9k4ioC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jewish+girlz+/+book,+music+%26+lyrics+by+Elizabeth+Swados&printsec=frontcover

The learned ladies / by Molière ; translated and adapted by Freyda Thomas

During the Salon movement of the 17th century, women, thirsty for knowledge and freedom, began to read, discuss and absorb all the learning they could now get their hands on. Frequently, into that mix came sycophants and opportunists, to take advantage of the budding but not fully formed intelligence of the Women's Movement. Enter Trissotin, a mediocre poet with a lot of sex appeal and little literary talent, who all but seduces Philamente, determined to be at the forefront of the movement. Equally determined to marry him off to her younger daughter (who just wants to marry her sweetheart Lycandre and raise children), she bullies her meek husband into tacitly agreeing, and the machinations that follow between family members, visiting poets and maids who refuse to learn proper French are predictably and delightfully Molière. This version strays from a strictly literal translation of the play, often employing anachronisms in the rhymed couplets that may appall purists, but have delighted audiences since its original inception. In this new version, there are 6 women and 4 men, and the familiar "Voice of Reason", present in almost every Moliere play and always a male, is now, for the first time, FEMALE! If you want your audiences to roll with laughter as they recognize their hilarious selves in the midst of a “Feminist culture,” this version is for you. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Learned_Ladies/Z80jnnwe2qgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+learned+ladies+/++by+Freyda+Thomas&printsec=frontcover

Tea at five / by Matthew Lombardo

TEA AT FIVE captures the fiery spirit of Katherine Hepburn in a one-woman show that recounts her journey from a well-heeled Yankee childhood to being a winner of four Oscars. Ensconced at her beloved Fenwick home, Ms. Hepburn reflects on the dizzying heights and emotional lows of her upbringing, her adventures in show business and her heartbreaking romance with Spencer Tracy. Audiences leave with new memories of one of the most dearly loved ladies of an era. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tea_at_Five/JTpKUOVV3ewC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tea+at+five+/+by+Matthew+Lombardo&printsec=frontcover

Nunsense : the mega-musical version / by Dan Goggin

Nunsense: The Mega-Musical Version is here! All the fun of the original Nunsense has been super-sized. If you're looking for a large cast musical comedy, this award-winning show is the perfect choice. Mega-Nunsense, starring the original five nuns, features five new (male and female) characters, including the never-before-seen infamous convent cook, Sister Julia, Child of God. In addition, there is a large chorus of men, women and children. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nunsense_The_Mega_Musical_Version/rrkrOdwq9tkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Nunsense+:+the+mega-musical+version+/+by+Dan+Goggin&printsec=frontcover

Paradise / by Glyn O'Malley

Set during the height of the current Mid-East conflict, Paradise is a passionate, unflinching drama about two teenage girls (a Palestinian and an Israeli) trapped at the height of the Intifada. Paradise was commissioned and awarded The Lazarus New Play Prize by Cincinnati’s Playhouse-in-the-Park in 2003. When the theatre attempted to mount the play, a firestorm of controversy erupted, making the play’s author, Glyn O’Malley, in the words of Cincinnati Magazine, “the most talked-about and talked-to dramatist in America.” Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Paradise/TEex1Jytp-sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Paradise+/+by+Glyn+O%27Malley&printsec=frontcover

Open heart / book, music & lyrics by Robby Benson

The primetime television sitcom business of making America laugh is a cut-throat industry swarming with abundant greed, deceit, and deliciously evil players and of course the nave yet creative buffoon who wants to change the world. Life can become a canceled sitcom if one is not careful. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Open_Heart/ocEBvVFIzykC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Open+heart+/+book,+music+%26+lyrics+by+Robby+Benson&printsec=frontcover

The kitchen witches / by Caroline Smith

Isobel Lomax and Dolly Biddle are two “mature” cable-access cooking show hostesses who have hated each other for thirty years, ever since Larry Biddle dated one and married the other. When circumstances put them together on a TV show called The Kitchen Witches, the insults are flung harder than the food! Dolly’s long-suffering TV-producer son, Stephen, tries to keep them on track, but as long as Dolly’s dressing room is one inch closer to the set than Isobel’s, it’s a losing battle, and the show becomes a ratings smash as Dolly and Isobel top both Martha Stewart and Jerry Springer! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Kitchen_Witches/ThKfjeKJzr0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+kitchen+witches+/+by+Caroline+Smith&printsec=frontcover

A mother, a daughter, and a gun : a play in two acts / by Barra Grant

Jess is having a bad day. She has discovered that she is pregnant and that her husband is cheating on her, so she has bought a gun to kill him, but is interrupted by her mother, Beatrice, who arrives to help with a party Jess has forgotten about, and to which she has invited a handful of strangers. Events unfurl at a furious pace as the party guests take over, Beatrice almost murders Jess’ dad, and Jess’ husband finally returns to the mayhem. The end of the play is surprisingly poignant and will profoundly affect everyone who has ever had a mother. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Mother_a_Daughter_and_a_Gun/KrMvggp7bmcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+mother,+a+daughter,+and+a+gun&printsec=frontcover

Clothes encounters : a farce in two acts / by Roger Karshner

When Alan Masters, a real estate broker, shows a property to Betty Parker, she is inadvertently soaked by a misdirected shower requiring her to disrobe. Unbeknownst to Alan, his wife, Kathy, also a broker, arrives to show the property to Betty's husband, Ralph, who also falls victim to the goofy shower. Betty and Ralph, scantily clad in the homeowners' clothing, must be kept out of each other's way by the artful, ridiculous machinations of Alan and Kathy. The farce is a mixture of double meanings, mistaken identities and sexual innuendo whose plot is further intensified by the presence of Heinz, a well-meaning but bumbling handyman. The situation is a riotous whirlwind that resolves itself to the satisfaction of all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Clothes_Encounters/ZI9rj9Oekr4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Clothes+encounters+:+a+farce+in+two+acts+/+by+Roger+Karshner&printsec=frontcover

Somebody's somebody / a play by Gary Richards

It is a beautiful summer evening on a moonlit beach by the ocean. It’s July 20th in the years: 1969, 1994, and 2019. Three sets of actors play Linda and Tommy during different phases of their lives; each twenty-five years apart. In 1969, on the night of the first moonwalk, Tommy and Linda, age fifteen, consummate their solemn vow of love for the first time as one small step is taken for man and one large step is taken or mankind. In 1994, Tom, now forty, physically abuses his wife, Linda, for the very last time. And in 2019, at sixty-five, Thomas returns home to Linda, and to bury their only son. The action in the three eras unfolds simultaneously as we watch the conception, dissolution, and absolution of the lifelong vow of two lovers. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Somebody_s_Somebody/iF0mbuyLwLQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Somebody%27s+somebody+/+a+play+by+Gary+Richards&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Happy anniversary, Angel! Love, Gino : an audience participation play / by Family Jewels Creations ; conceived and written by J.D. Spencer, C.D. Smith & S.R. Coletti

Gino Paolucci is throwing a big anniversary bash for his beautiful wife, Angel! You're invited to join in the celebration of their fifth wedding anniversary as they renew their vows at the zaniest party you'll ever be a part of! Watch the loving couple attempt to "re-tie their knot" and witness the crazy calamities and mishaps surrounding the celebration. Then sit down to a sizzling family feast, dance to a live DJ and interact with the Guests of Honor and their crazy but lovable relatives and delightful friends! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Happy_Anniversary_Angel_Love_Gino/ZW6jH8VidgYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Happy+anniversary,+Angel!+Love,+Gino&printsec=frontcover

The boy who killed Pancho Villa / Jack Frakes

It's rodeo time in Tombstone, 1912. The girls admire local cowboys like Red Roberts, while feisty Peggy Fletcher longs for past romantic heroes. A rumor spreads that Pancho Villa, the notorious Mexican bandit, is in town. But Danny Jones, a shy young man, arrives to claim he killed Pancho Villa by hitting him over the head with his ukelele. Just as the townspeople accept Danny as a hero, Pancho Villa arrives with head bandaged and furiously looking for Danny. Helen Hunt, the town flirt gets rid of Pancho so Danny can take her to the barn dance. Meanwhile, citizens enter Danny in the donkey race, which he wins - becoming a more popular hero! As Peggy and Helen bicker over Danny's affections, Pancho Villa returns to get even. Again Danny clobbers Pancho with his ukelele. The townspeople now think Pancho is really dead! But since they saw "the killing" they prepare to lynch Danny. Again, Pancho returns to ask Danny to join his band in Mexico, and teach him to play the "guitarito." Danny agrees. As they leave as "amigos", Peggy follows in pursuit of the boy who almost killed Pancho Villa! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Boy_who_Killed_Pancho_Villa/bKGxF2-nEw4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+boy+who+killed+Pancho+Villa+/+Jack+Frakes&printsec=frontcover

Sweet smell of success / music by Marvin Hamlisch ; lyrics by Craig Carnelia ; book by John Guare

It's New York, 1952. Welcome to Broadway, the glamour and power capital of the universe. J.J. Hunsecker rules it all with his daily gossip column in the New York Globe, syndicated to sixty million readers across America. J.J. has the goods on everyone, from the president to the latest starlet. And everyone feeds J.J. scandal, from J. Edgar Hoover and Senator Joe McCarthy down to a battalion of hungry press agents who attach their news to a client that J.J. might plug. When a young press agent, Sidney, tries to hitch his wagon to J.J. while keeping secrets about his client's new relationship with J.J.'s sister, he learns that you can become no one if J.J. turns on you. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sweet_Smell_of_Success/h9FLaL_1YAsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sweet+smell+of+success+/+music+by+Marvin+Hamlisch&printsec=frontcover

Maiden's progeny : an afternoon with Mary Cassatt, 1906 : a play / by Le Wilhelm

This intellectually entertaining drama takes the audience to Cassatt's chateau outside Paris on a spring afternoon when Wynford Johnston comes calling uninvited. What follows is living discussion, of two very head strong individuals, that ultimately results in an understanding and growth in both characters. Never falling into the category of a lecture, this play provides insight and understanding of the art and times at the dawning of the 20th century. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Maiden_s_Progeny/qQsIoVeBJqcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Maiden%27s+progeny+wilhelm&printsec=frontcover

Brother / by Lisa Ebersole

When a stranger crashes your party, how far will you go to keep him? Inside this East Village loft, two women and the stranger they've brought home kick off a late night birthday celebration ripe with flirtations and booze-fueled confessions. When a fourth enters the mix, their sexually-charged celebration has grisly consequences. Brother intersects race and class as it unveils four very real characters who spiral into an extremely surreal situation. Stereotypes are projected, assumptions are tested and predictability is led in a tango until the shocking finale. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brother/JIG_AvsWi9wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Brother+/+by+Lisa+Ebersole&printsec=frontcover

The argument / by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros

Timely and resonant, The Argument chronicles the arc of a relationship between a man and a woman with bracing humor, passion, and fury. What happens when two people who say they love each other fight over something so precious that they reach a point of no return? This serious subject matter, treated with funny and gripping dialogue, is the ideal show for a small ensemble to explore socially significant and urgent issues. Also includes the plays: The Wedding Play and The Airport Play Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Argument_The_Wedding_Play_The_Airpor/FW-vjvH9-HUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+argument+/+by+Alexandra+Gersten-Vassilaros&printsec=frontcover

First Baptist of Ivy Gap : a poignant comedy in two acts / by Ron Osborne

During WWII, six women gather at the church to roll bandages and plan the church's 75th anniversary. Overseeing things is Edith, the pastor's wise-cracking wife who dispenses Red Cross smocks and witty repartee to Luby, whose son is fighting in the Pacific; Mae Ellen, the church's rebellious organist who wants to quit but hasn't the courage; Olene, who dreams of a career in Hollywood; Sammy, a shy newcomer with a secret; and Vera, an influential Baptist with a secret of her own. When Luby learns her son has been wounded, she confounds the others by blaming the vulnerable Sammy. Twenty-five years later, our "First Baptist Six" reunite. Back to reconcile with Luby - whose son died of his wounds - is Sammy, whose own son is now in Vietnam; and Olene, whose flashy show business career will set the town on its ear. There to welcome them are Vera, her secret still safe; Mae Ellen, still rebellious and still looking for an escape; and Edith, whose biggest challenge isn't the church's upcoming centennial but revelations that shake relationships formed over a quarter of a century. With humor and pathos, these six very different women find comfort, forgiveness and redemption in each other.

Herr Kutter, the barbaric barber, or, The villain never could get his part right : a melodrama in one act / by Billy St. John

It's 1900 in New York. Villainous barber of German descent, Herr Hans Kutter, has set his sights on our heroine, lovely Lorrie Ell, niece and heir-to-be of wealthy society matron and cat lover, Kitty Litter, who owns numerous successful beauty salons. Kutter's plan is to marry Lorrie, then knock off Kitty, making his wife and him fabulously wealthy. He employs ditzy vamp, Hedda Wood, to entice away any competition for Lorrie's attention. Alas for Kutter, when Lorrie meets and falls in love with our hero, handsome young barber Harry Noggin, even Hedda can't come between them. Things come to a head (figuratively speaking) at Kitty's Hair Ball, a swanky fund raiser for cats. Other characters include Kitty's and Harry's employees and their customers, as well as a distraught stagemanager and a stagehand who do their best to keep the play on track (and almost end up pulling their hair out!) Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Herr_Kutter_the_Barbaric_Barber_Or_The_V/0WK30l3PblIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Herr+Kutter,+the+barbaric+barber&printsec=frontcover

2 across : a comedy of crosswords and romance / by Jerry Mayer

Two strangers, a man and a woman, board a San Francisco BART train at 4:30 a.m. They're alone in the car, each is married, both are doing the New York Times crossword. She's an organized, sensible psychologist. He's a free-spirited, unemployed ad exec. She is a crossword pro, he always quits. When he tosses his puzzle away, she snaps, "Crosswords are a metaphor for life, those who finish, succeed, those who don't, fail." Now he vows to finish. Why? He's a competitor and she happens to be lovely. This starts an eighty-minute ride described by critics as "Hilarious," "Witty," "Romantic," "Poignant," and "Wonderfully entertaining." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/2_Across/0tNFlUFPhQYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=2+across+:+a+comedy+of+crosswords+and+romance+/+by+Jerry+Mayer&printsec=frontcover

Under the bridge / book and lyrics by Kathie Lee Gifford ; music by David Pomeranz

Based on the book, "The Family Under the Bridge" by Natalie Savage Carlson. An old hobo lives under a Paris bridge in 1945. He seems happy with his life until a homeless woman and her three children invade his space. The story progresses in the days before Christmas and has a universal theme - how the love of a child is sometimes enough to melt even the hardest of human hearts. This charming family-friendly musical is full of style and good values. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Under_the_Bridge/Pci0-3sOtIkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Under+the+bridge+/++by+Kathie+Lee+Gifford&printsec=frontcover

Jasper Lake / by John Kuntz

Haunted by a violent past, Liz Sloane awakens to the voice of a girl she has never met, beckoning her to a place called Jasper Lake. Two affluent families reside along this beautiful, exclusive body of water: The abusive Mitchell, his long-suffering wife Nora and her teen-age daughter, Jennifer. Next door is loquacious Mid-western new-comer Deb, her workaholic husband Jerry and their disturbed son Caleb. A "meet the new neighbors" party ensues that will change these families forever, as their secrets and betrayals bubble to the surface. Someone will drown in Jasper Lake tonight, unless Liz and her new boyfriend, an unemployed roadie named Drake, can make it there in time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jasper_Lake/uIXXXQUwX54C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jasper+Lake+/+by+John+Kuntz&printsec=frontcover

Purgatorio / by Ariel Dorfman

A man and a woman enter a room. We see only a small bed, two chairs, and a table. Is it an asylum? A prison? Interrogation room? Questions are asked and answered. We feel we know the story. In this room, both the man and woman are faced with the truths of their lives. Playwright Ariel Dorfman puts before us the question of justice and forgiveness. Are there crimes for which there can be no forgiveness? If there is no forgiveness, how do we move on with our lives? Purgatorio reacquaints us with the tragedy of Jason and Medea. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Purgatorio/xHfAdqv9fcIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Purgatorio+/+by+Ariel+Dorfman&printsec=frontcover

It's no crime / by Brad Gromelski

When a detective interrogates a woman on suspicion of burglary, she reverses the situation and questions him, instead. They soon discover an attraction for each other and after she is cleared of any crime, he invites her to lunch to discuss mutual interests. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/It_s_No_Crime/5BOSOocNECcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=It%27s+no+crime+/+by+Brad+Gromelski&printsec=frontcover

Iphigenia : a play / by Don Nigro

Nigro returns to his own special territory, Pendragon County, Ohio, the location of many of his plays, to revisit the myth of Iphigenia as its archetype emerges in Armitage, Ohio, in the second decade of the twentieth century. Michael Ryan has appeared in Armitage, married the daughter of the bank president, and now, twenty years later, is one of the most respected men in town. But he is a haunted man, locking himself in his study at night to read the Greek tragedies in the original, and distant from his lonely wife Carolyn and daughters, the beautiful but fragile Jenna and the smart, sardonic Lexie. Then one night a young man appears with a secret from Michael's past that could destroy everything. He wants a job at the bank, he wants to torture Michael, and he wants Michael's daughter Jenna. The ancient mythology of guilt, betrayal, human sacrifice, and ambiguous redemption begins to manifest itself as Jenna gives herself to the stranger to try and please her father, then has a breakdown on her wedding night that involves a long knife, a walk on the roof, and the village idiot. This is a very funny, dark tale about the possibility of recognizing and then subverting the mythology one finds one's self trapped in.

The other side / by Ariel Dorfman

From the provocative author Ariel Dorfman, comes a powerful, timely new play. In a country at war for many years, a man and a woman wait. They pass their days confirming the identity of dead bodies at a hut near the border of the two fighting countries. When peace and a border guard arrive, chaos ensues. This moving and strangely comic work raises potent questions about war, identity, and love in our times.

Family secrets / by Norman Barasch

A playwright decides to write a play about the death of his daughter, emotionally unable to deal with his grief in any other way. The play he writes is about a grieving fathers involvement with a deceased daughters college roommate. When in the course of directing the play, the vulnerable playwright is lured into an affair with an aggressive young actress, life suddenly parallels art in this play-with-in-a-play scenario. Meanwhile, the playwrights relationship with his wife and a surviving son is on the verge of falling apart, until long-held family secrets are finally revealed in a bruising but ultimately healing finale. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Family_Secrets/0it11obS1bwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Family+secrets+/+by+Norman+Barasch&printsec=frontcover

Beware the man eating chicken / by Henry Meyerson

Betty, wanting to be a good mother to her son William, devises a plan to Make Him Bigger and Make Him a Winner. She enters William in the "Fattest Man in the Universe" contest, and she is determined to win. Carole, Betty's younger sister, too weak to stand up to Betty's threats and intimidation, is forced to assist in the endless round of cooking the dozens of chickens needed each day for William's inexorable assault on hugeness. When Captain Leonard of the Board of Health comes to check on the "large carnivore" that is devouring twenty chickens a day he is initially an annoying bureaucrat, but ultimately a timely dessert. Albert, claiming to own one of the largest chicken farms in the U.S. arrives to negotiate a deal. For using William's picture on the logo of his product Albert will pay Betty a percentage of the profits on each bird sold and ancillary rights on tie-ins. The deal is struck. When Dorothy, Albert's sister, appears claiming she is the true owner of the chicken farm, a struggle between the siblings ensues for control of William and the potential fortune at stake. But it is Doctor Martin who brings the tragic coup de grace to Betty and her plan for achieving her goals of motherhood. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beware_the_Man_Eating_Chicken/NVpE3IX6QlgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Beware+the+man+eating+chicken+/+by+Henry+Meyerson&printsec=frontcover

To live at the pitch / by Roger Karshner

Adamdong Klosterhagen, a lovable eccentric and self-proclaimed scientist, has a goal of resuscitating one of his frozen animals. Assisted in his endeavors by his sex-obsessed companion, Ophelia Rass, and wacky dentist friend, Jackson P. Langworthy, he brings to life a squirrel who manifests itself as life-size species named Pascal Dillday, a world-wise character in one of his many reincarnations. Throw into this dizzy mix a live-in cheerleader and an IRS agent who comes to collect back taxes and you have a madcap romp of outrageous proportions. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/To_Live_at_the_Pitch/cPpUjsAaYeYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=To+live+at+the+pitch+/+by+Roger+Karshner&printsec=frontcover

My sweetheart's the man in the moon / by Don Nigro

In the first years of the twentieth century, Evelyn Nesbit, the beautiful, teen-age pin up and chorus girl, was the entrancing center of an explosive and deadly love triangle involving Stanford White, her married lover and the architect of many of the most famous buildings in New York, who liked to push her naked on a red velvet swing, and Harry K. Thaw, the wealthy, manic and demented roller-skating Pittsburgh playboy who married her, beat her with a horse whip, and eventually shot White through the eye socket during a musical performance at the rooftop theatre at White's Madison Square Garden. This wickedly funny play chronicles the grotesque events leading up to and after this notorious murder and Evelyn's wild, strange journey through her American tabloid nightmare as she is hounded by carnivorous reporters, threatened, used, betrayed, bribed, stalked and nearly destroyed by the rich, the corrupt, the violent and the insane. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_Sweetheart_s_the_Man_in_the_Moon/bp63Lu1RyyUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+sweetheart%27s+the+man+in+the+moon+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Don't say goodbye, I'm not leaving : a comedy / by Roger Karshner

Herb has just been admitted to the hospital with a non-specific illness where his wife, Edna, confronts him regarding a will, his options, and insists he see her brother, Bruce, a high-powered attorney. Herb is reluctant, but agrees to see Bruce who, during the confrontational visit, passes out and lapses into a coma. Bruce is now hospitalized and Herb appoints himself as his watch-dog to assure the medical "idiots" don't pull the plug. Herb and Edna invite Bruce's wife, Blanche, to move in with them during Bruce's confinement, all agreeing to take round-the-clock shifts with Bruce. After a month, Bruce's condition remains static and the situation becomes stressful, leading to humorous conflict. A human lesson regarding mortality and the inability to change. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Don_t_Say_Good_bye_I_m_Not_Leaving/SkDyEySbPD8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Don%27t+say+good-bye,+I%27m+not+leaving+:+a+comedy+/+by+Roger+Karshner&printsec=frontcover

At first sight / by Anne Pié

Fifty-one year old Julia Goldman thought she had experienced it all. Although she had been widowed for two years, she was left financially well-fixed with two grown children who were busy with their successful careers. Life was routine and uneventful for Julia in her Hollywood home. She thought she would just ease into the rest of her days without anything notable looming on the horizon. Suddenly, "Life with a Capital L" hands her what is to become the biggest decision of her life; the sort of occurrence to which many a younger woman would hardly be equal. An accidental encounter in the cocktail lounge of a posh hotel with a man who sweeps her off her feet and then disappears, leaves her with much more than just a fond memory. She is no longer able to conceal her predicament. The sibling rivalry of her children, plus her own with her flamboyant sister, Verna, add to the complexity, and to the resolution of her plight. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/At_First_Sight/YXeayDRQrwoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=At+first+sight+/+by+Anne+Pi%C3%A9&printsec=frontcover

Asymmetry / by Rick Robinson

Six lives. One night. Asymmetry chronicles the halting first steps of three fledgling relationships, as six damaged people fumble for intimacy and balance. Sandy and Miguel struggle to recover what, long ago, might have become something beautiful; Julius and Priscilla reach out to each other, frantically seeking a way through the protective walls they’ve built around themselves; Maggie and Cody share an affliction, but fight against their very different views of life. Each of these broken relationships comes to a head in one night, in the same physical space, each couple unaware of the others even as their stories intertwine. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Asymmetry/DSzpiYCwFtEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Asymmetry+/+by+Rick+Robinson&printsec=frontcover

Avenue A / by David Steen

Described as "a sideways look at the American dream," Avenue A is the gripping tale of an ex-con struggling to create his own family of misfits as an old prison buddy mysteriously returns for one final visit. It is a carefully crafted and mordantly funny look at rebirth amidst urban decay. Avenue A has been greeted with tremendous praise from audiences and critics alike. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Avenue_A/-b9H7qwMGzAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Avenue+A+/+by+David+Steen&printsec=frontcover

Purvis : a comedy / by Nick Warburton

Rachel, the vicar's wife, chats to recently-widowed Mr Purvis and is cornered into offering him the post of the church's Health and Safety Officer. Purvis is keen but causes more problems than he solves, the vicar being the prime victim of his misguided attempts to make things safer. Funny, touching and wry, this play for two actors is an example of comedy writing at its very best.

The secret lives of losers / by Megan Mostyn-Brown

In high school, Neely was deemed "Most Likely to Succeed," but at 19, she's still working at the Amoco station and taking care of her meth-addicted younger brother (their mom ran out on them in search of herself). Her best-friend is a small-time drug dealer (also 19) who's taking care of the baby he had with a girl who has gone off to college abandoning them both. Into this mess strolls a new cop, who takes an interest in Neely and starts to date her. A swift-moving, compassionate script about young adults in bad circumstances looking for a way out. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Secret_Lives_of_Losers/uACPQzjcRawC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+secret+lives+of+losers+/+by+Megan+Mostyn-Brown&printsec=frontcover

Sealed for freshness : [a Tupperware party gone awry] / by Doug Stone

Doug Stone has set his play in 1968 during the heyday of Tupperware parties. Hostess Bonnie invites a group of neighbors over for a party. The guest list: perky, rich Jean, Jean's cranky and very pregnant sister Sinclair, ditzy-blonde Tracy Ann, and new neighbor Diane, who's made quite a career selling Tupperware, but at the expense of her marriage. The mix of personalities and the number of martinis consumed lead to a great deal of absurd high jinks plus revelations of an equal number of secrets and insecurities. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sealed_for_Freshness/LrwdpgBVfTsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sealed+for+freshness+:+%5Ba+Tupperware+party+gone+awry%5D+/+by+Doug+Stone&printsec=frontcover

Circuitry / by Andrew Barrett

Circuitry is an outrageously funny, unapologetic ninety-minute play that takes us on a year long whirlwind global trip through the exclusive world of the Circuit Party. It is part realism and part absurdism and totally fabulous as it follows one gay New Yorker's quest for love through this seductive world in 1996. As HIV/AIDS remains a major part of the gay community worldwide, Circuitry takes a glimpse backwards to question the state of a large group of gay men today. Formerly titled "Rainy Days and Mondays." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Circuitry/OWOSV6F0tW8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Circuitry+/+by+Andrew+Barrett&printsec=frontcover

Lobelia Lodge / by B.J. Burton

On the first weekend of summer, Elsie and her friends gather at their cabin in the woods for their annual meeting. As Elsie struggles to repair their dilapidated retreat, the other women become distracted by their own problems. Elsie hammers away trying to fix the place, while her best friend, Diane, drinks wine coolers. One evening during Art Night, when they celebrate their artistic pursuits, the women-only weekend is interrupted by two mysterious men who emerge from the woods. Elsie tries to deal with her unmistakable attraction to one of the men at the same time she is forced to deal with the real reason for the meeting. As old and new wounds resurface, conflicts erupt between the hold of the past and the need to let go. Elsie discovers the fate of the lodge as she rediscovers the value of friendship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lobelia_Lodge/qVebvz9cz04C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lobelia+Lodge+/+by+B.J.+Burton&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

The frugal repast / by Ron Hirsen

It is 1913 in Paris, where renowned art dealer Ambroise Vollard has just published The Frugal Repast, an edition of etchings by Pablo Picasso, the rising young star of the Paris art world. The art dealer entertains his dinner guests Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Guillaume Apollinaire, along with Picasso, and they engage in lively and urbane repartee. The two impoverished circus performers depicted in The Frugal Repast see the etching on display in the window of Vollard's gallery and determine to steal it for ransom. If the artist can make money from stealing their faces, they say, then they can make money by stealing his print. The circus acrobats cleverly use their aerial skills to perform a stunning theft of the print, leaving in its place a ransom note asking for a thousand francs. Vollard, merely amused by the theft, replaces the stolen print with another one from the same edition. The ransom note, the duplicate prints, a mysterious invitation, and a delicious chicken curry all provoke both laughter and thought as the haves and have-nots wrestle over the value of art--and of life itself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Frugal_Repast/yqi2uDvcWEkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+frugal+repast+/+by+Ron+Hirsen&pg=PT2&printsec=frontcover

Dutch heart of man / by Bob Glaudini

Dutch is a kind-hearted construction worker; a gentle giant perplexed and bewildered by New York's hurried pace and uncaring attitudes. While setting tile one Sunday with a womanizing co-worker, Marty, we grow to share his confusion as he ruminates about his life and bumps into ever-bustling strangers. The drama escalates to a violent climax as the sweetly simple and immensely muscular Dutch finds himself unable to cope with the inhuman pace around him, all told by Glaudini's gritty realism. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dutch_Heart_of_Man/O5lB1XMlOr0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dutch+heart+of+man+/+by+Bob+Glaudini&printsec=frontcover

Southern comforts / by Kathleen Clark

Some people need continuous change in order to feel vital and alive. Others are terrified of unsettling the peace that they have established. Two-time O'Neill Playwright’s Conference participant Kathleen Clark details this tour-de-force journey of a widow and widower who meet later in life and find a way into each other’s hearts. Southern Comforts is a beautiful exploration of the intimate workings of all relationships. In a sprawling New Jersey Victorian, a taciturn Yankee widower and a vivacious grandmother from Tennessee find what they least expected – a second chance at love. Their funny, awkward, and enchanting romance is filled with sweet surprise and unpredictable tribulation. Told with warmth and perceptive humor, this off-Broadway success is an affecting, late-in-life journey of compromise and rejuvenation, of personal risk and the rewards of change. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Southern_Comforts/UtOmleICz4sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Southern+comforts+/+by+Kathleen+Clark&printsec=frontcover

Waiting : a comedy / by Lisa Soland

Waiting delves into the lives of twelve people who share humorous and heart-warming stories about their relationships and whether or not they waited to have sex until they were married. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Waiting/E6-bHr-Z5qAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Waiting+:+a+comedy+/+by+Lisa+Soland&printsec=frontcover

It is no desert / by Dan Stroeh

This moving account of the author's struggles against neurofibramotosis, a progressively debilitating disease for which there is no cure, was performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/It_is_No_Desert/iIrAQ6jyPPEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=It+is+no+desert+/+by+Dan+Stroeh&printsec=frontcover

Blanche and beyond / adapted by Steve Lawson from The selected letters of Tennessee Williams, vol. II, 1945 - 1957

Blanche and Beyond is the stage sequel to A Distant Country Called Youth. While the first play traced the evolution of a young man finding his artistic voice, Blanche and Beyond spans the peak of Williams' career - the period of Streetcar, Rose Tattoo, Summer and Smoke, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - and explores a no-longer obscure playwright facing the seismic shock of international fame. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blanche_and_Beyond/RP4aqD1ShIsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blanche+and+beyond+/+adapted+by+Steve+Lawson&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

Losing Lawrence : a dark comedy in two acts / by Donna Gerdin

Losing Lawrence explores the mystery surrounding the remains of D.H. Lawrence five years after his death. His widow, Frieda, has returned with his ashes from Europe to find her two friends – and former rivals for his affection -- cleaning her house in time for the tasteful memorial service they have planned. But their plan runs counter to Frieda's. What follows is a series of plot twists as they struggle over the decision of how best to honor him. Added to the mix is a young, ambitious reporter trying to learn the truth about Lawrence that is buried between the innuendos and accusations leveled by the women against each other. Set in New Mexico in 1930, the play explores the complicated relationship of these three women as they attempt to hide a terrible secret in order to protect a famous writer's reputation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Losing_Lawrence/IKrYL-XutyEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Losing+Lawrence+:+a+dark+comedy+in+two+acts+/+by+Donna+Gerdin&printsec=frontcover

Players in the game / by Dale Wasserman

The Bishop of fourteenth century Prague is humane, witty and happily immoral, which suits his city just fine. However, it displeases the Pope who sends a clever young Inquisitor to force obedience from the Bishop, triggering a collision that ends shockingly. You'll recognize the game as that old, "Who's Got The Power?" but you've never seen it played for such amazing stakes." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Players_in_the_Game/BbNVv-3tc10C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Players+in+the+game+/+by+Dale+Wasserman&printsec=frontcover

Signs of life / by Deborah Brevoort

On a magical night in New Jersey, the stars talk to Abe, Sal gets a tattoo and a journey begins. Abe and Sal take off across the country, following the stars and looking for Birth and Life. Signs of Life is loosely inspired by the Sarah and Abraham story from the Old Testament - set on the Interstate highways of the American West. This two-character play is a comic meditation on faith, doubt, fertility and spirituality. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Signs_of_Life/uScn_Vo52CoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Signs+of+life+/+by+Deborah+Brevoort&printsec=frontcover

Cherry smoke / by James McManus

In Cherry Smoke, Fish, a club fighter who has spent most of his life in and out of jail, is a ticking time bomb. Despite his constant struggle to change and lead a decent life, his violent outbursts and hair trigger temper result in countless confrontations with the law. His girlfriend, Cherry, a runaway fortune teller who has been on her own since the age of ten, longs for a more simple life like the one Fish's brother, Duffy, and Duffy's wife, Bug, lead. When Cherry becomes pregnant, Fish fears he will become the type of father that his dad was to him ... unavailable and violent. The all consuming love Fish and Cherry have for each other is put to the test in this poetic and visceral drama. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cherry_Smoke/wvO-oHIVUeIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Cherry+smoke+/+by+James+McManus&printsec=frontcover

The safety net / by Christopher Kyle

David, a successful NY attorney in his 30s, returns to Indianapolis for the funeral of his adopted brother, whom he hasn't seen for years. David tries to make amends by helping his brother's troubled girlfriend, LaShonda, but is ill-prepared for the commitment that requires. His good intentions soon threaten his marriage and career and force him to examine a past he has long ignored. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Safety_Net/6t2b7Xc-3V4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+safety+net+/+by+Christopher+Kyle&printsec=frontcover

Moving / by Bernard Slade

From the author of Same Time Next Year, Tribute and Romantic Comedy among others, comes this endearing family tale full of hope and humor. Studies have concluded that moving is one of the most traumatic events in life. The play covers the journey that eleven characters, drawn together by the life changing experiences, go through in one day that alters all their lives. Touching, insightful and filled with wonderful humor, it provides a full evening of high entertainment. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Moving/bz4-69LJ89sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Moving+/+by+Bernard+Slade&printsec=frontcover

The joke / by Sam Marks

It's 1965 and two comedians, "Steady Eddie" & "Doug the Mug," knock 'em dead every night in the Catskills. Punchlines and cheap shots fly - on stage and off - as Doug and Ed battle for the spotlight over a decade, pushing each other to the cusp of a new direction of stand-up comedy. With their personal and professional lives uncovered at center stage, Eddie and Doug must find a way to laugh it off while staying at the top of their game. Sam Marks' The Joke takes a look at the friendship and the rivalry between two comic partners during the golden years of the Borscht Belt. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Joke/9Hc0U5oofOoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+joke+/+by+Sam+Marks&printsec=frontcover

Burn : a play / by Deborah Gearing

This is the story of Birdman. Fifteen years old, no family, no friends - a loner with nothing to lose. One lazy afternoon, down on the riverbank, the friends he never had narrate the story of his dramatic last day.

For starters : a play / by Nick Warburton

Daisy is a recently employed waitress at an hotel and Roland, a regular and rather particular customer, is getting more than he ordered. From polite conversation to an outright invasion of privacy, Daisy attends to Roland in her unique way. They realize they have something to learn from each other - Daisy needs to be less nosey and Roland learns how to accept change.

Double death : a thriller / by Simon Williams

In an isolated house on the cliffs of north Cornwall the sibling rivalry between identical twins Max and Ashley Hennessy is coming to a murderous climax. They both know one of them must die, but, trapped in his wheelchair, Ashley knows the odds are now against him and he is in mortal danger. Poor Lalla, the twins' aunt, is torn between the two boys: which of them is the victim and which is the psychopath?

The identical same temptation / by Bob Glaudini

A new contemporary comedy of sex and manners that looks at two girlfriends who try to create their ideal mate through the personalities of twin brothers, with outrageous results.

La Gringa / by Carmen Rivera

La Gringa is about a young woman's search for her identity. María Elena Garcia goes to visit her family in Puerto Rico during the Christmas holidays and arrives with plans to connect with her homeland. Although this is her first trip to Puerto Rico, she has had an intense love for the island and even majored in Puerto Rican Studies in college. Once María is in Puerto Rico, she realizes that Puerto Rico does not welcome her with open arms. The majority of the Puerto Ricans on the island consider her an American - a gringa -- and María considers this a betrayal. If she's a Puerto Rican in the United States and an American in Puerto Rico - María concludes that she is nobody everywhere. Her uncle, Manolo, spiritually teaches her that identity isn't based on superficial and external definitions, but rather is an essence that she has had all along in her heart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/La_Gringa/7SExraq8E3UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=La+Gringa+/+by+Carmen+Rivera&printsec=frontcover

Nelson / by Sam Marks

Nelson is the story of a young man caught between two worlds. By day, he works as a low-level assistant to a film talent agent. By night, Nelson is the camera man for an underground, gang-related videotape series. As the videos become increasingly dangerous and popular, Nelson develops an overwhelming obsession with a C-List actress. Eventually, Nelson's two worlds collide with disturbing, unsettling results. The play is a darkly comic look at the guilt dream of a man trying to find something authentic in a world of two very different kinds of film. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nelson/N2A7P0x9r_MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Nelson+/+by+Sam+Marks&printsec=frontcover

Where there's a will there's a relative / by Roger Karshner

Sam Price, a wealthy entrepreneur, has just recently passed away and, at his request, has been laid out in his townhouse. With the corpse in the bedroom, his immediate family—sister, brother, nephew and niece—have gathered to discuss their inheritance, a meeting that descends into acrimony over the division of property. Much to their chagrin, they learn that Sam has left his entire estate to the church, a discovery that results in them reluctantly seeking the advice of a person they deem to be of unsavory moral character. His advice seemingly solves their dilemma until they realize that the solution involves compromise. Many reversals drive a story that comically reveals avarice, mistrust and chicanery. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Where_There_s_a_Will_There_s_a_Relative/H0cLLoFc8V8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Where+there%27s+a+will+there%27s+a+relative+/+by+Roger+Karshner&printsec=frontcover

The makeover / by Patsy Hester Daussat

It's a typical Saturday evening, as Mike and Melanie play games with their neighbors, Victor and Paula. Each couple has a son home from college for the summer. Little does Melanie know that her happy, comfortable world will soon be thrown into turmoil. Mike has sent a letter to Facing Facts, Melanie and Paula's favorite reality television show. He believes Melanie, who has gained weight over the years, would be thrilled to have a makeover at Facing Facts' fabulous spa. After all, she and Paula rave about it. Unfortunately, Mike has never seen the show and is clueless about the cruel, ratings-hungry hostess, Frances Montgomery. When the Facing Facts crew descends at her door, Melanie endures a disastrous ambush. Afterward, she cannot understand why Mike would subject her to national humiliation, and orders him to be out of the house when she returns from the spa. Mike is hopeful that Melanie will change her mind, but things only get worse the evening she returns. Frances not only belittles Melanie again, she sets her sights on an oblivious Mike. Melanie finally explodes, throwing the Facing Facts crew out of her house, along with Mike. Events in the days that follow bring Melanie to realizations about herself and the important things in life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Makeover/IB6qrhZtKskC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+makeover+/+by+Patsy+Hester+Daussat&printsec=frontcover

The whole ninth floor : a comedy / by Richard Seff

Across the street from the 'mad men' of Madison Avenue live the Ten Percenters of the National Talent Agency. It's the same time, 1962, a secretary is still a toy, boys will still be boys, but the times they are a changin'. Audiences will love to hear what's happening on The Whole Ninth Floor. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Whole_Ninth_Floor/hKO5A7KskpMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+whole+ninth+floor+:+a+comedy+/+by+Richard+Seff&printsec=frontcover

Secrets of a soccer mom / by Kathleen Clark

Three engaging women reluctantly take the field in a mothers vs. sons soccer game. They intend to let the children win, but as the game unfolds they become intent on scoring. The competition ignites a fierce desire to recapture their youthful good-humor, independence and sexiness, paving the way toward a better understanding of themselves, their families and changes they need to make in their lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Secrets_of_a_Soccer_Mom/raRf_DLT0xwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Secrets+of+a+soccer+mom+/+by+Kathleen+Clark&printsec=frontcover

The Receptionist / by Adam Bock

Full length in one-act / Comedy / 2m, 2f / Interior -- At the start of a typical day in the Northeast Office, Beverly deals effortlessly with ringing phones and her colleague's romantic troubles. But the appearance of a charming rep from the General Office disrupts the friendly routine. And as the true nature of the company's business becomes apparent, The Receptionist raises disquieting, provocative questions about the consequences of complicity with evil Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Office_Plays/YmQODy77B3kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+office+plays+:+the+receptionist+%3B+the+thugs+/+by+Adam+Bock&printsec=frontcover

New York / by David Rimmer

David Rimmer, a Pulitzer Prize finalist author for Album, originally wrote New York to raise funds for volunteer psychiatrists dedicated to helping the overwhelming number of patients psychologically affected by 9/11. Depicting the reactions of 15 individuals to the events of that day, New York features a wide array of sympathetic characters, all speaking to a central psychiatrist. The play has been performed to great acclaim at theatres, schools and colleges around the world, including the International School in Lausanne, Switzerland and at venues ranging from North America to Australia. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_York/1VIoSicQl1AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=New+York+/+by+David+Rimmer&printsec=frontcover

The drunken city / by Adam Bock

Off on the bar crawl to end all crawls, three twenty-something brides-to-be find their lives going topsy-turvy when one of them begins to question her future after a chance encounter with a recently jilted handsome stranger. The Drunken City is a wildly theatrical take on the mystique of marriage and the ever-shifting nature of love and identity in a city that never sleeps. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Drunken_City/R5-ItmeXicEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+drunken+city+/+by+Adam+Bock&printsec=frontcover

From up here / by Liz Flahive

Kenny Barrett did something that has everyone worried. He wishes he could just make it through the rest of his senior year unnoticed, but that's going to be hard since he has to publicly apologize to his entire high school. At home, his mother is struggling with a rocky start to her second marriage and a surprise visit from her estranged sister. A new play about a family limping out the door in the morning and coming home no matter what. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/From_Up_Here/5MaPbaTTDSgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=From+up+here+/+by+Liz+Flahive&printsec=frontcover

A view from 151st Street / by Robert Glaudini

A View From 151st Street incorporates elements of spoken word poetry, takes a look at life and death on the titular street in uptown Manhattan. An undercover cop is undergoing rehabilitation after a shot to the head. As he re-learns words and recovers his memories, a coke-dealer turned wannabe rapper spins into a downward spiral. Cops, rappers, dealers, teachers, hustlers, husbands and wives dwell in the rhythms of rap, raw humor, aphasic staccato and live jazz. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_View_from_151st_Street/0Q4LiZrDz18C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+view+from+151st+Street+/+by+Robert+Glaudini&printsec=frontcover

Barrio Hollywood / by Elaine Romero

In Barrio Hollywood, a tense family drama, a young Mexican-American boxer dreams of fighting his way out of his family's economic plight in his barrio neighborhood. His sister, a passionate ballet folklórico dancer and dedicated cultural artist, dreams of owning her own dance studio to pass her Mexican traditions on to another generation. Their flamboyant mother dreams of taking her poker winnings and going on an extended vactation to the Canary Islands. The family's dreams are deferred when the young boxer sustains a brutal head injury in the boxing ring. As her brother's condition worsens, and as she falls unexpectedly in love with a white doctor from out-of-state, the dancer and her family learn how far they are willing to go in the name of love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Barrio_Hollywood/4El-JgOLGLAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Barrio+Hollywood+/+by+Elaine+Romero&printsec=frontcover

Tall grass / by Brian Harris

Tall Grass is a dark comedy comprised of three one-act plays. Each play requires two males and a female, and the same three actors can play the roles for each play. The Business Proposal begins with a botched marriage proposal by a nice young man to his Type-A girlfriend, who instead informs him that she has just accepted a position to become his boss. Over the next six months the two try to sort out what they really want in their professional and personal lives. The solution comes as a surprise, both to themselves and to the audience. The play also features a comic waiter and some voice-overs, which can be done by the same actor. The Gerbil is the story of a burglar caught breaking into the home of a dysfunctional couple, whose love for their daughter is the glue keeping their marriage together. The brutal ending reveals the harm their marriage has taken on the daughter, although she never appears on stage. In Tall Grass we find an octogenarian couple fighting to maintain their independence. The arrival of a mysterious social worker tests the true extent of their resolve. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tall_Grass/kkh0U1rqjsYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tall+grass+/+by+Brian+Harris&printsec=frontcover

Fugue / by Lee Thuna

A woman is found wandering in Chicago, her feet blistered and bloodied. Doctors at the hospital where she is taken immediately recognize this as a symptom of the "fugue" state of amnesia, where the victim is literally running away from an intolerable memory. A young psychiatrist is assigned to her case. Clinic's rules allow him twenty-one days ("three lousy weeks") to work with her. If there is no improvement, she will be sent to a long term care facility. He is running away from his own demons - a mistake he made with a patient early in his practice which had a devastating effect on his life. Because the woman has no past and no future, she is in remarkably good spirits, chipper and carefree except when the young doctor starts to jog her memory. The closer he gets to piecing together the puzzle of her life and the terrible thing that made her want to forget everything, the stronger is her urge to run. But his fear is that if she remembers -- will he be repeating the mistake he made? To muddle the waters, he is falling in love with his patient. This play is about loss. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fugue/vGFJJYlp4DcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fugue+/+by+Lee+Thuna&printsec=frontcover

Widows / by Ariel Dorfman

A town gripped by oppression is completely peopled by women. All of them are waiting, seemingly in vain, for their men to return, all of which have been swallowed up by the vicious fascist government. An old woman forecasts a change on the horizon, and suddenly the river begins delivering the unidentifiable corpses of men to the women. This stirs them into a steady and growing revolt—demanding the return of their men, alive or dead, and if dead, their killers.

Ugly on the inside / by Steven & Whitney Boe

A serial-killing bridesmaid has a habit of "accidentally" murdering her best friend's fiances ... While trying to bury the latest groom the two women discover it's hard to keep a bad man down. Della has always dreamed of the perfect life: a springtime wedding in Vegas, a litter of kids running around the trailer, and a husband ... any husband. Her best friend, Rayanne, only wants the best for Della. Unfortunately, Rayanne doesn't think any of Della's boyfriends measure up and one by one they all somehow "accidentally" wind up dead. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ugly_on_the_Inside/Pv1fDugPAzwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ugly+on+the+inside+/+by+Steven+%26+Whitney+Boe&printsec=frontcover

Reader / by Ariel Dorfman

A censor discovers that the subversive novel he is about to ban is describing his own life and hinting that a terrible fate awaits his son. He must hunt down the author before it comes true… Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reader/N4gBxxWpCNwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Reader+/+by+Ariel+Dorfman&printsec=frontcover

Jack goes boating / by Bob Glaudini

Four flawed but likeable lower-middle-class New Yorkers interact in a touching and warmhearted play about learning how to stay afloat in the deep water of day-to-day living. Laced with cooking classes, swimming lessons, and a smorgasbord of illegal drugs, Jack Goes Boating is a story of date panic, marital meltdown, betrayal, and the prevailing grace of the human spirit. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jack_Goes_Boating/7fANw7YgN24C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jack+goes+boating+/+by+Bob+Glaudini&printsec=frontcover

Spooky dog and the teen-age gang mysteries / by Eric Pliner & Amy Rhodes

Spooky Dog & the Teen-Age Gang Mysteries is an irreverent parody of Saturday morning cartoons – for adults only. Missing from a starring performance at a creepy county fair, a pop culture icon (suggested by the audience) can only be located by this familiar gang of teen sleuths: a butch, blond frat boy, an even more butch brainy gal with a trusty flashlight, a hot-to-trot diva in a miniskirt, a spaced-out hippie, and a talking dog. On a campy and comical quest to find their missing friend, they'll face the ghost of a dead country singer, a not-so-psychic fortune teller, and the sinister couple who run the fairground – and that's not all. Even more frighteningly, the Teen-Age Mystery Gang will also confront their own burgeoning sexual desires, tasty dog treats with unexpected side effects, and a surprise penchant for busting a move. Spooky Dog uncovers hilarious, hidden subtext with razor-sharp wit and affectionate homage. You'll never see Saturday morning the same way again! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Spooky_Dog_and_the_Teen_age_Gang_Mysteri/U8SzBuHpUPUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Spooky+dog+and+the+teen-age+gang+mysteries+/+by+Eric+Pliner+%26+Amy+Rhodes&printsec=frontcover

The right kind of people / by Charles Grodin

The author having served on a New York City Fifth Ave. co-op apartment board for several years in the eighties and nineties, observed a board member casually commenting that a prospective buyer clearly bought his clothes off the rack. The author commented, "I get my clothes off the rack." When the board member said "I know," the idea of this play was born. Some parts of the play were actually witnessed and more comes from research from brokers and real estate attorneys in New York City. All of the board positions are real. While the play is set in a New York City Fifth Avenue co-op board, it reflects the same biases that can be found in private organizations all over America. This play had a completely sold out run in New York, in addition to a sold out run in San Francisco where there are very few co-op apartments. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Right_Kind_of_People/OLxARF6746YC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+right+kind+of+people+/+by+Charles+Grodin&printsec=frontcover

Tomorrowland / by Neena Beber

Anna has left graduate school to join the real world, as a writer on a children's television show in Orlando, Florida, she finds that world to be more surreal and absurd than anything she's left behind. Tomorrowland takes a darkly comic look at death, Disney, and the search for meaning in a world that worships the young and the fake. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tomorrowland/NNT_27jg_zoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tomorrowland+/+by+Neena+Beber&printsec=frontcover

The dew point / by Neena Beber

Can a woman be friends with a womanizer – even if she once dated him herself? And if your best friend wants to date the guy, do you stand in her way? The Dew Point is a play about love and marriage, sex and friendship, authenticity and blackmail...and the lies we tell in order to stay honest. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dew_Point/HFvUcEkiDhUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+dew+point+/+by+Neena+Beber&printsec=frontcover

Taking flight / by Adriana Sevahn Nichols

First there was Mary and Rhoda, then Thelma and Louise, and now Adriana and Rhonda, two loveable and unforgettable friends. One, searching for the goddess and her shamanic roots, the other, planning her epic "Godfather meets the Mists of Avalon" wedding, until 9/11 changes everything, leaving one in a hospital bed and the other intent on doing whatever it takes to save her friend. In this award winning play, "Sevan joins the ranks of the best," (SD Union Tribune) as she takes you on a deeply moving, hilarious, and courageous journey into the depth of friendship, the challenge of care-giving, and the resilience of the human spirit. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Taking_Flight/7-_nBXaGEgIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Taking+flight+/+by+Adriana+Sevahn+Nichols&printsec=frontcover

Easter Monday / by Hal Corley

An eccentric widower, Mack, has been a stay-at-home dad for twenty years, his daily existence revolving around his son Billy. Not only can't he let go, Mack's convinced he's more needed than ever. First up is pulling Billy from a dead-end copy shop job and enrollment in culinary school-after all, he was a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-off. Then Mack discovers that Billy, adopted from infancy, has contacted his birthmother, a Washington, DC secretary about to make a first trip to New York City. Panicky Mack spends a sleepless three days coaching his son, determined to impress Adela with Billy's upbringing-and their indestructible father-son bond. Over a snowy Easter weekend, these three square off. Confronting timid Adela, Billy's romanticized ideas about his identity are turned inside out, as Mack's deepest insecurities surface. Mack is convinced the woman will psychologically lay claim to the child she gave up two decades earlier. Yet for Adela, a lasting reconnection with the boy couldn't be further from her mind. With abundant humor, Easter Monday addresses what it means to be a parent, and to be parented, illuminating both the pain and joy in finally saying goodbye to childhood. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Easter_Monday/zj9lrmOMo4oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Easter+Monday+/+by+Hal+Corley&printsec=frontcover

Mama and Jack Carew / by Hal Corley

In the summer of 1969, Beau Stanley's last hurrah before heading off to study architecture in college, doting Mama Lillian vows to help him finally lose his baby fat. Armed with a supply of diet pills and a food-free regimen that includes tearing down a family room wall, 3 a.m. trips to Dulles Airport and blazing, amphetamine-fueled days on the beach, mother and son spend a memorable vacation together. But Beau's weight loss isn't restless Lillian's only project, and in an unguarded moment, she reveals her just-begun affair with a travelling defense contractor, Jack Carew. Once Lillian introduces son and lover, Beau's caught in the oedipal crossfire of a covert and explosive new alliance, forced to cover his Mama's many absences from home. Over the next decade, Jack's repeated pledge to end his own loveless marriage and sweep Lillian away proves a hollow promise. As increasingly beleaguered Beau sacrifices his own independence to help his mother confront her disillusionment and finally, betrayal, parent-child roles are turned upside down. Mama and Jack Carew is a harrowing, oftentimes black-comedic portrait of an unlikely triangle. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mama_and_Jack_Carew/qa33Ojc_j-UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mama+and+Jack+Carew+/+by+Hal+Corley&printsec=frontcover

Shtick / by Henry Meyerson

Helen's life became complicated after her husband Murray's stroke and her sister Gladys's revelation, wanting to set the record straight in case Murray should die, that she and Murray had been having an affair. Helen suspected Murray was no angel when she married him. After all, as a stand-up comic he was always on the road and she knew comics could be loose cannons. Helen knew she was trading the risk Murray would bring to any relationship, let alone marriage, for the excitement of the gamble. While Helen might have been willing to adjust to Murray and his new stroke induced limits, the stakes were raised and the game was changed by Gladys's admission of the affair. So now Helen is left on the horns of dilemma: How can she be a nurturing caretaker for a man who has deceived her (with her own sister, yet) while knowing he is a snake with no visible conscience? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shtick/o8vpgO2KEo0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Shtick+/+by+Henry+Meyerson&printsec=frontcover

Skin deep : a comedy / by Jon Lonoff

In Skin Deep, a large, lovable, lonely-heart, named Maureen Mulligan, gives romance one last shot on a blind-date with sweet awkward Joseph Spinelli; she's learned to pepper her speech with jokes to hide insecurities about her weight and appearance, while he's almost dangerously forthright, saying everything that comes to his mind. They both know they're perfect for each other, and in time they come to admit it. They were set up on the date by Maureen's sister Sheila and her husband Squire, who are having problems of their own: Sheila undergoes a non-stop series of cosmetic surgeries to hang onto the attractive and much-desired Squire, who may or may not have long ago held designs on Maureen, who introduced him to Sheila. With Maureen particularly vulnerable to both hurting and being hurt, the time is ripe for all these unspoken issues to bubble to the surface. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Skin_Deep/-Od_rj-_ddsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Skin+deep+:+a+comedy+/+by+Jon+Lonoff&printsec=frontcover

Terre Haute / by Edmund White

A famous author comes face-to-face with America's most notorious terrorist. One has a story to write, the other has a story to tell. As the clock ticks on death row, a strange bond grows between the two men. Filled with clever sparring and raw emotion, this is a taut drama that touches on the definitions of freedom and the need for love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Terre_Haute/eOhhYESEEVcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Terre+Haute+/+by+Edmund+White&printsec=frontcover

Widdershins / by Don Nigro

Inspector Ruffing, the troubled hero of several other Nigro plays, returns in this baffling mystery that was an audience favorite at the First International Mystery Festival in 2007. In a peaceful house near the Welsh border, an entire family has vanished suddenly without a trace one evening, with supper on the table and no apparent violence. Ruffing's attempt to understand what's happened to a couple and their two daughters leads him deep into his own dark soul. The only clue is a piece of paper left on a desk with the word "widdershins" written on it. Beautiful women, dark secrets, the Impressionists and the Druids all figure in this unusual and thought-provoking play. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Widdershins/83okKUxhA0oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Widdershins+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

Stain / by Tony Glazer

Stain follows 15-year-old Thomas through his quickly-crumbling life when he finds out that he has gotten a 32-year-old woman pregnant after he lied about his age to her. As he sorts through his own situation he tries to ask his parents why they divorced and how their marriage ended up the way it did. Family secrets are only kept at bay for so long in this darkly comic piece about the complexities of family, sex, and relationships. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stain/2tu1v1Y-dfkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stain+/+by+Tony+Glazer&printsec=frontcover

Quint and Miss Jessel at Bly / by Don Nigro

Peter Quint is sent by his lifelong employer, the Master of Bly, to be the servant in charge of a remote English country house where Miss Jessel has just arrived to be governess to the orphaned children of the master's brother. The ultimately deadly love triangle that results forms a darkly funny and erotic Gothic love story. These are the lovers who haunt Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. Quint is brilliant, sardonic and angry, a man of great abilities trapped by birth into a subservient role he hates. Miss Jessel is beautiful, headstrong, troubled, and deeply infatuated with the master. As Quint and Miss Jessel's affair develops, the rivalry between servant and master builds to a frightening and haunting climax. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Quint_and_Miss_Jessel_at_Bly/HcmruiZ0f6YC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Quint+and+Miss+Jessel+at+Bly+/+by+Don+Nigro&printsec=frontcover

In the Sawtooths / by Dano Madden

Oby, Nellie and Darin have been friends since high school. Now in their thirties, they have become busier in their lives, but one thing remains constant: their annual backpacking adventure in the mountains of Idaho. As their trip nears and they have made all of the necessary preparations to survive in the outdoors, their lives are suddenly shattered by tragedy. What ensues is a true test of an old friendship. Can Oby, Nellie and Darin remain friends as they desperately try to navigate through an immense and unexpected wilderness? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_the_Sawtooths/KbRaFTH005sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In+the+Sawtooths+/+by+Dano+Madden&printsec=frontcover

Wedding belles / by Alan Bailey & Ronnie Claire Edwards

Four garden-club ladies meet a young girl who has come to their little Texas town to marry an infantryman before he ships off for World War II. The women impulsively decide to throw the girl an elaborate wedding, and their lives and friendships are thrown into turmoil as they race to accomplish the nuptials in one frenzied afternoon. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wedding_Belles/3UcTFj-jWRwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wedding+belles+/+by+Alan+Bailey+%26+Ronnie+Claire+Edwards&printsec=frontcover

Ruby's story : a drama in two acts / by Ron Osborne

June 1944. In England, Allied troops are massing for an invasion. On a small farm in Appalachia, a different kind of war is about to rage. Here, Walter and Grace share a home with four daughters: Rose, who struggles to understand why Stan – an immigrant coal miner and the love of her life – abruptly left to join the Polish Free Forces; Helga, who fears for her husband who's in the Army and – like Stan – assigned to a combat unit in England; Frieda, the family's adventure-seeking daughter, who works in a factory making uniforms and new friends, one of whom she can't bring home; and teenage Ruby who yearns to be the next Edward R. Murrow, but who must first come to grips with a family falling apart at the seams. D-Day speeds the dissolution process, but at its core is Walter's seeming allegiance to his German heritage, no matter that Helga's husband and Rose's fiancé are at war against all things German. There – through every battle – is Grace, hoping liberal doses of humor, love and understanding can restore harmony. It is adult Ruby – back for a funeral, seeking answers to questions that haunt her – who retells the family's struggle against prejudice, fear, delusion and self-loathing. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ruby_s_Story/bnXmIj6RsIUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ruby%27s+story+:+a+drama+in+two+acts+/+by+Ron+Osborne&printsec=frontcover

Kosher Lutherans / by William Missouri Downs

Kosher Lutherans centers on Hanna and Franklyn, the seemingly perfect couple who desperately want to have a child of their own, but are unable to do so. As the couple begins to wonder if they'll ever become parents, they have a chance encounter with a God-fearing pregnant girl from Iowa who offers to let the couple adopt her out-of-wedlock baby. Just before the adoption papers are signed, Hanna and Franklyn discover the girl is unaware that they are Jewish. Knowing the revelation could throw a ratchet into the whole works, the couple poses as Lutherans to appeal to the girl's apparent Midwestern sensibilities. But how far are they willing to go to have a family? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kosher_Lutherans/hRqIMrehnmgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kosher+Lutherans+/+by+William+Missouri+Downs&printsec=frontcover

Heaven help me / by Joseph Simonelli

The three Holloway bothers have a real problem. Their string of casual restaurants is failing, youngest, black sheep brother Rollie owes money to every bookie in town, and they need to sell the family beach house to recapitalise the business. The only problem is that their deceased fourth brother Fred is haunting the place and won't vacate! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Heaven_Help_Me/zvIVeN8EfHAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Heaven+help+me+/+by+Joseph+Simonelli&pg=PA4&printsec=frontcover

Who killed the sausage king? : a murder mystery farce / by Roger Karshner

The police are baffled after Wilbur Smith, “The Sausage King,” is strangled with a roll of his own sausage. After several months, the authorities, unable to unscramble the dilemma, call in the services of Farlow Cranston, ace private investigator and renowned solver of arcane cases. Cranston, with unflappable grandiloquence and fractured logic, unravels the mystery via a farcical route that leads to its conclusion. Expect the unexpected in this delightful mélange. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Who_Killed_the_Sausage_King/jRy7VfG_YkYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=sausage+roger+karshner&printsec=frontcover

Vrooommm! : a NASComedy / by Janet Allard

In this breezy "NASComedy" the fast lane is stalled to a screeching halt by the arrival of a woman driver on the NASCAR scene, and egos get bruised as Holly "Legs" Nelson starts stealing the show, driving so fast some think she's cheating. Her rival, Hotshot, wants to sabotage her success, which results in a fast-paced story of NASCAR drivers and their kooky fans, all in pursuit of high-octane glory. And for the sexism of these chauvinist drivers? Well, they're all played by women! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vrooommm/TVgAhazQT7wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Vrooommm!+:+a+NASComedy+/+by+Janet+Allard&printsec=frontcover

Flamingo Court : life in three condos / by Luigi Creatore

Flamingo Court is made up of three short plays all taking place in an apartment building where several retirees live. Angelina, in 104, is a Neil-Simonesque piece where resident Angelina starts to fall for her neighbor Dominic. The only problem is her sick husband in the other room. Surprises abound as their mutual friend tightropes between being matchmaker and keeping each of their secrets. Clara, in 204, is the shortest piece and also more somber of the three. Clara is suffering from memory loss and struggles with the idea of being away from her husband, Arthur, in a nursing home. Harry, in 304, deals with an eighty-nine year-old gentleman who is trying to celebrate his birthday his way; with a hooker. Upon the arrival of his daughter and son-in-law who are trying to get every last penny they can out of their father, Harry has to get even more crafty with his stories. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Flamingo_Court/sJ6CWOC0MWkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Flamingo+Court+:+life+in+three+condos+/+by+Luigi+Creatore&printsec=frontcover

Fatboy / by John Clancy

A brutal comedy inspired by Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi. This satire on modern America's insatiable appetites--from gobbling up 72-oz. steaks to small nations--is presented as a live-action Punch and Judy show. In this fast-moving, shocking, profane, dead-on, funhouse-mirror reflection of the world today, the brutish allegory known as Fatboy, along with his monstrous wife, Queen Fudgie the First, stands trial for war crimes. Despite overwhelming evidence, the court refuses to convict and succumbs to Fatboy's "persuasive" tactics

Funny, you don't look like a grandmother / book and lyrics by Lois Wyse & Sheilah Rae

A heartwarming revue that looks at modem grandmothers in a whole new light. These are the women who have thrown away the granny glasses, shapeless black dresses and Red Cross shoes and replaced them with cute little tennis dresses, skis and a condo in Florida. The show celebrates these changes with skits and songs about everything from what to name the grandmother to her availability as baby sitter, her job, her friends, her activities, her new interest in shopping, but most of all, her relationship to that new baby and its parents. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/cA3Zmv5vu30C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA82&dq=Funny,+you+don%27t+look+like+a+grandmother+/+book+and+lyrics+by+Lois+Wyse+%26+Sheilah+Rae

China : the whole enchilada / by Mark Brown

A hilarious new musical, China - The Whole Enchilada - is three men singing, dancing, and irreverently marching their way through five thousand years of Chinese history- in less than two hours with an intermission. One character loves China, one is convinced China is going to overthrow the world at any minute, and the third keeps getting China confused with Japan. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/China/kOZQ-CTghJYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=China+:+the+whole+enchilada+/+by+Mark+Brown&pg=PA92&printsec=frontcover

Cockeyed / by William Missouri Downs

Phil, an average nice guy, is madly in love with the beautiful Sophia. The only problem is that she's unaware of his existence. He tries to introduce himself but she looks right through him. When Phil discovers Sophia has a glass eye, he thinks that might be the problem, but soon realizes that she really can't see him. Perhaps he is caught in a philosophical hyperspace or dualistic reality or perhaps beautiful women are just unaware of nice guys. Armed only with a B.A. in philosophy, Phil sets out to prove his existence and win Sophia's heart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cockeyed/7hAETIQ3nnwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Cockeyed+/+by+William+Missouri+Downs&printsec=frontcover

Cell / by Judy Klass

Lieutenant Rodriguez questions Dennis Kadman about his older brother Michael, who has OD'd on heroin in Dennis' apartment. Dennis wants to know: who gave Michael the drugs? Michael was a cunning, manipulative addict. But he was a diabetic double amputee, placed in his brother's care by the courts--and Dennis tried to keep him alive and drug-free. Through flashbacks, we see the fractious relationship between the brothers, and how they interacted with other "suspects," including Edith, the Jamaican nurse who believed Michael should be allowed to choose to die; Julie, Dennis' fiancée who hated what Michael was doing to Dennis and to their relationship; and Byron, Michael's homeless friend with whom he had lived on the streets. Like Oedipus, while looking for the culprit, Dennis learns far too much about himself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cell/VD-SLL9PcCsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Cell+/+by+Judy+Klass&printsec=frontcover

Fall / by Bridget Carpenter

Fall brings us to a three-week getaway "Swing Camp," where middle-aged married couples like Jill and Dog practice their steps, mingle with other dance enthusiasts, and rekindle the flame. Their teenage daughter Lydia, however, is decidedly not an enthusiast in any sense, preferring scuba classes and sarcasm to the magic of the Shim Sham, shags and Lindy Hops that have dancers--and their accompanying passions--swirling all around her. Lydia's self-imposed isolation gives way when Mr. Gonzales, her mother's quiet colleague, begins to pay attention to her. She learns to dance; she allows herself to fall in love. When Lydia's dance teacher Gopal reveals Lydia's secret, her family is unexpectedly tested. Ultimately, Lydia and Jill come to realize that leading and following are skills crucial not only to swing dancers, but to mothers and daughters as well. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fall/CVoBMGFjJa4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fall+/+by+Bridget+Carpenter&printsec=frontcover

Funny business : the musical / book by Rachel Brittain & Daniel Falk

When low morale threatens the Toronto branch of Chime Communications Canada, five ordinary office workers must mount a team-building talent show to save their jobs. Meet Stuart, the lovable yet inappropriate office manager, Marcus, the smooth talking sales rep, Diane, the tough as nails marketing manager, Brie, the perky and scheming receptionist, and Jack, the awkward guitar-playing intern. Together, they must use their hidden talents to sing, dance and manipulate their way through the talent show, which ultimately degenerates into a every-man-for-themselves battle of office skills, where only one will walk away without a pink slip. Featuring a sales versus marketing salsa, a fowl-mouthed printer puppet, and more office backstabbing than HR can handle, the team must learn to keep it together without tearing each other apart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Funny_Business/SENt8NLlkUwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Funny+business+:+the+musical+/+book+by+Rachel+Brittain+%26+Daniel+Falk&printsec=frontcover

Make believe / by Kristin Anna Froberg

Natasha Lisenko is twenty-two years old. She's clever, creative, and hasn't left the house in five years. Her sister, Lena, is an energetic, popular, occasionally cruel high-school cheerleader--or was, the last time Natasha saw her. One day, after a fight at school, the sisters took separate routes home-and the mystery of Lena's disappearance has haunted the family ever since. Natasha works her way through delayed adolescence, college applications, and an evolving relationship with her tutor. Her parents work to move forward without their daughter, and without answers to the questions surrounding what happened that afternoon. When the case is suddenly re-opened, Natasha is forced to make a decision. Reality or imagination? Make believe or truth? Or can she-as she's been doing for the past five years--go on existing someplace in between? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Make_Believe/ELXO0Mw4d8kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Make+believe+/+by+Kristin+Anna+Froberg&printsec=frontcover

Beachwood Drive / by Steven Leigh Morris

Based on police case-files, this is a character-driven drama that tells the story of Nadya, a Ukrainian prostitute and single mother smuggled into Los Angeles. Nadya attempts to free herself from the snares of both the Russian Mafia and the Los Angeles Police Department after she's arrested in a sting operation. The mystery of Nadya's disappearance unfolds Rashomon-style, as the story is retold from four different perspectives: first, that of Nadya's African-American neighbor; then through the eyes of Rocky, Nadya's Native-American client, a family man from El Monte, grappling with an identity crisis; Crowell, a crusty vice detective with literary aspirations; and finally, Vera, the Russian woman running the prostitution ring, who is both protector and monster. It's an unflinching look at slavery in its many forms. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beachwood_Drive/XxoqdmkVdoEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Beachwood+Drive+/+by+Steven+Leigh+Morris&printsec=frontcover

Anon / by Kate Robin

The story of two relationships, one struggling to begin and the other to continue. A darkly comedic contemporary romantic tragedy, the play addresses the hunger for sexual intimacy in a culture of addiction. As Allison tries to mold Trip into the kind of man she wishes could love her, Rachelle fights to preserve the illusion that Bert, her husband of 35 years, is the kind of man she can love. Interwoven from the start, these two journeys intensify as they increasingly affect and ultimately collide with each other. Surrounding the central action is a chorus of women speaking at a meeting for the partners of sex addicts. Allison and Rachelle's relationship to this chorus gradually becomes clear as they move toward a reckoning with these voices and the journey they all share. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Anon/I0qasv8vSRcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Anon+/+by+Kate+Robin&printsec=frontcover

Aliens with extraordinary skills / by Saviana Stanescu

This dark comedy concerns a clown from the “unhappiest country in the world,” Moldova, who pins her hopes on a US work visa. Chased by Homeland Security, Nadia receives a deportation letter, crushing her enthusiasm. A pair of spike heels might be all it takes to burst her American Dream (or turn it into a nightmare). New York City, with its special energy, seems like the perfect solution for her problems, but is it really? Luckily, Nadia is not alone in her journey: A Russian illegal immigrant, Borat, her fellow clown, tries to find his own path in the Big Apple, by working as a cab driver. Lupita, her Latina roommate, an exotic dancer and wanna-be actress, shows Nadia the tough side of the city. Meanwhile, Bob, an American washed-up musician finds himself in the relationship with the Moldovan girl. Aliens With Extraordinary Skills is based on true stories of immigration explored and fictionalized by a playwright who tries to understand her own story. The moral of the “fable” might be that – regardless our passport and native language – we are all “aliens” in search of love, understanding and a place to call home. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Aliens_with_Extraordinary_Skills/UZCCEcJGcKkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Aliens+with+extraordinary+skills+/+by+Saviana+Stanescu&printsec=frontcover

A don't hug me county fair / book and lyrics by Phil Olson ; music by Paul Olson

It's summer time and the Bunyan County Fair is approaching, the biggest thing that's happened in Bunyan Bay since the winter carnival snowplow parade! This year the Bunyan County Fair means one thing to Gunner and Clara Johnson, owners of a little bar called The Bunyan: The Miss Walleye Queen Competition. Bernice, the pretty waitress, sees this as her big chance to win Miss Walleye Queen. to be discovered and, more important, to have her face in carved in butter at the Minnesota State Fair. The stakes have never been higher in Bunyan Bay. The trouble begins when Gunner's wife, Clara, decides she also wants to win Miss Walleye Queen. Bigger trouble arrives when Gunner's estranged twin sister, Trigger (played by Gunner) shows up to try to win the beauty pageant. Things get ugly! Phil Olson writes in the Author's Notes that this is his fifth play (third musical) about the emotionally conservative nature of Scandinavians and their reluctance to hug or show affection. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Don_t_Hug_Me_County_Fair/dReFF7hGykAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+don%27t+hug+me+county+fair+/+book+and+lyrics+by+Phil+Olson+%3B+music+by+Paul+Olson&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Truth be told / by Lisa Soland

Truth Be Told is a full-length play that consists of eleven, one-person stories shared by a variety of personalities, all focused on getting at the truth. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Truth_be_Told/GltzeMGDBO8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Truth+be+told+/+by+Lisa+Soland&printsec=frontcover

The awesome 80s prom / by Ken Davenport

The Awesome 80s Prom is a brand-new blast-from-the-past party in the style of Tony 'n Tina's Wedding and The Donkey Show, set at Wanaget High's Senior Prom...in 1989! All of your favorite characters from your favorite '80s movies are at THE PROM. From the Captain of the Football Team to The Brain to the hottie Head Cheerleader, they're all competing for Prom King and Queen. And just like on American Idol, the audience decides who wins! Travel back in time and join the breakdance circle, or just sit back and watch the '80s drama unfold.

The secret life of seagulls / by Henry Meyerson

Anne and Don, married ten years, are on vacation in Florida. As the play begins, Anne is inanely chattering on about beaches, seagulls and garbage dumps. Don, fed up with Anne's incessant chatter, walks away leaving Anne, much to her surprise, sitting on the beach alone. Don has gone to visit his friend Jim, a man of little insight but great obsession about golf, to tell him that he has left Anne. Jim, in turn, has just returned from a golfing vacation to discover his wife, Sandy, has apparently left him. George, a seagull who lives a contented life with his wife, Ethel, on the Staten Island landfill, has just arrived on the Florida beach and meets Fred, a seagull without ties but with a dark past. The Secret Life Of Seagulls follows these four humans and Fred as they attempt to define themselves, their lives, relationships and values. George, the Staten Island seagull, however, is quite content being who he is. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Secret_Life_of_Seagulls/uLZIinPBlGYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+secret+life+of+seagulls+/+by+Henry+Meryerson&printsec=frontcover

What they have / by Kate Robin

Connie and Jonas are a successful industry couple. Their friends Suzanne, a struggling painter, and Matt, a struggling musician, can't afford to fix the roof. But stay tuned because in this funny, poignant and always truthful new play, lives can change in a heartbeat, and things aren't necessarily what they seem. In What They Have, as in "Six Feet Under," happiness is fleeting and illusory and things are seldom what they seem. A complex and constantly morphing landscape of dissatisfactions links all four characters. They're motivated by the need for creative fulfillment, money and the ultimate sense of accomplishment: a child. Unrequited dreams – and dreams achieved that turn out to be nightmares – shift the ground under everyone's feet. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/What_They_Have/fbOgLSLfzUwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=What+they+have+/+by+Kate+Robin&printsec=frontcover

Jewtopia / by Bryan Fogel & Sam Wolfson

Jewtopia, written by Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson, tells the story of two 30 year-old single men, Chris O'Connell and Adam Lipschitz. Chris, a gentile, wants to marry a Jewish girl so he'll never have to make another decision. Adam Lipschitz, a Jew, wants to marry a Jewish girl to please his family, but can't get a date to save his life. After meeting at a Jewish singles mixer, Adam and Chris form a secret pact. Chris promises that he will help Adam find the Jewish girl of his dreams and show him "Jewtopia", but only if Adam will help Chris shed his gentile-ness and bring him undercover into the Jewish world. Stereotypes collide, cultures clash and chaos ensues! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jewtopia/7YITAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jewtopia+/+by+Bryan+Fogel+%26+Sam+Wolfson&printsec=frontcover

The Goldman project / by Staci Swedeen

It is 1994 and Naomi Goldman, recently widowed, is living in an apartment in upper Manhattan. Her son Tony, separated from his wife, lives with her. When Tony's old college girlfriend Aviva contacts him with the ulterior motive of interviewing and videotaping his mother for a Holocaust memorial project, Tony is appalled. Naomi, reluctant at first, eventually agrees to the interview. Though appearing to be forthright in her story Naomi clearly is hiding a devastating secret. When Aviva pushes her to admit the truth the consequences are life-changing. The Goldman Project is a play about family relations, the lingering legacy of the Holocaust and the catharsis of self-renewal. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Goldman_Project/DX7HAKma8jwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Goldman+project+/+by+Staci+Swedeen&printsec=frontcover

Up (The Man in the Flying Chair) / by Bridget Carpenter

Up invites us into the life of Walter Griffin, a failed inventor obsessed with Philippe Petit's famed 1974 wire-walk between the twin World Trade Center towers. Walter's greatest moment of glory – a flight on a lawn chair festooned with helium balloons – is now long behind him, though Walter dreams of inventing something wonderful once more. His wife, Helen, has become disillusioned and frustrated at being the family's only breadwinner. Their teenage son, Mikey, harbors dreams of his own: after befriending Maria, a pregnant girl in his class, Mikey becomes involved in her family's phone sales business, with surprising results. When Walter finally takes a job, Mike keeps his a secret, and Helen allows herself to dream of a more secure life. But when Helen discovers the truth about Walter's employment, it becomes clear to this family that life itself is lived on a wire not unlike Petit's, this one strung between happiness and sadness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Up_The_Man_in_the_Flying_Chair/A_1ux8vfcDMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Up+/+by+Bridget+Carpenter&printsec=frontcover

When is a clock / by Matthew Freeman

When Gordon's wife vanishes, the only clue to her whereabouts is a bookmark in dog-eared copy of Traveling to Montpelier. With little help to be found at work, from his son, or from the police, Gordon takes off to a rural bookstore to find some answers. His journey brings him to the town of Cornersville, in the wilds of Pennsylvania. Through a fractured narrative that is half-mystery and half-memory, we learn about Gordon's marriage, his relationship with his son, his work-life and his wife's bizarre entanglements with a mysterious stranger. We learn, too, about the nature of the landscape unique to the play: a magical universe with physics and laws that can both free the characters from their own stifling identities, and trap them as well. Synchronicity, dreams, and alchemy combine in this exploration of what it means to be able to – and unable to – change. At turns both scathingly funny and disturbingly compelling, When Is A Clock features Freeman's celebrated deconstruction of American culture. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/When_is_a_Clock/FZqV4NRMRa0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=When+is+a+clock+/+by+Matthew+Freeman&printsec=frontcover

The Farnsworth invention / by Aaron Sorkin

It’s 1929. Two ambitious visionaries race against each other to invent a device called “television.” Separated by two thousand miles, each knows that if he stops working, even for a moment, the other will gain the edge. Who will unlock the key to the greatest innovation of the 20th century: the ruthless media mogul, or the self-taught Idaho farm boy?

My first time / by Ken Davenport

My First Time features four actors in hysterical and heartbreaking stories about first sexual experiences written by real people. In 1998, a decade before blogging began, a website was created that allowed people to anonymously share their own true stories about their First Times. The website became an instant phenomenon as over 40,000 stories poured in from around the globe that were silly, sweet, absurd, funny, heterosexual, homosexual, shy, sexy and everything in between. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_First_Time/TVf5Sq5_LkcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+first+time+/++by+Ken+Davenport&pg=PA4&printsec=frontcover

Time stands still / by Donald Margulies

Focuses on Sarah and James, a photojournalist and a foreign correspondent trying to find happiness in a world that seems to have gone crazy. Theirs is a partnership based on telling the toughest stories, and together, making a difference. But when their own story takes a sudden turn, the adventurous couple confronts the prospect of a more conventional life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Time_Stands_Still/SHrsxktMKR8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Time+stands+still+/+by+Donald+Margulies&printsec=frontcover

Farinelli and the king / by Claire van Kampen

Depressed and plagued by insomnia, King Philippe V of Spain lies awake in his chamber. The Queen, desperate to find a cure, hears of Farinelli--a castrato with a voice so divine it has the power to captivate all who hear it. Even Philippe is astonished when Farinelli sings, and begs him to stay. But will Farinelli, one of the greatest celebrities of his time, choose a life of solitude over fame and fortune in the opera-houses of Europe? And will his extraordinary talent prove to be a curse rather than a blessing? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Farinelli_and_The_King/ajn1DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Farinelli+and+the+king+/+by+Claire+van+Kampen&printsec=frontcover

Describe the night / by Rajiv Joseph

In 1920, the Russian writer Isaac Babel wanders the countryside with the Red Cavalry. In 1990, a mysterious KGB agent spies on a woman in Dresden and falls in love. In 2010, an aircraft carrying most of the Polish government crashes in the Russian city of Smolensk. Set in Russia over the course of ninety years, this thrilling and epic new play by Rajiv Joseph traces the stories of seven men and women connected by history, myth and conspiracy theories. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Describe_the_Night/xKD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Describe+the+night+/+by+Rajiv+Joseph&printsec=frontcover

Unfinished Man / by Dipo Baruwa-Etti

Kayode hasn't had a job in seven years. Can't we juss name it? - Ur depressed. He needs to get help - Therapy won't undo the spell, Kayode. His marriage is suffering - I need ya help ta stage an intervention. His mother knows what to do. The Lord told me and I went to Pastor Matanmi. Can Kayode be cured? Juju exists, spirits battle and the witches and wizards of Lagos chant loudly in East London. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_unfinished_man/BjfXDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Unfinished+Man+/+by+Dipo+Baruwa-Etti&printsec=frontcover

Under the skin / by Michael Hollinger

Lou needs a kidney. Yesterday. His daughter Raina's got one to spare, but she's also got issues. (Plenty of these.) Like, how come the sonofabitch had sex with so many women who weren't her mother? Time leaps backward, forward, and sideways, secrets get aired and truths revealed in this lively, unpredictable comedy that asks what we owe our parents and our children.

Trouble in Butetown / by Diana Nneka Atuona

'First thing I'm a need you to do is keep my secret. Can't let nobody know I'm here and I mean nobody.' In her illegal boarding house in Butetown, Cardiff, Gwyneth Mbanefo toils tirelessly to keep afloat. It's a port town during the war; home to souls from every corner of the globe. When Nate, an African American GI, escapes his barracks and discovers this new world without segregation, can he find safe harbour? And with danger on every corner, who can he trust? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Trouble_in_Butetown/T72tEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Trouble+in+Butetown+/+by+Diana+Nneka+Atuona&printsec=frontcover

The tale of La Llorona as told by Consuelo Chavez / by José Casas

A group of lifelong friends who are also eighth graders prepare for what they believe is their final time celebrating Halloween together. Unfortunately, the weather is undermining their trick-or-treating plans. The friends reminisce about Halloweens past and reveal they are afraid that going to high school will break up their group. As a distraction, they begin to tell scary stories around a cellphone flashlight “campfire.” When one story becomes more real than imagined, they realize the experiences they’ve shared connect them all together, and they are determined to remain friends for life. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exTaleofLaLloronaTX5.pdf

Susie sits Shiva / by Arlene Hutton

A high school student deals with the death of her biology class lab partner through a religious ritual about which she knows nothing. Family, friends, and social media collide and connect in Susie's living room as she learns to mourn (and to sit) while honoring the memory of her friend and his culture. Commissioned by the Educational Theatre Association, SUSIE SITS SHIVA is a heartfelt reflection on life after unthinkable loss.

Support group for men / by Ellen Fairey

A group of middle-aged men's lives are changed when a stranger crashes their Thursday night support group. As they clumsily grapple with gender identities, cultural appropriation, and the loneliness of aging, their ideas of what it means to be a man are completely upended. Set in the months following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Fairey's play explores the confusion, comedy, and vulnerability of trying to understand one's place in the world when the world has been forever changed.

Moonset / by Maryam Hamidi

Fifteen-year-old Roxy is burning. Lost somewhere between the bonfire of girlhood and the sharp edge of womanhood, she gathers her friends and begins meddling in witchcraft to search for answers. Shadows are lurking, ready to swallow those she loves most in the world. As friendships fray, fire crackles and blood bubbles, the group unravel the bonds that unite and the secrets that surround them. Maryam Hamidi's Moonset is a blazing, coming-of-age tale filled with love, rage and self-discovery, as four young women search for the power they were promised. Moonset is published in Methuen Drama's Plays For Young People series which offers suitable plays for young performers and audiences at schools, youth groups and youth theatres. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Moonset/-EatEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Moonset+/+by+Maryam+Hamidi&printsec=frontcover

Merry wives / by William Shakespeare, adapted by Jocelyn Bioh

Set in South Harlem, amidst a vibrant and eclectic community of West African immigrants, MERRY WIVES is a New York story about tricks of the heart. A raucous spinoff featuring the Bard's most beloved comic characters, this hilarious farce tells the story of the trickster Falstaff and the wily wives who outwit him in a celebration of Black joy, laughter, and vitality.

Legacy of light / by Karen Zacarías

Two women scientists, living hundreds of years apart, explore the meaning of love. motherhood, family, art, and science in this contemporary comedy. Legacy of Light juxtaposes the story of Emilie du Chatelet, a mathematician, scientist, and lover of the great eighteenth-century philosopher Voltaire, who became unexpectedly pregnant at forty-two, and that of a twenty-first-century physicist desperately trying to conceive a child.

The Last of the Love Letters / by Ngozi Anyanwu

two people contemplate the thing they love the most / and whether / to stick it out / or to leave it behind / to stay / or / to go / that is the question / the last of the love letters / is just that / a plea / and a painful goodbye wrapped into one

Landladies / by Sharyn Rothstein

Christine and her four-year-old daughter have just moved in to a new apartment, complete with two bedrooms, one bath, and a gaping hole in the floor exposing the apartment below. As Christine juggles the demands of motherhood with her part-time job at a local taco joint, she receives regular visits from her landlady, Marti, who has opinions about Christine's life choices, including her involvement with a trouble-making ex-boyfriend. Two women aspiring for a better life, Christine and Marti develop a close but precarious friendship complicated by the inevitable power dynamic between them.

In the southern breeze / by Mansa Ra

Deep in an existential crisis, a man locks himself in his apartment. When a mysterious time portal reveals itself, the man begins a journey that traverses centuries of history. As he explores the complicated and camouflaged barriers for Black Americans, he begins to heal. In the Southern Breeze poetically examines the social, racial, and generational struggles that Black men face, creating a space for a brighter, star-filled future

I wanna fuck like Romeo and Juliet / by Andrew Rincón

Snow in July, comets falling from the sky… the world is thrown into chaos as Cupid (a Latine God) rips off her wings and gives up on Love. But her old flame Saint Valentine has a plan to bring her spirits back up, and it involves reigniting the flame between Alejandro and Benny, two Queer folk who are going through a breakup. Moving from the Heavens to Hackensack, I Wanna Fuck like Romeo and Juliet is a love story of epic proportions that captures the many flavors of Queer love.

How I learned to drive / by Paula Vogel

The story follows the strained, sexual relationship between Li'l Bit and her aunt's husband, Uncle Peck, from her pre-adolescence through her teenage years into college and beyond. Using the metaphor of driving and the issues of pedophilia, incest, and misogyny, the play explores the ideas of control and manipulation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/How_I_Learned_to_Drive_Stand_Alone_TCG_E/gpKKDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=How+I+learned+to+drive+/+by+Paula+Vogel&printsec=frontcover

How a boy falls / by Steven Dietz

The disappearance of a young boy casts suspicion on his newly-hired au pair, as well as on the wealthy parents who have hired her. As the parents seek revenge upon one another, the young au pair is hatching a plot of her own. How a Boy Falls is a psychological thriller with a dark comic edge about the way in which past events can be weaponized to shape the present.

Happy birthday Sunita / by Harvey Virdi

The Johals are celebrating Sunita's birthday in Mum's new kitchen, and you're invited to the surprise party. It's not just the dhal that's bubbling under the surface-- with decades of unfinished business, everyone's true selves start to burst out when they least expect it. And it's up to the family to pick each other back up and celebrate themselves for who they truly are. Unexpected guests, butter-free roti and skeletons in the cupboard aren't enough to stop them busting out some classic Punjabi shapes in the kitchen! Join the Johal family for a wild ride that will leave you laughing, crying, and talking all the way home. Put on your birthday party finery and get ready for a samosa saga. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Happy_Birthday_Sunita/hOO8EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Happy+birthday+Sunita+/+by+Harvey+Virdi&printsec=frontcover

Grenfell : system failure : scenes from the inquiry / by Richard Norton-Taylor with Nicolas Kent

Based entirely on the words of those involved in the final phase of the Inquiry (which ended in November 2022), this new play interrogates why the testing regime failed to warn of the danger of installing inflammable materials, why manufacturers promoted such products with no regard to safety, why government regulations ignored the dangers and were not updated, and why politicians failed to ensure proper oversight. Through the testimonies of bereaved residents, it explores how they were failed by the London Fire Brigade on the night and abandoned by the Local Authority in the chaos of the fire's aftermath. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/GRENFELL_SYSTEM_FAILURE/9MyuEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Grenfell+:+system+failure+:+scenes+from+the+inquiry+/+by+Richard+Norton-Taylor+with+Nicolas+Kent&pg=PP4&printsec=frontcover

Glitterball / by Yasmin Wilde

Sonia's life has always been a bit of a double act, brought up as one half of a Shirley Bassey tribute act. Alongside her overbearing mother Gloria, she left a trail of sequins across the working men's clubs of East Anglia. Now she's divorced, battling through the middle-age jungle, wrangling unimpressed teenagers and navigating rocky friendships. But the rival of her half-brother Naim brings a refreshed sense of belonging and cultural identity, and she begins to piece together the mosaic of her life Can Sonia shake off the past, even with her ever-present mother keeping 'the show' on the road from beyond the grave? Glitterball is a play with live music, wry humour and a whole lotta sparkle. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Glitterball/r2WLEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Glitterball+/+by+Yasmin+Wilde&printsec=frontcover

For Black boys who have considered suicide when the hue gets too heavy / by Ryan Calais Cameron

Father figures and fashion tips. Lost loves and jollof rice. African empires and illicit sex. Good days and bad days. Six young Black men meet for group therapy, and let their hearts -- and imaginations -- run wild. Inspired by Ntozake Shange's essential work For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy is a profound and playful work, originally co-commissioned by Boundless Theatre, from multi-award-winning company Nouveau Riche and playwright Ryan Calais Cameron. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/For_Black_Boys_Who_Have_Considered_Suici/P_u1EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=For+Black+boys+who+have+considered+suicide+when+the+hue+gets+too+heavy+/+by+Ryan+Calais+Cameron&printsec=frontcover

Flies / by Charlie Josephine

A disobedient cultural response to a very well-known story: the male gaze. Award-winning writer Charlie Josephine (I, Joan, The Globe) radically responds to William Golding's classic Lord of the Flies in their new piece Flies - A powerful and contemporary allegory on consent and fetishisation of the female body. This new show explodes with tales of girlhood, and the messy joy and sticky shame that come with it. Written from young women's real experiences expect raw honesty, humour, and sweaty dance. #WhatAreYouLookingA

Faun / by Vinnie Heaven

Ace is twenty-two, trans, queer and sofa surfing - currently - just for now - only at the moment. They've actually just sorted out sofa number thirteen. To keep a sofa requires you to act small, smiling, and polite. But no one is perfect and eventually everyone messes up - which would be a lot easier for Ace if they weren't also unexpectedly growing extra ears, and a tiny tail! It turns out people pleasing has a price and there's only one place left for Ace to go...

The father : a tragic farce / by Florian Zeller

Now 80 years old, André was once a tap dancer. He lives with his daughter, Anne, and her husband, Antoine. Or was André an engineer, whose daughter Anne lives in London with her new lover, Pierre? The thing is, he is still wearing his pyjamas, and he can’t find his watch. He is starting to wonder if he’s losing control. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Father_A_Tragic_Farce/DeRcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+father+:+a+tragic+farce+/+by+Florian+Zeller&printsec=frontcover

Everything's fine / by Douglas McGrath

As Douglas McGrath remembers it, he had a pretty idyllic childhood. Growing up in Midland, Texas, in the 1970s, he rides his bike around town, hangs out with his best friend Eddie, and eats at Texas Burger every chance he gets. But once he starts eighth grade, his new teacher challenges his outlook on life and what he can expect from it. This moving, evocative memoir play explores how we grow up, how we understand each other, and how we offer grace to those who need it most."

Es & Flo / by Jennifer Lunn

Es and Flo fell fiercely in love in the eighties. They've been living as secret lovers ever since. As Es becomes more forgetful around their home, an unexpected carer arrives. Who sent this woman? Why? And can they trust her? As the outside world comes crashing in, Flo fights to protect the life they've built together over forty years behind closed doors. And faces the hardest battle of her life – to hold on to the woman she loves. Jennifer Lunn's play Es & Flo is a sharply observed, deeply compassionate drama, coloured with memories of the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. It celebrates an older lesbian relationship, women coming together to fight for what's right, and the healing power of chosen family.

Dividing the estate / by Horton Foote

Matriarch Stella Gordon is determined not to divide her 100-year-old Texas estate, despite her family's declining wealth and the looming financial crisis. But her three children have another plan. Old resentments and sibling rivalries surface as the members of this hilariously dysfunctional family go head to head to see who might claim the biggest piece of the pie. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dividing_the_Estate/T8STxhWWKpIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dividing+the+estate+/+by+Horton+Foote&printsec=frontcover

Dividing lines = Líneas divisorias / by Beatriz Pizano

The one thing everyone knows is that we're all going to die. Which means our loved ones are going to die. So how can we prepare for, experience, and honour their deaths? And does that look different if we have to make the decision to end their lives for them if they're suffering? Dividing Lines / Líneas Divisorias is one woman's story that offers a space for communal grieving through a celebration of life. Traced by the historic world events that coincide with her memories of independence and immigration, Beatriz reflects on how she spent over a decade caring for her mother--the one person she promised she'd be there for all the way until the end--as she lost her more and more to Alzheimer's, and ultimately had to make the tough call to end her mother's pain. A meditation full of light that doesn't shy away from fear of the unknown, Beatriz's narrative comes from a vulnerable and recognizable place of love that will invite our memories and choices in to heal.

Discus / by Becca Schlossberg

Hyacinth is dead. Well, no, not yet; he's lost in the Nether Place. But what happened? Who killed him? Wait, did someone kill him? And where's Apollo? That's all Hyacinth can remember at first: that his life truly began the night he locked eyes with the great god Apollo... Discus boldly reimagines the often-overlooked queer love story of Apollo and Hyacinth: a heartbreaking and candid play that challenges us with its powerfully relevant themes of class, power, justice, accountability, and – above all – change.

Desvelado / by José Casas

A young child named Little One is having trouble sleeping. Little One's family has moved to a new neighborhood, and he is nervous about attending a new school. With the help of la luna, a.k.a. Harvest, Música and the audience, Little One learns that everything will be all right and that new friends and experiences are a good thing. The show is designed to create a truly interactive experience for young audiences.

Destiny / by Florence Espeut-Nickless

Destiny dreams big. She dreams glamour. She's gonna be an MTV Base backing dancer, you watch. If J-Lo can make it outta the Bronx then Destiny can make it off the Hill Rise estate in Chippenham. She's fearless, ferocious and up for the fight (she's had to be). Born below the breadline, she's desperate to see beyond the neighbourhood and find hope in hopelessness. This monologue follows the story of a teenage girl growing up on a rural Wiltshire council estate. After a big night out takes a turn for the worst, Destiny's life spirals out of control as she desperately tries to learn how to love and be loved. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Destiny/JyF_EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Destiny+/+by+Florence+Espeut-Nickless&printsec=frontcover

The Clinic / by Dipo Baruwa-Etti

When a passionate activist, Wunmi, is invited into a middle-class Black family’s home, a fire is lit. The family members have always seen themselves as pillars of society: they are charity workers, therapists and politicians. But as they begin to realise what Wunmi really represents, their certainty begins to crumble, the tension rises and a suffocating ash starts to fill the air. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Clinic/NXd1EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Clinic+/+by+Dipo+Baruwa-Etti&printsec=frontcover

Casa Valentina / by Harvey Fierstein

Nestled in the Catskills--1962's land of dirty dancing and borscht belt comedy--an inconspicuous bungalow colony catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein's trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of "self-made women" as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Casa_Valentina/xOorDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Casa+Valentina+/+by+Harvey+Fierstein&printsec=frontcover

The boys are kissing / by Zak Zarafshan

Look, gang, what we need to keep sight of is, this isn't about us. It's not personal... It's about the children.' When two 9-year-old boys kiss in the school playground of a small town, two sets of parents are told to 'do something about it'--but neither of them are entirely sure what. Amira is sending inclusive children's books to the school library, whilst her wife Chloe dreams of a kitchen island. Sarah is trying her best not to upset the mum WhatsApp group, and her husband Matt just really wants to do the right thing-- as soon as he can work out what that is. Luckily, here to guide our helpless humans are two cherubic winged guardians of the gays, summonsed to attend to a disturbance in the queer atmos and intervene only where strictly necessary... but where's the fun in being an ethereal being if you can't drop in and cause a scene wearing latex? The Boys are Kissing is a riotous comedy drama about angelic intervention, children's birthday parties gone sour, and whether it ever really is 'just about the children.' Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Boys_Are_Kissing/a6WoEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+boys+are+kissing+/+by+Zak+Zarafshan&printsec=frontcover

Black superhero / by Danny Lee Wynter

David is in love with King. But King is a superhero. After an unexpected encounter, David plunges himself into a world of sex, drugs and hero worship in the hope of being rescued, until fantasy and reality merge with devastating consequences. Danny Lee Wynter's play BLACK SUPERHERO is a brutal, unflinching, funny portrait of one man's life spiralling out of control, in an age where our idols are Kings and our superheroes Gods.

Birthday candles / by Noah Haidle

Ernestine Ashworth spends her 17th birthday agonizing over her insignificance in the universe. Soon enough, it's her 18th birthday. Even sooner, her 41st. Her 70th. Her 101st. Five generations, an infinity of dreams, and one cake baked over a century. This poignant and funny play will take you through the highlights, heartbreaks, and extraordinary moments that make up one woman's ordianry life.

Birds and bees / by Charlie Josephine

Leilah is wondering if her Instagram is more of a burden than 'living her best life'. Billy's queer and proud but ignored by the education system; they're tired of feeling invisible. Aarron is learning how to be a man online, and it's starting to feel toxic. And Maisy, well Maisy's not that into sex, thank you very much. Thrown together, these four confront their differences and realise their power to create change.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel / by Deborah Moggach

Based on the Sunday Times bestseller which inspired one of this century's most treasured films, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel takes us on a journey to India with an eclectic group of British retirees as they embark on a new life. The luxury residence is far from the opulence they were promised, but as their lives begin to intertwine, they are charmed in unexpected and life-changing ways.

The banshees of Inisherin / by Martin McDonagh

"What is he, twelve? Why doesn't he want to be friends with you no more? 1923. As shots ring out from the warring mainland, on the island of Inisherin it's the rift between old drinking pals Pádraic and Colm that leads both men to ever more alarming action. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Banshees_of_Inisherin/3h6rEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+banshees+of+Inisherin+/+by+Martin+McDonagh&printsec=frontcover

Bad parent / by Ins Choi

Every parent feels like a bad parent at least some of the time. Just when you think you have a handle on it, everything changes. Norah and Charles are trying to navigate their life as parents of a toddler but are still figuring out who they are in relation to their son, to each other, and to the audience. An honest, no-holds-barred portrait of young parents struggling to find their way.

Bad Jews / by Joshua Harmon

Bad Jews tells the story of Daphna Feygenbaum--a "Real Jew" down to her Israeli boyfriend and the roots of her crazily unruly hair. When Daphna's cousin Liam brings his shiksa girlfriend, Melody, home for his grandfather's funeral and declares ownership over their grandfather's chai necklace, a vicious and hilarious brawl ensues with only Liam's brother Jonah there to keep the peace. But Jonah's fed up and not choosing sides. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bad_Jews/ZTuEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bad+Jews+/+by+Joshua+Harmon&printsec=frontcover

Ain't no mo' / by Jordan E. Cooper

Through a blend of sketch, satire, avant-garde theatre and a dose of drag, Ain't no mo' answers the incendiary question: What if the United States government offered Black Americans one-way plane tickets to Africa? This unpredictable comedy speeds through the turbulent skies of being Black in today's America. A kaleidoscope of moments surrounding this great exodus are told by an ensemble cast featuring Peaches, a larger-than-life flight agent boarding the final plane leaving the United States. Ain't no mo' leaves audiences crying with laughter - and thinking through the tears

Ace / book & lyrics by Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker

In 1964, upon learning of his mother's sudden passing, 21-year-old Danny Lucas returns to his childhood home in St Louis. Sorting through the clutter and disorder left behind, he comes face to face with a grandmother and a family history he never knew existed, and is left to try to piece together a story spanning three generations and two world wars, from a narrative that may or may not be real. A story about the sacrifices parents can make to protect and defend their children, Ace explores how history is made and memorialized, and how truth is defined from one generation to the next

53% of / by Steph Del Rosso

The President is coming to town, and the ladies of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania are beside themselves planning for the big event. Later, their husbands drink beer and talk smack. Much later, a group of 20-somethings gather in Brooklyn to plan a fundraiser... or is it a march? Or is it a ritual to absolve their own guilt? A play about complicity and the violence of the status quo, 53% Of asks what happens when we stop equating white womanhood with goodness, and ignorance with innocence.

Teddy Ferrara / by Christopher Shinn

When a campus tragedy makes national headlines, Gabe, a senior who runs the Queer Students Group, discovers that events surrounding the tragedy aren't as straightforward as they seem. A Pulitzer Prize finalist's searing play about what happens when a tragedy sparks a movement - and the truth gets lost along the way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Teddy_Ferrara_TCG_Edition/lVb6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Teddy+Ferrara+/+by+Christopher+Shinn&printsec=frontcover

Wilf / by James Ley

Calvin is going to completely revolutionise his life. Escape his abusive boyfriend, detonate his inner sex bomb, see (and shag) the world. Yes, he's going to change things, and everything will be wonderful, and he's going to be so happy. Definitely. Finally. Right? Together with Wilf, a rusty Volkswagen Polo which, like Calvin, has seen better days, they hit the road on a wild ride of dodgy Airbnbs, greasy takeaways, anonymous graveyard sex and banging 80s power ballads - ending up somewhere they never imagined they'd go. But is Calvin breaking free, breaking down, or just breakdancing in hot pants? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wilf/3lV_EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wilf+/+by+James+Ley&printsec=frontcover

Whitefella yella tree / by Dylan Van Den Berg

A love story unfolds. Under a lemon tree, two teenage boys meet in the light of a full moon. Neddy, a wannabe warrior from the Mountain Mob, and Ty, a storyteller from the River Mob, are tasked with exchanging information about the strangers who have landed on their shores. Starting out defensively, full of teenage bravado, their uneasy friendship grows into tender love; they’re young men on the brink of an adulthood that promises all love has to offer. But trailing their every move is an army of invaders, bringing with them cultural shifts, moral judgement and deadly disease. When history comes knocking, love is tested to its limits.

Two Palestinians go dogging / by Sami Ibrahim

The year is 2043, and Reem and her husband Sayeed are going to share a 'Serious Play about Palestine'. Things are tense. People are on the edge. The Fifth Intifada is right around the corner. But on a contested piece of land near their village of Beit al-Qadir, Reem and Sayeed are about to go dogging. Don't worry, you're allowed to laugh. Sami Ibrahim's play two Palestinians go dogging uses the lens of humour to explore how the everyday becomes political and the political becomes everyday in a conflict zone.

Tapped / by Katie Redford

Gavi wants to inspire his community. Which is tricky when everyone wants to just stay at home and watch Bake Off on TV. But, determined to succeed, he starts hosting amateur motivational meetings from his garage. With the help of daily mantras, goal-setting and repeatedly listening to Spandau Ballet, he believes he can change lives for the better. However, when the only attendees are his two colleagues from the Co-op - bickering mother and daughter Dawn and Jen - it's not quite the enlightening experience they were all hoping for.

Swallow / by Stef Smith

Three strangers are about to face their demons head on. Balanced precariously on the tipping point, they might just be able to save one another - if they can only overcome their urge to self-destruct. Passionate, painful and playful, Stef Smith's Swallow takes a long, hard look at the extremes of everyday life.

Straight line crazy / by David Hare

For forty uninterrupted years, Robert Moses was the most powerful man in New York. Though never elected to office, he manipulated those who were through a mix of guile, charm and intimidation. Motivated at first by a determination to improve the lives of New York City's workers, he created parks, bridges and 627 miles of expressway to connect the people to the great outdoors. But in the 1950s, groups of citizens began to organize against his schemes and against the motor car, campaigning for a very different idea of what a city should be. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Straight_Line_Crazy/f6pOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Straight+line+crazy+/+by+David+Hare&printsec=frontcover

Scandaltown / by Mike Bartlett

When noble heroine Miss Phoebe Virtue receives worrisome news on Instagram that her twin brother Jack may be endangering his reputation in London Town, she decides she must visit herself, and investigate... Set in contemporary, post-pandemic London, full of illicit sex, political hypocrisy and the machinations of a fame-hungry elite, Scandaltown is a comedy for the new Restoration of the theatres.

Safe house / by Lorna French

Safe House is set in the present in an undisclosed part of England. Tommy is a policeman who comes face to face with Kelly, a young man whose crime and painful situation stirs up his past. As Tommy interrogates Kelly he is forced to face the ghost that still looms large in his life, making him fear there may be something monstrous inside him too. Tommy must confront his demons or they will destroy his relationships with his wife, Alex, sister, Steph, and especially his stepdaughter, Hannah.

Ruckus / by Jenna Fincken

I don't think I'll ever meet someone who love me as much as Ryan loves me and hates me as much as Ryan hates me. A loving relationship can be anything but. In this one-woman thriller, Ruckus explores coercive control, an issue not widely recognized-- yet its side effects kill up to three women every week in the UK. Each moment of the play has been inspired by real women and real stories. Acclaimed by critics and audiences, this powerful piece sends shivers down the spine and brings to light the suppression caused by coercive control. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ruckus/BRKVEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ruckus+/+by+Jenna+Fincken&printsec=frontcover

Reasonable doubt / by Joel Bernbaum, Lancelot Knight, and Yvette Nolan

A significant moment in Canadian history is portrayed in this documentary musical about race relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Weaving hundreds of real interviews conducted with Saskatchewan residents and the court transcripts surrounding the killing of Colten Boushie and trial of Gerald Stanley, a kaleidoscopic picture is formed of the views of the incident, the province, and Indigenous people in Canada. Reasonable Doubt--with interviews by Joel Bernbaum, music by Lancelot Knight, and dramaturgy by Yvette Nolan--provides a space to honestly talk to each other about what has happened on this land and how we can live together.

Reaching for starlight / by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard

Reenie wants to dance, following in her mother's footsteps. Just like the rest of her ensemble, she believes she has what it takes to earn the coveted solo at the year-end recital. But when she notices that their strict maestra is not holding everyone to the same "traditional" standard--particularly Maia, the other Black girl in the class--Reenie is determined to stop her friend from being counted out of the competition. Frustrated with not being understood by her mother and filled with a new-found passion to fight a broken system, Reenie hatches a plan with her classmates but doesn't realize where her quick journey towards justice missed the mark with her friend. Reaching for Starlight is a compassionate story about the way we are told to move through a world not made for us, whether together or alone.

Rapture / by Lucy Kirkwood

Noah and Celeste Quilter met on a blind date organised by a newspaper, fell in love, got married and had a baby. But from the very earliest days of their relationship, they were under surveillance. And when they started a fight for their future, they never guessed it would cost them their lives. In a modern world where reality is whatever we imagine it to be, how do we know the stories we tell ourselves are true? What happens when there's only one person in the whole world you can truly trust? And what if they never take the bins out? Rapture by Lucy Kirkwood is a slippery thriller about love, power and belief which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in June 2022, directed by Lucy Morrison. It was promoted under the title That Is Not Who I Am, by Dave Davidson, a pseudonym.

A pretty shitty love / by Katherine Chandler

Inspired by true events that shook Wales and reverberated around the world. A new play by acclaimed playwright Katherine Chandler about dreaming of love, living in fear and finding the strength to pull yourself out.

Post-democracy / by Hannah Moscovitch

Welcome to the world of the one per cent, the corporate elite, the C-suite, the kingmakers. A world managed by payoffs, press releases, NDAs, and company policies. What happens to morality in this world when its people have limitless power? When a CEO and his highest executives are on an international business trip to secure a major deal, a sex scandal between employees is unearthed on the news. As the pressure to complete the deal mounts, more damaging secrets come to the surface, endangering the CEO's company, family, and legacy. In this searing look at upper-class privilege, Post-Democracy asks, what does it take to confront corruption?

Please, feel free to share / by Rachel Causer

Everyone is constructing themselves. I'm just conscious of doing it. More than that, I'm a sculptor of it. I am a fucking artist.' Alex is a social success. Her Instagram boasts a montage of members-only rooftops, inexplicably sunny days and clinking glasses -- like after like after like! When her father dies, Alex reluctantly joins a bereavement group. She shares a little, and then lies...a lot. And it feels good -- like the 'likes', but live, and just like that, Alex is hooked. Please, Feel Free to Share by Rachel Causer is a dynamic, darkly comic, one-woman show about our personal addictions, the never-ending pursuit of 'likes' and our growing desire to share all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Please_Feel_Free_to_Share/3Xp7EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Please,+feel+free+to+share+/+by+Rachel+Causer&printsec=frontcover

Patricia gets ready (for a date with the man who used to hit her) / by Martha Watson Allpress

Patricia has spent a year recovering from an abusive relationship. But when she bumps into her ex on the street, she accidentally agrees to go to dinner with him that night. Now she's got some big decisions to make. What to wear? What to say? And... whether or not to go?

Oh mother / by RashDash

What a transformative thing it can be to take care of someone else, completely. How it rearranges you. How you might yearn to do it. How you will definitely yearn for a break.It is relentless. Diabolical. Wonderful. Hilarious. Necessary.Created by multi-award-winning company RashDash, Oh Mother is a fever dream of a play made in the heat of the love, the exhaustion and the chaos of motherhood. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Oh_Mother/bDJ9EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Oh+mother+/+by+RashDash&printsec=frontcover

No particular order / by Joel Tan

A despot has come to power. The population is listless, submissive and scared. But beneath every violation of civil autonomy, there are real human beings; behind every act of resistance, there is an individual willing to risk everything. And these people aren't heroic or remarkable – they're just like us. Through the lives of bureaucrats, soldiers, ornithologists and tour guides, No Particular Order charts the fate of a single society, asking at every step of the way: is it empathy, or power, that endures?

The Negroes are congregating / by Natasha Adiyana Morris

n this unapologetic and sharp-witted perspective about the evolving Black experience in Canada and around the world, a rhythmic fusion of spoken word, satire, and soulful dialect emerges steady as a heartbeat through a journey of raw truths and deep-rooted questions. How does a racialized group teach their future generations to unlearn internalized self-hatred? What is the essence of Blackness beyond skin colour? Is it possible to be free living in present-day systemic racism? Designed to ignite necessary conversations, this powerful collection of engaging scenes that range from church to Black Twitter to Africville aims to construct an understanding of what it means to be Black.

The maladies / by Carmen Nasr

1508. France. A woman dances compulsively - and soon hundreds join her. 1962. Tanzania. A schoolgirl's laughing fit spreads from village to village. 2011. USA. Cheerleaders are overcome by uncontrollable twitching. 2023. London. A group of women suddenly lose the ability to speak - and no one can figure out why. The team at an all-female podcast decide to investigate and end up on a journey of discovery, uncovering more than they bargained for.

Ladies day / by Alana Valentine

It's Ladies Day at the Broome races and the divinely beautiful Mike is the toast of the track. But amongst the froth and festivity, a brutal act of violence reminds us that life is not just all swishy hemlines, debonair gents and fascinators galore. Alana Valentine is one of Australia's best playwrights. Known for her incredibly successful verbatim works, she takes her interviews and research with individuals and communities, and mixes them with a healthy dose of drama. The result is powerful, thought-provoking theatre in which the voices of her protagonists ring absolutely true.

Kabul goes pop : music television Afghanistan / by Waleed Akhtar

Afghanistan. It's 2004. Farook and Samia broadcast live every day to the whole of Kabul, delivering ninety minutes of musical bliss: Britney, Backstreet Boys and Enrique Iglesias. But when their show starts to make waves, the two young friends must take on repressive forces to build a new Afghanistan. Inspired by the true story of Afghanistan's first youth music program, Waleed Akhtar's play Kabul Goes Pop: Music Television Afghanistan explores a world following the US invasion that is complex, contradictory and shocking – all to a soundtrack of early noughties' pop.

How it ends / by Debbie Patterson

Most of us, when faced with death, wish we could just have a little more time. But what if this is the little more time that we wished for? What are you going to do with it? Grieving siblings Natalie and Bart have differing views on how we die. Natalie, a palliative care nurse, knows how drugs can help ease someone's pain, and do so on their own terms; Bart, a minister, believes that surrendering to what may come can bring peace and wisdom. Through this immersive show about end-of-life choices, Natalie and Bart are guided by a disabled angel who helps them address their mother's final decision and understand their own hopes and fears about death. Packed with relatable existential questions, this joyously engaging and reflective play offers a welcoming space to think about what comes next.

The haunting of Susan A / by Mark Ravenhill

Drawing on the traditions of a classic ghost story, The Haunting of Susan A explores the power of the mind to make the unseen visible and for the cruelty of the past to haunt a room. Described as “a ghost story”, the play is Inspired by Ravenhill's love of the work of M.R. James and is set in the King's Head Theatre itself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Haunting_of_Susan_A/6Y9zEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+haunting+of+Susan+A+/+by+Mark+Ravenhill&printsec=frontcover

Hakawatis : women of the Arabian nights / by Hannah Khalil

A tyrant revenges his wife's infidelity by wedding, bedding and beheading a new bride every day. Years later, only five brides-in-waiting remain. These women are unapologetic, and united in their fight to keep themselves – and the whole of womankind – alive. They've got other ideas for their future, and it starts with a story... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/HAKAWATIS/X9ueEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hakawatis+:+women+of+the+Arabian+nights+/+by+Hannah+Khalil&printsec=frontcover

Habibti driver / by Shamia Chalabi & Sarah Henley

Meet Ashraf and his 'Habibti' - his daughter Shazia. He's an Egyptian, Muslim taxi driver; she's half-Egyptian, half-Wiganese, and more interested in the last call at the bar than the call to prayer. Their relationship is put to the test when Ashraf introduces Shazia to his new Egyptian bride, whilst she is attempting to break the news of her own secret engagement. In Ashraf's taxi they must navigate driving lessons, sing karaoke and explore whether, despite their differences, family can win out regardless. Habibti Driver is a heartwarming and hilarious play, based on Shamia Chalabi's real-life experiences and co-written with Sarah Henley, exploring the clashes, compromises and comedy that come with living in a mixed-culture family in today's Britain.

Evelyn / by Tom Ratcliffe

There are a few things that we know about Evelyn: we know what she did, we know that we hate her, and we know that she's still out there. Somewhere. She's just not Evelyn anymore. She could be anyone. Even you. Britain is on the hunt, it has been for years. Walton is on high alert . . . and Sandra's just arrived. Inspired by real-life events, Evelyn is a story of mob justice in modern day Britain that interrogates the question: when is justice really served? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Evelyn/X6RyEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Evelyn+/+by+Tom+Ratcliffe&printsec=frontcover

Duecentomila / by kai fig taddei

Estranged teenage cousins Eli and Kat have recently met online and bonded over their queer identities, but they have a limited understanding of each other's very different realities. In Italy, soft-spoken Eli is trying to find a way to come out as trans to his conservative Roman Catholic family. In Canada, strong-headed Kat is desperate for connection to a culture and place she's never known. Kat and her friend Hannah are the only ones who know that Eli is trans--not even his brother Matteo knows. And while her intentions are good, Kat's decision to crowdfund a flight for Eli to attend Toronto Pride unknowingly outs him to the public, setting off a chain of events that leave the cousins and their loved ones reeling. Full of poetry, laughter, and big questions, this touching story paints a portrait of what it's like for young people wanting to reconcile what they've inherited with what feels right.

Death Valley : a love story / by Sandra Fenichel Asher

In the winter of 2003, during their first glorious year of being in love, Carol and David, both therapists and artists, spend a vacation week in Death Valley, during which David begins experiencing symptoms. On their return home, he is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Months of chemotherapy follow, culminating in a bone marrow transplant that goes awry, ending David’s life. Throughout their ordeal, Carol chronicles her passage through love, loss, grief and recovery. This play grew from the real journals, photographs and collages that make this universal story poignantly specific. With its simple staging and tour de force performance opportunities for three actors playing multiple roles, Death Valley: A Love Story has a profound potential to heal.

A day in May / by Colin Murphy

On May 22nd, 2015, the people of Ireland voted resoundingly for marriage equality - making Ireland the first country in the world to introduce gay marriage by popular vote. Little about Ireland's 20th-century history suggested that the country would find itself at the vanguard of LGBT+ rights. “Homosexual conduct may lead a mildly homosexually-orientated person into a way of life from which he may never recover,” warned the Irish Supreme Court in 1982. Homosexuality remained criminalised till 1993. But a long, hard fight by determined activists, as well as the individual efforts and sacrifices of thousands of ordinary people, gradually made the case for gay rights and, eventually, marriage equality. Colin Murphy's documentary drama, based on interviews by the journalist Charlie Bird, charts the arc of that fight - culminating in the fervour of the final campaign weeks - interwoven with the personal stories of some of those who were touched by it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Day_in_May/lhGVEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=a+day+in+may+colin+murphy&printsec=frontcover

City melodies / by Lorna French

London, 2013. Anya, a young Romanian woman, has been in London for several months struggling to improve her English and finds a job as a music teacher. She moves in with her black British boyfriend Wes, and together they are trying to hold on to Anya’s dream of being a music teacher and Wes’ dream of succeeding as a jazz musician. This is their story and of the people they meet, all connected by tragedy to varying degrees. Everyone will be changed for ever by the events they live through. City Melodies themes concern the fragmented sense of home and the impermanence of life as explored through the experiences of first and second generation immigrants to London. Other themes include the negative repercussions of putting people into boxes based on a prejudiced response to the unknown. Finally, the theme of persevering despite adversity and pursuing your dream is also explored.

Bulletproof backpack / by Eric Coble

Teenager Cloe accidentally sees a list of names another student is compiling. Is it a hit list for a planned school shooting, or is it something more innocent? Now Cloe has one night to make the hardest decision she's ever faced: Say nothing and risk a mass murder, or report the student and possibly ruin his life over nothing. In a cascading series of phone calls, Cloe, her friends and two adults race against the clock to find the balance between responsibility and panic. Active shooter drills are supposed to prepare students to survive, but what's preparing them to live under a constant threat of violence? Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBulletproofBackpackBM8.pdf

Bonnie and Claire / by Bo Wilson

Sisters Bonnie and Claire have spent their lives estranged. At 16, Claire ran off to New York to pursue a career in acting, leaving her older sister, Bonnie, to care for their aging parents. Forty-five years later, their parents now gone, Claire is forced to move back home with Bonnie, who bitterly resents the intrusion while denying the evidence of her own decline. The sisters' young niece, Zoe, tries to help them while urging reconciliation, but there's a lot of stubborn history blocking the road. Moving through 10 years, the first act uses a series of minor automotive mishaps to chart Bonnie's ever-diminishing capacities, while the second act follows them in one last attempt to attain the freedoms that are rapidly fading. With most of the action taking place in cars, this play is a literal journey through the practicalities and the pitfalls of aging, agency and admitting when we need someone. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBonnieandClaireBM9.pdf

Bangers / by Danusia Samal

It's club night and the tracks are spinning. Set against a backdrop of precarious lives in urban London, two headliners crossfade between stories of love, sex, and losing their creative spark. Bangers follows the highs and lows of two strangers as they struggle with their own pasts, while hurtling towards each other's futures. All the while, the DJ continues to play, dropping samples and words of wisdom. In the end, it's not the last track that counts, but the one coming up next...

Baghdaddy / by Jasmine Naziha Jones

It’s 1991 and the Gulf War rages three thousand, three hundred and twenty miles away. Darlee is 8 years old, crying behind the wheelie bookcase in Miss Stratford’s classroom. She’s just realised she’s Iraqi. Or half. Maybe both. She saw it on the news last night after Neighbours and fish fingers. Heard the fear slipping through the receiver, saw it oozing from Dad’s eyeballs and into the living room as he tried to phone home. What she can’t process now, she’ll be haunted by later; the spirits hounding her will make sure of that… Baghdaddy is a playfully devastating coming-of-age story, told through clowning and memory to explore the complexities of cultural identity, generational trauma and a father-daughter relationship amidst global conflict. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Baghdaddy/9nydEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Baghdaddy+/+by+Jasmine+Naziha+Jones&printsec=frontcover

Bacon / by Sophie Swithinbank

It's Year 10's first day back at school. Mark is new and too scared to make friends. Darren is out of control and too scary to make friends. The two of them need each other - but neither would ever admit it. Worlds apart, but more similar than they realise, the pair form a complex and manipulative relationship. And before they know it, they're embarking on a dangerous experiment that will alter the course of their lives. Sophie Swithinbank's play Bacon is an unflinching and unexpectedly humorous look at masculinity, sexuality and power, through the dizzying lens of youth.

All of us / by Francesca Martinez

Jess has a great life: a job she loves, a sharp sense of humour and a close group of friends. When austerity threatens the world she has worked hard to build, Jess makes a stand to protect those she holds most dear. Capturing the humour, sadness and joy of everyday life, Francesca Martinez's play All of Us is a passionate and timely look at the human cost of abandoning those who struggle to fit in.

The 47th / by Mike Bartlett

It is 2024 and as America goes to the polls, democracy itself is on the brink. Who takes the White House – and at what cost?

12:37 / by Julia Pascal

Does Tommy know you're Jewish? Tommy knows I'm Irish. At 12:37pm on 22 July 1946, the King David Hotel in Jerusalem was bombed. 91 people were killed, 46 wounded. The bombing was carried out by right-wing Zionists, targeting the headquarters of the British in Palestine. Two Irish Jewish brothers, Paul and Cecil Green, journey from their Dublin birthplace, to battling antisemitism on the streets of East London. Their Irish nationalism propels them towards Jewish nationalism as they struggle against British Imperialism to form a Jewish nation state. As violence between British soldiers and Jewish terrorists erupts, Paul and Cecil become involved in an act of terrorism that changes both their lives. 12:37 raises complex and controversial questions around Jewish violence, homeland and national identity in a stunning new play that is both hard-hitting historical epic and an intimate family drama. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/12_37/-n-jEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=12:37+/+by+Julia+Pascal&printsec=frontcover

Candlelight / by John Patrick Shanley

In the wake of her mother's suicide, Esperanza spends her tenth birthday dancing with Tito, a boy from school. Soon, reality intertwines with dreams, and Esperanza's hopes and fears come to life in the form of monsters, demons, and fairies. A Nuyorican comic romantic tragedy covered with magic and dipped in Brooklyn blood.

Nantucket sleigh ride / by John Guare

Edmund "Mundie" Gowery is a one-hit-wonder playwright turned venture capitalist. Decades after his renowned theatrical success, Mundie's new life as a New York stockbroker is turned upside down when he finds his name in the morning crossword puzzle. Before he knows it, he's on his way to Nantucket island, where he runs into a giant lobster, Roman Polanski, Walt Disney, and a host of other unlikely characters. Nantucket Sleight Ride defies time and space in this rollicking trip through one writer's forgotten past.

Spring break / by Joe Calarco

On the first night of Spring Break, new friendships are made and old ones are tested as the nineteen teenagers we first met in Winter Break continue to find joy, heartache, and wonder in the world they’re trying to find their place in. Commissioned for the Educational Theatre Association’s 2022 International Thespian Festival, Spring Break is a candid look into another crucial moment in these teenagers’ lives.

Are you now or have you ever been / written and conceived by Carlyle Brown ; poems by Langston Hughes

The year is 1953 in the Harlem apartment of African American writer Langston Hughes. Unable to sleep in light of the hearing he faces the next day, he gets up and begins to write a poem but finds his living space somehow inhabited by his readers. Exposed, guilt-ridden, and fearful, he confesses how he intends to answer McCarthy’s accusations that he is a Communist—imploring his readers not to abandon him no matter what they might read or hear. ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN… is a speculative drama about the clash between art and politics that celebrates the legacy of Langston Hughes and his history of literary activism in the face of oppressive power.

Eureka day / by Jonathan Spector

The Eureka Day School in Berkeley, California, is a bastion of progressive ideals: representation, gender identity, social justice. In weekly meetings Eureka Day’s five board members develop and update policy to preserve this culture of inclusivity, reaching decisions only by consensus. But when a mumps outbreak threatens the Eureka community, facts become subjective and every solution divisive, leaving the school’s leadership to confront the central question of our time: How do you build consensus when no one can agree on truth?

Wives / by Jaclyn Backhaus

From the brawny castles of 16th Century France, to the rugged plains of 1960s Idaho, to the strapping palaces of 1920s India, all hail the remarkable stories of the Great Men --as told by their whiny, witchy, vapid, vengeful, jealous wives. In this kaleidoscopic, time-hopping, comic ensemble piece, Jaclyn Backhaus pushes past patriarchal cliché to reach an ecstatic breakthrough, untethering stories and history-- and language itself-- from the visions made by men. A play about women taking control of their narratives with the help of each other, their feeling, and a giant fish.

The Red Lion / by Patrick Marber

When a small-time football club brings on a promising new recruit, it seems the team may finally step into the spotlight. But as the star rookie's future proves lucrative for those around him, he's thrown into a battle of principles between the team's money-hungry manager and its caretaker still pining for the glory days. Both a love letter to the sport and an examination of its less savory traditions, The Red Lion delves behind the scenes of Britain's most beloved pastime.

Epiphany / by Brian Watkins

On a snowy January night, Morkan invites her friends and family to her home in upstate New York to celebrate a forgotten tradition: Epiphany. Except the guest of honor is late, and no one can quite remember what the holiday is meant to signify-- Is it religious? Secular? Should there be dancing? As the evening wears on, the group becomes uneasy, wanting answers to questions both big and small: What is the best way to spend one's time on this earth? And why is this night so important to the hostess? Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6405.pdf

Tambo & Bones / by Dave Harris

Tambo and Bones are two characters trapped in a minstrel show. It's mad hard to feel like a real person when you're trapped in a minstrel show. Their escape plan: get out, get bank, get even. A rags-to-riches hip-hop journey, this comedy roasts America's racist past, wrestles with America's racist present, and explodes America's post-racial future--where what's at stake, for those deemed less than human, is the fate of humanity itself

Our man in Santiago / by Mark Wilding

What's the best way to overthrow a president? In 1973, junior CIA agent Daniel is tasked with removing Chilean president Salvador Allende from power. He certainly has his work cut out for him, with the senior CIA agent breathing down his neck, a suspicious hotel maid popping in at the worst times, and Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger constantly asking for updates (even though they’re definitely not overseeing the entire mission). Will he be able to oust Allende, despite not being able to speak Spanish or load a gun? OUR MAN IN SANTIAGO is a kooky spy throwback about patriotism, power, and American adventurism.

Exception to the rule / by Dave Harris

How do you make it through detention? In the worst high school in the city, six Black students are stuck in Room 111. They flirt. They fight. They tease. Should they follow the rules and stay put, or find an escape? Are the walls keeping them in, or are stronger forces at play?

The wanderers / by Anna Ziegler

Two marriages have seemingly little in common: Esther and Schmuli are Orthodox Jews navigating strictly defined rules and roles, while Sophie and Abe are secular and free to make their own choices. But both couples are growing apart as they strive to balance their individual identities with the families they've created. As Esther tests the boundaries of her personal freedom, Abe falls into a correspondence with a movie star that will shake the foundations of his marriage and career. Anna Ziegler's funny, moving, and thoughtful play asks if following one's truth is worth it, no matter the cost. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Wanderers/Y_6mEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+wanderers+/+by+Anna+Ziegler&printsec=frontcover

We are among us / by Stephen Belber

When Beau, a directionless 19-year-old, discovers that his mother was involved in a decade-old unsolved crime during her time as a military contractor, he seeks out the Afghan victim's daughter in California. As the web of the past widens, we see how a single, largely forgotten evening is still affecting people ⁠—⁠ and politics ⁠—⁠ throughout the country and world. A play about how people move forward when the past refuses to fade.

Stockholm syndrome, or, Remember that time Jimmy's All American Beefsteak Restaurant was taken over by that group of radicals? : an immersive play with music / by Adam Szymkowicz

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME: OR, REMEMBER THE TIME JIMMY'S ALL AMERICAN BEEFSTEAK PLACE WAS TAKEN OVER BY THAT GROUP OF RADICALS? That mouthful of a title is set, appropriately, at Jimmy's All American Beefsteak Restaurant ⁠—⁠ a fictional chain (the kind you love to hate) ⁠—⁠ whose employees and patrons suddenly find themselves in the midst of a hostage crisis … and a love story.

The power of Duff / by Stephen Belber

When TV anchor Charlie Duff begins to sign off each broadcast with a prayer, a growing crowd of believers becomes glued to their TV sets ⁠—⁠ wondering when their prayers will be answered. But what the prayers do ⁠—⁠ and don't do ⁠—⁠ to those closest to Duff tests the news anchor's own beliefs. Stephen Belber's sharp, funny, and moving play asks if there is anything more vital than the faith we have in one another.

Friends with guns / by Stephanie Alison Walker

You think you know your friends, your neighbors, your spouse, but what happens when you suddenly find out they have a garage full of guns? This new dark comedy explores the complicated issue of gun proliferation when two young liberal couples are forced to confront their assumptions about who should own a gun and why. The time of easy answers regarding this issue is long gone. In the wake of current events, we are all forced to reexamine our strongly held beliefs about gun ownership. FRIENDS WITH GUNS explores the question of what we can compartmentalize … and what we can't. It examines what happens when guns enter the conversation. It pulls the curtain back on liberals with guns. It asks what happens when suddenly one person in a marriage does a 180 on the gun issue. And it does all of this through a female lens.

Hello, from the children of planet Earth / by Don X Nguyen

Friends William and Betsy haven’t seen each other since high school. They’ve both followed their dreams, but something is missing: his all-consuming job at NASA doesn’t leave time for a family, and she can’t bear another unsuccessful round of IVF with her partner Shoshana. When Betsy texts William out the blue and asks him to be her sperm donor, both friends are forced to make decisions that will shape the rest of their lives.

Hysterical! / by Elenna Stauffer

It's the Bandits' best year EVER! Until … one by one, the girls succumb to a mysterious illness. As the traditional high-school pecking order is upended, relationships between the girls are tested. Throughout the play, cheerleaders serve as their own Greek chorus, commenting on their evolving situation through the language of cheer.

/kom'plisit/ / by Mildred Inez Lewis

Inspired by the life of Ghislaine Maxwell, this play tells the story of Amanda who's spent her life partnered with Jay at an investment fund. She's trying to break away, but gets sucked back in when Jay is accused of assaulting yet another woman. This play tells the other side of #MeToo as Amanda and her all-female executive team keep the machine running that creates extraordinary profits while protecting Jay from the consequences of his abuse.

Light switch / by Dave Osmundsen

Henry Sullivan, 27, single, gay, and autistic, lives his life vicariously through the heroes and heroines of the 19th-century British novels he devours. But no marriage plot has prepared him for dating as a contemporary gay man. When he meets a potential match in Joseph, every romantic notion of his will finally come true ⁠—⁠ or will it? Hilarious and heartbreaking, LIGHT SWITCH tells the story of one remarkable young man's journey toward love and acceptance over the span of twenty years.

Lost in time / by Tony Pasqualini

Danny Petrelli, a 60-year-old man, wakes up one morning as his 23-year-old self. When he attempts to reconnect with his future wife and rectify mistakes he has made, he inadvertently changes (and possibly destroys) everything he values. LOST IN TIME is about the destructive power of manipulating your life. And the losses you will suffer if you don’t embrace what’s in front of you, in the here and now.

Love and baseball / by Jerry Montoya

A chance meeting creates sparks between Will and Michele, but like the pristine moments of an unforgettable baseball game, love is also a sport of luck, skill, and timing. LOVE AND BASEBALL speaks to the power of connection and the admiration of a sport played like an art form. Three meetings, over four years, bring together Will, a struggling filmmaker, and Michele, a razor-sharp philosophy teacher. Their romance is born in short bursts with uncommon honesty, resulting in the pain and passion that is created when idealized love meets real life.

Poets' walk : conversations during the night / by Richard Nelson

Poets’ Walk is the name of a park, or rather a series of trails that skirt along the Hudson River. Legend has it that Washington Irving got his idea for Rip Van Winkle while walking through this property and gazing out at the Catskill Mountains. Other writers through the ages supposedly have found solace here. It is a place of profound beauty, and, when not crowded on weekends, of peace; here one can lose oneself, or gain a distance from the outside world’s swirling around. It is a place to think.

The extraordinary EB-1 : the title run of Edgar Bolaños / by Franky D Gonzalez

An undocumented boxer, haunted by the death of his mother on the journey to the United States, battles his way up the rankings to position himself for a world title fight and an opportunity at a visa. As he closes in on his title fight however, Edgar's own fatigue, his past, his present, skilled opponents, and the terrible power of an all-consuming black hole threaten to deny him his dream of fulfilling his mother's wish for a better life in the US.

Fanatical / by Tom Hoefner

Space Corps is a multi-billion dollar science-fiction film franchise that has fallen upon hard times. After a zeitgeist-defining first three chapters, the most recent entries in the series have proven lackluster, a crime for which most Space Corps fans hold franchise creator and director Bruce Glover responsible. Married couple Gina and Stanley, a pair of Space Corps superfans, decide that in order to keep Bruce from doing further damage to the series they adore they must kidnap him and lock him in their basement until someone else can take over the franchise and return it to glory.

American home / by Stephanie Alison Walker

One out of every 54 homes in America received a foreclosure notice in 2008. Stephanie Alison Walker takes us on a deeply personal journey through recent history as she sines a light on three out of the millions of stories of loss.

American outlaws / by Adam Seidel

Mike is hired as a hit-man by Mitch. Mike is a dangerous, duplicitous character and Mitch is a very nervous accountant who has gotten into some serious financial problems. It is soon revealed that the men have a common love interest, Mitch's wife Susan.

The art of disappearing / by Stephanie Alison Walker

When Melissa receives a mysterious invitation to brunch from her mother after a two-year estrangement, she returns to a home where nothing is as it seems. Fathers lie, friends leave, and she herself is failing in the artist's world she covets — as her mother practices the art of disappearing before her very eyes. The devastating truth she discovers in her parents' house threatens to tear all of them apart for good. Will Melissa stay and fight for her family? Or will she disappear too?

The auntie network / by Elenna Stauffer

When a desperate, pregnant young woman makes her way to the sanctuary city of New York, Bex and Tish open their home and their hearts to her. But an unexpected decision by their houseguest forces them to reckon with the consequences of their best intentions.

Blind date / by Rogelio Martinez

Two of history's most enigmatic leaders ⁠—⁠ Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev ⁠—⁠ meet to halt the arms race. A crafty game of one-upmanship ensues, while their wives engage in a passive-aggressive tango over tea in this compulsively fascinating, slyly comic backstage glimpse of a twentieth-century landmark event.

The breach / by Naomi Wallace.

Love has no limits for the Diggs siblings: there's nothing that 17-year-old Jude won't do to keep her younger brother Acton safe. Growing up in the turbulence of 1970s America, Jude works nights and weekends to pay the bills, just so that they can stay together and with their mother. But when Acton's troublesome pals form a club in their basement, a foolish game threatens to upend Jude's plans and derail their lives forever. How far will Jude go to protect her brother? And who will pay the eventual price of her doing so? As trust and loyalty are put on the line, hindsight proves devastating in Naomi Wallace's absorbing, coming-of-age drama THE BREACH. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Breach/S6lsEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+breach+/+by+Naomi+Wallace.&printsec=frontcover

Class reunion and other plays / by Kermit Frazier

Five provocative and surprising one-act plays about all manner of need, love, and survival. DINAH WASHINGTON IS DEAD: Two Black Air Force officers struggle to cope with isolation and longing in West Texas. CLASS REUNION: Three Black former high school classmates meet in a mind-twisting, revelatory reunion. THE EXTERMINATOR: An elderly white woman strives to survive through memory, hope, and strange visitations in a seemingly contentious urban landscape. A BIRD’S EYE VIEW: Two Black male figures search for purpose and companionship in a disruptive, destructive, principally white world. ELSE: In the frightening, chaotic early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Black mother and daughter come together both to grieve and to search for reconciliation.

The dark arts for beginners / by Nick Robideau

It's the year 2057, and the planet's climate crisis has passed the point of no return. Fires rage, cities drown, cancer rates soar, and the population is forced to live nocturnally. Humanity's last hope lies with a coven of teenage witches. There are just two little problems: these kids are tapping into forces more powerful than they could ever imagine — and, they don't exactly know what they're doing.

Destiny / by Edwin Sánchez

A twelve year-old transgender child and her dying father must come to terms with their own destiny. By Destiny sticking to her guns about who she is suppose to be, she frees her family to face what is unchangeable in their lives.

Esther, frog queen / by Julie Marie Myatt

Who gets to decide if a woman has children, and for whom? A comedy about reproductive rights and the environment. For years Martin is thought to be the last frog of his species, living alone in an amphibian lab, under the observation of a scientist eager to make her name in the field. Fate strikes and Esther is discovered living by herself in the rain forest, the last female frog. She is captured and brought to the lab, instructed that her duty will be to mate with Martin, reproduce, and save their species. Esther won't have it. She has never wanted to be a mother, or have children, nor felt it wise given the dangerous world they find themselves. She is determined, with the help of some lizards, to regain her freedom and to live her life as she pleases. And maybe free Martin to finally live as a frog, not a research subject.

...what the end will be / by Mansa Ra

In... what the end will be, three generations of men live under one roof and grapple with their own truths of what it means to be Black and gay. It's an exploration of pride, pain, and patience through the unflinching eyes of fathers and sons.

Clyde's / by Lynn Nottage

A truck stop sandwich shop offers its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff a shot at redemption. Even as the shop's callous owner tries to keep them down, the staff members learn to reclaim their lives, find purpose, and become inspired to dream by their shared quest to create the perfect sandwich.

Hangmen / by Martin McDonagh

It's 1965, and the death penalty has just been abolished in the United Kingdom. Naturally all of Oldham, northern England, wants to know what Harry, the second-best hangman in the country, has to say about it. As the new breaks, Harry's pub is overrun with locals and reporters looking for a quote, until a visitor arrives with a darker and more mysterious agenda. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hangmen/ORmLCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hangmen+/+by+Martin+McDonagh&printsec=frontcover

Letters of Suresh / by Rajiv Joseph

Letters of Suresh reveals intimate mysteries through a series of letters between strangers, friends, daughters, and lovers -- many with little in common but a hunger for human connection. Sending their hopes and dreams across oceans and years, they seek peace in one another, while dreaming of a city once consumed by the scourge of war. Letters of Suresh is a companion play to Animals Out of Paper.

The line / by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

Crafted from firsthand interviews with New York City’s frontline medical workers, THE LINE exposes the cracks in the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paramedics, doctors, nurses, and EMTs put their own health at risk as they work to save every patient, redefining what it means to protect and serve. Among them, an actor-turned-nurse handles his uncle’s deteriorating health while trying to keep his patients afloat, and a doctor consoles a mourning patient’s daughter while holding back his own grief and shock. Provocative, honest, and gut-wrenching, THE LINE documents the authentic experiences of medical first responders as they battle to save lives in a system built to serve the bottom line. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6305.pdf

Love / by Kate Cortesi

When Penelope is asked to join a group of women making harassment allegations against her former boss, she finds herself at an uncomfortable crossroads-- the man accused was indeed a former lover and remains a dear friend. As the other women's stories unfold, however, Penelope begins to question what happened to her, what she enabled, and her very identity. LOVE explores the quandary of reconciling our past selves with the current moment, and dares us to place love at the center of these reckonings.

One giant leap : the Apollo 11 moon landing / by J. T. Rogers

'That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind' On July 21, 1969, humans for the first time stepped onto another world. Fifty years later, the scope and daring of the Apollo 11 moon landing is still not fully understood. In One Giant Leap, Tony Award-winner J. T. Rogers tells the gripping, surprising story behind one of the greatest achievements in history. Weaving together the actual transcripts of the Apollo 11 mission, news coverage of the period, and Rogers's interviews with the men and women who made the mission happen, One Giant Leap captures the thrills, anxieties, and triumphs of a group of men and women striving to do the impossible.

sandblasted / by Charly Evon Simpson

Angela and Odessa are on a sandy search for something that might not be real, but they are determined to make a way out of no way. When they stumble upon Adah--that's right, THE Celebrity-turned-Wellness-Maven Adah--they decide to follow her lead, not knowing that the journey could very well be the cure.

When Monica met Hillary / by Winter Miller

It's 1995. Monica Lewinsky is twenty-two and in intern at the White House. She has a crush on the president of the United States. A year later, Huma Abedin is twenty and an intern at the White House. She has a plan to break the glass ceiling with the first lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton. You think you know the story. After all, you did hear it from the media, the news, the tabloids, but you might come to realize you don't know it at all. This acerbically funny play is about mothers and daughters, ambitious politicians who are devoted wives, and yes, the men... but they don't have a say in how this story ends. Monica and Hillary have never met, never spoken to each other; but what if, decades after the fact, they did meet? Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6408.pdf

We should definitely have more dancing, or, The amazing adventures of the woman with a fist in her head / by Clara Darcy & Ian Kershaw

Clara Darcy is fit! She's also (almost) care-free, (kind of) happily single and joyously dancing through life but, little does she know, her world is about to be turned upside down thanks to the arrival of a fist - slap-bang in the middle of her head. Based on her astonishing real-life story, We Should Definitely Have More Dancing explores the things that define us, that fill us up and make us who we are – a cautionary postcard from the edge of life stuffed full of heart and love and dancing. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/We_Should_Definitely_Have_More_Dancing/hZ15EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=We+should+definitely+have+more+dancing,+or,+The+amazing+adventures+of+the+woman+with+a+fist+in+her+head+/+by+Clara+Darcy+%26+Ian+Kershaw&printsec=frontcover

Truth's a dog must to kennel / by Tim Crouch

And that's the moment when I leave. The moment when the jokes fail us. When I fail. I fail. This precise moment here, look, see with your ears. The Fool leaves King Lear before the blinding. Before the killing starts. Before the ice-creams in the interval. In his new solo work, playwright Tim Crouch draws on ideas of virtual reality to send the Fool back to the future of the play that he left. Back to a world without moral leadership or integrity; a world where wealth covers vice; where the poor are dehumanised; where the jokes fall flat; where live art has become the privilege of the few. Truth's a Dog Must to Kennel is a daringly unaccommodating piece of theatre that switches between scathingly funny stand-up and an audacious act of collective imagining. King Lear meets stand-up meets the metaverse. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Truth_s_a_Dog_Must_to_Kennel/_7W4EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Truth%27s+a+dog+must+to+kennel+/+by+Tim+Crouch&printsec=frontcover

No magic pill / by Christian O'Reilly

If you're a wheelchair-user, you've got a simple choice: either you suck sweets in a corner and watch television all day or you try to change the world around you. There ain't gonna be no magic pill in my day. This is the (mostly) true story of Martin Naughton AKA Michael Collins in a wheelchair. Martin is an agitator. A disruptor. A seeker of justice and planter of (truth) bombs. But will his anarchic quest for equality be derailed by dreams of love and new horizons? Based on the real life of Martin Naughton and his campaign for independence for disabled people in Ireland, No Magic Pill, written by Christian O'Reilly, is a joyful, shameless, no-holds-barred story of one man's fight for justice and love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/No_Magic_Pill/922IEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=No+magic+pill+/+by+Christian+O%27Reilly&printsec=frontcover

The ministry of lesbian affairs / by Iman Qureshi

It’s 2022. There’s a rainbow flag in every high street window, and no lesbian bar. Enter The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs: a lesbian choir on a mission to unite a disparate and dwindling community. Led by a world-weary conductor, the choir flirt, gossip and attempt to sing their way onto the main stage at Pride. But harmony is more easily dreamt than realised in this heart-warming and musical Soho comedy about love, queerness, and belonging.

Life of Pi / Yann Martel ; adapted for the stage by Lolita Chakrabarti

After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, five survivors are stranded on a lifeboat -- a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, a Royal Bengal tiger, and a 17-year-old boy named Pi. Time is against them, food is scarce, who will survive? Based on one of the most extraordinary works of fiction, ... this stage adaptation of Life of Pi is a universally acclaimed, smash hit retelling of an epic journey of endurance and hope, featuring breathtaking puppetry and state-of-the-art visuals. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Life_of_Pi/iUOaEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Life+of+Pi+/+Yann+Martel+%3B+adapted+for+the+stage+by+Lolita+Chakrabarti&printsec=frontcover

Life among the Aryans / by Ishmael Reed

This play follows John Shaw and Michael Mulvaney, two modern MAGA white supremacists as they leech off their wives, take orders from grifting Leader Matthews, and plot a unique way around the encroaching societal progress they fear will leave them in the dust.

How the light gets in / by E. M. Lewis

A travel writer who never travels. A Japanese architect who can't figure out how to build a simple tea house. A gifted tattoo artist who resists the power of his talents. And a homeless girl who lives under a weeping willow tree in the Japanese Garden. Four lonely people, their stories written on paper, earth and skin, find each other when one of them falls apart. Together they realize the heart is as strong as it is fragile, and that the safety of home might be found in the most fearsome explorations. A beautiful, haunting and richly human play.

The fellowship / by Roy Williams

Children of the Windrush generation, sisters Dawn and Marcia Adams grew up in 1980s London and were activists on the front line against the multiple injustices of that time. Decades on, they find they have little in common beyond family... Dawn struggles to care for their dying mother, whilst her one surviving son is drifting away from her. Meanwhile, high-flying lawyer Marcia’s affair with a married politician might be about to explode and destroy her career. Can the Adams sisters navigate the turmoil that lies ahead, leave the past behind, and seize the future with the bond between them still intact? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Fellowship/NHd3EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+fellowship+/+by+Roy+Williams&printsec=frontcover

Fame whore / by Tom Ratcliffe with lyrics by Gigi Zahir

Becky wants to be famous. Becky deserves to be famous. Becky has to be famous. When drag artist Becky Biro is told they need a larger following to be considered for international TV hit The Drag Factor, Becky can smell success. She will do whatever it takes to get there, then reap the rewards of her inevitable stardom. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fame_Whore/xuGUEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fame+whore+/+by+Tom+Ratcliffe+with+lyrics+by+Gigi+Zahir&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Enough of him / by May Sumbwanyambe

To keep that part of me silent. That is what is unbearable. That is why I must be free. Based on a true story, Enough of Him explores the life of Joseph Knight, an African man enslaved by plantation owner Sir John Wedderburn and brought to Scotland to serve in his Perthshire mansion. Highly favoured by Wedderburn and yet still enslaved, Knight balances on the knife edge between obligation and a soul-deep yearning for freedom. He forges a bond with Annie, a young Scottish servant working in the household, and the two of them fall in love. But the walls of Ballindean do not keep secrets - their affair unsettles Lady Wedderburn, whose bitter loneliness is only deepened by the close bond her husband has with Knight. Joseph will endure bondage no longer. What happens when Joseph's dreams clash with those of the man who owns him? What becomes of us all when past brutalities bleed into our present realities? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Enough_of_Him/JZqWEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Enough+of+him+/+by+May+Sumbwanyambe&printsec=frontcover

The collaboration / by Anthony McCarten

New York, 1984. Fifty-six year old Andy Warhol's star is falling. Jean-Michel Basquiat is the new wonder-kid taking the art world by storm. When Basquiat agrees to collaborate with Warhol on a new exhibition, it soon becomes the talk of the city. As everyone awaits the 'greatest exhibition in the history of contemporary art', the two artists embark on a shared journey, both artistic and deeply personal, that re-draws both their worlds. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Collaboration/I4NwEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+collaboration+/+by+Anthony+McCarten&printsec=frontcover

The cherry orchard / by Anton Chekhov ; reimagined by Vinay Patel

An old starship travels through space, almost at the speed of light, searching for a home billions of miles from earth. Like their ancestors before them, the crew were born on this ship, this voyage is all they’ve ever known. And then— A planet is spotted. In a habitable zone! Imagine what we could do with the place. It’s a miracle. But not everyone wants to see it. Captain Ramesh is adamant that they can’t leave— but the downdeckers are getting restless—something has to change. Will they leap into a new future, or stay stuck on this journey forever? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Cherry_Orchard/xzqJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+cherry+orchard+/++Vinay+Patel&printsec=frontcover

Brown boys swim / by Karim Khan

"We think we'll be alright - because we wade through air, not water, but that's not enough." Best friends Mohsen and Kash are gearing up for the biggest night of their lives - Jess Denver's pool party. There's just one problem... they can't swim. Fueled by halal Haribo and chicken wings, the pair throw themselves in at the deep end, tackling cramped cubicles and cold showers as they learn how to be at one with the water. Fierce, funny, and brimming with heart, Karim Khan examines the pressures faced by young Muslim men in this exhilarating new play about fitting in and striking out. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brown_Boys_Swim/4lV_EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Brown+boys+swim+/+by+Karim+Khan&printsec=frontcover

Baybra's Tulips / by Lewis Morrrow

After a ten-year prison stint, Baybra goes to live with his sister Tellulah and her deacon husband Charles. Everyone and everything around him seems to have changed for the best in his absence, yet he isn't convinced. While he should be attempting to rebuild his life, including forge a relationship with his daughter who was a baby when he was first imprisoned, he has chosen instead to learn the truth behind Charles once abusive ways and has a more sinister plan than demonstrating his rehabilitation. He wants revenge and for things to be what they once were between him and his sister who for so long only had each other. In the anthology: Black Matters: Lewis Morrow Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Black_Matters_Lewis_Morrow_Plays/nNpzEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Black+matters+:+Lewis+Morrow+plays+/+by+Lewis+Morrrow&pg=PR4&printsec=frontcover

The apology / by Kyo Choi

I exist now. Don't tell me that I didn't exist before.How should a nation apologise for the crimes of its past? Seoul, 1991. She kept her silence for over forty years. Then Sun-Hee spoke out, igniting a fire that burns to this day. Yuna is about to uncover a shameful family secret. Priyanka, the first United Nations investigator into Violence Against Women, probes the harrowing circumstances of the WWII "comfort women". Three women's lives intertwine as they speak truth to power and confront the atrocity of Japanese military sexual slavery during wartime. Based on true accounts by survivors and historical documents, The Apology is a play about what it takes to forgive. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Apology/NDqMEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+apology+/+by+Kyo+Choi&printsec=frontcover

Antigone / by Inua Ellams, after Sophocles

A torn family. A hostile state. One heroic brother. One misguided son. One conflicted sister, and the second is on the run. A blistering retelling of the epic story from the writer of Barber Shop Chronicles, Inua Ellams. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Antigone/vrnMEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Antigone+/+by+Inua+Ellams,+after+Sophocles&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

All the Natalie Portmans / by C. A. Johnson

Sixteen-year-old Keyonna and her older brother, Samuel, live on the brink of eviction while dreaming of a better tomorrow. Too smart, "too gay," and too lonely to fit in, Keyonna escapes into a world of rom-coms, red carpets, and all the iconic characters played by her muse, Natalie Portman. But when "all the Natalie Portmans" start talking back to her, Keyonna finally has to face her off-screen drama in this imaginative new play that reminds us to embrace life on the ground while still reaching for the stars.

You can see all the stars / by E. M. Lewis

Something terrible happened to Ana at a college party, but she can't remember what. With the help of her friend Kevin and her roommate Marcy, she searches for answers, battles school officials, and tries to figure out her enemies from her allies on campus. But finding the truth and proving it has consequences for everyone around her. Who's willing to pay the price?

Witch / by Jen Silverman

A charming devil arrives in the quiet village of Edmonton to bargain for the souls of its residents in exchange for their darkest wishes. Elizabeth should be his easiest target, having been labeled a "witch" and cast out by the town, but her soul is not so readily bought. As the devil returns to convince her -- and then returns again -- unexpected passions flare, alliances are formed, and the village is forever changed. An inventive retelling of a Jacobean drama, this sharp, subversive fable debates how much our souls are worth when hope is hard to come by.

Wish you were here / by Sanaz Toossi

It’s 1978 and protests are breaking out all across Iran, encroaching on this suburb where a tight-knit circle of girlfriends plans weddings, trades dirty jokes, and tries to hang onto a sense of normalcy. But as the revolution escalates, each woman is forced to join the wave of emigration or face an equally uncertain future at home. With breathtaking humanity and cutting wit, Wish You Were Here chronicles a decade of life during war, as best friends forever become friends long lost, scattered and searching for home.

Squad Goals / by Michelle Payne

Everyone has football fever, but not in the usual way. England's Lionesses are tearing up the pitch and making a real name for the female game. Lexi, who never had the opportunity to be taken seriously, inspires a group of school leavers to redefine the game in her hometown of Dagenham.

The Shakespeare conspiracy : a most lamentable epic romantic tragic comedy / by Andrew Shepherd

Dive into a most lamentable, epic, comic, romantic tragic comedy in a world where Shakespeare’s heroes and villains have been waging a secret war, after being inexplicably being brought to life over 400 years ago. If the rules of theatre are broken, it will bring about the end of the world. It all hinges on a prophecy about The Last Descendant, who has no idea about any of this until the night he meets a girl at a party…

Rough girls / by Tara Lynne O'Neill

The making of Belfast's first all-female football team.This is the untold story of the Belfast women who stepped onto a pitch in society-shocking shorts and footie boots, a ball at their feet and a point to prove. They were the suffragettes of soccer. Rebels with a ball, who kept kicking their way through the outraged defence of a male-dominated game to raise thousands for those returning from war. Set in Belfast 1917 – 1921 in a city divided by war but still united by sport, the play chronicles the courage and determination of those girls.This original Belfast story based on true events will resonate with the history of the city and chime with the recent equality movements across the sports industry and the cultural sector. This ambitious, large-scale play features an impressive eleven strong female ensemble with live music creating the heartbeat of the city at the time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rough_Girls/1elJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rough+girls+/+by+Tara+Lynne+O%27Neill&printsec=frontcover

The puzzle with the piazza / by Mark Dunn

A story of a septuagenarian, who has one jigsaw puzzle among her large collection that she’s never finished. It contains 3,000 pieces and she has less than a day to finish it, because poor health has forced her to move in with her younger sister… without her puzzles. This gentle, bittersweet play explores the fragility of family ties and the often much stronger bonds of friendship that lattice the final years of our lives.

The prince / by Abigail Thorn

All the world's a stage. Have you ever been trapped in a bad relationship, playing a role that doesn't suit you? Jen and Sam are also trapped … in a multiverse of Shakepeare's complete works. On their quest to discover the doorway back to reality they notice something unusual about Henry 'Hotspur' Percy. Now Jen and Sam must decide; do they risk losing their way home to help someone who might be like them – someone who does not yet know who she truly is? The Prince is a sharp new play that weaves through Henry IV Part One and other of the Bard's works, providing fun for the audience whether they be Shakespeare scholars or verse virgins. With sword fighting, lesbianism, and disappointed parents, this thrilling new work was written by Abigail Thorn, celebrated creator of Philosophy Tube. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Prince/LDqMEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+prince+/+by+Abigail+Thorn&printsec=frontcover

Possessing Harriet : a play / by Kyle Bass

Tells the story of Harriet Powell, a young enslaved woman of mixed race, who, with the aid of the Underground Railroad (in the person of Tom Leonard, a free Black man), slips out of the hotel in Syracuse, New York, takes shelter in Gerrit Smith's attic, and talks with Elizabeth Cady (a cousin of Smith's) about women's rights, while they wait for night and the next stage of the escape to Canada.

Miss Magnolia senior citizen beauty pageant / by Leslie Kimbell

The Four Old Broads are back, with some wacky new friends, in an all-new comedy. Against her better judgement, Lurleen Dupree is throwing the seventh annual Miss Magnolia Senior Citizen Beauty Pageant. Martha Parcell is certain that it is finally her year to win. But Beatrice, Imogene and Eaddy have other plans. Throw in a tambourine-playing squirrel, dueling Elvises, and an unfortunate spray-tanning incident... and you're in for a knee-slapping, side-splitting night of live theatre.

I'm with her / by Victoria Midwinter Pitt

In the era of #MeToo and #Time'sUp, millions of women are sharing their stories of abuse and discrimination. But inside all our stories there's a part we don't always tell - a seed of heroic resistance. I'm With Her was written by Walkley Award winner Victoria Midwinter Pitt from frank and intimate conversations with eight extraordinary women: counter-terrorism expert Anne Aly MP, sex worker activist Julie Bates, botanist Marion Blackwell, world champion surfer Pam Burridge, bartender Nikki Keating, Catholic nun Patricia Madigan, anthropologist and Indigenous leader Marcia Langton and Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard. Together, they light up the golden thread that runs right through the patriarchy, and may yet be its undoing: the strengths women use to keep turning up to our own lives. It is a thrilling real-life demonstration, by the ultimate girl gang, of the power of women to outlast, outwit and out-muscle the great ugly beast of sexism Online preview: https://apt.org.au/perusal-view/?partner_cd=CP&product_cd=3620&pdftype=PDF_extract

Halfway bitches go straight to heaven / by Stephen Adly Guirgis

Stephen Adly Guirgis brings his prodigious gifts for exploring the lives of social outcasts to new heights in this play about the inner workings of a women's halfway house in New York City. In a shelter on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the unmoored residents struggle with addiction, abuse, mental illness, and neglect. Between daily therapy sessions, they clash with the staff and each other, form alliances, and fall in love. All the while, they live under constant threat that the place they call home may soon be shuttered at the behest of their wealthy neighbors. By turns harrowing, humorous, and heartbreaking, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven roaringly brings to life the experiences of women who society has tried to shuffle out of sight and out of mind. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Halfway_Bitches_Go_Straight_to_Heaven_TC/stAiEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Halfway+bitches+go+straight+to+heaven+/+by+Stephen+Adly+Guirgis&printsec=frontcover

The grown-ups / by Skylar Fox & Simon Henriques

The campers are all finally asleep, and the lake is getting quiet. Have a beer; make a s’more; tell a scary story. Figure out what you’re going to have to do in the morning to keep camp fun and safe without letting the kids find out about... well, you’ve seen the news. I just got a push notification—they’re getting closer. Following a group of camp counselors trying to mold the leaders of tomorrow when tomorrow is looking bleaker and bleaker, The Grown-Ups explores the traditions that change us, what it takes for us to change them, and how to change yourself when you’re hopelessly, tragically not prepared for this.

The Gradient / by Steph Del Rosso

In a not-so-distant future, men accused of sexual misconduct are sent to The Gradient to reckon with their mistakes and get rehabilitated. New employee Tess is eager to hold men accountable and enact change - but it might not be as simple as it seems. -- back cover.

Four old broads on the high seas / by Leslie Kimbell

Get ready to set sail with your favorite Old Broads. Yes... they're back again and ready for a Sassy Senior's cruise to the Bahamas. Beatrice is determined to have her pick of ALL the eligible men on the ship... but Maude, fresh from her win at The Miss Magnolia Senior Citizen Pageant, plans on being her biggest competition. Wedding bells are ringing for Sam and Imogene... maybe. And Eaddy... well... she just wants to know what all the fuss is about up on the topless sun deck. Throw in a murder mystery, a fabulous drag queen and a crazy costume party, and you're in for a laugh-a-minute, side-splitting laugh-out-loud night of fun.

For a Palestinian / by Bilal Hasna & Aaron Kilercioglu

Bilal has always been obsessed with love stories. Here he tells you his favourite: the true story of Palestinian translator Wa'el Zuaiter. Join Bilal as he ventures through the orange groves of Jaffa, Rome's piazzas, and the Duty-Free aisles of Luton Airport, piecing together this untold story, and asking what it means to be a Palestinian in the West. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/For_A_Palestinian/d26MEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=For+a+Palestinian+/+by+Bilal+Hasna+%26+Aaron+Kilercioglu&printsec=frontcover

Feeding Beatrice : a gothic tale / by Kirsten Greenidge

It starts with the sound of a spoon scraping against glass and the wet noise of lips smacking together. June and Lurie have a haunting new houseguest – and she’s ravenously hungry. They do their best to keep her fed and happy, but Beatrice always demands more. As she burrows deeper and deeper into their lives, the couple faces a horrific question: What will it cost to exorcise Beatrice forever? Kirsten Greenidge's spine-chilling gothic tale, about a contemporary Black couple haunted by the ghost of a young white girl, deftly explores questions of race, class and the American Dream.

Dream hou$e / by Eliana Pipes

Two Latina sisters are appearing on an HGTV-style reality show to sell their family home, hoping to capitalize on the gentrification in their 'changing neighborhood.' As they perform for the camera the show starts to slip into the surreal: one sister grapples with turmoil in the family's ancestral past and the other learns how much she's willing to sacrifice for the family's future. Dream Hou$e, which earned both the Kendeda Award and Steinberg Playwriting Award in 2021, is a crowd-pleasing comedy with a twist that asks: What is the cultural cost of progress in America? And is cashing in always selling out? Alternate title: Dream house

Selected plays of Jay Wright / edited by Will Daddario

Includes the plays: Passage -- The hunt and double night of the wood -- The playing space -- Lemma -- Syntax -- Aria -- The Crossing -- Daughters of the Water -- Homage to Anthony Braxton -- The Crossing of the Second River -- The Delights of Memory -- part I. Lily ; part II. Doss ; part III. Leroy ; part IV. David ; part V. Awaking and Forgetting -- The Disappearance of Mexico -- The Possible Impossibility of Leaving Home.

Confederates / by Dominique Morisseau

Sara, an enslaved rebel turned Union spy, and Sandra, a tenured professor in a modern-day private university, are having parallel experiences of institutional racism, though they live over a century apart. Confederates leaps through time to trace the identities of these two Black American women and explore the reins that racial and gender bias still hold on American educational systems today

The policeman also dies & other plays / by Solomon C.A. Awuzie

Includes the plays: A policeman also dies -- The haunted -- The face of love -- The earthworms -- The parasite.

Nothing to do with love : and other plays / by Santiago Loza

Includes the plays: Nothing to do with love (Makes me envious) -- Winter Animals -- I was Born to see you Smile -- Altitude Sickness -- The Saint. “Nothing to Do with Love:” And Other Plays brings together, for the first time in English, several of Argentine playwright Santiago Loza’s major works, along with visual documentation of the playwright’s productions and their historical and thematic contexts. For nearly twenty years, Loza has written scripts that document the experiences of marginalized individuals who live outside Buenos Aires or in its overlooked barrios, exploring how rural, working-class, and otherwise marginal individuals inhabit a reality different from many of the urban audiences who flock to the nation’s theater. Loza focuses his dramaturgy on individuals who lead lives as seamstresses, orphans, ranch hands, or disaffected adults talking about their problems without any expectation of resolution. His plays provide a sense of the richness of Argentina’s contemporary theater by giving voice to individuals whose lives are complicated by the economic fallout caused by Argentina’s adoption of neoliberal policies and the economic crash of 2001, as well as by the nation’s rapidly changing viewpoints on race, gender identity, and sexuality.

The life of King Henry VIII : all is true, or, did my heart love til now? / by Hannah Khalil ; after William Shakespeare and John Fletcher

You know the story: a King who turns his country upside down to try and secure a male heir. But it's never been told this way before. A Queen fights for justice. A Lady provokes reformation. But in the absence of a son, can a Princess change the future? See the story of Henry VIII from a female perspective: this exploration of love, lineage and power by Shakespeare's Globe Writer in Residence (2022) Hannah Khalil unfolds in a new way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Life_of_King_Henry_VIII_All_is_True/PERxEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+life+of+King+Henry+VIII+:+all+is+true,+or,+did+my+heart+love+til+now%3F+/+by+Hannah+Khalil+%3B+after+William+Shakespeare+and+John+Fletcher&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

JJ's place / by José Casas

Mario is a hardworking, struggling auto mechanic in East LA who is left to raise his son, JJ, after the passing of his mother. In order to honor her memory, cope with his lack of connection with his father, and fulfill an ulterior motive, JJ begins to build machines and arcade games out of leftover cardboard from his dad's handyman shop. All the while, he is talking to his mother via his dreams, holding onto her memory as tightly as he can. It is through JJ's imagination and ingenuity that he is able to connect to himself, his family, and his community. In the end, father and son come to an understanding as they look toward a brighter future together. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exjjsplaceJ77.pdf

I, Joan / by Charlie Josephine

Oh if we can just quiet the world for a moment. And listen within. There's a voice guiding you. I promise it's there. And until you can hear it, I'll be it for you." The men are all fighting, again. An endless war. From nowhere, an unexpected leader emerges. Young, poor and about to spark a revolution. Rebelling against the world's expectations, questioning the gender binary, Joan finds their power within, and their belief spreads like fire. I, Joan is a powerful and joyous new play which tells Joan of Arc's story anew. It's alive and queer and full of hope.

Great beyond / by Steven Dietz

The Great Beyond reunites two sisters who have lost their beloved father and whose contentious relationship with each other remains unresolved. At the urging of their husband and girlfriend, respectively, the sisters decide to conduct a seance to contact their deceased father. Amazingly, this seance does produce the result they hoped for … in a completely unexpected way. The Great Beyond is a comic drama about loss, hope and finding the power to believe. This play is a companion piece to The Ghost of Splinter Cove. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exGreatBeyondGF2.pdf

The ghost of Splinter Cove / by Steven Dietz

The Ghost of Splinter Cove is an adventure story prompted by the imaginations of three young people left to play in their basement on a rainy day. Siblings Cora and Nate and their friend, Sydney, have a lot of questions about what their parents are doing upstairs. When their adventure game becomes more real than they imagined, they unearth a history of their family that they could never have known. The Ghost of Splinter Cove is a fun, lively and moving play for the courageous young person inside all of us. This play is a companion piece to The Great Beyond. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exGhostofSplinterCoveGF3.pdf

The darkest part of the night / by Zodwa Nyoni

You've got to learn how to keep it inside. We have to. The world doesn't like us acting out. They'll put you down any chance they get. You can't be doing all this screaming. As siblings Shirley and Dwight bury their mother, they remember their upbringing in 1980s Chapeltown Leeds differently. In the height of racial discrimination, police brutality and poverty, the struggle for survival ripped through their family. Now as adults, they need to bring together the fractured pieces of their past in order to move forward. Zodwa Nyoni's gripping and heartfelt drama explores the complexities and beauty of what it really means to care for one another. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Darkest_Part_of_the_Night/9pZ8EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+darkest+part+of+the+night+/+by+Zodwa+Nyoni&printsec=frontcover

The unexpected man / Yasmina Reza ; translated by Christopher Hampton

A train compartment. A man and a woman. In a series of dazzling internal monologues, the man, a novelist, muses on his latest work, contemplates the futility of writing, and considers his life in terms of his friends, his daughter, her lover, and the workings of Ex-Lax on his digestive system. The woman thinks about her life, her loves, and her friendships in the full knowledge that the man she is facing is the novelist she admires and would love to speak to, and whose latest work she has tucked in her handbag. Christopher Hampton's elegant translation of Yasmina Reza's sharp, witty and sexy play explores the "nostalgia for what might happen. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Unexpected_Man/8WomyoFhFgAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+unexpected+man+/+Yasmina+Reza+%3B+translated+by+Christopher+Hampton&printsec=frontcover

The shape of things / by Neil LaBute

How far would you go for love? For art? What would you be willing to change? Which price might you pay? Such are the painful questions explored by Neil Labute in The Shape of Things. A young student drifts into an ever-changing relationship with an art major while his best friends' engagement crumbles, so unleashing a drama that peels back the skin of two modern-day relationships, exposing the raw meat and gristle that lie beneath. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Shape_of_Things/878NDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+shape+of+things+/+by+Neil+LaBute&printsec=frontcover

Homebody/Kabul / by Tony Kushner

A devastating play about Afghanistan and its long, tortured relationship with the West, from the author of Angels in America. The homebody of the title is a bored but highly intellectual Englishwoman who finds refuge and escape in the alternate world of Aghanistan, exoticised in her mind's eye with the help of an out-of-date guide book. Her mysterious disappearance prompts a search by her ineffectual husband and her emotionally detached daughter, who arrive unprepared for the adventures that await them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Homebody_Kabul/0zkGx_AhzUgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Homebody/Kabul+/+by+Tony+Kushner&printsec=frontcover

The dazzle / by Richard Greenberg

In their Harlem mansion, during the early years of the twentieth century, the Collyer brothers share an eccentric life, still within reason. Langley is a concert pianist by profession but prefers his studies of the world’s minutiae, all of which he considers collectible. His older brother, Homer, a former admiralty lawyer and aspiring intrigant, maintains the household and dreams of wilder times. These seem about to begin when the beautiful socialite Milly inserts herself into the Collyer ménage, bringing with her money, secrets and designs on Langley. As the first act unfolds, a wedding is strategized; as it ends, the wedding is aborted. In the second act, the Collyers and Milly are reunited under vastly altered conditions. Time passes, then destroys them, one by one. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dazzle/xn7qO1TMLPAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+dazzle+/+by+Richard+Greenberg&printsec=frontcover

Our lady of 121st Street / by Stephen Adly Guirgis

The Ortiz Funeral Room is in big trouble: The body of beloved community activist and nun Sister Rose has been stolen from the viewing room, and waiting for her proper return are some of New York City’s most emotionally charged, life-challenged neighborhood denizens, trying to find a place to put their grief, checkered pasts, and their uncertain futures. Among the equally hilarious and tragic twelve characters, you’ll meet Rooftop, a chronically unfaithful but otherwise popular Los Angeles DJ, looking to reconcile with the love of his life; Pinky and Edwin, two brothers tragically linked forever; and the outrageously angry Norca, who doesn’t let the fact that she slept with her best friend’s husband deter her from the full expectation of being immediately forgiven of her sin by her best friend, Inez, still in pain fifteen years later. The rest of the crowd in this dark, insightful, and very funny comedy inevitably square off on each other, motivated by rage, pain, and a scary desire to come clean—perhaps for the first time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Our_Lady_of_121st_Street/sausawyO5tYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Our+lady+of+121st+Street+/+by+Stephen+Adly+Guirgis&printsec=frontcover

Dublin carol : a play / by Conor McPherson

Dublin Carol works an ingenious spell in telling the story of undertaker John Plunkett, who on Christmas Eve is sharing his funereal memories with his young assistant. With the unexpected visit from his estranged, grown-up daughter, he is forced to face up to his disastrous past so that he can make a truce with his future. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dublin_Carol/UoKp5n9lJr8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dublin+carol+:+a+play+/+by+Conor+McPherson&printsec=frontcover

Orson's shadow / by Austin Pendleton

Theater greats Sir Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Vivian Leigh, Joan Plowright, and Kenneth Tynan get together to rehearse Ionesco's Rhinoceros. With lightning wit and scathing insight into the true nature of genius, this play opens the private world of these very public people, exposing their warmth, their egos, and their glittering madness.

The Ruby sunrise / by Rinne Groff

Setting off from a farm in Indiana as a young girl named Ruby struggles to turn her dream of the first all-electrical television system into a reality, and jumping forward to a McCarthy-era New York TV studio where Ruby's heirs fight over how her story should be told, The Ruby Sunrise charts the course of the phenomenon of television: from early idealism and sparks of genius, to promises fulfilled and compromises brokered, and beyond. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Ruby_Sunrise/Hz5bBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Ruby+sunrise+/+by+Rinne+Groff&printsec=frontcover

Stuff happens / by David Hare

The American Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's famous response to the looting of Baghdad, at a press conference on April 11, 2003, provides the title for this new, highly controversial play about the extraordinary process leading up to the invasion of Iraq. How does the world settle its differences, now that there is only one superpower? What happens to leaders risking their credibility with skeptical publics? From events that have dominated international headlines, David Hare has fashioned both a historical narrative and a human drama about the frustrations of power and the limits of diplomacy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stuff_Happens/KudcDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stuff+happens+/+by+David+Hare&printsec=frontcover

The busy world is hushed / by Keith Bunin

Hannah, a minister and Bible scholar, finds her faith at odds with that of Thomas, her estranged, wayward son. But when an inquisitive young writer hired to assist Hannah with her latest publication learns painful secrets from Hannah’s past, she spies a risky, unconventional opportunity for reconciliation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Busy_World_is_Hushed/1T1bBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+busy+world+is+hushed+/+by+Keith+Bunin&printsec=frontcover

Opus / by Michael Hollinger

After firing one of their founding members due to his erratic behavior, a world-class string quartet takes a chance on a gifted but relatively inexperienced young woman. With only a few days to rehearse a grueling Beethoven masterpiece, the four struggle to prepare their highest-profile performance ever--a televised ceremony at the White House. Their rehearsal room becomes a pressure-cooker as passions rise, personalities clash, and the players are forced to confront the ephemeral nature of their life's work. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Opus/5b3evOo7vRYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Opus+/+by+Michael+Hollinger&printsec=frontcover

Blackbird / by David Harrower

This intense work was commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival, where it received its world premiere. Two people who once had a passionate affair meet again fifteen years later. Ray is confronted with his past when Una arrives unannounced at his office. Guilt, rage and raw emotions run high as they recollect their relationship when she was twelve and he was forty. Without any moral judgments, the play never shies away from the brutal shattering truth of the abandoned and unconventional love. Ray, fifty-six, after years in prison and subsequent hardships, has a new identity and has made a new life for himself, thinking that he could no longer be found. Una, twenty-seven, has thought of nothing else, and on finding a photo of him, sets out to find Ray. She is looking for answers not vengeance. Nevertheless, the consequences are shattering. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blackbird/qW-4-dj8tIkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blackbird+/+by+David+Harrower&printsec=frontcover

Blood and gifts / by J.T. Rogers

It's 1981. As the Soviet army burns its way through Afghanistan, CIA operative Jim Warnock is sent to try to halt its bloody progress, beginning a secret spy war behind the official hostilities. Jim and his counterparts in the KGB and the British and Pakistani secret services wrestle with ever-shifting personal and political loyalties. With the outcome of the entire Cold War at stake, Jim and a larger-than-life Afghan warlord decide to place their trust in each other. Spanning a decade and playing out in Washington, D.C., Pakistan, and Afghanistan, Blood and Gifts is a sweeping, often shockingly funny epic set against one of the greatest historical events of recent history, the repercussions of which continue to shape our world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blood_and_Gifts/coxIIDI8jFoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blood+and+gifts+/+by+J.T.+Rogers&printsec=frontcover

The nether : a play / by Jennifer Haley

The Nether, a daring examination of moral responsibility in virtual worlds, opens with a familiar interrogation scene given a technological twist. As Detective Morris, an investigator of the Nether's online offerings, questions Mr. Sims about his activities in a role-playing realm so realistic it could be life, she finds herself on unexpectedly slippery ground. Sims argues for the freedom to explore even the most deviant corners of our imagination. Morris holds that we cannot flesh out our malign fantasies without consequence. Their clash of wills leads to a consequence neither could have imagined. Suspenseful, ingeniously constructed, and fiercely intelligent, Haley's play forces us to confront deeply disturbing questions about the boundaries of reality. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Nether/n91JBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+nether+:+a+play+/+by+Jennifer+Haley&printsec=frontcover

The Lehman trilogy / by Stefano Massini ; adapted by Ben Power

On a cold September morning in 1844, a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is joined by his two brothers, and an American epic begins. 163 years later, the firm they establish - Lehman Brothers - spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, triggering the largest financial crisis in history. Weaving together nearly two centuries of family history, this epic theatrical event charts the humble beginnings, outrageous successes, and devastating failure of the financial institution that would ultimately bring the global economy to its knees. The Lehman Trilogy is the quintessential story of western capitalism, rendered through the lens of a single immigrant family.

True west / by Sam Shepard

This American classic explores alternatives that might spring from the demented terrain of the California landscape. Sons of a desert-dwelling alcoholic and a suburban wanderer clash over a film script. Austin, the achiever, is working on a script he has sold to producer Sal Kimmer when Lee, a demented petty thief, drops in. He pitches his own idea for a movie to Kimmer, who then wants Austin to junk his bleak, modern love story and write Lee's trashy Western tale. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/True_West/h6UJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=True+west+/+by+Sam+Shepard&printsec=frontcover

Copenhagen / by Michael Frayn

Copenhagen is a reimagining of the mysterious wartime meeting between two Nobel laureates to discuss the atomic bomb. In 1941 the German physicist Werner Heisenberg made a strange trip to Copenhagen to see his Danish counterpart, Niels Bohr. They were old friends and close colleagues, and they had revolutionized atomic physics in the 1920s with their work together on quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle. But now the world had changed, and the two men were on opposite sides in a world war. The meeting was fraught with danger and embarrassment; it ended in disaster. Why Heisenberg went to Copenhagen and what he wanted to say to Bohr are questions that have exercised historians ever since. In Michael Frayn's new play, an ambitious, fiercely intelligent, and daring dramatic sensation, Heisenberg meets Bohr and his wife, Margrethe, once again to look for the answers and to work out - just as they had worked out the internal functioning of the atom - how we can ever know why we do what we do. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Copenhagen/egoGavonIF0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Copenhagen+/+by+Michael+Frayn&printsec=frontcover

The invention of love / by Tom Stoppard

It is 1936 and A. E. Housman is being ferried across the Styx, glad to be dead at last. His memories, however, are dramatically alive. The river flowing through this play connects Hades with the Oxford of Housman's early manhood, where high Victorianism in art, literature and morality is being challenged by the aesthetic movement and an Irish student called Wilde is about to burst onto the scene. By century's end, the poet and scholar Housman, the greatest, most caustic and wittiest classicist of his time, has secured his reputation in the sixty three poems collected in A Shropshire Lad. The Invention of Love uses the free form of memory to give a sympatric account of Housman in the age of Oscar Wilde, and it asks whose passion was really the fatal one? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Invention_of_Love/IlHTBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+invention+of+love+/+by+Tom+Stoppard&printsec=frontcover

Metamorphoses : a play / by Mary Zimmerman

Called by "Time" the "theater event of the year," Mary Zimmerman's "Metamorphoses" brings Ovid's tales to stunning visual life. Set in and around a large pool of water onstage, "Metamorphoses" juxtaposes the ancient and the contemporary in both language and image to reflect the variety and persistence of narrative in the face of inevitable change. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Metamorphoses/Sx42w0SOBwkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Metamorphoses+:+a+play+/+by+Mary+Zimmerman&printsec=frontcover

The goat, or, Who is Sylvia? : (notes toward a definition of tragedy) / by Edward Albee

Martin, a successful architect who has just turned fifty, leads an ostensibly ideal life with his loving wife and gay teenage son. But when he confides to his best friend that he is also in love with a goat (named Sylvia), he sets in motion events that will destroy his family and leave his life in tatters. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Edward_Albee_s_The_Goat_Or_Who_is_Sylvia/biyQZKztYaYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+goat,+or,+Who+is+Sylvia%3F+:+(notes+toward+a+definition+of+tragedy)+/+by+Edward+Albee&printsec=frontcover

Vincent in Brixton / by Nicholas Wright

In 1873, at the age of 20, Vincent Van Gogh rented a room in a suburb of London while he was being groomed for a career as an art dealer in his family's business. This heralded play produced by Lincoln Center traces the transforming effects of love, sex and youthful adventure on Van Gogh's still unformed talent, portraying him as he might have been and supposing a poignant affair with his landlady that might have happened. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vincent_in_Brixton/jYL1B1UFjWUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Vincent+in+Brixton+/+by+Nicholas+Wright&printsec=frontcover

Take me out : a play / by Richard Greenberg

Darren Lemming, the star center fielder of the world champion New York Empires, is young, rich, famous, talented, handsome and so convinced of his popularity that when he casually announces he’s gay, he assumes the news will be readily accepted by everyone. It isn’t. Friends, fans and teammates react with ambivalence, and when the slipping Empires call up the young phenom Shane Mungitt to close their games, the ambivalence turns to violence. Angry, lonely, guilt-ridden and confused, Darren finds some unlikely solace in the form of friendship with his new business manager, Mason Marzac—a brilliant but repressed guy, who, as everyone around him copes with disenchantment, blooms in the ecstatic discovery of baseball. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Take_Me_Out/zP8OEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Take+me+out+:+a+play+/+by+Richard+Greenberg&printsec=frontcover

The retreat from Moscow / by William Nicholson

Edward and Alice have been married for thirty-three years. Their thirty-year-old son, Jamie, visits them for the weekend, to find that this is the Sunday his father has picked to leave his mother for another woman. Jamie, unable to change his father's mind, watches helplessly as his parents' marriage crumbles, and his mother is overwhelmed with bewilderment and pain. This is a play without villains--both Edward and Alice are good people trying to do their best--but the damage done by Edward's departure is devastating. Jamie, caught in the middle, tries to help and can't, and slowly realizes that he's not an impartial witness but one of the combatants. His struggle is to understand both his parents and, like them, to survive the emotional hurricane that has ripped through their lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Retreat_from_Moscow/BIoageppHwkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+retreat+from+Moscow+/+by+William+Nicholson&printsec=frontcover

The Pillowman / by Martin McDonagh

With echoes of Stoppard, Kafka, and the Brothers Grimm, THE PILLOWMAN centers on a writer in an unnamed totalitarian state who is being interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a series of child murders. The result is an urgent work of theatrical bravura and an unflinching examination of the very nature and purpose of art. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Pillowman/9ztnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Pillowman+/+by+Martin+McDonagh&printsec=frontcover

Gem of the ocean / by August Wilson

Set in 1904 Pittsburgh, it is chronologically the first work in August Wilson's decade-by-decade cycle dramatizing the African American experience during the 20th century -- an unprecedented series that includes the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Fences and The Piano Lesson. Aunt Esther, the drama's 287-year-old fiery matriarch, welcomes into her Hill District home Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and scouted for the Union Army, and Citizen Barlow, a young man from Alabama searching for a new life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/August_Wilson_s_Gem_of_the_Ocean/5FUMEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gem+of+the+ocean+/+by+August+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

Shining city : includes Come on over / by Conor McPherson

In Dublin, Ian has left the priesthood to become a therapist. John is one of his first clients. John's wife has been killed in a car accident, and he keeps receiving visits from her ghost. John, with Ian's help, starts to recover. But what begins as an unusual encounter becomes a desperate struggle between the living and the dead – a struggle which will shape and define both of them for the rest of their lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shining_City/GXBnoorlryQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Shining+city+:+includes+Come+on+over+/+by+Conor+McPherson&printsec=frontcover

The history boys / by Alan Bennett

An unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form (senior) boys in a British boarding school are, as such boys will be, in pursuit of sex, sport, and a place at a good university - generally in that order. In all their efforts, they are helped and hindered, enlightened and bemused, by a maverick English teacher who seeks to broaden their horizons in sometimes undefined ways, and by a young history teacher who questions the methods, as well as the aim, of their schooling. In The History Boys, Alan Bennett raises - with gentle wit and pitch-perfect command of character - not only universal questions about the nature of history and how it is taught but also questions about the purpose of education today. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_History_Boys/pNOJcW0zCZ8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+history+boys+/+by+Alan+Bennett&printsec=frontcover

Radio golf / by August Wilson

Radio Golf is a fast-paced, dynamic, and wonderfully funny work about the world today and the dreams we have for the future. Set in Pittsburgh in the late 1990s, it’s the story of a successful entrepreneur who aspires to become the city’s first black mayor. But when the past begins to catch up with him, secrets get revealed that could be his undoing. The most contemporary of all of August Wilson’s work, Radio Golf is the final play in his unprecedented ten-play cycle chronicling African-American life in the twentieth century.

Frost/Nixon / by Peter Morgan

British talk-show host David Frost has become a lowbrow laughing-stock. Richard M. Nixon has just resigned the United States presidency in total disgrace over Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. Determined to resurrect his career, Frost risks everything on a series of in-depth interviews in order to extract an apology from Nixon. The cagey Nixon, however, is equally bent on redeeming himself in his nation's eyes. In the television age, image is king, and both men are desperate to outtalk and upstage each other as the cameras roll. The result is the interview that sealed a president's legacy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Frost_Nixon/2dRsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Frost/Nixon+/+by+Peter+Morgan&printsec=frontcover

The coast of Utopia / by Tom Stoppard

Comprising of three sequential plays, The Coast of Utopia chronicles the story of romantics and revolutionaries caught up in a struggle for political freedom in an age of emperors. The Coast of Utopia is Tom Stoppard’s long-awaited and monumental trilogy that explores a group of friends who come of age under the Tsarist autocracy of Nicholas I, and for whom the term “intelligentsia” was coined. Among them are the anarchist Michael Bakunin, who was to challenge Marx for the soul of the masses; Ivan Turgenev, author of some of the most enduring works in Russian literature; the brilliant, erratic young critic Vissarion Belinsky; and Alexander Herzen, a nobleman’s son and the first self-proclaimed socialist in Russia, who becomes the main focus of this drama of politics, love, loss and betrayal. In The Coast of Utopia, Stoppard presents an inspired examination of the struggle between romantic anarchy, utopian idealism and practical reformation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Coast_of_Utopia/OBnYrnDuxOUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+coast+of+Utopia+/+by+Tom+Stoppard&printsec=frontcover

The seafarer / by Conor McPherson

The Seafarer is a chilling play about the sea, Ireland, and the power of myth. It tells the story of Sharky, a down-on-his-luck (and his own fault for it) chauffeur and his recently blind brother, Richard, as they prepare for Christmas festivities in their small home in Baldoyle, Ireland. After a night of heavy drinking, Richard and his friend Ivan, are slowly bringing themselves back around to humanity as Sharky tries to get the house ready for the upcoming holiday. But it's not until Nicky Giblin, a friend of Richard's but not so much of Sharky's, drops by with a stranger bearing a sinister familiarity with Sharky, and a game of cards is suggested, does the real story unfold. As the game progresses, it's not his money that Sharky is playing with, but his very soul. This expert comedy and chilling ghost story ups the ante on anyone running from their past. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Seafarer/6TPQfHESiMkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+seafarer+/+by+Conor+McPherson&printsec=frontcover

Rock 'n' roll / by Tom Stoppard

Rock 'n' Roll spans the years from 1968 to 1990 from the double perspective of Prague, where a rock 'n' roll band comes to symbolise resistance to the Communist regime, and of Cambridge where the verities of love and death are shaping the lives of three generations in the family of a Marxist philosopher. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rock_n_Roll/iZzDt5GwtGkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rock+%27n%27+roll+/+by+Tom+Stoppard&printsec=frontcover

August, Osage County / by Tracy Letts

A vanished father. A pill-popping mother. Three sisters harboring shady little secrets. When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, their Oklahoman family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Mix in Violet, the drugged-up, scathingly acidic matriarch, and you’ve got a major play that unflinchingly—and uproariously—exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/August/RxvJR9h-8w4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=August,+Osage+County+/+by+Tracy+Letts&printsec=frontcover

Reasons To Be Pretty: a Play / by Neil Labute

A love story about the impossibility of love, REASONS TO BE PRETTY introduces us to Greg, who really, truly adores his girlfriend, Steph. Unfortunately, he also thinks she has a few physical imperfections, and when he casually mentions them, all hell breaks loose. A hopelessly romantic drama about the hopelessness of romance, REASONS TO BE PRETTY is a gorgeous play. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reasons_to_be_Pretty/775gkINQXuAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Reasons+To+Be+Pretty:+a+Play+/+by+Neil+Labute&printsec=frontcover

33 variations / by Moisés Kaufman

A mother coming to terms with her daughter. A composer coming to terms with his genius. And, even though they’re separated by 200 years, these two people share an obsession that might, even just for a moment, make time stand still. Drama, memory and music combine to transport you from present-day New York to nineteenth-century Austria in this extraordinary American play about passion, parenthood and the moments of beauty that can transform a life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/33_Variations/sPq8a8qxzuIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=33+variations+/+by+Moise%CC%81s+Kaufman&printsec=frontcover

The God of Carnage / by Yasmina Reza ; translated by Christopher Hampton

What happens when two sets of parents meet up deal with the unruly behavior of their children? A calm and rational debate between grown-ups about the need to teach kids how to behave properly? Or a hysterical night of name-calling, tantrums and tears before bedtime? Boys will be boys, but adults are usually worse - much worse. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_God_of_Carnage/53l85ErQ_jYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+God+of+Carnage+/+by+Yasmina+Reza+%3B+translated+by+Christopher+Hampton&printsec=frontcover

The testament of Mary / by Colm Tóibín

A provocative imagining of the later years of the mother of Jesus finds her living a solitary existence in Ephesus years after her son's crucifixion and struggling with guilt, anger, and feelings that her son is not the son of God and that His sacrifice was not for a worthy cause. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Testament_of_Mary/f2JsVnIezQAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+testament+of+Mary+/+by+Colm+To%CC%81ibi%CC%81n&printsec=frontcover

Gary : a sequel to Titus Andronicus / by Taylor Mac

In GARY, maverick theater artist Taylor Mac's singular world view intersects with Shakespeare's first tragedy ,Titus Andronicus. Set just after the blood-soaked conclusion of that sensationally gruesome tale, the years of battles are over, the country has been stolen by madmen, and there are casualties everywhere. And two very lowly servants are charged with cleaning up the bodies. It's the year 400-- but it feels like the end of the world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gary_A_Sequel_to_Titus_Andronicus/zejwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gary+:+a+sequel+to+Titus+Andronicus+/+by+Taylor+Mac&printsec=frontcover

The last night of Ballyhoo / by Alfred Uhry

HE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, in December of 1939. Gone with the Wind is having its world premiere, and Hitler is invading Poland, but Atlanta’s elitist German Jews are much more concerned with who is going to Ballyhoo, the social event of the season. Especially concerned is the Freitag family: bachelor Adolph; his widowed sister, Beulah (Boo) Levy; and their also widowed sister-in-law, Reba. Boo is determined to have her dreamy, unpopular daughter, Lala, attend Ballyhoo, believing it will be Lala’s last chance to find a socially acceptable husband. Adolph brings his new assistant, Joe Farkas, home for dinner. Joe is Brooklyn born and bred, and furthermore is of Eastern European heritage—several social rungs below the Freitags, in Beulah’s opinion. Lala, however, is charmed by Joe and she hints broadly about being taken to Ballyhoo, but he turns her down. This enrages Boo, and matters get worse when Joe falls for Lala’s cousin, Reba’s daughter, Sunny, home from Wellesley for Christmas vacation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Last_Night_of_Ballyhoo/89kDGdPmawsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+last+night+of+Ballyhoo+/+by+Alfred+Uhry&printsec=frontcover

Pride's Crossing / by Tina Howe

At ninety, Mabel Tidings Bigelow insists on celebrating her daughter and granddaughter’s annual visit with an archaic croquet party. As it unfolds, she relives vignettes from the last eighty years that subtly interleave past and present to reveal the precise moments of opportunity lost and love rejected that define her life. A vibrant portrait of Mabel takes shape: her flashes of wit and humor, resilience, disappointments, youthful spunk, and geriatric willfulness. Her Boston blue-blood family expected daughters to applaud from the sidelines, but Mabel had one shining moment of achievement: she was the first woman to swim the English Channel. However, her willfulness did not extend to rejecting a socially ideal fiancé for love. Pride’s Crossing is a rewarding challenge for a talented cast. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pride_s_Crossing/bh4m-qCMeMEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pride%27s+Crossing+/+by+Tina+Howe&printsec=frontcover

Collected stories : a play / by Donald Margulies

The conflict between the established artist and the adulatory fan who becomes a protégé, disciple, colleague and friend—and finally threatening rival—is one of those great topics…It resurfaces in Donald Margulies’s provocative new play, COLLECTED STORIES, which confronts the prominent short-story writer Ruth Steiner with her student turned confidante turned competitor Lisa Morrison. What is new here is that the women are teacher and student both in academia and in life, that they come from different social milieus, and that for her first novel, Lisa has also cannibalized Ruth’s experiences, to wit her youthful, shattering affair with the poet Delmore Schwartz. As always, Margulies is literate, intellectually stimulating, and able to create characters of both dramatic and human interest. And he sustains this interest through six scenes covering six years that only briefly leave Ruth’s cozily messy, book-infested Greenwich Village apartment. Here two worlds clash in age-old, ecumenical dueling, led up to by great mutual emotional investment, and all the more bitter for it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Collected_Stories/x_boCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Collected+stories+:+a+play+/+by+Donald+Margulies&printsec=frontcover

Three days of rain : The American plan ; The author's voice ; Hurrah at last / by Richard Greenberg

Includes the plays: Three days of rain -- The American plan -- The author's voice -- Hurrah at last. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Three_Days_of_Rain/Lac4n5XaydUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Three+days+of+rain+:+The+American+plan+%3B+The+author%27s+voice+%3B+Hurrah+at+last+/+by+Richard+Greenberg&printsec=frontcover

Freedomland / by Amy Freed

Ages ago, Noah and his wife took their kids to the amusement park “Freedomland.” After that trip, Noah’s wife ran off and left him to raise the family. Now a retired professor of religion, Noah has married Claude, a sex therapist, and lives a secluded life in the family farmhouse. Breaking this seclusion are Noah’s two daughters and son who return home for an impromptu reunion. Polly, an eternally lost Greek-studies major, is the first to arrive. In pursuit is her ferocious sister Sigrid, a painter of clowns, with a befuddled magazine interviewer in tow. Soon after, their brother, Seth, a survivalist, arrives with a backwoods pregnant girlfriend. An overdue showdown between Seth and his father sets off fireworks that illuminate the neurosis, rage and anxiety of one family—and of America at the turn of the millennium. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Freedomland/mKQWOGwwpGUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Freedomland+/+by+Amy+Freed&printsec=frontcover

Wit / by Margaret Edson

Vivian Bearing, Ph.D., a renowned professor of English who has spent years studying and teaching the brilliant and difficult metaphysical sonnets of John Donne, has been diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. Her approach to the study of Donne: aggressively probing, intensely rational. But during the course of her illness—and her stint as a prize patient in an experimental chemotherapy program at a major teaching hospital—Vivian comes to reassess her life and her work with a profundity and humor that are transformative both for her and the audience. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wit/w10-QhqA7UEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wit+/+by+Margaret+Edson&printsec=frontcover

King Hedley II / by August Wilson

Peddling stolen refrigerators in the feeble hope of making enough money to open a video store, King Hedley, a man whose self worth is built on self delusion, is scraping in the dirt of an urban backyard trying to plant seeds where nothing will grow. Getting, spending, killing and dying in a world where getting is hard and killing is commonplace are threads woven into this 1980's installment in the author's renowned cycle of plays about the black experience in America. Drawing on characters established in Seven Guitars, King Hedley II shows the shadows of the past reaching into the present as King seeks retribution for a lie perpetrated by his mother regarding the identity of his father. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/August_Wilson_s_King_Hedley_II/WaAJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=King+Hedley+II+/+by+August+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

The Waverly Gallery / by Kenneth Lonergan

Gladys, the elderly matriarch of the Green family, has run an art gallery in a small Greenwich Village hotel for many years. The management wants to replace her less-than-thriving gallery with a coffee shop. Always irascible but now increasingly erratic, Gladys is a cause of concern to her daughter, her son-in-law, and her grandson, from whose point of view this poignant memory play is told. A wacky and heartrending look at the effect of senility on a family. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Waverly_Gallery/2pkWcZwIRgoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Waverly+Gallery+/+by+Kenneth+Lonergan&printsec=frontcover

The play about the baby / by Edward Albee

A fresh young couple - Boy and Girl - have a new baby, whom an older couple - Man and Woman - have come to steal. Why? Because, as Man says, "If you don't have the wound of a broken heart, how can you know you're alive?" Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Edward_Albee_s_The_Play_about_the_Baby/bvpmJK_JDuYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+play+about+the+baby+/+by+Edward+Albee&printsec=frontcover

Proof : a play / by David Auburn

It focuses on Catherine, a young woman who has spent years caring for her father, Robert, a brilliant mathematician in his youth who was later unable to function without her help. His death has brought into her midst both her sister, Claire, who wants to take Catherine back to New York with her, and Hal, a former student of Catherine's father who hopes to find some hint of Robert's genius among his incoherent scribblings. The passion that Hal feels for math both moves and angers Catherine, who, in her exhaustion, is torn between missing her father and resenting the great sacrifices she made for him. For Catherine has inherited at least a part of her father's brilliance -- and perhaps some of his instability as well. As she and Hal become attracted to each other, they push at the edges of each other's knowledge, considering not only the unpredictability of genius but also the human instinct toward love and trust. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Proof/6AUtQVhrY90C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Proof+:+a+play+/+by+David+Auburn&printsec=frontcover

Anna in the tropics / by Nilo Cruz

Anna in the Tropics is a poignant and poetic new play set in 1929 Florida in a Cuban-American cigar factory, where cigars are still rolled by hand and "lectors" are employed to educate and entertain the workers. The arrival of a new lector is a cause for celebration, but when he begins to read aloud from Anna Karenina, he unwittingly becomes a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners, for whom Tolstoy, the tropics and the American dream prove a volatile combination. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Anna_in_the_Tropics/9Nq533bUllAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Anna+in+the+tropics+/+by+Nilo+Cruz&printsec=frontcover

The intelligent design of Jenny Chow : an instant message with excitable music / by Rolin Jones

Jennifer is just an average girl who re-engineers obsolete missile components for the U.S. Army from her bedroom. When she decides to meet her birth mother in China, she uses her technological genius to devise a new form of human contact. Rolin Jones’ irreverent “techno-comedy” chronicles one brilliant woman’s quest to determine her heritage and face her fears with the help of a Mormon missionary, a pizza delivery guy, and her astounding creation called Jenny Chow. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Intelligent_Design_of_Jenny_Chow/QTxnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+intelligent+design+of+Jenny+Chow+:+an+instant+message+with+excitable+music+/+by+Rolin+Jones&printsec=frontcover

Red light winter : a play / by Adam Rapp

Red Light Winter follows two thirty-something New Yorkers, the outgoing, confident, bullish Davis and the introspective, depressive Matt. Once college room-mates, who go for a guys' trip to Amsterdam's Red Light District to rekindle their friendship and relive memories from their college days. While there, they both end up sleeping with the same beautiful young prostitute Christina, and a bizarre love triangle ensues. But the romance they find in Europe is eventually overshadowed by the truth they discover a year later in the East Village, the consequences of which have far-reaching and devastating consequences for all three characters. Written with an unflinching poetic beauty, Red Light Winter is a play of sexual intrigue that not only explores the myriad and misguided ways we seek to fill the empty spaces inside us, but also why long-standing friendships can have an irrational, unhealthy history. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Red_Light_Winter/G2vShKDcBkQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Red+light+winter+:+a+play+/+by+Adam+Rapp&printsec=frontcover

Bulrusher / by Eisa Davis

In 1955, in the redwood country north of San Francisco, a multiracial girl grows up in a predominantly white town whose residents pepper their speech with the historical dialect of Boontling. Found floating in a basket on the river as an infant, Bulrusher is an orphan with a gift for clairvoyance that makes her feel like a stranger even amongst the strange: the taciturn schoolteacher who adopted her, the madam who runs her brothel with a fierce discipline, the logger with a zest for horses and women, and the guitar-slinging boy who is after Bulrusher's heart. Just when she thought her world might close in on her, she discovers an entirely new sense of self when a black girl from Alabama comes to town. Passionate, lyrical, and chock full of down-home humor, this play is an unforgettable experience by a new, thrilling voice. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bulrusher/0RIHJFC4xlgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bulrusher+/+by+Eisa+Davis&printsec=frontcover

Ruined : a play / by Lynn Nottage

From Lynn Nottage, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of such plays as Fabulation and Intimate Apparel, comes this haunting, probing work about the resilience of the human spirit during times of war. Set in a small mining town in Democratic Republic of Congo, this powerful play follows Mama Nadi, a shrewd businesswoman in a land torn apart by civil war. But is she protecting or profiting by the women she shelters? How far will she go to survive? Can a price be placed on a human life? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ruined/xXaoBKbVgm0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ruined+:+a+play+/+by+Lynn+Nottage&printsec=frontcover

Next to normal / music, Tom Kitt ; book and lyrics, Brian Yorkey

Dad's an architect; Mom rushes to pack lunches and pour cereal; their daughter and son are bright, wise-cracking teens, appearing to be a typical American family. And yet their lives are anything but normal because the mother has been battling bipolar disorder for 16 years. Next to Normal takes audiences into the minds and hearts of each character, presenting their family's story with love, sympathy and heart. This deeply moving piece of theatre provides a wonderful opportunity for performers to explore dramatic material and showcase vocal talents with an energetic pop/rock score. Next to Normal is an emotional powerhouse that addresses such issues as grieving a loss, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life and is ideal for community theatres, as well as colleges and regional theatre companies. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Next_to_Normal/xE36CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=next+to+normal+yorkey&printsec=frontcover

Clybourne Park / by Bruce Norris

CLYBOURNE PARK explodes in two outrageous acts set fifty years apart. Act One takes place in 1959, as white community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family. Act Two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Clybourne_Park/QC2eI_bLaBkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Clybourne+Park+/+by+Bruce+Norris&printsec=frontcover

The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence / by Madeleine George

Watson: trusty sidekick to Sherlock Holmes; loyal engineer who built Bell's first telephone; unstoppable super-computer that became reigning Jeopardy! champ; amiable techno-dweeb who, in the present day, is just looking for love. these four constant companions become one in this brilliantly witty, time-jumping, loving tribute (and cautionary tale) dedicated to the people--and machines--upon which we all depend.

Fun home / book and lyrics by Lisa Kron ; music by Jeanine Tesori ; based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel

When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family's Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father's hidden desires. Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

Father comes home from the wars : parts 1, 2 & 3 / by Suzan-Lori Parks

Offered his freedom if he joins his master in the ranks of the Confederacy, Hero, a slave, must choose whether to leave the woman and people he loves for what may be yet another empty promise. As his decision brings him face-to-face with a nation at war with itself, the loved ones Hero left behind debate whether to escape or wait for his return…only to discover that for Hero, free will may have come at a great spiritual cost. Father Comes Home From the Wars is an explosively powerful drama about the mess of war, the cost of freedom, and the heartbreak of love, with all three parts seen in one night. Part 1 introduces us to Hero. In Part 2, a band of rebel soldiers test Hero’s loyalty as the cannons approach. Part 3 finds Hero’s loved ones anxiously awaiting his return. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Father_Comes_Home_From_the_Wars_Parts_1/gMkKCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Father+comes+home+from+the+wars+:+parts+1,+2+%26+3+/+by+Suzan-Lori+Parks&printsec=frontcover

Dance nation / by Clare Barron

Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. And if their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at Nationals in Tampa Bay. A play about ambition, growing up, and how to find our souls in the heat of it all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dance_Nation/1bQ8EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dance+nation+/+by+Clare+Barron&printsec=frontcover

Fairview : a play / by Jackie Sibblies Drury

At the Frasier household, preparations for Grandma’s birthday party are underway. Beverly is holding on to her sanity by a thread to make sure this party is perfect, but her sister can’t be bothered to help, her husband doesn’t seem to listen, her brother is MIA, her daughter is a teenager, and maybe nothing is what it seems in the first place…! FAIRVIEW is a searing examination of families, drama, family dramas, and the insidiousness of white supremacy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fairview/vIskEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fairview+:+a+play+/+by+Jackie+Sibblies+Drury&printsec=frontcover

Women of the fur trade / by Frances Koncan

In eighteen hundred and something something, somewhere upon the banks of a Reddish River in Treaty One Territory, three very different women with a preference for twenty-first century slang sit in a fort sharing their views on life, love, and the hot nerd Louis Riel. Marie-Angelique, a Metis Taurus, is determined to woo Louis (a Metis Libra)--who will be arriving soon--by sending him boldly flirtatious letters. Eugenia, an Ojibwe Sagittarius, brings news of rebellion back to the fort after trading, but isn't impressed by Louis's true mediocre nature. And Cecilia, a pregnant British Virgo, is anxiously waiting on her husband's return from an expedition, but can't resist pining over the heartthrob Thomas Scott (Irish Capricorn), who is actually the one secretly responding to Marie-Angelique's letters. This will all go smoothly, right? This lively historical satire of survival and cultural in- heritance shifts perspectives from the male gaze onto women's power in the past and present through the lens of the rapidly changing world of the Canadian fur trade.

Two billion beats / by Sonali Bhattacharyya

Seventeen-year-old Asha is a rebel, inspired by historical revolutionaries and unafraid of pointing out the hypocrisy around her - but less sure how to actually dismantle it. Her younger sister, Bettina, wide-eyed and naive, is just trying to get through the school day without having her pocket money nicked. With essays to write, homework to do, and bus journeys home, the two sisters meet every afternoon, outside the school gates, to tackle the injustice of the world.

Mrs Delgado / by Mike Bartlett

Helen, along with sixty-seven million other people, is in lockdown. Unfortunately, Helen's neighbour, Mrs Delgado, is not. Mike Bartlett's funny and poignant play for one actor tells a story of desire, control, raised blinds and lowered boundaries.

Metamorphoses : inspired by Ovid / by Sami Ibrahim, Laura Lomas, Sabrina Mahfouz

From the everyday to the astonishing, and the ordinary to the miraculous, the Roman poet Ovid's stories of epic impossibilities explore the power of transformation, the resilience of humans, and the wonder of life. The myths of Metamorphoses have inspired generation of writers, including Shakespeare. Over two thousand years later, they are reimagined for our world by three leading British playwrights, and feature anarchy, shape-shifting and a burning chariot of fire.

Everybody just c@lm the f#ck down / by Robert Chafe

Emergency rooms, scans, tests, blood work, and more blood work . . . Robert's had a wide range of concerning symptoms checked. Multiple times. And yet he still has no answers as to why everything hurts. So he wonders, is he Tennessee Williams or Dorothy Zbornak? Could all of it be in his head? Everybody Just C@lm the F#ck Down is a multi-layered story of anxiety in which Robert explores the shifting planes of middle age, mortality, grief, and creativity while learning how to embrace a lack of control.

Stories gone Wilde / [adapted] by James Zager

A garden comes to life to tell a number of fantastic stories that took place there including: The Selfish Giant, The Nightingale and the Rose, The Birthday of the Infanta, The Remarkable Rocket and The Happy Prince. The play is cyclical, representing a day, a year, and a life, starting with dawn and moving through the day and the seasons. This classic storytelling illuminates childhood, adolescence, coming of age, adulthood, sacrifice and loss, and a new beginning. Extraordinary characterizations and the ensemble nature of the piece make this a fantastic project for young actors who are challenged to create the world of the garden as well as perform in it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stories_Gone_Wilde/HnZeDd0qzzsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stories+gone+Wilde+/+%5Badapted%5D+by+James+Zager&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Grace : a play / by Craig Wright

GRACE is a tragicomedy that explores human assumptions about how God, goodness, faith and causality operate in the cosmic machinery. Steve and Sara have relocated to Sunrise, Florida to pursue an unbelievably wonderful business deal, but as the deal slowly unravels and Steve finds himself afflicted with an itch that just won't stop, Sara finds herself increasingly drawn to their next-door neighbor, Sam, a badly-scarred victim of a recent car accident who wants nothing to do with her or her Bible-quoting husband. In the end, with a little help from an old German exterminator who's still angry about the Allied bombing of Hamburg in World War II, all three characters are confronted by a world that's both better and worse than any religion can justify. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Grace/mGN60-ZS-3EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Grace+:+a+play+/+by+Craig+Wright&printsec=frontcover

Plays 2 / by Roy Williams

Includes the plays: The Gift -- Clubland -- Sing yer heart out for the lads.

Sing yer heart out for the lads / by Roy Williams

Saturday 7 October 2000. England v. Germany - the last match at the old Wembley Stadium. The King Georg's regulars meet to watch the World Cup qualifying game. As the match is played out on the big screen, other rivalries conic to the fore. Barry, the pub team's only black player, is also their star striker. He may have a Union Jack tattooed on his bum and chant 'Enger-land' along with the rest, but we soon realise that he is a barely tolerated outsider: when the landlady's teenage son has his mobile phone nicked by his 'mate', the racial divide is violently exposed.

Fallout / by Roy Williams

A boy is found dead. DC Joe Stephens must return to his old neighbourhood to investigate. Shance is avoiding his questions about her boyfriend, Emile, and his mates. Ronnie saw something, but promised Shanice she'd say nothing. But when a reward is offered, keeping quiet becomes a major test of their street loyalty.

Days of significance / by Roy Williams

Written in response to Much Ado About Nothing, Days of Significance is set in market-town England and the deserts of Iraq. On the eve of their departure for active service, two young soldiers join their friends to binge drink the night away. Their complex love lives and mortal fears directly impact on their tour of duty and reveal how the naive and malformed moral codes of these young men have catastrophic reverberations for the West's moral authority. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Days_of_Significance/oSmaAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Days+of+significance+/+by+Roy+Williams&printsec=frontcover

Plays 1 : the Wesker trilogy / by Arnold Wesker

Includes the plays: Chicken soup with barley -- Roots -- I'm talking about Jerusalem.

Dublin by lamplight / by Michael West in collaboration with the Corn Exchange

Amidst the filth and fury of Dublin, 1904, the theatrical event of the century is about to explode - Will the National theatre of Ireland seize its chance for glory? Fading stars, rebels, whores and romantics play out their dreams of theatre and nationhood. This is a night to change Ireland's destiny - unless it all goes horribly wrong. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dublin_by_Lamplight/A_VrDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dublin+by+lamplight+/+by+Michael+West+in+collaboration+with+the+Corn+Exchange&printsec=frontcover

Once / book, Enda Walsh ; music and lyrics, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová

When an Irish busker and a young Czech mother meet through a shared love of music, their songwriting sparks a deep connection and a tender, longing romance that neither of them could have expected. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Once/CFj6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Once+/+book,+Enda+Walsh&printsec=frontcover

Boots / by Sacha Voit with Jessica Butcher

When Willow is not providing 'excellent customer service' she talks to Liz, a customer who has a habit of leaving her husband in the utility room. They are from different backgrounds, different generations and seemingly entirely different worlds. But they find something in common: their love of trees… and their loneliness. As the roots of their past entwine, they realise that the time for silence is over. A funny, heartbreaking adventure through forests, friendship and Femfresh that reveals the loneliness of age and the power of Mother Nature. Boots is a new play about inter-generational friendship and finding your voice among the most unusual of company. Bring your advantage card. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Boots/oBKMDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Boots+/+by+Sacha+Voit+with+Jessica+Butcher&printsec=frontcover

Outward bound : a play in three acts / by Sutton Vane

Seven passengers meet in the saloon bar of a ship as it sets sail from an unidentified English port. Socialite Mrs Cliveden-Banks is on her way to join her husband, a Colonel in the army; Mr Lingley has important business in Marseilles; charlady Mrs Midget is making her first passage by sea; Reverend William Duke is looking forward to a holiday, while Tom Prior intends to spend the journey in the ship's saloon bar. Also on board are Henry and Ann, a young couple who seem anxious for the ship to leave port. But the travellers have more in common than they dare suspect. Out at sea, an eerie calm settles over the ship as Tom is the first to discover the fate which awaits his fellow passengers.

Run rabbit run / by Alana Valentine

When the National Rugby League thought they could jettison the Rabbitohs to streamline their competition they were in for a shock. South Sydney, a proud club that had won more premierships than any other, refused to lie down. Alana Valentine’s play is a verbatim piece about the battle to overturn the decision. Based on extensive interviews with both the public faces of the campaign and the grassroots supporters, this is a story of passion and politics that goes beyond football. For when South Sydney came out fighting they proved the importance of community and the power of momentum. Their battle in the courts and streets of Sydney captured the imagination of the wider population as they successfully fought to regain the right to play league football at the top level.

Bully Boy / by Sandi Toksvig

Major Oscar Hadley is flown to the front line to probe allegations of severe misconduct within a self-styled 'Bully Boy' unit of the British army. When young squaddie, Eddie Clark, from Burnley is interrogated Oscar begins to discover that 'truth' in a modern insurgency can be a point of view rather than a fact. Sandi Toksvig tackles the challenging moral issues of contemporary military occupation and its effect on the mental health of serving soldiers. She asks the question, 'what makes a hero?' In this ferociously gripping story, Sandi Toksvig writes with startling insight and tenderness about the minds of soldiers.

If the shoe fits / by Matt Thompson and Matt Chiorini and Dana Vermette

It all started when Delores, an unhappy housewife, and George, a shoe salesman, met at Shoe Fantasy and it was love at first shoe-fitting. The only thing standing in the way was Delores' doting but half-witted husband, Marvin, who would never agree to a divorce. So there was only one thing left to do—kill Marvin so they can run off together and live a carefree life of passion and romance in a tropical paradise. The lovers come up with a crazy plan to poison Marvin over dinner. Delores invites George to dinner and introduces him to Marvin as a new friend. While Marvin checks on dessert, they slip poison into his wine. But things get out of hand when Marvin doesn't fall for the bait. What was supposed to be a simple foolproof murder turns into a hilarious fiasco when Esperanza, the eccentric Spanish-speaking maid, arrives on the wrong day and she, too, falls for George. Now George and Delores have to devise a way to get rid of the lovesick Esperanza and carry out their plan to kill Marvin—that is without killing each other first! Their attempts get funnier and funnier as the lovers try again and again to finish the job only to have Esperanza and Marvin unknowingly foil their plans each time—resulting in this wacky tale of love, murder, and…shoes! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/If_the_Shoe_Fits/JxIdW8zVAY8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=If+the+shoe+fits+/+by+Matt+Thompson+and+Matt+Chiorini+and+Dana+Vermette&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

Perfect pie / by Judith Thompson

In the course of an afternoon's reunion between two long-estranged women, a buried memory, and two teenagers' wild secret, slams into the present. When Patsy invites her old friend Francesca, now a glamourous actress, to her home in Marmora after a thirty-year absence the two women reunite with a certain amount of unease. As the day progresses, we learn how their friendship blossomed in their adolescence and how, on one fateful day, it all ended.

Habitat / by Judith Thompson

Raine, unable to respond emotionally when her mother dies, finds herself at this group home, in a community that has little tolerance for its newest residents. The ensuing battle—over whether the group home stays or not—allows Raine to re-awaken her emotions through rage, and a political will she didn’t know existed in her.

The crackwalker / by Judith Thompson

Teresa is sexy, seductive, and mentally challenged. Worshipped by her boyfriend, she turns tricks at $5, is addicted to Tim Hortons' doughnuts, lies without thinking, and overflows with endless kindness, but she continues to hold on to her limitless innocence. The Crackwalker captures the music, the dialect, and the unpretty realities of the inner city. First produced thirty years ago, Thompson's striking portrayal of the discarded class in Canada continues to move audiences today.

Palace of the end / by Judith Thompson

A triptych of monologues that intimately explores the experiences of three key figures of the Middle East crisis: Lynndie England, the U.S. soldier who was convicted of abusing detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison; David Kelly, the British weapons inspector who allegedly committed suicide after being involved in a government scandal; and Nehrjas Al Saffarh, a member of the Communist Party of Iraq who suffered under Saddham Hussein's regime and died when the Americans bombed her home during the initial Gulf War.

Live drawing : a portrait of the Mona Lisa / by Jules Tasca

She is childish. She is mature beyond her years. She is feisty. She is docile. She is clever. She is naive. She is a dozen other contradictions. She is the famous Mona Lisa. And her painter, Leonardo, has the obligation to capture as many of the facets of this young woman as he can. Live Drawing is a speculation drama about the three years it took the famous Da Vinci to paint his internationally known masterwork. Lisa wants to be immortalized by the most famous artist in Europe. Leonardo has personal reasons to want to keep the portrait for himself rather than release it to Francesco Gioconda, Lisa's husband, who commissioned his wife's painting. We see Leonardo and Lisa argue and debate, but they also bare their souls to each other. Thus, a relationship that commences in enmity between artist and subject concludes in the supreme camaraderie between two friends. The bittersweet ending must come when Leonardo leaves Italy for France to become the king's engineer, separating him from his confidante, Lisa Gioconda. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Live_Drawing/hlA0wJMIV5gC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Live+drawing+:+a+portrait+of+the+Mona+Lisa+/+by+Jules+Tasca&printsec=frontcover

A long bridge over deep waters / by James Still

A Long Bridge Over Deep Waters passionately and compassionately wrestles with the question: "How does faith both unite and divide us?" and explores the often invisibility of faith, how we make unconscious assumptions about one other based on religion, and how often those assumptions are wrong. Inspired by oral histories, community events, and the circular structure of Schnitzler's play La Ronde, the play's 10 scenes include a Native American woman who teaches ESL to a class of immigrant senior citizens; two astronauts in crisis far away from home and searching for common ground; a man who meets the woman who received his mother's transplanted heart; and a journalist who interviews a family whose son has been killed in Iraq. A Long Bridge Over Deep Waters traces a joyous, restless and surprising path through a wide-open spiritual and American landscape. It is both intimate and epic—an expansive panorama that stages an interlocking chain of unexpected encounters between contemporary communities of faith. This play was the final play in Los Angeles-based Cornerstone Theater Company's nationally acclaimed four-year Faith Based Theater Cycle. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Long_Bridge_Over_Deep_Waters/r5e8sK4RFaoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+long+bridge+over+deep+waters+/+by+James+Still&pg=PA69&printsec=frontcover

The gentleman from Indiana / by James Still ; based on the novel by Booth Tarkington

When John Harkless, a decent optimist and the new owner and editor of the local newspaper, arrives in Plattville, Indiana, in 1889, he discovers that the tiny, dying town has long been represented in Congress by a corrupt political machine. In spite of threats to his life, Harkless—who bears a resemblance to Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington—is determined to take on the bad guys and restore justice and pride to a community long in need of both. In the process he also discovers the true meaning of home in the unlikeliest of places. The Gentleman From Indiana is an ensemble play with a Thornton Wilder-like cast of eccentric characters who populate the town of fictional Plattville, including a brass band consisting of one lone tuba player. There is also a thoroughly modern young woman with a secret who not only gets the guy but saves his newspaper by becoming its editor in a most surprising way. Booth Tarkington's hugely successful novel was a celebration of compassion, decency, love, courage and integrity. More than a century later, James Still's fresh, vibrant, and lovingly crafted stage adaptation now makes it a compelling and relevant tale for contemporary theater audiences.

He held me grand / by James Still

Set in the all-important year of 2000, He Held Me Grand focuses on one American family and 100 years of its history. Music, secrets, humor, tragedy, reunions, death, war, racism, ghosts—all play a part in the rich fabric that helps create a universal identity for the family. The play begins with a young man driving cross-country to meet a grandmother he never knew, arriving in the middle of the night with an address in his hand and questions in his heart. Suddenly he's pulled into a tangle of relationships and family dynamics he's never known. Three elderly sisters—April, May and June—are reunited for the occasion of news from the oldest sister: at the age of 88 she's decided to get married—to a man she's met in a chatroom for senior citizens on the Internet. This surprising announcement sets off unexpected fireworks that ultimately brings the family closer together, though hardly in ways they could have ever imagined. He Held Me Grand is a celebration of growing older in a culture that pretends to grow younger. As one character in the play says: "Ninety-three years sounds like a long time, I bet. It isn't. It goes by surprisingly fast." At its heart, He Held Me Grand is a love story that cuts across generations. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/He_Held_Me_Grand/a5OkZ6vUfjgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=He+held+me+grand+/+by+James+Still&pg=PA9&printsec=frontcover

Searching for Eden : the diaries of Adam and Eve / by James Still

More than a hundred years after Mark Twain wrote his own short stories about Adam and Eve, James Still combines those stories for Act One of Searching for Eden, and then imagines Adam and Eve in the present day for Act Two to create this completely original and contemporary play about the world's first love story. Act One takes place at the dawn of time in the Garden of Eden. In the imaginations of Still and Twain, the Garden of Eden is a place where the battle of the sexes begins, where language is deliciously invented, and where loneliness and heartbreak are poignantly discovered. After intermission, we jump forward to the present day—but Adam and Eve have only aged into their 40s and are dealing with middle age and the distractions of high-power careers. Adam has surprised Eve with this trip back to Eden (a last-minute vacation package Adam found on the Internet) as an anniversary gift. The "first couple" returns to present-day Eden (now an upscale resort simply called "E") in an attempt to recapture the primal passions of their youth. While Act One is about childhood, discovery, and new love—Act Two is about middle age, rediscovery and trying to make old love new again. At its heart, Searching for Eden is about the pleasures and terrors of knowing one person—and being known by that person—for a long, long time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Searching_for_Eden/ozDZ1BdsEpcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Searching+for+eden+:+the+diaries+of+adam+and+eve+/+by+James+Still&printsec=frontcover

One minute / by Simon Stephens

Robert Evans is new to the police force, and his enthusiasm for the case is keener than that of his cynical colleague Gary Burroughs. they're both looking for a missing child. But as the mother, Dr Anne Schults, wants to know, when does "missing" become "presumed dead"? Simon Stephens' new play is a disquieting portrait of the many lives that are united in the single moment it takes for a child to disappear. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/One_Minute/J0yJAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=One+minute+/+by+Simon+Stephens&printsec=frontcover

Plays, 1 / by Simon Stephens

Includes the plays: Bluebird -- Christmas -- Herons -- Port. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stephens_Plays_1/DbMYAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays,+1+/+by+Simon+Stephens&printsec=frontcover

Motortown / by Simon Stephens

Danny returns from Basra to a foreign England and a different kind of battle. He visits an old flame, buys a gun and goes on a blistering road trip through the new home front. 'I don't blame the war. the war was alright. I miss it. It's just you come back to this.' Written during the London bombings of 2005, Motortown is a fierce, violent and controversial response to the anti-war movement - and to the war itself. Chaotic and complex, powerful and provocative, Simon Stephen's new play portrays a volatile and morally insecure world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Motortown/dE2JAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Motortown+/+by+Simon+Stephens&printsec=frontcover

Pandora's box / by Ade Solanke

On holiday with her streetwise son in Lagos, a British-Nigerian mother is in turmoil. Should she leave her only child in a strict Lagos boarding school, or return him to the battlefields of inner London? A family spanning three generations and two continents meet in Lagos for the first time in over thirty years. But the joy of reunion unleashes long-suppressed truths. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pandora_s_Box/SYoHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pandora%27s+box+/+by+Ade+Solanke&printsec=frontcover

Talking to terrorists / by Robin Soans

I looked round the room, and I thought, I'm the only person in this room that hasn't killed anyone'. Talking to Terrorists is a play commissioned by the Royal Court and Out of Joint. The writer, director and actors interviewed people from around the world who have been affected by or involved in terrorism. They wanted to know what makes ordinary people do extreme things. Peacemakers, journalists and hostages. Significant figures from recent history. And those who have crossed the line. Their stories take us from Africa, Israel, Turkey, Iraq and Ireland to the heart of the British Establishment. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Talking_to_Terrorists/H4oHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Talking+to+terrorists+/+by+Robin+Soans&printsec=frontcover

Free man of color : a play in two acts / by Charles Smith

The year is 1824. Reverend Robert Wilson, third president of Ohio University, brings John Newton Templeton, a young ex-slave, to Ohio University to be the first man of color to attend the college. Although Ohio is a free state, slavery is still the law of the land in much of the country, so upon his arrival, Templeton is unable to be housed with the other students. Among his classmates are "the gentleman from North Carolina, the gentleman from Virginia and the two gentlemen from Kentucky." Jane Wilson pointedly asked her husband, "You expect these men to share a room with a black man who is not washing their clothes and serving them dinner?" Much to Jane's consternation, Wilson's solution to the problem is to board Templeton in their home and have him work as a "student servant" while attending classes. Though he excels in his studies, Templeton is frustrated with not being housed with the other men. Wilson reveals that he believes Templeton to be different than most men. He believes Templeton has a divine calling: he has been chosen to lead free blacks in a free and sovereign nation of their own-a new colony called Liberia. Eager to please and convinced he has been born to fulfill some special calling, Templeton accepts Wilson's word as gospel. But Jane Wilson is suspicious of her husband's motives and jealous of the opportunity for higher education afforded Templeton, especially since she, as a woman, is not allowed the same privileges as an ex-slave. She goads Templeton at every turn, eventually pushing him to carefully examine why he was chosen to be the "first." As graduation nears, Templeton is offered the appointment of governor of Liberia. Caught between the expectations of Wilson, the expectations of Wilson's wife Jane, and the dawning realization of what founding a colony of free blacks in Africa would mean to blacks in America, Templeton finally learns what it really means to be a free man of color. Finally, his choices and achievements are ultimately quite different than anyone expected. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exFreeManOfColorF89.pdf

The gospel according to James and other plays / Charles R. Smith

Includes the plays: Jelly Belly -- Knock me a Kiss -- Pudd'nhead Wilson -- Free Man of Color -- The Gospel According to James Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Gospel_According_to_James_and_Other/KBWD_ox9XUkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+gospel+according+to+James+and+other+plays+/+Charles+R.+Smith&printsec=frontcover

White Buffalo : a play in two acts / by Don Zolidis

Based on actual events, White Buffalo tells the story of the miracle birth of a white buffalo calf on a small farm in southern Wisconsin. When Carol Gelling discovers that one of the buffalo on her farm is born white in color, she thinks nothing more of it than a curiosity. Soon, however, she learns that this is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/White_Buffalo/ty-ylumGzKAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=White+Buffalo+:+a+play+in+two+acts+/+by+Don+Zolidis&printsec=frontcover

Subculture / by Steve Yockey

Two men at the end of the world, a woman who believes she turns children to stone, some college students with alcohol and a sledgehammer, the perpetrator of a hit-and-run accident, a man obsessed with asphyxiation, and a roadside elephant in India. The very broken characters that inhabit this collection of shorts wander through a dimly lit, over stimulated and paranoia-fueled world that exists just underneath the dominant popular culture. From the darkly comic to the starkly distressing, these uneasy little plays are tightly wound, structurally adventurous glimpses into some of the most simultaneously intimate and harrowing moments of everyday life. Contains the short plays: [every little thing] -- sucker punch -- kiss & tell -- dizziness & loss of breath -- snuff film -- lonesome -- stop motion -- swallow -- (stereo) headphones -- medusa Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Subculture/0oQV141Fn4IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Subculture+/+by+Steve+Yockey&printsec=frontcover

Jitney : a play in two acts / by August Wilson

Set in 1970 in the Hill District of Pittsburgh that is served by a makeshift taxi company, Jitney is a beautiful addition to the author's decade-by-decade cycle of plays about the Black American experience in the 20th century. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/August_Wilson_s_Jitney/Mf8ZYd7fp3gC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jitney+:+a+play+in+two+acts+/+by+August+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

Men of Tortuga / by Jason Wells

Four men conspire to defeat a despised opponent by a ruthless act of violence: they will fire a missile into a crowded conference room on the day of an important meeting. Maxwell, a hero of the old guard, volunteers to sacrifice himself for the plan. Then Maxwell meets Fletcher, an idealist with a "Compromise Proposal" designed to resolve all conflicts. Maxwell regards the Compromise as hopeless, but he develops a liking for Fletcher--a distressing fact when Maxwell learns that, if the conspiracy proceeds, young Fletcher will be among the dead. As the scheme spins wildly into complication, the plotters descend into suspicion, bloodlust and raucous infighting, while Fletcher is drawn, inexorably, into the lion's den. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Men_of_Tortuga/f7y_1C5Z-bEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Men+of+Tortuga+/+by+Jason+Wells&printsec=frontcover

Perfect mendacity / by Jason Wells

Walter Kreutzer, a microbiologist for a defense contractor, is being investigated by his employers over an incriminating memo that was leaked to the media. Walter thinks his Moroccan wife may have done the whistle-blowing, and to protect her--and himself--Walter needs to learn how to beat a lie detector, and fast. D'avore Peoples, a polygraph consultant, is happy to help--for a price, of course. But D'avore's technique will require Walter to look deep within himself, a terrifying prospect for a man hiding from his past. With his best friend spying on him, his wife intent on opening old wounds, and D'avore uncovering dark secrets, Walter's desperate journey toward the perfect lie becomes a spiral into paranoia and bitter reckoning. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Perfect_Mendacity/2fyZy1bp_RsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Perfect+mendacity+/+by+Jason+Wells&printsec=frontcover

Old money : a play / by Wendy Wasserstein

A drawing room comedy that spans decades, Old Money introduces the exotic creatures that have inhabited an old Manhattan mansion, most recently during rich banker Jeffrey Bernsetin's posh party. A wealthy robber baron and his family, their descendants and assorted characters in their midst an Irish maid, a Hollywood producer, a social climbing decorator, confused teenagers and eccentric artists mingle in a contrast of old money and new. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Old_Money/WWGL36ZmJLUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Old+money+:+a+play+/+by+Wendy+Wasserstein&printsec=frontcover

Victoria Martin : math team queen / by Kathryn Walat

When uber-popular Vickie Martin joins the all-male math team, chaos theory becomes the rule at Longwood High School. Can this goddess of Pi possibly make the mathletes victorious? Totally. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Victoria_Martin/ZBS3QPk9p-IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Victoria+Martin+:+math+team+queen+/+by+Kathryn+Walat&printsec=frontcover

Silent laughter / by Billy Van Zandt & Jane Milmore

New York audiences went wild for this gag-filled water sloshing, bed crashing, pie throwing craziness. Performed in black and white with title cards projected over the actors' heads, and a live theatre organ accompanying every doubletake, this comic tour de force stars a dashing hero who overcomes jail, poverty, World War I and a dastardly villain, Lionel Drippinwithit, to win the girl of his dreams. She is the heiress to the Thickwad Screw Factory, a firm that has been "Screwing the American Public since 1861." The biggest pie fight the theatre world has ever seen caps the silent action. More than a tribute to the slapstick antics of Chaplin, Keaton and Arbuckle - this is a reverential recreation of a bygone era.

Confessions of a dirty blonde / by Billy Van Zandt & Jane Milmore

Get out the boxer shorts, wigs and size ten pumps! The masters of modern farce are back with an outrageously zany comedy. The year is 1962. Living legend Lillian Lamour, a Mae West like sex siren, comes out of seclusion for a one night tribute at Carnegie Hall. While recreating her famous 1933 Time Magazine cover, a lion bites her world famous derriere exposing, among other things, that she is a he. Now Hollywood's best kept secret will be revealed unless Lillian's press agent can put a lid on things. Neither the gangster crooner ex boyfriend nor Lillian's wallflower daughter is aware of the truth, but the hotel doctor knows and can't convince anyone else. This screwball comedy in the tradition of the Marx Brothers is a scream. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Confessions_of_a_Dirty_Blonde/MVi2qbo9GMYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Confessions+of+a+dirty+blonde+/+by+Billy+Van+Zandt+%26+Jane+Milmore&printsec=frontcover

Hazelwood Jr. High / by Rob Urbinati

At first, Hazelwood Jr. High is like any other middle school--cliques and crushes, dances and detention. But when a new girl unwittingly steps into a "love triangle," a revenge plot is hatched, and events spin out of control, escalating into a shocking and unimaginable climax. Based on a true story. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hazelwood_Jr_High/KfrekCppUr4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hazelwood+Jr.+High+/+by+Rob+Urbinati&printsec=frontcover

The bridegroom of Blowing Rock / by Catherine Trieschmann

Set at the end of the Civil War in a town with split loyalties, this play weaves humor and mythology into a story about women who must find ways to keep hearth and home together in the absence of "full bodied" men. Focus is on the fracture that occurs in one family when a blind daughter is seduced by a Union raider with extraordinary storytelling abilities, much to the dismay of her staunchly Confederate mother. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Bridegroom_of_Blowing_Rock/s4B0UG3ZEXQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+bridegroom+of+Blowing+Rock+/+by+Catherine+Trieschmann&printsec=frontcover

Crooked / by Catherine Trieschmann

Fourteen year old Laney arrives in Oxford Mississippi with a twisted back, a mother in crisis and a burning desire to be a writer. When she befriends Maribel Purdy, a fervant believer in the power of Jesus Christ to save her from the humiliations of high school, Laney embarks on a hilarious spiritual and sexual journey that challenges her mother's secular worldview and threatens to tear their fragile relationship apart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Crooked/nUKJAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Crooked+/+by+Catherine+Trieschmann&printsec=frontcover

A feminine ending / by Sarah Treem

A gentle, bittersweet comedy about a girl who knows what she wants but not quite how to get it. Her parents are getting divorced, her fiancee is almost famous, her first love reappears, and there's a lot of noise in her head but none of it is music. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Feminine_Ending/88x7oJ8CJf0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+feminine+ending+/+by+Sarah+Treem&printsec=frontcover

The juice of wild strawberries : a play in one act / Jean Lenox Toddie

A woman seeks renewal after loss in this touching 35-minute play. Ellie, who has lived on land "flat as an old man's feet" for forty years, packs a satchel, covers the sofa with a sheet and sets out to see what's on the other side of the mountain. She is followed. Is it Calvin there behind her, or is it her husband? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Juice_of_Wild_Strawberries/zm_yopTwTIMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+juice+of+wild+strawberries+:+a+play+in+one+act+/+Jean+Lenox+Toddie&printsec=frontcover

Those singing Sunday mornings : a comedy-drama in one act / by Jean Lenox Toddie

An artist who dwells in a tree house is heading out to play poker in Peru with a monkey on her shoulder. Her niece wants to drop out of high school and see the world with her. Are they looking for adventure or running away? Will dipping their toes in lotus ponds in Japan, eating raw eggs in the hills of Eastern Europe and seeking the wee wild ones of Ireland heal these hearts? Laughter, tears and unanswered questions fill the backpacks of these wanderers - if they are allowed to leave.

The silver apples of the moon : a drama of myth and magic in one act / by Jean Lenox Toddie

The story of a college student from a rose-scented home in the east who is sitting in a ten-foot circle in the searing sun of a high western desert. Why is the Indian elder sitting with her through hot days and cold nights? For what are they waiting? And who is the Indian woman warning her to return to the college town where her mother is spraying roses and her father, a professor, is writing poetry in the silver light of the moon. And what of her brother, restless in a home where you don't get dessert unless you have a doctorate? And her grown sister still sticking chewing gum behind her headboard? Why do their letters call her home? This play, haunting and humorous, celebrates life, family love and the wisdom myths of native Americans. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Silver_Apples_of_the_Moon/pX-BZoN7npIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+silver+apples+of+the+moon+:+a+drama+of+myth+and+magic+in+one+act+/+by+Jean+Lenox+Toddie&printsec=frontcover

Single black female / by Lisa B. Thompson

Single Black Female is a two-woman show with rapid-fire comic vignettes that explore the lives of thirty-something African American middle-class women in urban America as they search for love, clothes, and dignity in a world that fails to recognize them amongst a parade of stereotypical images. SBF 1, an English literature professor, and SBF 2, a corporate lawyer, keep each other balanced as they face their fears of rejection, hopes for romance, and reminisce about black girlhood wounds. While embodying a variety of characters, the girlfriends discuss the absurdities of interracial dating, the lure of recreational shopping, and the merits of college reunions for bolstering one’s self-esteem. After reviewing their escapades in past relationships and confessing their own mounting anxieties about commitment and the possibility of motherhood, the pair realize their best chance at love may be found closer than they ever imagined.

Spotlight / by Buddy Thomas

From the author of the hit plays Devil Boys From Beyond and The Crumple Zone comes this hilarious one-act about college theatre majors waiting for the cast list for West Side Story to be posted.....and the aftermath. A finalist in HBO's New Writer's Workshop and a Second Place winner at American College Theatre Festival, Spotlight is a fast-paced comedy about the desperate drive to succeed, and delusions that get in the way.

Devil boys from beyond / by Buddy Thomas and Kenneth Elliott

Flying Saucers! Backstabbing Bitches! Muscle Hunks and Men in Pumps! Wake up and smell the alien invasion in this outrageous comedy by the author of the smash off-Broadway hit play, The Crumple Zone. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Devil_Boys_from_Beyond/LEuteCg3QS8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Devil+boys+from+beyond+/+by+Buddy+Thomas+and+Kenneth+Elliott&printsec=frontcover

Shylock's daughter / by Jules Tasca

A new take on characters from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Shylock's 16 year old daughter has fallen in love with a Catholic boy. She's even willing to convert. The two find a priest who, while at first unwilling to marry them, is swayed by the offer of gold that the girl can steal from her father. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shylock_s_Daughter_and_Other_Small_Chips/0JbA9BhYWmoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Shylock%27s+daughter+/+by+Jules+Tasca&printsec=frontcover

The Balkan women / by Jules Tasca

This meditation on the horror of war set in 1990 brings the spirit of Euripides to a Serbian detention camp for Muslim women. Men are pitted against women, Christians against Muslims, and Croats against Serbs in a drama that bares the inner conflicts that result when society is governed by illogical ethnic hatreds. A hard-boils, devoutly Christian guard is torn by conflicting inner voices as he interrogates a prisoner and her mother about an explosion that killed sixteen of his soldiers. The arrival of a new, wounded camp commandant triggers murder and inevitable catastrophes reminiscent of ancient tragedy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Balkan_Women/SG4p7X3ZEFEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Balkan+women+/+by+Jules+Tasca&printsec=frontcover

The submission / by Jeff Talbott

Shaleeha G'ntamobi's stirring new play about an alcoholic black mother and her card sharp son trying to get out of the projects has just been accepted into the nation's preeminent theater festival. Trouble is, Shaleeha G'ntamobi doesn't exist, except in the imagination of wannabe-playwright Danny Larsen, who created her as a kind of affirmative-action nom-de-plume. But a nom-de-guerre may prove more useful as the lies pile up, shaky alliances are forged, and everyone dear to Danny must decide whether or not to run for cover as the whole thing threatens to blow up in his lily white face.

Pretty theft / by Adam Szymkowicz

Pretty theft is a play about ballerinas, boxes and the dangers of beauty. After losing her father, Allegra falls under the wing of bad girl Suzy, only to find an unexpected friendship with Joe, an autistic savant. When things take a violent turn, Allegra and Suzy escape cross country and befriend Marco, a mysterious thief who claims he cannot be caught. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pretty_Theft/zYNHrpKL4RoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pretty+theft+/+by+Adam+Szymkowicz&printsec=frontcover

Bluff / by Jeffrey Sweet

Emily and Neal are doing fine as a new couple in New York until her brash and vulgar stepfather comes to town for a convention. Gene brings with him all of the contradictions Emily has been trying to bury. Incorporating theatrical techniques pioneered by Chicago's Second City comedy troupe, Bluff alternates between farce and drama to build a disturbing comedy about love and family on a collision course.

Flyovers / by Jeffrey Sweet

Flyovers is a 90-minute play about a film critic who finds himself caught up in a Culture Clash of economics, sex and long-submerged resentment when he returns to the small Ohio town where he grew up. Trying to make peace with his past, he reconnects with some former classmates, a bully and a girl he had a crush on. The encounters are unsettling for all three; nothing turns out as expected. It's 1998 and the economic troubles that will later engulf the rest of the country are offering a preview of coming attractions in Ohio. The plant that has been the economic heart of a downstate town is closed by a decision from Wall Street. Oliver, a movie critic on a TV show, returns for a high school reunion unaware that his current identification as a Jewish New Yorker can't help but trigger a reaction. An invitation from Ted, the bully who used to plague him, and the addition of Ted's unstable wife Lianne and the provocative Iris bring things to a boil in a play that is by turns funny and wrenching.

American hwangap / by Lloyd Suh

Steeped in the difficulty of reunification and reconciliation, American Hwangap tells the story of Min Suk Chun, who some 15 years earlier left his family in a West Texas suburb to return to his native Korea. On the occasion of his 60th birthday (hwangap), a milestone signifying the completion of the Eastern Zodiac and a type of rebirth, he returns to his ex-wife and now adult children as they struggle to reconcile their broken past with the mercurial, verbose and often exasperating patriarch now back at the head of the table. Through a tense birthday weekend filled with humor, heartbreak and half-filled expectations, this American hwangap and its aftermath bears a family not quite whole but still somehow transformed, and not quite happy but still somehow beautiful. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/American_Hwangap/bWiSLsNya0sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=American+hwangap+/+by+Lloyd+Suh&printsec=frontcover

The God committee / by Mark St. Germain

Medicine, Money, and Morality clash when the Heart Transplant Selection Committee of St. Patrick’s Hospital has only minutes to decide which of three patients will receive a heart that has suddenly become available. A cross between Twelve Angry Men and ER, The God Committee takes us into the inner workings of a transplant program and a decision, for both their candidates and their program, that is a matter of life and death.

A plague of angels / by Mark St. Germain

The story of Mary Mallon, known better as Typhoid Mary, in her battle to escape imprisonment by the New York Health Department. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Plague_of_Angels/go7eEsru04AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+plague+of+angels+/+by+Mark+St.+Germain&printsec=frontcover

Dreamlandia / by Octavio Solis

A loose retelling of Calderon's Life is a dream set along the contemporary border between Texas and Mexico, the story begins when a powerful drug smuggler banishes an undocumented midwife back across the Rio Grande and incurs a curse that gestates for 18 years. In that time, the smuggler's son Lazaro grows up alone and untrained in human interaction on a sandbar in the middle of the Rio, while the midwife's two surviving children, Blanca and Pepín, swim north across the river to exact revenge for the pain caused to their mother and to claim their birthright. All manners of border, geographic, political, gender, and metaphysical, are crossed in this struggle to know one's place in the world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dreamlandia/ITdYYOK3cTkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dreamlandia+/+by+Octavio+Solis&printsec=frontcover

Lydia / by Octavio Solis

Set in the 1970s on the Texas border separating the United States and Mexico, Lydia is an intense, lyrical, and magical play. The Flores family welcomes Lydia, an undocumented maid, into their El Paso home to care for their daughter Ceci, who was tragically disabled in a car accident on the eve of her quinceañera. Lydia’s immediate and seemingly miraculous bond with the girl sets the entire family on a mysterious and shocking journey of discovery. Lydia is an unflinching and deeply emotional portrait of a Mexican immigrant family caught in a web of dark secrets. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lydia/LTPcEHVWbq0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lydia+/+by+Octavio+Solis&printsec=frontcover

Life science / by Anna Ziegler

Four Jewish kids struggle to survive high school in this delightful comedy. Leah loves Tom…probably. Mike loves Leah—or maybe still Dana—or maybe just soccer. Tom—the brainy Asian kid—isn’t sure about Leah or love or his Jewish parents. Ziegler’s pitch-perfect ear for the “text-me” set makes coming-of-age fresh and true. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Life_Science/T6E-qlbf7z0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Life+science+/+by+Anna+Ziegler&printsec=frontcover

A place at Forest Lawn / by Luke Yankee and James Bontempo

Friendship is the tie that binds in this bittersweet and candid look at remembered love, forgotten promises, living with choices and dying with dignity. A PLACE AT FOREST LAWN follows the journey of discovery, peace and ultimate reconciliation taken by Clara, a cantankerous old lady, and her devoted best friend, Gertrude. As Clara comes to terms with the choices she has made in her life, she must confront Jack, her estranged son. She and Gertrude also encounter an impressionable young priest, their stoned-out, fun-loving driver and an aged movie actor who still has an eye for the ladies as well as his own version of the truth. After receiving a bill for an expensive mausoleum, Jack comes back to town expecting his mother to be dead, only to find her very much alive. He stays for a few days to work out her affairs, but their close physical proximity fuels age-old tensions and causes deeply buried secrets to come to light with painful results. Gertrude searches for a meaningful existence at this stage of her life and becomes part of a volunteer program at the hospital, but that too has its consequences. Each character comes to realize their own personal truth while attaining an understanding of those they love ... but not without a price. A PLACE AT FOREST LAWN surprises with humor, comforts with insight and charms with intriguing characters. On a simple set where subtle lighting, smart dialogue and dynamic acting deliver emotional revelations, this vibrant play peels back layers to reveal the essential truths of life. For every child and parent, A PLACE AT FOREST LAWN encourages us to simply be there for each other, no matter what age. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Place_at_Forest_Lawn/2WvfnUVQyoQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+place+at+Forest+Lawn+/+by+Luke+Yankee+and+James+Bontempo&printsec=frontcover

Grey Gardens / book by Doug Wright

The hilarious and heartbreaking story of Big Edie and Little Edie Bouvier Beale, the eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, once bright names on the social register who became East Hampton's most notorious recluses. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Grey_Gardens/uGPpl7oL8g8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Grey+Gardens+/+book+by+Doug+Wright&printsec=frontcover

Unwrap your candy : an evening of one-act plays / by Doug Wright

Alternately chilling and hilarious, UNWRAP YOUR CANDY is a delectable evening of bedtime tales for adults guaranteed to keep you awake for nights on end. Inspired in equal parts by Alfred Hitchcock, Roald Dahl and The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, UNWRAP YOUR CANDY boasts a versatile cast of five and minimal production requirements. Together, the plays examine the danger of being a child, the terror of being an adult and even the perils of being an unsuspecting audience member. Spine-tinglers for the twenty-first century, the collected one acts in UNWRAP YOUR CANDY are guaranteed to jolt the senses and stimulate the mind. In the title play, UNWRAP YOUR CANDY, five actors portray actual members of the theatre audience and prove far more intriguing than the play they’ve come to watch. (3 men, 2 women.) In LOT 13: THE BONE VIOLIN, a stunning young violin prodigy skyrockets to international prominence, only to meet a shocking and supernatural fate. (3 men, 2 women.) In WILDWOOD PARK, a neurotic real-estate agent shows a house filled with unspeakable secrets to a potential buyer who harbors an almost insatiable thirst for tabloid atrocities. (1 man, 1 woman.) And in BABY TALK, a woman is unwound when her precocious baby begins to speak early while still inside her womb. (3 men, 1 woman.) Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Unwrap_Your_Candy/fxX3S5ClFx0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Unwrap+your+candy+:+an+evening+of+one-act+plays+/+by+Doug+Wright&printsec=frontcover

I am my own wife / Doug Wright

Based on a true story, and inspired by interviews conducted by the playwright over several years, 'I Am My Own Wife' tells the fascinating tale of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a real-life German transvestite who managed to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/I_Am_My_Own_Wife/UX-baxjlTgoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=I+am+my+own+wife+/+Doug+Wright&printsec=frontcover

Lady / by Craig Wright

Deep in the woods of Illinois, three childhood friends come together for their annual hunting trip. Now middle-aged, divided by their changing political attitudes, and facing mortality in a number of guises, they find that the common fabric of friendship has been shredded by time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lady/UH5tZqecAwEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lady+/+by+Craig+Wright&printsec=frontcover

The pavilion / by Craig Wright

Hailed by critics as an "an Our Town for our time," this play is by turns poetic and comic, romantic and philosophical. Peter returns to his twenty-year high-school reunion with dreams of winning back Kari, the girl he left behind after an unexpected pregnancy ended their relationship. Standing in Peter's way is Kari's bitter-as-ever resentment, her husband and the fact that Peter still hasn't grown up. As the night progresses, both Peter and Kari are led, through their interactions with a host of characters all played by a virtuosic Narrator, to face the consequences of choices made long ago and start back into life with newfound strength and bittersweet resolve. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Pavilion/wG9RcwuXmsYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+pavilion+/+by+Craig+Wright&printsec=frontcover

Recent tragic events / by Craig Wright

It is September 12th, 2001; the setting is the Minneapolis apartment of Waverly, a young advertising executive. Soon to venture on a blind date amidst the television news coverage of the September 11th attacks, Waverly becomes preoccupied when she discovers that her twin sister, Wendy, a student in New York, has not been heard from. Waverly reassures herself that Wendy had no reason to be at the World Trade Center. As the evening unfolds, Waverly and her blind date, Andrew, an airport bookstore manager, realize that they are connected by a succession of bizarre coincidences. As Waverly awaits word on Wendy, the date is complicated by visits from her crazed-musician neighbor, Ron, and his girlfriend, Nancy, and a startling visit from Waverly’s great aunt, Joyce Carol Oates—played by a sock puppet. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Recent_Tragic_Events/PH2R1I70UOsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Recent+tragic+events+/+by+Craig+Wright&printsec=frontcover

Orange flower water / by Craig Wright

Married couples David and Cathy Larson and Brad and Beth Youngquist live with their children in the relatively peaceful town of Pine City, Minnesota. David and Beth, after years of maintaining a platonic friendship, begin an adulterous affair with disastrous consequences. Through a series of scenes which all take place on or around a single bed, we see the painfully intense real-time unraveling of both marriages and, eventually, the construction of a very fragile but authentic new beginning for everyone concerned. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Orange_Flower_Water/MFTu5jtMxh4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Orange+flower+water+/+by+Craig+Wright&printsec=frontcover

Neat / by Charlayne Woodard

In the oral traditions of West Africa and the African diaspora, Charlayne Woodard is a modern-day griot. On a bare stage, this magnificent storyteller spins her own exquisite real-life remembrance of her brain damaged aunt, Neat, and the profound change she brought to Charlayne’s life. Neat, with her enormous love, energy, simplicity and magnificent clarity, teaches the young Charlayne what it is to cherish life. A magical, compelling, personal portrait of a young woman’s coming of age, NEAT is the story of an urban African-American girl bursting into adulthood, experiencing first love, and embracing both black-pride and feminism. An evening of pure joy, compelling insight and hopefulness, NEAT is an inspiration for every family.

In real life / by Charlayne Woodard

After graduating from drama school in Chicago, Charlayne Woodard, a young African-American woman, eagerly packs her bags and heads for New York City to live with her white boyfriend and pursue an acting career ... she's cast in the original company of the hit Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin'. IN REAL LIFE cannily chronicles Charlayne's initial seduction into the thrills of stopping a show as well as the physical and emotional price of sustaining the energy to do so night after night.

Flight / by Charlayne Woodard

In 1858, on a plantation in Georgia, a young mother is suddenly sold, leaving behind her husband and their five-year-old son. Through a magical evening of storytelling, music and dance, the enslaved community comes together, not only to comfort father and son but to heal and strengthen themselves. FLIGHT is an inspirational theatrical experience for the whole family. These empowering stories, based on actual slave narratives, as well as African and African-American folktales, celebrate the African-American oral tradition as it passes from generation to generation…to you. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Flight/N8mbeajlPcAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Flight+/+by+Charlayne+Woodard&printsec=frontcover

The night watcher / by Charlayne Woodard

Simultaneously a best friend, mentor, psychologist, and surrogate mother to the many young people who call her 'Auntie, ' Charlayne Woodard is childless only by biological standards. Told with penetrating grace, candor and wit, The Night Watcher is the story of a woman who chooses not to have children -- only to be pulled into the real-life struggles of kids of all ages, races and backgrounds. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Night_Watcher/rFASuo8gJTQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+night+watcher+/+by+Charlayne+Woodard&printsec=frontcover

The colored museum / by George C. Wolfe

THE COLORED MUSEUM has electrified, discomforted, and delighted audiences of all colors, redefining our ideas of what it means to be black in contemporary America. Its eleven “exhibits” undermine black stereotypes old and new and return to the facts of what being black means. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Colored_Museum/YQ1mG6OHNM0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+colored+museum+/+by+George+C.+Wolfe&printsec=frontcover

The story / by Tracey Scott Wilson

An ambitious black newspaper reporter, Yvonne Wilson, goes against her editor, Pat Morgan, to investigate a murder and finds the BEST story ... but at what cost? Wilson explores the elusive nature of truth as the boundaries between reality and fiction, morality and ambition become dangerously blurred. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Story/Jz4OAtgwmj4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+story+/+by+Tracey+Scott+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

The good Negro / by Tracey Scott Wilson

In THE GOOD NEGRO, three emerging black leaders try to conquer their individual demons as the local KKK fights for its old way of life, and everyday black men and women must overcome their fears—all under the ever-watchful eye of the FBI. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Good_Negro/pEFEL6LCjAMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+good+Negro+/+by+Tracey+Scott+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

Book of days / by Lanford Wilson

When murder roars through a small Missouri town, Ruth Hoch begins her own quest to find truth and honesty amid small town jealousies, religion, greed and lies. This tornado of a play propels you through its events like a page-turning mystery. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Book_of_Days/t8Nok466ypIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Book+of+days+/+by+Lanford+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

Rain dance / by Lanford Wilson

In a ramshackle cantina in Los Alamos, New Mexico, on the night of July 15, 1945, four people await the test of the atomic bomb. Each of them is connected directly or indirectly with the top-secret Trinity project, and over the course of the evening the horror of what is about to be unleashed on the world begins to dawn on them. As tensions mount, and questions of science, religion and morality collide, RAIN DANCE makes palpable the thrilling and terrifying journey of our first steps into the atomic age.

Farragut North / by Beau Willimon

Stephen Bellamy is a wunderkind press secretary who has built a career that men twice his age would envy. During a tight presidential primary race, Stephen's meteoric rise falls prey to the backroom politics of more seasoned operatives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Farragut_North/0a7kLkHDJ3UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Farragut+North+/+by+Beau+Willimon&printsec=frontcover

Lower ninth / by Beau Willimon

Two men and a corpse are stranded on a roof after a terrible storm. E-Z is a rebellious young man brimming with anger. Malcolm is a reformed addict who has found strength through religion. Sharing the roof with them is the corpse of Lowboy -- a neighborhood gang member -- who drowned in the rising flood waters surrounding the house. Over the course the two stultifying days in the sun, Malcolm and E-Z must battle heat, hunger, their pasts and each other... Ultimately Malcolm and E-Z discover their only salvation is through each other. LOWER NINTH is an exploration of faith, survival and mutual redemption. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lower_Ninth/UWsBYQCA0vMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lower+ninth+/+by+Beau+Willimon&printsec=frontcover

Six years / by Sharr White

It is 1949 when Phil Granger finally reappears in the small Missouri town he left six years earlier for the unspeakable horrors of World War II. His wife, Meredith, is there to meet him, put him back together ... and keep him home. In five scenes spanning twenty-four years of Postwar life, Sharr White takes us on an intimate journey to an unspoken side of the Greatest Generation, chronicling Meredith and Phil Granger's struggles to survive together through the boom of the 1950s, the hope and unbearable losses of the 1960s, and the resounding search for redemption following the Vietnam war. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Six_Years/K6WQFSKDCm8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Six+years+/+by+Sharr+White&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover

Achilles in Sparta : a play for young actors / by Sharr White

A tragedy has befallen a great city. A country girds for war. Helen, the national figurehead of beauty and hope, has been abducted from Sparta, and its young men and women--those most likely to do the fighting, and mourning--ready themselves for struggle. Developed expressly for young actors, ACHILLES IN SPARTA uses short, highly theatrical scenes and monologues to tell the story of a nation marching towards inevitable conflict and the fall of a hero. With variable casting possibilities intended to meet the needs of a group of any size, from small class productions to conservatory productions with large casting demands, ACHILLES IN SPARTA provides an engrossing entryway into the classics through an emotionally accessible and linguistically rich theatrical experience that explores the joys and challenges of stagecraft and acting. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Achilles_in_Sparta/J4nwzgv8_DMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Achilles+in+Sparta+:+a+play+for+young+actors+/+by+Sharr+White&printsec=frontcover

Roulette / by Paul Weitz

Dysfunction and black comedy reign in suburbia when Jon, an affable businessman and father, descends to his kitchen one morning for coffee. He pauses from his morning paper, carefully removes a revolver from his briefcase, loads one bullet into the cylinder, spins it, places it against his temple and pulls the trigger. Nothing, only the hollow click of an empty chamber. Jon tidies up and, briefcase in hand, leaves for work. His troubles, however, follow him there. Jon’s wife, Enid, is cuckolding him with his best friend and next-door neighbor, Steve, who shows up suddenly at Jon’s office to ask for a loan. Meanwhile, back at home, Jon’s rocker daughter, Jenny, is planning on sleeping over at her boyfriend’s house and attempting to enlist her mother, Enid, to convince Jon it’s all right. Trying to come to grips with this rapidly breaking home is Jon’s perpetually anxious son, Jock, who’s recently been rejected by his fraternity of choice. Virginia, Steve’s skittish and loopy wife, knows he’s sleeping around, but she won’t let a little thing like that stop her from popping in on Enid to borrow a pint of milk. When the hammer of Jon’s gun finally hits that solitary bullet, it sends the family over the edge of lunacy into the uncharted territory of honesty and reconciliation.

Privilege / by Paul Weitz

In this heartfelt comedy, the privileged lives of two Upper East Side teens are irrevocably changed when their father is accused of insider trading. Two brothers look at the world with the hilarious observations of boys on the brink of adulthood. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Privilege/UEJbBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Privilege+/+by+Paul+Weitz&printsec=frontcover

Show people / by Paul Weitz

Jerry and Marnie are Broadway actors who haven’t worked in years. At Jerry’s insistence, they take on a wildly unorthodox job for a rich, young New York banker in SHOW PEOPLE, a comedy about the darker aspects of the need to create and perform. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Show_People/DZiCihHkNSYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Show+people+/+by+Paul+Weitz&printsec=frontcover

Surf report / by Annie Weisman

Judith, faced with a demanding surfer-turned-venture-capitalist boss, an underachieving husband and a wanna-be artist daughter, swims against the tide as her upwardly mobile ambitions clash with her family's needs. Surf Report captures the Southern California coastal vibe in this funny and poignant play that examines the sacrifices we make--or avoid--for our family. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Surf_Report/9mWEdLf9BDcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Surf+report+/+by+Annie+Weisman&printsec=frontcover

Third / by Wendy Wasserstein

His name is Woodson Bull III, but you can call him "Third." And Professor Laurie Jameson is disinclined to like his jockish, jingoistic attitude. He is, as she puts it, "a walking red state." Believing that Third's sophisticated essay on King Lear could not possibly have been written by such a specimen, Professor Jameson reports his plagiarism to the college's Committee of Academic Standards. But is Jameson's accusation justified? Or is she casting Third as the villain in her own struggle with her relationships, her age and the increasingly polarized political environment? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Third/V8lRbSCEnHwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Third+/+by+Wendy+Wasserstein&printsec=frontcover

Colder than here / by Laura Wade

Nobody can ignore the fact that Myra is dying, but in the meantime life goes on. There are boilers to be fixed, cats to be fed and the perfect funeral to be planned. As a mother researches burial spots and biodegradable coffins, her family is forced to communicate with her, and each other, as they face up to an unpredictable future. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Colder_than_Here/39H7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Colder+than+here+/+by+Laura+Wade&printsec=frontcover

The long Christmas ride home : a puppet play with actors / by Paula Vogel

Past, present, and future collide on a snowy Christmas Eve for a troubled family of five. Humorous and heart-wrenching, this beautifully written play by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of How I Learned to Drive proves that magic can be found in the simplest breaths of life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Long_Christmas_Ride_Home/m8pnHVhsy9kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+long+Christmas+ride+home+:+a+puppet+play+with+actors+/+by+Paula+Vogel&printsec=frontcover

Hot 'n' throbbing / by Paula Vogel

Take Charlene, a suburban mother who writes erotic screenplays for women in order to support her children; add Clyde, her funny, dangerously obsessive and estranged husband; toss in hormonally overcharged teenagers; and layer it all with a screenplay on a deadline that Charlene desperately tries to write—and you end up with HOT 'N’ THROBBING, a gripping new play written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of How I Learned To Drive. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hot_n_Throbbing/nzJDg4ztYwwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hot+%27n%27+throbbing+/+by+Paula+Vogel&printsec=frontcover

The oldest profession / by Paula Vogel

As Ronald Reagan enters the White House, five aging practitioners of the oldest profession are faced with a diminishing clientele, increased competition for their niche market, and aching joints. With wit, compassion, and humor, they struggle to find and learn new tricks as they fight to stay in the Life.

Stay / by Lucy Thurber

A first-time professor, Rachel struggles to deal with her students while hurrying to finish her novel before the deadline passes. In addition, her brother has come to stay because he has just been fired from his job. But Rachel has a secret: She has an angel that talks to her. Spending her life withdrawn from the people around her, she shares all her love, fears and hopes with something that isn't human. When Julia, one of Rachel's students, reveals that she has similar powers, Rachel has to decide to share all of who she is or to close herself off forever. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stay/UaKShAprdLwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stay+/+by+Lucy+Thurber&printsec=frontcover

Where we're born / by Lucy Thurber

Small town America, class distinctions, sexual politics and love. ..explores the fact that sometimes in order to leave your home you have to destroy it. Lilly is a scholarship student from a very rural town. After her first year at college, she comes home to her cousin Tony, who functions as her combination father, brother and best friend. In an attempt to bring her new world and her old world together, Lilly breaks apart everything around her. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Where_We_re_Born/Fijng2gEuTgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Where+we%27re+born+/+by+Lucy+Thurber&printsec=frontcover

Scarcity / by Lucy Thurber

In a small town in Western Massachusetts, the Lawrence family struggles with poverty, boredom and lost potential. Into this isolated town comes Ellen, a highly educated, wealthy and well-traveled young woman who wants to give back to her country through education. She starts teaching in the public high school where Billy and Rachel Lawrence go, and she develops an obsession with Billy’s intelligence, insight and potential. Her obsession and desire to lift Billy out of poverty tears the family apart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Scarcity/sHRJycNaxlgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Scarcity+/+by+Lucy+Thurber&printsec=frontcover

Killers and other family / by Lucy Thurber

Elizabeth is about to finish her dissertation. She is very much in love with her girlfriend and their life together. But then her brother and his best friend show up—they are on the run. Their arrival forces Elizabeth to confront her past and finally make a choice about the kind of person she wants to be. A waking nightmare in which fears and memories become actual and the psychological becomes all too real. Online family: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Killers_and_Other_Family/Eaqa-Rj1s3MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Killers+and+other+family+/+by+Lucy+Thurber&printsec=frontcover

Deflowering Waldo / by Adam Szymkowicz

Waldo is having a bad day. He’s afraid of crowds, spiders, skyscrapers, flowers, brown soap and sex. His father won’t stop being Scottish. His therapist wants to seduce him. His ex-girlfriend could spontaneously combust at any moment. And the new woman in his life seems to want something else completely. Will he manage to find true love—or at least mow the lawn? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Deflowering_Waldo/6SINQPsl3hgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Deflowering+Waldo+/+by+Adam+Szymkowicz&printsec=frontcover

Food for fish / by Adam Szymkowicz

Bobbie drops the pages from his novel into the Hudson River. They tell the story of three sisters: Sylvia, a reporter, Barbara, an agoraphobe (played by a man in drag), and Alice, a scientist with a plan to isolate and eliminate the gene for love. The three sisters are going to have to bury their father--when they get around to it. His coffin has been sitting in the living room for a year now, and he's starting to smell. Meanwhile, Bobbie goes out each night kissing strangers, and Sylvia goes out each night looking for Bobbie. A story of unrequited love, missed connections and a novel in a bottle. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Food_for_Fish/1yZSjyX7JIYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Food+for+fish+/+by+Adam+Szymkowicz&printsec=frontcover

Nerve / by Adam Szymkowicz

NERVE is a dark comedy about falling into a relationship on the first date. Elliot has never had an online date before ... at least not one that showed up. Susan has had far too many but would prefer not to discuss them. When they meet in a bar one night, all their personality flaws are revealed, along with a puppet, some modern dance and a desperation that may or may not be love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nerve/rRsbPSiqUa4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Nerve+/+by+Adam+Szymkowicz&printsec=frontcover

Freud's last session / by Mark St. Germain

Freud's Last Session centers on legendary psychoanalyst Dr. Sigmund Freud who invites the young, rising Oxford Don C.S. Lewis to his home in London. On the day England enters World War Two, Freud and Lewis clash about love, sex, the existence of God, and the meaning of life, just weeks before Freud took his own life. Freud's Last Session is a deeply touching play filled with humor and exploring the minds, hearts and souls of two brilliant men addressing the greatest questions of all time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Freud_s_Last_Session/tu95z2HrufQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Freud%27s+last+session+/+by+Mark+St.+Germain&printsec=frontcover

Satellites / by Diana Son

New parents Nina and Miles, an interracial couple, move into a transforming neighborhood in Brooklyn. They have a new house, a new baby, and only one of them has a new job. (Hint: It's not Miles.) Old friends and new strangers come into their lives, testing their instincts on whom to trust and why. Hilarious and heartrending complications ensue around questions of parenting, racial identity, community and the way we live. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Satellites/oCXV3fwOnx0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Satellites+/+by+Diana+Son&printsec=frontcover

House arrest : a search for American character in and around the White House, past and present / by Anna Deavere Smith

House Arrest is a fascinating and compelling look at nothing less than the civil rights movement, the issues of slavery and racism, and the relationship between the press and the presidency over the course of American history. It begins by focusing on Jefferson and his fine words versus the likelihood that he had a long-standing affair with one of his slaves. From there House Arrest changes gears and moves forward to Franklin Roosevelt's presidency and examines how his affairs and disabilities were considered untouchable by the press. Smith interviewed many of the major players in American politics in the second half of the twentieth century and demonstrates the way politics has changed since Roosevelt's administration. The play then jumps back to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and compares that event and the Kennedy assassination. The range of voices and opinions that appear in the play make for vivid and interesting theatre. House Arrest is a triumph of Smith's writing skills. In the course of over two hours, Smith weaves together historical writing and her own interviews with some 420 people both inside and outside of presidential politics. It's a fascinating blend of history and commentary that is by turns illuminating, heartening and saddening. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/House_Arrest/XnOQT6AGZzoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=House+arrest+:+a+search+for+American+character+in+and+around+the+White+House,+past+and+present+/+by+Anna+Deavere+Smith&printsec=frontcover

As we forgive those : a play / by Andrew Smith

When Sophie's teenage sister turns up at her flat one evening after an absence of four years, Sophie's suspicions are roused. Why is she there? Where has she been? And how does she know so much about Sophie's life? Then when Sophie's roommate Jen arrives home, she recognizes Alex from the previous evening — as the person who mugged her.

Kurt & Sid / by Roy Smiles

April 1994. A man sits alone in an attic extension on the cusp of becoming a Seattle suicide statistic... Kurt Cobain, the frontman of Nirvana, is about to pull the trigger of the gun in his hand and join the leagues of rock star deaths down the ages. Without invitation, Kurt has the curious company of a man purporting to be the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious - Kurt's hero. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kurt_and_Sid/QJ38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kurt+%26+Sid+/+by+Roy+Smiles&printsec=frontcover

Tinker to Evers to Chance / by Mat Smart

Baseball fans know all about commitment and hope. But in life outside the ballpark, that dedication can be harder to hold on to. Lauren is thinking only about the monumentally important playoff game she and her mother are about to attend, but her mother has her own agenda. In this touching play, set against the dual backdrops of the 2003 and 1906 Chicago Cubs teams, three die-hard fans and one die-hard player reveal the redeeming power of baseball.

Running the Silk Road / by Paul Sirett

In the year of the Beijing Olympics, a group of friends from London set themselves an epic challenge - to run the ancient Silk Road trading route to China, carrying an 'alternative' Olympic flame. Once on the road, complications and conflict test friendships and soon threaten their chances of success. Weaving in and out of the contemporary story are magical and timeless Chinese myths. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Running_the_Silk_Road/gJ38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Running+the+Silk+Road+/+by+Paul+Sirett&printsec=frontcover

Bad blood blues / by Paul Sirett

Bad Blood Blues is a powerful intense new play that leads us deep into a personal and sexual moral maze while confronting the ethics of HIV/AIDS drug trials in Africa. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bad_Blood_Blues/dp38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bad+blood+blues+/+by+Paul+Sirett&printsec=frontcover

Meg's new friend / by Blair Singer

Meg, a local New York television features reporter, realizes that, in the age of Obama, she doesn’t have one African-American friend. When she meets her best friend’s new beau, a sexy African-American yoga teacher, Meg thinks she’s found exactly what she was looking for. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Meg_s_New_Friend/nqkulb8eXw4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Meg%27s+new+friend+/+by+Blair+Singer&printsec=frontcover

Additional particulars / by Ed Simpson

The intersecting lives of four "Save-a-Bundle Discount Mart" employees are explored in Additional Particulars. In the first act, Glenda Balitski, an optimistic but lonely young woman who works in housewares, has recently moved into her tidy apartment after the death of her invalid mother. Assistant Manager Warren Grippo, a generous but awkward man of unflagging good manners, has unexpectedly dropped by Glenda's apartment after work. After the lonely couple discovers a shared enthusiasm for the corporate ideals of "Save-a-Bundle," Warren reveals that Glenda has been chosen "Employee of the Month..." and confesses his desire to discuss with her some "additional particulars" of a more personal nature. Meanwhile, Raymond Fetterman, a maintenance man and himself a former "Employee of the Month" is having lunch with his young friend and co-worker, Kenny Hinkle. It is the eve of Raymond's 47th birthday, he's trapped in a job he hates, and Raymond has come to the painful realization that time is quickly running out on his chances of "having a life." As Raymond desperately yearns to escape the monotony of his life, the good-natured Kenny sympathetically listens...and harbors a heartbreaking secret of his own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Additional_Particulars/bsPxcRhPUMwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Additional+particulars+/+by+Ed+Simpson&printsec=frontcover

Elephant sighs / by Ed Simpson

Not long after moving to the small town of Randolphsburg, PA, uptight lawyer Joel Bixby is invited by Leo Applegate, an avuncular fast food connoisseur, to join a group of townsmen who meet in a ramshackle room at the edge of town. Despite protesting that he's just not an organizational man, Joel finds himself mesmerized by Leo's ebullient manner and agrees to drop by - without ever asking just what exactly it is the group actually does. Joel's confusion only increases as, one by one, he meets the group's surviving members who include Dink, a perpetually gleeful little man who deeply loves his bald-headed wife; insurance man Perry, a former minister in the midst of a painful crisis of faith; and Nick, a volatile contractor who has recently lost his job and family and is desperately looking for some kind of miracle. As an increasingly anxious Joel is swept up in the strange lives of the guys, he struggles to figure out exactly why they've all come together. As the evening progresses, however, the regulars - and newcomer Joel - grapple with their own disappointments, offer comfort to each other, and, in the process, finally reveal the mysterious reason for their gathering. A group of delightful characters highlight this comedy about loss, loneliness, and the healing power of friendship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Elephant_Sighs/qh9J7FC3yUEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Elephant+sighs+/+by+Ed+Simpson&printsec=frontcover

The altruists / by Nicky Silver

The Altruists revolves around a dedicated, if disorganized and demented, group of young radicals. These are the kids who protest. They protest arts funding and arms funding. They protest school cutbacks and AIDS cutbacks and welfare cutbacks. They march for gay rights and children's rights and Women Against Drunk Drivers. But their morality is put to the test one day when Sydney, a shallow, anorexic soap-opera actress, fires a gun into the hulking body of her sleeping boyfriend. Terrified, she looks to her brother, Ronald, the center of this merry band of radicals, for help. Ronald, a social worker, wants to aid his sister, but at the moment he's consumed with love. The object of his affection? A young runaway prostitute, Lance. It is Ethan, Ronald's cohort, who points out that they need Sydney--without her money they can do no good in the world. After all, "firebombs don't grow on trees." And when Sydney pressures him, revealing her vulnerability and her real affection for the first time, Ronald acquiesces. He makes the ultimate sacrifice, that of his own happiness for the greater good. And this group of altruists frames Lance, never noticing the irony as they head off to protest the unjust outcome of a trial involving a young man who resembles Lance in every way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Altruists/ShNnE3stq5kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+altruists+/+by+Nicky+Silver&printsec=frontcover

Beautiful child / by Nicky Silver

How do we love someone who falls outside our moral code? BEAUTIFUL CHILD presents Harry and Nan, a couple whose marriage has become a comfortable battleground of witty barbs and infidelity. Everything they think they know, however, is called into question when their son, Isaac, an art teacher and painter, comes for lunch and asks if he can stay. The world’s no longer safe for Isaac, as his secrets are about to become public—he has fallen in love, and has been having an affair, with one of his students, an eight-year-old boy named Brian. Harry and Nan search for clues, desperate to make sense of this horror, alternately looking for exoneration and punishment for what must be their fault. They want to help their son, who was, as Harry ruefully recalls, a beautiful child. They want to love him. But how? And what is their responsibility to the world and to the children in Isaac’s future? Magically, this tragedy brings Harry and Nan closer together as they arrive at a decision that’s terribly painful and magically restorative. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beautiful_Child/Sa3PutI6etYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Beautiful+child+/+by+Nicky+Silver&pg=PT6&printsec=frontcover

The agony & the agony / by Nicky Silver

Richard Aglow is a failure. A once-promising playwright, he finds himself a virtual shut-in with only rejection letters to amuse himself. Until today. He's started writing again! And as luck would have it, inspiration has hit on the very day his wife, Lela, an aspiring actress who married Richard despite his homosexuality, has met one of New York's leading producers. This is Richard's chance, a golden opportunity to get back in the game. Of course, he'll have to overlook the fact that the producer about to arrive is the man who wrote that last rejection, the one that broke Richard's spirit. The arrival of Lela's lover, his pregnant girlfriend and the ghost of one of the twentieth century's most-notorious killers complicate matters further. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Agony_the_Agony/tYUg7NvBepoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+agony+%26+the+agony+/+by+Nicky+Silver&printsec=frontcover

Three changes / by Nicky Silver

Nate and Laurel are a seemingly happy couple living on New York’s Upper West Side, busy, content and comfortable—until the surprising arrival of Hal, Nate’s long-lost brother. A once-successful television writer, Hal is just out of rehab. He’s out of cash and alone in the world. But what seems to be a casual visit, a chance to reconnect, is quickly revealed to be something much more ominous. As he attempts to write his first novel, Hal insidiously usurps Nate’s place in the home. He unearths long-buried feelings in Laurel and adds to the household by bringing in a young man, a runaway, who seems to somehow complete the family. A family that ultimately has no place for Nate. And as the play builds to its climax, we understand that these two men, these brothers who have tried to find a way to love each other, are locked in a battle that will cost one of them their life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Three_Changes/luVfm6mgFccC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Three+changes+/+by+Nicky+Silver&printsec=frontcover

The coming world / by Christopher Shinn

Ed, struggling to make ends meet, loses ten thousand dollars and calls on his ex-girlfriend, Dora, for help. On a New England beach at night, he explains his situation to her and tries to seduce her back into his life. After a terrible tragedy, Dora finds herself on the beach again—this time with Ed’s twin brother, Ty, an introverted web designer. On the night of Ed’s wake, they grieve a mysterious, unarticulated loss that threatens to destroy them both. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Coming_World/AeQC2wcw3TMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+coming+world+/+by+Christopher+Shinn&printsec=frontcover

Four / by Christopher Shinn

On the 4th of July in Hartford in 1996, June, a sixteen-year-old white boy, meets up with a closeted, married black man he's met over the Internet. On the same night, in the same city, this man's sixteen-year-old daughter agrees to go out with Dexter, a twenty-year-old low-level drug dealer. In and around the city, on the American night of independence, these two couples get to know each other, moving from strangers to intimates. In lonely landscapes of movie theatres, fast food restaurants, darkened churches and public parks, they discover the limits of desire and the possibilities for transcendence. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Four/1Bz4COQeAGEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Four+/+by+Christopher+Shinn&printsec=frontcover

Where do we live / by Christopher Shinn

In the summer of 2001 in New York City, two young men from the same apartment building find their lives intersecting, as each struggles to make sense of a changing world.

What didn't happen / by Christopher Shinn

When his lover, literary adversary and a sympathetic colleague gather at Dave Ardith's upstate retreat for a midsummer barbecue, the acclaimed author is forced to confront his demons -- the novel he is loath to finish and the life he is loath to resume. Six years later, Dave's young protege, Scott -- present on that fateful night -- returns to the house, soul-searching and plagued by a mysterious regret. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/What_Didn_t_Happen/tL3ULdJPMf0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=What+didn%27t+happen+/+by+Christopher+Shinn&printsec=frontcover

On the mountain / by Christopher Shinn

A former rock-and-roll wild child, haunted by the suicide of a Seattle rock legend, struggles with the rebellion of her own iPod-obsessed teenage daughter. When rumors of the rock star’s final, lost song bring a charming young man with questionable motives into the picture, an intriguing mystery begins to unfold. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/On_the_Mountain/-Aq3uf0BjzYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=On+the+mountain+/+by+Christopher+Shinn&printsec=frontcover

Other People / by Christopher Shinn

Stephen, a struggling playwright and website movie critic, invites his ex-boyfriend, Mark, to spend Christmas with him and his roommate, Petra, a poet and stripper. Mark, who’s recently completed making an independent film and is fresh out of rehab, begins his life back in the real world by becoming friends with Tan, a street hustler with a penchant for public masturbation. Meanwhile, Petra begins to engage outside of work with one of her customers, a kind, lonely investment banker who’d rather hear her talk than see her strip. In the crucible of a tiny East Village apartment, Stephen, Mark and Petra struggle with questions of art, sex and each other as the impending New Year forces them to define how they want to live and love in a dark and confusing world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Other_People/8lORc7S1624C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Other+People+/+by+Christopher+Shinn&printsec=frontcover

Picked / by Christopher Shinn

Chosen to star in a huge new movie by a legendary Hollywood director, an unknown young actor finds his life suddenly changed. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Picked/HnHP0OlB2eoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Picked+/+by+Christopher+Shinn&printsec=frontcover

E.M. Forster's A passage to India / adapted for the stage by Martin Sherman

Before deciding whether to marry Chandrapore's local magistrate, Adela Quested wants to discover the 'real India' for herself. Newly arrived from England, she agrees to see the Marabar Caves with the charming Dr Aziz. This adaptation explores the absurdity of Anglo-Indian life in the 1920s. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Passage_To_India/bavvAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=E.M.+Forster%27s+A+passage+to+India+/+adapted+for+the+stage+by+Martin+Sherman&printsec=frontcover

Absolutely! (perhaps) / by Luigi Pirandello adapted by Martin Sherman

No one has ever seen Signor Ponza's wife and her mother, Signora Frola together. Also, the neighbors have become suspicious because Signora Ponza never leaves her home and start asking questions. Ponza claims that this wife is really his second wife, the first having died in an earthquake that destroyed all records. Meanwhile his wife only pretends to be Signora Frola's daughter to humor Signora Frola, who, he claims, is insane. Thoroughly bewildered, Agazzi demands to meet Ponza's wife, who arrives heavily veiled proclaiming herself as both the daughter of Signora Frola and the second wife of Signor Ponza. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Absolutely_Perhaps/ZeSkBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Absolutely!+(perhaps)+/+by+Luigi+Pirandello+adapted+by+Martin+Sherman&printsec=frontcover

Onassis / by Martin Sherman

Onassis portrays the last years of the life of the wealthy shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who after a notorious affair with Maria Callas, married Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of US President John F. Kennedy, in 1968. A millionaire at 25, he had become one of the world's richest men, but it was the glamour of the women in his life which brought him real fame, causing him to pursue personal vendettas and amassing empires on an international scale. Based in part on Peter Evans' book Nemesis, Onassis is an explosive account of one man's voracious appetite for sex, money and power. the play depicts Onassis' complex interwoven relationships with women and his family, as well as his long-running feud with the Kennedy family and the American establishment. With hints of Greek tragedy and hubris, it explores how those with great wealth and political influence live their lives detached from the moral code and realities of ordinary mortals. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Onassis/kmCJAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Onassis+/+by+Martin+Sherman&printsec=frontcover

Things we want / by Jonathan Marc Sherman

A dirty sexy suicide comedy. Three adult brothers are living together once again in their childhood apartment, struggling to redefine themselves while pursuing their desires and coping with the void left by their parents' deaths. Drastic shifts in their dynamics occur after a neighbor named Stella becomes a part of their lives. A sweet and sour look at the illusions we have about what makes us happy--and what is within our power to change. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Things_We_Want/t9-3ux3-YEsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Things+we+want+/+by+Jonathan+Marc+Sherman&printsec=frontcover

Patience / by Jason Sherman

Reuben has it all. Marriage and a family. Personal health and vitality enough for killer squash games. Financial success, with a big deal about to break in Korea. A car filled with extraordinary electronic gadgets. The security that he's on top of his own world. Then, with almost biblical abrputness - think of the story of Job - Reuben's universe tumbles, and almost everything he has come to count on turns to dust. In our spiritually brutal, uncomforting age, how does a man put himself together again?

Romance in D / by James Sherman

ROMANCE IN D takes place in two side-by-side apartments in present-day Chicago. Charles Norton, a musicologist, lives in one apartment alone with his books and music. Isabel Fox, a poet on the verge of a divorce, moves into the other apartment and puts her head in the oven in a half-baked suicide attempt. Charles, next door, smells the gas and inadvertently becomes Isabel’s savior. George Fox, Isabel’s father comes to town and tries to cheer Isabel up. Helen Norton, Charles’ mother, encourages Charles to get to know Isabel, but Charles refuses to become involved. Isabel makes the effort to befriend Charles, and Charles, try as he may to resist, falls in love. One day, when Charles and Isabel are away, Helen and George meet, and they discover that they have their own similar interests. Will Helen and George fall in love and leave the children to fend for themselves? Will Charles profess his love for Isabel and risk another heartbreak? Will Isabel go back to her husband or put her head back in the oven? All four characters use their knack for music and words as they nervously navigate the path of true love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Romance_in_D/eHURpAeOaO8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Romance+in+D+/+by+James+Sherman&printsec=frontcover

Affluenza! / by James Sherman

William Moore lives in his penthouse apartment with his loyal assistant, Bernard, and his net worth of six hundred million dollars. When he brings home his new girlfriend, his son and ex-wife are none too happy about it. Who gets what and who ends up with whom is revealed in this contemporary comedy of manners. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Affluenza/l7GhJA_j79gC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Affluenza!+/+by+James+Sherman&printsec=frontcover

From door to door / by James Sherman

A heartwarming, bittersweet comedy about three generations of American women. Mary Goodman, a woman of the "greatest generation" is mourning the loss of her husband. Her daughter, Deborah, is encouraging her to end her period of mourning and move on with a new independence. In a series of scenes between Mary, Deborah, and Mary's mother, Bessie, Mary reflects back on her life as a daughter, wife and mother. A trio of actresses plays the three women over the course of sixty-five years. As Mary's life progresses from childhood to matrimony to motherhood, we see how each successive generation of women lives up to the expectations of the past and makes brave new choices about the future. At the end of the play, the three women stand as links in a chain made of faith, love, and understanding. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/From_Door_to_Door/4w9w5AzZUMoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=From+door+to+door+/+by+James+Sherman&printsec=frontcover

Dirty blonde / by Claudia Shear

A funny, bawdy New York hit with dream roles for actors, Dirty Blonde combines transformation and drama with a fabulous dollop of show biz magic. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dirty_Blonde/A2SLelScWdEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dirty+blonde+/+by+Claudia+Shear&printsec=frontcover

Cellini / by John Patrick Shanley

The play chronicles the life of the original “Renaissance Man,” Benvenuto Cellini, the sixteenth-century Italian sculptor and man-about-town. Cellini’s masterwork is the magnificent Perseus, the creation of which is the play’s centerpiece. As he works, he dictates his memoirs, letting us into his life: We learn of his days in Paris and Rome, and of his beloved Florence; we also get a glimpse of the artist’s bravado—he snubbed the patronage of Pope Paolo and was promptly thrown in jail; we’re given accounts of his love life; and we’re also teased about a couple of juicy murders. The play closes with the unveiling of the Perseus and leaves the audience touched by Cellini’s genius. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cellini/YoEXglrkStAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Cellini+/+by+John+Patrick+Shanley&printsec=frontcover

Dirty story / by John Patrick Shanley

When aspiring novelist Wanda seeks the advice of successful writer Brutus, she gets more than she bargained for. Of the manuscript she sent him, he tells her, “It was wretched, it was ignominious. It takes seventeen trees to make one ton of paper. You might think about that the next time you consider writing.” None of this prevents Wanda and Brutus from moving in together and commencing a sadomasochistic relationship. But when a dispute over the apartment arises, Wanda’s ex-boyfriend, pistol-toting cowboy Frank, sledgehammers the door and enters with his sidekick, a British bartender named Watson, at which point the story takes a surprising allegorical turn. “Call me Israel!” Wanda says, and it suddenly becomes clear that Frank and Watson bear a notable resemblance to two fellahs on the international scene named Bush and Blair, while Wanda and Brutus’ territorial hostilities are not dissimilar to a certain notorious conflict in the Middle East. Can Frank and Watson resolve this crisis? Have they any business doing so? Will it all come down to a game of poker? Cowboy Frank seems to think he has the answer: “Be like me. Do like I do. And it works."

Sailor's song / by John Patrick Shanley

SAILOR’S SONG is an extravagant romantic seaside story decorated with dance. In the tradition of Gene Kelly and Eugene O’Neill, who should have worked together but never did, this stylistically daring love story gives us a cynical man and a true believer who battle over beautiful women and the power of love.

Doubt : a parable / by John Patrick Shanley

In this brilliant and powerful drama, Sister Aloysius, a Bronx school principal, takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the young Father Flynn of improper relations with one of the male students. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Doubt/6O5H7wyVdaMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Doubt+:+a+parable+/+by+John+Patrick+Shanley&printsec=frontcover

Defiance / by John Patrick Shanley

Defiance is set on a United States Marine Corps base in North Carolina in 1971. Two officers, one black and one white, are on a collision course over race, women and the high cost of doing the right thing. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Defiance/JPHoCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Defiance+/+by+John+Patrick+Shanley&printsec=frontcover

Romantic poetry / book and lyrics by John Patrick Shanley ; music by Henry Krieger

From the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author comes this crackpot musical romance. Connie of Woodmere has just married Fred of Newark, but her exes are back in the picture and not sure they approve of the union. Mary of Greenpoint climbs Frankie of Little Italy's fire escape with amorous and erotic intent -- but things go awry as she reaches for her dream. A fanciful musical romance about our need for dreams and for each other, Romantic Poetry puts the lunatic, the lover and the poet onstage and lets them sing. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Romantic_Poetry/xHpimgyd1XYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Romantic+poetry+/+book+and+lyrics+by+John+Patrick+Shanley+%3B+music+by+Henry+Krieger&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover

2 graves / by Paul Sellar

Bobby Tops is riding on the crest of a wave, poised to take the crown at the 1978 World Professional Darts Championship. Only now he's dead. His son Jack seeks his revenge on those he believes are responsible for his father's downfall - and we're with him every step of the way as life turns him from adoring son to hard-bitten criminal.

Worlds end / by Paul Sellar

Kat is moving out of the London flat she shares with ex-boyfriend Ben. Helping her are Thea, her best friend, and Josh, the new man in her life. Ben (who's not even meant to be there) is hurt and angry and still in love with Kat. But is it now too late to tell her ... ?" "With subtle humour and poignancy, Worlds End lays bare love in the twenty-first century. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Worlds_End/MZ38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Worlds+end+/+by+Paul+Sellar&printsec=frontcover

A brief history of Helen of Troy, or, Everything will be different / by Mark Schultz

Charlotte is fifteen and grieving over the loss of her beautiful mother. Her relationship with her father is put to the test as she discovers sex, ambition and 'beauty product'. Inspired by Euripides but with its sights set firmly on contemporary America, "A Brief History of Helen of Troy" is an unsettling and startlingly authentic examination of complacency culture and the politics of beauty. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Brief_History_of_Helen_of_Troy/MNP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+brief+history+of+Helen+of+Troy,+or,+Everything+will+be+different+/+by+Mark+Schultz&printsec=frontcover

Deathbed / by Mark Schultz

Martha has cancer and demands attention. Danny doesn’t want to deal. Thomas has things he’d like to forget. Steven loves too much. Susan feels betrayed. Martin is confused. And Ian wants to know what death is really like. Standing at the intersection of death, desire, memory and disease, how can we reasonably articulate our own pain in the face of another’s suffering? Maybe it’s just easier to read a book. And have a sandwich. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Deathbed/poTAl1hKmccC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Deathbed+/+by+Mark+Schultz&printsec=frontcover

Adding machine : a musical / composed by Joshua Schmidt ; libretto by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt ; based on the play The adding machine by Elmer Rice.

Darkly comic and heartbreakingly beautiful, Adding Machine, a musical adaptation of Elmer Rice's incendiary 1923 play, tells the story of Mr. Zero, who after 25 years of service to his company is replaced by a mechanical adding machine. In a vengeful rage, he murders his boss. An eclectic score gives passionate and memorable voice to this stylish and stylized show, which follows Zero's journey to the afterlife in the Elysian Fields where he is met with one last chance for romance and redemption. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Adding_Machine/qNJQ1JnAO-0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Adding+machine+:+a+musical+/+composed+by+Joshua+Schmidt+%3B+libretto+by+Jason+Loewith+and+Joshua+Schmidt+%3B+based+on+the+play+The+adding+machine+by+Elmer+Rice.&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Jerome Bixby's The man from Earth / adapted by Richard Schenkman ; based on the original motion picture screenplay written by Jerome Bixby

After history professor John Oldman unexpectedly resigns from the University, his startled colleagues impulsively invite themselves to his home, pressing him for an explanation. But they're shocked to hear his reason for premature retirement: John claims he must move on because he is immortal, and cannot stay in one place for more than ten years without his secret being discovered. Tempers rise and emotions flow as John's fellow professors attempt to poke holes in his story, but it soon becomes clear that his tale is as impossible to disprove as it is to verify. What starts out as a friendly gathering soon builds to an unexpected and shattering climax. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jerome_Bixby_s_The_Man_from_Earth/imqe4LF1SisC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jerome+Bixby%27s+The+man+from+Earth+/+adapted+by+Richard+Schenkman+%3B+based+on+the+original+motion+picture+screenplay+written+by+Jerome+Bixby&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Digging up Dessa / by Laura Schellhardt

Dessa is a 21st-century girl with no shortage of struggles, secrets and mysteries to solve. From dinosaur bones to hidden memories, the world is filled with buried treasures just waiting to be uncovered. Luckily, thanks to the mysterious appearance of a remarkable friend—the pioneering 19th-century English paleontologist Mary Anning—young Dessa knows just how to excavate them! After a field trip to a museum reveals that Mary Anning’s legacy has been buried by history because of her gender and lack of formal education, Dessa decides that she’s going to fight to earn her friend the credit she deserves. With help from her once-rival, Nilo, Dessa sets to work unearthing the secrets hidden beneath the surface of the past and present—for Mary’s history and her own future.

...touched... / by Ursula Rani Sarma

Cora and Mikey yearn for Dublin, for a life without darkness, without secrets, without despair. The young sister and brother make a pact to escape, but their flight to Dublin leads them straight into the hands of the street wise, money-hungry Macca, a horrific crime and a city that was far from the paradise they had dreamt about. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blue_Touched/2tL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=...touched...+/+by+Ursula+Rani+Sarma&printsec=frontcover

Rocket City, Alabam' : a play with songs of the American South / by Mark Saltzman

At the dawn of the Cold War, the early 1950s, a young, brash, Army major, Hamilton Pike, brings famed German rocket scientist and former Hitler employee Wernher Von Braun to Huntsville, Alabama, a cotton town selected to become America's "Rocket City." But Huntsville is a Jewish community over a century old. Sparks fly and tempters explode when Amy Lubin, the Jewish fiancée of local war hero Jed Kessler learns of Von Braun's Nazi past. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rocket_City_Alabam/WmIl_sxzdP0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rocket+City,+Alabama+play+with+songs+of+the+American+South+/+by+Mark+Saltzman&printsec=frontcover

The big secret live 'I am Shakespeare' webcam daytime chatroom show! : a comedy of Shakespearean identity crisis / by Mark Rylance

A fascinating, witty and characteristically exuberant dramatic contribution to the Shakespeare authorship debate. Is it possible that the son of an illiterate tradesman, from a small market town in Warwickshire, could have written the greatest dramatic works the world has ever seen? Mark Rylance is one of a number of leading actors who seriously question the idea that William Shakespeare was the man behind the thirty-seven plays that have moved, inspired and amazed generations.

FBI girl : how I learned to crack my father's code / by Tammy Ryan ; adapted from the memoir by Maura Conlon-McIvor

This poignant, coming-of-age story follows young Maura Conlon through her childhood journey in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s. Growing up in a large Irish-Catholic family mostly held together by commitment to her youngest brother, Joey, born with Down syndrome, Maura struggles to find her place in the world. She is fascinated by mysteries, a fascination fed by the elusive world of her FBI agent father. Her dream growing up was to follow his path and crack "the code" that made his world so lusciously impenetrable. At her Catholic school, Maura is known as the shy girl. Her beloved uncle, Father Jack, a priest in Queens, N.Y., relates to Maura, always assuring her of her potential, helping her to find her "voice." This enchanting story, told through Maura's inquisitive eyes and reflective and imaginative mind, is a highly moving account of personal growth and family trials and triumphs.

The music lesson / by Tammy Ryan

Weaving together the music of Bach, with memories of the Bosnian War and the universal conflicts between teacher and student, The Music Lesson tells the story of Irena and her husband Ivan, two musicians who escaped the war in Sarajevo to start a new life in Pittsburgh. When Ivan meets Mrs. Johnson, a recently divorced single mother, at the local grocery store, he brings home two new students: 10-year-old Eddie, a talented violin student, and the unwilling Kat, his 14-year-old sister. While her passion for music and the students she taught helped Irena survive the war, she now stands torn between Maja, the 12-year-old piano prodigy she left behind in Sarajevo, and Kat, the bright but angry American teenager who wants to learn, but resists her teaching. Shifting elegantly from past to present and resonating with powerful music, this is the tale of two countries, two families, two generations and the ways they teach and heal each other. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Music_Lesson/bYnY4yo1Q38C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+music+lesson+/+by+Tammy+Ryan&printsec=frontcover

The clean house / by Sarah Ruhl

The play takes place in what the author describes as "metaphysical Connecticut," mostly in the home of a married couple who are both doctors. They have hired a housekeeper named Matilde, an aspiring comedian from Brazil who's more interested in coming up with the perfect joke than in house-cleaning. Lane, the lady of the house, has an eccentric sister named Virginia who's just nuts about house-cleaning. She and Matilde become fast friends, and Virginia takes over the cleaning while Matilde works on her jokes. Trouble comes when Lane's husband Charles reveals that he has found his soul mate, or "bashert" in a cancer patient named Anna, on whom he has operated. The actors who play Charles and Anna also play Matilde's parents in a series of dream-like memories, as we learn the story about how they literally killed each other with laughter, giving new meaning to the phrase, "I almost died laughing." This theatrical and wildly funny play is a whimsical and poignant look at class, comedy and the true nature of love. In the anthology: The Clean House and Other Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Clean_House/5hapSpCKf5AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+clean+house+/+by+Sarah+Ruhl&printsec=frontcover

Eurydice / by Sarah Ruhl

In Eurydice, Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual effects, the play is a fresh look at a timeless love story. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Eurydice/5zkGYvVhejsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Eurydice+/+by+Sarah+Ruhl&printsec=frontcover

In the next room, or, the vibrator play / by Sarah Ruhl

In a seemingly perfect, well-to-do Victorian home, proper gentleman and scientist Dr. Givings has innocently invented an extraordinary new device for treating "hysteria" in women (and occasionally men): the vibrator. Adjacent to the doctor's laboratory, his young and energetic wife tries to tend to their newborn daughter--and wonders exactly what is going on in the next room. When a new "hysterical" patient and her husband bring a wet nurse and their own complicated relationship into the doctor's home, Dr. and Mrs. Givings must examine the nature of their own marriage, and what it truly means to love someone. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_the_Next_Room_or_the_vibrator_play/n036CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In+the+next+room,+or,+the+vibrator+play+/+by+Sarah+Ruhl&printsec=frontcover

Chekhov's Three Sisters / by Sarah Ruhl

In her fresh translation of Three Sisters, the Anton Chekhov classic of ennui and frustration, Ruhl employs her signature lyricism and elegant understanding of intimacy to reveal the discontent felt by fretful Olga, unhappy Masha, and idealistic Irina as they long to leave rural Russia for the ever-alluring Moscow. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chekhov_s_Three_Sisters_and_Woolf_s_Orla/GO3oCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Chekhov%27s+Three+Sisters+/+by+Sarah+Ruhl&printsec=frontcover

Valhalla / by Paul Rudnick

Valhalla intertwines two stories: the life of Ludwig of Bavaria, the 1880s Mad King responsible for building a series of storybook castles inspired by Wagnerian operas, and the fictional adventures of James Avery, a wild Texas teenager of the 1940s. These two iconoclasts are tracked from childhood through their deaths, and while they embody separate eras, they are ultimately revealed as time-traveling soul mates. The play explores questions of beauty and madness, as both Ludwig and James pursue lives of operatic passion, bringing them in contact with such diverse figures as a high-school quarterback, the prettiest girl in Dainsville, Texas, most of the characters of Lohengrin and princess Sophie, who declares herself "the loneliest humpback in Europe." Valhalla is a comic epic, confronting the price to be paid for wanting, and getting, everything you dream of. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Valhalla/YsGRftzVbvIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Valhalla+/+by+Paul+Rudnick&printsec=frontcover

Regrets only / by Paul Rudnick

This comedy of Manhattan manners explores the latest topics in marriage, friendships and squandered riches. The setting: a Park Avenue penthouse. The players: a powerhouse attorney, his deliriously social wife and their closest friend, one of the world's most staggeringly successful fashion designers. Add a daughter's engagement, some major gowns, the president of the United States, and stir. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Regrets_Only/4hLl0sI0SxsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Regrets+only+/+by+Paul+Rudnick&printsec=frontcover

The new century / by Paul Rudnick

When the playwright is Paul Rudnick, expectations are geared for a play both hilarious and smart, and THE NEW CENTURY is no exception. It is a provocative and outrageous comedy, featuring a collection of hilarious characters. In PRIDE AND JOY, Helene is a Long Island matron, the self-proclaimed “most loving mother of all time” to her three gay children, whom she brags about at the Massapequa chapter of Parents of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, The Transgendered, The Questioning, The Curious, The Creatively Concerned and Others (1 man, 1 woman). The flamboyant MR. CHARLES, CURRENTLY OF PALM BEACH is described by Mr. Rudnick as “an aging homosexual hounded out of New York City by younger gay men, who find his theatrical style a threatening throwback to an earlier, tougher time.” Mr. Charles spends his exile in the company of the hunky Shane, with whom he produces a cable television show, Too Gay (2 men, 1 woman). In CRAFTY, Barbara Ellen is a Midwestern craftswoman and competitive cake-decorator who has lost a son to AIDS (1 woman). In THE NEW CENTURY, all of these hilarious and poignant people collide under surprising and comical circumstances, providing evidence of just where our new century might be heading (2 men, 3 women). Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Century/E7thBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+new+century+/+by+Paul+Rudnick&printsec=frontcover

The naked eye / by Paul Rudnick

Alex DelFlavio is an ambitious downtown artist who plans to include sexually explicit photographs in his uptown show to advance his career. Nan Bemiss, the wife of a Republican senator who is running for the presidency and a gallery board member, appeals to DelFlavio to remove three of his most “offensive” photographs for the opening. Unexpectedly, Nan is liberated in the process. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Naked_Eye/FTJC84jh79EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+naked+eye+/+by+Paul+Rudnick&printsec=frontcover

Alone together again : a comedy / by Lawrence Roman

In the hilarious Broadway comedy, Alone Together, Mom and Dad have spent the last thirty years raising three active sons. How they looked forward to the peace, the quiet and the privacy of an empty nest. After considerable comic turmoil and revelation of deep feelings, the nest is finally emptied. Peace now? Quiet? Not for long. The empty nest fills up again by the sudden, unexpected arrival of their parents, each with a problem which is dumped on Mom and Dad. How to empty the nest once again so Mom and Dad can be alone together. Cleverly comic, witty and wise. Alone Together Again has delighted audiences in Europe as well as the U.S. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Alone_Together_Again/HH2_TyBm8wcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Alone+together+again+:+a+comedy+/+by+Lawrence+Roman&printsec=frontcover

Piranha Heights / by Philip RIdley

It's Mother's Day and mother is dead. Now her two sons gather in her home to argue about the truth of their childhood. But a storm is approaching. . . with violent truth all of its own. Piranha Heights is non-stop, filthily poetic and a searing insight into the disenchantment of young people today. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Piranha_Heights/mngpBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Piranha+Heights+/+by+Philip+RIdley&printsec=frontcover

Vincent river / by Philip Ridley

Davey has seen something he can’t forget. Anita has been forced to flee her home. These two have never met. Tonight their paths cross, with devastating consequences. Thrilling, heartbreaking and darkly humorous by turns, VINCENT RIVER is an upfront look at self-deception’s power to destroy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vincent_River/Tc3aAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Vincent+river+/+by+Philip+Ridley&printsec=frontcover

Leaves of glass / by Philip Ridley

On the surface, Steven has everything - a beautiful wife, a successful business, a brand new home. But beneath the glittering veneer lies a monstrous secret. Haunted by the death of his father and a car accident involving a young child, Steven finds his life unravelling and his pregnant wife unable to comprehend his pain and sense of loss. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Leaves_of_Glass/fmR7AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Leaves+of+glass+/+by+Philip+Ridley&printsec=frontcover

The house keeper / by Morna Regan

A young mother at the end of her tether is faced with homelessness when she loses her job and the bank threatens to repossess her home. Desperate, she breaks into the house of a wealthy woman, only to discover that she has disturbed a hornets nest of unimagined proportions.

Human error / by Keith Reddin

At a crash site somewhere in the Midwest, investigators Miranda and Erik stand amongst the wreckage. Middle-aged colleagues relatively new to each other, they tentatively begin a relationship. Although Miranda initially rebuffs Erik, it isn’t long before the two have tumbled into bed together. The resulting vulnerability they both reveal and a subsequent encounter with a survivor of the crash shed light on the fragility of life and love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Human_Error/zSQNmwezVj8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Human+error+/+by+Keith+Reddin&printsec=frontcover

Frame 312 / by Keith Reddin

Lynette is a suburban housewife with a terrible secret. Greeting her children for her birthday, she has a chance to recognize her children’s faults and her own shortcomings and to reach out. She will tell them about her involvement with a historic event over thirty years earlier. Lynette’s inner and outer life have been out of synch, and her final act cracks the surface forever, making it possible for Lynette to unearth her buried self at last.

Almost blue / by Keith Reddin

ALMOST BLUE is a stage noir set in a seedy rooming house. A man just out of prison trying to stay straight, a strange loner down the hall who writes pornographic greeting cards, a violent ex-con who wants to settle old scores. And of course, the beautiful woman in trouble, who messes with everybody’s head. Written in a series of brutal, funny encounters, ALMOST BLUE is a journey into the dark night, full of plot twists and sultry exchanges. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Almost_Blue/WLEk-W2pisQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Almost+blue+/+by+Keith+Reddin&printsec=frontcover

All the rage / by Keith Reddin

A blood-splattered body lies on the living room carpet at the start of ALL THE RAGE. By the end of this examination of our culture of violence, eleven characters have been killed, sent to prison or gone mad. Yes, ALL THE RAGE is a comedy. The action takes place in an unnamed city today, in a series of scenes that show the interconnected lives of ten characters. Among them are an estranged husband and wife, a gay couple, a criminal and his underage sister/lover, an eccentric millionaire and his former personal secretary turned video store owner. They all come in contact and set a chain of violent events in motion. A modern-day Jacobean Revenge Tragedy, ALL THE RAGE gives us a picture of a world spinning out of control, as everybody has a gun and is ready to use it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_the_Rage/dGDAEy1RrD8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=All+the+rage+/+by+Keith+Reddin&printsec=frontcover

Too much memory / by Keith Reddin and Meg Gibson

A theatrical explosion of myth and revolution, TOO MUCH MEMORY is a retelling of the classic Greek story of Antigone set firmly in the present. This inventive adaptation straddles a line between the classic Greek tragedy and modern storytelling. Children fight to break away from their parents’ shadows; a trophy wife agonizes over her diminishing role in both public and private spheres; and soldiers required to obey their commander-in-chief reject their roles in the battle between order and unrest. At its heart the story is the same: Antigone defies the ruler Creon’s law and her sister’s pleas in order to give her brother, who has been labeled a traitor, an honorable burial. Caught in her attempt, Creon decrees that Antigone be buried alive, despite her engagement to his son, Haemon. Haemon kills himself and Creon’s wife follows suit, leaving Creon to run an administration in shambles. A play about collective history, TOO MUCH MEMORY explores what this means as we try to revamp and refocus it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Too_Much_Memory/SvFJJP-USwsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Too+much+memory+/+by+Keith+Reddin+and+Meg+Gibson&printsec=frontcover

The missionary position / by Keith Reddin

Pragmatism and piety collide in this political comedy set during a Presidential primary season. The action takes place in a series of banal hotel rooms in various cities, where Roger, an operative of a Christian organization does battle with Neil, a cynical campaign manager, for the soul of an unseen presidential front runner. In the mix is Julie, a wealthy donor to the campaign who dreams of running for office herself. A play where conflicts of ideals versus pragmatism do battle, and the best man does not win. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Missionary_Position/7HEqS-NEzPIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+missionary+position+/+by+Keith+Reddin&printsec=frontcover

Chekhov in hell / by Dan Rebellato

Anton Chekhov, masterful playwright and mirror to Russian society, awakening from one hundred years of sleep, is thrust rudely into twenty first century Britain. Reality shows, fashionistas, Z-list celebrities, illegal immigrants, chuggers and wags. Pole dancing, YouTube, Twitter and 5-a-day. Chekhov in Hell takes you on a whirlwind tour of modern day Britain. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chekhov_in_Hell/ctP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Chekhov+in+hell+/+by+Dan+Rebellato&printsec=frontcover

The butterfly collection / by Theresa Rebeck

A family of artists are both cruelly destructive and fiercely protective of each other. Paul, a Nobel winning novelist suffering from writer's block, his elegant but feisty wife, two sons an actor and an antique dealer and the actor's girlfriend are together for the first time in ages. Enter Paul's new assistant, a talented and passionate writing student. Bitter, funny chaos ensues.

Omnium gatherum / by Theresa Rebeck & Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros

Believing that lively, contentious debate is the heart and soul of a dinner party, a domestic artist and perfect hostess has invited an assortment of opinionated personalities to share a surreal meal. The guests at this exquisite feast of food and argument confront the global implications of September 11 and beyond in an urgent, impassioned, and hilarious work that was applauded at Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival and Off Broadway. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Omnium_Gatherum/umJmOrhppnkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Omnium+gatherum+/+by+Theresa+Rebeck+%26+Alexandra+Gersten-Vassilaros&printsec=frontcover

Bad dates / by Theresa Rebeck

And then I realize, in this sort of strange, hallucinatory moment, that the bug guy is looking kind of good, and the things he's saying about bugs are really kind of fascinating and it is then that I realized that maybe it has been too long since I've been on a date.--So confesses a single mother and self-described restaurant idiot-savant in this thoroughly charming and slyly sweet one-woman play by the author of The Butterfly Collection and Spike Heels. This idiosyncratic journey of self-discovery involving the Romanian mob, a Buddhist rainstorm, a teenage daughter, shoes, and a few very bad dates enjoyed an extended run Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons starring Julie White. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bad_Dates/9PdRTB0FEEwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bad+dates+/+by+Theresa+Rebeck&printsec=frontcover

Bells / by Theresa Rebeck

Theresa Rebeck's expressionistic melodrama set in the waning years of the Alaskan Gold Rush tracks the intertwined fates of a gregarious innkeeper, Mathias; his rebellious daughter, Annette; and the misfits of a boomtown gone bust. Hard luck and hunger have brought them together, but when a stranger begins asking questions about the mysterious disappearance of a Chinese prospector, Xiufei, he soon learns that it's every man for himself in this vast, white wilderness, where nothing is quite what it seems, and ghost stories are never taken lightly. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Bells/mPDGis6fkRkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bells+/+by+Theresa+Rebeck&printsec=frontcover

Abstract expression / by Theresa Rebeck

After a scathing review 15 years ago, a once-celebrated painter faded into impoverished obscurity. Can one chance encounter resurrect this volatile artist from obscurity and re-launch him to overnight success? Theresa Rebeck skillfully compares the gritty urban realities of lives lived on the edge with the capricious intrigues of the uptown gallery scene where fame might just be a matter of who you know and reputations can be bought and sold. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Abstract_Expression/O8ybZDTaCQcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Abstract+expression+/+by+Theresa+Rebeck&printsec=frontcover

Our house / by Theresa Rebeck

A cocksure TV bigshot faced with dwindling ratings installs America's favorite news anchor as host of a popular reality show. Meanwhile, in Middle America, a houseful of roommates bickers over high-stakes real-world conflicts: Merv doesn't clean the bathroom. Someone ate Alice's yogurt. And the rent is long past due. When reality collides with reality TV, we find ourselves front and center in a drama that holds the nation riveted...A darkly comic look at America's obsession with "reality" television. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Our_House/z678cLE6kJsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Our+house+/+by+Theresa+Rebeck&printsec=frontcover

The understudy / by Theresa Rebeck

Franz Kafka's undiscovered masterpiece in its Broadway premiere is the hilarious and apropos setting for Theresa Rebeck's exploration of the existential vagaries of show business and life. Charged with running the understudy rehearsal for the production, Roxanne finds her professional and personal life colliding when Harry, a journeyman actor and her ex-fiancé, is cast as the understudy to Jake, a mid-tier action star yearning for legitimacy. As Harry and Jake find their common ground, Roxanne tries to navigate the rehearsal with a stoned lightboard operator, an omnipresent intercom system, the producers threatening to shutter the show and her own careening feelings about both actors and her past. Will the show go on?

Seminar / by Theresa Rebeck

In Seminar, a provocative comedy from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck, four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored. The wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this biting Broadway comedy.

Plays, 2 / by Mark Ravenhill

Includes the plays: Mother Clap's molly house -- Product -- The cut -- Citizenship -- Pool (no water). Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ravenhill_Plays_2/CW1jAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays,+2+/+by+Mark+Ravenhill&printsec=frontcover

Totally over you : a play / by Mark Ravenhill

Suggested by Molière's Les précieuses ridicules the play concerns four girls who decide to become famous by marrying celebrities, so they dump their current boyfriends. The four boyfriends, with the help of the members of their school's drama class, set up a witty scenario designed to fool the girls into thinking that they should never have called off their relationships- because one day soon the lads will be the world-famous boyband Awesome. The current obsession with celebrity is satirized with the lightest of touches in this intelligent comedy for a cast of teenagers.

Over there / by Mark Ravenhill

Award-winning playwright Mark Ravenhill examines the hungers releases when two countries separated by a common language, meet again. In the story when Franz's mother escaped Germany to the West with one of her identical twin boys, she left the other behind. Now, 25 years later, Karl crosses the border in search of his other half. As history takes an unexpected turn, the brothers must struggle to reconnect. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Over_There/QQ2kijm6D6QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Over+there+/+by+Mark+Ravenhill&printsec=frontcover

Kindness / by Adam Rapp

An ailing mother and her teenaged son flee Illinois and a crumbling marriage for the relative calm and safety of a midtown Manhattan hotel. Mom holds tickets to a popular musical about love among bohemians. Her son isn't interested, so Mom takes the kindly cabdriver instead, while the boy entertains a visitor from down the hall: an enigmatic, potentially dangerous young woman. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kindness/qOD9Z6uOfCsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kindness+/+by+Adam+Rapp&printsec=frontcover

The ice-breaker / by David Rambo

Both a science play and a love story, intellectual and romantic sparks fly when geologist Sonia Milan, a brilliant Ph. D. candidate, tracks down her mentor, Lawrence Blanchard, in seclusion in the desert Southwest. She's at a professional and personal crossroads, and wants to play a role in explaining a rapidly changing planet. He wants nothing more to do with climate science, but she persists. When the wine, firewood and night are all gone, Sonia has made unexpected discoveries, and Lawrence has confronted the past. Their world has changed, and they have to decide what to do about it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Ice_breaker/qQemNc_EsswC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+ice-breaker+/+by+David+Rambo&pg=PA5&printsec=frontcover

Rabbit / by Nina Raine

It’s Bella’s twenty-ninth birthday. Friends and former lovers meet for a drink to celebrate. But as the Bloody Marys flow, the bar becomes a battlefield. In the uncivil war between the sexes, what happens when the females have the real fire-power—stockpiles of testosterone, lethal wit and explosive attitude? And what happens when patriarchy gets personal, when it’s your own father who is tragic and terminal? When the only man you really love is dying? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rabbit/-OMj-umghxwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rabbit+/+by+Nina+Raine&printsec=frontcover

The momologues : the original comedy about motherhood / by Lisa Rafferty, Stefanie Cloutier and Sheila Eppolito

This original comedy about motherhood reveals what all mothers know but don’t always talk about: it’s overwhelming and exhausting, but also very, very funny. From the joys of infertility, through reading the same books over and over and over, to finally seeing your baby get on that school bus, this play mines the laughs and tears of the early years of motherhood. Four separate characters tell their individual stories, either directly to the audience in monologues, or in scenes with each other. Mothers everywhere can relate to the labor stories, the frustration of a simple trip to the store, the quest to connect with other mothers, all of which causes them to plan moms’ nights out and arrive in packs to laugh hysterically at this tribute to “the toughest job you’ll ever love.” Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Momologues/V6KrTsIrcPgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+momologues+:+the+original+comedy+about+motherhood+/+by+Lisa+Rafferty,+Stefanie+Cloutier+and+Sheila+Eppolito&printsec=frontcover

Plays, 1 / by David Rabe

Includes the plays: The basic training of Pavlo Hummel -- Sticks and bones -- Streamers -- The orphan

The dog problem / by David Rabe

Trouble starts when Teresa tells her brother that this guy did something to her with his dog in bed. Nobody seems to know exactly what, but they do know that somebody's got to pay. So what is 'The Dog Problem'? It's the wrong thing said to the wrong person. From then on it's a chain reaction of misplaced passions and galloping sentences leading to deadly conclusions in a darkly funny play about men, women, ghosts, sex, betrayal, psychic power and the realisation that when you destroy the natural world in Act One, you better look out in Act Two. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dog_Problem/vcNafy1RfesC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+dog+problem+/+by+David+Rabe&printsec=frontcover

The black monk / by David Rabe

Kovrin arrives at Pesotsky's estate, where he spent his childhood, to find the orchard filled with smoke and threatened by frost. When dawn arrives, the orchard is saved and, in the following weeks, Kovrin finds joy away from the demands of city and university life, begins to see Pesotsky's daughter Tanya in a new light, and becomes aware that Pesotsky is troubled about the survival of his magnificent gardens. He remains tormented by a subtle, original idea. An emissary from the unknown, the legendary Black Monk, appears to Kovrin, bringing opportunities and risks from invisible realms into the concrete world. While love makes certain claims in uncertain ways, Kovrin, Pesotsky and Tanya face choices that have consequences beyond the desired and foreseen. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Black_Monk/13zs7L9jzNYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+black+monk+/+by+David+Rabe&printsec=frontcover

The Canterville ghost : a magical musical comedy / book and lyrics by Peter Quilter ; music by Charles Miller ; adapted from the original story by Oscar Wilde

When a brash American millionaire family stay at the gothic English stately home, Canterville Chase, they fail to be the least bit frightened by Sir Simon, the resident ghost. Sir Simon, condemned by a curse to haunt the house, tries every scary and spooky trick in the book. However, his antics provide only great amusement for them as they drive him into hiding. the young Virginia, appalled by her family's grotesque behaviour, searches out the depressed Ghost and befriends him. As their affection for one another deepens, Virginia and the Ghost realize that she is the solution to an ancient rhyme that will help rid him of his curse. Virginia, persuading her family to help, embarks on an important and difficult mission to set Sir Simon free.

End of the rainbow / by Peter Quilter

A musical drama of Judy Garland's "come-back" concerts. Christmas 1968: with a six-week booking at London's Talk of the Town, it looks like Judy Garland is set firmly on the comeback trail. The failed marriages, the suicide attempts and the addictions are all behind her. At forty-six and with new flame Mickey Deans at her side, she seems determined to carry it off and recapture her magic. But lasting happiness always eludes some people, and there was never any answer to the question with which Judy ended every show: "If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why, can't I?" Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/End_Of_The_Rainbow/B0LLAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=End+of+the+rainbow+/+by+Peter+Quilter&printsec=frontcover

Plays three / by J.B. Priestley

The third volume of J.B. Priestley plays from Oberon includes a fascinating trio of plays, all written between 1938 and 1940, a creative period in Priestley's career that was interrupted by war. All three plays ("Music at Night," "The Long Mirror," and "Ever Since Paradise") demonstrate Priestley's fascination with time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/J_B_Priestley_Plays_Three/sYoHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+three+/+by+J.B.+Priestley&printsec=frontcover

The sugar syndrome / by Lucy Prebble

Through a chatroom meets Lewis a lonely boy with sexual hang-ups. She arranges to meet another person she has been chatting to - Tim - who has told her is is an 11 year old boy. He is in fact in his 30s.He has been to prison for sexual offences. Tim and Dani strike up a friendship. Lewis is jealous and informs the police about what is going on. Tim asks Dani to keep his laptop that has material on it he does not want the police to see. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sugar_Syndrome/9CvLAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+sugar+syndrome+/+by+Lucy+Prebble&printsec=frontcover

Enron / by Lucy Prebble

One of the most infamous scandals in financial history becomes a theatrical epic in Lucy Prebble's new play. Mixing classical tragedy with savage comedy, it follows a group of flawed men and women in a narrative of greed and loss which reviews the tumultuous 1990s and casts a new light on the financial turmoil in which the world finds itself in 2009. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Enron/9QcACwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Enron+/+by+Lucy+Prebble&printsec=frontcover

Judgement day : a new version of Ibsen's When we dead awaken / by Mike Poulton

Adapted from When We Dead Awaken, the last play Ibsen wrote before his death. First staged in 1899, it is rarely performed, yet is one of Ibsen's most extraordinary and deeply personal works. Whilst holidaying with his young wife, the sculptor Rubek encounters his muse: a woman that he loved and left a lifetime ago. Over a series of heated encounters, the entire scroll of Rubek's life is unrolled in Ibsen's final  and most autobiographical exploration of what it means to love and be loved. Set within a mythical Nordic landscape, the play offers an explicit and merciless portrait of Ibsen as an ageing artist: restless with his art, his homeland and his married life.

The kingdom of Grimm / book, music and lyrics by Douglas Post ; a musical based on three stories by the Brothers Grimm

Musical about the magic of storytelling. One winter's day, Hans, a farm boy who has lost his way in the woods, stumbles across a golden key. It unlocks an enchanted chest that holds the imprisoned Gerhardt the Great and his troupe of traveling players. To show their thanks, the players perform three tales for Hans: The Golden Goose, The Three Huntsmen and The Four Skillful Brothers. Their theatrical antics are underscored by a collection of songs that range in style from ballads to blues to rock. Finally, the players depart, leaving Hans with some valuable lessons about generosity, loyalty and hard work.

Mother of him / by Evan Placey

It could be a morning like any other as Brenda cooks breakfast for her two sons ... But eight year-old Jason's refusing to go to school and teenager Matthew is under house arrest upstairs. And Brenda's face is splashed across the cover of every newspaper. For Matthew has committed a horrible crime, and as Brenda fights for him to be sentenced as a child, she learns it's the laws inside the house that matter most: boys can become men, and a mother can at once become victim and monster. How far does a mother's love go, and at what cost to herself? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mother_of_Him/tBFByi6ohlYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mother+of+him+/+by+Evan+Placey&printsec=frontcover

Celebration / by Harold Pinter

In a fashionable restaurant, two gangsterish brothers, formerly from the East End but now "strategy consultants who enforce the peace", are celebrating a wedding anniversary with their wives, who are sisters. At the next table, a banker is dining with his wife, formerly his secretary. Violent, wildly funny, this play displays a vivid zest for life. Diners and the staff at an elegant restaurant treat audiences to some unusually entertaining fare in this recent London hit by one of the major voices of modern theatre. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Celebration/idlb21NfqxsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Celebration+/+by+Harold+Pinter&printsec=frontcover

Ashes to ashes and other plays / by Harold Pinter

Ashes to Ashes - a man interrogates a woman about her lover and involvement in wartime atrocities. The woman is haunted by appalling memories - genocide, deportation, and most disturbingly, a tenderly recalled masochistic-erotic relationship with a modern Herod-like infanticide. In fact, she may never have experienced these things. Celebration - at separate tables of a West End restaurant sit a cross-section of characters. At the smaller table is a couple taunting each other with past and present infidelities; at the larger, two Mafioso thugs and their blowsy, aging trophy-wives are celebrating a wedding anniversary. Meanwhile, the manager, his assistant and a young waiter start to assert themselves as something more than restaurant staff. Monologue - the speaker, called only Man, inhabits a shabby room and spends the play addressing another man who, it finally turns out, might be his brother. But the armchair the Man addresses is empty. Moreover, there are hints that he might be institutionalized. Talk of sport and literature gives way to reminiscences of romance. It emerges that the speaker loved a woman but that she transferred her favors to the invisible occupant of the chair. Party Time - a suave power-broker is throwing a party at which his guests prattle of exclusive health clubs, idyllic island retreats and past romantic liaisons. Meanwhile in the streets outside there is violent disorder that is being savagely suppressed - M5,F4 Precisely - this sketch reveals a conversation between two women working for the government who want to convince their country to engage in nuclear war. Press Conference - a Minister of Culture, formerly the head of the Secret Police, holds a press conference in this political sketch about a repressive regime. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ashes_to_Ashes_and_Other_Plays/LDVnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ashes+to+ashes+and+other+plays+/+by+Harold+Pinter&printsec=frontcover

Lenin in love / by David Pinner

Lenin, the Communist icon, believed that his secret life would die with him. The opening of the Soviet archives in the mid 1990s has proved otherwise. Lenin in Love is a comedy about a tragedy, which exposes the sexual troika and the sadistic proclivities of arguably the foremost political genius of the last century. Lenin was a passionate lover, Machiavellian strategist and a calculating murderer, and the frenzied paradoxes inherent in his life changed the course of history.

The Potsdam Quartet / by David Pinner

The Potsdam Quartet presents two very different quartets at the Potsdam Conference of 1945: the 'big four' of Stalin, Truman, Churchill and Attlee who are 'dividing up the world' off-stage, and the four embittered musicians who are there to provide the background music while they do so: 'a pity it has to be Haydn.'

Midsummer / by David Pinner

In Midsummer, two pair of lovers believe they can transform themselves and each other, with the help of two mysterious strangers. But the Midsummer Night transformations effect others too, and the last Stalinist trades-unionist in England is turned into more than just an ass. When night falls in the wood it is nature which proves the greatest enchanter of all in this modern homage to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Lady Day / by David Pinner

In Lady Day, Katya discovers her husband is having an affair with her best friend so she hibernates to a derelict lake-side cottage, to re-invent her life in the depths of winter, but none of her friends or family will leave her in peace. All the men in her life fall in love with her again. Comic mayhem ensues as the men duel to the death for the illusive Lady.

Polyester : the musical / book by Phil Olson ; music by Wayland Pickard ; lyrics by Phil Olson & Wayland Pickard

The year was 1979 and The Synchronistics were big. Big enough to be on Johnny Carson. Their hit single “Better Together” rose to number two on the Billboard charts. But something terrible happened that drove the group apart. And now, twenty years later, they’re back together in Maple Valley, their hometown, to perform at the 1999 WKLN public access TV telethon. Will they overcome their differences from twenty years ago, act professionally, and help save WKLN from going under? Probably not. But you never know what to expect when this dysfunctional group gets together…one last time. It’s Mamma Mia meets Spinal Tap! Featuring sixteen original songs, including “The Funk Train” and “Bump Your Booty Rump.” Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Polyester/bQTCTZWdT1wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Polyester+:+the+musical+/+book+by+Phil+Olson+%3B+music+by+Wayland+Pickard+%3B+lyrics+by+Phil+Olson+%26+Wayland+Pickard&printsec=frontcover

Elove (a musical.com/edy) / book, music & lyrics by Wayland Pickard

This funny and charming two-person musical is a contemporary love story based around the modern world of internet dating. A man and a woman search for that 'special someone' in cyberspace and find that romance is only a mouse click away, but discover more than they ever anticipated. Two lonely singles at home on their laptop computers have signed up with an internet dating site called "eLove.com." We hear their innermost thoughts about love and relationships as they correspond in a cyber chat room searching for their perfect soulmate. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Elove_a_Musical_com_edy/B2ETx02hHS8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Elove+(a+musical.com/edy)+/+book,+music+%26+lyrics+by+Wayland+Pickard&printsec=frontcover

Dumb show / by Joe Penhall

Courted at the end of his show by bankers John and Jane, TV star Barry believes he is to get the five-star treatment that he deserves. However, urged to provide a candid account of his offstage life and views, the Barry that emerges is the least of the surprises in the tense game of power and manipulation that ensues. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dumb_Show/ZHlGLoiy5yAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dumb+show+/+by+Joe+Penhall&printsec=frontcover

Plays, 2 / by Joe Penhall

Includes the plays: Blue/orange -- Dumb show -- Wild turkey

Electra / by Sophocles ; [adapted] by Nick Payne

When young Electra's Father is murdered by her mother, her world changes irrevocably. Ten years on, bound by grief and unwilling to forgive, Electra surrenders to an all-consuming desire for revenge that propels her toward a bloody and terrifying conclusion.

The cider house rules / adapted by Peter Parnell ; from the novel by John Irving

The Cider House Rules is a two-part stage adaptation of the John Irving novel. Spanning eight decades of American life, it tells the story of Dr. Wilbur Larch, founder of the St. Cloud's, Maine orphanage and hospital, and of the complex father-son relationship he develops with the young orphan Homer Wells. Homer's growth into adulthood begins first at St. Cloud's, and then out in the wide world, where he learns about life and love and must ultimately decide whether to return to St. Cloud's and fulfill the destiny his "father" has always believed in for him.

Trumpery / by Peter Parnell

It is 1858. Charles Darwin struggles to finish On the Origin of Species and give the world his theory of natural selection, while coping with family illness and his own impending loss of faith. Meanwhile, halfway around the world, Alfred Russel Wallace, a brilliant but virtually unknown explorer and Utopian socialist, has come up with the exact same theory. The one person he sends his abstract to is Charles Darwin. Can Darwin claim priority? And what will happen if he doesn't finish his own book in time? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Trumpery/987Xxw5kyF4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Trumpery+/+by+Peter+Parnell&printsec=frontcover

In the blood / by Suzan-Lori Parks

In this modern day riff on The Scarlet Letter, Hester La Negrita, a homeless mother of five, lives with her kids on the tough streets of the inner city. Her eldest child is teaching her how to read and write, but the letter “A” is, so far, the only letter she knows. Her five kids are named Jabber, Bully, Trouble, Beauty and Baby, and the characters are played by adult actors who double as five other people in Hester’s life: her ex-boyfriend, her social worker, her doctor, her best friend and her minister. While Hester’s kids fill her life with joy—lovingly comical moments amid the harsh world of poverty—the adults with whom she comes into contact only hold her back. Nothing can stop the play’s tragic end. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_the_Blood/9v0sAAVegsYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In+the+blood+/+by+Suzan-Lori+Parks&printsec=frontcover

Topdog/Underdog / by Suzan-Lori Parks

A darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity is Suzan-Lori Parks's latest riff on the way we are defined by history. the play tells the story of Lincoln and Booth, two brothers whose names were given to them as a joke, foretelling a lifetime of sibling rivalry and resentment. Haunted by the past, the brothers are forced to confront the shattering reality of their future. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Topdog_Underdog_TCG_Edition/BUv6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Topdog/underdog+/+by+Suzan-Lori+Parks&printsec=frontcover

There's a burglar in my bed : an American farce / by Michael Parker

William Worthington III and his wife are both going to be away for the weekend from their two hundred acre Massachusetts estate with its twenty six bedroom mansion, he to Delaware to shoot ducks with the Duponts and she to her mother's in Boston. Both have, in fact, arranged trysts with their respective lovers in the estate's beach cottage. Inevitably their paths cross and divorce is in the air. Neither is willing to give up the world famous Worthington necklace, so each devises a plan to steal it. True to the laws of farce, both simulated burglaries are scheduled for same night. Fun filled chaos ensues: mistaken identities, unlikely romantic liaisons, a bumbling private detective, a fake necklace, one very determined nymphomaniac and two scantily clad pseudo nuns sharing a single skirt. "Where did they come from?" Confusion is piled on confusion until the mystery of who has the real necklace and who has the fake is revealed in a surprise ending. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/There_s_a_Burglar_in_My_Bed/rY0YPKrNkcwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=There%27s+a+burglar+in+my+bed+:+an+American+farce+/+by+Michael+Parker&printsec=frontcover

Whose wives are they anyway? : an American farce / by Michael Parker

The Ashley Maureen Cosmetics Company has been sold and two of its vice presidents, David McGrachen and John Baker, have planned a weekend off before the new C.E.O. arrives on Monday. With their wives safely off on a shopping spree in New York City, they check into The Oakfield Golf and Country Club intending to "golf their brains out." They unexpectedly encounter their new boss, Ms. Hutchison, and she insists on meeting the wives, commenting blithely "no one who went golfing for a weekend without his wife would ever work for me." So ... David and John have to produce wives. John persuades Tina, the hotel's sexy receptionist, to play the role of his wife, but the only one who can pretend to be David's wife is...JOHN! Inevitably everything goes wrong as John moves in and out of bedrooms, changing from male to female at a frantic pace. Hilarious chaos ensues when the hotel phone system goes on the blink, Tina has too much champagne and can't keep her clothes on, and, yes, the real wives arrive! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Whose_Wives_are_They_Anyway/pbOI7mdVcZgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Whose+wives+are+they+anyway%3F+:+an+American+farce+/+by+Michael+Parker&printsec=frontcover

Who's in bed with the butler : an American farce / by Michael Parker

A California billionaire has bequeathed all of his assets to his only daughter, Constance – except the $22 million yacht he wanted Josephine to have, a $25 million art collection left to Renee, and some priceless antique automobiles willed to Marjorie. Constance arrives at her father’s mansion with her lawyer, determined to find out who these women are and to buy them off or contest the will. The butler seems to hold the key, and she learns from him that the three sultry ladies were her father’s lovers. She also discovers that the yacht, the art, and the cars have vanished, all having been sold to The Bimbo Corporation. Could the butler be behind the shenanigans – and is he carrying on with all of the ladies in question? Does the elderly, deaf housekeeper really have a pet rat? Can the bumbling detective hired by Constance really be so inept, linguistically as well as professionally? And why has the butler hired an actress to play his wife? Hilarity erupts long before the audience realizes that the temptresses are all being played by the same actress! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Who_s_in_Bed_with_the_Butler/TYKWUYcpR8gC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Who%27s+in+bed+with+the+butler+:+an+American+farce+/+by+Michael+Parker&printsec=frontcover

Never kiss a naughty nanny : an American farce / by Michael Parker

Mr. Broadbent, a developer and builder, has created "THE HOUSE OF THE FUTURE". He has filled it with gadgets such as: self lighting fire places, a self cleaning bathroom, central trash disposal units, automatic closets, hidden telephones, and his masterpiece "The Personal Ion Chamber". The house, however, has remained unsold for four years, probably because, as we see in the course of the play, most of the innovations of the future fail to work properly. He has, at last found prospective buyers, Fred and Gladys McNicoll, and invites them to stay in the house. He is determined to offload this huge "White Elephant". He bribes two members of his staff, Casey Cody and Ben Adams, to pose as a married couple, who are renting the house. They are to extol its virtues and explain how everything works. He is pulling out all the stops. The fridge is full of expensive wine and he has hired a chef to prepare a gourmet meal. Unknown to the McNicolls', he even has his maintenance man Eddie Cott on hand to make running repairs. He thinks he has all the bases covered. When Gladys hears Casey refer to Mr. Cott by name, the cat seems to be out of the bag, but Casey quickly recovers by saying she didn't say "Mister Cott" but "Ms Turcotte", the children's nanny. Eddie Cott now spends the rest of the play as Nanny Turcotte. A surprise visitor, Mr. Brooks, takes an almost insane fancy to "Nanny" who now has to defend 'her' honor, as well as fix the gadgets, all of which, without exception, misbehave.

Thunder above, deeps below / by A. Rey Pamatmat

Three homeless friends -- a Filipina-American with a hidden past, a Filipina transsexual, and a Puerto Rican hustler -- struggle on the Chicago streets to scrounge up enough cash to bus it to San Francisco before the winter cold hits. But when a bearded man on a quest, a mystery man in sunglasses, a wealthy john, and a doughnut shop's spell-casting assistant manager put their hopes and friendships to the test, the trio find they must spare some change of a far queerer kind.

Levittown / by Marc Palmieri

When Kevin, the grandson of a World War II combat veteran, returns early from yet another college, he learns that his deeply troubled sister is about to be married. With renewed hope, he attempts to reconcile his family with the abusive father who left them years before. Amidst the thin walls of their Levittown home, the members of this beleaguered family are forced to confront a concealed history, the self-destructive nature that has plagued them for generations, and the failure of faiths onto which they have desperately held. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Levittown/xIB3pcdGhx4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Levittown+/+by+Marc+Palmieri&printsec=frontcover

Buried alive / by Philip Osment

Stewart is an award-winning photo-journalist who specialises in recording atrocities around the world. A young woman, a journalist herself, who is an admirer of his work, starts to investigate Stewart's life and in doing so uncovers a disturbing family history. Set in Edinburgh, the play moves between the present day and the late 1970s of Stewart's childhood. Gradually, the story of Stewart and his two sisters and the nightmare imposed on them by their deranged mother and ineffectual Father reveals itself. the play works as a psychological thriller and is about coming to terms with the past and the need for redemption and forgiveness.

Before anger / by John Osborne

Includes the plays: Devil inside him / by John Osborne with Stella Linden -- Personal enemy / by John Osborne and Anthony Creighton. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Before_Anger_Two_Early_Plays/DtP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Before+anger+/+by+John+Osborne&printsec=frontcover

Yellowman / by Dael Orlandersmith

YELLOWMAN is a multi-character memory play about an African-American woman who dreams of life beyond the confines of her smalltown Southern upbringing and the light-skinned man whose fate is tragically intertwined with hers. The play explores the negative associations surrounding male blackness as well as the effect these racial stereotypes have on black women. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Yellowman/y0MJ4fJStl0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Yellowman+/+by+Dael+Orlandersmith&printsec=frontcover

Horsedreams / by Dael Orlandersmith

HORSEDREAMS explores the breakdown of the family unit as a result of addiction. After his wife, Desiree, dies of an accidental overdose, Loman faces the harsh reality of raising their son, Luka, alone. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Horsedreams/vnHAFLZipdwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Horsedreams+/+by+Dael+Orlandersmith&printsec=frontcover

The great extension / by Cosh Omar

Following The Battle of Green Lanes, his prophetic play about the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in Britain's urban melting pots, Cosh Omar returns with a comedy play for our time. Never have issues such as multi-culturalism, racism, sectarianism, Judo-Islamic conflict, faith, sexuality and nationhood been explored with such insightful hilarity. The Great Extension - an outrageous and infuriating farce. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Great_Extension/Ypz8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+great+extension+/+by+Cosh+Omar&printsec=frontcover

A nice family gathering : a comedy / by Phil Olson

A Nice Family Gathering is a story about a man who loved his wife so much, he almost told her. It's Thanksgiving Day and the first family gathering at the Lundeen household since the Patriarch died. At the gathering, Dad comes back as a ghost with a mission; to tell his wife he loved her, something he neglected to tell her while he was alive. After all, they were only married for 41 years. The problem is, she can't hear or see him. The trouble begins when Mom invites a date for dinner. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Nice_Family_Gathering/gwEux57arzgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+nice+family+gathering+:+a+comedy+/+by+Phil+Olson&printsec=frontcoverhttps://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Nice_Family_Gathering/gwEux57arzgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+nice+family+gathering+:+a+comedy+/+by+Phil+Olson&printsec=frontcover

Cornelia / by Mark V. Olsen

From the co-creator of the hit HBO series Big Love comes an epic slice of history centering on 1970s Alabama politics. Beautiful, divorced beauty queen Cornelia Folsom is a force of nature who works her way into the heart of Governor George Wallace. Together they plan to take over the state and then the White House, until an assassination attempt halts his presidential campaign. But no obstacle is too great for Cornelia to overcome, as she secretly harbors her own political ambitions amidst a hostile campaign staff, her rarely-sober mother, and Southern shenanigans in this sweeping, provocative tale of sex, power, and bare-knuckled American politics. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cornelia/xIWr-yncalUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Cornelia+/+by+Mark+V.+Olsen&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

The war next door / by Tamsin Oglesby

Sophie and Max are a thoroughly modern couple, cosmopolitan and open-minded. They have even constructed their own eco loo, well, it does save 30 litres of water a day. Max is a lawyer, albeit a lawyer who grows his own dope. Then there's Hana and Ali next door - neighbours, but in every other sense, a world apart. Hana is pregnant, but black eyes are not normally a symptom of pregnancy. What a man does on his own patch is his business - but when war starts raging next door, whose business is that? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_War_Next_Door/N538DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+war+next+door+/+by+Tamsin+Oglesby&printsec=frontcover

Mynx & Savage / by Rebecca Gorman O'Neill

Getting lost in a story is a dangerous temptation. Adam is a comic book writer coasting on his past successes in the glossy pages of Mynx and Savage. Much to his chagrin, his employer has assigned him a partner, Ket, to ensure he makes his next deadline. Ket is young and ambitious; her life was changed by Adam’s first serious graphic novel, and she aches to know what new, “important” work Adam is working on. As the duo sets to work on the 100th issue of Mynx and Savage, the fantasy bleeds into reality as the superheroes and their mild-mannered alter egos invade the artists’ space. Adam finally starts to trust Ket and shares the story he’s been hiding. It is the story of Jill and Kyle, two childhood friends on summer break who dream of superheroes. Where Kyle is frightened, Jill is brave; where Kyle is secretive, Jill insists on honesty. This is the story that tortures Adam, the story he’s been hiding from the world; it’s the origin story of Mynx and Savage. In the end, as the worlds of the children, the superheroes and the artists collide, Ket helps Adam realize that he has no future until he makes amends with his past.

Triptych / by Edna O'Brien

Three women—a mistress, a wife and a daughter—expose their passions for the same man and confront the ways that love can simultaneously liberate and entrap.

Las meninas / by Lynn Nottage

LAS MENINAS is the true story of the illicit romance between Queen Marie-Therese (wife of Louis XIV) and her African servant, Nabo, a dwarf from Dahomey, and the hilarious consequences that scandalized the French court. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Las_Meninas/9LPX_G0BmjUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Las+meninas+/+by+Lynn+Nottage&printsec=frontcover

Fabulation : or, the re-education of Undine / by Lynn Nottage

FABULATION is a social satire about an ambitious and haughty African American woman, Undine Barnes Calles, whose husband suddenly disappears after embezzling all of her money. Pregnant and on the brink of social and financial ruin, Undine retreats to her childhood home in Brooklyn’s Walt Whitman projects, only to discover that she must cope with a crude new reality. Undine faces the challenge of transforming her setbacks into small victories in a battle to reaffirm her right to be. FABULATION is a comeuppance tale with a comic twist.

Intimate apparel / by Lynn Nottage

The time is 1905, the place New York City, where Esther, a black seamstress lives in a boarding house for women and sews intimate apparel for clients who range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. Her skills and discretion are much in demand, and she has managed to stuff a goodly sum of money away, but Esther remains, lonely and longing for a husband and a future. Her plan is to find the right man and use the money she's saved to open a beauty parlor where black women will be treated as royally as the white women she sews for. By way of a mutual acquaintance, she begins to receive beautiful letters from a lonesome Caribbean man named George who is working on the Panama Canal. Being illiterate, Esther has one of her patrons respond to the letters, and over time the correspondence becomes increasingly intimate until George persuades her that they should marry, sight unseen. Meanwhile, Esther's heart seems to lie with the Hasidic shopkeeper from whom she buys cloth, and his heart with her, but the impossibility of the match is obvious to them both, and Esther consents to marry George. When George arrives in New York, however, he turns out not to be the man his letters painted him to be, and he absconds with Esther's savings, frittering it away on whores and liquor. Deeply wounded by the betrayal, but somehow unbroken, Esther returns to the boarding house determined to use her gifted hands and her sewing machine to refashion her dreams and make them anew from the whole cloth of her life's experiences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Intimate_Apparel_Fabulation/ZFL6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Intimate+apparel+/+by+Lynn+Nottage&printsec=frontcover

The pain and the Itch / by Bruce Norris

With a young daughter in serious need of attention and a ravenous creature possibly prowling the upstairs bedrooms, what begins as an average Thanksgiving for one privileged family unravels into an exposé of disastrous choices and less-than-altruistic motives. THE PAIN AND THE ITCH is a scathing satire of the politics of class and race, a controversial, painfully human examination of denial and its consequences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Pain_and_the_Itch/nRrdXlgkbJMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+pain+and+the+Itch+/+by+Bruce+Norris&printsec=frontcover

Trudy Blue / by Marsha Norman

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'Night Mother, this engaging play stars a popular author who has grown disillusioned with her family life. She has retreated into conversations with her alter ego, Trudy Blue, who is the heroine of her novels. When a medical scare leads to a terminal diagnosis, her imaginary companion and her fear threaten her grip on reality. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Trudy_Blue/DFasSyClk6QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Trudy+Blue+/+by+Marsha+Norman&printsec=frontcover

Last dance : a comedy / by Marsha Norman

Claiming that she is tired of love, an aging but still beautiful poet from the American South who now lives on the coast of France has decided to give away her young lover. But how can this be? Her goddaughter thinks she has actually fallen in love with a local fisherman while her dashing friend believes she is finally ready to accept his proposal. The young lover is equally certain she really wants to marry him. This bittersweet comedy of manners is a tribute to the grandeur of Southern style and a musing on what a smart woman might really want toward the end of her life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Last_Dance/Ma_E63lwezoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Last+dance+:+a+comedy+/+by+Marsha+Norman&printsec=frontcover

Naked soldiers / by Mark Norfolk

Tells the story of Jamal an African refugee who is on the run and hiding in a burnt out attic. But as fate would have it he finds himself sharing his 'precious' space with Tony a 17-year-old racist who is also on the run after stabbing a young black boy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Naked_Soldiers/4tL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Naked+soldiers+/+by+Mark+Norfolk&printsec=frontcover

Red demon / by Hideki Noda ; translation and adaptation by Roger Pulvers

In a land far away a stranger is washed up near an isolated fishing village. Unable to understand his language or why he looks so different, the villagers decide he is a demon and must be destroyed. Only one woman, also an outcast, befriends him. Shot through with wit, ingenuity and sly humour, it reveals the conflict between compassion and suspicion in a closed community.

Eric Larue / by Brett Neveu

Janice LaRue is the mother of Eric, a 17-year-old boy who shot and killed three of his classmates in school. Now, three months after Eric has been jailed, Janice has not yet gone to see him, nor has she found any way to deal with what happened or to show herself in her community. She goes to her Presbyterian pastor—a man who seems to see religion as a kind of therapy—to ask for guidance. He tries to convince her to come to a meeting he has set up with the mothers of two of the murdered boys, but she resists. Janice talks about the meeting with her husband, who, since the murder, has become "born again." He argues for her attending a meeting at his church instead and giving her burden to Jesus. Angered by his blind faith and inflexibility, she decides to go to her pastor's meeting, which quickly spirals out of control, ending with Janice being verbally attacked by one of the mothers and defending herself by recalling how the other boys had taunted and hurt Eric. Janice finally visits Eric in jail and tells him that she believes he "did the right thing" in killing those boys.

American dead / by Brett Neveu

Lewie Froah, a one-time handyman in a town hit hard by the economic downturn, rambles drunkenly through the town's abandoned buildings, dwelling on the death of his sister, Grace. Unable to come to terms with the murder and haunted by the unsolved crime, Lewie imagines Grace to be with him as they discuss how she was murdered during a robbery attempt at a local grocery. For five years he has continued his relationship with Grace's former husband, Doug, and his new wife, Lisa, but they are preparing to leave town. Lewie finds himself at Bill Doane's bar where he meets Dennis, an out-of-towner in a similar emotional tight spot. Feeling the loss, of his sister, his former brother-in-law, and the town itself, Lewie continues drinking and hallucinating discussions with Grace until he is confronted by Dennis, who tells him he knows who killed his sister—that he heard the men confess to the killing while he was in prison. This information drives Lewie into a tailspin. Yet by being forced to come to terms with the true senselessness of Grace's death, Lewie begins to take the first real step toward healing.

James Joyce's The dead / book by Richard Nelson ; music by Shaun Davey ; lyrics conceived and adapted by Richard Nelson & Shaun Davey

Adapted from Joyce's literary masterpiece set in 1904, the last and best known of the short stories collected in The Dubliners, this intimate musical portrays a homespun Yuletide party with Irish music, dancing, food, drink and good fellowship. Sparkling songs, many of them traditional sounding Irish melodies that are performed as entertainment by the partygoers, are all original. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/James_Joyce_s_The_Dead/qIrqZkd9a6gC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=James+Joyce%27s+The+dead+/+book+by+Richard+Nelson+%3B+music+by+Shaun+Davey+%3B+lyrics+conceived+and+adapted+by+Richard+Nelson+%26+Shaun+Davey&pg=PA4&printsec=frontcover

Stitching / by Anthony Neilson

In the light of a pregnancy, a faithless couple pick apart their sexual history stitch by painful stitch. Can it be mended? Anthony Neilson's dark and intimate new play is a love story set at the extremes of brutality, banality and tenderness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stitching/O2iJAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stitching+/+by+Anthony+Neilson&printsec=frontcover

The lying kind / by Anthony Neilson

Constables Blunt and Gobbel have one last duty to fulfill before they can finish their Christmas eve shift; telling the old couple at No. 58 some terrible news. But what if the shock is too much for them? Blunt and Gobbel didn't join up in order to ruin people's lives. Maybe they'd be happier not knowing. And maybe it would all be much easier if the two constables weren't also stuck in the middle of a full-scale village lynch-mob.

Babel / by Patrick Neate

Whitbread prize-winning writer Patrick Neate collaborates with choreographic mav Ericks Liam Steel and Robert Tannion to produce a provocative new work. the show combines explosive choreography with words of mass destruction to create the ultimate act of dance terrorism. Violent but beautifully choreographed polemics collapse our safe ivory towers of political correctness, and the audience are compelled to sift through the wreckage to uncover the truth of their downfall in the shards of sound-bites, celebrity and brand recognition.

Next fall / by Geoffrey Nauffts

Luke and Adam are in love and have been living together for several years even though Luke, a closeted, conservative Christian, feels his homosexual desires are sinful. When Luke is in an accident and dying, his parents arrive on the scene, marginalizing Adam. The play includes flashbacks of Luke and Adam's developing relationship, plus the drama unfolding in the hospital. A look at love and marriage, and how we face death, regardless of faith or sexual orientation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Next_Fall/pLozfraMQPIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Next+fall+/+by+Geoffrey+Nauffts&printsec=frontcover

Boom / by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb

Jo, a female journalism student, shows up one night in Jules's small underground laboratory on a university campus, having answered an online ad for a hookup that promises "sex to change the course of the world." Jules, a marine biologist, means this promise literally. During his research on a deserted tropical island, Jules discovered patterns among the behavior of fish that seemed to portend a premature end to most forms of earthly life. So Jules has turned his tiny lab-cum-apartment into a place to wait out the disaster and begin remaking humanity. An epic and intimate comedy that spans over billions of years, Boom explores the influences of fate versus randomness in the course of one's life, and life as we know it on the planet. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Boom/i39VHqkHA_UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Boom+/+by+Peter+Sinn+Nachtrieb&printsec=frontcover

Colorado / by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb

“I want to use this crown to change the world! If I can just change one life, one little insignificant life, I think it will justify the beauty that God has given me.” So ends the victory speech of seventeen-year-old Tracey Ackhart upon her coronation as Miss Late Teen Colorado. Alas, a day before the national pageant in Virginia Beach, Tracey disappears, hurling the rest of her family, whose lives until then had revolved around her, into disarray. Grace and Ron, Tracey’s mismatched parents, differ in the way they cope. Travis, Tracey’s awkward, sexually awakening younger brother, is unsure how to feel about a sister who ruthlessly tormented him. The ties of family begin to fray, flashbacks uncover mystery, and startling discoveries and revelations hurtle the entire family towards an emotional abyss. Darker memories emerge, nervous breakdowns erupt, the cause of Tracey’s disappearance is uncovered. COLORADO is a sharp, dark comedy tinged with tragedy and sadness. It’s a play about disappointment American-style, the dreams of a family, and the traps set to keep those dreams far, far away. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Colorado/1zOu1eOJRxYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Colorado+/+by+Peter+Sinn+Nachtrieb&printsec=frontcover

Treefall / by Henry Murray

Beyond the end of the world, where trees are dying and sunlight must not be allowed to touch human skin, three teenaged boys survive by reinventing a culture they never really knew. They cling to shreds of civility by playing Daddy, Mommy and Junior, but the game has worn quite thin. And just when it seems that things can't get any worse, a stranger arrives with a terrible secret that changes everything. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Treefall/ceQmqZdSOYoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Treefall+/+by+Henry+Murray&printsec=frontcover

Big theatre in small spaces / by Brendan Murray

Includes the plays: The falling sky: When journalist Caroline Bishop swaps the city desk for country life she's looking for a fresh start: peace and quiet, sustainability, something more traditional. But when she meets her neighbors and starts asking questions it is clear that her dream of village tranquility will be short-lived. This absorbing drama of rural life follows the passing of the seasons as it chronicles the end of an era. Missing in action: The story of two young men who join the army: how one dies in combat and how the other lives on to fight a war of survival long after his time in the Military. Looking back to WWI and forward to an uncertain future, this dramatic exploration of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and its impact on the lives of all those it affects is tender, tough and never less than touching. Entertaining angels: Stephen Parr is a dedicated Church of England vicar but his rural parishioners are at odds with themselves and each other, his marriage heading for trouble and his faith - both in himself and his mission - ebbing away. Then one day a stranger arrives in the village who seems to have the answer to everyone's prayers ...

Ninety / by Joanna Murray-Smith

It is no use, but William gives Isobel ninety minutes anyway. they were once married, but something happened. Something broke deep down in the mechanism of their lives together and, seeing no way to repair it, they threw it away. But perhaps they were too hasty. Perhaps there was something they could have done. Isabel just wants ninety minutes. Soon William will be married again, so ninety is all she has to make her case. Ninety to remember what they had. Ninety to regain what was lost. Just ninety to rediscover love or call it a day, forever.

The house / by Tom Murphy

Summertime, and the emigrant workers, dressed in new suits and dreams, are returning home for the annual sojourn. they are young, vigorous, they have money in their pockets. But they do not belong here any more - and they do not belong abroad. they are resentful and dangerous. None more so than the seemingly gregarious Christy Cavanagh. His childhood fixation with Mrs de Burca and her daughters becomes a frightening obsession when he finds that the date has been set for the auctioning of their house, and his bid to possess heaven has tragic consequences.

A human interest story (or the gory details and all) : a play for six voices / by Carlos Murillo

Somewhere in America, a man fantasizes about his best friend's wife. In another city, a young housewife momentarily loses sight of her children. Elsewhere, a politician relives a tragic second that forever changed his life, and a mother wonders where her teenage son got the gun. And in one town, a man on the verge of committing a horrific act of violence watches all this unfold on his TV screen. A HUMAN INTEREST STORY (OR THE GORY DETAILS AND ALL) is an unflinching portrait of an America obsessed with voyeurism. This mesmerizing, funny and frightening work asks the question: Is the imagination more cruel and unforgiving than reality? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Human_Interest_Story_or_the_Gory_Detai/oISOEq0IwnkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+human+interest+story+(or+the+gory+details+and+all)+:+a+play+for+six+voices+/+by+Carlos+Murillo&printsec=frontcover

Dark play, or, stories for boys / by Carlos Murillo

An outsider at age fourteen, Nick discovers the intoxicating pleasures of inventing fake personalities in the chat rooms of the World Wide Web. Adam's online profile, and the words "I want to fall in love," pique his curiosity. Nick invents Rachel, the girl of Adam's dreams, and his curiosity becomes obsession. As Adam mounts the pressure to meet his Internet love in the real world, Nick creates ever more elaborate deceptions to fuel Adam's desire. When the boys finally meet in the real world, consequences are catastrophic. A tale of deception, fluid personality and sexual license in the Internet age, Dark Play examines what happens when the real world and virtual world collide. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dark_Play_Or_Stories_for_Boys/EzFliX9ZEVoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dark+play,+or,+stories+for+boys+/+by+Carlos+Murillo&printsec=frontcover

New Light Shine / by Shannon Murdoch

When he was twelve, Joe snuck into the field on the edge of town and saw the Town Mayor with his sister Peregrine. This one moment has overwhelmed and transformed his life, becoming the only thing that holds any importance to him. Years later, in jail for murder, Joe waits for Peregrine so that he can explain his plan for her future, a plan so intricately assembled that he has given it a name-New Light Shine. Four characters in Shannon Murdoch's bold new play are trapped in an argument of memory that threatens to turn perception into truth. Their task is to dig through years of silence and half-truths to arrive at a future that may at last bring peace. In the ensuing struggles, disturbing questions arise-about female and child sexuality as well as the responsibilities of government and community in raising children. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_Light_Shine/81Iuugy_2VYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=New+Light+Shine+/+by+Shannon+Murdoch&printsec=frontcover

Jack, the prince of Ireland / by Robert Moulthrop

Is it true what they say about "The Luck of the Irish?" Do leprechauns, rainbows with pots of gold and magical shamrocks really exist? Join Jack, the youngest son of the King of Ireland, on his quest to find out! Jack was never thought to be brave or heroic, certainly not like his two older brothers who were very much favored by their father. But Jack finds his own strengths as he opens his eyes and ears to those around him. When a Wise Old Man offers him a golden shamrock, he quickly learns that its magical powers bring him whatever he NEEDS. It is only when this shamrock is suddenly lost, that he truly discovers what it is to be a hero! Audience members are critical to Jack's journey - he needs them! Who else could throw the bag guys in the dungeon or be on the lookout for a ferocious dragon, or tame a swarm of angry buzzing bees?

Birds of a kind / by Wajdi Mouawad ; translated by Linda Gaboriau

In this sweeping new drama from the prolific Wajdi Mouawad, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict hits close to home as a straight-laced family is forced to confront everything they know about their identities. Is it really important to cling to our lost identities? A terrorist attack in Jerusalem puts Eitan, a young Israeli-German genetic researcher, in a coma, while his girlfriend Wahida, an Moroccan graduate student, is left to uncover his family secret that brought them to Israel in the first place. Since Eitan's parents erupted at a Passover meal when they realized Wahida was not Jewish, he has harbored a suspicion about his heritage that, if true, could change everything.

The gatekeeper / by Chloë Moss

A darkly comic play about the disintegration of a family get-together. Mike and Julia are sure their children Rob and Stacey had the best of everything when they were growing up. Now they're adults all they want is to be proud parents. But when they all meet up in a Lake District holiday cottage to celebrate Stacey's birthday, the bid to keep up appearances in front of an unexpected guest soon falls by the wayside as secrets are revealed.

East of Berlin / by Hannah Moscovitch

Standing outside his father's study in Paraguay, Rudi is smoking cigarettes, trying to work up the courage to go in. It has been seven years since he stood in that same spot; seven years since he left his family and their history behind him. As a teenager, Rudi discovered that his father was a doctor at Auschwitz. Trying to reconcile his inherited guilt, Rudi lashed out against his family and his friends, and eventually fled to Germany. While there, he follows in his father's footsteps by studying medicine, and falls in love with Sarah, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Questioning redemption, love, guilt, and the sins of the father, East of Berlin is a tour de force that follows Rudi's emotional upheaval as he comes to terms with a frightening past that was never his own

Desdemona / by Toni Morrison ; lyrics by Rokia Traoré

The story of Desdemona from William Shakespeare's "Othello" is reimagined by Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison, Malian singer and songwriter Rokia Traore, and acclaimed stage director Peter Sellars. Morrison's response to Sellars' 2009 production of "Othello" is an intimate dialogue of words and music between Desdemona and her African nurse Barbary. Morrison gives voice and depth to the female characters, letting them speak and sing in the fullness of their hearts. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Desdemona/b4oHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Desdemona+/+by+Toni+Morrison+%3B+lyrics+by+Rokia+Traore%CC%81&printsec=frontcover

We are three sisters / by Blake Morrison

We Are Three Sisters relates the story of the three sisters of the Chekhov play to the Bronte sisters and their brother at Haworth in 1848. Morrison said, "there are good reasons for transplanting the play to Haworth and for identifying the Serghyeevna sisters with the Brontes; they even have a troubled and self-destructive brother in common. Above all I hope that, by taking a cue from Chekhov, the play will banish the gloom surrounding the Brontes and reveal the northern humour and resilience they showed, despite the ever-present threat of death and disease. In other words, I'd like to honour the truth of the Brontes while showing Charlotte, Emily, Anne, Branwell and Patrick as they've never been seen before."

Water & power / by Richard Montoya

A hard working immigrant father wants better for his sons, twins named Water and Power. He wants them to be like Mr. Mullholand – deciding where the water flows in this desert pueblo. From the Mother Ditch in Chinatown, to the arroyos and ravines that would become Dodgers Stadium, L.A. re-invents herself faster than a Hollywood soundstage. History is cemented over and stars fade in a blaze of glory, but Water and Power will always be remembered -- all will know how the eastside rolls! Everything the brothers stand for hangs in the balance as they meet in room #13 at the Motel Paradise on the eastern edge of Sunset Boulevard. That's a part of the boulevard you never want to find yourself in on a dark and rainy night. L.A.'s not for everybody... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Water_Power/SZRZmXRKVp8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Water+%26+power+/+by+Richard+Montoya&printsec=frontcover

Palestine, New Mexico / by Richard Montoya

Rumors, Secrets, Sand and Blood. U.S. Army Captain Catherine Siler journeys to the New Mexico reservation home of Private First Class Raymond Birdsong on a search for answers. The questionable circumstances surrounding Ray's death in Afghanistan create a crisis of conscience for the captain giving her no choice but to re-examine her own life along the way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Palestine_New_Mexico/gOvHGVXF1bkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Palestine,+New+Mexico+/+by+Richard+Montoya&printsec=frontcover

Alice in Wonderland and through the looking glass / Lewis Carroll ; a new dramatisation by Adrian Mitchell

On a glorious summer's afternoon, young Alice happens upon a smartly dressed rabbit looking at his watch and muttering 'I'm too late!' This being an unexpected occurrence, she follows him down a nearby rabbit hole and falls in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll's timeless children's stories Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found there are magically brought to life in this new adaptation by Adrian Mitchell, specially commissioned for a Christmas production by the RSC. the amazing Lobster Quadrille, the Queen of Hearts' infamous croquet match and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party are just a few of the remarkable events and characters in this enchanting play. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Alice_in_Wonderland_and_Through_the_Look/VYsHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Alice+in+Wonderland+and+through+the+looking+glass+/+Lewis+Carroll+%3B+a+new+dramatisation+by+Adrian+Mitchell&printsec=frontcover

Boris Godunov / Alexander Pushkin ; adapted by Adrian Mitchell from a literal translation by Alisa M. Voznaya

Widely accepted to have been inspired by Shakespeare's Macbeth, Boris Godunov recounts the tragic conflict between Tsar Boris and the pretender Dimitri. Following the death of Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov became regent for the feeble-minded Tsar Fyodor, the heir to whose throne, the boy-prince Dimitri, died mysteriously in 1591. It was widely rumoured that Boris had murdered him, and when a renegade monk later appeared claiming to be Dimitri, he rapidly became a focus for revolt. This adaptation by acclaimed playwright & novelist Adrian Mitchell, was Mitchell's final project before his death in 2008. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pushkin_s_Boris_Godunov/dYsHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Boris+Godunov+/+Alexander+Pushkin+%3B+adapted+by+Adrian+Mitchell+from+a+literal+translation+by+Alisa+M.+Voznaya&pg=PT1&printsec=frontcover

Loves and hours / by Stephen Metcalfe

Loves & hours is the story of Dan Tilney; newly divorced, empty nester, and a man now totally at a loss as to what to do with the rest of his life. His friends know. Dan needs a girl. But will it be Charlotte, beautiful, bursting with life and twenty years his junior? Or will it be Julia, his lifelong friend and confidant. And what about his teenage son who is having an affair with a neighbor? And his ex-wife who has announced she's gay? What about his best friend, Harold, who is going through a mid-life crisis and his daughter, Rebecca, who is seemingly furious with everything and everyone. In this gentle comedy, life and love are complicated for young and not so young alike. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Loves_and_Hours/3ukgHdc1AHoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Loves+and+hours+/+by+Stephen+Metcalfe&pg=PA90&printsec=frontcover

All hail Hurricane Gordo / by Carly Mensch

The routines of daily life get blown apart when two brothers take in a plucky young houseguest. While India is running away from her relatively normal family, Chaz is struggling to find normalcy in the one he already has. Is it possible to be your brother's keeper and have a life too? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_Hail_Hurricane_Gordo/7FAMWi4uSA4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=All+hail+Hurricane+Gordo+/+by+Carly+Mensch&printsec=frontcover

Harry Thaw hates everybody / by Laural Meade ; musical arrangements by Curtis Heard

Harry Thaw Hates Everybody is a genre-bending, high-speed, turn-of-the-century romp in four acts – each in a different theatrical style: vaudeville, living newspaper, courtroom farce and post-modern collage. Set against a backdrop of gilded-age opulence and accompanied by authentic period songs, the play takes as its starting point the real-life 1906 murder of New York's architectural eminence Stanford White at the hands of deranged coal baron Harry Thaw, his rival for the affections of Broadway super-soubrette Evelyn Nesbit. Using an eclectic mix of American pomp splashed with turn-of-the-century burlesque theatrics, Harry Thaw serves up a comedic tour de force for four great performers and a darkly whimsical look at the clash between hedonism and poverty, the emotional toll of romantic excess, and murderous revenge a la high society.

Dedication : or the stuff of dreams / by Terrence McNally

In a small upstate New York town, Lou, a speech and drama teacher, and Jessie, a dog groomer at The Dapper Dog, bring joy to their community through running an amateur theater company. They become obsessed with buying a derelict movie theater and turning it into Captain Lou and Miss Jessie's Magic Theater for Children of All Ages. The only obstacle in reaching their dream is Annabelle Willard, a terminally ill and manipulative widow who owns half the town. Will these naive dreamers be able to grasp the brass ring, and at what cost? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dedication_Or_The_Stuff_of_Dreams/QTiPGdL57JoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dedication+:+or+the+stuff+of+dreams+/+by+Terrence+McNally&printsec=frontcover

Some men / by Terrence McNally

SOME MEN is Tony Award–winner Terrence McNally at his best. Often funny and sometimes touching, SOME MEN looks at same-sex life and love against a background of some of the events that shaped the last century. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Some_Men/sAFBnzheCMgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Some+men+/+by+Terrence+McNally&printsec=frontcover

Deuce / by Terrence McNally

Warmly funny and unexpectedly touching, DEUCE tells the story of retired tennis stars Leona Mullen and Midge Barker, who once made up a championship doubles team. When they meet again at the U.S. Open, the women--now at the end of their lives--find themselves trying to make sense of the professional partnership that brought them to the top of the sports world in their youth. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Deuce/K_VZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Deuce+/+by+Terrence+McNally&printsec=frontcover

Sex & god / by Linda Mclean

Four women from different moments in the twentieth century talk across time in Linda McLean's extraordinary play about faith, lust and family. Jane, a kitchen maid, the first in her family to move to the big city for work; Lizzie, passionate but unskilled and permanently dodging poverty; Sally, an early school-leaver who escapes a dangerous relationship by working her way into a profession; and Fiona, first in her family to go to university and discover a world of bewildering choices.

The lieutenant of Inishmore / by Martin McDonagh

On a lonely road on the island of Inishmore, someone kills an Irish Liberation Army enforcer's cat. He'll want to know who when he gets back from a stint of torture and chip-shop bombing in Northern Ireland. He loves his cat more than life itself, and someone is going to pay. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Lieutenant_of_Inishmore/96lOBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+lieutenant+of+Inishmore+/+by+Martin+McDonagh&printsec=frontcover

Way to heaven / by Juan Mayorga ; translated by David Johnston

Way to Heaven (Himmelweg) is based on the notorious true story of the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where the Nazis constructed a fake village to fool international inspectors and quell extermination rumors. Juan Mayorga's play begins years after the fact with an account by the Red Cross employee who was there, then leaps backward in time to show the creation and rehearsal of another very unusual play, one in which the Jewish prisoners are assigned roles (Mayor, Boy #1, etc.) and given lines to say to the inspectors. The facade, written by one of the most ironic figures ever to appear on a stage a witty, cultured, humanistic Nazi Commandant, and the Jewish prisoner selected to play the Mayor, this 'play' will ultimately serve its purpose and the inspector will return with a positive review. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Way_to_Heaven/FZ_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Way+to+heaven+/+by+Juan+Mayorga+%3B+translated+by+David+Johnston&printsec=frontcover

Plays one / by Glyn Maxwell

Includes the plays: The lifeblood -- Wolfpit -- The only girl in the world

The forever waltz / by Glyn Maxwell

A man arrives in the underworld searching for his love, only to find a mysterious guitar-wielding guide who may or may not be able to help him. He begins to mistake the underworld for the real world, and is caught there until he wakes up to the reality of his choices and breaks a cycle of violence. Pa ssion, retribution, fate and forgiveness collide in this fantastic thriller, the latest work from the award-winning writer Glyn Maxwell, a witty and contemporary take on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Plays two / by Glyn Maxwell

Includes the plays: Broken journey : adapted from the short story 'In the grove' by Ryunosuke Akutagawa -- Best man speech -- The last valentine. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Glyn_Maxwell_Plays_Two/QKD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+two+/+by+Glyn+Maxwell&printsec=frontcover

Mimi and the stalker / by Glyn Maxwell

Snatched from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight, schoolgirl Michelle Latchford was transformed into Hollywood's hottest property Mimi Luck. Now the reclusive Mimi is barricaded in her rural hideaway as a paparazzo lurks outside, scrutinised by her watchful agent, and haunted by the memory of the boy all the other kids called God. Brilliantly shifting between fantasy and reality and the past and the present, acclaimed playwright Glyn Maxwell tackles celebrity and sanity.

Masters are you mad? : the search for Malvolio / by Glyn Maxwell

I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you!' vowed Malvolio at the end of Twelfth Night, but twelve years have passed in Illyria and nothing has been heard of him. Illyria is a ghost town now: all its young people have left for 'Upriver', for the legendary land of Moai, a realm of love requited, fortunes made and dreams come true, presided over by a mysterious figure who may or may not be Malvolio. Whoever he is, the Duke Orsino wants him terminated' and sends a motley crew of fools and assassins upriver to get the job done. But, as the Ferryman warns them: Nothing makes no sense where we're going, no geography, no history, no language. Minds, meanings, souls and sexes will be transformed in Moai before the lost are found, the evil foiled, and broken hearts made whole. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Masters_Are_You_Mad/RYoHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Masters+are+you+mad%3F+:+the+search+for+Malvolio+/+by+Glyn+Maxwell&printsec=frontcover

Helmet / by Douglas Maxwell

Based on the exhilarating format of a Playstation game charting Sal and Helmet's fight for survival. Helmet (a.k.a. Roddy) lives his life completely immersed in computer games. the little time he has away from his consoles is spent in the Zone, a low tech games shop, which has just this very day gone bankrupt. Sal, the down-trodden owner of the Zone, is left wondering where it all went wrong. the shop is Sal's prison, but it's Helmet's church. As they get to know each other, hiding from reality for a while, it becomes clear that Helmet has a secret that could make things a lot worse for both of them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Helmet/mtL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Helmet+/+by+Douglas+Maxwell&printsec=frontcover

Variety / by Douglas Maxwell

Ladies and gentlemen! Let us present the romantic tenor, the couthy comedian, the speciality act and the equilibrist - a real Concert Party! In its halycon days variety theatre was part of the social life blood of the country. But in the shadow of the enemy - the technological wonder of the talkies - only the bravest or saddest of performers are left reading the boards, in cine-variety. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Variety/MtP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Variety+/+by+Douglas+Maxwell&printsec=frontcover

Mancub / by Douglas Maxwell

Mancub is the beautiful and absurd story of a boy who seems to be turning into animals. Paul faces the usual struggles of growing up. Struggles for understanding with his father, struggles to work out what girls are about. But he also faces a more pressing problem. Reality seems to be shifting as the people around him begin to display the traits of certain animals. But stranger still are the changes he sees in himself. Adapted from the book The flight of the cassowary by John LeVert. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mancub/xtL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mancub+/+by+Douglas+Maxwell&printsec=frontcover

If destroyed True / by Douglas Maxwell

Greetings from New Flood, which has just won the prestigious 'Worst Town in Scotland' award. The prize is £500,000 with which to 'improve' things. Vincent has always been original ever since his tragically miraculous birth. When he hears of the honour bestowed on his home town he sees an opportunity both to realise his personal ambition and to double the prize money by defending the title the following year. A wry and witty satire on community and communication.

Three sisters : after Chekov / by Mustapha Matura

Colonial Trinidad 1939. Three sisters endure a mundane but privileged life in the capital, Port of Spain. Living with their simpleton brother and his domineering wife, the women pass the time entertaining and being entertained by the local Volunteer Regiment. They occupy their lives with empty marriages and petty liasons whilst dreaming of returning to their adopted home country Cambridge, England where they spent their cosmopolitan youth. But hopes of emigrating to Britain are soon shattered as the European war escalates into a global conflict, Port of Spain is bombed and the Trinidadian soldiers are called to serve King, country and Empire.

Flaming guns of the purple sage : "B" western horror flick for the stage / by Jane Martin

Big 8, the feisty rodeo competitor from Talking With, is back. It's nineteen years later; she is still a bitter critter, now facing foreclosure on the Wyoming ranch where she rehabilitates injured rodeo cowboys. The arrival of a shocking woman named Shedevil and a one eyed Ukranian biker named Black Dog ushers in outrageous violence and horror in this shoot "em up, knock "em up, cut "em up comic romp that roasts the cowboy mentality of western writers like Zane Grey. Showcasing the antic side of this prolific, award winning playwright, this bodacious and macabre cross over comedy mixes horror and hilarity as it pits the code of the West against contemporary darkness.

Good boys / by Jane Martin

A fierce encounter between fathers, one black and one white, opens a deeply disturbing chapter in their lives. The men relive the school shooting in which their sons died, one a victim and the other the shooter. When racial issues threaten to derail all hope for understanding and forgiveness, the black father's other son takes matters into his owns hands. He pushes the confrontation to a dangerous and frightening climax. Good Boys explores the pressures of modern family life and the breaking points of men and boys, and it raises the question: To what extent are parents responsible for their children's behavior?

Sez she : a play / by Jane Martin

Written to be performed by five actresses, this sequel to Jane Martin's last monologue play picks up where Vital Signs left off - in these funnier, stranger days of the 21st century. Reveling in virtues of brevity that include hilarity, surprise, and homespun philosophy, these monologues roam the range of contemporary perspective on everything from sexual harassment to sleeping in theaters to the erotic appeals of silence. Whether biking across Massachusetts with 23,000 lawyers or reflecting on the meaning of a Pekinese dog with a picket fence stake through its heart, these characters know how to take the stage and make the most of their five minutes of fame. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sez_She/-wBx229NMLEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sez+she+:+a+play+/+by+Jane+Martin&printsec=frontcover

Flags / by Jane Martin

This fierce new drama by the author of Talking With, Anton in Show Business, and Keely and Du redefines patriotism as it brings the tragic fallout from the war in Iraq home to America's heartland. When a grieving father inverts our nation's most revered symbol, the family is swept into the vortex of a chaotic war machine. Portrayed in the press as both 'heroes with a cause' and 'enemies of the state,' they become embedded in a bitter struggle for their very survival. Jane Martin gives voice to the white-hot rage and sorrow of our time, delivering a shock-and-awe display of theatrical force. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Flags/5ChbBkDrm48C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Flags+/+by+Jane+Martin&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

Murdering Marlowe / by Charles Marowitz

William Shakespeare, in his mid-twenties, an aspiring playwright without a foothold in London, is desperate to make his mark. The greatest obstacle to his achieving the success he believes he richly deserves is the prominence of Christopher Marlowe, the “superstar” of the Elizabethan theatre. So formidable is his envy against this charismatic playwright that he persuades himself the only way to achieve his goal is to remove Marlowe from the scene. To this end, he musters the support of Robert Poley, a man who detests the atheistic, homosexual young Marlowe. Poley and his cohort Ingram Frizer proceed to devise the plan which will dispatch the detested anti-Christ. Will’s wife, Anne Hathaway, constantly rails against her feckless husband, who can provide no support for the family and who is wasting his time and measly talents in “playmaking.” To elude the abuse of his embittered Stratford wife, Will finds solace in his mistress, Emilia, without realizing that she is Marlowe’s mistress as well. The fateful day of the murder arrives: the site, Eleanor Bull’s Tavern where Poley, Frizer and another accomplice zero in on the hapless Marlowe. Sodden with drink, woozy and unsuspecting, the Cambridge poet is brutally murdered. After the fatal blows have been struck, Will reveals himself to Marlowe as the arch conspirator who has masterminded his downfall. With his last gasps, Marlowe condemns the paltriness of his dramatic rival, proclaiming his artistic superiority to Shakespeare. Marlowe’s supremacy in the Elizabethan theatre has been successfully eclipsed by the conniving Shakespeare. His posters are torn from their hoardings, and Shakespeare’s star rapidly begins to rise. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Murdering_Marlowe/4_SorbumHtEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Murdering+Marlowe+/+by+Charles+Marowitz&printsec=frontcover

Silent partners / by Charles Marowitz, based on The Brecht Memoir by Eric Bentley

In June 1942, a young, rather callow Eric Bentley is introduced to Bertolt Brecht, one of Germany’s leading playwrights now exiled in Santa Monica, California. Brecht is looking for an English translator who will spread his fame in America, Bentley for a niche in the world of theatre as both a critic and director. Each man’s ambitions nurture a curious relationship in which, without ever acknowledging their secret agendas, mutual exploitation becomes the order of the day. Grievances, criticism and acrimony firmly suppressed, the “silent partners” work closely on Brecht’s plays and poetry, neither man revealing their true feelings or motives. However, in the play, through the inclusion of surreal, imaginary scenes, their true thoughts are clearly and bluntly expressed. After being summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Brecht, having been offered the directorship of the Berliner Ensemble, prepares to resettle in East Berlin and offers Bentley a cozy niche in his new venture. Bentley, disdaining Communism and now making headway in America as a critic and academic, declines the offer. After Brecht’s cowardly refusal to align himself with the 1953 Workers Revolt in East Berlin and during a visit from Bentley to East Germany, the true nature between the two “friends” is caustically revealed in a scene during which the accumulation of fifteen years of suppressed emotions trigger a shattering denouement, one that reveals the weaknesses of both collaborators. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Silent_Partners/PaoyIjD-H5IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Silent+partners+/+by+Charles+Marowitz,+based+on+The+Brecht+Memoir+by+Eric+Bentley&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover

The Marowitz hamlet / by Charles Marowitz

"I despise Hamlet. He is a slob, a talker, an analyser, a rationalizer. Like the parlour liberal or the paralysed intellectual, he can describe every facet of a problem, yet never pull his finger out.” Considering the play imprisoned by three-and-a-half centuries of critical appreciation and grand acting, Marowitz has taken it bodily, broken it into pieces and reassembled it in a collage which, he hopes, makes its meaning real again. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Marowitz_Hamlet/MboB03qAv_MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Marowitz+hamlet+/+by+Charles+Marowitz&printsec=frontcover

Sleeping country / by Melanie Marnich

A dreamy comedy about sleep lost and hope found. Julia, a woman from New York City with a serious case of insomnia, travels to Venice seeking help from a sleepless heiress who might be a distant relative. What she discovers is the difference between being an insomniac and being truly awake. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Sleeping_Country/WF9jA_gsDrwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sleeping+country+/+by+Melanie+Marnich&printsec=frontcover

Dinner with friends / by Donald Margulies

Two married couples have been best friends for years. In their Connecticut home, Karen and Gabe, international food writers, are giving a dinner for Beth and Tom, which he doesn't attend. It emerges from the heartbroken Beth that he has left her for another woman. Gabe and Karen are almost as crushed, having expected 'to grow old and fat together, the four of us.' When Tom shows up at his home in the next scene, late at night, he is enraged that Beth broke the news of their breakup in his absence. Late as it is, he rushes over to his friends in the next scene to present his side of the story. Act Two begins with another dinner, twelve and a half years earlier, in a summer house on Martha's Vineyard, where Karen and Gabe are introducing Beth to Tom. Then we skip five months after the events in Act One, as Beth reveals to Karen ... that she has fallen in love with an old friend whom she intends to marry ... Later that day, in a Manhattan bar, Tom, a lawyer, tells Gabe about his [newfound] happiness, to which Gabe reacts sourly. Still later that night, Gabe and Karen are going to bed in the Vineyard house, and discuss the Tom-and-Beth situation, as well as their own [marriage] ... clinging to it like the shipwrecked to their raft ... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dinner_with_Friends_TCG_Edition/7PboCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dinner+with+friends+/+by+Donald+Margulies&printsec=frontcover

Misadventure : monologues and short pieces / by Donald Margulies

Includes the works: Nocturne -- Luna Park -- Misadventure -- Louie -- Anthony -- Joey -- Lola -- Manny -- I don't know what I'm doing -- Somnambulist -- Father and son -- Death in the family -- Homework -- First love -- New Year's Eve and kibbutz Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Misadventure/xvNAX7lye6oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Misadventure+:+monologues+and+short+pieces+/+by+Donald+Margulies&printsec=frontcover

Two days : two short plays / by Donald Margulies

With TWO DAYS, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donald Margulies offers a gripping evening of theatre that explores the impact of enormous external events on our daily lives. This double-cast double-bill opens with a twenty-minute chamber piece, LAST TUESDAY, which finds commuters on a train from New York to New Haven absorbed with the sometimes comical, quotidian details of their lives as the horror of the outside world insistently—and shockingly—intrudes. (2 men, 4 women.) JULY 7, 1994 is a haunting hour-long exploration of a day in the life of a female physician working in an inner-city health clinic. (2 men, 4 women.) Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Two_Days/MDlcYnhs-oMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Two+days+:+two+short+plays+/+by+Donald+Margulies&printsec=frontcover

Closer / by Patrick Marber

Four lives intertwine over the course of four and a half years in this densely plotted, stinging look at modern love and betrayal. Dan, an obituary writer, meets Alice, a stripper, after an accident in the street. Eighteen months later, they are a couple, and Dan has written a novel inspired by her. While posing for his book jacket cover, Dan meets Anna, a photographer. He pursues her, but she rejects his advances despite their mutual attraction. Larry, a dermatologist, "meets" Dan in an Internet chat room. Dan, obsessing over Anna, pretends to be her and has cybersex with Larry. They arrange to meet the next day at an aquarium. Larry arrives and so too, coincidentally, does the real Anna. This sets up a series of pass-the-lover scenes in which this quartet struggle to find intimacy but can't seem to get closer. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Closer/bHCFcJHQoBQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Closer+/+by+Patrick+Marber&printsec=frontcover

Jumping for joy / by Jon Marans

In this dark comedy, wily, manipulative Emily Mavin has summoned her uptight Manhattanite brother Michael to their family home in Maryland, using the excuse that their father, Samuel, has suffered a mild heart attack. Emily is a bright, functioning schizophrenic and is certain her father's death is imminent and expects Michael to take her father's place, feeding and caring for her. ... As each [family member] maneuvers to make their individual plan succeed, something entirely different occurs. We begin to see the complex relationship that exists between the caregivers and those receiving care and observe the fine line that separates normalcy from insanity in each member of this family. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jumping_for_Joy/fQUXn3bwEAoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jumping+for+joy+/+by+Jon+Marans&printsec=frontcover

The temperamentals / by Jon Marans

“Temperamental” was code for “homosexual” in the early 1950s, part of a created language of secret words that gay men used to communicate. THE TEMPERAMENTALS tells the story of two men—the communist Harry Hay and the Viennese refugee and designer Rudi Gernreich—as they fall in love while building the first gay rights organization in the pre-Stonewall United States. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Temperamentals/02r0G8AfrwgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+temperamentals+/+by+Jon+Marans&printsec=frontcover

Antigone / by Sophocles ; freely adapted by Emily Mann

Thebes' civil war has ended. Creon, the ascending king, proclaims, "Regarding the bodies of the sons of Oedipus: Eteocles, a hero who fought for Thebes…will be given a hero's burial…But for Polyneices who recruited foreign troops to attack our home—let his corpse rot under the sweltering sun, food for the birds and the dogs…Anyone who dares to bury the enemy will be publicly executed." So begins this adaptation of Antigone, who battles Creon, her uncle, for the right in God's name to bury her dead brother, Polyneices, but loses that fight in a horrifying conclusion to this story. Antigone is usually seen as the righteous heroine while Creon is the hated villain. However, in this version, we take a fresh look at Antigone's own rigidity as an equal contributor to this story's devastating ending. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Antigone/zx_D56N3GiYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Antigone+/+by+Sophocles+%3B+freely+adapted+by+Emily+Mann&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

Glengarry Glen Ross / by David Mamet

This scalding comedy took Broadway and London by storm. Here is Mamet at his very best, writing about small-time, cutthroat real estate salesmen trying to grind out a living by pushing plots of land on reluctant buyers, in a never-ending scramble for their share of the American dream. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Glengarry_Glen_Ross/IGw9BAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Glengarry+Glen+Ross+/+by+David+Mamet&printsec=frontcover

Boston marriage / by David Mamet

Anna and Claire are two bantering, scheming "women of fashion" who have long lived together on the fringes of upper-class society. Anna has just become the mistress of a wealthy man, from whom she has received an enormous emerald and an income to match. Claire, meanwhile, is infatuated with a respectable young lady and wants to enlist the jealous Anna's help for an assignation. As the two women exchange barbs and take turns taunting Anna's hapless Scottish parlor maid, Claire's young inamorata suddenly appears, setting off a crisis that puts both the valuable emerald and the women's futures at risk. To this wickedly funny comedy, Mamet brings his trademark tart dialogue and impeccable plotting, spiced with Wildean wit. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Boston_Marriage/z1qOuB6TFyYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Boston+marriage+/+by+David+Mamet&printsec=frontcover

Keep your pantheon / by David Mamet

In ancient Rome, an impoverished acting company on the edge of eviction is offered a lucrative engagement. But through a series of riotous mishaps, the troupe finds its problems have actually multiplied, and that they are about to learn a new meaning for the term "dying on stage." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Keep_Your_Pantheon/oIYwg9LSEpcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Keep+your+pantheon+/+by+David+Mamet&printsec=frontcover

Race / by David Mamet

Two lawyers find themselves defending a wealthy white executive charged with raping a black woman. When a new legal assistant gets involved in the case, the opinions that boil beneath explode to the surface. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Race/Wfc3AAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Race+/+by+David+Mamet&printsec=frontcover

School / by David Mamet

A textbook example of the style that made its author famous. Featuring characters identified only as A and B, as if they were points on a diagram, this merry little sketch moves with the show-off alacrity of a calculus prodigy whizzing through equations at the blackboard. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/School/FlI6qWDYd0UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=School+/+by+David+Mamet&printsec=frontcover

The Anarchist : a play / by David Mamet

Nothing is quite what it seems in David Mamet's latest work. With a nod to his mentor, Harold Pinter, Mamet once again employs his signature verbal jousting in this battle of two women over freedom, power, money, religion and the lack thereof. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Anarchist/Pe3oCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Anarchist+:+a+play+/+by+David+Mamet&printsec=frontcover

Yasmina's necklace / by Rohina Malik

Meet Abdul Samee: his father is Iraqi, and his mother is Puerto Rican--but if you ask him, he'll say he's Italian. Longing to shed his cultural identity, he changes his name to Sam, marries an American and does everything in his power to turn his back on his heritage. But when Sam meets Yasmina, a beautiful woman from his father's homeland, he begins to learn that a tree without roots cannot stand for long.

Hello Herman / by John Buffalo Mailer

Video games, violent movies, Marilyn Manson, the Internet, Prozac, or fame? What moves a teenager to cross the line and becomes a high-school shooter? More importantly, how do we stop it? Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Lax Morales is looking for a follow-up to his groundbreaking undercover piece on white supremacists. Although his video blog has an precedented online following among teens, Lax has been written off as Internet trash by the elite of the publishing world. He needs a big story and he knows it. After killing thirty-nine students and three teachers in a suburban Iowa school, sixteen year old Herman Howards takes the time to email video clips of the incident to his idol, Lax. He adds one line to the clips: "I want to tell my story on your show." The public pushes for Herman's televised execution as Lax conducts three days of interviews, using every tool at his disposal to discover what drives the current poster-boy for evil. HELLO HERMAN is a mind-blowing examination of how tragic events like Columbine and Virginia Tech continue to happen in our country. No stone is left unturned as Lax searches for an answer to the question everyone's been asking but no one has been able to find: Why? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hello_Herman/XhPgBo05D60C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hello+Herman+/+by+John+Buffalo+Mailer&printsec=frontcover

A history of water in the Middle East / by Sabrina Mahfouz

British-Egyptian Sabrina Mahfouz grew up with ambitions of being a spy. She has two passports, speaks two languages and has a cultural understanding of two very different countries. But when it came to applying for MI6, it turned out she wasn't quite British enough. So now she's on her own intelligence mission - to explore who really holds the power in and over the Middle East. In a world long obsessed with access to oil, will water soon become the natural resource that dictates control, or has it been all along? A History of Water in the Middle East journeys across twelve different countries using theatre, poetry and music to share stories of women across the region. From the British Imperialist ownership of natural resources, to the environmental urgency of the present, water has shaped lives, policies and fortunes - and it will shape all of our futures. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Water_in_the_Middle_East/VwW9DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+history+of+water+in+the+Middle+East+/+by+Sabrina+Mahfouz&printsec=frontcover

Plays 1 / by Sabrina Mahfouz

Includes the plays: That boy -- Dry ice -- Clean -- Chef -- Battleface -- the love i feel is red -- With a little bit of luck -- Layla's room -- Rashida -- The power of plumbing -- This is how it was Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sabrina_Mahfouz_Plays_1/CQzBDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+1+/+by+Sabrina+Mahfouz&printsec=frontcover

The cook / by Eduardo Machado

As Fidel Castro storms Havana, a wealthy Batistlano is forced to flee to America with her husband and unborn child. Adria begs her cook, a proud and loyal woman who values her mistress's friendship, to promise she will protect the mansion from the communist upheaval. Over the next forty years Gladys keeps this promise, despite tremendous emotional and physical loss. When Adria's daughter vacations in Cuba and comes to see her mother's old house, Gladys is forced to confront harsh truths. Not only has Adria forgotten her, but now Gladys is accused of leading a life of betrayal in a house that isn't hers. Gladys's struggle mirrors the cultural divide in Cuba that separates the delicately preserved past from the need to survive that is molding a rough-hewed future from the majestic determination and nobility of the Cuban people.

Broken eggs / by Eduardo Machado

It's 1979 and Lizette Marquez is about to marry a nice Jewish boy in a ceremony at Woodland Hills Country Club that is costing thousands of dollars. While she and her extended three-generational family enjoy the fruits of material success in their adopted country, they remain haunted by memories of Cuba. They experience the cultural divide faced by Cuban Americans who feel they are 3000 miles from their real lives. In their idle fantasies, Cuba might still be reclaimed, so they cling to memories of a society displaced by the revolution. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Broken_Eggs/rOL_BUU7CGsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Broken+eggs+/+by+Eduardo+Machado&printsec=frontcover

Kissing fidel : a comedy / by Eduardo Machado

Kissing Fidel is set in an upscale Miami funeral home, where a Cuban-American family has gathered for its matriarch's final rights. The black sheep of the family, a successful novelist who has used his relatives as the source material for his books, much to their horror and pride, unexpectedly returns, announcing that he plans to return to Cuba to kiss and forgive Fidel Castro. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kissing_Fidel/OT9miw-BP4YC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kissing+fidel+:+a+comedy+/+by+Eduardo+Machado&printsec=frontcover

Once removed / by Eduardo Machado

Tossed into the United States after a revolution that backfired and an invasion (at the Bay of Pigs) that failed, with no possessions other than what jewelry they could sneak out, Mr. Machado’s Cubans cope with exotic institutions like Halloween and the Presbyterian Church, and suffer through menial jobs where they work alongside Mexicans they look down upon as wetbacks. The play captures the bafflement and determination of a family uprooted by the Castro revolution and exiled in the US. The story Machado tells speaks directly to every citizen of the modern world who can’t go home again. This play is a part of Machado’s Before and After the Revolution series, a group of four plays about the Cuban Revolution.

Havana is waiting / by Eduardo Machado

This comedy-drama takes a strong political stand on the divisive issue of the United States’ embargo on Cuba. The play begins with flamboyant writer Federico making his first trip back to Cuba, thirty-some years after he immigrated to the States as a child. In Cuba, Federico and his friend Fred meet Ernesto, a car driver and lifelong resident of Havana. The three men get to know each other better and soon learn where the real boundaries of the world lie. The play examines of the complex relationships that exist not only between men, but between the countries in which they live. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Havana_is_Waiting/8ziW-t3qbW8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Havana+is+waiting+/+by+Eduardo+Machado&printsec=frontcover

Crocodile eyes / by Eduardo Machado

Inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba, Eduardo Machado's drama portrays the world talked about but never seen in Lorca's play. As Lorca's famous widow traps her daughters in their house to mourn their father, Machado shows us what's happening just outside those doors. The local men, led by the charismatic Pepe, linger waiting for a glimpse of the enigmatic daughters or some viable work. Set during the Spanish Civil War, the men get caught up in the empty promises of Franco's fascism, while Pepe's involvement with two of Bernarda's daughters escalates to its tragic conclusion. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Crocodile_Eyes/1xAYlllc2NAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Crocodile+eyes+/+by+Eduardo+Machado&printsec=frontcover

Jane Austen's Mansfield Park / adapted by Tim Luscombe from Jane Austen's novel

Fanny Price, an intelligent, sensitive and quiet young woman, is unceremoniously dumped by her unloving parents into the noisy household of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, where she’s buffeted from one crisis to the next. One thing remains certain in her mind, however… Her love for charismatic Edmund Bertram. Fanny must battle family duty and everyone’s expectations of her in order to achieve her happiness. Will she be forced to marry the well-connected Henry Crawford or can she triumph over her adopted family’s demands and have the man of her dreams? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mansfield_Park/LNL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jane+Austen%27s+Mansfield+Park+/+adapted+by+Tim+Luscombe+from+Jane+Austen%27s+novel&printsec=frontcover

Twentieth century / by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur ; based on a play by Charles Bruce Milholland in a new adaptation by Ken Ludwig

Bankrupt, with his career on a downslide, egomaniacal Broadway director Oscar Jaffe boards the Twentieth Century Limited and encounters his former discovery and ex-chorus girl Lily Garland, now a tempermental Hollywood star on the train between NY and Chicago. He pulls out all the stops in persuading her to return to Broadway in his upcoming show.

Ken Ludwig's Midsummer/Jersey / by Ken Ludwig

Midsummer/Jersey is the hilarious high-octane re-telling of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream set on the boardwalk of a seaside town in modern-day New Jersey. The story revolves around the impending marriage of the Governor of New Jersey, the love affairs of four beach-bound high school crushes, a lively crew of fairies and the staff of the local beauty salon (run by Patti Quince and Stylist Nikki Bottom). The night takes a magical turn when Oberon and the impish Puck arrive on the scene armed with a powerful love potion and a desire for mischief making. With several weddings and the acting careers of six beauticians hanging in the balance, the lovers take to the boardwalk, backed by pop music and an iPhone-obsessed wood sprite.

The star throwers / by Paul Lucas

Tom and Jess have grown disillusioned with a world full of people who’ll murder you as soon as look at you – or else systematically overcharge you for building work. They are going to make life simple from now on: just two of them rescuing starfish washed up by the tides and strictly no contact with other human beings. But this secluded lifestyle is disrupted when mysterious stranger Slippy arrives on their doorstep, wounded, dying and begging for help. The couple struggle to continue their misanthropic extistence as Slippy fights for survival – but can life be the same after his arrival?

The dying Gaul : a play / by Craig Lucas

Here is a modern American tragedy about a grieving screenwriter who compromises his ideals to make a small fortune that enables him to climb from invisible poverty into the rarefied seductions and surreal beauty of the Hollywood Hills. Robert's gay lover endured horrific and protracted suffering before Robert helped him to die. Robert's subsequent struggle to come to grips with his own incomprehensible survival and his deep need to find a place in the world that doesn't burn push him into a lush and intoxicating world of sexual ecstacy and intrigue, even as he privately delves into the techniques and teachings of Buddhism for some footing, no matter how tenuous. With breathtaking speed, Robert is caught in a love triangle with a powerful, ruthless and rapacious film producer and his fascinating but woefully under stimulated wife. The lies that Robert perpetrates become inextricably interwoven with theirs each person lying to themselves as much as to their partners and the ones they are betraying. Killingly funny and heart stoppingly elegiac, this play is a thrilling dramatic experience.

God's heart : a play / by Craig Lucas

Reaching into the darkness of American life at its extremes from the lives of the wealthy and fortunate to the struggles of the invisible and neglected this play follows three protagonists who share a dream. An African American teenager fights to overcome his family's cycle of despair and drug dependency, a thirty five year old white advertising executive with a new baby suffers from a deep sense of her own spiritual worthlessness, and a forty five year old documentary film maker, also white, is losing her African American lover to breast cancer. Using newspaper headlines, cyber chat rooms, online data bases and a dream like array of startling, sometimes beautiful often terrible images carved from the nightmares of these disparate souls, God's Heart seeks compassion for those who cry out for connection, peace and kindness in the face of the unspeakable cruelty and exploitation that erode the heart of American culture.

Stranger : a play / by Craig Lucas

Two strangers sit side by side on a night flight across the United States. Gradually, each reveals things they have never spoken about before: Linda is terrified of flying and traveling with a great deal of cash as well as enough pills to kill herself; Hush has just been released from a maximum security prison after serving fifteen years for kidnaping a young girl and keeping her alive inside a trunk for over a year. An alliance grows based on the shocking aspects of their personal histories. They end up together in a crude cabin in the middle of nowhere at night. Here they learn things about themselves and each other that change their lives irrevocably. A mystery, a tragedy, a love story, a requiem, and a jaw dropping shocker, Stranger is not suitable for bedtime reading.

This thing of darkness / by Craig Lucas and David Schulner

Abbey and Donald, best friends, have just graduated college. Sharing a birth date, Donald travels to visit Abbey and his parents at a remote country house to celebrate their twenty-second birthdays together as an uncertain future looms ahead of them. The birthday celebration on the heels of their graduation seems to have rendered Abbey into an unstable emotional state. Donald, less sensitive, is suffering too, but Abbey was the one who, during graduation, chewed his nails off and kept going until he hit bone. After all, in an ever dangerous and violent world, what is one to feel secure about? Does friendship even stand a chance? As Abbey and Donald try to strike a deal to ensure their friendship for life, the birthday cake appears, and the candles are blown out, but the lights go out as well, and a new holocaust has hit. As the play goes on, we wonder if we’re being treated to a seriously eerie vision of the future or if we’re being invited to witness a beautiful, painful exploration of what it’s like to become an adult as the twenty-first century enters its infancy. With a tip of the hat to Prospero in his acknowledgment of Caliban, life itself seems to have become “this thing of darkness” that Abbey and Donald must accept as their own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/This_Thing_of_Darkness/d6oBQmQ_8ywC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=This+thing+of+darkness+/+by+Craig+Lucas+and+David+Schulner&printsec=frontcover

Small tragedy / by Craig Lucas

Backstage and global politics unexpectedly collide during an amateur production of Oedipus. This powerful, timely play investigates the contemporary meaning and relevance of tragedy, launching a surprisingly funny, sharply pointed salvo directly at the heart of a generation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Small_Tragedy/W5B0lViCfXcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Small+tragedy+/+by+Craig+Lucas&printsec=frontcover

String of pearls / by Michele Lowe

Michele Lowe's radiant new play explores the possibilities that open up in the lives of an array of women as they come into contact with a certain strand of pearls. While the pearls are stolen, bought, bestowed, unstrung and nearly lost, four actresses play 27 characters in this deeply moving drama that is as fresh as it is funny. On the eve of her granddaughter Amy's wedding, Beth asks to see the pearls she gave Amy's mother long ago. When Amy cannot produce them Beth determines to find the pearls. She takes us back to the time when she received them and then gave them to her daughter, who passed them on to her dearest friend Ela who lost them one Sunday morning. Spanning 35 years, the pearls touch the lives of mothers and daughters, sisters and friends, even husbands and wives as they weave a deeply affecting story of love and loss. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/String_of_Pearls/OATksXDXnxsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=String+of+pearls+/+by+Michele+Lowe&printsec=frontcover

Backsliding in the promised land : a play / by Michele Lowe

What price would you pay to protect your family? In a world gone mad would you surrender your identity to save your life? To save your children? Enid and Herman Grosch were refugees from Amsterdam when they landed in America in 1939. At Herman's mother's insistence, they erased their Jewish identities and embraced the Episcopalian church. Now, at the turn of the 21st century, they must confront old and unresolved fears as their long-kept secret begins to unravel. While Herman helps Naomi and Saul Baum, an Orthodox Jewish family, wrestle with their son's terminal illness, he is forced to confront the demons of his past, upsetting the balance of his marriage and questioning the nature of his soul. Who is he really? In this heart-wrenching drama touched with humor, Lowe explores issues of identity, the price of safety and the redeeming power of truth. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Backsliding_in_the_Promised_Land/sdykAqGKO1EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Backsliding+in+the+promised+land+:+a+play+/+by+Michele+Lowe&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

Living out / by Lisa Loomer

Living Out tells the story of the complicated relationship between a Salvadoran nanny and the Anglo lawyer she works for. Both women are smart, hard-working mothers. Both want better lives for their children. The play explores what is the shared humanity between them…and what are the differences wrought by race, class and Ana’s illegal status. Through Ana, we understand what it means to leave a child in another country to come here, and the potential cost of sacrificing one’s own child in order to care for someone else’s. Through Nancy, we understand the pressure on women today to “do it all” and the cost of making that choice. The play also looks at the prejudices and misconceptions between Anglos and Latinos. How do we make someone “the other"? What is the cost of doing so? The play is both outrageously funny and ultimately tragic.

Expecting Isabel / by Lisa Loomer

EXPECTING ISABEL is a comedy about the adventures of a New York couple trying to have a baby—by any means necessary. Their difficulties in conceiving lead them on an “Alice in Wonderland-esque” odyssey through the booming baby business as they negotiate the fertility trade, the adoption industry and their own families.

Distracted / by Lisa Loomer

What’s wrong with nine-year-old Jesse? He can’t sit still, he curses, he raps, and you can’t get him into—or out of—pajamas. His teacher thinks it’s Attention Deficit Disorder. Dad says, “He’s just a boy!” And Mama’s on a quest for answers. Is Jesse dysfunctional, or just different? Don’t we all have ADD, to some degree? She consults a psychologist, a homeopath, a neuropsychologist, and an environmental physician. She talks to neighbors, whose kids have their own diagnoses. A psychiatrist prescribes Ritalin for Jesse, but surely a pill can’t solve all of his problems. Throughout, Jesse is an offstage voice, becoming louder and angrier, but he is in danger of fading away. And his parents’ marriage is in peril. Everyone is distracted, even the actors—they’re breaking character! A hilarious, provocative, and poignant look at a modern family and an epidemic dilemma: Are we so tuned into our 24/7 info-rich world that we’ve tuned out what really matters? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Distracted/ksefmAqaXdUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Distracted+/+by+Lisa+Loomer&printsec=frontcover

Hauptmann / by John Logan

This compelling drama by the author of Never the Sinner begins just moments before the 1936 execution of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, the German immigrant who was convicted of murdering the Lindbergh's baby. With prison guards doubling as other characters in flashback, Hauptmann tells his gripping story. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hauptmann/UhewpjTkWs8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hauptmann+/+by+John+Logan&printsec=frontcover

Red / by John Logan

Master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant. In the two fascinating years that follow, Rothko works feverishly with his young assistant, Ken, in his studio on the Bowery. But when Ken gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also become his undoing. Raw and provocative, RED is a searing portrait of an artist’s ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Red/bt4fEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Red+/+by+John+Logan&printsec=frontcover

Five plays / by Liz Lochhead

The first collection of plays by Scotland's National Poet and beloved playwright. Includes the plays: Blood and Ice, Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, Quelques Fleurs, Perfect Days, and Good Things.

Love drunk / by Romulus Linney

Love drunk is a comic drama of sex, love and alcohol addiction. An older man, having picked up a younger woman in an Appalachian diner, takes her to his mountain home, where they battle their passions, their destinies and each other. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Love_Drunk/8Zc7liHW4gEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Love+drunk+/+by+Romulus+Linney&printsec=frontcover

Klonsky and Schwartz / by Romulus Linney

The turbulent relationship between struggling writer Milton Klonsky and his mentor, the brilliant poet Delmore Schwartz, is the basis of this engrossing drama. Warm scenes of their deep friendship alternate with vaudevillian routines and bold theatrics, ultimately painting a harrowing portrait of Schwartz's unnerving descent into madness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Klonsky_and_Schwartz/4uhZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Klonsky+and+Schwartz+/+by+Romulus+Linney&printsec=frontcover

Kimberly Akimbo / by David Lindsay-Abaire

Set in the wilds of suburban New Jersey, KIMBERLY AKIMBO is a hilarious and heartrending play about a teenager with a rare condition causing her body to age faster than it should. When she and her family flee Secaucus under dubious circumstances, Kimberly is forced to reevaluate her life while contending with a hypochondriac mother, a rarely sober father, a scam-artist aunt, her own mortality and, most terrifying of all, the possibility of first love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kimberly_Akimbo/fM-J99Ppj38C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kimberly+Akimbo+/+by+David+Lindsay-Abaire&printsec=frontcover

Fuddy Meers / by David Lindsay-Abaire

Claire has a rare form of psychogenic amnesia that erases her memory whenever she goes to sleep. This morning, like all mornings, she wakes up a blank slate. Her chipper husband comes in with a cup of coffee, explains her condition, hands her a book filled with all sorts of essential information, and he disappears into the shower. A limping, lisping, half-blind, half-deaf man in a ski mask, pops out from under her bed and claims to be her brother, there to save her. Claire's info book is quickly discarded, and she's hustled off to the country-house of her mother, a recent stroke victim whose speech has been reduced to utter gibberish. Claire's journey gets even more complicated when a dimwitted thug with a foul-mouthed hand puppet pops up at a window, and her driven husband and perpetually stoned son show up with a claustrophobic lady-cop that they've kidnapped. Every twist and turn in this funhouse plot bring Claire closer to revealing her past life and everything she thought she'd forgotten. It's one harrowing and hilarious turn after another on this roller coaster ride through the day of an amnesiac trying to decipher her fractured life. This poignant and brutal new comedy traces one woman's attempt to regain her memory while surrounded by a curio-cabinet of alarmingly bizarre characters. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fuddy_Meers/98LS-oyw-3UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fuddy+Meers+/+by+David+Lindsay-Abaire&printsec=frontcover

A devil inside / by David Lindsay-Abaire

Mrs. Slater has waited fourteen long years to tell her son, Gene, the truth. And when he wakes up on his twenty-first birthday, she greets him with the customary banners and good wishes, and then gets to the point. “Your father was murdered. He was stabbed in the back and his feet were lopped off and thrown into a drainage ditch.” Thus begins a comic and twisted journey of obsession and revenge. Gene would rather focus his attentions on Caitlin, a passionate literature major, than avenge the death of his 400-pound father who was killed in the Poconos Mountains while walking cross-country to lose weight. Caitlin barely notices the naïve young man and is, herself, obsessed with her Russian Lit professor, a tormented genius who thinks he’s living in a Dostoyevsky novel. Suddenly, a mysterious woman named Lily stumbles into the family-owned laundromat, and is instantly struck by the pain etched into Mrs. Slater’s face. Lily, in turn, is living with an absurdly dull appliance repairman who has taken to writing children’s stories to jazz up his boring life, which gets progressively and horrifyingly thrilling the further he gets pulled into the unraveling events. Set in New York’s Lower East Side, this frantic dark comedy, satirizes elements of nineteenth-century Russian novels, complete with seizures, hallucinations, a flooding city, nightmares, train wrecks and suicide, all wrapped around a murder mystery with a Rube Goldberg-like plot. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Devil_Inside/OBLqU5qz9qEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+devil+inside+/+by+David+Lindsay-Abaire&printsec=frontcover

Rabbit hole / by David Lindsay-Abaire

Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could want, until a life-shattering accident turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting perilously apart. 'Rabbit Hole' charts their bittersweet search for comfort in the darkest of places and for a path that will lead them back into the light of day. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rabbit_Hole/utZsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rabbit+hole+/+by+David+Lindsay-Abaire&printsec=frontcover

Comfort me with apples / by Nell Leyshon

Autumn, and the orchard is full of cider apples: Beauty of Bath, Kingston Black and Glory of the West. Inside the farmhouse, the rule of matriarch Irene is challenged when her estranged daughter returns and her middle-aged son, beginning to tire of being tied to the unprofitable farm, grows restless. A richly evocative tale about life in our changing rural landscape. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Comfort_me_with_Apples/WtL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Comfort+me+with+apples+/+by+Nell+Leyshon&printsec=frontcover

Daphne du Maurier's Don't look now / adapted for the stage by Nell Leyshon

A mysterious, moving and gripping stage adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's classic supernatural thriller. Following the death of their young daughter, John and Laura visit Venice to try and escape their grief. But when the couple meet two aged sisters, one of whom claims to have psychic visions of the dead girl, strange things start to happen ... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Don_t_Look_Now/ZtL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Daphne+du+Maurier%27s+Don%27t+look+now+/+adapted+for+the+stage+by+Nell+Leyshon&printsec=frontcover

The language of trees / by Steven Levenson

When an American translator ventures to a Middle East combat zone, an overfriendly neighbor back home volunteers to help his wife and son as they come to terms with his absence. As events abroad begin to spiral out of control, lives are turned upside down, and all are forced to confront the complexities of war, the fragility of language, and the meaning of neighborliness in an age of terror. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Language_of_Trees/GtgVZBO5AyoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+language+of+trees+/+by+Steven+Levenson&printsec=frontcover

Bug / by Tracy Letts

Set in a seedy Oklahoma City motel room, the play centers on the meeting between Agnes, a divorced waitress with a fondness for cocaine and isolation, and Peter, a soft-spoken Gulf War drifter introduced to her by her lesbian friend, R.C. Agnes stays at a hotel in hopes of avoiding her physically abusive ex-husband, Jerry, who was just released from prison. At first, she lets Peter sleep platonically on her floor, but not long after she promotes him to the bed. Matters become more complicated as Jerry eagerly returns to the woman he loves to beat her up, expecting to resume their relationship. On top of that, there's a hidden bug infestation problem that has both Agnes and Peter dealing with scathing welts and festering sores--which has Peter believing this is the result of experiments conducted on him during his stay at an army hospital. Their fears soon escalate to paranoia, conspiracy theories and twisted psychological motives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bug/jBt7m0GIvU4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bug+/+by+Tracy+Letts&printsec=frontcover

Man from Nebraska : a play / by Tracy Letts

On the surface, the life of Ken Carpenter, a solidly married fifty-seven year old insurance salesman, is uneventful: silent rides in his luxury sedan, cafeteria encounters with Salisbury steak and lime Jell-O, visits to his mother in the nursing home, and the minister's sermons at the Baptist church. Then one night he is jolted awake, tortured by the discovery that he no longer believes in God. Encouraged by his minister, Ken decides to find himself and his faith impulsively by flying to London, where he navigates the new and somewhat dangerous realm of British counterculture. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Man_from_Nebraska/7X8uv4U6ZHIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Man+from+Nebraska+:+a+play+/+by+Tracy+Letts&printsec=frontcover

Superior Donuts / by Tracy Letts

Arthur Przybyszewski owns a decrepit donut shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Franco Wicks, a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the shop for the better. This comedy-drama by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Letts explores the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Superior_Donuts/BXo6iA2VNdQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Superior+Donuts+/+by+Tracy+Letts&printsec=frontcover

Anatomy of gray / by Jim Leonard

The award-winning author of The Diviners, And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson, and Crow and Weasel describes his newest play as "a children's story for adults." When June's father dies, she prays for a healer to come to the small town of Gray so no one will ever suffer again; the next thing she knows, there's a tornado, and a man in a balloon blows into town claiming to be a doctor. At first, the new doctor cures anything and everything, but soon the town's preacher takes ill with a mysterious plague. And then the plague begins to spread. Set in Indiana during the late 1800s, Anatomy of Gray explores themes of death, loss, love and healing through a unique coming-of-age story. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Anatomy_of_Gray/Z6AJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Anatomy+of+gray+/+by+Jim+Leonard&printsec=frontcover

Sixty miles to Silver Lake / by Dan LeFranc

A lifetime can pass in the sixty miles between a boy's soccer practice and his father's new apartment. In this moving play about family relationships, we see just how much time and space can exist between the pleather seats of a father's used car. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sixty_Miles_to_Silver_Lake/3XzVtA55_wgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sixty+miles+to+Silver+Lake+/+by+Dan+LeFranc&printsec=frontcover

Frozen / by Bryony Lavery

Follows the lives of three people after the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl: the girl's mother, the killer, and a doctor who is studying what causes men to commit such crimes. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Frozen/Dz2-vHDt0jwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Frozen+/+by+Bryony+Lavery&printsec=frontcover

Stockholm / by Bryony Lavery

Meet the couple every couple wants to be. Attractive and immaculately turned out, they are the perfect team. Tomorrow they will be in Stockholm, a city where, in summer, the sun shines 24/7 and sometimes it's dark all day long. Today it's his birthday and she's going to give him all his presents and treats and surprises. Treading a fine line between tenderness and cruelty, Stockholm reveals a relationship unravelling. It's beautiful, but it's not pretty. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stockholm/jJ38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stockholm+/+by+Bryony+Lavery&printsec=frontcover

The wicked lady : an adaptation of the original novel, the life and death of the wicked Lady Skelton, by Magdalen King-Hall / by Bryony Lavery

Lady Barbara Skelton is beautiful, wild and truly wicked. Forced into a respectable marriage with a man she can’t love, she soon becomes bored and embarks on a secret life of gambling, highway robbery and murder. But she’s playing a dangerous game. Shadowed by betrayal, threatened by revenge, can Barbara escape her wicked life? Or will she be abandoned to her terrible fate?

Come back, come back, wherever you are / by Arthur Laurents

An intimate, emotional drama about a cabaret singer coping with the devastating death of her husband, while trying to navigate her overbearing, controlling mother-in-law and the aggressive advances of a sexually persistent, handsome, new suitor. Recently widowed Sara must comes to terms with her husband's death but is haunted by visions of him. Her fixation on his posthumous messages dampens her historically lukewarm relationship with Marion, her therapist mother-in-law, who is disturbingly pragmatic about the passing of her son. Sara's grief is also altered by Michelle, her under-appreciated sister-in-law, who is struggling both with her sexual identity and her relationship to her deceased brother. All is complicated by Dougal, a picture framer who is struck by the earnest Sara. Come back, Come back, Wherever you are is a gripping drama about grief and the ability of a family to cope with loss. But at its heart, it is a play about love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Come_Back_Come_Back_Wherever_You_are/S6hJ_NIILNMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Come+back,+come+back,+wherever+you+are+/+by+Arthur+Laurents&printsec=frontcover

End days / by Deborah Zoe Laufer

Sixteen year old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her father hasn't changed out of his pajamas since 9/11. Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neighbor, a sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her hard. And the Apocolypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/End_Days/MteAUXitugAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=End+days+/+by+Deborah+Zoe+Laufer&printsec=frontcover

Out of Sterno / by Deborah Zoe Laufer

Dotty's life in Sterno with her husband Hamel is absolutely perfect! It's a fairy tale, it really is. True, in their seven years of marriage Hamel has forbidden her to leave their tiny apartment or speak to anyone, but Dotty is so very happy to spend her days watching video re-enactments of the day they first met. When a phone call from a mysterious woman threatens to tear her world asunder, Dotty must venture out into the vast city of Sterno, and try to discover what it is to be a "real" woman. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Out_of_Sterno/g1EYpaCXM2sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Out+of+Sterno+/+by+Deborah+Zoe+Laufer&printsec=frontcover

Elmina's kitchen / by Kwame Kwei-Armah

On Hackney's Murder Mile, Deli is trying to make a living as an honest man and revive the fortunes of his mother's West Indian takeaway. His 19-year-old son Ashley has different plans and longs to follow in the footsteps of family friend and local gangster Digger. As Deli finds himself and his business pulled further into the world he so desperately wants to leave behind questions of family and gang loyalty rise to the surface, leading to a shocking and conflicted conclusion. Elmina's Kitchen is a thrilling, engaging portrait of a one-parent family struggling to stay within the law that takes readers behind the headlines and shows how easy it is to make the wrong choices when you're struggling to survive.

Fix up / by Kwame Kwei-Armah

It's Black History month but you wouldn't know it in Tottenham where Revive PLC plan to turn Kwesi's All Black African Party hotbed into luxury flats, and it looks like Kiyi's 'conscious' bookstore will soon go the same way. And then a beautiful visitor shows up in their midst and life goes from bad to worse. Set against the inexorable march of progress in contemporary London, Kwame Kwei-Armah's second play for the National explores race and roots with verve and wit.

2.5 minute ride / by Lisa Kron

In 2.5 Minute Ride we're taken on a poignant and funny journey, rich in anecdotal detail, through the Kron family album. Among Lisa's eccentric relations, for example, are the grandmother who stuffed her house with cosmetics because she felt sorry for the Avon lady, and the brother who, residing among wall-to-wall Gentiles in Lansing, Michigan, had to resort to the Internet to find a Jewish bride. And there's Lisa's father, 74-year-old Walter, who, in spite of near-blindness, diabetes and a heart condition, insists on family trips to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, the world capital of roller coasters, to take breathtaking rides such as the Demon Drop and Iron Dragon with Lisa. But this isn't her only journey with her ailing father. Walter, a German-born Jew who attended school with boys in Hitler Youth uniforms and escaped Nazi Germany as a teenager by Kindertransport only to return as an American soldier assigned to interrogate captured German personnel following the war. His parents, however, were unable to escape. In an effort to better understand her father's personal history, Lisa accompanies Walter to Auschwitz, where his parents were killed, and where she understands more clearly the joys and sorrows of her father's heart. With wit and compassion, Lisa creates a complex, startling and searingly funny meditation on how human beings make sense of tragedy, grief, and everyday life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/2_5_Minute_Ride/cvS1JZvnjz4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=2.5+minute+ride+/+by+Lisa+Kron&printsec=frontcover

Well / by Lisa Kron

This play is not about my mother and me," begins the character of Lisa. But, of course, it is about her mother, and her mother's extraordinary ability to heal a changing neighborhood, despite her inability to heal herself. In this "solo show with people in it," Kron asks the provocative question: "Do we create our own illness?" The answers she gets are much more complicated than she bargained for as the play spins dangerously out of control into riotously funny and unexpected territory. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Well_Large_Print_16pt/fxJH9bsauu8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Well+/+by+Lisa+Kron&printsec=frontcover

The love song of J. Robert Oppenheimer / by Carson Kreitzer

J. Robert Oppenheimer's rise and fall erupt in this kaleidoscopic play exploring questions of faith, conscience, and the consequences of the never-ending pursuit of knowledge. Act One: Math. The fevered wartime drive to build the first nuclear weapon, by a collection of previously academic theoretical physicists, many of them Jews fleeing Hitler's Germany. Success turns to horror when "the Gadget" is dropped, first on Hiroshima, then Nagasaki. Act Two: Aftermath. Oppenheimer confronts his conscience; Russia turns from ally to enemy. The Red scare is in full swing as we shift to the courtroom. Oppenheimer's wife, Kitty, drinks; J. Edger Hoover does the dance of the seven veils; and the Father of the Atomic Bomb has his security clearance revoked, cast out of the world he helped create. In a flash that is the end of his life, J. Robert Oppenheimer paces the desert of the Trinity Test Site, wrestling with his memories and one scary, sexy, unpredictable demon: Lilith, Hebrew mythology's first woman, cast out of Eden for refusing to behave. Hissing in his ear, she goads him to admit what he refuses to acknowledge: an anger that mirrors her own. "Oppie" is haunted by actions, decisions, and a trinity of women—mother, wife Kitty, and lover, Jean Tatlock. Her suicide is never far from his mind; her Communist ties are never far from the government's. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Love_Song_of_J_Robert_Oppenheimer/DR9wZod8HegC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+love+song+of+J.+Robert+Oppenheimer+/+by+Carson+Kreitzer&printsec=frontcover

Eat the taste / by Greg Kotis

It’s 2008, the final days of the second Bush administration. John Ashcroft, the de facto (albeit behind-the-scenes) attorney general, is leaving politics to begin a second career—on Broadway! Confounding expectations, he’s tapped Urinetown creators Greg Kotis (book/lyrics) and Mark Hollmann (music/lyrics) to pen his debut one-man show. EAT THE TASTE opens in a dingy motel somewhere on the outskirts of New York City. A pair of Homeland Security officers, working in tandem with an agent from the Justice Department, have been ordered to enlist a reluctant Mr. Kotis onto Mr. Ashcroft’s creative team. Most of the officer’s legal means of persuasion have been exhausted, but they’ll give the bookwriter one last chance before making him “eat the taste.” This trio of advocates is soon joined by the Broadway producer Matthew Rego, who has reasons of his own for wanting the project to move forward. Suffice it to say, a lot of money is at stake. Finally, the composer Mark Hollmann himself arrives, equipped with a portable keyboard and a rough draft for an opening number. And as Mark begins to play, Greg realizes that this musical offering may be one he can’t refuse. Employing G-men, handcuffs and aspirin, EAT THE TASTE is the untold, unauthorized, behind-the-scenes story of the making of a musical that has yet to be made.

Pig farm / by Greg Kotis

On a struggling pig farm somewhere in America, Tom and Tina (with the help of Tim, their hired hand) fight to hold onto everything they own--namely, a herd of fifteen thousand restless pigs. Dumping sludge into the river has driven Tom to drink, and Tim seems to have caught Tina's eye, but when Teddy, a gun-toting officer of the Environmental Protection Agency, arrives to inspect the operation, life on the farm explodes, implodes, then explodes again. Not literally, of course, but ... you get the idea. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pig_Farm/fV5XuDhUSNYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pig+farm+/+by+Greg+Kotis&printsec=frontcover

The truth about Santa : (an apocalyptic holiday tale) / by Greg Kotis

Santa Claus is tired of the lies. Like the gods of old, he, too, has his mortal mistresses. This Christmas Eve he will bring Mary, his favorite earthly consort, and Luke and Freya, their illegitimate, semi-divine children, back to his North Pole compound to live with him-- forever! Not surprisingly, Mrs. Claus resists. First she withholds Santa's beloved joy-weed. Then she tries to poison Mary and the children with some delicious candy-wine. And as the singing elf-slaves Jo-Jo and Jim-Jim, and Mary's drunkard husband, George, are drawn into the marital mêlée, all hell quite literally breaks loose. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Truth_about_Santa/9NSaRHz_mycC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+truth+about+Santa+:+(an+apocalyptic+holiday+tale)+/+by+Greg+Kotis&printsec=frontcover

Love song / by John Kolvenbach

Beane is an exile from life--an oddball. His well-meaning sister Joan and brother-in-law Harry try and make time for him in their busy lives, but no one can get through. Following the burglary of his apartment, Joan is baffled to find her brother blissfully happy and tries to unravel the story behind Beane's mysterious new love Molly. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Love_Song/JlJkia_fGhMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Love+song+/+by+John+Kolvenbach&printsec=frontcover

Gizmo love / by John Kolvenbach

Locked in an office by an unseen producer, Hollywood veteran Manny McCain takes on the assignment of his life: to shape the sloppy opus of a gifted, guileless young writer into the next great crime noir. When Max and Thomas, two career criminals arrive, all hell breaks loose. A reckless comedy, a satire and a valentine, a drama of fathers and sons, and a collision between the real world and the world of our imaginings, GIZMO LOVE is like nothing you’ve seen before. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gizmo_Love/PIMqx-UOKX0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gizmo+love+/+by+John+Kolvenbach&printsec=frontcover

On an average day / by John Kolvenbach

The action is set in the kitchen of a small house in upstate New York, the home of the acutely lonely Robert. The place is piled high with old newspapers, and something is rotting so horribly in the fridge that the simple task of extracting a beer poses a major health risk. Robert is clearly in desperate trouble. Then his older brother Jack arrives, as neat and controlled as his sibling is wild and unraveled. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/On_an_Average_Day/5HpdQzG3cWAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=On+an+average+day+/+by+John+Kolvenbach&printsec=frontcover

The black monk : a chamber musical / book, music and lyrics by Wendy Kesselman

After five intense years of study in Moscow, Andrei returns home to his faithful guardian Igor and rekindles his attachment to Tanya, his childhood love. Andrei's artistic obsession thrives in the embrace of this adoring family, but the Black Monk, a spectral and charming figure only Andrei sees, threatens to lure him into the unknown.

Every day she rose / by Andrea Scott and Nick Green

After the Black Lives Matter protest at the 2016 Toronto Pride Parade, two friends find their racial and queer politics aren't as aligned as they thought, and the playwrights behind them must figure out how to write about the fallout. Cathy Ann, a straight Black woman, and her roommate Mark, a gay white man, came home from the parade with such differing views of what happened and how it affected their own communities. Cathy Ann agrees with the protest that the police presence at the parade doesn't make her feel safe, while Mark felt safer with them there, especially in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. Frustrated he can't see the bigger issue, Cathy Ann questions if she can continue living with Mark. Simultaneously, playwrights Andrea and Nick--who share the same identities as their characters--pause throughout the show to figure out how to work together to tell the story of a significant turning point in a friendship. Through both sets of dialogue, Every Day She Rose is a powerful exploration of white supremacy, privilege, and patriarchy in supposed safe spaces."

Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (you too, August Wilson) / by Rachel Lynett

The fourteenth winner of the Yale Drama Series prize explores "Blackness" and the reasons why joy and peace might be harder to get than we think What does it mean to be safe when you're a person of color in the United States? If you were given the chance to leave and create a utopia, would you? Is utopia possible with all of our subconscious bias? The fourteenth winner of the Yale Drama Series prize, this highly satirical and funny play is set in the fictional world following a second Civil War. Bronx Bay, an all-Black state (and neighborhood), is established in order to protect "Blackness." As Jules's new partner, Yael, moves into town, community members argue over whether Yael, who is Dominican, can stay. Questions of safety and protection surround both Jules and Yael as the utopia of Bronx Bay confronts within itself where the line is when it comes to defining who is Black and who gets left out in the process. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Apologies_to_Lorraine_Hansberry_You_too/UZ-GEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Apologies+to+Lorraine+Hansberry+(you+too,+August+Wilson)+/+by+Rachel+Lynett&printsec=frontcover

Wreckage / by Tom Ratcliffe

I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you. Sam and his fiancé Noel have been together for years. They have a house, a cat and their whole lives ahead of them. But when a sudden and permanent distance crashes into their relationship, it falls upon Sam to discover where their story goes from here. Tom Ratcliffe's Wreckage is a touching story about continuing bonds and love that only evolves, and never dies. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wreckage/bvR-EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wreckage+/+by+Tom+Ratcliffe&printsec=frontcover

A very sordid wedding / by Del Shores

It's 2015, seventeen years after Sordid Lives and Peggy's unfortunate death, after tripping over G.W.'s wooden legs, and life has now moved on for the residents of Winters, Texas. Based on the 2017 hit film of the same name, A Very Sordid Wedding explores the questions, bigotry and the fallout of what happens when gay marriage comes to communities and families that are not quite ready to accept it. Bigoted "religious freedom," marriage equality and cultural acceptance are all explored with Del Shores' trademark approach to using comedy and his much-beloved Sordid Lives characters to deal with these important current social issues and the very real process of accepting your family for who they are instead of who you want them to be.

POTUS : or, behind every great dumbass are seven women trying to keep him alive / by Selina Fillinger

One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble. Selina Fillinger's brilliant, all-female farce took Broadway by storm in a star-studded production that earned three 2022 Tony nominations.

Paris / by Eboni Booth

Emmie is one of the only Black people living in Paris, Vermont, and she desperately needs a job. When she is hired at Berry's, a store off the interstate selling everything from baby carrots to lawnmowers, she begins to understand a new kind of isolation. Paris is a play about invisibility, being underpaid, and how it feels to work on your feet for ten hours a day.

Glory : a hockey play that swings / by Tracey Power

Inspired by the true story of Canada's own Preston Rivulettes, Glory is a hockey play that swings! In 1933, four friends set out to prove to Canada that hockey isn't just a sport for men. But with the Great Depression weighing heavily on the nation and political tensions rising in Europe, can they overcome the odds, and people's expectations, to forge their own path to glory? Told through music and dance inspired by the jazz age, Glory is a thrilling hockey story that proves a woman's place is on home ice.

The glorious world of crowns, kinks and curls / by Keli Goff

The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls is a collection of monologues and scenes exploring the complex relationship women have with their hair. From Afros to braids, weddings and funerals, falling in love to grieving a loss, these stories serve as a powerful reminder that for Black women in particular, hair is both deeply personal and political. These heartbreaking, heartwarming and hilarious stories will take audiences on an unparalleled journey into the world of Black womanhood.

The forest must scream : comedy in four acts / by Henri Djombo & Osée Colins Koagne

Under the misguided leadership of Chief Kamona, the people of Mballa village voraciously destroy their forests for fuelwood and money. However, most of the revenue goes to Kamona and his family. When the national government dispatches Functionary, a forestry agent, to caution them against the illegal and wanton destruction of their forests, Kamona and his people chase him away from their community. They won't also heed the counsel of Kamona's young nephew, Toubili who tries in vain to convince them that Functionary is right. Chief Kamona and his people focus their defiance against the government by cutting down even more trees, determined that the forest must scream and bleed in their hands. Will Kamona and his people survive the devastating consequences of their destruction of the forest? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Forest_Must_Scream/7ad0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+forest+must+scream+djombo&printsec=frontcover

Follow me to Nellie's / by Dominique Morisseau

Follow Me to Nellie's takes place in the home of the infamous Nellie Jackson's, where a hopeless blues singer is looking for a way out, a brave freedom fighter is looking for a way in, and a house of downtrodden women are looking for a new day. In 1955 Mississippi, during the reign of segregation, the price of attaining their dreams may cost them everything. Dominique Morisseau's play takes a harrowing look at those who risked everything so that all Americans could be afforded the opportunity to vote.

Blanket ban / by Davinia Hamilton and Marta Vella

Sometimes I'm afraid of this play. Malta: Catholic kitsch, golden sun, deep blue sea, Eurovision -- and a blanket ban on abortion. Propelled by three years of interviews with anonymous contributors and their own lived experience, actors and activists Marta and Davinia interrogate Malta's restrictions on the freedom of women. What does it mean for your home to boast the world's most progressive LGBTQIA rights, leading transgender laws -- and a population that is almost unanimously anti-choice? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blanket_Ban/h7l-EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blanket+ban+/+by+Davinia+Hamilton+and+Marta+Vella&printsec=frontcover

We will not describe the conversation / by Eugenie Carabatsos

Inspired by a missing scene in Crime and Punishment, "We Will Not Describe the Conversation" follows a massage therapist, Dani, whose latest client arrives with the news that Dani's estranged brother has committed a heinous crime and is on the run. The women try to piece together why this happened, forcing them to confront their own dark desires.

Trouble in mind / by Alice Childress

Following the rehearsal process for a new Broadway production of an anti-lynching play, Alice Childress's wry and moving look at racism, identity, and ego in the world of New York theater opened to acclaim off-Broadway in 1955. When Wiletta, a Black actress and veteran of the stage, challenges the play's stereotypical portrayal of the Black characters, unsettling biases come to the forefront and reveal the ways so-called progressive art can be used to uphold racist attitudes and practices. Trouble in Mind is a prescient work that remains starkly relevant to the dynamics in the present-day theater world.

To the good people of Gaza : theatre for young people / by Jackie Lubeck and Theatre Day Productions

The first anthology of youth plays from Gaza and the wider Palestinian region, this timely collection ties together nineteen plays produced by Theatre Day Productions, one of the foremost community theatres in the Middle East. Written by playwright Jackie Lubeck, this collection responds to the siege on Gaza and the Israeli military operations from 2009 to 2014, reflecting how Gazan youth deal with trauma, loss and urban destruction. In the nineteen plays within this anthology, the reader and theatrical producer witnesses experiences of a forgotten youth, besieged by a silent international community and a brutal wall. The plays are arranged into five different thematic series, which include family entanglements, loss and the fundamental goodness and resourcefulness of human beings. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/To_The_Good_People_of_Gaza/JQZqEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=To+the+good+people+of+Gaza+:+theatre+for+young+people&printsec=frontcover

Tin cat shoes / by Trish Harnetiaux

A madcap odyssey through a wilderness of corporate bureaucracy and crippling human dependencies. Blessed with the can-do American spirit, a troop of dedicated shoe store employees embark on a journey of personal expansion. But when "work is your life" and systems breakdown, all that remains is you, a casino, and the truth.

Til death do us part / by Safaa Benson-Effiom

After fifteen years of marriage, Daniel and Sylvia find themselves drifting further apart with each passing day. Until one morning, they find themselves abruptly united by every parent's worst nightmare... The shoes have been polished, the vases are full and the phone is ringing off the hook, but there's one thing they're still missing...answers. Forced into a confrontation, years of resentment and things left long unsaid rise to the surface as they question the circumstances that brought them to this point, and what happens to your relationship when the only thing holding you together, threatens to tear you apart.

The thrush & the woodpecker / by Steve Yockey

In this modern revenge play, Brenda Hendricks has her hands full dealing with her son Noah after he is expelled from a prestigious college and unexpectedly returns to their isolated Northern California home. When a mysterious woman arrives on their doorstep, Brenda and Noah find their world turned upside down in ways both intimate and epic.

Plays: 1 / by Mike Bartlett

Includes the plays: Not talking -- My child -- Artefacts -- Contractions -- Cock Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bartlett_Plays_1/abRLAQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays:+1+/+by+Mike+Bartlett&printsec=frontcover

The only good Indian / project design by Jivesh Parasram

The Only Good Indian is part lecture, part meditation, and part threat. Or maybe a sacrifice. Each incarnation of The Only Good Indian recruits a new artist to step into the radical headspace of a suicide bomber. In turn, each performer straps themselves into a suicide vest -- and struggles to rationalize to the audience such an "irrational" decision. It dissects where our similarities begin and where they end, forcing both the performer and the audience to ask themselves: what would I die for? Blending political theory with dark satire, authors Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, Tom Arthur Davis, Adele Noronha, Jivesh Parasram, and Justin Shore take you on a wild ride through their genealogical relationships to colonization, occupation, otherness, and indigeneity.

My big gay Italian Christmas / by Anthony J. Wilkinson

A lasagna made up of a bisexual love triangle, political conversations gone spoiled, a variety of over the top characters and the snow storm of the century. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_Big_Gay_Italian_Christmas/5X0UEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+big+gay+Italian+Christmas+/+by+Anthony+J.+Wilkinson&printsec=frontcover

Lotus beauty / by Satinder Kaur Chohan

Lotus Beauty follows the intertwined lives of five multigenerational women, inviting us into Reita's Salon where clients can wax lyrical about their day's tiny successes or have their struggles massaged, plucked, or tweezed away. But with honest truths and sharp-witted barbs high among the treatments on offer, will the power of community be enough to raise the spirits of everyone who passes through the Salon doors?

How to build a wax figure / by Isabella Waldron

I was the eyes and she was the body / I mean that sounds poetic but really that's how it worked. Girl meets anatomical wax sculptor. Anatomical wax sculptor meets Girl. They fall in love. Or something like that. Bea's older neighbour was her first love, her first cigarette, her first prosthetic eye. When Bea is invited to the Wellcome Collection to speak about her expertise making glass eyes, she finds herself unable to untie Margot from all that she does. As she tries to unpack her mentor's effect on her work, Bea must dissect for herself what love really looks like. Isabella Waldron's electric new play, how to build a wax figure, brings a fresh perspective on queer love, age-gap relationships, and ocularistry. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/how_to_build_a_wax_figure/9aRyEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=How+to+build+a+wax+figure+/+by+Isabella+Waldron&printsec=frontcover

Free free free free / by Haleh Roshan

FREE FREE FREE FREE is based on the true story of the Diggers, an anarchist theater collective formed out of the San Francisco Mime Troupe; the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and Students for a Democratic Society; and the rise of Asian American solidarity. Each group fights against capital and exploitation, fights for liberation, and envisions an America and a world beyond constant war, immeasurable poverty, and global hunger. But how the #$%! do we, they, we get from here to there? A Brechtian exploration of 1960s Bay Area anti-capitalists and their efforts at igniting a new American revolution, this is a play in perpetual struggle session with inself--but like, in a nice way! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Free_Free_Free_Free/xejwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Free+free+free+free+/+by+Haleh+Roshan&printsec=frontcover

Alabaster / by Audrey Cefaly

After a tornado barrels through town leaving nothing but death and destruction, only June and her pet goat Weezy live to tell the tale. When a prominent photographer visits to take pictures of June's scars, both are forced to reconcile the pain of loss and recovery. This all-female, darkly comic southern drama explores the meaning and purpose of art and the struggle of the lost and tortured souls that seek to create it.

Bars and measures / by Idris Goodwin

A tale of two brothers. One a classical pianist, the other a jazz bass player. One a Christian, the other a Muslim. One living in freedom, the other in jail. Separated by bars, Bilal and Eric try to reconcile their differences through the language they know best: music. BARS and MEASURES is a beautiful journey through faith, family, melody, and time.

Airness : a play / by Chelsea Marcantel

When Nina enters her first air guitar competition she thinks winning will be easy. Airness is an exuberant reminder that everything we need to rock is already inside us. A comedy about competition, completion, and finding the airness inside yourself.

Aboveboard : a romantic comedy / by Peter Bloedel & Emily Kimball

When Nick's food starts disappearing from his apartment fridge, he immediately suspects his best friend Milo, a bumbling magician who lives down the hall. But Milo refuses to confess, so Nick installs a camera to catch the culprit in the act-and finds an unlikely trespasser has been secretly living in his apartment for nearly a month. When the video hits the internet, the surprises multiply in this romantic comedy about magic, misunderstanding, and running out of milk.

Man in the ring / by Michael Cristofer

As he slips into dementia, Emile Griffith tries to make sense of his life's journey from a Caribbean émigré who only wanted to sing and play baseball to becoming the six-time world-champion boxer, and the single event that overshadowed his entire life. On national television, in the twelfth round of a championship fight, taunted for his sexuality, Emile pummeled his opponent into a coma, from which the man never recovered. A true story driven by tragedy becomes a triumphant tale of forgiveness and redemption.

Hamlet in bed / by Michael Laurence

Michael, a troubled actor abandoned at birth, is obsessed with two things: finding his real mother, and playing the famous Gloomy Dane. His twin fixations collide when he tracks down Anna May Miller, a reclusive former actress turned barfly who may or may not be his actual birth mother, and lures her into a noir production of Hamlet playing his mother, the queen. Rehearsals for the famous "closet scene" expose their frayed inner lives as Anna and Michael hurtle ever closer to the difficult truth of their relationship. HAMLET IN BED is a twisty, kaleidoscopic story about what it means to live a life in the theater, both a generation ago and now. And about families--the ones we're born into, and the ones we find along the way.

American moor / by Keith Hamilton Cobb

American Moor is a play that examines the experience and perspective of black men in America through the metaphor of William Shakespeare's character, Othello. It is a play about race in America, but it is also a play about who gets to make art, who gets to play Shakespeare, about the qualitative decline of the American theatre, about actors and acting, and about the nature of unadulterated love. It is an often funny, often heartbreaking examination of the pall of privileged perspective that is ultimately so injurious to us all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/American_Moor/B0_ODwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=American+moor+/+by+Keith+Hamilton+Cobb&printsec=frontcover

Angry, raucous, and shamelessly gorgeous / by Pearl Cleage

A lifetime ago, actress Anna Campbell and manager Betty Samson ignited a major theatrical controversy with a performance of monologues from August Wilson's Fences that came to be known forever as Naked Wilson. After decades of self-imposed exile in Amsterdam to escape the critics, they receive an invitation to perform the show at a women's theatre festival promising to be "angry, raucous, and shamelessly gorgeous." Uncertain of what kind of reception she will get, and unmoved by Betty's assurances, Anna's insecurity grows when she meets Pete Watson, the ambitious young performer who has been chosen to replace Anna in the role but whose theatrical experience is so far limited to the adult entertainment industry. Searching for common ground, Anna and Pete must confront their ideas about themselves and each other as they reconcile two vastly different worldviews. With humor and grace, Pearl Cleage finds a meeting place where both women can not only find each other, but make peace with a few lingering ghosts just in time for opening night.

June July August / by Sinead Daly

At an all-girls' summer camp in the Middle of Nowhere, Upstate New York, a group of teenage junior counselors spend three life-changing months together as they navigate the complexities of womanhood, social hierarchies, and the irreversible consequences of their actions when things get gravely out of hand. June July August is an unflinching exploration of what it means to be woman on the brink of adulthood and the bonds that are forged in the process.

The half-life of Marie Curie / by Lauren Gunderson

In 1911, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium. By 1912, she was the object of ruthless gossip over an alleged affair with the married Frenchman Paul Langevin, all but erasing her achievements from public memory. Weakened and demoralized by the press lambasting her as a "foreign" Jewish temptress and homewrecking traitor, Marie agrees to join her friend and colleague Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, at her summer home in England. THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE revels in the power of female friendship as it explores the relationship between these two brilliant women, both of whom are mothers, widows, and fearless champions of scientific inquiry

One in two / by Donja R. Love

Three Black queer men sit in an ethereal waiting room. One is about to be chosen to live the unforgiving story of a man diagnosed with HIV, struggling to be defined by more than his status. Ten years after his own diagnosis, Donja R. Love has written a fearless account of the reality for too many Americans. A deeply personal call to action, one in two shines a light on the people behind a statistic and the strength of the community they make up.

Agnes / by Catya McMullen

On the same night that Superstorm Agnes closes in on New York City, June's brother, Charlie, returns home after a two-week disappearance that's left her sick with worry. Charlie is on the autism spectrum, and it's his sister's job to look after him. Meanwhile, June's girlfriend, Elle, is about to move to Philadelphia for medical school and wants June to come with her. And Ronan, June and Charlie's roommate, has invited a contentious old friend to crash with them. As the storm kicks up outside, tensions in the household rise, exposing old wounds and opening new ones. With nowhere else to go, there may be no choice but to repair the broken bonds among them. Told with a unique blend of humor and heart, AGNES explores the necessity of human connection for all people, whatever the cost.

Georgia Mertching is dead / by Catya McMullen

Gretchen, Emma, and Whitney have been friends since they were teenagers. They've been sober since they were teenagers. They set off on a road trip south--with homemade female urination devices, too much pie, and ill-advised sexual escapades--to celebrate and mourn a figure from their past. Catya McMullen's dark comedy GEORGIA MERTCHING IS DEAD reveals what it's like to face adulthood and death after growing up weird and possibly broken.

I was most alive with you / by Craig Lucas

A hearing father and his Deaf son have struggled to attain balance and meaning as recovering aloholics and addicts, only to be tested when a horrific event deprives them of their hard-won ascendancy. Inspired by the Book of Job, I WAS MOST ALIVE WITH YOU is a gripping exploration of faith in a faithless universe.

Winter break / by Joe Calarco

Time: Now. Place: A town in the United States of America where Winter is cold. Winter Break has just begun. Alternately hilarious and touching, the play follows nineteen teenagers, some who know each other, some who don't, as they wrestle with friendships, breakups, loss, graduation, and their place in the world. Winter Break is the 2020 Educational Theatre Association commission. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Winter_Break/4IskEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Winter+break+/+by+Joe+Calarco&printsec=frontcover

Thoughts of a colored man / by Keenan Scott II

Dawn breaks in Brooklyn, and seven black men rise to meet the day. One of them, a finance director, leaves his luxurious condo to jog around their rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, just as a grocery-store clerk is starting another soul-crushing shift. At the bus stop, two best friends debate the intricacies of modern dating, while a basketball coach at the youth center grapples with his unrealized potential. At the hospital, a teacher and his father-in-law welcome a new life. And at the barbershop, the whole group meets for cuts and conversation as sparks fly over questions of identity and community. Through the storytelling style of SLAM Narrative, Thoughts of a Colored Man celebrates the hopes, ambitions, joys, and triumphs of black men in a world that often refuses to hear them.

A perfect bowl of pho / by Nam Nguyen

Nam, a procrastination-prone Vietnamese Canadian university student, sets out with the vague ambition to write a musical about his diaspora as embodied by food, particularly the world-famous noodle soup pho. What follows is pure meta musical, genre-bending through thousands of years of history, featuring rapping ancient kings, communist spies, dancing sharks and refugees, and awkward first dates in suburbia. However, Nam eventually finds himself caught between his different characters as each argues what pho (the food and the show) truly represents, and he struggles to find an answer that will satisfy everyone--in the end, isn't this just a bunch of silly soup songs?

Selected plays of Stan Lai / by Stan Lai ; translated by the playwright

Three volumes include the plays: Volume 1. Secret love in peach blossom land and other plays -- Volume 2. The village and other plays -- Volume 3. A dream like a dream and Ago. Volume 1. Secret love in peach blossom land -- Look who's crosstalking tonight -- The island and the other shore -- I me she him -- Ménage à 13 -- Volume 2. Millennium teahouse -- Sand on a distant star -- Like shadows -- The village -- Writing in water -- Volume 3. A dream like a dream -- Ago. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Selected_Plays_of_Stan_Lai/YT5ZEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Selected+plays+of+Stan+Lai+/+by+Stan+Lai+%3B+translated+by+the+playwright&printsec=frontcover

Selected plays / by Griselda Gambaro

Includes the plays: Siamese twins -- Mother by trade -- As the dream dictates -- Asking too much -- Persistence -- Dear Ibsen, I am Nora -- The gift. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Selected_Plays_by_Griselda_Gambaro/kDdiEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Selected+plays+/+by+Griselda+Gambaro&printsec=frontcover

Milk / by Dylan Van Den Berg

On the precipice of something life changing, a young Palawa man plunges into an exploration of self and Country. Carried with the winds of a metaphysical Flinders Island--the place where it all happened--he is drawn back to the dawn of colonisation; to a woman who bore the brunt of the oppressors' violence and then forward to her granddaughter, who buried the truth as a means of survival. Stirring up stories together, with parts both achingly sad and unexpectedly funny, what unfolds reveals by slow degrees painful but important truths. Do we own the stories of our ancestors? And does the passage of time undermine a connection to Country?

Inheritance : a pick-the-path experience / by Daniel Arnold, Darrell Dennis, and Medina Hahn

An interactive play - with over fifty possible variations! - that thrusts you into the middle of an Indigenous Land dispute and asks you to pick the right path. You take your seat in the theatre. You are given a remote control. Inheritance begins. Abbey and Noah, an urban non-Indigenous couple, are on a getaway to visit her father at his vast rural estate. But when they arrive, they find him missing and a local Indigenous man staying there instead. They ask him to leave ... and you choose what happens next. Set in Secwepemcúl̓ecw, the Traditional Territory of the Secwépemc Nation, Inheritance is a unique "pick your own path" theatrical experience that makes the reader or audience a co-creator of the story. When it's revealed that the colonial rights to the entire property owned by Abbey's dad are actually up for grabs, you must continue to decide how the story unfolds, ultimately determining how the land will be stewarded, and by whom. With humour, suspense, and a race against time, Inheritance thrusts you into the middle of an Indigenous Land dispute and asks you to work it out.

If pretty hurts ugly must be a muhfucka : an understanding of a West African folktale / by Tori Sampson

Combining West African folklore and contemporary American culture, If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must be a Muhfucka follows four teenage girls as they grapple with societal definitions of beauty. In the fictional setting of Affreakah-Amirrorkah, the four young women -- Kaya, Massassi, Adama, and Akim -- are given an opportunity to live in a society where their individual beauty can reign supreme. But this opportunity comes at a dangerous cost. Tori Sampson's hilariously provocative play doesn't ask the question 'How much is beauty worth?' but rather, 'Why are so many willing to pay its price?

The fragrant companions : a play about love between women / by Li Yu ; translated by Stephen Roddy and Ying Wang

Written in 1651, The Fragrant Companions is the first of ten extant chuanqi plays by Li Yu. The play, told in 36 acts, is one of the only literary works of pre-modern China that focuses on the theme of lesbian love. The play tells the story of two young ladies of the gentry who fall in love with each other after exchanging poems in a nunnery and overcome different obstacles to be together through a recognized marriage-by marrying the same husband. While its finale of a heterosexual marriage seems to reconcile with the Confucian gender ideology, polygamy, and the patriarchal social order, the play is really about the two women's genuine love and passion for each other; their mutual longing when separated; their efforts and resourcefulness to surmount social bias and impediments; and the triumph of their love over social mandates and expectations. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Fragrant_Companions/OmhOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+fragrant+companions+:+a+play+about+love+between+women+/+by+Li+Yu+%3B+translated+by+Stephen+Roddy+and+Ying+Wang&printsec=frontcover

A fight against... = (una lucha contra...) / by Pablo Manzi ; translated by William Gregory

A lecturer in Chile. A study group in the USA. A guard in the desert. A hangman in Mexico. A woman who won't stop dancing in Peru. Pablo Manzi's darkly comic odyssey across the Americas explores whether violence brings us closer together and what it takes to make a community. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Fight_Against/rBxeEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+fight+against...+%3D+(una+lucha+contra...)+/+by+Pablo+Manzi+%3B+translated+by+William+Gregory&pg=PP5&printsec=frontcover

The empress / by Tanika Gupta

Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, 1887. At East London's Tilbury Docks, Rani Das and Abdul Karim step ashore after the long voyage from India. One has to battle a society who deems her a second-class citizen; the other forges an astonishing entanglement with the ageing Queen Victoria who finds herself enchanted by stories of an India over which she rules, but has never seen. Through narrative, music and song, The Empress blends the true story of Queen Victoria's controversial relationship with her Indian servant and 'Munshi' (teacher), Abdul Karim, with the experiences of Rani, a young Indian ayah who confronts the challenges of life in 19th-century London. In doing so, the play uncovers remarkable unknown stories of Victorian Britain and charts the growth of Indian nationalism and the romantic proclivities of one of Britain's most surprising monarchs. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Empress/iYsHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+empress+/+by+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

Dry swallow / by Lucas Baisch

Dry Swallow is a play made up of three intertwining narratives, all trapped in the confines of a shipping container as playing space. Chula, parks her lawn chair on a Boyle Heights street corner as she defends her makeshift bodega from being intercepted by local competition. Sik coerces her pregnant girlfriend, Dori, into looting from the pharmacy chain she works at. Childhood friends Nasir and Porter, now an established performance artist and curator, question the exploitation of ethnic heritage and the use of medical procedure as artistic practice. These stories weave in and out of one another, sitting in a pool of construction zone soundscapes and safety cone demarcations of space, provoking questions around consumption, surrogacy, and substance abuse. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dry_Swallow/Mm1WEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=inauthor:%22Lucas+Baisch%22&printsec=frontcover

The billboard / by Natalie Y. Moore

The Billboard is about a fictional Black women's clinic in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood on the South Side and its fight with a local gadfly running for City Council who puts up a provocative billboard: "Abortion is genocide. The most dangerous place for a Black child is his mother's womb," spurring on the clinic to fight back with their own provocative sign: "Black women take care of their families by taking care of themselves. Abortion is self-care. #Trust Black Women."

Mom, how did you meet the Beatles? : a true story of London in the 1960s / by Adam P. Kennedy talks to Adrienne Kennedy

Adrienne Kennedy relates her star-studded experience of moving to London and working on The Lennon Play: In His Own Write. Her absolute astonishment at being thrust in among the rich and famous of the theater and film world is really refreshing and charming. This is a great story, told in an interview-style conversation between a mother and son. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mom_how_Did_You_Meet_the_Beatles/iMJj4Pp_2coC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mom,+how+did+you+meet+the+Beatles%3F+:+a+true+story+of+London+in+the+1960s+/+by+Adam+P.+Kennedy+talks+to+Adrienne+Kennedy&printsec=frontcover

After the end / by Dennis Kelly

A large scale terrorist nuclear attack drives Mark and his work colleague Louise down to Mark's old bomb shelter in his flat. They were all in the pub when the explosion happened. Louise wakes up to find herself trapped with Mark, who has saved her life. Mark is always prepared for the worst and has everything he thinks they will need to survive; tinned chilli, Dungeons and Dragons and a knife - now all they need to do is to wait until it's safe to go outside. Can they survive the attack? Can they survive each other? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/After_the_End/vDdiEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=After+the+end+/+by+Dennis+Kelly&printsec=frontcover

Osama the hero / by Dennis Kelly

"I never know when things are funny, so what I do is wait until someone else starts laughing and then I join in, quick as I can and hope I haven’t got in too late because there’s nothing worse than being left out in the cold with a laugh hanging.People laugh a lot nowadays. I think that's fear." Gary’s not stupid. He just dares to see the world differently. In the classroom and on the estate he provokes without intent. When another act of violence unsettles those around him, Gary must take the blame. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Osama_the_Hero/l9H7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Osama+the+hero+/+by+Dennis+Kelly&printsec=frontcover

Rose Bernd / Gerhart Hauptmann ; in a new version by Dennis Kelly

Silesia, 1903. Every man falls for Rose Bernd. But her choices lead her into danger. In a deeply traditional community how can she avoid disgrace? Rose Bernd is a compassionate but shocking account of a young woman's downfall. This European classic, by Nobel Prize-winning playwright Gerhart Hauptmann, arrives in a new translation by playwright Dennis Kelly.

DNA / by Dennis Kelly

A group of teenagers do something bad, really bad, then panic and cover the whole thing up. But when they find that the cover-up unites them and brings harmony to their otherwise fractious lives, where's the incentive to put things right? DNA is a poignant and, sometimes, hilarious tale with a very dark heart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/DNA/GjcpEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=DNA+/+by+Dennis+Kelly&printsec=frontcover

Orphans / by Dennis Kelly

Helen and Danny keep themselves to themselves. But the outside world comes crashing into their lives one day when Helen's brother turns up. Covered in blood. Dennis Kelly's play is a thrilling contemporary suspense story which takes its audience on a chilling journey into a world just outside the front door. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Orphans/nNP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Orphans+/+by+Dennis+Kelly&printsec=frontcover

Too many cooks / by Marcia Kash and Douglas E. Hughes

It’s 1932 in Niagara Falls, Canada, where the rum-running business is at its peak. In the aftermath of the Crash, Irving Bubbalowe and his daughter, Honey, have risked everything they have to open a new gourmet restaurant. When their star - the renowned singing chef François LaPlouffe - fails to appear, tonight’s grand opening is suddenly placed in jeopardy. However, when unemployed chef Frank Plunkett wanders in looking for work, Honey persuades him to masquerade as the missing LaPlouffe. The beleaguered Bubbalowe, meanwhile, also has to contend with Chicago gangster Alfonse Feghetti and his sidekick who have come looking for an illegal shipment of booze that, unbeknownst to Bubbalowe, has found its way into his basement. In addition, Bubbalowe has to keep at bay the hot-blooded Immigration officer Veronica Snook, on the trail of the vanished chef, as well as a suspicious teetotalling Mountie who is ready to arrest Bubbalowe for both murder and bootlegging. Madness ensues and Bubbalowe and the others create a hornet’s nest of fabricated stories and identities as they try valiantly to save the restaurant - and themselves - from both the gangsters and the law.

Columbinus / by the United States Theatre Project ; written by Stephen Karam and P.J. Paparelli

columbinus, a play sparked by the April 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., is a meeting of fact and fiction that illuminates the realities of adolescent culture by exploring the events surrounding the shootings. The play weaves together excerpts from discussions with parents, survivors and community leaders in Littleton as well as police evidence to bring to light the dark recesses of American adolescence. When columbinus premiered in 2005 at the Round House Theatre, Peter Marks of the Washington Post called it, "An ambitious examination of the suburbanization of evil," and the play went on to receive five Helen Hayes Award nominations including the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play. Following the off-Broadway opening at New York Theatre Workshop one year later, Variety proclaimed: "This one comes straight from the gut—a wrenching return to the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in which 12 students and a teacher were killed when two senior classmates went on a shooting rampage. The United States Theatre Project's smart and sensitive treatment of the event, which traumatized a suburban Colorado community and shocked the entire country, stirs up thought and feeling in this clean ensemble production, drawn from interviews, public records and the private diaries of the shooters.

Speech & debate / by Stephen Karam

Three teenage misfits in Salem, Oregon discover they are linked by a sex scandal that's rocked their town. When one of them sets out to expose the truth, secrets become currency, the stakes get higher, and the trio's connection grows deeper in this searching, fiercely funny dark comedy with music. Speech & debate is a fiercely funny play by new playwright Stephen Karam. They may go to the same school, but misfits Solomon, Diwata and Howie have never met and their teachers and peers just don't take them seriously until a sex scandal involving one of their teachers brings them together. Soon they realize that three voices are stronger than one. And since their school has no speech and debate squad, maybe this is their chance to be heard at last by the school and even the world. Variety says it's 'bristling with vitality, wicked humor, terrific dialogue and a direct pipeline into the zeitgeist of contemporary youth. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Speech_Debate/vNTA8EBp9AsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Speech+%26+debate+/+by+Stephen+Karam&printsec=frontcover

Love person / by Aditi Brennan Kapil

A four part love story in Sanskrit, ASL and English in which love transcends sexual orientation, physical attraction, and social structure, and rests instead on the ways in which we communicate and how communication bonds or breaks us. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Love_Person/tYScJyf4fgAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Love+person+/+by+Aditi+Brennan+Kapil&printsec=frontcover

All this intimacy / by Rajiv Joseph

Ty Greene is a normal guy with three very big problems. In an unprecedented (for him) run of promiscuity, Ty has managed to impregnate three women in the span of one week: His ex-girlfriend, his 40-something married next-door neighbor, and his 18 year-old student. In this edgy comedy by playwright Rajiv Joseph, Ty's problems illuminate every triumph and failure of his life, and as the women in his world converge and figure out what's happened, Ty realizes that his life is adrift, and that he only has a limited time to try to piece it back together. All This Intimacy, which according to The New York Times has 'a certain can't-look-away pull,' is a comedy about friendship and lust and how the two don't mix. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_This_Intimacy/M38UEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=All+this+intimacy+/+by+Rajiv+Joseph&printsec=frontcover

Huck & Holden / by Rajiv Joseph

Tells the story of Navin, an Indian college student who's fresh off the boat and trying to remain focused on his studies while the temptations of America and college life start beating down his door. When Navin falls for Michelle, a young African-American woman, he finds that his perceptions of the world begin to expand--and crumble. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Huck_Holden/q9QkzXMD-9cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Huck+%26+Holden+/+by+Rajiv+Joseph&pg=PT2&printsec=frontcover

Animals out of paper / by Rajiv Joseph

When a world-renowned origami artist opens her studio to a teenage prodigy and his school teacher, she discovers that life and love can't be arranged neatly in this drama about finding the perfect fold. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Animals_Out_of_Paper/snyGESkoXBgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Animals+out+of+paper+/+by+Rajiv+Joseph&printsec=frontcover

The North Pool / by Rajiv Joseph

Syrian born Khadim is called into the High School vice principal's office. He is caught up in a web of lies about his absences from school. The North Pool is a psychological drama that weaves a timely character study about racial and cultural profiling in America. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_North_Pool/UdwREAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+North+Pool+/+by+Rajiv+Joseph&printsec=frontcover

University : a new generation / by Jon Jory

Jon Jory's University has been providing young actors with challenging roles for decades. Now in University: A New Generation,that same versatility and emphasis on acting is available for a new generation of actors. Combined, the mini-plays create an evening of theatre that explores the college experience from the perspective of the modern student. The individual pieces follow students through a year from orientation to packing up and going back home. Included are Arrival, The Class, The Bench, Kenna and Joey, Nerve Damage, The Genesis of Thought and Packing, among others. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exUniversityANewGenerationU43.pdf

The alchemist / by Ben Jonson ; edited by Elizabeth Cook

The Alchemist is a sublimely accomplished satirical farce about dreams of self-refinement: people want to transform themselves into something nobler, richer, more powerful, and more virile just as base metal was touted to be transformed into gold in the alchemical process. First performed in 1610 and set in the same contemporary London time period, the plot revolves around scheming con artists during their master's absence from the house. Face, Subtle and Doll Common dupe a series of "customers" whose desire for aggrandizement leads them to believe in the existence of the fabled "Philosopher's Stone". As their equipment boils over and blows up in the offstage kitchen, so their plot heats up and is exploded by the skeptical Surly and the arrival of their master who quietly pockets their proceeds and marries the rich widow to boot. The play is generally considered Ben Jonson's best comedy, deftly exposing human foible and foolishness to mockery and has continued to thrive in stage productions. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Alchemist/hOK2ST-sa_0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+alchemist+/+by+Ben+Jonson+%3B+edited+by+Elizabeth+Cook&printsec=frontcover

Deliver us from Mama! / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

Mama's back--so chaos can't be far behind! This rip-roaring, hilarious, high-octane race to beat the stork begins when Walker Sprunt's wife, Hayley, goes into labor with their first child. The problem? She's in Alabama, and he is in L.A., trying his best to get through a surprise visit from his meddling mother and his bossy big sister, Savannah, when he gets the call. Unfortunately, an air traffic controllers' strike has just begun across the nation and Walker is at a loss for what to do. But his Mama, as usual, is not. And when she proclaims "Family Road Trip!," Walker, from experience, knows disaster can't be far behind. And is he ever right--as the clock ticks, Mama and her squabbling offspring jump in a car and sprint across two thousand miles of America and through its most unbelievably eccentric and colorful communities, and comedic chaos follows them everywhere. Despite experiencing zany alien encounters near Roswell, New Mexico, witnessing an uproarious last-minute wedding with off-their-rockers relatives, participating unwillingly in a high-speed police chase across Texas, surviving a churning river on a daiquiri party barge, and even escaping a wild New Orleans Mardi Gras night court, this exuberantly desperate trio drive on, determined to make it to Alabama before the new baby is born. And heaven help anyone who gets in Mama's way, because she WILL be in Birmingham in time for the birth of her first grandchild! This flat-out-funny Jones Hope Wooten comedy will get your motors racing as it delivers miles of smiles and loads of laughs! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Deliver_Us_from_Mama/r-jwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Deliver+us+from+Mama!+/+by+Jessie+Jones,+Nicholas+Hope,+Jamie+Wooten&printsec=frontcover

Dearly beloved / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

Hilarity, Texas style! An over-the-top wedding, three feuding sisters and a church full of small-town eccentrics. What could possibly go wrong? In this fast-paced, laugh-a-minute comedy, the Futrelle sisters of Fayro, Texas - Frankie, Twink and their estranged sister, Honey Raye - are thrown together to pull off a family wedding. But it is not going well. Frankie's oldest twin daughter is marrying the son of the queen of what passes for high society in Fayro and Frankie is desperate to make this antebellum-themed wedding an elegant affair. It soon becomes obvious that Fate has other plans... Between Frankie's suspicions of her husband's infidelity, Twink's revamp of the wedding dinner into a tacky potluck supper and Honey Raye's bombshell news that's fueled her mysterious move back to town, the chances for this wedding being a success are fading fast. In spite of the best efforts of Miss Geneva Musgrave - the cantankerous wedding coordinator - and the homespun enthusiasm provided by Dairy Dog employee, Raynerd Chisum - the proceedings go hysterically off course with the stunning revelation that the bride-to-be and her intended have fled town. The Futrelles scramble to keep the mutinous wedding guests in place by staging a hastily thrown-together talent show in the sanctuary while the Deputy Sheriff races through the countryside to collar the runaway couple and drag them back for the "I do's." This joyful Southern-fried Jones Hope Wooten Comedy about love, marriage, sisterhood and three hundred pounds of good, ol' Texas barbecue will have you laughing all the way down the aisle! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dearly_Beloved/fNpsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dearly+beloved+/+by+Jessie+Jones,+Nicholas+Hope,+Jamie+Wooten&printsec=frontcover

Christmas belles / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

It's Christmas-time in the small town of Fayro, Texas, and the Futrelle Sisters--Frankie, Twink and Honey Raye--are not exactly in a festive mood. A cranky Frankie is weeks overdue with her second set of twins. Twink, recently jilted and bitter about it, is in jail for inadvertently burning down half the town. And hot-flash-suffering Honey Raye is desperately trying to keep the Tabernacle of the Lamb's Christmas Program from spiraling into chaos. But things are not looking too promising: Miss Geneva, the ousted director of the previous twenty-seven productions, is ruthless in her attempts to take over the show. The celebrity guest Santa Claus--played by Frankie's long-suffering husband, Dub--is passing a kidney stone. One of the shepherds refuses to watch over his flock by night without pulling his little red wagon behind him. And the entire cast is dropping like flies due to food poisoning from the Band Boosters' Pancake Supper. And when Frankie lets slip a family secret that has been carefully guarded for decades, all hope for a successful Christmas program seems lost, even with an Elvis impersonator at the manger. But in true Futrelle fashion, the feuding sisters find a way to pull together in order to present a Christmas program the citizens of Fayro will never forget. Their hilarious holiday journey through a misadventure-filled Christmas Eve is guaranteed to bring joy to your world! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Christmas_Belles/b-_ekoeFgPQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Christmas+belles+/&pg=PA7&printsec=frontcover

Southern hospitality / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

Third play in the Futrelle family Texas trilogy that begins with Dearly beloved and continues with Christmas belles. The Futrelle Sisters--Frankie, Twink, Honey Raye and Rhonda Lynn--are in trouble again. This time, the problem is bigger than ever: Their beloved hometown, Fayro, Texas, is in danger of disappearing, and it's up to the sisters to save it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Southern_Hospitality/EwxpXpxumVMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Southern+hospitality+/+by+Jessie+Jones,+Nicholas+Hope,+Jamie+Wooten&printsec=frontcover

The Dixie swim club / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

Five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships. Free from husbands, kids and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage on North Carolina's Outer Banks to catch up, laugh and meddle in each other's lives. [The play] focuses on four of those weekends and spans a period of thirty-three years... As their lives unfold and the years pass, these women increasingly rely on one another, through advice and raucous repartee, to get through the challenges (men, sex, marriage, parenting, divorce, aging) that life flings at them. And when fate throws a wrench into one of their lives in the second act, these friends, proving the enduring power of "teamwork", rally round their own with the strength and love that takes this comedy in a poignant and surprising direction. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dixie_Swim_Club/bks3WL24DYMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Dixie+swim+club+/+by+Jessie+Jones,+Nicholas+Hope,+Jamie+Wooten&printsec=frontcover

The red velvet cake war / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, [and] Jamie Wooten

The three Verdeen cousins -- Gaynelle, Peaches, and Jimmie Wyvette -- could not have picked a worse time to throw their family reunion. Their outrageous antics have delighted local gossips in the small town of Sweetgum (just down the road from Fayro) and the eyes of Texas are upon them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Red_Velvet_Cake_War/ebjEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+red+velvet+cake+war+/+by+Jessie+Jones,+Nicholas+Hope,+%5Band%5D+Jamie+Wooten&printsec=frontcover

The Harvey girls: a play / by Julie Jensen

It's an ordinary day at the Harvey House Restaurant along the Santa Fe Railroad in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The 20th century is just a couple of years away, and the six people on the staff of the restaurant are engaged in their usual struggles. Mary wants to run things because she's smarter than the others. Effie takes her on at every turn, in the meantime waiting impatiently for her boyfriend who hasn't showed up in three months. Whistle, a young native girl, thinks the white people talk too much and eat entirely too much. Miss Mecham wants them all to remember that women with jobs are much better off than women with children. Raul, the young Mexican kid, thinks the whites are loco, and Bachmann, the German chef, makes rules that few people follow. That's the ordinary part of the day. Then we get word that there's an armed woman roaming around, having been a part of a train holdup earlier that morning. Mary is terrified, Whistle oblivious, and Effie so curious that when she meets the armed woman, she invites her to apply for a job as a Harvey Girl. Mixed in with all this are the strange and wonderful people of the town: Swamp, a fast-talking shyster who makes money selling stuff he doesn't own; Glitterman, a studious miner, who knows he will hit pay dirt somewhere between the subcrustacean stratum of the Precambrian Era and the deposits of the wandering antediluvian bog waters; Stella who reads a lot of books, wants to be a Harvey Girl, and eats free at the restaurant because she has no parents; Shudder who runs a herd of sheep all by herself because she has a past that includes murder and she knows they're after her; Pillage, a Civil War vet, who needs a job and freedom from his nightmare of dying in a swamp with a hundred injured horses; Miss Longtree, a retired actress who speaks in verse; and, finally, Godlee, a preacher man, who believes the end of the world will come tonight, and he's right, it does. This satirical play is fast moving and magnified. Think Molière with a dose of the Coen brothers.

Mockingbird / by Julie Jensen ; from the novel by Kathryn Erskine

Caitlin is an 11-year-old girl on the autism spectrum. Not all things make sense to her. Emotions are mysterious and voices are almost always too loud. Suddenly, she must grapple with the unthinkable: a mass shooting has taken her brother away. He was the one person who helped her cope. Now she is alone with her grieving father and a cacophony of children at school. She struggles to understand empathy, what facial expressions mean and why a drawing might have more than one color. We see the world from Caitlin’s point of view. We struggle as she does. We also take comfort in the times when she finds a friend, draws a multicolored mockingbird and can finally cry for her brother.

Last lists of my mad mother / by Julie Jensen

Ma cares about ribbons and bows, intransitive verbs and keeping to her rigid schedule. Dot uses a wicked sense of humor to sort out the tangle of her mother's mind. Together they struggle with Ma's inevitable decline, while Sis phones in her advice from afar. In and out of the sinewy webs of Ma's fleeting awareness, retracing paths they have traveled countless times, Ma and Dot drive toward understanding and arrive with some sense of surprise at the destination of comfort. Commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum, this play was a winner of the Mill Mountain Theatre New Play Competition. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Last_Lists_of_My_Mad_Mother/SNM4TaQBU-kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Last+lists+of+my+mad+mother+/+by+Julie+Jensen&printsec=frontcover

Two-headed : a play of history / by Julie Jensen

The play begins in Utah in 1857—the year more than 100 California-bound immigrants traveling from Missouri and Arkansas were killed in what became known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Hettie and Lavinia, 10-year-old friends at the time, know about the nearby massacre, an event that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. We follow their friendship through 40 years (set at 10-year intervals) as they each find their place in an intolerant, patriarchal Mormon society and the polygamy it espouses. The relationship between the women is tested when Hettie marries Lavinia's father, a breach of trust that Lavinia condemns. Lavinia's lifelong hatred of her father becomes clear when Hettie learns that her friend was an eyewitness to the Mountain Meadows Massacre—carried out by Mormons and planned by Lavinia's father. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Two_headed/gzmm9ePIqGMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Two-headed+:+a+play+of+history+/+by+Julie+Jensen&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

Wait! : a full-length play / by Julie Jensen

Our girl Wendy Burger stands on the edge of a summer that will change her life forever. It's the summer she moves out of her father's house (and into the UPS truck). The summer she starts a theatre with the guy she used to date (no one else would have them). The summer she performs her first acting role (Lisa in Hamlet—with a flickering blue light playing the lead, à la Tinker Bell). The summer when she gets tips from the actress, Floating Piñata Head. But most of all it's the summer when she meets O Vixen My Vixen (yes, that's her full name!) who is both beautiful and oh-so-deep. It's the summer that changes everything in Wendy's life. The title, Wait!, identifies that moment between the question and the answer, between the old life and the new. It's a moment of great power. No matter what happens, you will not be the same. Commissioned and premiered by the Salt Lake Acting Company. Named one of the 10 best plays of the year by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wait/kNlo3lPiUk8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wait!+:+a+full-length+play+/+by+Julie+Jensen&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

For the love of Juliet! : a comedy / by Luigi Jannuzzi

A romantic comedy in which the leading lady chooses an imaginary man over a real man. A tribute to theatre and the women in it! Julie has dedicated herself to a muse named Romeo who is grooming Julie for a Broadway debut as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. Alex, the irresponsible love of Julie's life, returns from a five-year voyage to find himself and now he wants to recapture Julie's heart. To the muse's opposition, Julie goes on a date, and her heart is torn between Alex's apparent love for her and the muse who is always around commenting on Alex's every word. Oh, by the way, Alex also has a muse-in-training named Ginger, who not only needs a lot of attention, but keeps distracting Romeo because she likes Romeo. Will Julie choose the imaginary man or the real man? And are imaginary men more helpful and fun? Online preview: https://shop.concordtheatricals.com/content/samples/112984/510.pdf

All the king's women : 5 one act comedies & 3 monologues / by Luigi Jannuzzi

The story of Elvis Presley told through the eyes of 17 Women! Some Enthralled! Some Appalled, ALL OBSESSED! A fast paced series of 5 comedic plays and 3 monologues based on the Life of Elvis Presley. From Tupelo Mississippi where 11 year old Elvis wanted a BB Gun instead of a guitar, to The Steve Allen Show, from President Richard Nixon's office, to Andy Warhol's studio, from Cadillac Salesmen, to Graceland guards, this is a touching, bring-the-family comedy with a heart that captures the effects that fame, generosity & just being a nice guy can bring to others! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_the_King_s_Women/77QPX0FxioQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=All+the+king%27s+women+:+5+one+act+comedies+%26+3+monologues+/+by+Luigi+Jannuzzi&printsec=frontcover

Toussaint Louverture : the story of the only successful slave revolt in history : a play in three acts / by C.L.R. James ; edited and introduced by Christian Høgsbjerg ; with a foreword by Laurent Dubois

In 1934 C. L. R. James, the widely known Trinidadian intellectual, writer, and political activist, wrote the play Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History, which was presumed lost until the rediscovery of a draft copy in 2005. The play's production, performed in 1936 at London's Westminster Theatre with a cast including the American star Paul Robeson, marked the first time black professional actors starred on the British stage in a play written by a black playwright. This edition includes the program, photographs, and reviews from that production, a contextual introduction and editorial notes on the play by Christian Høgsbjerg, and selected essays and letters by James and others. In Toussaint Louverture, James demonstrates the full tragedy and heroism of Louverture by showing how the Haitian revolutionary leader is caught in a dramatic conflict arising from the contradiction between the barbaric realities of New World slavery and the modern ideals of the Enlightenment. In his portrayal of the Haitian Revolution, James aspired to vindicate black accomplishments in the face of racism and to support the struggle for self-government in his native Caribbean. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Toussaint_Louverture/SCAI6lgHuMgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Toussaint+Louverture+:+the+story+of+the+only+successful+slave+revolt+in+history+:+a+play+in+three+acts+/+by+C.L.R.+James+%3B+edited+and+introduced+by+Christian+H%C3%B8gsbjerg+%3B+with+a+foreword+by+Laurent+Dubois&printsec=frontcover

White noise / by Suzan-Lori Parks

Long-time friends and lovers Leo, Misha, Ralph and Dawn are educated, progressive, cosmopolitan and woke. But when a racially motivated incident with the cops leaves Leo shaken, he decides extreme measures must be taken for self-preservation.

The way she spoke / by Isaac Gómez

A haunting and theatrical one-woman play, The Way She Spoke travels from a New York stage to the treacherous streets of Juárez, Mexico, where thousands of women have been murdered in an epidemic of violence that has yet to stop. Written by Isaac Gómez based on his intimate interviews, the play is a raw and riveting exploration of responsibility: one playwright's journey to give voice to a city of women silenced by violence, fear and a world that has turned a deaf ear to their stories.

Waiting for the host : a play for stage or stream in two parts / by Marc Palmieri

In Part One (WAITING FOR THE HOST), while theatres, playgrounds, schools, and churches are shuttered by a modern plague, the rector of a small church on Long Island gathers a handful of parishioners via video conference. His goal is to record a theatrical reading of the story of the Passion for the church website. As exes bicker and technology confuses, this socially distant endeavor quickly becomes chaotic. Still, in the effort, the group finds a strange, painful closeness, and that their comic and clumsy reading has become a kind of desperate prayer. In Part Two (STILL WAITING), the pandemic lockdown is well into its second month. Members of the church find themselves bitten by the "acting bug." With the help of a "professional director" from Manhattan, they hope to launch a community theatre at the church. To their surprise, the bishop and church leadership found their Passion Play objectionable, and their plans are met with resistance. They decide to put on a showcase of their skills, with an "updated" version of medieval Biblical plays, and find they win the support of an unexpected guest. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Waiting_for_the_Host/tIgbEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Waiting+for+the+host+:+a+play+for+stage+or+stream+in+two+parts+/+by+Marc+Palmieri&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

Very special guest star / by Tom Wright

In a desperate attempt to bring some spark back to their all-too-cosy married life, professional millennials Michael and Phil switch a sherry on the couch for a night on the town. Their goal: to get in with Generation Z by trying to get off with one. Enter fit, sexy, confident Quasim. But the 'just for one night' adventure brings shocking revelations as Michael and Phil discover more about the 20-year-old boy in their bed than they ever wanted to know, and their suburban dream is shaken to its core. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Very_Special_Guest_Star/r5BTEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Very+special+guest+star+/+by+Tom+Wright&printsec=frontcover

Skintight / by Joshua Harmon

Reeling from her ex-husband’s engagement to a much younger woman, Jodi Isaac turns to her famous fashion-designer dad for support. Instead, she finds him wrapped up in his West Village townhouse with Trey. Who’s twenty. And not necessarily gay. But probably an adult film star. At least, according to Jodi’s son. Who’s also twenty. And definitely gay. Skintight assays the nature of love, the power of attraction, and the ways in which a superficial culture persists in teaching its children that all that matters is what’s on the inside.

A silent thunder / by Eduardo Iván López

A Okinawan girl teaches an Hispanic American solider a bittersweet lesson about love.

Sex/crime / by Alexis Gregory

In a fractured and divided city, two men, 'A' and 'B', meet to recreate the killings of a famous gay serial killer, for their own pleasure ... and the right price. ‘Sex/Crime’ is a play that explores sex, violence, language, fear, drugs, status, fantasy, desire and queerness.

Roleplay / by Aaron Avidon

Devised by college students, inspired by real situations and written with humor, honesty and daring authenticity, Roleplay provides a window into the pressures facing college students today. The play follows a year in the life of a diverse group of college students and explores student perspectives on love, sex, power and consent. The script includes an appendix with devising exercises, empowering students to add new characters or scenarios to address issues specific to their community. Roleplay offers a powerful new tool for addressing toxicity and sexual violence on college campuses.

Rogues' gallery / by John Patrick Shanley

Ten magnetic characters. Ten bizarre, explosive, and darkly humorous stories. This collection of monologues from the imagination of Pulitzer Prize-winning John Patrick Shanley delves into the allure of bad behavior and the absurdity of being human. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rogues_Gallery/rogbEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rogues%27+gallery+/+by+John+Patrick+Shanley&pg=PA65&printsec=frontcover

Rockets and blue lights / by Winsome Pinnock

On the set of a new film about Victorian artist J.M.W. Turner, young actress Lou is haunted by an unresolved history. Meanwhile, in 1840, Londoners Lucy and Thomas try to come to terms with the meaning of freedom. Moving between London past and present, Winsome Pinnock's astonishing play retells British history through the prism of the slave trade. Fusing fact with fiction, and the powerfully personal with the fiercely political, Rockets and Blue Lights asks who owns our past - and who has the right to tell its stories?

The river bride / by Marisela Treviño Orta

Once upon a time, in a fishing village along the Amazon, there lived two sisters struggling to find their "happily ever after." Helena is dreading her sister Belmira's wedding. The groom, Duarte, should have been hers. And she knows that her sister only wants to escape their sleepy Brazilian town for an exciting new life in the city. But three days before the wedding, fishermen pull a mysterious stranger out of the river - a man with no past who offers both sisters an alluring, possibly dangerous future. Brazilian folklore and lyric storytelling blend into a heartrending tale of true love, regret, transformation, and the struggle to stay true to your family while staying true to yourself.

Your Mother in the Night Sky / by Jen Silverman

Your mother leaves a voicemail, the strangest voicemail you've ever received.

PYG, or The mis-edumacation of Dorian Belle / by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm

Dorian Belle is a big deal. He's a Canadian pop sweetheart, and he's ready to be taken seriously. So his people hire his favorite hip-hop artists -- Black and Alexand, the 'bad boy' rappers of Petty Young Goons -- to help him toughen up his image. They're black, he's white. They're from Chicago, he's from Canada. It's all on reality TV. What could go wrong? Inspired by Shaw's Pygmalion, this scathing comedy is a blistering and entertaining look at cultural and racial appropriation in a fictionalized exchange of ideologies, vernacular, and alleged street cred.

Penny candy : a confection / by Jonathan Norton

penny candy: a confection, which had its acclaimed premiere at the Dallas Theater Center in 2019, follows one family as they seek to balance their responsibilities to their community and to one another. Growing up in a candy house sounds like every kid’s dream. But for 12-year-old Jon-Jon, helping his father run Paw Paw’s Candy Tree out of their run-down one-bedroom apartment isn’t quite a dream come true. As their neighborhood of Pleasant Grove, Dallas sees a surge of violence fueled by epidemic drug use and increasing racial tensions, the business begins to fail and danger looms immediately outside the family's front door. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/penny_candy/HrEjEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Penny+candy+:+a+confection+/+by+Jonathan+Norton&printsec=frontcover

Overflow / by Travis Alabanza

Cornered into a flooding toilet cubicle and determined not to be rescued again, Rosie distracts herself with memories of bathroom encounters. Drunken heart-to-hearts by dirty sinks, friendships forged in front of crowded mirrors, and hiding together from trouble. But with her panic rising and no help on its way, can she keep her head above water? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Overflow/gdMQEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Overflow+/+by+Travis+Alabanza&printsec=frontcover

Our lady of Blundellsands / by Jonathan Harvey

It's no secret that Sylvie is unravelling. Frozen in time in her Blundellsands house, she inhabits a fantasy world that never was. Garnet, her sister, is older and wiser -- and wearier, with her shopping lists and tired love. She's always fanned the flames of Sylvie's fantasies. Because if she didn't ... who knows where they'd both end up? But now the whole family's up in Liverpool for a birthday, and Garnet's got a secret of her own to pass on. There'll be a party ... but it's not going to be pretty. Welcome to a family more messed up than your own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Our_Lady_of_Blundellsands/2AfYDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Our+lady+of+Blundellsands+/+by+Jonathan+Harvey&printsec=frontcover

Broke-ology / by Nathan Louis Jackson

The King family has weathered life’s hardships, surviving with their love for each other intact. William King lives in the house his two sons grew up in. He’s alone, but he maintains his allegiance with their mother in his own way. When the brothers are called home to take care of him, they find themselves strangely at odds. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Broke_ology/0E4No_TscLMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Broke-ology+/+by+Nathan+Louis+Jackson&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

Yellow face / by David Henry Hwang

The lines between truth and fiction blur with hilarious and moving results in David Henry Hwang’s unreliable memoir. Asian-American playwright DHH, fresh off his Tony Award win for M. Butterfly, leads a protest against the casting of Jonathan Pryce as the Eurasian pimp in the original Broadway production of Miss Saigon, condemning the practice as “yellowface.” His position soon comes back to haunt him when he mistakes a Caucasian actor, Marcus G. Dahlman, for mixed-race, and casts him in the lead Asian role of his own Broadway-bound comedy, Face Value. When DHH discovers the truth of Marcus’ ethnicity, he tries to conceal his blunder to protect his reputation as an Asian-American role model, by passing the actor off as a “Siberian Jew.” Meanwhile, DHH’s father, Henry Y. Hwang, an immigrant who loves the American Dream and Frank Sinatra, finds himself ensnared in the same web of late-1990's anti-Chinese paranoia that also leads to the “Donorgate” scandal and the arrest of Los Alamos nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee. As he clings to his old multicultural rhetoric, this new racist witch hunt forces DHH to confront the complex and ever-changing role that “face” plays in American life today. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Yellow_Face/cjkLJ-2IhlYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Yellow+face+/+by+David+Henry+Hwang&printsec=frontcover

As it is in heaven / by Arlene Hutton

A religious community is changed when a non-believer has an ecstatic experience. The 1830's Shaker society of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, is set in ordered ways. Their once dramatic form of worship has by now developed into routine. The arrival of Fanny upsets the harmony; the Sisters suspect her to be a “winter Shaker,” one who suddenly converts when life gets too hard on the farm. Fanny sees angels in the meadow, and soon all the young women are receiving spiritual “gifts” of songs, drawings, ideas and giggles, completely upsetting the community. The leaders question Fanny’s intentions and honesty: Is this a resurgence of the original Shaker celebration or something manufactured by Fanny so that she can remain with the Shakers? Eldress Hannah is jealous that she, the most devout of Shakers, has not been privileged to see the visions. But only the ones who question need visual proof. Whether they were heavenly or earthly, the angels were there. “Hands to Work, Hearts to God” is their motto, and in each scene the Sisters are always at tasks. The set is as simple as the Shakers: benches, baskets and laundry. Hymns sung a cappella punctuate the scenes of the play, which ends with a joyful explosion of Shaker singing and ecstatic dance. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/As_it_is_in_Heaven/11dw0HSbCbEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=As+it+is+in+heaven+/+by+Arlene+Hutton&printsec=frontcover

See Rock City / by Arlene Hutton

Picking up a year after the ending of Arlene Hutton’s critically acclaimed Last Train to Nibroc, this tender and funny sequel follows May and Raleigh through the end of World War II and introduces the characters of their two mothers-in-law. A medical condition keeps Raleigh from military service, and he is forced to sit idly on the porch, watching the cars drive by, as May supports them both as a high-school principal. Faced with daily rejection letters for his writing, constant criticism from his mother and taunts of cowardice from townspeople, Raleigh fights to find meaning in his new life. When tragedy strikes the family and May loses her job to returning soldiers, she discovers she must make an unimaginable sacrifice to save her relationship with Raleigh. This tender portrayal of married life, set against the backdrop of World War II, shows the best of the human spirit and its ability to overcome any and all obstacles. The second play of a trilogy, and the recipient of the MacLean Foundation’s “In the Spirit of America” Award, SEE ROCK CITY stands alone as a very funny, touching and universal portrayal of a young couple very much in love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/See_Rock_City/-IhsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=See+Rock+City+/+by+Arlene+Hutton&printsec=frontcover

Gulf View Drive / by Arlene Hutton

GULF VIEW DRIVE is the third play in Arlene Hutton’s Nibroc Trilogy—the trio of Hutton’s plays that began with Last Train to Nibroc (1999) and continued with See Rock City (2005). In the first two plays, a young pair of Kentuckians named May and Raleigh meet, fall in love, marry and try to reconcile marital expectations and their opinionated mothers-in-law. In GULF VIEW DRIVE, the time frame has moved from World War II to 1953, and May and Raleigh have moved to Florida, where the crush of dreams, families and the turbulence of events just outside their door threaten their comfortable life. Their dream house shrinks as relatives descend, further testing the couple’s love in this glimpse of life in the 1950s, as they make unconventional decisions in a changing world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gulf_View_Drive/-7JhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gulf+View+Drive+:+a+sequel+to+Last+train+to+Nibroc+and+See+Rock+City+/+by+Arlene+Hutton&printsec=frontcover

Last train to Nibroc / by Arlene Hutton

In December 1940, an east-bound cross-country train carries the bodies of the great American writers Nathanael West and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also on board is May, who shares her seat with a charming young flyer, Raleigh. Religious and bookish, May plans to be a missionary. Raleigh has been given a medical discharge and, inspired by West and Fitzgerald, is heading to New York to be a writer. Raleigh and May discover they are from neighboring Appalachian towns, and he decides to change trains for Kentucky, promising to take May to the next Nibroc Festival. Scene Two finds May and Raleigh at the festival, but a year and half later. Unfit for war, and needing to support his parents, Raleigh has been working in a Detroit factory. May is teaching school and dating an itinerant preacher. When Raleigh confronts her, May admits her prejudices against his family. It is not until the following spring as they sit on May’s front porch, watching a lumberyard fire in the distance, that the two are finally able to resolve their differences and discover the depth of their feelings. May accepts Raleigh’s sudden proposal to elope, as the sky grows red like a sunrise. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Last_Train_to_Nibroc/WjnX4bgvZL4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Last+train+to+Nibroc+/+by+Arlene+Hutton&printsec=frontcover

Yemaya's belly / by Quiara Alegría Hudes

A Cuban boy is born into a humble farming family, but after his first taste of cold Coca-Cola, he dreams of a world beyond his family’s meager acre. Naively yearning to meet the “President of America,” the play follows his epic journey into manhood and materialism, from farm, to city, to a raft sailing to the New World. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Yemaya_s_Belly/6YvC6bFsTBcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Yemaya%27s+belly+/&pg=PA9&printsec=frontcover

Elliot, a soldier's fugue / by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Tracing the legacy of war through three generations of a Puerto Rican family, the play focuses on nineteen-year-old Elliot, a recently anointed hometown hero who returns from Iraq with a leg injury and a difficult question: Will he go back to war a second time? While on leave, Elliot learns the stories of his father and grandfather who served in Korea and Vietnam before him. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Elliot_a_Soldier_s_Fugue/ZY-RsVgE9D8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Elliot,+a+soldier%27s+fugue+/+by+Quiara+Alegri%CC%81a+Hudes&printsec=frontcover

26 miles / by Quiara Alegría Hudes

The custody battle left them estranged for eight years. The road trip destination is two thousand miles across the country. The mother’s skin is brown, the teenage daughter’s, white. So what if reality’s nipping at their heels? This reunited pair runs fast and furious from the secrets in their lives, hunting valuable antiques, chasing arctic explorers, and getting lost in Wyoming’s wilderness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/26_Miles/hdySm8gcId0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=26+miles+/+by+Quiara+Alegr%C3%ADa+Hudes&printsec=frontcover

Shrinking violets & towering tiger lilies : a bouquet of female delights : seven brief plays about women in distress / by Tina Howe

To go through life as a woman is to be in distress most of the time, so these short plays alight on situations that are inherently distressing -- doctor visits, photo shoots, looking for the right dress and navigating around swimming pools. Since we're blessed with uncanny reserves of strength and imagination, we tend to emerge triumphant. One way or another these are comedies about transformation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shrinking_Violets_Towering_Tiger_Lilies/foJotsknT14C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Shrinking+violets+%26+towering+tiger+lilies+:+a+bouquet+of+female+delights+:+seven+brief+plays+about+women+in+distress+/+by+Tina+Howe&printsec=frontcover

Red herring / by Michael Hollinger

Three love stories, a murder mystery, and a nuclear espionage plot converge in this noir comedy about marriage and other explosive devices. It’s 1952: America’s on the verge of the H-bomb, Dwight Eisenhower’s on the campaign trail, and I Love Lucy’s on Monday nights. Meanwhile, Senator Joe McCarthy’s daughter just got engaged to a Soviet spy, and Boston detective Maggie Pelletier has to find out who dumped the dead guy in the Harbor—or else lose out on a honeymoon in Havana. A blunt-nosed, sharp-eyed look at love and tying (and untying, and retying) the knot. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Red_Herring/rlTY9KGAWDwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Red+herring+/+by+Michael+Hollinger&printsec=frontcover

An empty plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf / by Michael Hollinger

No menu necessary at the world’s greatest restaurant, the Café du Grand Boeuf in Paris. Why? “Because we have everything,” headwaiter Claude admonishes waiter-in-training Antoine. On this hot July night in 1961, the two join waitress Mimi and chef Gaston in awaiting the imminent arrival of Victor, the Café's owner and sole patron. But when “Monsieur” returns from the bullfights in Madrid, disheveled and morose, his wish is simple: to die of starvation at his own table. The frantic staff, whose very lives depend on Victor’s appetite, try all means to change his mind, but to no avail. Finally, they make a last-ditch plea: Out of respect for their life’s work, will he let them prepare one final meal—provided they leave it in the kitchen? Instead they will describe it, course by course, over a series of empty platters. Victor reluctantly consents, and the “feast of adjectives and adverbs” begins…A “comic tragedy in seven courses” celebrating the joys of cooking, sex, bullfighting and the collected works of Ernest Hemingway. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Empty_Plate_in_the_Caf%C3%A9_Du_Grand_Boe/-wSIXwZu8m4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=An+empty+plate+in+the+Caf%C3%A9+du+Grand+Boeuf+/+by+Michael+Hollinger&printsec=frontcover

Tooth and claw / by Michael Hollinger

Reptile specialist Schuyler Baines—"the Savior of Giant Tortoises” and the first female director of the Charles Darwin Research Station—arrives in Galápagos full of ideas and idealism. But when she becomes aware of an exploding black market that threatens to destroy the islands’ fragile ecosystem, Schuyler shuts the industry down, sparking a deadly, survival-of-the-fittest conflict with native fishermen. A bold, theatrical exploration of evolution, extinction, and the ever-present nature of Darwin’s “struggle for life." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tooth_and_Claw/DvkyF0dbJf0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tooth+and+claw+/+by+Michael+Hollinger&pg=PT6&printsec=frontcover

Revelers / by Beth Henley

The play takes place in a cottage on the shore of Lake Michigan where devotees of Dash Grey, the charismatic artistic director of Chicago’s Red Lantern Theatre, have come to commemorate his death. Jasper Dale (Dash’s ex-lover) is in charge of the elaborate proceedings. In a desperate attempt to save the struggling Red Lantern Theatre, Jasper taints the event by including Kate Spoon, a wealthy, talent-free matron, who insists on being regarded as an artist. As the play proceeds, Caroleena Lark, a psychic orphan, who has sacrificed her life for the theatre discovers that Kate Spoon is going to have her fired. Other complications occur when Eddy Canary, a middle-aged homeless playwright, shows up hoping to resurrect his love affair with Victor Lloyd. Victor, or Vickie, is a beautiful, modestly gifted protégé of the deceased who has become a success in Hollywood. She arrives in a state of nerves having nearly been blown to bits in a high-tech science-fiction adventure film written and directed by the young Hollywood genius Timothy Harold. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Revelers/MBXBjsRCdXIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Revelers+/+by+Beth+Henley&printsec=frontcover

Ridiculous fraud / by Beth Henley

A disastrous New Orleans wedding rehearsal dinner is the latest in a series of unfortunate events that befall the Clay brothers in Beth Henley's boisterous and bittersweet new comedy. Daddy's in jail for fraud, Uncle Baites has taken up with a panhandler, and Lafcad's just called off his own wedding. What family doesn't have its ups and downs? Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Crimes of the Heart, Henley returns to her Southern roots with a vengeance in RIDICULOUS FRAUD, an equally outsized and even more achingly poignant saga of three grown brothers trying to outrun a family history that tends to the worst-case scenario. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ridiculous_Fraud/YurSTjWnYnMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ridiculous+fraud+/+by+Beth+Henley&pg=PT3&printsec=frontcover

Rune Arlidge / by Michael Healey

Three generations of women—the eldest incapable of keeping stories to herself, her two daughters on the verge of making life-altering decisions, a granddaughter wise beyond her years. Through years of summers, these women attempt to relate to one another, but often prove that blood isn't all that ties them together.

Plan B / by Michael Healey

Plan B is a full-length comedy by Michael Healey. The issue of Québecois separatism in Canada is no laughing matter. Unless we're talking about Michael Healey's award-winning play Plan B, that is. The personal lives of the four negotiators in this political satire come to the fore as they attempt to negotiate Québec's separation from Canada. Private betrayals conflate with political betrayals; the action swings between bedroom and boardroom. Plan B poses the question: what if Québec voted in favour of separation? Tensions between Québec and English Canada (and negotiations for the disbanding of their alliance) fuel this lauded satire of our national identity crisis. It follows four politicians – Senator Michael and assistant Colin representing Canada, Premier Mathieu and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Lise representing Québec – as they meet in Hull to discuss Québec's new national status. High-level meetings to negotiate the departure of Québec from Canada are charged by personal impulses toward seduction and betrayal, union and division, intimacy and distance. Dry subject matter? Perhaps, but Michael Healey, a veteran thespian, presents it in a witty, irreverent and engaging way, meaning that you don't have to be a politico to enjoy by Plan B's intergovernmental banter. Plus, anyone who watched House of Cards or Veep knows that really, political entertainment is anything but dull.

Shady business : a comedy / by Robin Hawdon

Mandy and Tania are sexy but struggling nightclub dancers living in the heart of London's Soho nightlife, and they face a crisis. Will possessive club owner Big Mack find out about Mandy's affair with Gerry and Tania's affair with Terry, and set his sidekicks on them? Will he discover that he is owed money that was borrowed from his club's till, then gambled and lost on the club's roulette table, and then stolen back from the club's takings? Will Gerry be discovered hiding in Mandy's bathroom? Will Terry be rumbled delivering the dinner? Will Terry reveal that he is really Gerry and that Gerry is Terry? Will anyone figure out what the hell is going on, and will they all survive until the curtain comes down? The action doesn't slow down from beginning to end in this madcap farce which has already played in many theatres in Europe and America. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shady_Business/vxQGqaeVZroC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Shady+business+:+a+comedy+/+by+Robin+Hawdon&printsec=frontcover

A night in Provence : a comedy / by Robin Hawdon

Ah, the French Riviera! Where the well-to-do rent luxury villas for exorbitant sums in order to get their annual fix of sun, sea, and haute cuisine. However, imagine the crisis if one such sumptuous place was double booked. Worse--imagine it triple booked! By a French couple, an English couple, and heaven forbid, an Irish/American couple. Marriages have foundered on less. Add the ingredients of copious champagne, heightened sexual impulses, and ingrained cultural differences, and the European Union could well implode! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Night_in_Provence/YPNJ-y5R6qAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+night+in+Provence+:+a+comedy+/+by+Robin+Hawdon&printsec=frontcover

To fool the eye : an adaptation of Jean Anouilh's Léocadia / by Jeffrey Hatcher

In this new adaptation of Jean Anouilh’s 1940 romantic comedy, Amanda, a poor hat maker from Paris, is invited to a chateau by an eccentric duchess to spend a weekend trying to make her suicidal nephew, Albert, forget about the death of his great love, the divine Leocadia. Amanda, it turns out, is a dead ringer for the dead woman, and if she can convince Albert that she is his lost love for just three days, then Albert just might not kill himself. A gossamer tale of love and trickery, in which a fake can give more pleasure than the real thing. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/To_Fool_the_Eye/HJaQyCGyFNsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=To+fool+the+eye+:+an+adaptation+of+Jean+Anouilh%27s+Le%CC%81ocadia+/+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher&printsec=frontcover

Murder by Poe / by Jeffrey Hatcher

A dark and dreadful night. A woman in white lost within a wood. And the only shelter is a house full of murderers. Mixing funhouse tricks, Grand Guignol and a deadly game of cat and mouse, MURDER BY POE is a theatrical reimagining of some of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous tales of terror—"The Black Cat,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “William Wilson,” “The Purloined Letter,” “The Mystery of Marie Roget” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” As each haunted figure tells a story of crime and mayhem, the woman must solve the puzzle of the house and the riddle of the man who ushers her into its mysteries.

Compleat female stage beauty / by Jeffrey Hatcher

In 1661 the most famous portrayer of female roles on the London stage was a performer named “Kynaston.” Like every other player permitted to enact such roles, Kynaston was a man. A celebrity artist shining bright at the crest of the Restoration, Ned or Mr. K, as he’s called, is applauded onstage and off for his interpretations of Shakespeare’s tragic ladies: Ophelia, Cleopatra, especially his Desdemona and his famous “death scene.” He’s the toast of the town and the very secret “mistress” of the powerful Duke of Buckingham. But when an unknown named Margaret Hughes plays Desdemona one night at an illegal theater, instead of stopping the show, the ever-game King Charles II changes the law to allow women to act. By the stroke of a pen, Kynaston’s world is turned upside-down. He loses his cachet, his livelihood, his lover and his sense of self. And as such women as the king’s own courtesan, Nell Gwynn, and Kynaston’s former dresser, Maria, become stars, his own light disappears until fate and his desire for revenge give him a chance to take the stage again. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Compleat_Female_Stage_Beauty/4ExnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Compleat+female+stage+beauty+/+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

A Picasso / by Jeffrey Hatcher

Paris, 1941. Pablo Picasso has been summoned from his favorite café by German occupation forces to a storage vault across the city for an interrogation. His questioner: Miss Fischer, a beautiful “cultural attaché” from Berlin. Her assignment: discover which of the three Picasso paintings recently “confiscated” by the Nazis from their Jewish owners are real. The ministry of propaganda has planned an exhibit, and only the great artist himself can attest to their authenticity. At first Picasso agrees to her request, confirming that the three pictures are indeed his own. But when Miss Fischer reveals that the “exhibition” is actually a burning of “degenerate art,” Picasso becomes desperate to save his work and engages in a pressurized negotiation with the equally determined and wily Miss Fischer to hold on to two of his precious “children” while consigning the third to the flames. A cat-and-mouse drama about art, politics, sex and truth, with a twist at its climax.

Work song : three views of Frank Lloyd Wright / by Jeffrey Hatcher and Eric Simonson

In this thrilling and imaginative new play about the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, audiences get an in-depth look at the master builder at three distinct phases of his life and career: in Act One, as a young man in a hurry to change the way people live and finding inspiration in Mamah Cheney, a unconventional (married) woman who becomes the great love of his life and leads to his greatest tragedy; in Act Two, as a doubting genius at the crossroads, fending off creditors and reeling in clients before he salvages himself by coming up with one of his greatest creations, the house called “Fallingwater"; and in Act Three, as an old showman at twilight, visiting a house from his past and taking stock of his sacrifices and successes in his quest to build the perfect dwelling. Each part of the play has its own style: a multi-scene “epic” style covering three decades for part one; a compressed “country weekend” comedy à la Chekhov for part two; and a single setting for part three’s final encounter between Wright and a young couple living in one of his earliest houses built half a century before, played out in real time. The play also allows for a development in the play’s design that mirrors the architectural ideas of Wright himself. WORK SONG is about Wright’s ideas, his passions, his love affairs and his tragedies. It’s a play about a man who wanted to create the perfect home for the American family but could never build one for himself.

Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie / by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE is the autobiographical story of Mitch Albom, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch happens to catch Morrie’s appearance on a television news program and learns that his old professor is battling Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Mitch is reunited with Morrie, and what starts as a simple visit turns into a weekly pilgrimage and a last class in the meaning of life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mitch_Albom_s_Tuesdays_with_Morrie/oyD1du2dQhAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mitch+Albom%27s+Tuesdays+with+Morrie+/+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher+and+Mitch+Albom&printsec=frontcover

Murderers / by Jeffrey Hatcher

THE STORIES: THE MAN WHO MARRIED HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW is Gerald Halverson’s confession of an elicit love and a plan to shelter five million dollars from the IRS. When Gerald’s mother-in-law, Spiffy, finds out she hasn’t long to live, Gerald concocts a plan to keep her estate “in the family.” But when they move down to Florida to wait out Spiffy’s death sentence at Riddle Key, old friends and new faces threaten to spoil the scheme, and a surprise twist throws a wrench into Gerald’s plans unless he can pull off the perfect murder. MARGARET FAYDLE COMES TO TOWN is about Lucy Stickler, the long-suffering wife of Bob, a septuagenarian who used to have a roving eye. Bob’s been on his best behavior for the past twenty years, but when Margaret Faydle, the still-glamorous femme fatale who stole him from Lucy when they were young, takes up residence at Riddle Key, Bob goes back into action. So Lucy constructs a diabolical plan to get rid of her cheating spouse and his AARP inamorata once and for all. MATCH WITS WITH MINKA LUPINO stars Minka Lupino, Riddle Key’s ever-sunny, ever-helpful receptionist. Minka is a fan of crime novels who becomes an avenging angel on a mission to rid the retirement community of its predators: the conniving heirs, the sticky-fingered health-care workers, the salesmen and contractors and Bible thumpers who prey upon helpless senior citizens. But when Minka comes face to face with her idol, a famous mystery novelist who has retired to Riddle Key, she knows she’s met her match. In the end, only one of them will survive. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Murderers/SBPiKHyFStAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Murderers+/+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher&pg=PT6&printsec=frontcover

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the novella Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A new and shocking version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of depravity, lust, love and horror. On the fog-bound streets of Victorian-era London, Henry Jekyll's experiments with exotic "powders and tinctures" have brought forth his other self--Edward Hyde, a sensualist and villain free to commit the sins Jekyll is too civilized to comprehend. When Hyde meets a woman who stirs his interest, Jekyll fears for her life and decides to end his experiments. But Hyde has other ideas, and so the two sides battle each other in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to determine who shall be the master and who his slave. With multiple Hydes portrayed by members of the cast. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde/cXDwWmH6R7EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dr.+Jekyll+and+Mr.+Hyde+/+adapted+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher+from+the+novella+Strange+case+of+Dr.+Jekyll+and+Mr.+Hyde+by+Robert+Louis+Stevenson&pg=PT4&printsec=frontcover

Ten chimneys / by Jeffrey Hatcher

Summer, 1938. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, the two most revered stars of the Broadway stage, have decided to perform Anton Chekhov's The Sea Gull. But first they must retreat to "investigate" the play at Ten Chimneys, their sprawling Wisconsin estate, surrounded by actors, family and hangers-on. When a young actress named Uta Hagen arrives, a romantic triangle begins to mirror the events in Chekhov's play about passion and art. The result is a funny, poignant and revealing look at private lives that never really leave the stage Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ten_Chimneys/yx_Sk8i2yv8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ten+chimneys+/+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher&printsec=frontcover

Out in the open / by Jonathan Harvey

Tony's ready to live-it large and love again. But his efforts to step back on to the scene are hampered by a secret his friends, Monica and Kevin, should have told him long ago. This play is a funny and caustic exploration of love.

Jonathan Harvey : plays 2 / by Jonathan Harvey

A new collection of the latest plays from the writer of Beautiful Thing and TV's Gimme, Gimme, Gimme GUIDING STAR: "Dry, funny, truthful, the writing buzzes with graceful perception and Scouse sarcasm...one of the best new plays of the year" Daily Mail HUSHABYE MOUNTAIN: "You would have to have a heart hewn from granite not to respond warmly to Jonathan Harvey's latest play" Guardian OUT IN THE OPEN: "A touching exploration of grief, the secrets and lies that evolve in friendships and the difficulty of telling the truth to those we love" The Times

The imaginators : a play / by Dwayne Hartford

The Imaginators is the story of three children and the power of imagination. Anne and Tim have just moved to a new town. Anne refuses to play with her little brother, Tim, fearing that kids at her new school will see them and make fun of her. Then they meet the girl from next door, the fabulous Nina Frances Elizabeth Vanderhelden. Using moving boxes and other objects found in the garage, Nina takes an eager Tim and a reluctant Anne on a great make-believe adventure. The three battle the child-eating monster, the Mooklecratz. The children discover their own strengths, the value of cooperation, and the unlimited power of their imaginations as they figure out how to defeat the beast. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Imaginators/U9T6k-2k3CgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+imaginators+:+a+play+/+by+Dwayne+Hartford&pg=PA7&printsec=frontcover

Eric and Elliot : a play / by Dwayne Hartford

Eric and Elliot is the story of a family's journey toward healing following a devastating suicide. The title characters are brothers who must find help for their severely depressed mother. Elliot is a loving son deeply concerned about his mother's emotional state. Eric, the younger of the two, is in denial about the situation. As they walk to the family doctor's office the brothers lose their way. They find themselves in a strange new place where they encounter a woman obsessed with the past, a man focused on the future, and another woman trying desperately to ignore both. These three characters all insist that the boys must follow them in order to find their way again. Eventually, Elliot convinces Eric that only through facing their past can they truly find their way. In the dramatic final scene, Elliot gently helps Eric remember the tragic day last summer—the day when Elliot killed himself. Because the audience is not aware of Elliot's final end, they get to know him as a whole person before they see him as a suicide victim. It is only after the play that the audience will recognize the clues given throughout. Teen depression is treatable. The play educates the audience about the warning signs of depression and the importance of seeking help. Told with gentle humor and fantasy, Eric and Elliot is a story of hope. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Eric_and_Elliot/HhdFWtTDR2EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Eric+and+Elliot+:+a+play+/+by+Dwayne+Hartford&pg=PA6&printsec=frontcover

Amazons and their men / by Jordan Harrison

A darkly comedic look at the role of artists during wartime, Amazons and Their Men is inspired by the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Amazons_and_Their_Men/ocMIKrTcGOEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Amazons+and+their+men+/+by+Jordan+Harrison&printsec=frontcover

Aphrodisiac / by Rob Handel

Congressman Dan Ferris is being questioned about the disappearance of intern Ilona Waxman. Sound awkward? Imagine if he was your dad... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Aphrodisiac/oN6HnOTD8QcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Aphrodisiac+/+by+Rob+Handel&printsec=frontcover

Millicent Scowlworthy / by Rob Handel

A girl found murdered in the cellar on Christmas morning. A massacre at the high school. The grownups of the community want to forget, but the children have begun to meet in the middle of the night to remember. Nine teenagers gather at an overgrown memorial and reenact the story. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Millicent_Scowlworthy/b24DWfj8J44C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Millicent+Scowlworthy+/&printsec=frontcover

Spoonface Steinberg / by Lee Hall

Monologue by an autistic eight-year-old girl dying of cancer.

Plays 1 / by Lee Hall

This is the first collection of plays by the writer of Billy Elliott. It features Cooking With Elvis; Spoonface Steinberg; Bollocks; Genie; Two's Company; Wittgenstein on Tyne; Children of the Rain, Child of the Snow; and I Love You, Jimmy Spud.

Plays, 2 (adaptations) / by Lee Hall

A servant to two masters / by Carlo Goldoni -- The good hope / by Herman Heijermans -- Mr Puntila and his man Matti / by Bertolt Brecht -- Mother Courage and her children / by Bertolt Brecht.

The Pitmen painters / by Lee Hall ; inspired by a book by William Feaver

The pitmen painters is based on the triumphant true story of a group of British miners who discover a new way to express themselves and unexpectedly become art-world sensations. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Pitmen_Painters/tn-ZnujLfUEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Pitmen+painters+/+by+Lee+Hall+%3B+inspired+by+a+book+by+William+Feaver&printsec=frontcover

Hoodoo love / by Katori Hall

A tale of love, magic, jealousy and secrets. Toulou escapes from the Mississippi cotton fields in the 1930s to pursue her dream of singing the blues in Memphis. When she meets a rambling blues man, the notorious Ace of Spades, her dreams are realized in a way she could never have imagined

The mountaintop / by Katori Hall

A gripping reimagination of events the night before the assassination of the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 3, 1968, after delivering one of his most memorable speeches, an exhausted Dr. King retires to his room at the Lorraine Motel while a storm rages outside. When a mysterious stranger arrives with some surprising news, King is forced to confront his destiny and his legacy to his people. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Mountaintop/w77YBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+mountaintop+/+Katori+Hall&printsec=frontcover

Neighborhood 3 : requisition of doom / by Jennifer Haley

In a suburban subdivision with identical houses, parents find their teenagers addicted to an online horror video game. The game setting? A subdivision with identical houses. The goal? Smash through an army of zombies to escape the neighborhood for good. But as the line blurs between virtual and reality, both parents and players realize that fear has a life of its own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Neighborhood_3/tazqwdGGWwgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Neighborhood+3+:+requisition+of+doom+/+by+Jennifer+Haley&printsec=frontcover

Kitty kitty kitty / by Noah Haidle

Kitty, a suicidal housecat, finds his true love in his clone, the first successfully cloned housecat, Kitty Kitty. They give each other hand jobs, but Kitty Kitty doesn’t love Kitty back. So Kitty decides to make another clone of himself, the title character Kitty Kitty Kitty. But something goes wrong in the cloning process, and he makes more copies of himself, each one more retarded than the last. The final clone, Kitty Kitty Kitty Kitty Kitty, communicates in nothing but grunts and yells and drool. KITTY KITTY KITTY is a comedy about love, unrequited love, regret and hand jobs. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kitty_Kitty_Kitty/wLdhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kitty+kitty+kitty+/+by+Noah+Haidle&printsec=frontcover

Rag and bone / by Noah Haidle

Two brothers, Jeff and George, run The Ladder Store, which is actually a front for their business in black-market hearts. In the world of RAG AND BONE, hearts are bought and sold for people who can’t feel enough. The play begins when George steals the heart of a poet. The play then follows the poet with no heart; a hooker with a heart of gold; T-Bone, her pimp who feels too damn much; and the Millionaire, who eventually receives the poet’s heart and sees a whole different world. Jeff and George recently lost their mother, but they put her heart into George’s body, and all of a sudden he’s wearing a dress, drinking martinis and cooking pot roasts. This is a heartfelt (excuse the pun) comedy about the limits of feeling, and the consequences of either feeling nothing or too damn much. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rag_and_Bone/7R9nBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rag+and+bone+/+by+Noah+Haidle&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

Mr. Marmalade / by Noah Haidle

Lucy is a four-year-old girl with a very active imagination. Unfortunately, her imaginary friend Mr. Marmalade doesn’t have much time for her. Not to mention he beats up his personal assistant, has a cocaine addiction, and a penchant for pornography and very long dildos. Larry, her only real friend, is the youngest suicide attempt in the history of New Jersey. MR. MARMALADE is a savage black comedy about what it takes to grow up in these difficult times. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mr_Marmalade/uQRsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mr.+Marmalade+/+by+Noah+Haidle&printsec=frontcover

Persephone, or, Slow time / by Noah Haidle

Meet Demeter, an exquisite statue of the Greek goddess, as she's being created during the Italian Renaissance. Those who admire her see only stone and fortitude, but her thoughts and desires are all too real; she pines for her lost daughter's return and for the love of her sculptor, Giuseppe. Giuseppe, however, is too busy lusting after the city's most popular artist's model to notice Demeter's pain. Fast forward five hundred years: Demeter stands in a present-day American city park. She has become a symbol of hope amidst illicit activity and a target for more than just pigeon droppings. Witness to human foibles both hilarious and horrible, Demeter is desperate for someone--anyone--to hear her thoughts. And when her life seems bleakest, redemption comes in the unlikeliest of forms Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Persephone_Or_Slow_Time/8xoa7g-FpVwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Persephone,+or,+Slow+time+/+by+Noah+Haidle&pg=PA7&printsec=frontcover

Vigils / by Noah Haidle

Two years ago the Widow's husband, a fireman, died in a burning building trying to save a baby. Instead of grieving, she keeps his Soul in a box in her bedroom and takes it out for conversation and the occasional hug. She and the Wooer, a friend of her husband, go on a date--one that he has been looking forward to for years. While they are out, the Soul and the Body play out moments from their life with the Widow, and their death. Finally, the Widow decides to let her husband go; she puts the body in the ground where it belongs and watches the Soul ascend to heaven. Instead of accepting new love from the Wooer, she walks into a field of marigolds, the flowers that have come to symbolize both her husband's love and his imperfection. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vigils/il5-WHxrjAEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Vigils+/+by+Noah+Haidle&printsec=frontcover

Saturn returns / by Noah Haidle

A retired radiologist living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Gustin Novak is haunted by memories of his life and the women he loved at 28, 58 and now 88-- ages marked by the return of the planet Saturn, an astrological phenomenon of intense change that occurs every thirty years. As the play opens, 88-year-old Gustin is so lonely that he has resorted to paying people for companionship. He's tried a plumber, a computer technician, an au pair, an escort, and finally Suzanne, an assisted-living professional who looks uncannily like his daughter and who grudgingly agrees to make him breakfast and keep him company. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Saturn_Returns/HRMCBnaum98C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Saturn+returns+/+by+Noah+Haidle&printsec=frontcover

What is the cause of thunder? / by Noah Haidle

After twenty-seven years on the same soap opera, Ada is starting to confuse her art and her life. But after so many years of acting, her art is her life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/What_is_the_Cause_of_Thunder/Nlx9BHAtgGwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=What+is+the+cause+of+thunder%3F+/+by+Noah+Haidle&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover

Buffalo gal / by A R Gurney

The comedy tells the story of Amanda, a successful television actress who, fallen on hard times, returns to the stage in her hometown of Buffalo, hoping to recharge her career and connect with her roots. Art imitates life as she prepares the role of Madame Ranyevskaia, a character from Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard who returns home after many years absence.

Eclipsed / by Danai Gurira

Their lives set on a nightmarish detour by civil war, the captive wives of a Liberian rebel officer form a hardscrabble sisterhood. With the arrival of a new girl who can read--and the return of an old one who can kill--their possibilities are quickly transformed. Drawing on reserves of wit and compassion, these defiant survivors ask: When the fog of battle lifts, could a different destiny emerge? Eclipsed offers a chilling, humanizing and surprisingly funny portrait of transformation and renewal. With wit, compassion, and defiance, this gripping play unearths the wreckage of war and celebrates the women who navigate and survive the most hostile of circumstances. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Eclipsed/u-JkCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Eclipsed+/+by+Danai+Gurira&printsec=frontcover

Inside out / by Tanika Gupta

Teenage sisters Affy and Di look out for each other. Dying to escape their violent life, they move from dreams to betrayal - with devastating results. Inside Out, a Clean Break commission, is the provocative and funny story of how the sisters fight for a better future. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Inside_Out/ItP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Inside+out+/+by+Tanika+Gupta&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Hobson's choice / by Harold Brighouse ; in a new adaptation by Tanika Gupta

Widower Hari Hobson has a successful dress-making business and three daughters. The oldest, Durga, is the brains behind the operation. 'Can't we choose husbands for ourselves?' I've been telling you for the last five minutes, you're not even fit to choose dresses for yourselves.' But when Hobson says that Durga is too valuable to lose and must give up all idea of getting married, she takes her fate into her own hands and starts her own rival shop nearby. Tanika Gupta's new version of this classic 1916 comedy sets the play in a modern day Salford Asian community, giving a new generation a chance to enjoy the play's sharp wit and charm. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hobson_s_Choice/QNP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hobson%27s+choice+/+Harold+Brighouse+%3B+in+a+new+adaptation+by+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

Fragile land / by Tanika Gupta

The first performance in The Space, Tanika Gupta's Fragile Land is about what nationhood means for second generation immigrants: revealing the complexities of life for a new generation of young Londoners. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fragile_Land/ltL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fragile+land+/+by+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

William Wycherley's The country wife : a new version / by Tanika Gupta

William Wycherley's most famous classic, The Country Wife, has been adapted by Tanika Gupta, one of the country's leading playwrights. This contemporary farce tells the story of twenty-something friends and rivals on their journey through love and liberation." "On his return to London, Hardeep begins broadcasting his newly-invented celibate status, in a bid to attract women keen to re-ignite his passion. With his deception more than successful his endeavours turn to naive country wife Preethi, virgin bride of his rival Alok, in a bid to settle unfinished business between the two former friends." "The Country Wife is a fast-paced comedy laced with deception, disguise and lustful behaviour brought about by double standards, adultery and promiscuous living.

Gladiator games / dramatised by Tanika Gupta

On the eve of his release from Feltham Young Offenders Institution, Zahid Mubarek, a young British Asian man, was attacked by his racist cellmate. One week later he died of his injuries. How was this allowed to happen? This new play traces the Mubarek family's pursuit of the truth. Based on evidence given to the Zahid Mubarek Inquiry and interviews taken, one of Britain's leading writers examines the incompetence of the official response to Zahid Mubarek's death. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gladiator_Games/CNP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gladiator+games+/+dramatised+by+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

Historical plays / by Tanika Gupta

Four plays that explore the complex relationship between England and India over more than a century, weaving together personal and political narratives, by the English playwright of Bengali Indian descent. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tanika_Gupta_Historical_Plays/TaH8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Historical+plays+/+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

Red Dust Road / by Tanika Gupta

Growing up in 70s Scotland as the adopted mixed raced child of a Communist couple, young Jackie blossoms into an outspoken, talented poet. Then she decides to find her birth parents… Based on the soul-searching memoir by Scots Makar Jackie Kay, Red Dust Road takes you on a journey from Nairn to Lagos, full of heart, humour and deep emotions. Discover how we are shaped by the folk songs we hear as much as by the cells in our bodies. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Red_Dust_Road/36L8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Red+Dust+Road+/+by+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

Sanctuary / by Tanika Gupta

A London churchyard becomes a sanctuary for the gardener Kabir. When a photograph of an African church appears in this little Eden, a complex drama of morality and conscience unfolds. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sanctuary/sNL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sanctuary+/+by+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

Wah! wah! girls : the musical : Britain meets Bollywood / by Tanika Gupta

Inspired by the world of the Mujra dancers, who for generations have entertained the rich and powerful with a spellbinding mix of dance and song, Wah! Wah! Girls tells a passionate and playful story of love against the odds. Set against the vibrant background of the East End in 2012, these unstoppable girls uncover deep secrets and create unexpected dreams. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wah_Wah_Girls/f4oHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wah!+wah!+girls+:+the+musical+:+Britain+meets+Bollywood+/+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

What Fatima did-- / by Atiha Sen Gupta

Fatima Merchant is feisty and strong-willed. At 17, she drinks, smokes and parties. On the eve of her 18th birthday, without word or warning or explanation, she adopts the hijab. Suddenly, to her friends and family she is no longer the Fatima they thought they knew. What Fatima Did... is a funny and provocative exploration of attitudes to identity, freedom and multiculturalism in contemporary London. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/What_Fatima_Did/1tL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=What+Fatima+did--+/+Atiha+Sen+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

Emilie : la marquise du Châtelet defends her life tonight / by Lauren Gunderson

Tonight, 18th century scientific genius Emilie du Châtelet is back and determined to answer the question she died with: love or philosophy, head or heart? Emilie defends her life and loves and ends up with both a formula and a legacy that permeates history. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Emilie/wwi4VtFV8JkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Emilie+:+la+marquise+du+Ch%C3%A2telet+defends+her+life+tonight+/+by+Lauren+Gunderson&printsec=frontcover

Lake Hollywood / by John Guare

The first act finds us on the shore of Scroon Lake in New Hampshire in August 1940. Agnes and Andrew, a soap salesman, arrive at Agnes' home which she shares with her sister, Flo. ... The second act leaps forward fifty years to find us in New York City. Agnes and Andrew, now husband and wife, are preparing for a trip to the hospital where Agnes must undergo an operation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lake_Hollywood/J0jrOzxIONwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lake+Hollywood+/+by+John+Guare&pg=PT3&printsec=frontcover

1001 / by Jason Grote

The cuckolded King Shahriyar is marrying a new bride every night and beheading her the next morning. As unrest spreads in the Sultanate, his vizier's daughter Scheherazade hatches a plan: she will offer herself as a bride and seduce the king with stories that leave him hanging on every word. She weaves such tales as "Sinbad the Sailor" and "Aladdin and His Magic Lamp" with stories of Borges, Flaubert, and Alan and Dahna -- a Jewish man and an Arab woman who have fallen in love in millennial New York City. Shahriyar becomes Alan and Scheherazade becomes Dahna as the worlds mingle and inform one another. Modern speech invades the fantasy tales, and swords and genii appear in the 21st Century, in a dance of cultures and people who are forever intertwined. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/One_Thousand_One/pyxy6HdG-cIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1001+/+by+Jason+Grote&printsec=frontcover

S-27 / by Sarah Grochala

Mary is an idealist. She's fighting for a better world and has sacrificed more that most. So when the old regime is destroyed, she is rewarded with a job as a prison photography. But as the enemy pass one by one before her unflinching lens - both strange and familiar faces - can they shake her belief in this world she helped create? Inspired by the work of the photographer Nhem En, who photographed the inmates of the Tuol Sleng prison in Cambodia under the rule of the Khmer Rouge, and by painter Van Nath who painted Pol Pot and was one of the only seven survivors of Tuol Sleng, playwright Sarah Grochala draws on prison records and interviews with both prisoners and Khmer Rouge cadres to create a startling and affecting drama. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/S_27/KNP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=S-27+/+by+Sarah+Grochala&pg=PT4&printsec=frontcover

Steve & Idi / by David Grimm

Steve, a neurotic gay playwright, is suffering some serious writer's block. He refuses to acknowledge that his lover of eight years has dumped him for good, his writing is going nowhere and even his friends are deserting him. Enter the tyrannical, brutally honest and very dead Igandan dictor Idi Amin Dada, with a very strange demand. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Steve_Idi/mf7ZWseODTMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Steve+%26+Idi+/&pg=PA19&printsec=frontcover

The miracle at Naples / by David Grimm

A motley band of traveling commedia players in Renaissance Italy arrives in Naples just in time for the Feast of San Gennaro. The passions of the actors and the locals are ignited when lustful lovers romp through the town piazza seeking pleasure and discovering the many forms of love in this outrageously smart and bawdy comedy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Miracle_at_Naples/KhS6T85qMs0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+miracle+at+Naples+/+by+David+Grimm&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

Chick / by David Grimm

In 1927, a passionate and rebellious young man, A. Everett ("Chick") Austin, was made director of America's oldest public art museum, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. What followed was a career that shook up the city and reinvigorated the arts in America. But what is the cost--both personal and professional--of blazing such a trail? A play in three monologues based on the life and career of "Chick" Austin and his marriage to Helen Goodwin. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chick/YX5jo7IXCAoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Chick+/+by+David+Grimm&printsec=frontcover

The learned ladies of Park Avenue / by David Grimm

A jazz-age screwball comedy riff on Molière’s biting satire of pretense and learning. Betty wants to marry Dicky. Her mother Phyllis, a self-proclaimed intellectual and political activist, has another man in mind—namely, the hack poet and scheming opportunist Upton Gabbitt. Set in 1936 Manhattan against the backdrop of the Great Depression and impending war, this romantic comedy skewers those who wear their so-cial conscience on their sleeve and affirms that love conquers all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Learned_Ladies_of_Park_Avenue/r4q59sQCsrUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+learned+ladies+of+Park+Avenue+/+by+David+Grimm&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover

Plays, 1 / by David Greig

'Europe' is set at a railway station in a town where old and new Europeans weave a tale of love and loss. 'The Architect' charts the rise and fall of Leo Black, an idealistic designer whose visions are now crumbling. The final play tells the stories of an eclectic mix of people.

An ordinary Muslim / by Hammaad Chaudry

Balancing the high expectations of the previous generation, the doctrines of their Muslim community, and the demands of secular Western culture, Azeem Bhatti and his wife Saima struggle to straddle the gap between their Pakistani heritage and their British upbringing.

One stoplight town / by Tracy Wells

One Stoplight Town is a story about people from a town so small that you might drive through without taking a second look. But if you stopped for just a moment, you might see a young boy and girl fall in love, a cantankerous grocery store owner coping with change, a son returning home while a daughter thinks about leaving, a beauty queen and a drum major striking up a friendship, and a handyman taking it all in while he fixes what is broken. These stories and more are filled with fun characters, lots of humor, plenty of heart and the theme that change comes for us all, whether we are ready or not. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exOneStoplightTownFLOB4.pdf

Once before I go / by Phillip McMahon

Told against the backdrop of Dublin's burgeoning gay rights movement of the 1980s and 1990s and the contemporary LGBTQ+ community of today, Once Before I Go charts the close friendship of Lynn, Daithí, and the luminous Bernard, and sits on the exhilarating edge between comedy, tragedy and melodrama. Exploring the fragile yet resilient bonds of Irish queer lives across three decades in Dublin, London and Paris, the play steps between the early days of the AIDS crisis and today's LGBTQ+ community, living in an era of marriage equality, gender self-determination, and untransmittable HIV. At once political, joyous and heart-breaking, Once Before I Go honours the fabulous people we lost along the way, and celebrates those who fight on. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Once_Before_I_Go/nkZEEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Once+before+I+go+/+by+Phillip+McMahon&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

No harm done : three plays about medical conditions / by Eugene Stickland

No Harm Done contains the text of three short plays, each an exploration of some aspect of a disease. They are: Closer and Closer Apart, Alzheimer’s Disease; Fade to Light, Stargardt, a form of blindness; and The Last Dance, Parkinson Disease. The first section of the book contains the plays themselves and Stickland’s introductions to them, supplemented by commentaries by experts in the medical field. The second section is a guide to playwriting based on teachings the author has been engaged in for decades. This section also includes a how-to approach to writing a play for a specific cause or event. The book will be of interest not only to theatre practitioners and students of playwriting, but to students and professionals (doctors, caregivers, therapists, etc.) in the medical field as well

My white best friend : (and other letters left unsaid) / by Rachel De-Lahay

My White Best Friend collects 23 letters that engage with a range of topics, from racial tensions, microaggressions and emotional labour, to queer desire, prejudice and otherness. Expressing feelings and thoughts often stifled or ignored, the pieces here transform letter writing into a provocative act of candour. Funny, heartfelt, wry and heart-breaking, whether a letter to their younger self or an ode to the writer's tongue, this anthology of exceptional writing is always engaging and thought-provoking. Featuring different letters from some of the most exciting voices in the UK and beyond, My White Best Friend (And Other Letters Left Unsaid) includes work from: Zia Ahmed, Travis Alabanza, Fatimah Asghar, Nathan Bryon, Matilda Ibini, Jammz, Iman Qureshi, Anya Reiss, Somalia Seaton, Nina Segal, Tolani Shoneye, Lena Dunham, Inua Ellams, Rabiah Hussain, Mika Johnson, Jasmine Lee-Jones, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, Shireen Mula, Ash Sarkar, Jack Thorne and Joel Tan.' Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_White_Best_Friend/eXv4DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+white+best+friend+:+(and+other+letters+left+unsaid)+/+by+Rachel+De-Lahay&printsec=frontcover

My son's a queer (but what can you do?) / by Rob Madge

My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) is the joyous, chaotic, autobiographical story of actor, writer and social-media sensation Rob Madge as they set out to recreate that parade – and this time, nobody, no, nobody is gonna rain on it.

Mugabe, my dad and me / by Tonderai Munyevu

April, 1980. The British colony of Rhodesia becomes the independent nation of Zimbabwe. A born-free, Tonderai Munyevu is part of the hopeful next generation from a country with a new leader, Robert Mugabe. Mugabe, My Dad and Me charts the rise and fall of one of the most controversial politicians of the 20th century through the lens of Tonderai's family story and his relationship with his father. Interspersing storytelling with Mugabe's unapologetic speeches, this high-voltage one man show is a blistering exploration of identity and what it means to return 'home'. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mugabe_My_Dad_and_Me/h_EkEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mugabe,+my+dad+and+me+/+by+Tonderai+Munyevu&printsec=frontcover

Mud Row / by Dominique Morisseau

Two generations of sisters navigate class, race, love and family on 'Mud Row,' an area in the East End of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Elsie hopes to move up in the world by marrying into 'the talented tenth,' while her sister Frances joins the fight for Civil Rights. Decades later, estranged sisters Regine and Toshi are forced to reckon with their shared heritage and each other, when Regine inherits granny Elsie's house.

Medicine / by Enda Walsh

John Kane sits on a hospital trolley. Very shortly, a giant lobster, two women called Mary, a very old man and a jazz percussionist arrive. Then everything starts. Enda Walsh's Medicine is a dark and frequently absurdist play. Devastatingly funny and profoundly moving, it examines how, for decades, we have treated those we call 'mentally ill'.

The mamalogues / by Lisa B. Thompson

The Mamalogues portrays the experience of parenting while Black, unmarried, and middle class in the age of anxiety. During a single mother’s retreat, three women share their angst about racial profiling on the playground, their child being the “only one” at their school, and the politics of soccer in the hood. The satirical comedy follows the agonies and joys of motherhood as these moms lean in, stress out and guide precious black children from diapers to college in a dangerous world.

The late wedding / by Christopher Chen

Inspired by the writings of Italo Calvino (Invisible Cities and If on a Winter's Night a Traveler), The Late Wedding is a fractured portrait of a fractured marriage, as told through a series of interconnected fables, including an anthropological tour of fantastical tribes and their marital customs. Christopher Chen's winking second-person narrative, delivered by a six-person shape-shifting cast, deftly guides you on a wild and delightful examination of love and longing. At once an anthropological tour through marriage customs, a spy thriller, and a sci-fi love story, the mind-bending The Late Wedding is an inventive and surprising theatrical experience.

La ruta / by Isaac Gómez

Inspired by real testimonies, and using live music to evoke factory work and protest marches, La Ruta is a visceral unearthing of secrets buried in the desert and a celebration of the Mexican women who stand resiliently in the wake of loss.

Hymn / by Lolita Chakrabarti

Sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself(Miles Davis) Two men meet at a funeral. Gil knew the deceased. Benny did not. Before long their families are close. Soon they'll be singing the same tune. Benny is a loner anchored by his wife and children. Gil longs to fulfill his potential. They develop a deep bond but as cracks appear in their fragile lives they start to realise that true courage comes in different forms. Featuring music from Gil and Benny's lives, Lolita Chakrabarti's searching, soulful new play asks what it takes to be a good father, brother or son. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hymn/10IdEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hymn+/+by+Lolita+Chakrabarti&printsec=frontcover

Hooded, or Being Black for dummies / by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm

Marquis and Tru are both fourteen-year-old black boys, but they exist in two totally different worlds. Marquis is a book-smart prep-schooler living in the affluent suburb of Achievement Heights, while Tru is a street-savvy kid from deep within the inner city of Baltimore. Their worlds overlap one day in a holding cell. Tru decides that Marquis has lost his 'blackness' and pens a how-to manual entitled Being Black for Dummies. He assumes the role of professor, but Marquis proves to be a reluctant pupil. They butt heads, debate, wrestle, and ultimately prove that Nietzsche and Tupac were basically saying the same thing.

Honky tonk hissy fit / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

In this rollicking, hilarious comedy, the Doublewide, Texas gang is back and life in their tiny town has gotten crazier than ever! Just when things are looking up--the population has grown to seventeen mobile homes and a weekend farmers' market--the rug is pulled out from under the residents yet again. It seems their vacation rental trailer has drawn unwanted attention from a mega-corporation in Austin. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Honky_Tonk_Hissy_Fit/34gbEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Honky+tonk+hissy+fit+/+by+Jessie+Jones,+Nicholas+Hope,+Jamie+Wooten&printsec=frontcover

A doll's house / by Henrik Ibsen ; in a new adaptation by Tanika Gupta

Niru is a young Bengali woman married to an English colonial bureaucrat - Tom. Tom loves Niru, exoticising her as a frivolous plaything to be admired and kept; But Niru has a long-kept secret, and just as she thinks she is almost free of it, it threatens to bring her life crashing down around her. Tanika Gupta reimagines Ibsen's classic play of gender politics through the lens of British colonialism, offering a bold, female perspective exploring themes of ownership and race. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Doll_s_House/JTcpEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+doll%27s+house+/+by+Henrik+Ibsen+%3B+in+a+new+adaptation+by+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

The headlands / by Christopher Chen

In The Headlands, Henry is an amateur sleuth and true crime aficionado who sets out to solve the ultimate case: the unsolved murder of his father. Using his memories and the family stories he was told as a child growing up in San Francisco, Henry begins an investigation through a labyrinth of secrets and deceptions that leads him to question those closest to him. The Headlands is a contemporary noir that explores the stories we tell ourselves and the fallibility of the mind

Handbagged / by Moira Buffini

HANDBAGGED imagines what really happened in the private meetings between two of the world's most powerful women: the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, and Queen Elizabeth II. Born just six months apart, each leader has the capacity to change the world, but how the world should be changed is another story altogether. Will Mags and Liz find common ground in tumultuous times, or will the gloves come off at Buckingham Palace? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Handbagged/2IskEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Handbagged+/+by+Moira+Buffini&printsec=frontcover

Hadestown / by Anaïs Mitchell

This intriguing and beautiful folk opera delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience. Following two intertwining love stories--that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and of immortal King Hades and Lady Persephone--Hadestown invites audiences on a hellraising journey to the underworld and back. Inspired by traditions of classic American folk music and vintage New Orleans jazz, Mitchell's beguiling sung-through musical pits industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love.

God's country / by Steven Dietz

Theatrical docu-drama about the growing white supremacist movement in America. The play focuses on the trial of a paramilitary group called The Order; the career and death of Denver's Alan Berg, the outspoken controversial Jewish talk radio personality assassinated by The Order, and the hate filled career and death of The Order's founder, Robert Mathews. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/God_s_Country/C__KLhyd0H0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=God%27s+country+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

Gabriel / by Moira Buffini

In Nazi-occupied Guernsey, an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, the Becquet family's home is requisitioned by SS officers. As widowed matriarch Jeanne navigates the dangerous game of Major Von Pfunz's attraction to her, her Jewish daughter-in-law discovers a strange and beautiful man washed up on the shore. Wracked by fever, the man can remember nothing, including his own name; with equal probability he's a downed Royal Air Force pilot or an overboarded SS officer, Jeanne's daughters convince her to shelter him until his memory returns. But harboring this fallen Gabriel threatens the modicum of safety and stability Jeanne's wrung from her family's dispossession. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gabriel/z4gbEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gabriel+/+by+Moira+Buffini&printsec=frontcover

A fable for now / by Wei Yu-Chia ; translated by Jeremy Tiang

In seven scenes, the world ends again and again, for any number of reasons: environmental collapse, war, unrestrained capitalism" ; "Wei's work includes tales of war, the environment, and personal regret colliding as mankind hurtles towards a surreal apocalypse in the company of a disputatious duck, a sleuth of bears and an exceptional chicken.

The death of a black man / by Alfred Fagon

It's 1973 and the West Indies have spectacularly beaten England at their own game, in their own backyard. Shakie, an 18-year-old super-savvy wheeler-dealer, is in his element - and not just because of the cricket. Life is good: his furniture business is making serious money and he owns a flat on the King's Road, the epicentre of everything that's cool. Moreover, his best friend Stumpie has come up with a plan to crack the booming music industry together - the possibilities are endless so when Shakie's ex-lover Jackie arrives at the Chelsea flat, the trio toast the future. The champagne is flowing and ambition is running sky high - but how far will they go, and who will they sacrifice, in their quest to be rich beyond their wildest dreams? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Death_of_a_Black_Man/ZFg0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+death+of+a+black+man+/+by+Alfred+Fagon&printsec=frontcover

Br'er cotton / by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm

Lynchburg, Virginia. The former site of a thriving cotton mill is now an impoverished neighborhood. Deeply affected by all the recent killings of young black men like himself, Ruffrino, a fourteen-year-old militant, incites riots at school and online. As Ruffrino grows more and more at odds with his mother and grandfather, his anger builds beyond containment. Meanwhile, the family home literally sinks into the cotton field, and no one but Ruffrino seems to notice.

Bliss / by Fraser Grace

Based on a short story by the brilliant but often overlooked Russian writer Andrey Platonov (1899-1951), Bliss is the tragi-comic tale of a young couple trying to build a life against the odds in the aftermath of the Russian civil war. As ex-soldier Nikita struggles to overcome what we now might recognise as PTSD, the play opens up into a colourful and strangely heart-warming kaleidoscope of stories, song, laughter and magic, as the survivors of years of devastating war and political revolution all strive to comprehend how society can recover from catastrophe, how real love has both passionate and practical faces, and how the future is only built by those who manage to survive their past--back cover. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bliss/a90sEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bliss+/+by+Fraser+Grace&printsec=frontcover

Black Men Walking / by Testament

A compelling, surprising new show that turns a spotlight onto Britain's missing histories. Dedicated to the Black Men's Walking Group. Thomas, Matthew and Richard walk. They walk the first Saturday of every month. Walking and talking. But this walk… Maybe they should have cancelled, but they needed the walk today. Out in the Peaks, they find themselves forced to walk backwards through two thousand years before they can move forwards.

Birthday club / by Phil Olson

Five women get together for their birthdays, each with her own story, to drink, celebrate, commiserate and support each other as they negotiate through marriage, work, divorce, birth and kids, while solving the problems of the world."

Baltimore : a drama / by Kirsten Greenidge

When a racially-charged incident divides her first-year students, reluctant resident advisor Shelby finds herself in the middle of a conversation she does not want to have. As pressure to address the controversy mounts from residents, the new dean, and even her best friend, Shelby must decide if she will enter the fray or watch her community come apart at the seams. Sharp, funny, and searing, Baltimore is a timely drama about racism on college campuses

Meera Syal's 'Anita and me' / by Meera Syal ; an adaptation by Tanika Gupta

This poignant coming-of-age tale follows Meena, the irreverent teenage daughter of the only Punjabi family in the mining village of Tollington. When she becomes friends with the impossibly feisty Anita, she thinks she’s found her soul mate; but her world is quickly turned upside down as she finds herself caught between her two cultures. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Anita_and_Me/cZ_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Meera+Syal%27s+%27Anita+and+me%27+/+by+Meera+Syal+%3B+an+adaptation+by+Tanika+Gupta&pg=PT11&printsec=frontcover

...cake / by babirye bukilwa

babriye bukilwa's play ...cake is a psychological drama about identity, belonging and generational trauma, exploring queerness and the experience of racial prejudice and hostility. It was first performed at Theatre Peckham, London, on 13 July 2021. The play is set in a London flat, one hot, stifling evening in April 2005. Sissy, a dark-skinned Black woman, forty-two, dances to the music of Sade and then to Lenny Kravitz; she is unrestrained, beautiful, alive. Then sixteen-year-old Eshe arrives at the flat, wearing her school uniform and saying she was 'just passing'. Over the course of the evening, powerful emotions come to the surface as the two women are locked in a dance where freedom clashes with duty. Can the cycle of generational trauma ever be broken? Can queer, Black femmes find love and belonging when the soil beneath them - and the climate around them - is hostile?

Juanita's statue / by Anne García-Romero

In a Spanglish-speaking land, Juanita disguises herself as a man to escape the wrath of her lover Ignacio's father. Masquerading as a “new” Don Juan, she careens through the city and seduces Alejandra, a wealthy art collector, Tomás, a leather bar patron and Beatríz, an innocent, society bride, who all fall instantly in love with him/her. Juanita's romp soon lands her squarely at the feet of Don Juan himself as she struggles to find true love.

Firepower / by Kermit Frazier

With an important piece of legislation pending, treatment for a serious illness about to begin, and engagement to a woman half his age in the balance, a first-term City Councilman in Washington, D.C. is visited by his two adult sons, the younger one a gay man who must find a way to come out to his father, the older one an ex-football star who’s been living out of the country and out of touch for nearly twenty years. Both sons, in addition, carry a long-held tacit agreement that is destined to explode in their father’s face.

Legacies / by Kermit Frazier

An African American college professor who is feeling stuck both in his life and in his world of words meets a female African American student who comes to represent for him a dangerous kind of renewal and redemption, one that leads to tragedy for two disparate families.

Fathers and sons / by Michael Bradford

Marcus, his father Leon, and grandfather Bernard confront a history of absence, mistakes, mistrust, and broken promises as they strive to redefine themselves as fathers and sons.

Green card / by JoAnne Akalaitis

JoAnne Akalaitis' exploration of America as an immigrant and refugee society is complex, timely, and highly theatrical: a collage of images and events, documentary and testimony, that asks us to look again at the pressures and liberties of life in a foreign culture. GREEN CARD both describes and creates, for performers as well as audiences, the cacophony of sounds and barrage of images that confront those newly arrived in this land. The play moves from Ellis Island to Los Angeles, a city many consider the Ellis Island of the eighties.

Plays / by Steve Carter

This collection includes two full-length plays, DAME LORRAINE and HOUSE OF SHADOWS, a long one-act, ONE LAST LOOK, and two short pieces, MIRAGE and TEA ON INAUGURATION DAY. DAME LORRAINE: Picton and Dorcas, ancient now, came to this country with an internal, eternal love that made them blind to the fact that the darker aspects of the elusive Dame Lorraine found homes in the hearts of their eight sons. Their first-born and only surviving male child comes home today after twenty-seven years in prison. Picton and Dorcas await him, thinking perhaps they should never have come here. Perhaps they never should have fallen in love. HOUSE OF SHADOWS: Two baby-faced would-be criminals decide to rob the home of two women of advanced age who live in contention with their past, their present, their future, and each other. The brats get more than they’ve bargained for, including possible great futures behind bars in Joliet. ONE LAST LOOK: At his funeral, Eustace Baylor and his two families examine the tattered cloth of their lives. They find that if you would take one last look, you should take one first look. MIRAGE: “Mirage,” so like “marriage” in its spelling and some pronunciations, is about how much more interesting mundane situations could be if people would only apply themselves. TEA ON INAUGURATION DAY: A tragicomical look at the current state of our country, with a special nod to the American habit of mispronouncing “Nuclear,” “Acapulco,” “Realtor,” and “Inauguration.”

Later plays and selected poems / by Lynne Alvarez

This collection includes three full-length plays: ESPERANZA RISING, ROMOLA AND NIJINSKY, and THE SNOW QUEEN, and selected poems. ESPERANZA RISING: A young girl, born into the Mexican aristocracy, is uprooted, transplanted, and re-grown in alien soil. ROMOLA AND NIJINSKY: The story of world-famous Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky’s shipboard romance and marriage to Romola DePulsky. THE SNOW QUEEN: A fairy tale for adults with danger, adventure, and love, based on the classic Hans Christian Anderson story.

The short plays / by Edwin Sánchez

This collection includes 15 short and very short plays. BEA AND MAY: Bea does not want her beloved, May, to marry Jerry, but Jerry’s rich, and May has a plan. CELESTED: Lou’s ex, Celeste, shows up at his wedding. DING: Three people sit in a waiting room waiting for the bell to go ding! ERNESTO THE MAGNIFICENT: Tonight Ernesto the Failure will become Ernesto the Magnificent. ETHAN’S GOT GAME: Ethan’s going to be a millionaire by the time’s he twenty-one. GOODBYE: Hijo is leaving his family to pursue being an actor in New York. JIMMY: Danny’s rough trade, Jimmy, might be more than he bargained for. JODY’S MOTHER: Jody has made a terrible mistake, and Jody’s mother is paying for it. LILI MARLENE: Lili Marlene knows what’s wrong with this country, the lack of glamour. POPS: Tomas’s father was a busboy at Windows on the World. SILENCE 1: Robin is not speaking to Sandy, and it’s driving Robin crazy. SILENCE 2: Sandy’s not speaking to Robin, and Robin makes a meal out of it. SMILING: Ernest can’t wipe the smile off his face. SPEED DATING FOR THE LATINO ACTOR: A group of actors rediscover hope in their chosen profession. THE SUBSTITUTE: This substitute teacher has had enough, and he’s going to make sure his students think twice about ever bullying anyone again.

Charlotte and other plays / by José Rivera

Includes the short plays: Charlotte -- Lizzy -- Paola and Andrea at the altar of words -- Phone call in the rain -- The shower -- The book of fishes -- Yellow -- The fall of a sparrow -- Lessons for an unaccustomed bride -- Louisa -- Impact -- Sermon for the senses.

Cloud tectonics / by José Rivera

During a record-breaking Los Angeles deluge, a man gives shelter to a beautiful, pregnant hitch-hiker who is searching for the father of her child.

Hit the wall / by Ike Holter

It’s the summer of ’69, and the death of music icon Judy Garland has emboldened her gay followers. A routine police raid on an underground Greenwich Village hotspot erupts into a full-scale riot, the impetus of the modern gay rights movement. That’s the well-known, oft-rehearsed myth of Stonewall, anyhow. Smash that myth against the vivid theatrical imagination of playwright Ike Holter, add a howling live rock ‘n’ roll band, and you get HIT THE WALL. Remixing this historic confrontation reveals ten unlikely revolutionaries, caught in the turmoil and fighting to claim “I was there.”

Living dead in Denmark / by Qui Nguyen

When the dead walk … you run! LIVING DEAD IN DENMARK is an action-adventure/horror sequel to William Shakespeare’s HAMLET. Set five years after the events of the original, the undead have risen to power and are trying to take over the world, led by the zombie lord and true king of Denmark. Fortinbras, assembling a formidable opposition, has resurrected the corpses of some of the greatest women that Shakespeare had to offer: Lady Macbeth, Juliet, and the very angry Ophelia. A clash of the undead titans ensues!

Bondage / by Star Finch

BONDAGE takes place pre-Emancipation on a small island in the Caribbean. With the onset of puberty, Zuri must use her wits to outsmart the twisted desires of a drunken master and a sadistic mistress on a haunted plantation. Hierarchies of race and gender collide in this AfroSurreal tale of an enslaved girl who dares to follow her own instincts toward liberation by any means.

The daughters of the moon / by Reginald Edmund

The first play in Reginald Edmund's The City of the Bayou Collection, The Daughters of the Moon follows a runaway slave girl and a former plantation mistress wanted for murder as they embark on a perilous journey North towards freedom, guided by an ancient African goddess.

The gift / by Mildred Inez Lewis

After New Jersey transplant Bobby Hawkins marries Susannah, the daughter of a leading South Carolina family, they battle infertility, the challenges of plantation life, and a devastating flood. To keep the plantation afloat, Bobby begins impregnating slave women for sale. Their finances gradually get back on track. But after their son is born, Susannah is unable to breastfeed the sickly infant. When her husband "gifts" her a wet nurse, they descend into violence, jealousy and rage.

If you start a fire [be prepared to burn] / by Kevin Kautzman

Like the reply-all taboo and the necessity of logging out of a public computer, the latest formative lesson our society is learning is that absolutely anything posted online can take on a life of its own. Playwright Kevin Kautzman phrases it better in the enticing title of his new internet-age sex comedy.

The last book of Homer / by José Rivera

Four out-of-shape, middle-aged ex-military Latino brothers go to Mexico to rescue their oldest brother from a violent drug cartel. All characters are Latino. Buddha. Former Army sergeant, 47, tall, strong, crowding 300 pounds, with huge hands, sharp eyes, a gentle face, goatee, deep voice and explosive laugh. Gregarious, charming, and playful. Weasel. In good physical shape and looks younger than his age, 43. He’s got large, soulful eyes, very short hair, a mustache, a mischievous handsome smile. An irresponsible, irrepressible boy. Joseph Smith. Short, 200 pounds, 49, old acne scars, short hair, dark bright eyes, mustache and goatee. A former body builder and Marine — now a Mormon. Complex, soft-spoken, witty, solemn. God. A decorated ex-Army sergeant, 45, blond with intense blue-eyes, handsome, relatively trim, hot-headed, out-spoken, and blunt, a natural leader with the instincts of a true warrior.

Lovesong (imperfect) / by José Rivera

LOVESONG is a journey through love, touching on its ugly desperation and its childish nature, it gently teases humanity's inability to learn from our own mistakes, especially that of communication between men and women. There is a subtle commentary on the flakiness of the government as they change the laws on the legality of death and spirituality over and over during the play, each time signified by a newspaper comically flying through the air and landing in a players hands.

Measure for pleasure : a Restoration romp / by David Grimm

Will Blunt is in love with Molly, a young transvestite prostitute. But when Blunt rescues him from a life on the streets, he doesn't count on Molly falling in love with Dashwood, the handsome womanizing rake. Restoration comedy meets modern sex farce in this romantic adventure. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Measure_for_Pleasure/QPxZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Measure+for+pleasure+:+a+Restoration+romp+/+by+David+Grimm&printsec=frontcover

She kills monsters / by Qui Nguyen

She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she finds herself catapulted into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was her sister’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/She_Kills_Monsters/nWgJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Tartuffe / Molière; adapted by Roger McGough

Tartuffe is a beacon of piety and in the home of wealthy merchant Orgon he has his feet firmly under the table. But all is not as it seems and as Orgon becomes more enraptured with his new companion the whole city is chattering. Is he a friend, a fraud, a miracle or a hypocrite? The family smell a rat and amidst the frills and frivolity of seventeenth century society they hatch a cunning plan to outwit the wily deceiver before he brings their house crashing down. Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664 but the play was banned following its first production in Paris; it wasn't until 1669 that it was revived and became one of his greatest successes. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tartuffe/j2q9DgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

The bungler / by Jean Baptiste Poquelin de Molière; translated by Richard Wilbur

A beautiful young woman named Célie has been traveling with a gypsy band and has been left with a rich old man named Trufaldin. Two young men of Messina, Lélie and Léandre, have lately been rivals for the hand of a girl named Hippolyte, but when Célie appears on the scene they are both smitten by her, and she becomes the new object of their rivalry. The warm, impetuous Lélie turns to his valet, a cunning trickster named Mascarille, for help in out-witting Léandre and in freeing the pawned Célie from what amounts to captivity. Mascarille, who loves to plot and deceive, contrives ruse after ruse in his master’s interest, but is repeatedly frustrated by the blunders of Lélie—who, even when he is an informed participant in his valet’s schemes, manages unintentionally to spoil them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Bungler/PKc6udNQjqUC?hl=en&gbpv=0

New Jerusalem: the interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656 / by David Ives

Baruch de Spinoza is a young merchant and the heir apparent of Saul Mortera, the chief Rabbi of Amsterdam. But Amsterdam’s Sephardic Jews have made a fatal arrangement with the city: They have agreed to police their own community for unorthodox beliefs. When the city accuses Spinoza of atheism, Mortera must summon Baruch to the synagogue to defend himself. Spinoza’s best friend, his sister and the woman he loves are all drawn into the controversy, a historical event that shook up not only the entire Jewish community of Amsterdam, but changed Spinoza’s and Mortera’s lives—and all of Western thought—irrevocably. No written record survives of what was said at Temple Talmud Torah on July 27, 1656. In this eloquent and masterful drama, David Ives attempts to open the temple doors and let us listen in on a dispute whose philosophical and political echoes still reverberate today. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_Jerusalem/W0sIX4fmI_EC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Polish joke / by David Ives

A comedy about ethnic identity and the eternal American search for “roots.” Jasiu (thirtyish) is a Polish-American who has been taught not to value his own roots, so he decides to make his own roots, reinventing himself first as a sort of non-ethnic everyman, then as an “Irishman.” Jasiu’s adventures—alternately zany and heartbreaking—take him through a job interview with an Ur-Wasp; to an attempt to become a Catholic priest; to a flower shop where he can’t get service because he is weirdly invisible; to a doomed love affair with a Jewish woman; to a wacky Irish travel agency where he has to prove that he is Irish before he can buy a ticket; and to a doctor more interested in ethnic pain than in healing. Jasiu is also bedeviled by a reappearing Polish relative and has to face off with the ghost of a dead Polish patriot. In the end, by trying to get away from his ethnic background, Jasiu finds out who he is and what it means to be “a Pole." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Polish_Joke/KFHo0o4hLywC?hl=en&gbpv=1

A flea in her ear / by David Ives

Raymonde Chandebise suspects that her husband, Victor, a placid and successful insurance executive, is secretly having an affair. To find out, she and her friend Lucienne write him an anonymous love letter suggesting a rendezvous at the shady Frisky Puss Hotel. Thinking the letter was intended for his coworker, the gigolo Tournel, Victor sends Tournel off to make the rendezvous in his place. Lucienne’s jealous Spanish husband, meanwhile, finds the letter, recognizes his wife’s handwriting and takes his pistols to the Frisky Puss, hoping to catch her in the act. Meanwhile, Victor’s nephew Camille tries to warn everyone about the mix-up, but his ridiculous speech impediment prevents anyone from understanding him. In Act Two, all decamp to the Frisky Puss where, it turns out, the drunken bellboy Poche is the exact double of the proper Victor Chandebise. Meeting Poche and thinking she’s been caught by her husband, Raymonde keeps trying to escape from the hotel with Tournel, but a revolving bed keeps flinging them from room to room, as more and more of the involved parties pile into the hotel in a climax culminating in the entrance of the jealous Spaniard and his pistols. In Act Three the vortex spins even faster as all the parties return to the Chandebise home utterly confused about what actually happened and who was who at the Frisky Puss. The drunken bellboy arrives, is mistaken once again for Victor, and all the threads of the multiple mix-ups are sorted out as Victor and Raymonde recognize their mutual confusions and are reunited. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Flea_in_Her_Ear/m0-SsraIJ9AC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The other woman and other short pieces / by David Ives

Four disparate works demonstrate David Ives’ mastery of the short form. THE OTHER WOMAN is a dark drama of sexual obsession within a marriage, as Thomas’s sleepwalking wife, Emma, becomes his mistress without knowing it. (1 man, 1 woman.) ST. FRANCIS TALKS TO THE BIRDS is a comic excursion into death and dying in which the holyman meets a couple of desert vultures waiting to turn him into dessert. (2 men, 2 women.) THE BLIZZARD brings Salim and Natasha into the country house of Jenny and Neil on a fateful night when the house’s owners must decide whether to put their trust in a pair of strangers. (2 men, 2 women.) In MOBY-DUDE, OR: THE THREE-MINUTE WHALE, Nathaniel, a stoned-out surfer dude, summarizes Melville’s classic for his skeptical high-school teacher in a high-speed monologue. (1 man.) Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Other_Woman_and_Other_Short_Pieces/QUg5c0apzTIC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The school for lies / by David Ives

Adapted from Le Misanthrope by Molière. It’s 1666 and the brightest, wittiest salon in Paris is that of Celimene, a beautiful young widow so known for her satiric tongue she’s being sued for it. Surrounded by shallow suitors, whom she lives off of without surrendering to, Celimene has managed to evade love since her beloved husband died—until today, when Frank appears. A traveler from England known for his own coruscating wit and acidic misanthropy, Frank turns Celimene’s world upside-down, taking on her suitors, matching her barb for barb, and teaching her how to live again. (Never mind that their love affair has been engineered by a couple of well-placed lies.) This wild farce of furious tempo and stunning verbal display, all in very contemporary couplets, runs variations on Molière’s The Misanthrope, which inspired it. Another incomparable romp from the brilliant author of All in the Timing. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_School_for_Lies/OB77IVd7_KsC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The Liar / by David Ives

adapted from Le Menteur by Pierre Corneille Paris, 1643. Dorante is a charming young man newly arrived in the capital, and he has but a single flaw: He cannot tell the truth. In quick succession he meets Cliton, a manservant who cannot tell a lie, and falls in love with Clarice, a charming young woman whom he unfortunately mistakes for her friend Lucrece. What our hero regrettably does not know is that Clarice is secretly engaged to his best friend, Alcippe. Nor is he aware that his father is trying to get him married to Clarice, whom he thinks is Lucrece, who actually is in love with him. From all these misunderstandings and a series of breathtakingly intricate lies springs one of the Western world’s greatest comedies, a sparkling urban romance as fresh as the day Pierre Corneille wrote it, brilliantly adapted for today by All in the Timing's David Ives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Liar/2nfhljD7MbsC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Shakespeare in Hollywood / by Ken Ludwig

It's 1934, and Shakespeare's most famous fairies, Oberon and Puck, have magically materialized on the Warner Bros. Hollywood set of Max Reinhardt's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Instantly smitten by the glitz and glamour of show biz, the two are ushered onto the silver screen to play (who else?) themselves. With a little help from a feisty flower, blonde bombshells, movie moguls, and arrogant "asses" are tossed into loopy love triangles, with raucous results. The mischievous magic of moviedom sparkles in this hilarious comic romp. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shakespeare_in_Hollywood/1HFaDxjqBGoC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Leading ladies / by Ken Ludwig

In this hilarious comedy, two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing "Scenes from Shakespeare" on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, PA is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren't nephews, but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo falls head-over-petticoat in love with the old lady's vivacious niece, Meg, who's engaged to the local minister. Meg knows that there's a wide world out there, but it's not until she meets "Maxine and Stephanie" that she finally gets a taste of it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Leading_Ladies/e5KV0LeDi9gC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Be my baby / by Ken Ludwig

The play tells the story of John, an irascible Scotsman and an uptight English woman, Maude, both in their late 50s, who take on the journey of a lifetime. They are brought together when his ward marries her niece. Then, when the young couple decides to adopt a newborn baby, the older couple has to travel 6,000 miles to California to pick up the child and bring her safely home to Scotland. The problem is, John and Maude despise each other. To make matters worse, they get stranded in San Francisco for several weeks and are expected to jointly care for the helpless newborn. There they form a new partnership and learn some startling lessons about life and love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ken_Ludwig_s_Be_My_Baby/4Cg4JdhE0EcC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Second skin / by Kristin Idaszak

Upon discovering her estranged mother is dying, Quinn returns to the home she fled long ago. As she cares for Sigrid, Quinn wrestles with unsettling childhood memories. What is Sigrid hiding? What do the bedtime stories of selkies she once told her daughter really mean? When a selkie comes ashore, seeking them both out, Quinn must decide if she really wants to know the secret Sigrid buried long ago. Told in three interconnected monologues, Second Skin investigates the fraught relationship between mothers and daughters, and how one mistake can reverberate across generations.

An enemy of the people / by Henrik Ibsen; translated by Christopher Hampton

Here is Ibsen's stirring drama about one man's lonely struggle against official corruption in a brilliant version by one of the contemporary theatre's best known authors and most highly regarded translators of classic works by Ibsen and others. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Enemy_of_the_People/IZKQaH27O8MC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Ghosts: a family drama in three acts / by Henrik Ibsen; a new translation by Lanford Wilson

In 1881 Ibsen rocked the literary and theatrical worlds with the publication of GHOSTS, a play so controversial in its time that even the head of Nya Teatern, one of Stockholm’s major theatres, called it “one of the filthiest things ever written in Scandanavia.” Once the uproar had died down, audiences proved far more receptive to GHOSTS than the literati had initially been, and while its dramatic subjects of promiscuity, incest and sexually transmitted disease no longer arouse the feverish denunciations of Ibsen’s time, their treatment retains the power that has made the play a masterpiece of Western literature. In this crackling new translation, celebrated playwright Lanford Wilson has revivified GHOSTS for a new audience, and as we too continue to confront the specter of horrifying sexual disease, GHOSTS has never seemed more profoundly relevant. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ghosts/mKCIoXCJuUEC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The lady from the sea / Henrik Ibsen; in a version by Pam Gems

Land locked. Sea free. Beyond the walls of her fjord home, where her husband Dr Wangel offers the security of family and responsibility, Ellida is constantly drawn towards the sea, It is from this element that her past love returns – promising the ecstasy of the unknown. Will she suffocate on dry land, or find freedom across the sea? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Lady_from_the_Sea/5tL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

The Lyons / by Nicky Silver

THE LYONS starts in a hospital room. As Ben Lyons lies dying, his wife of forty years, Rita, flips through decorating magazines, planning a living room make-over. "I know you won’t actually be there to enjoy it, but I’d like to think you’d like it." It’s clear Ben and Rita have been at war for many years, and that Ben’s impending demise has brought no relief. When they’re joined by their children, Lisa and Curtis, all efforts at a pleasant visit or a sentimental goodbye to the dying patriarch are soon abandoned. Terrible secrets and vicious accusations replace sentimental memories. In Act Two we follow Curtis. His desperate attempt to make a new connection ends so disastrously that the remaining Lyons are reunited at the hospital. We watch as each of them take the first tentative steps toward new human connection. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/KTmbShTJbvQC?hl=en&gl=us&gbpv=1

Southern Baptist sissies / by Del Shores

Follows the journey of four gay boys in the Baptist Church. Storyteller Mark Lee Fuller tries to create a world of love and acceptance in the church and clubs of Dallas, Texas, while desperately trying to find a place to put his own pain and rage. The world Mark creates also includes two older barflies, Peanut and Odette, whose banter takes the audience from hysterical laughter to tragedy and tears. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Southern_Baptist_Sissies/EOOZ0yUGibEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Southern+Baptist+sissies+/+by+Del+Shores&printsec=frontcoverhttps://www.google.com/books/edition/Southern_Baptist_Sissies/EOOZ0yUGibEC?hl=en&gbpv=0

Yellow / by Del Shores

Yellow chronicles a year in the life of the perfect family in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Bobby Westmoreland, a high school football coach, and his wife Kate, a respected therapist, have two ambitious children in high school. Their son Dayne is the golden football star while their daughter Gracie is an overly-dramatic actress. Gracie’s best friend is a young gay boy, Kendall, who is at constant odds with his abusive, fundamentalist mother, Sister Timothea. The play opens with the start of the football season and high school auditions for “Oklahoma.” Everything falls apart when an unexpected tragedy rocks the Westmoreland family to the breaking point. Yellow explores the themes of cowardice, intolerance and the damage caused to families by secrets, rejection and the difficulty of forgiveness.

Outrage / by Itamar Moses

In Ancient Greece, Socrates is accused of corrupting the young with his practice of questioning commonly held beliefs. In Renaissance Italy, a simple miller named Menocchio runs afoul of the Inquisition when he develops his own theory of the cosmos. In Nazi Germany, the playwright Bertolt Brecht is persecuted for work that challenges authority. And in present day New England, a graduate student finds himself in the center of a power struggle over the future of the University. An irreverent epic that spans thousands of years, Outrage explores the power of martyrdom, the power of theatre, and how the revolutionary of one era become the tyrant of the next. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Outrage/9-Ofw0nCTCwC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Back back back / by Itamar Moses

Before headlines blazed, before the Mitchell Report and ESPN lit up millions of television screens with the scandals, before congressional jaws dropped, comes the story of three guys making their way in the world of professional baseball – a world too competitive to rely solely on raw talent. This explosive play from the acclaimed writer of The Four of Us and Bach at Leipzig takes you behind the headlines into the locker room to witness an even more gripping confrontation you didn't see on TV, as these teammates face each other and do battle – for their careers, their legacies, and the future of America's favorite pastime. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Back_Back_Back/8Tjz4ebZn9kC?hl=en&gbpv=0

Sunset baby / by Dominique Morisseau

Kenyatta Shakur is alone. His wife has died, and this former Black Revolutionary and political prisoner is desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Nina. If Kenyatta truly wants to reconcile his past, he must first conquer his most challenging revolution of all – fatherhood. Sunset Baby is an energized, vibrant, and witty look at the point where the personal and political collide. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sunset_Baby/aYsHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sunset+baby+/+by+Dominique+Morisseau&printsec=frontcover

Bach at Leipzig / by Itamar Moses

Leipzig, Germany — 1722. Johann Kuhnau, revered organist of the Thomaskirche, suddenly dies, leaving his post vacant. The town council invites musicians to audition for the coveted position, among them young Johann Sebastian Bach. In an age where musicians depend on patronage from the nobility or the church to pursue their craft, the post at a prominent church in a cultured city is a near guarantee of fame and fortune -which is why some of the candidates are willing to resort to any lengths to secure it. BACH AT LEIPZIG is a fugue-like farcical web of bribery, blackmail, and betrayal set against the backdrop of Enlightenment questions about humanity, God, and art. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bach_at_Leipzig/RJnZKZ5_Aj8C?hl=en&gbpv=0

Victoria / by David Greig

"World's moving. People moving. We've only to cross the sea. Same sea we're looking at. The world's waiting for us. We've only to take our place it." In 1936, 1974 and 1996, a woman shapes dramatic events in a rural community on the Scottish coast, reflecting the shifting political and social fabric of Britain in the 20th century. Victoria received its World première in London at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2000. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Victoria/dSgeAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

The good girl is gone: a dark comedy / by D.W. Gregory

Alone in a motel room far from home, finally determined to free herself of a bad love match, Lulu is forced to extract the truth from Mama: Exactly what did happen that day outside the A&P so many years before and why, after all this time, can’t Lulu let go of the nagging fear that somehow, some way, it was all her fault? A dark comedy that careens wildly from pathos to hilarity, The Good Girl Is Gone pokes at the bruised heart of the American family to examine the power of memory to torment and heal.

Wake-up call / by Stephen Gregg

Seventeen-year-old Jim is having a really bad day. After getting up the nerve to tell his girlfriend, Rochelle, that he loves her, she asks him to help her poison her father. Is she joking? Just when it becomes clear that she's definitely not joking, Jim's mother wakes him up. It was all a dream! But Mom has bad news for him. Terrible news in fact. As the news becomes nightmarishly bad, Jim wakes up again. He's back with Rochelle, who tells him he fainted, and Dad comes home just in time for Rochelle to offer him a big glass of suspicious-looking milk. Now Jim isn't sure what's real and what's a dream, and every time he thinks he's got it figured out, his life takes another surprising left turn. A funny, spooky play about the nature of reality, Wake-Up Call starts as a nightmare and goes to places you'll never expect. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wake_up_Call/7lnPFLYoyZwC?hl=en&gbpv=1

S.P.A.R. : a play / by Stephen Gregg

Renata and Maria have questions about their future. Who doesn't? But when Renata convinces Maria to hold a séance, the girls get more than they bargained for. They conjure up a mysterious figure who answers their questions but also tells them how he knows the answers: they're fictional. Renata and Maria are characters in a play called S.P.A.R., a play written by the mysterious man. He proves he's their maker by predicting the future, twisting reality and finally showing them the audience. Renata's not happy about being in S.P.A.R. The play becomes a contest of wills between author and character. But it's not a fair fight: after all, he has the script. And when Renata tries to enlist the audience's help, the author proves that the audience is fictional as well! Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exSPARSH5.pdf

The Myopia and Other Plays / by David Greenspan

Greenspan's work—often semiautobiographical, always psychologically intense—deals with issues of memory, family, doubt, and sexuality. The plays in this collection take particular interest in the motivations for erotic and aesthetic expression, forces inextricably linked in Greenspan's world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Myopia_and_Other_Plays_by_David_Gree/sg428SqaLKUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Myopia+and+Other+Plays+/+by+David+Greenspan&printsec=frontcover

Sans-culottes in the promised land / by Kirsten Greenidge

Lena's days as a nanny seem numbered. Her new job is much more difficult than she'd hoped, and she struggles to keep her composure and her secrets. Consumed with contempt for materialism and an admiration for the sans-culottes, militant revolutionaries associated with the French revolution, Charlotte promises to help Lena improve herself. Meanwhile, very little attention is being paid to Greta, who has picked up mixed and startling messages about being black and begins to retreat into an imagined utopia influenced by Disney's standards of female beauty. However, Charlotte's promises to Lena begin to falter as Carol's prejudices concerning class and ethnicity emerge and her demands on Lena spiral out of control. Sans-culottes in the Promised Land careens to a chilling end, where each member of this African-American household is forced to come to terms with the conditions in which each lives in the promised land of America. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sans_culottes_in_the_Promised_Land/o72SPhfAkeUC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Familiar / by Kirsten Greenidge

The world beyond the Frisby's front door is a threatening tangle. Sister Jill and brother Archibald have learned to depend on only each other for companionship. Until now. Set in the midst of The Inkwell, a small section of Martha's Vineyard once dominated by the summer homes of the black elite, Familiar is a moving portrait of longing, betrayal and hope. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Familiar/HVg_ndc1pGwC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Ping pong / by Rogelio Martinez

Based on the true events surrounding the groundbreaking table tennis tournament that marked a decisive new chapter in US–China relations, PING PONG is the story of the extraordinary young man who played the game that changed the world and the political actors who were playing him. With Nixon and Mao on either side of the court, free-spirited hippie Glenn Cowan reaches across the net to usher in a fragile new friendship between two great countries in this funny, incisive, and wildly imaginative new play about the little moments of history that set up the big ones.

Arrivals and departures / by Rogelio Martinez

Cuba. Two brothers, both writers, meet again after a long absence. What follows is a fierce and hilarious fight to determine who has the right to tell the family’s story. In the middle of this is a mysterious sister whose needs, like the country she lives in, seem to have been neglected.

All eyes and ears / by Rogelio Martinez

A seamstress is catapulted into a new life, new house, and new government job. But good fortunes quickly change when her new position attracts unexpected guests and reveals more secrets about herself than about political conspiracies.

Soul samurai / by Qui Nguyen

Soul Samurai tells the story of Dewdrop and her fight through the mean streets of a post-apocalyptic Brooklyn. After avenging her lover's murder in the heart of Coney Island, Dewdrop now must make it back home to the Lower East Side before the shoguns of Kings County find her. In a play that mixes hip-hop culture, blaxploitation, and the martial Arts, this production dials it back old school with this seventies-inspired samurai story.

Men of Steel / by Qui Nguyen

Qui Nguyen's Men of Steel ... introduces audiences to Captain Justice, a crusader for the Iraq war era. A dead ringer for Captain America, including the tights and shield, he was created by the United States military and has dispensed with all kinds of villains, but he still has his critics ... The plot centers on the friendship between Captain Justice and Maelstrom, a wealthy playboy with a collection of gadgets and a sexual secret. He's an angrier version of Batman. There are other superheroes as well, including Bryant, a drag queen whose power is that he doesn't feel pain, and Captain Justice's sidekick, Liberty Lady, who some suspect is merely a P R gimmick. Mr. Nguyen has an appealingly clean style that mixes colloquial slang and hard-boiled detective fiction. ("Hope is only good for prisoners and bums playing the lotto.") Some of his comic ideas are truly inspired, like the mad villain, The Mole, who prefers making dramatic statements of intent to actually avoiding weapons hurled at him ... this is a fully realized and contained world that raises the skeptical question: If power corrupts, than what about super power?

Fight girl battle world / by Qui Nguyen

Set in a futuristic universe where the human race is on the brink of extinction, Fight Girl Battle World is the story of E-V, the last human female in all the known galaxies, and her quest to find the last human male before alien forces destroy him. Accompanying her is a rag-tag team composed of an ex-military General, an alien spaceship pilot, and an overly sarcastic robot sidekick. Fight Girl Battle World will utilize Vampire Cowboys' blend of stage combat, puppetry, and multimedia to explode the world of sci-fi onto the live stage.

The inexplicable redemption of Agent G / by Qui Nguyen

In the schizophrenic, wonderful The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G, the comet at long last returns, drawing Nguyen into profound metatheatrical self-examination. He can't stay serious for long -- insights alternate with dance battles and the Vampire Cowboys' usual barrage of inside jokes. This confusion of gravities keeps the play fascinatingly off balance. In its very wonkiness, we feel a playwright tearing himself apart to find his own first principles. Agent G completes Nguyen's Gook Trilogy, an attempt (beginning with Trial by Water) as telling his cousin Hung's story. The result is funny and weird and eye-opening

Chiaroscuro : a light and dark skin comedy / by Aishah Rahman

CHIAROSCURO is set on a cruise ship peopled by black singles where “pretty” means light-skinned, and all the men are dark, and Papa Legba, the African trickster spirit, is disguised as a ship steward.

Mingus takes (3) : 3 one acts / by Aishah Rahman

MINGUS TAKES (3) consists of three one-acts: SPEAKER’S HEAD, IF ONLY WE KNEW, and UPTOWN! It is dedicated to Charles Mingus Jr’s ingeniousness, his humor and revolutionary spirit, and his great contribution to American classical music more commonly labeled jazz. In SPEAKER’S HEAD, a speaker introduces his concepts on America’s “eminent world domain.” In IF ONLY WE KNEW, An African immigrant in New York describes how he was shot by police. In UPTOWN!, a drunk tramp named Psyche strikes up a conversation with Opal on the bus. At first she’s very wary of him. But gradually Psyche’s penetrating insights begin both to unnerve and intrigue her.

Upcity service(s) / by Dominic Taylor

Jacqueeda needs four dollars and sixty cents to go to her mother’s boyfriend’s funeral, and buy him a headstone. She needs to make a detour to the racetrack to earn the rest of the money. She is looking for help from her friend Poppy. Poppy is looking for Jacqueeda, because he has learned from the scriptures that are the New York Post that a local Deacon has won the lottery. This transpires on the street corner where the Deacon’s Lincoln Continental is parked. They try to accomplish their tasks early in the morning while; Canute, a West Indian man, goes about working his many jobs, including caring for Muhammad’s rug, and Sister Berring tries to build a shelter, for someone. This play also has music cascading down onto the street corner, from eight televisions in windows above. The play is a new look at a secularized service about a search for service.

The found dog ribbon dance / by Dominic Finocchiaro

In the Pacific Northwest live Norma, a professional cuddler and reluctant dog-rescuer, and Norm, an amateur ribbon-dancer and attentive barista. Together they navigate loneliness, vulnerability, a collection of eccentric characters, and the healing power of human connection.

Wolf play / by Hansol Jung

What if I said I am not what you think you see? A southpaw boxer is on the verge of their pro debut when their wife signs the adoption papers for a Korean boy. The boy's original adoptive father was all set to hand him over to a new home ... until he realizes the boy would have no "dad." Caught in the middle, the child launches himself in a lone wolf's journey of finding a pack he can call his own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wolf_Play/9s4nEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wolf+play+/+by+Hansol+Jung&printsec=frontcover

The visiting hour / by Frank McGuiness

Recalling events that may or may not have happened, people he may or may not have known, an elderly father weaves his life, funny, angry, poignant, as if in a dream. His daughter, perched outside his window, as close as the pandemic allows, responds with conflicting memories. They sing and argue, they broach dangerous ground, their profound love apparent despite themselves, until the visiting hour is up. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Visiting_Hour/LpMmEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+visiting+hour+/+by+Frank+McGuiness&pg=PT51&printsec=frontcover

Touchstone tales : stories of touch inspired by the lives of Lutonians / by Sudha Bhuchar

Touchstone Tales is a unique collection of revealing and illuminating stories of Lutonians, seen through the prism of touch. Originally a Revoluton Arts/Wellcome collection co-commission, it is part of Wellcome's national arts partnership programme and is an artist response to 'The Touch Test', Wellcome's study on the role that touch plays in the lives and well-being of people. Written by award-winning author Sudha Bhuchar, the play explores the theme of touch through a collection of fictional self-portrait monologues and a dualogue, directly inspired by creative encounters with mainly the British Muslim South Asian communities in Bury Park, Luton. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Touchstone_Tales/2vIOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Touchstone+tales+:+stories+of+touch+inspired+by+the+lives+of+Lutonians+/+by+Sudha+Bhuchar&printsec=frontcover

Three days in the country : a version of Turgenev's A month in the country / by Patrick Marber

In rural nineteenth-century Russia, a tangle of hopeless romances brings chaos to a country estate. Natalya, the wife of the wealthy estate-owner, is in love with her son's tutor; a neighbor has taken a liking to Natalya's ward, who has her eyes set elsewhere; and Natalya's long-time friend Rakitin may crave more from their platonic relationship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Three_Days_in_the_Country/vogbEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Three+days+in+the+country+:+a+version+of+Turgenev%27s+A+month+in+the+country+/+by+Patrick+Marber&pg=PA82&printsec=frontcover

Them / by Samah Sabawi

Omar and Leila are a young couple living somewhere in the Middle East. Their city is in a war zone but still, life goes on. Omar and his friends meet every day, Leila attends to their infant baby, and the two of them even find a moment to canoodle while sheltering under the kitchen table during an air raid. But things are undeniably getting worse. Omar’s mysterious sister Salma arrives in the middle of this increasingly forced normalcy. The local militias certainly seem to know her and even Omar is wary: where has Salma come from, and what’s really going on with her marriage brokering business? Salma knows a way for Omar and his family to get out of this doomed city and offers them the means to take it. But can they take their freedom if it is going to cost others theirs?

Tarantula / by Philip Ridley

It's a sunny, spring day in East London. On a street corner, two teenagers kiss. One of them is Toni. This is her first kiss. It makes her very happy. But someone is watching. Someone who doesn't care about Toni's happiness at all. And they're about to change her life...forever. Philip Ridley's thrilling new play is a startling exploration of identity, memory, love and the lengths it takes someone to free themselves from the web of their past. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tarantula/kY0vEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tarantula+/+by+Philip+Ridley&printsec=frontcover

Take d milk, nah? / by Jivesh Parasram

Jiv is "Canadian. " And "Indian. " And "Hindu. " And "West Indian. " "Trinidadian," too. Or maybe he's just colonized. He's not the "white boy" he was teased as within his immigrant household. Especially since his Nova Scotian neighbours seemed to think he was Black. Except for the Black people--they were pretty sure he wasn't. He's not an Arab, and allegedly not a Muslim--at least that's what he started claiming after 9/11. Whatever he is, the public education system was able to offer him the chance to learn about his culture from a coffee table book on "Eastern Mythology. " And then he had a religious epiphany while delivering a calf in Trinidad. By now, Jiv's collected a lot of observations about trying to find your place in your world. In this funny, fresh, and skeptical take on the identity play, Jivesh Parasram blends personal storytelling and ritual to offer the Hin-dos and Hin-don'ts within the intersections of all of his highly hyphenated cultures. This story asks the gut-punching questions: What divides us? Who is served by the constructs of cultural identity? And what are we willing to accept in the desire to belong? Then again--it doesn't really matter, because we are all Jiv.

Sleepwalking / by Hannah Khalil

The kitchen of a suburban house. A mother and daughter raise a child in the most normal way possible following the departure of a family member. Tensions rise as the pair skirt around issues that underpin their co-dependency, proving that what goes on inside a relationship is never clear to the people outside. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sleepwalking/PxUwEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sleepwalking+/+by+Hannah+Khalil&printsec=frontcover

The poltergeist / by Philip Ridley

Sasha was destined to take the art world by storm. At the age of fifteen pop stars wanted his paintings, and a new exhibition was going to make him a millionaire. But now he lives in a run-down flat with his out-of-work boyfriend, serves in a stationers, and no one's even heard of him ... What went wrong? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Poltergeist/0R4LEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+poltergeist+/+by+Philip+Ridley&printsec=frontcover

Orpheus in the record shop ; and, The beatboxer / by Testament

Orpheus in the Record Shop: "Orpheus is alone, playing tunes in his record shop. After a visitor leaves him an unexpected gift strange things start to happen and music, myth and reality collide. Together with Orpheus we go in search of something ancient, contemporary and hopeful. The Beatboxer: "A beatboxer goes into a call centre to run a training day. But the bosses have ulterior motives for him being there. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Orpheus_in_the_Record_Shop_and_The_Beatb/qZQwEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Orpheus+in+the+record+shop+%3B+and,+The+beatboxer+/+by+Testament&printsec=frontcover

Little Red Warrior and his lawyer : a trickster land claim fable / by Kevin Loring

Little Red Warrior is the last remaining member of the Little Red Warrior First Nation. One day, he discovers a development company has begun construction on his ancestral lands. In a fit of rage, Little Red attacks one of the engineers and is arrested for assault and trespassing on his own lands. In jail he meets his court-appointed lawyer, Larry, who agrees to help Little Red get his lands back. Larry convinces his wife, Desdemona, to allow Little Red to move into their basement while they sort out Red's case. Desdemona and Red strike up an uneasy relationship. Despite herself Desdemona, who is not accustomed to being thrown off her game, is increasingly drawn to Red's apparently hypnotic Indigenous charisma. As sparks begin to fly between them Larry prepares to fight for Little Red's Land Rights. An unexpected intervention by a greater power occurs in the court case, and nothing will ever be the same.

Foxes / by Dexter Flanders

Foxes follows Daniel, a young black man trying to keep up with his life, which is moving fast. When his relationship with best friend Leon brings an unexpected change it creates turmoil, bringing a taboo into his family home that has the power to tear the closest and most loving relationships apart. Shortlisted for the 2018 Alfred Fagon Award, Dexter Flanders's debut play Foxes explores masculinity and identity within London's Caribbean community and Black street culture. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Foxes/y6ZHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Foxes+/+by+Dexter+Flanders&printsec=frontcover

Fado : the saddest music in the world / by Elaine Avila

Fado is the story of a young singer, Luisa, who arrives home to her apartment in Surrey, BC, to find her mother, Rosida, collapsed on the floor, weeping, because the greatest fado singer of all time, Amalia Rodrigues, has died. All of Portugal's vast diaspora has entered into three days of mourning. Luisa discovers that one of her mother's old fado albums is signed by Amalia's guitarist, Antonio. It seems they were friends back in their village. Luisa realizes she doesn't know how to sing a single Portuguese song, because she and her mother moved outside the community after Luisa's dad died. Luisa begs Rosida to write to Antonio so Luisa can reclaim her heritage by learning how to sing fado. Rosida is reluctant, but Luisa says she will save the money to take them on the trip of a lifetime, back to Lisbon. When they arrive, Rosida is overcome with feeling for all she has lost. Luisa and Rosida look up their long-lost mysterious cousin, Rui, who shows them carefully curated tourist spots, making Luisa wonder what he is hiding. The ghost of Amalia begins haunting the city, watching over and singing to all of the characters, all in mourning, all searching for how to sing fado without Amalia. At Luisa's first lesson with Antonio, Luisa discovers Rosida's favourite fado is fascist. It seems fado became propaganda during the Portuguese dictatorship, the longest in modern times. When Rosida is outraged that Antonio says her favourite fado is fascist, she confronts him during Luisa's singing lesson. Luisa discovers that Antonio and Rosida were far more than friends. Luisa is furious, wondering if her mother ever loved her father. Rosida and Antonio begin to rekindle their romance. Rui reveals his secret, causing Rosida to reject him completely. Luisa finds her world overturned. Despite her best efforts, Antonio says Luisa isn't Portuguese enough to sing the music. Heartbroken, Luisa begins wandering the back alleys and streets of old Lisbon, where the music was born. Luisa encounters a sexy poet, who shows her the city, they fall in love. Luisa finds her path to reclaim her culture is as curving and mysterious as the back alleys of Lisbon, winding through queer fado, fados of resistance, immigrant fados, fuelled by her desire to find her own true song.

Don Juan in Soho / by Patrick Marber

DJ will go to bed with anything that breathes. His lust is so unquenchable that he's employed his friend and assistant, Stan, to organize his ever-growing digital Rolodex of partners. As the two of them romp the streets of London's Soho seeking DJ's next conquest, they leave a wreckage of heartbreak and betrayal in their wake. A racy twist on Molière's Don Juan, Patrick Marber's irresistible adaptation imagines the classic antihero in the twenty-first century, where idiocy, masculinity, and hubris still reign. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Don_Juan_in_SoHo/togbEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Don+Juan+in+Soho+/+by+Patrick+Marber&printsec=frontcover

Contemporary queer plays by Russian playwrights / edited and translated by Tatiana Klepikova

Includes the plays: Satellites and comets / Roman Kozyrchikov -- Summer lightning / Andrey Rodionov and Ekaterina Troepolskaya -- A little hero / Valery Pecheykin -- A child for Olya / Natalya Milanteva -- The pillow's soul / Olzhas Zhanaydarov -- Every shade of blue / Vladimir Zaytsev -- A city flower / Elizaveta Letter Contemporary Queer Plays by Russian Playwrights is the first anthology of LGBTQ-themed plays written by Russian queer authors and straight allies in the 21st century. The book features plays by established and emergent playwrights of the Russian drama scene, including Roman Kozyrchikov, Andrey Rodionov and Ekaterina Troepolskaya, Valery Pecheykin, Natalya Milanteva, Olzhas Zhanaydarov, Vladimir Zaytsev, and Elizaveta Letter. Writing for children, teenagers, and adults, these authors explore gay, lesbian, trans, and other queer lives in prose and in verse. From a confession-style solo play to poetic satire on contemporary Russia; from a play for children to love dramas that have been staged for adult-only audiences in Moscow and other cities, this important anthology features work that was written around or after 2013-the year when the law on the prohibition of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors" was passed by the Russian government. These plays are universal stories of humanity that spread a message of tolerance, acceptance, and love and make clear that a queer scenario does not necessarily have to end in a tragedy just because it was imagined and set in Russia. They show that breathing, growing old, falling in love, falling out of love, and falling in love again can be just as challenging and rewarding in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia as it can be in New York, Tokyo, Johannesburg, or Buenos Aires. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Contemporary_Queer_Plays_by_Russian_Play/b_1AEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Contemporary+queer+plays+by+Russian+playwrights+/+edited+and+translated+by+Tatiana+Klepikova&printsec=frontcover

The Apple family : a pandemic trilogy : conversations on Zoom / by Richard Nelson

Includes the plays: What do we need to talk about? -- And so we come forth -- Incidental moments of the day. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Apple_Family_A_Pandemic_Trilogy/ChEhEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Apple+family+:+a+pandemic+trilogy+:+conversations+on+Zoom+/+by+Richard+Nelson&pg=PT1&printsec=frontcover

Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's China trilogy : three parables of global capital / by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

Includes the plays: The world of extreme happiness -- The king of Hell's Palace -- Snow in midsummer Poetic and devastating, sensuous and politically acute, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's China Trilogy explores the forces of global capital as they explode within the lives of everyday people in contemporary China. This volume collects together the three plays in the series, including Cowhig's exploration of the human cost of development in China's socialist market economy (The World of Extreme Happiness), of justice and revenge amidst ecological and economic catastrophe (Snow in Midsummer), and the tale of the trade in blood that brought the AIDS crisis to rural China (The King of Hell's Palace). Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Frances_Ya_Chu_Cowhig_s_China_Trilogy_Th/4bQ8EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Frances+Ya-Chu+Cowhig%27s+China+trilogy+:+three+parables+of+global+capital+/+by+Frances+Ya-Chu+Cowhig&printsec=frontcover

What I (don't) know about autism / by Jody O'Neill

A sometimes comic, sometimes heartbreaking journey into the world of autism. Sandra is looking for love. Gordon is seeking acceptance. Simon just wants these parents to stop talking for two minutes so he can get on with teaching their kids. And Casper? Casper is not here. Jody O'Neill's play What I (Don't) Know About Autism mixes narrative, song, dance and direct address to explore this contentious and often misunderstood subject matter. Inspired by the writer's own experiences with autism, the play celebrates autistic identity whilst offering deeper insight and understanding to non-autistic audiences.

Unholy / by Diane Flacks

Four female panelists face off in a wild, whip-smart televised debate about the intersection of religion and misogyny. On one side, there’s Maryam, a progressive Muslim lawyer, and Yehudit, an Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader. The other has Liz, a lesbian antitheist pundit, and Margaret, an excommunicated nun. The debaters wrestle with themselves and with each other: Can you be a feminist and believe in religion? What can or can’t be forgiven? Why do we have faith to begin with? Between the arguments, each of the debaters return to a seminal and secret moment in their past that represents a crisis of faith, leading the debate to become more and more personally charged, until it climaxes in an epic battle.

Trace / by Jeff Ho

An elegant and sweeping story of a Chinese family’s history, trace follows the footsteps of four generations as their homes and identities are challenged. Jeff Ho brings life to his great grandmother, grandmother, and mother through considerate storytelling as they recount their pasts, leading to a paralleled present. Great Grandmother fled the Japanese during World War II by escaping China into Hong Kong, a traumatic event that’s rippled down the family line. Grandmother married into the family after a childhood of poverty that will always stay with her. Mother decided to leave Hong Kong for Canada with her two sons, pursuing more opportunities, though dissatisfied with her son’s desire to focus on the piano rather than math. Though pain is a constant, there are plenty of wisecracks, games of mah jong, and familiar family anecdotes swirling through Ho’s genealogical journey of survival.

Th'owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish / by Joseph A Dandurand

From the Kwantlen First Nation village of Squa'lets comes the tale of Th'owxiya, an old and powerful spirit that inhabits a feast dish. Her dish boasts enticing, beautiful foods from around the world, but stealing from her can be dangerous, as she's developed a taste for children.

Summer Rolls / by Tuyen Do

Mai is impulsive, intelligent, independent and growing up fast. As well as realising from a young age that her family are nursing deep wounds and secrets, she also has to navigate her dual identity as a second generation immigrant. Having escaped war-torn Vietnam, her family’s individual journeys and memories have left scars that Mai was too young to understand. Embracing their silence, Mai’s camera becomes a conduit through which her journey of discovery begins. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Summer_Rolls/RqL8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Summer+Rolls+/+by+Tuyen+Do&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Soft animals / by Holly Robinson

Sarah gets spat at in the street. Frankie doesn't go to her lectures. In the aftermath of the accident that brought them together, neither expects to find solace in the other's company. Between hate mail and novelty teddy bears, the two women become something like friends. They want to punish themselves. They might save each other.

Small island / by Andrea Levy ; adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson

Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. In these three intimately connected stories, hope and humanity meet stubborn reality, tracing the tangled history of Jamaica and Britain. Andrea Levy's epic novel 'Small Island,' adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, journeys from Jamaica to Britain in 1948 - the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury.

Seeds / by Mel Pennant

It's Michael Thomas's birthday. A cake sits in his mother Evelyn's living room, its candles burning undisturbed. On the fifteenth anniversary of Michael's fatal stabbing, Jackie wants to clear her conscience, whilst Evelyn's got a big speech to deliver. Are some things better left unsaid? Mel Pennant's play seeds explores the human story behind a tragedy, through the eyes of those left behind: two mothers united in sorrow, and sharing the hardship of protecting their sons – one in life, and one in death.

It's all TRU / by Sky Gilbert

Love, sex, and pharmaceuticals are put to the test when a gay couple's open relationship is threatened with dangerous consequences. Kurt, a silver fox dance instructor, and his young fiancé, Travis, have an arrangement: when one's away, they're allowed to stray . . . as long as they're safe. One night, over a dinner conversation about wedding invitations, Travis admits that he had a fling with a man named Gideon who he believes removed his condom during sex. He also reveals that he didn't start taking the HIV preventative medication PrEP (TRUvada)--as promised--putting himself and Kurt in danger of contracting HIV. When Gideon appears on their doorstep in the middle of the night, the threat against Kurt and Travis's relationship is an alarming force to be reckoned with

How to defend yourself / by Liliana Padilla

Seven college students gather for a DIY self-defense workshop after a sorority sister is raped. They practice using their bodies as weapons. They wrestle with their desires. They learn the limits of self-defense. This new play by writer, director, actor, and community builder Liliana Padilla explores the intersection of sex, community, and what it means to heal in a violent world. Padilla shows how learning self-defense becomes a channel for these college students’ rage, anxiety, confusion, trauma, and desire. The play examines what one wants, how to ask for it, and the ways rape culture threatens one’s body and sense of belonging. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/How_to_Defend_Yourself/3NL5DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=How+to+defend+yourself+/+by+Liliana+Padilla&printsec=frontcover

Guarded Girls / by Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman

The stories and experiences of three imprisoned women intertwine in dramatic and dangerous ways, as the psychological destruction that is solitary confinement taunts each of their lives. Nineteen-year-old Sid is transferred to a new prison, finding friendship with her cellmate Brit, but she also forms a complicated relationship with a guard who seems to be watching their every move. In another time, an older inmate named Kit talks to an unseen audience about a coming visitor and how she’ll stop at nothing to see them, even if that means bringing down the entire prison system. In another place, three girls wait as visitors, each one thinking about the complicated positions their mothers are in.

First time / by Nathaniel Hall

Can you remember your first time? In this hilarious and heartbreaking true story, theatre-maker and activist Nathaniel Hall can't seem to forget his. To be fair, he's had it playing on repeat for the last fifteen years... but now he's ready to lift the lid on his life-changing secret. First presented by Dibby Theatre and Waterside Arts, First Time went on to critical and audience acclaim on tour of the UK and at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It smashes through the stigma and shame of HIV, to present an uplifting and inspirational guide to staying positive in a negative world.

CripTales : six monologues / curated by Mat Fraser

From the liberation of the electric wheelchair to the ignominy of discrimination and incarceration, there have been both great advances and terrible setbacks for disabled people in Britain over the last fifty years. Hard-hitting and hilarious, personal and poignant, CripTales comprises six fictional monologues portraying some very real experiences. From negotiating friendships and personal assistants, navigating the benefits system, and experiencing sexual fulfilment, they challenge the view that having a disability is a problem or ‘not normal’. Normal doesn’t exist!

Acha bacha / by Bilal Baig

For years, Zaya has delicately balanced his relationship with his Muslim faith and queer identity by keeping his genderqueer lover and manipulative mother apart. But when his mother ends up in the hospital on the same day his partner is leaving for pilgrimage, Zaya's worlds come crashing in on each other, opening a space for traumatic memories to resurface. Acha Bacha boldly explores the intersections between queerness, gender identity, and Islamic culture in the Pakistani diaspora. It's about the way we love, the way we are loved, and what it takes to truly accept love.

8 hotels / by Nicholas Wright

Celebrated actor, singer and political campaigner Paul Robeson is touring the United States of America as Othello. His Desdemona is the brilliant young actress Uta Hagen. Her husband, the Broadway star José Ferrer, plays Iago. The actors are all friends, but they are not all equals. As the tour progresses, onstage passions and offstage lives begin to blur. Revenge takes many forms and in post-war America it isn't always purely personal - it can be disturbingly political too.

15 heroines : The war, The desert, The labyrinth : 15 monologues adapted from Ovid / by April de Angelis [and fourteen others]

Two thousand years ago, the Roman poet Ovid gave voice to a group of inspirational women--queens, sorcerers, pioneers, poets and politicians--in a series of fictional letters called The Heroines. They were the women left in the wake of those swaggering heroes of classical mythology: Theseus, Hercules, Ulysses, Jason, Achilles... Now, drawing inspiration from Ovid, fifteen leading female and non-binary British playwrights dramatise the lives of these fifteen heroines in a series of new monologues for the twenty-first century.

What the Constitution means to me / by Heidi Schreck

When she was fifteen years old, Heidi Schreck started traveling the country, taking part in constitutional debates to earn money for her college tuition. Decades later, in ... [this play], she traces the effect that the Constitution has had on four generations of women in her family, deftly examining how the United States' founding principles are inextricably linked with our personal lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/What_the_Constitution_Means_to_Me_TCG_Ed/SLaZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=What+the+Constitution+means+to+me+/+by+Heidi+Schreck&printsec=frontcover

The welkin / by Lucy Kirkwood

Rural Suffolk, 1759. As the country waits for Halley's Comet, Sally Poppy is sentenced to hang for a heinous murder. When she claims to be pregnant, a jury of twelve matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she's telling the truth, or simply trying to escape the noose. With only midwife Lizzy Luke prepared to defend the girl, and a mob baying for blood outside, the matrons wrestle with their new authority, and the devil in their midst.

We are Pussy Riot or everything is P.R. : a play about the most famous performance art piece in history / by Barbara Hammond

In February 2012, five young women walked into the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow to protest the illegal presidential election in Russia. The young activists, who called themselves Pussy Riot, offered up a 48-second punk prayer, shouting "Virgin Mary, chase Putin away!" before being dragged out of the church by security. After uploading a video of the performance onto YouTube, the women of Pussy Riot were arrested as enemies of church and state. But when Western media reclaimed the story, Pussy Riot's protest became the greatest piece of performance art in Russian history. This is their story. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/We_Are_Pussy_Riot_or_Everything_Is_P_R/t-nwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=We+are+Pussy+Riot+or+everything+is+P.R.+:+a+play+about+the+most+famous+performance+art+piece+in+history+/+by+Barbara+Hammond&printsec=frontcover

Watchlist : green is the new red / by Alex Vickery-Howe

Basil Pepper is not 'the man', he's not a doer, or a fighter, or even much of a thinker. World events pass him by, ideology makes him sleepy, and the Prime Minister's name eludes him. Delia Dengel is determined to take a stand, to succeed where generations have failed, and be the change she wants to see, even if she'll always be hunted. Basil is smitten. It isn't long before he begins to see the world through Delia's eyes. And that's when the storm begins. How far would you go to save the world.

Unusual stories, unusually told : 7 contemporary American plays from Clubbed Thumb / edited and introduced by Maria Striar and Michael Bulger

Includes the plays: U.S. Drag / Gina Gionfriddo -- Slavey / Sigrid Gilmer -- Dot / Kate E. Ryan -- Baby Screams Miracle / Clare Barron -- Men on Boats / Jaclyn Backhaus -- Of Government / Agnes Borinsky -- Plano / Will Arbery Unusual Stories, Unusually Told celebrates some of the boldest contemporary American voices with seven plays from Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks. Spanning 2001 to 2019 and accompanied by artist interviews and reflections on the work, this anthology presents a vital survey of formally inventive 21st century playwriting, and is a perfect collection for study and performance. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Unusual_Stories_Unusually_Told_7_Contemp/yA8oEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Unusual+stories,+unusually+told+:+7+contemporary+American+plays+from+Clubbed+Thumb+/+edited+and+introduced+by+Maria+Striar+and+Michael+Bulger&pg=PT2&printsec=frontcover

Untitled feminist show / by Young Jean Lee.

In UNTITLED FEMINIST SHOW, six charismatic stars of the downtown theater, dance, cabaret, and burlesque worlds come together to invite the audience on an exhilaratingly irreverent, nearly-wordless celebration of a fluid and limitless sense of identity.

Two Indians / by Falen Johnson

Win lives on the rez and Roe lives in the city, where she fled after a terrible family tragedy. After years apart, the two cousins reunite in a Toronto alley to recreate a ceremony from their childhood, but can they remember how? Has the world changed too much? Have they? When the words "missing and murdered," "truth and reconciliation," "occupation and resistance" are everywhere, how do two Mohawk women stand their ground? Falen Johnson"s powerful Two Indians is a darkly comedic look at the landscape of being Indigenous.

The thanksgiving play / by Larissa FastHorse

In The Thanksgiving Play, a group of well-intentioned white teaching artists scramble to create an ambitious "woke" Thanksgiving pageant that also celebrates Native American Heritage Month. Amidst their eagerness to put on the most culturally sensitive show possible, things quickly begin to devolve into the absurd, showing how even those with good intentions can be undone by their own blind spots. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Thanksgiving_Play_What_Would_Crazy_H/PraZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+thanksgiving+play+/+by+Larissa+FastHorse&printsec=frontcover

A strange loop / book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson

Usher is a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical. Michael R. Jackson's blistering, momentous new musical follows a young artist at war with a host of demons - not least of which, the punishing thoughts in his own head - in an attempt to capture and understand his own strange loop Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Strange_Loop/TQHoDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+strange+loop+/+book,+music,+and+lyrics+by+Michael+R.+Jackson&printsec=frontcover

Spun / by Rabiah Hussain

Safa and Aisha have been best friends for years. They used to bunk off school, revise for exams together and even went to the same university. But now they’re forging different paths for the first time: Safa to work in the City, and Aisha to teach in Newham. When London is attacked one day in July, Safa and Aisha feel the whole world spinning. As extremes from all sides take hold of the city, can their friendship survive the upheaval?

The sound inside : a play / by Adam Rapp

When Bella Baird, an isolated creative writing professor at Yale, begins to mentor a brilliant but enigmatic student named Christopher, the two form an unexpectedly intense bond. As their lives and the stories they tell about themselves become intertwined in unpredictable ways, Bella makes a surprising request of Christopher that neither knows if he can fulfill. Brimming with suspense, Rapp's riveting play explores the limits of what one person can ask of another. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sound_Inside/0-u5DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+sound+inside+:+a+play+/+by+Adam+Rapp&printsec=frontcover

Sheepdog / by Kevin Artigue

Amina and Ryan are both officers on the Cleveland police force. Amina is black, Ryan is white, and they are falling deeply and passionately in love. When an officer-involved shooting roils the department, small cracks in their relationship widen into a chasm of confusion and self-doubt. A mystery and a love story with high stakes and no easy answers, SHEEPDOG fearlessly examines police violence, interracial love, and class in the 21st century. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sheepdog/PenwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sheepdog+/+by+Kevin+Artigue&printsec=frontcover

Sexual misconduct of the middle classes / by Hannah Moscovitch

The archetypal student-teacher romance is cleverly turned on its head for the post-#MeToo era in this striking new play by the acclaimed author of What a Young Wife Ought to Know and Bunny. Jon, a star professor and author, is racked with self-loathing after his third marriage crumbles around him when he finds himself admiring a student--a girl in a red coat. The girl, nineteen-year-old Annie, is a big fan of his work, and also happens to live down the street. From their doorways to his office to hotel rooms, their mutual admiration and sexual tension escalates under Jon's control to a surprising conclusion that will leave you wanting to go back and question your perceptions of power as soon as you finish.

Severed / by Ignacio Lopez

Dark, disturbing, deft, irreverent, and revelatory, Ignacio Lopez's monologue is at once a coming-of-age story, a horror story, and a highly theatrical experiment in radical empathy. Weaving together two very different voices grappling with strikingly similar crises of sexuality and conscience, Severed asks: where do we draw the line between human and monster, severing, as we do so, the possibility of empathy, forgiveness, and understanding? What happens when we see ourselves reflected in the monster's eye?

Seven methods of killing Kylie Jenner / by Jasmine Lee-Jones

Holed up in her bedroom, Cleo's aired twenty-two WhatsApps from Kara and has cut off contact with the rest of the world. It doesn't mean she's been silent though--she's got a lot to say. On the internet, actions don't always speak louder than words ... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/seven_methods_of_killing_kylie_jenner/-YZDEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Seven+methods+of+killing+Kylie+Jenner+/+by+Jasmine+Lee-Jones&printsec=frontcover

Seductive detective : (a play) / by Abubakar Othman

In this play, Seductive Detective, the author presents snapshot of the socio-political maneuvering in a Nigerian university, especially the interplay of forces inside and outside the campus in their attempts to influence outcomes, from appointments, promotions, potentially negative reactions to state policies, academic matters, students' politics to subterranean intelligence operations by agents. Not many appear to be what they seem

Rotterdam / by Jon Brittain

No, Alice, I don't want to become a man, I just want to stop trying to be a woman. It's New Year in Rotterdam, and Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents and tell them she's gay. But before she can hit send, her girlfriend reveals that he has always identified as a man and now wants to start living as one. Now Alice must face a question she never thought she'd ask . . . does this mean she's straight? A bittersweet comedy about gender, sexuality and being a long way from home. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rotterdam/ST_qDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rotterdam+/+by+Jon+Brittain&printsec=frontcover

Rinse, repeat / by Domenica Feraud

After fighting for her life for four months at Renley, an inpatient eating disorder treatment center, Rachel finally goes home for a trial weekend. At first, Rachel couldn't be happier to be reunited with her family. But what happens when the people you love most, the ones you believe want the best for you, are the ones causing the most damage without even knowing it? Where do you go when the place you feel you most belong might be the place that almost killed you in the first place? Rinse, Repeat sharply conveys the painful truth about a woman's fight for her life in the face of an eating disorder.

Reasons you should(n't) love me / by Amy Trigg

Juno was born with spina bifida and is now clumsily navigating her twenties amidst street healers, love, loneliness – and the feeling of being an unfinished project. Winner of The Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020, Amy Trigg’s remarkable debut play Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me is a hilarious, heart-warming tale about how shit our wonderful lives can be.

Plays 1 / by Lucy Prebble

Includes the plays: The sugar syndrome -- Enron -- The effect -- A very expensive poison. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lucy_Prebble_Plays_1/XCsJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+1+/+by+Lucy+Prebble&printsec=frontcover

Pink lemonade / by Mika Onyx Johnson

Just when Mika was starting to feel at home in their own body, they find themselves caught between Simmi who's sweet like sugar but ain't a lesbian and Token Toni who loves a bitta bashment and only dates black and brown butches. How can they catch a break when straight women are like junk food? In Mika Onyx Johnson's Edinburgh Fringe 2019 smash hit Pink Lemonade, original beats collide with poetry and movement to create an explosive autobiographical piece of storytelling. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pink_Lemonade/fmBIEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pink+lemonade+/+by+Mika+Onyx+Johnson&printsec=frontcover

Our wife has gone mad : (a play) / by 'Bode Ojoniye

In this play, Daniela appropriates the same liberty or privilege given to men and marries several husbands. She does not cheat on the first husband; she merely legally gets married to the other two men and keeps them in their different cities - after all, some men do this too ...

Open / by Crystal Skillman

Open is a magic act that reveals itself to be a resurrection. A woman called the Magician presents a myriad of tricks for our entertainment, yet her performance seems to be attempting the impossible--to save the life of her partner, Jenny. But is our faith in her illusions enough to rewrite the past? The clock is ticking, the show must go on, and, as impossible as it may seem, this Magician's act may be our last hope against a world filled with intolerance and hate. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Open/G-nwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Open+/+by+Crystal+Skillman&printsec=frontcover

On the royal road : the burgher king / by Elfriede Jelinek ; translated by Gitta Honegger

Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek is known as a writer who works in response to contemporary crises and cultural phenomena. Perhaps none of her works display that quality as clearly as On the Royal Road. Three weeks after Donald Trump’s election, Jelinek mailed her German editor the first draft of this play, which turns out to be a stunningly prescient response to Trump and what he represents. In this drama we discover that a “king,” blinded by himself, who has made a fortune with real estate, golf courses and casinos, suddenly rules the United States, and the rest of the people of the world rub their eyes in disbelief until no one sees anything anymore. As topical as the evening news, yet with insight built on a lifetime of closely observing politics and culture, On the Royal Road brings into focus the phenomenon of right-wing populism, which spreads like a virus and has a lasting effect on global politics. Carefully perched somewhere between tragedy and grotesque, high-pitched and squeamish, Jelinek in this work questions her own position and forms of resistance.

Now you see her / by Lisa Karen Cox, Maggie Huculak, Raha Javanfar, Amy Nostbakken, Norah Sadava, and Cheyenne Scott

They are the invisible, the vanishing, and the disappeared. In an insurrectionary outburst of original music, words, and movement, the six characters in Now You See Her explore some of the diverse ways women fade from sight in our culture. They sing, dance, and thrust themselves into the elements as they travel through the seasons of their lives. Their voices are defiant. Their question is simple: why and how do we allow our power to disappear without a fight? Now You See Her follows Quote Unquote Collective's acclaimed international hit Mouthpiece. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Now_You_See_Her/2gTuDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Now+you+see+her+/+by+Lisa+Karen+Cox,+Maggie+Huculak,+Raha+Javanfar,+Amy+Nostbakken,+Norah+Sadava,+and+Cheyenne+Scott&pg=PT2&printsec=frontcover

A museum in Baghdad / by Hannah Khalil

In 1926, the nation of Iraq is in its infancy, and British archaeologist Gertrude Bell is founding a museum in Baghdad. In 2006, Ghalia Hussein is attempting to reopen the museum after looting during the Iraq War. Decades apart, these two women share the same goals : to create a fresh sense of unity and nationhood, to make the world anew through the museum and its treasures. But in such unstable times, questions remain. Who is the museum for? Whose culture are we preserving? And why does it matter when people are dying? This is a story of treasured history, desperate choices and the remarkable Gertrude Bell. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Museum_in_Baghdad/CuG_DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+museum+in+Baghdad+/+by+Hannah+Khalil&printsec=frontcover

Miss Julie / August Strindberg ; adapted by Amy Ng

It's Chinese New Year in 1940s Hong Kong. Julie is the daughter of a Taipan, a British tycoon whose family fortune was built on opium. With her father away for the weekend, Julie comes downstairs to join the servants as they party, initiating a sexually-charged power game with her father's butler. What starts as a game descends into a fight for survival as sex, power, money and race collide on a hot night in the Pearl River Delta. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Miss_Julie/Fg7UDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Miss+Julie+/+August+Strindberg+%3B+adapted+by+Amy+Ng&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Long lost / by Donald Margulies

When troubled Billy appears out of the blue in his estranged brother David's Wall Street office, he soon tries to reinsert himself into the comfortable life David has built with his philanthropist wife and college-age son. What does Billy really want? Can he be trusted? And how much can family bonds smooth over past rifts? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Long_Lost/7ejwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Long+lost+/+by+Donald+Margulies&printsec=frontcover

Lonely planet / by Steven Dietz

Jody is in his forties and runs a map store. Not one for the outside world, he stays in his store all the time. His friend, Carl is in his late thirties and has been bringing chairs of dead friends into Jody's store and leaving them there. When Jody needs to take an AIDS test, Carl tries to convince him it is not only okay to leave the store but also that he must take responsibility for his life. If he doesn't, he will join the set of chairs that Carl has taken great pains to place in the right spots around the store. Through their interaction, the two realize how grateful they are to have such a strong lasting friendship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lonely_Planet/iTNoyzpG1boC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lonely+planet+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

Linda Vista / by Tracy Letts

At 50 years old, Wheeler is moving into an apartment of his own. Divorce and a dead-end job leave him faced with the challenge of building a brand new life as a middle-aged man. Wheeler's hilarious, tangled journey in Linda Vista is punctuated with complications, both painful and joyful, as he forges a new path. With a deftly crafted blend of humor and humanity, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts demonstrates the ultimate midlife crisis: the bewildering search for self-discovery once you've already grown up. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Linda_Vista_TCG_Edition/QraZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Linda+Vista+/+by+Tracy+Letts&printsec=frontcover

Jump / by Charly Evon Simpson

As Fay copes with the death of her mother and loss of her childhood home, she seeks solace by visiting the bridge her mother took her to as a child. There she meets Hopkins, who walks the bridge as a balm for his own grieving. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jump/5-jwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jump+/+by+Charly+Evon+Simpson&printsec=frontcover

The inheritance : inspired by the novel Howards End / by Matthew Lopez

Inspired by E.M. Forster's novel Howards end, and set in New York three decades after the height of the AIDS epidemic, The Inheritance wrestles with what it means to be a gay man today, exploring relationships and connections across age and social class, and asking what one generation's responsibilities may be to the next

The homecoming queen / by Ngozi Anyanwu

At fifteen years old, Kelechi left Nigeria for the United States, leaving her family and her culture behind. Fifteen years later, she is now a best-selling novelist and must return to Nigeria to care for her ailing father. Before she can say goodbye, however, she must relearn the traditions she had wiped from her memory. Kelechi's homecoming soon becomes a head-on collision with her culture, trauma, family history, and the love of those who never forgot her. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Homecoming_Queen/3-jwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+homecoming+queen+/+by+Ngozi+Anyanwu&printsec=frontcover

The high table / by Temi Wilkey

The dresses are chosen, the venue's been booked and the RSVPs are flooding in. But with her wedding to Leah drawing nearer, Tara's future is thrown into jeopardy when her Nigerian parents refuse to attend. This kind of love is unheard of, they say. It's not African. High above London, suspended between the stars, three of Tara's ancestors are jolted from their eternal rest. Stubborn and opinionated, they keep watch as family secrets are spilled and the rift widens between Tara and her parents. Can these representatives of generations passed keep the family together? And will Tara's decision ever get their blessing? An epic family drama played out between the heavens and earth, The High Table is the hilarious and heart-breaking debut play from Temi Wilkey. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_High_Table/X-_RDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+high+table+/+by+Temi+Wilkey&pg=PP10&printsec=frontcover

Heather Raffo's Iraq plays/ by Heather Raffo

A trilogy of plays by renowned Iraqi American playwright/performer Heather Raffo including '9 Parts of Desire', 'Fallujah', and 'Noura'. In these three works Raffo explores the indelible effects of war on Iraqis, Americans, and the refugees caught between the two cultures. When considered together, these three works give voice to nearly two decades of rarely examined traumas that have reshaped cultural and national identity for both Americans and Iraqis since the events of 9/11. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Heather_Raffo_s_Iraq_Plays_The_Things_Th/3CQGEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Heather+Raffo%27s+Iraq+plays/+by+Heather+Raffo&printsec=frontcover

He brought her heart back in a box / by Adrienne Kennedy

Set in Georgia and New York City in 1941 this heartbreaking memory tale of segregation and doomed love braids together Jim Crow, sexual hypocrisy, and the lingering shadow of a terrible crime. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/He_Brought_Her_Heart_Back_in_a_Box_and_O/RraZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=He+brought+her+heart+back+in+a+box+/+by+Adrienne+Kennedy&printsec=frontcover

The haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda : a two-act play / by Ishmael Reed

This powerful play, originally produced at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, comprehensively dismantles the phenomenon of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hamilton. Reed uses the musical's crimes against history to insist on a radical, cleareyed way of looking at our past and our selves. Both durable and timely, this goes beyond mere corrective - it is a meticulously researched rebuttal, and absorbing drama, and a brilliant rallying cry for justice. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Haunting_of_Lin_Manuel_Miranda/eUsnEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+haunting+of+Lin-Manuel+Miranda+:+a+two-act+play+/+by+Ishmael+Reed&printsec=frontcover

Hand to God / by Robert Askins

After the death of his father, meek Jason finds an outlet for his anxiety at the Christian Puppet Ministry, in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason's complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door, and -- most especially -- his mother are thrown into upheaval when Jason's puppet, Tyrone, takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. Hand to God explores the startingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hand_to_God/qrArDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hand+to+God+/+by+Robert+Askins&printsec=frontcover

Good grief : a best friend play / by Ngozi Anyanwu

GOOD GRIEF follows Nkechi, or N—a med-school dropout, a first-generation Nigerian, a would-be goddess—as she navigates first loves and losses, and tries to find answers in her parents, the boy next door, and the stars. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Good_Grief/2ejwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=good+grief+anyanwu&printsec=frontcover

Gloria / Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

With a sharp eye for the dark underbelly of human behavior, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' new play Gloria shrewdly depicts the declining, dog-eat-dog industry of publishing in New York City. As an unnamed magazine struggles with the world's encroaching descent into the digital age, the human relationships within simultaneously implode. Ani, Kendra, and Dean are the sparring, sharp-tongued assistant editors, constantly competing and complaining, vying over power and a better position. Governed by ferocious wit and corrosive dialogue, these characters spend most of the first act sniping at one another and finding ways to ignore their industry's impending doom...until, true to Jacobs-Jenkins fashion, the action is derailed by a shocking turn. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gloria/_8ArDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gloria+/+Branden+Jacobs-Jenkins&printsec=frontcover

Five times in one night / by Chiara Atik

In this comedic quintet, five couples explore the delights and disappointments of their sex lives. Whether they are the first two people on Earth or the last two, modern partners with shifting needs, exes on the eve of a life-altering event, or twelfth-century pen pals, following those most natural desires uncovers truths about their humanity. Altogether, FIVE TIMES IN ONE NIGHT is a hilarious examination of intimacy through the age. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Five_Times_in_One_Night/u-jwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Five+times+in+one+night+/+by+Chiara+Atik&printsec=frontcover

Dragonfly / by Lara Rae

In this original and poetic new work, Lara Rae tells the raw and heartfelt story of her half-century long (and counting) gender odyssey. Dragonfly presents us with two actors, one male, one female, who illuminate the inner life of a trans woman from her Scottish childhood in the 1960s to the present day. Matching our inside to our outside is always hard, but for trans people it's often a matter of life and death. Stripping away the visual cues that both define and imprison transgender people, Dragonfly is a call to all of us to forge creativity from chaos. So often, it is the external changes in trans lives that the world is exposed to and confronts. Here, as Lara says, is the "inside voice" of a trans child, ever present, ever demanding to be heard, ever rising upward, to growth, peace, security and love.

Deliver us from Mama! / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

Mama's back--so chaos can't be far behind! This rip-roaring, hilarious, high-octane race to beat the stork begins when Walker Sprunt's wife, Hayley, goes into labor with their first child. The problem? She's in Alabama, and he is in L.A., trying his best to get through a surprise visit from his meddling mother and his bossy big sister, Savannah, when he gets the call. Unfortunately, an air traffic controllers' strike has just begun across the nation and Walker is at a loss for what to do. But his Mama, as usual, is not. And when she proclaims "Family Road Trip!," Walker, from experience, knows disaster can't be far behind. And is he ever right--as the clock ticks, Mama and her squabbling offspring jump in a car and sprint across two thousand miles of America and through its most unbelievably eccentric and colorful communities, and comedic chaos follows them everywhere. Despite experiencing zany alien encounters near Roswell, New Mexico, witnessing an uproarious last-minute wedding with off-their-rockers relatives, participating unwillingly in a high-speed police chase across Texas, surviving a churning river on a daiquiri party barge, and even escaping a wild New Orleans Mardi Gras night court, this exuberantly desperate trio drive on, determined to make it to Alabama before the new baby is born. And heaven help anyone who gets in Mama's way, because she WILL be in Birmingham in time for the birth of her first grandchild! This flat-out-funny Jones Hope Wooten comedy will get your motors racing as it delivers miles of smiles and loads of laughs! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Deliver_Us_from_Mama/r-jwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Deliver+us+from+Mama!+/+by+Jessie+Jones,+Nicholas+Hope,+Jamie+Wooten&printsec=frontcover

Death of England / by Roy Williams and Clint Dyer

After the death of his dad, Michael is powerless and angry. In a state of heartbreak, he confronts the difficult truths about his father's legacy and the country that shaped him. At the funeral, unannounced and unprepared, Michael decides it is time to speak. 'Death of England' is a powerful new monologue play by Roy Williams and Clint Dyer that explores family feelings and a country on the brink. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Death_of_England/2kzODwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Death+of+England+/+by+Roy+Williams+and+Clint+Dyer&printsec=frontcover

Cruise / by Jack Holden

Set in London's Soho in the 1980s, Cruise tells the story of what should have been Michael Spencer's last night on Earth. Diagnosed with HIV in 1984, he's told by doctors that he has just four years to live. So as the clock runs down, Michael decides to go out in style. As he parties and bids final farewells to his friends, the clock strikes zero and Michael...survives. With the gift of life, how can he go on living? ...a kaleidescopic new monologue celebrating queer culture and paying tribute to a generation of gay men lost to the AIDS crisis.

Crippled : a play / by Paul David Power

Tony has lost just about everything, and now he is on the verge of giving up the rest. Alone on the St. John's harbourfront, he is reeling from the loss of his one true love and the persisting stigma of his physical disability. He sees no future, only the crippling pain of his past. But his night, and his life, are about to be intercepted by the very last person he would have expected.

The courtroom : a reenactment of one woman's deportation proceedings / transcripts arranged by Arian Moayed

Elizabeth Keathley, a Filipina immigrant, entered the United States on a K-3 visa to live with her husband, a U.S. citizen. When applying for her driver’s license at an Illinois DMV, Keathley inadvertently said “yes” to the form question of registering to vote, and subsequently received a voter registration card in the mail. With this card, Keathley voted in a midterm congressional election, violating U.S. election law. When the mistake was discovered at her citizenship hearings, the Department of Homeland Security ordered her deportation. Elizabeth Keathley’s case went from Chicago Immigration Court all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Created from verbatim transcripts, THE COURTROOM is an uncanny examination of the U.S. immigration system and one woman at its mercy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Courtroom_A_Reenactment_of_One_Woman/rv8OEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+courtroom+:+a+reenactment+of+one+woman%27s+deportation+proceedings+/+transcripts+arranged+by+Arian+Moayed&printsec=frontcover

Collected plays / by Girish Karnad

Includes the plays: v. 1. Tughlaq -- Hayavadana -- Bali: The Sacrifice -- Naga-Mandala (play with a cobra) -- v. 2. Tale-danda -- The fire and the rain -- The dreams of Tipu Sultan -- Two monologues: Flowers : Broken Images. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Collected_Plays_OIP/8tQBEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Collected+plays+/+by+Girish+Karnad&printsec=frontcover

Caged / by the New Jersey Prison Theater Cooperative

An evocative, affecting play on the horrors of mass incarceration written collaboratively by prisoners who have experienced it first-hand. This poignant play, written by current and formerly incarcerated authors uses, gripping truths and soulful dialogue to reveal the human cost of America's for-profit justice system. The story follows Omar, pulled back into the prison system after trying to lift his family out of poverty, who struggles to maintain a sense of humanity while fighting to keep his loved ones close. According to NJ.com, "From institutionalized racism to addiction to the prison-industrial complex, this is a play about a great many large, pressing social challenges, but at its core it is a play about one family and its struggles to remain united as their world steadily crumbles. Impactful, warm, and unrelenting, this play that began as an experiment turns out to be an excellent examination of the human cost of a harsh and inhospitable world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Caged/GnetDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Caged+/+by+the+New+Jersey+Prison+Theater+Cooperative&printsec=frontcover

Cacophony / by Molly Taylor

Created by the Almeida Young Company and written by Molly Taylor, Cacophony tells the story of a young woman’s rise to fame after speaking up at a protest outside a controversial rape trial. Weaving a complex web of fame and shame, Cacophony explores the power social media has to liberate brave new voices and, just as quickly, bring them crashing to earth. Inspired by the ideas in Jon Ronson’s book, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed.

bug / by Yolanda Bonnell

bug is a solo performance and artistic ceremony that highlights the ongoing effects of colonialism and intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous women. It is also a testimony to the women's resilience and strength. The Girl traces her life from surviving the foster care system to her struggles with addictions. She fights, hoping to break the cycle in order to give her daughter a different life than the one she had. The Mother sits in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, recounting memories of the daughter that was taken from her, and the struggles of living on the streets in Northern Ontario. They are both followed by Manidoons, a physical manifestation of the trauma and addictions that crawl across generations. bug reveals the hard truths that many Indigenous women face as they carve out a space to survive in contemporary Canada, while holding on to so much hope.

BLKS / by Aziza Barnes

Waking up to a shocking and personal health scare, Octavia and her best friends, June and Imani, go on a crusade to find intimacy and joy in a world that doesn't care about them or their feelings. This 24-hour blitz explores what it is to be a queer blk woman in 2015 New York, how we survive and save ourselves from ourselves. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/BLKS/qejwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BLKS+/+by+Aziza+Barnes&printsec=frontcover

Aunt Jack / by S.P. Monahan

After a crushing breakup with his long-term boyfriend, Norman moves across the country to get away from his former life, much to the dismay of his fathers, George and Jack. When some troubling news brings Norman back home, he returns with his new partner, Andy, to make amends. But the long-anticipated reunion is challenged when differences in politics, sexual identity, and love threaten the bonds Norman has come to rebuild. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Aunt_Jack/n-jwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Aunt+Jack+/+by+S.P.+Monahan&printsec=frontcover

Anywhere but here : a play / by Carmen Aguirre

It’s 2020 at the US/Mexico border in Trump’s America. In 1979, a family drives back towards Chile from Canada. With past, present, and future encircling their journey, this profoundly poetic story is about the universal quest for home – in whatever form that takes. A spellbinding blend of dark comedy and magical realism, Anywhere But Here is a vibrant celebration of Latinx theatre, with music and raps by Shad, that chronicles the many paths, real and imagined, we take to discover the truth — the truth about who we are, and where we may be headed. Telling an engrossing story that intersects multiple timelines and spaces, Anywhere But Here introduces us to a host of fantastical characters who have experienced the pull of home, the ache of displacement, and the harsh realities of the border as they attempt to cross, guard, or survive it.

Ann, Fran, & Mary Ann / by Erin Courtney

Ann and Mary Ann are married. They are both neuroscientists and they both witnessed deeply traumatic events when they were young. Now, in the carefully ordered worlds of their marriage and laboratory--which is linked like the two lobes of the brain--Ann and Mary Ann care for, protect, and reflect one another. But when Ann begins to study Fran, a tile artist who is unable to recognize her husband after he commits an unthinkably violent act, Ann and Mary Ann must reckon with what it really means to see and be present to another person. ANN, FRAN, MARY ANN is a deeply reflective, reflecting, refracting play about trauma, God, patterns, and the way they live in our bodies, our minds, and acts of love.

Accidentally brave / by Maddie Corman

Courageous, daring, and unflinchingly honest ... an inspiring true story about discovering a new normal when the familiar world falls apart, a must-see examination of what it means to navigate a world with no certainty. Maddie Corman's profoundly personal play challenges perceptions, captivates audiences, and sparks an emotionally charged discussion that will leave you wondering: What would I do? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Accidentally_Brave/4efwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Accidentally+brave+/+by+Maddie+Corman&printsec=frontcover

Three little words / by Joanna Murray-Smith

The cosy world of coupledom has insulated four friends from the challenges of a complicated world. They've shared lunches, brunches, art exhibitions and trips to Kakadu. Their perfect cosmopolitan bubble seems hermetically sealed, until one couple casually drops a bombshell they have decided to split up. And there's no way to predict or control the devastation that follows. Expecting your friends to stay the same even as the world changes is the sort of self defeating folly that acclaimed playwright Joanna Murray Smith loves to skewer. In this razor edged new comedy, Joanna Murray Smith reminds us why cultural sophistication is no help at all when dealing with the everyday upheavals of modern life.

A play titled after the collective noun for female-identifying 20-somethings living in New York City in the 2010s / by Haleh Roshan

Shirin is working on a book about post-Occupy Wall Street grassroots movements and trying not to succumb to anxiety attacks. CJ is a public defender navigating NYC’s fucked up judicial system, while trying to make time for a meaningful personal life. Elizabeth needs to finish college and figure out what to do next. Oh, also, there’s a mysterious bug infestation in the kitchen. Hashtag millennials, amirite? Putting an urgent spin on stories about “girls” in any medium, COLLECTIVE NOUN is a love letter to an unsung history of collective action and a battle cry for radically reenvisioning what it means to fight for change. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Play_Titled_After_the_Collective_Noun/XbjEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+play+titled+after+the+collective+noun+for+female-identifying+20-somethings+living+in+New+York+City+in+the+2010s+/+by+Haleh+Roshan&printsec=frontcover

The new Canadian curling club / by Mark Crawford

A Chinese medical student, a Jamaican Tim Horton's manager, an Indian father of three, and a 17-year-old Syrian refugee walk into a curling club. It's Monday night at a small-town rink and it's the first-ever Learn to Curl class for new Canadians. Inspired by the local refugee resettlement program, community-minded Marlene organized this evening to welcome newcomers and "diversify the club." But when she slips on the ice and breaks her hip, the club's ice-maker, Stuart MacPhail--who also happens to be Marlene's ex-husband--is forced to step in as head coach. Trouble is, Stuart has plenty of opinions about immigrants. What follows is the hilarious and inspiring story of a group of unlikely athletes who face off against local prejudice and become a true team.

Mosquitoes / by Lucy Kirkwood

Alice is a scientist. She lives in Geneva. As the Large Hadron particle collider starts up in 2008, she is on the brink of the most exciting work of her life, searching for the Higgs Boson. Jenny is her sister. She lives in Luton. She spends a lot of time googling. When tragedy throws them together, the collision threatens them all with chaos. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mosquitoes/37jEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mosquitoes+/+by+Lucy+Kirkwood&printsec=frontcover

Legislating love : the Everett Klippert story : a play / by Natalie Meisner

Aspiring historian Maxine is researching Canadian social policy when she discovers the story of Everett Klippert - the last Canadian man jailed simply for being gay. Maxine becomes fascinated with Everett's case and with discovering the man beyond the headlines, a beloved Calgary bus driver on the downtown route who took care to brighten the day of his passengers, who played on the family baseball team and was everyone's favorite uncle, and who, when he was confronted by police about his sexuality, refused to lie. Inspired and captivated, Maxine interviews people who knew Everett Klippert. She connects with a senior at a local assisted living facility she knows only as Handsome, one of Klippert's lovers and perhaps the only person who can truly illuminate the past. At the same time, Maxine is navigating her own new relationship with Métis comedian Tonya. This absorbing, heartwarming play weaves together past and present in a multi-generational exploration of queer love. It tells the near-forgotten story of one of Canada's quiet heroes and reminds us all that the past must be remembered as we work together for a better future.

Julie after Strindberg / by Polly Stenham

Wild and newly single, Julie throws a late night party. In the kitchen, Jean and Kristina clean up as the celebration heaves above them. Crossing the threshold, Julie initiates a power game with Jean. It descends into a savage fight for survival. Polly Stenham reimagines August Strindberg's 'Miss Julie' in contemporary London. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Julie/QqhrDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Julie+after+Strindberg+/+by+Polly+Stenham&printsec=frontcover

A generous lover / by La John Joseph

A Generous Lover is the true and very queer tale of one soul's journey through the wasteland of mental illness to deliver their lost love. Brimming with psychedelic proletarian prose and trenchant wit, it recounts the pandemonium of navigating mental health services on behalf of a loved one, whilst being transfeminine, and occasionally mistaken for a patient. Drawing on epic poetry, classical mythology, and queer modernist literature, A Generous Lover fuses psychology, euphonic prose and song, to create an intimate and beguiling world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Generous_Lover_Boy_in_a_Dress/16L8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+generous+lover+%3B+Boy+in+a+dress+/+by+La+John+Joseph&printsec=frontcover

City of gold / by Meyne Wyatt

Young actor Breythe left Kalgoorlie dreaming of a dazzling career. Now he's found himself starring in a controversial Australia Day ad that pays big, but draws the ire of his mob. Racism is subtle but persistent in an industry where directors request he darken up for 'authenticity' and typecast him as 'tracker, ' 'drinker' or 'thief.' Returning home, Breythe's just as alienated from country and lore. His cultural capital distances him from furious brother Mateo and activist sister Carina, all of them struggling with regret and responsibility after their father's death.

Category e / by Belinda Cornish

Two human test subjects--Corcoran, a half-blind paraplegic, and Filigree, a clinical psychopath--coexist in a laboratory cell. They are sterilized, property of the state, and utilized for the benefit of higher-valued citizens. In their cell are two beds and two chairs. But then Millet arrives. Within thirty-six hours there will only be two again. In the meantime, they play Monopoly, try to figure out who is next door, eat what is given to them, and do their best not to kill each other. This black comedy takes a wry and unsentimental look at the cavalier cruelties of animal science and asks how we place value on life.

Bump / by Chiara Atik

A car mechanic on the verge of becoming a grandfather, a community of expectant mothers on a pregnancy message board, and a pregnant woman in colonial New England each question the mechanics of childbirth. Based on the true story of Jorge Odón and the birthing device he invented in his garage, BUMP spans time and space in an effort to grapple with the mystery and the miracle of maternity. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bump/WbjEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bump+/+by+Chiara+Atik&printsec=frontcover

You on the moors now / by Jaclyn Backhaus

Four literary heroines of the nineteenth century set conventionalism ablaze when they turn down marriage proposals from their equally famous gentlemen callers. What results is a confluence of love, anger, grief, and bloodshed, as the ensemble struggles to reconcile romantic ideologies of the past with their modern ideas of courtship. Everything you've learned about love from the pages of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and Little Women is turned upside down in this grand theatrical battle royale. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/You_on_the_Moors_Now/WEm8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=You+on+the+moors+now+/+by+Jaclyn+Backhaus&printsec=frontcover

Usual girls / by Ming Peiffer

Kyeoung has spent her entire life negotiating the double standards imposed on her as an Asian-American woman. Bullied by boys in childhood, ostracized by girls as a teen, and gas-lit by men as an adult, her experiences with sexuality grow more and more challenging. As we trace Kyeoung from the insecurity of puberty to the disenchantment of her adult life, USUAL GIRLS chronicles the wonder, pain, and complexity of growing up female. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Usual_Girls/Ukm8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Usual+girls+/+by+Ming+Peiffer&printsec=frontcover

Travisville / by William Jackson Harper

In 1960s Texas, one city has so far avoided the tumult of the Civil Rights movement. Through the efforts of an alliance of black church leaders, a wary peace has been maintained with the city's white mayor and citizens. But when the mayor partners with a private developer to gentrify the black neighborhood and uproot its residents, and a movement organizer from Atlanta comes to town, the Minister's Alliance will need to choose between the nonconfrontational status quo and standing up for the interests of their community--and weathering the risks resistance incurs. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Travisville/SUm8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Travisville+/+by+William+Jackson+Harper&printsec=frontcover

The smell of the kill : a play / by Michele Lowe

Take three delicious, malicious wives, add three miserable, unloving husbands—and chill. That's the recipe of Michele Lowe's tantalizing new comedy that had Broadway audiences cheering. The Smell of the Kill revolves around Nicky, Debra and Molly who have tolerated one another during once-a-month dinners for years. While their unseen spouses play golf in the dining room, the women exchange confidences for the first time revealing that all three marriages are on the brink of disaster and all three women are facing the challenges of their lives. Nicky's husband has been indicted for embezzlement, Molly's husband is stalking her and Debra's husband is leaving her for another woman. When the men mistakenly lock themselves in a basement meat locker the women are faced with a life-or-death decision—should they leave the men out in the cold—permanently—or let them thaw? One by one the women make their choices with more than a little help from one another.

Next lesson / by Chris Woodley

Thoughtful, inventive and laugh-out-loud, Next Lesson charts 18 years in the life of a fictional South London school. Set against the backdrop of Section 28, Thatcher's notorious Local Government Act, which from 1988 prohibited schools from "promoting homosexuality," 14-year-old Michael comes out as gay. Later, he returns to school as a teacher. Next Lesson is a critically acclaimed play about being gay at school, following the experiences of staff and students, where clashes of attitudes meet moments of heartbreak, hope and love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Next_Lesson/gj6eDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Next+lesson+/+by+Chris+Woodley&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Natural shocks / by Lauren Gunderson

Angela is trapped in her basement, waiting out an approaching tornado. Though a self-proclaimed unreliable narrator, she begins to reflect on a lifetime of trauma, illuminating the truth behind her endangerment. Based on Hamlet's famous 'To be or not to be' soliloquy, NATURAL SHOCKS is a damning condemnation of violence, abuse, and firearms in America. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Natural_Shocks/LUm8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Natural+shocks+/+by+Lauren+Gunderson&printsec=frontcover

The lifespan of a fact / by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell

Jim Fingal is a fresh-out-of-Harvard fact checker for a prominent but sinking New York magazine. John D'Agata is a talented writer with a transcendent essay about the suicide of a teenage boy--an essay that could save the magazine from collapse. When Jim is assigned to fact check D'Agata's essay, the two come head to head in a comedic yet gripping battle over facts versus truth. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Lifespan_of_a_Fact/J0m8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+lifespan+of+a+fact+/+by+Jeremy+Kareken+%26+David+Murrell+and+Gordon+Farrell&printsec=frontcover

Jumbo / by Sean Dixon

In the early fall of 1885, P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth toured southwestern Ontario, playing to sold-out crowds. On the bill, along with the snake charmer, the tightrope walkers, the contortionist, and the bearded lady, were 28 elephants, led by the world-renowned Jumbo. Between their stops in Guelph and London, the circus played the bustling railroad town of St. Thomas to standing ovations. But on that fateful night, as circus crews were packing up, an unscheduled freight train came hurtling down the track and ended the life of the most famous pachyderm in the world. A cast of larger-than-life characters brings the last performance of the legendary Jumbo to life.

In the body of the world / by Eve Ensler

In May 2010, while helping rape victims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eve Ensler received a life-threatening diagnosis: she had uterine cancer. Told with her signature brand of humor, Eve's journey through her illness uncovers connections between her body and the earth, as well as the transformative and transcendent potential of illness itself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_the_Body_of_the_World/JUm8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In+the+body+of+the+world+/+by+Eve+Ensler&printsec=frontcover

Feeding the dragon / by Sharon Washington

Deep in the bowels of a New York Public Library lies a dragon: a monstrous coal furnace that Sharon's father, the live-in custodian, must feed every night. A moving examination of family secrets, forgiveness, and the power of language, Feeding the Dragon explores Sharon's life growing up in the library and the fire she never allowed to fade. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Feeding_the_Dragon/kaH8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Feeding+the+dragon+/+by+Sharon+Washington&printsec=frontcover

The Chinese lady / by Lloyd Suh

Afong Moy is fourteen years old when she's brought to the United States from Guangzhou Province in 1834. Allegedly the first Chinese woman to set foot on U.S. soil, she has been put on display for the American public as "The Chinese Lady." For the next half-century, she performs for curious white people, showing them how she eats, what she wears, and the highlight of the event: how she walks with bound feet. As the decades wear on, her celebrated sideshow comes to define and challenge her very sense of identity. Inspired by the true story of Afong Moy's life, THE CHINESE LADY is a dark, poetic, yet whimsical portrait of America through the eyes of a young Chinese woman. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Chinese_Lady/aUi8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Chinese+lady+/+by+Lloyd+Suh&printsec=frontcover

Behind the sheet / by Charly Evon Simpson

In 1840s Alabama, Dr. George Barry is on the verge of a miraculous cure: treatment for fistulas, a common but painful complication of childbirth. To achieve his medical breakthrough, Dr. Barry performs experimental surgeries on a group of enslaved women afflicted with the condition. Based on the true story of Dr. J. Marion Sims, the 'father of modern gynecology,' Behind the sheet remembers the forgotten women who made his achievement possible, and the pain they endured in the process. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Behind_the_Sheet/ZUi8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Behind+the+sheet+/+by+Charly+Evon+Simpson&printsec=frontcover

Everett Beekin: a play in two parts / by Richard Greenberg

Part One ("The Shabbos Goy") takes place in the late '40s on the Lower East Side where we meet the Fox women—sweet, hopeful Anna, pregnant with her first child and reveling in her new life as a young matron in Levittown; caustic Sophie, Anna’s older sister, married to Jack, a nearly silent eater; youngest sister Miri, the darling of the family who is confined to her bedroom with “a light, summer cold"; and fretful, embittered Ma, who, though a born American, still speaks in the cadences of the old country. Into this gathering enters Jimmy Constant, a young man about to move to California to start a pharmaceuticals firm with the visionary Everett Beekin; Miri’s suitor, Jimmy will have to run a gauntlet of Fox women if he hopes to take Miri with him. Part Two ("The Pacific") skips a generation and crosses the continent to take us to Orange County, California, where Anna’s children, Celia and Nell, reunite for the wedding of Nell’s daughter, Laurel, to Ev, the charmingly inarticulate scion of the Beekin pharmaceuticals empire. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Everett_Beekin/7XjbRpGiAEAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Everett+Beekin+:+a+play+in+two+parts+/+by+Richard+Greenberg&printsec=frontcover

Dance of death / by August Strindberg ; a new version by Richard Greenberg

As their twenty-fifth anniversary approaches, Alice and Edgar, ever at each other’s throats, find their mutual hatred at an all-time high. Their latest maid has just quit; their children have abandoned them; and they can’t keep company with any of the locals on their remote island because they despise them. After twenty-five years, they can’t abide one another either. Their miserable lives get a jolt when Alice’s cousin Kurt arrives, newly stationed on the island. Kurt becomes the pawn used by Edgar and Alice to finally get the best of each other in what truly becomes a dance of death. Strindberg’s 1900 masterpiece was the first naturalistic portrait of a marriage in modern drama, and the trail it blazed made possible "Long Day’s Journey into Night" and "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dance_of_Death/wathBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dance+of+death+/+by+August+Strindberg+%3B+a+new+version+by+Richard+Greenberg&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover

The house in town / by Richard Greenberg

The time is New Year’s Eve, 1929. In an elegant New York brownstone on “Millionaire’s Row” (West 23rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues), Sam Hammer, a Jewish department store tycoon and his non-Jewish wife, Amy, bid their last few guests farewell with a parting wish: “A better year ahead.” But, as that pivotal year begins, the shadow of the enormous London Terrace apartment complex under construction looms over their home. The shadow also portends Wall Street’s impending collapse, and the growing strain upon the Hammer’s marriage. Though Amy and Sam seem devoted to each other, their marriage has been childless, leading to a “what’s-the-point” abandonment of sexual relations. The looming Great Depression is likely to put a crimp in the lavish lifestyle of the Hammers and their friends—just as the rapidly rising giant London Terrace apartments across the street is about to rob their house of much of its light. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_House_in_Town/i2Vumd-rIbkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+house+in+town+/+by+Richard+Greenberg&pg=PA5&printsec=frontcover

The good counselor / by Kathryn Grant

The Good Counselor is a new drama about a chosen son's quest for truth. Vincent, a bright young lawyer in the Public Defender department has been assigned to defend a young woman accused of killing her three-week-old son. Hounded by his community and haunted by his past, Vincent struggles to defend both neglectful mothers: his client, and his own. A thought-provoking and beautifully written play, The Good Counselor literally prompts the audience to serve as the jury in determining what it means to be a good parent. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Good_Counselor/w3stw44L46EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+good+counselor+/+by+Kathryn+Grant&printsec=frontcover

Coyote on a fence / by Bruce Graham

Illiterate but likable, Bobby Reyburn is a funny young guy who loves to do impressions. He’s also a member of the Aryan nation, a racist predator convicted of a horrific crime. John Brennan is educated and arrogant, a serious writer who may only be guilty of doing society a favor. As each awaits his fate, one evokes sympathy, the other derision. In vivid scenes, COYOTE ON A FENCE explores the disturbing question: Can one be innocent though proven guilty? This penetrating new drama offers no clear verdict, just utterly compelling theatre. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Coyote_on_a_Fence/CaNKUU_Wv-AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Coyote+on+a+fence+/+by+Bruce+Graham&printsec=frontcover

According to Goldman / by Bruce Graham

In an attempt to get back into the movie business, a screenwriter-turned-professor finds himself in an unorthodox collaboration with a student, while his wife struggles to define their evolving relationship. ACCORDING TO GOLDMAN pits the lure of fame and celebrity against domestic tranquility. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/According_to_Goldman/CQAqbUPEjPgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=According+to+Goldman+/+by+Bruce+Graham&printsec=frontcover

Two into war / by Fraser Grace

This volume also contains Fraser Grace's two-hander Butterfly Fingers, about a young Englishwoman applying for a job at an American airbase, and Naomi Wallace's short play A State of Innocence' in which an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian mother mysteriously meet at a run-down zoo.

Frobisher's gold, or, Elizabeth the First had black teeth / by Fraser Grace

When pirate-turned-explorer Martin Frobisher discovers a new land in the Arctic filled with riches, Elizabeth I glimpses a golden future of wealth, prestige, and influence. The Queen invests heavily to bring civilization to the natives and their assets home to England. Frobisher's Gold blends history, comedy, and politics in a tale of imperial desire, improbable coincidences, and bad dentistry.

Bea's niece / by David Gow

Anne's Aunt Bea's etiquette and common sense require a woman to have on hand for all occasions: "...a bottle of whiskey, a well-oiled revolver and, as the rarest of treats, a stainless steel syringe with just the tinest supply of opium." An exploration into the mind of a female novelist secluded in a mental hospital.

The Friedman family fortune / by David Gow

The Friedman Family Fortune is a drama which focuses on the emotional fallout that result, when a well-known family business passes from the hands of one generation to the next. With finely detailed psychological realism and wry humor, the play looks at the intricate relationships within the family and how those relationships change with the succession of power.

Pressure Drop / by Mick Gordon

Maverick theatre makers On Theatre join forces with legendary singer-songwriter Billy Bragg to explore what it means to be English in contemporary Britain. A drama of passion and prejudice, Pressure Drop takes us to the heart of one family's struggle to define home. In the tradition of previous On Theatre productions an intellectual theme is explored, specifically in Pressure Drop the theme of national identity. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pressure_Drop/SNP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pressure+Drop+/+by+Mick+Gordon&printsec=frontcover

Death defying acts / by Jim Gordon

We hope! We dream! Why not, it's free! And in these eight short plays we see that strange and humorous occurrences may even become reality. Cell/Block: In a death-row prison cell, a condemned man's prayers are rewarded when his comically incompetent attorney is finally exposed. The Actress: Sitting on a park bench, a young actress' doubts are turned to thoughts of a brighter future when an elderly lady shares the wisdom of her old friend, Laurence Olivier. They Call Me Louis: On a city street in the early hours of a frigid winter morning, a poor black man's dream for a better life is fulfilled by a most unlikely benefactor. The Good Deed: Alone in a tavern, a young man, grieving over the loss of his father, has his spirits revived when barroom regular, Barney Cahill, surprises him with tales of his dad's not-so-mundane life. Thomas: Mary Worthy struggles to repair her broken marriage and return to a happier time, but now, weakened by illness, she's shown the way back by a mysterious houseguest. Untitled Number Two: An art gallery's quiet is upset by two art critics' contrasting views of a painting. When told of the actual meaning of the work, the embarrassed pundits quickly exit, more tolerant (we hope) of each other's opinions. Vinny's Vision: At the Motor Vehicle Bureau, a bizarre experience gives Vinny and his friends a most unconventional idea for solving their buddy's depression. The Sweet By and By: Mary Fitzgerald has lost a loved one, but through her faith, she's certain they'll "meet again on that beautiful shore." Mary's neighbor, however, is more concerned with how Mary managed to bury her husband in the building's backyard. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exDeathDefyingActsDA3.pdf

Plays 1 / by John Godber

Bouncers, a play about nightlife: "A show that's worth braving any front of house, however formidable ... simply spellbinding" Guardian Happy Families: "The inseparable contradictions of family love and oppression are carefully held in this fine comedy ... superb characterisation ... the rhythms of Godber's dialogue are freshly funny, the pace precise" Independent Shakers, a play about party-goers: "This is one of those slices of life that everyone can recognise and laugh at" Liverpool Daily Post Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Godber_Plays_1/LuLTAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+1+/+by+John+Godber&printsec=frontcover

Perfect pitch: a play / by John Godber

Ron, a prematurely retired headteacher, and his wife, Yvonne, a would-be marathoner, are on their first caravan holiday. Pitched on a cliff in Yorkshire, the slightly dull, slightly snobby couple grapple with this strange holiday. That evening an elderly caravan appears next to theirs and sounds of noisy love-making cause Ron and Yvonne to blush. Steph and Grant, a younger, more working-class pair of seasoned caravanners have arrived and Ron's and Yvonne's lives will never be the same.

Plays 3 / by John Godber

Up 'n' Under: Five unfit lads strive for sporting glory against the local pub-rugby champions, Men Behaving Badly meets The Full Monty. Perfect Pitch: Ron & Yvonne are seasoned caravan holidaymakers. Every weekend they head for the coast to get away from it all. Snug in a prized four-berth, theirs is the perfect pitch, until Grant and Steph set up camp beside them... April in Paris: Al is a builder - well he was until he got laid off. Bet sells trainers. Al spends hours in his shed painting while Beth is addicted to entering competitions in magazines. Neither has any faith in the other. Until one day, Beth wins "a romantic break in Paris for two"... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Godber_Plays_3/HqMdAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+3+/+by+John+Godber&printsec=frontcover

Departures: a comedy in ten airports / by John Godber

The Departure lounges of ten airports across Europe and America provide a backdrop of delays, dangers and frustration as two business executives, Jim and Steve, embark on a journey of self-discovery. While the easy-going Steve spends time on the mobile running a number of love interests, with the morals of a cat, Jim is determined to remain faithful to his wife Claire. The arrival of young Zoí‚ changes all that ... The anxiety of the departure lounge becomes all too personal for all involved, leading to a sad yet hopeful ending.

U.S. drag / by Gina Gionfriddo

Two young women in Manhattan seek love and happiness, but they’ll settle for rent money. Along the way, they volunteer for a community advocacy group called SAFE ("Stay Away From Ed") named for an elusive serial attacker terrorizing the city. (There’s a hefty reward for his capture…) Their new circle of “friends” includes their ruthless, socially stunted roommate; the celebrated author of a fictional memoir; a lonely man who feels a kinship with crime victims; and a mousy “Ed survivor,” reveling in her fifteen minutes of dubious fame. Everybody is looking for salvation in the arms of another in a group where no one has very much to give. And who is this “Ed” anyway? No one’s ever seen his face, and everyone onstage is beginning to act eerily “Ed-like"… Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/U_S_Drag/f9tsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=U.S.+drag+/+by+Gina+Gionfriddo&printsec=frontcover

After Ashley / by Gina Gionfriddo

AFTER ASHLEY is a blisteringly funny and deeply affecting story about a teenage boy navigating the joys and terrors of life—all through the distorting prism of a media firestorm. When a family tragedy deals the Hammond family a dose of dubious celebrity, Justin finds himself paralyzed, unable to fully grieve or grow up. The only bright spot is a girl, only Justin can’t decide if she’s a saving angel or a self-interested groupie. In a world as weird as this one, she might just be both. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/After_Ashley/OK5pBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=After+Ashley+/+by+Gina+Gionfriddo&printsec=frontcover

Becky Shaw / by Gina Gionfriddo

In Gina Gionfriddo’s BECKY SHAW, a newlywed couple fixes up two romantically challenged friends: wife’s best friend, meet husband’s sexy and strange new co-worker. When an evening calculated to bring happiness takes a dark turn, crisis and comedy ensue in this wickedly funny play that asks what we owe the people we love and the strangers who land on our doorstep. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Becky_Shaw/ISTOnILW4FcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Becky+Shaw+/+by+Gina+Gionfriddo&printsec=frontcover

Motherland / by Steve Gilroy

Extraordinary stories, ordinary lives. This powerful and moving drama shares the stories of women whose everyday lives have been touched by the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. These women, who live in our street, and drink in our local, share their stories with warmth, humour and candour, as they reveal the real lottery of war. “He was a boy. I loaned my son to them to do a job. I didn’t say you could keep him.” Janice Murray, mother of Private Michael Tench, aged 18. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Motherland/ENP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Motherland+/+by+Steve+Gilroy&printsec=frontcover

The glory of living: a play / by Rebecca Gilman

The Glory of Living tells the story of Lisa, a 15-year-old girl, and her marriage to Clint, an ex-con twice her age. Systematically abused by her husband, Lisa is coerced into helping him commit crimes of varying magnitude, including murder. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Glory_of_Living/59EwQ1c2k50C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+glory+of+living:+a+play+/+by+Rebecca+Gilman&printsec=frontcover

The sweetest swing in baseball / by Rebecca Gilman

"In The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, an artist named Dana Fielding is suffering from a slump in both her career and her personal life. After a disastrous gallery showing, her paranoia and depression send her boyfriend packing. When Fielding attempts suicide, she lands in a mental ward and finds she enjoys the structure of the days. But when she learns her health insurance will pay for only a 10-day stay, she cooks up a scheme with two fellow patients to fool the doctors into believing she's psychotic. Without knowing much about him, she takes on the personality of troubled baseball star Darryl Strawberry. Known for having the 'sweetest swing in baseball,' Strawberry also struggled with … the darker side of fame, including rejection by fans and the effort to make a comeback … When Dana chats with fellow patients Michael, an alcoholic, and Gary, a stalker, the dialogue here is hilarious as Dana instructs a would-be killer on drawing negative space and the two men coach her on Strawberry's stats." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sweetest_Swing_in_Baseball/mefGISJ9PckC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+sweetest+swing+in+baseball+/+by+Rebecca+Gilman&printsec=frontcover

Heart is a lonely hunter / by Rebecca Gilman

Adapted from the novel by Carson McCullers, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER explores a universal longing for connection. At its center is John Singer, a lonely deaf man, who becomes the confidant to a constellation of disparate souls—an angry carnival worker, a crusading physician, the owner of a failing café and a fifteen-year-old girl in love with music—all seeking understanding and compassion from a man desperately in need of understanding himself. Each pours their heart out to Singer, and he in turn changes their disenchanted lives in ways they could never imagine. Moving, sensitive and deeply humane, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER examines loneliness, the human need for understanding, and our search for love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Heart_is_a_Lonely_Hunter/Aj0-Q6sITL8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Heart+is+a+lonely+hunter+/+by+Rebecca+Gilman&printsec=frontcover

Suitcase: or, those that resemble flies from a distance / by Melissa James Gibson

The boyfriends of two Ph.D. candidates are trying to talk their way into the women’s apartments. Dissertations go nowhere; objects get found; boyfriends won’t get lost; love figures in there somewhere.

This / by Melissa James Gibson

Jane is not okay. She’s a promising poet without a muse, a single mother without lessons to pass along. Her dating life’s a shambles, and her helpful friends are only helping make things more complicated. This bright, witty, un-romantic comedy captures the uncertain steps of a circle of friends backing their way into middle age. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/This/JWcmKuU6X_kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=This+/+by+Melissa+James+Gibson&printsec=frontcover

Hurricane Diane / by Madeleine George

Meet Diane, a permaculture gardener dripping with butch charm. She’s got supernatural abilities owing to her true identity—the Greek god Dionysus—and she's returned to the modern world to gather mortal followers and restore the Earth to its natural state. Where better to begin than with four housewives in a suburban New Jersey cul-de-sac? In this Obie-winning comedy with a twist, Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George pens a hilarious evisceration of the blind eye we all turn to climate change and the bacchanalian catharsis that awaits us, even in our own backyards. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hurricane_Diane/6jv1DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hurricane+Diane+/+by+Madeleine+George&printsec=frontcover

The zero hour / by Madeleine George

Rebecca and her chronically unemployed butch girlfriend, O, have created a happy nest in their run-down walk-up in Queens, but things are starting to unravel. The more O pushes Rebecca to stop hiding their relationship, the more Rebecca's work life—writing a textbook for seventh graders about the Holocaust— begins to bleed into her personal life: She starts meeting World War II Nazis on the 7 train, passing as hipster professionals in New York City but hungry to come out about who they really are. Back home in Queens, O is also sparring with convincingly real visions: her long estranged—and recently dead?—mother keeps showing up to argue with her about her choices. This almost-love story explores the relationship between honesty and cruelty: How do you tell the truth about yourself when that truth might devastate the people you love? A tour-de-force for two actors playing eight different roles.

Two gentlemen of Corona / by Jim Geoghan

It's 1963 and Joey and Carmine are low-level soldiers in the New York mob. Joey services juke boxes and vending machines...Carmine makes two runs a week to South Carolina for illegal cigarettes. But things are looking up for the pair. The 1964 World's Fair is just around the corner and these Two Gentlemen of Corona are plotting to help their boss, John, swindle thousands of foreign tourists. It looks like nothing can stand in their way...oh, except for the fact that Joey is falling in love with his boss's mistress! This comedy is the perfect light-hearted fare: refreshing and funny, with just a touch of heart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Two_Gentlemen_of_Corona/uQcW6SM6xwAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Two+gentlemen+of+Corona+/+by+Jim+Geoghan&printsec=frontcover

The little mermaid / adapted by Pam Gems

On the Little Mermaid's fifteenth birthday she visits the world above the sea for the first time and falls in love with a prince whom she rescues from a storm. . .. Capturing the magic and cruelty of Hans Christian andersen's original tale, this powerful new version reveals the spectacle of the worlds below and above the sea, and the sadness of unfulfilled romance between a mermaid and a prince.. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Little_Mermaid/qNL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+little+mermaid+/+adapted+by+Pam+Gems&pg=PT6&printsec=frontcover

Plays one / by Pam Gems

Includes the plays Piaf, Camille and Queen Christina. Three plays focusing on the lives of incredible women. Characterized by vivid stagecraft and life-affirming humor, they offer unflinching views of social and sexual relations. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pam_Gems_Plays_One/6NL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Mrs. Pat / by Pam Gems

At the turn of the century, Mrs. Patrick Campbell was England's most celebrated and notorious actress. An acclaimed beauty, loved by many, she is remembered for her wit, for bad behaviour, and her close friendship with George Bernard Shaw. She was a great actress, when she wanted to be. She had a low boredom threshold and frequently behaved dreadfully on stage. She could be a monster to work with, an atrocious snob and possessed a wicked sense of humour. But, on form, she was incomparable, the glory of her age. Her work was daring and unpredictable, enhanced by her great beauty. Shaw worshipped her, wrote "Pygmalion" for her and begged her to play Eliza. Rather than living to work, she always worked to live and died in exile and poverty. Pam Gems' new play is about the art and craft of acting and the turmoil of being a woman who was meant to please but couldn't resist using her mind. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mrs_Pat/wtL7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mrs.+Pat+/+by+Pam+Gems&printsec=frontcover

Sly fox / by Larry Gelbart

To tickle the humor of today's audiences, Volpone has been moved from 17th century Venice to turn of the century San Francisco. Volpone is now called Foxwell J. Sly and he is the same scheming, rapacious miser bent on extracting fortunes from a trio of rich, greedy opportunists. Sly, pretending to be on his death bed, says he will name each of the three as his sole heir. The extent that the trio will go to acquire Sly's fortune knows no bounds. One goes so far as to disinherit his only son; another offers up his wife to the lecherous Sly. Sly is aided and abetted by his conniving servant in grabbing the other men's gold. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sly_Fox/NyP-BcqSCLEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sly+fox+/+by+Larry+Gelbart&printsec=frontcover

The Victorian / by Marcus Gardley

A newlywed interracial couple moves into an old Victorian home in the San Francisco Bay Area, but an act of violence leaves young Adeline a widow. Troubled with grief and struggling to raise her daughter alone, Adeline reaches out to the community and learns of the long, tumultuous history of the house and the people who have lived there. As their folk-like tales play out before her, they paint a picture of the past, present, and future of a community haunted by the ghosts of heartache and racial tensions and their hope to change things for the future.

After the quake / adapted by Frank Galati

Based on “Honey Pie” and “Superfrog Saves Tokyo” from the novel after the quake by Haruki Murakami. In this adaptation of two of Haruki Murakami’s brilliant short stories, Tony Award–winning director Frank Galati has fashioned an enchanting and deeply moving play that follows the lives of characters struggling with the aftermath of the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan, that nearly destroyed the city. Rich in dreamlike imagery and haunting in its evocation of survival in the wake of terrible disaster, after the quake makes masterful use of storytelling to reveal and explore our primal fears. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/after_the_quake/KddsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=After+the+quake+/+adapted+by+Frank+Galati&printsec=frontcover

Exits and entrances / by Athol Fugard

EXITS AND ENTRANCES is the story of a relationship between a young man on the threshold of his career as a playwright and an aging actor who has reached the end of his career on the stage. The play is based directly on Fugard’s own early formative experiences in South African theatre and the effect that the legendary Afrikaans actor André Huguenet had on him in shaping his own vision of theatre. It is a play in which the young man’s optimism and hope balance the despair and disillusionment of the aging actor. The action takes place in a series of scenes set in various dressing rooms during which the confrontation between two starkly differing realities plays out with humor, pathos and dramatic power. As the rave reviews of the premiere in Los Angeles reveal, this is a play that is intensely human and speaks to everyone. But, above all else, this is a play that celebrates theatre and its abiding significance. From the two very different perspectives of the young man and the old actor, EXITS AND ENTRANCES also reflects the search for a theatre of relevance in an oppressive society. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Exits_and_Entrances/d_ToCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Exits+and+entrances+/+by+Athol+Fugard&printsec=frontcover

Coming home / by Athol Fugard

Years ago, Veronica Jonkers departed for the big city in the brave New South Africa, set on making her dreams of fame and fortune come true. In COMING HOME, Veronica returns to Nieu Bethesda several years later to die of AIDS, but she is determined to first secure a future for her child, bright word-loving little Mannetjie. After a rocky beginning, Veronica’s childhood playmate and school friend Alfred agrees to marry Veronica and take care of Mannetjie, but Mannetjie resents Alfred’s intrusion into the close relationship he has with his mother. The ghost of old Buks Jonkers, Veronica’s beloved grandfather, appears to Veronica and to Mannetjie, teaching them how to appreciate the miracle of life, how it is part of God’s Plan and that one has to take the good with the bad and learn to survive. With his elders’ guidance, Mannetjie will, in turn, learn that the harsh realities of life can be softened by hope and redemption. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Coming_Home/hU6qBLNfsiAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Coming+home+/+by+Athol+Fugard&printsec=frontcover

Alarms and excursions: more plays than one / by Michael Frayn

Four old friends sit down for a quiet evening together. But they are harassed by various bells, sirens, buzzers, warblers, beepers and cheepers, all trying to warn them of something. What are these electronic voices trying to tell them? Can they understand the mysterious disasters before disaster strikes? It's a race against time - because there are seven more plays and twenty more characters still to come before the evening is through, plus a lot more strange noises - and increasingly desperate calls from eleven separate pay phones... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Alarms_And_Excursions/wEQbDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Alarms+and+excursions:+more+plays+than+one+/+by+Michael+Frayn&pg=PP4&printsec=frontcover

Plays, 3 / by Michael Frayn

This athology contains three of Michael Frayn's plays - Here, Now You Know and La Belle Vivette. The plays explore time and space, official and unofficial secrets, idle curiosity and investigative purpose. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Frayn_Plays_3/th1VDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays,+3+/+by+Michael+Frayn&pg=PT340&printsec=frontcover

Democracy / by Michael Frayn

West Germany, 1969. Willy Brandt begins his brief but remarkable career as Chancellor. Always present but rarely noticed is Gunter Guillaume, his devoted personal assistant - and a spy for the Stasi. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Democracy/5ZRlB_Geg4cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Democracy+/+Michael+Frayn&printsec=frontcover

All in the faculty / by William Fowkes

Ned Jenkins arrives at bucolic Humbert College in upstate New York hoping to achieve his life ambition to become a tenured college professor. Quickly embraced by faculty and students alike, this “golden boy” can’t help making romantic and political missteps that complicate his life, threaten to sidetrack him from his goal, and divide the whole campus in the process. Through it all, he discovers that he may be an expert in philosophy and aesthetics, but he’s a rank amateur when it comes to self-knowledge. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_in_the_Faculty/_7InsGGAo_4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=All+in+the+faculty+/+by+William+Fowkes&printsec=frontcover

Looking: a comedy / by Norm Foster

Looking is the story of four middle-aged singles who are seeking relationships while navigating life's pitfalls. Andy and Matt are long-time buddies looking for surefire ways to meet women. Val and Nina are best friends forever looking to meet men. Val is an O.R. nurse, Andy is in the storage business, Nina is a police officer, and Matt is the host of a morning radio show. Val agrees to meet Andy at a bar, and Nina and Matt are coaxed into joining their friends for support. Their relationships progress through the following weeks, setting off laughable plot twists and an unexpected hookup. Cleverly written, funny and insightful, Looking shows us we don't always get what we set our sights on, but what we end up with can be an unexpected surprise. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Looking/GF9WU28nVWQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Looking:+a+comedy+/+by+Norm+Foster&printsec=frontcover

The love list: a comedy / by Norm Foster

In this side-splitting and thought-provoking new comedy, Leon and Bill concoct a list of attributes of the ideal woman - the top ten best qualities in a mate. When this allegedly "ideal woman" actually arrives on the scene, the men quickly learn that their list could use a few revisions. Careful what you wish for - especially in choosing a mate. This old adage leads to hilarious results in Foster's sparkling new comic hit. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Love_List/lT0P_4v1F6kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+love+list:+a+comedy+/+by+Norm+Foster&printsec=frontcover

The girl on the sofa = (Jenta i sofaen) / by Jon Fosse

A girl sits on a sofa, not knowing what to do with herself. She argues with her mother and envies her older sister. She also longs for her absent father, a seaman. A middle-aged woman paints a portrait of herself as a young girl, sitting on a sofa, but she's beginning to doubt her artistic ability. Still at odds with her sister and her mother and haunted by her dead father, she's unable to shake the continuing presence of the past in her life…

White pearl / by Anchuli Felicia King

In Singapore, Clearday™ has developed from a small start-up company to a leading international cosmetic brand in less than a year. But when a draft of the company’s latest skin cream advert is leaked, the video goes viral globally for all the wrong reasons. YouTube views are in the thousands and keep climbing; anger is building on social media; and journalists are starting to cover the story. This is an international PR nightmare; the company cannot be seen to be racist, they’ve got to get it taken down before America wakes up.

When I fall ... if I fall / by Claire Dowie

Leaping barriers of age, sexuality and gender, Gloria prepares to dance the Can Can one last time. Written and performed by the pioneering Claire Dowie, When I Fall If I Fall tells Gloria's story, a story about growing up feeling different and not fitting in... With this new work, Dowie continues her ground-breaking subversion of gender expectations and stereotypes. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/When_I_Fall_If_I_Fall/KgCiDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=When+I+fall+...+if+I+fall+/+by+Claire+Dowie&pg=PT3&printsec=frontcover

The village / April de Angelis

Village life for Jyoti is simple: the people work hard, sing and live off the earth. She would rather devour a delicious meal than think about a suitable partner. But when the Inspector and his men arrive in town, things begin to sour. The Inspector's reign of terror sees him commit unspeakable acts against the village with young Jyoti in his sights, pushing everyone to breaking point. Lope de Vega's Fuenteovejuna is transported to contemporary India and set against a backdrop of political unrest in this adaptation by April De Angelis Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Village/kgtuDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+village+/+April+de+Angelis&printsec=frontcover

Socrates / by Tim Blake Nelson

Socrates' is a witty and endlessly fascinating drama about a complicated man who changed how the Western world thought. This powerful play is an intellectual thrill ride from the philosopher's growing prominence in democratic Athens through the military and social upheavals that led to one of the most infamous executions in Western history. 'Socrates' is a passionate tribute to the man who continues to inspire us to question authority and defend freedom of belief. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Socrates/RUm8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Socrates+/+by+Tim+Blake+Nelson&printsec=frontcover

Roe / by Lisa Loomer

Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion, is still fiercely debated over forty years later. In this incisive play, acclaimed writer Lisa Loomer cuts through the headlines and rhetoric to reveal the divergent personal journeys of lawyer Sarah Weddington and plaintiff Norma McCorvey ("Jane Roe") in the years following the fateful decision. In turns shocking, humorous, and poignant, ROE reflects the polarization in America today while illuminating the heart and passion each side has for its cause. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Roe/QUm8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Roe+/+by+Lisa+Loomer&printsec=frontcover

The panties, the partner, and the one percent : scenes from the heroic life of the middle class / by David Ives

The apocalypse is imminent in David Ives' three-part reworking of Carl Sternheim's Scenes from the Heroic Lives of the Middle Classes. Leaping through time, we visit three generations of the Mask family: from a household in 1950s Boston, to 1987 Wall Street, all the way to a modern techie home in the Pacific Palisades. Capitalism is on trial, secrets are exposed, and existentialism runs in the family in this rambunctious satire for the ages. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Panties_The_Partner_and_The_One_Perc/N0m8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+panties,+the+partner,+and+the+one+percent+:+scenes+from+the+heroic+life+of+the+middle+class+/+by+David+Ives&printsec=frontcover

On Romulus, while Abel sleeps : [a Chthonic song.] / by Justin Limoli

Poetry. Drama. Literary Nonfiction. Guided by Dante, Freud, and a pantheon of other literary and mythical figures, Justin Limoli travels to hell and back in this new play about brotherhood, loss, and what it means to keep writing when all you write about is grief. Limoli's latest book blurs the intersection of play and poetry even further, creating something both beautiful and wholly unique in the process.

Not someone like me : five monologues about sexual violence / by Susan Rice

Not someone like me is a play about sexual assault based on five true stories ... With each woman's story, the play explores a common theme: speaking out turns victims into survivors, if not heroes. Not someone like me aims to inspire audiences to tell their own stories--and put an end to the silence and the shame. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Not_Someone_Like_Me/MrCoDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Not+someone+like+me+:+five+monologues+about+sexual+violence+/+by+Susan+Rice&printsec=frontcover

Microcrisis / by Mike Lew

Set fast on the heels of the Great Recession, microcrisis hinges on the Nobel Peace Prize-winning concept of microcredit, the small loans to budding entrepreneurs meant to alleviate third-world poverty. This ... comedy is about what happens with a banker named Bennett exploits microcredit loans, lumps them into complex financial instruments, and crashes the global economy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/microcrisis/MLCoDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Microcrisis+/+by+Mike+Lew&printsec=frontcover

Fire in dreamland / by Rinne Groff

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, Kate meets a charismatic Dutchman named Jaap, who's making a film about a different disaster nearly a century earlier: the 1911 fire that burned Coney Island's Dreamland to the ground. Desperate for a higher purpose, Kate becomes completely involved with Jaap, for better or worse. 'Fire In Dreamland' is a groundbreaking exploration of what we can create in the face of devastation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fire_in_Dreamland/a0i8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fire+in+dreamland+/+by+Rinne+Groff&printsec=frontcover

Crooked dances / by Robin French

Journalist Katy is desperate for her big break, and an interview in Paris with world famous concert pianist Silvia De Zingaro looks like just her chance. But the odds are against her. After a disastrous interview, Katy feels certain there's a bigger story there than meets the eye. She hunts for clues, finding Silvia has a collection of mystical books and an apparent fixation with composer Erik Satie. Just as Katy's hope begins to fade, a mysterious night-time encounter with the pianist may well give her the scoop she's looking for. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Crooked_Dances/boyqDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Crooked+dances+/+by+Robin+French&printsec=frontcover

Armadillo / by Sarah Kosar

A teenage girl disappears from a small town in America where fifteen years earlier, another teenage girl was kidnapped. Now a woman, she watches the news. She reaches for her gun. She holds it close. Sarah Kosar's new play is about the dangerous ways we make ourselves feel safe. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Armadillo/5xGiDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Armadillo+/+by+Sarah+Kosar&printsec=frontcover

Tiger style! / by Mike Lew

Albert and Jennifer Chen were at the pinnacle of academic achievement. But now they suck at adult life. Albert's just been passed up for promotion and Jennifer's just been dumped by her loser boyfriend. So they do what any reasonable egghead brother and sister would do: go on an Asian Freedom Tour! From California to Shenzen, Tiger Style! Examines the successes and failures of tiger parenting from the point of view of a playwright who's actually been through it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tiger_Style/PrCoDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tiger+style!+/+by+Mike+Lew&printsec=frontcover

Relativity / by Mark St. Germain

In 1902, Albert and Mileva Einstein had a daughter. After 1904, the child was never seen or spoken of again. It is now 1942, and a reporter has come to interview Einstein about his mysterious family history, only to discover far more secrets under the surface. As the reporter questions Einstein about his theory of relativity and personal past, she develops a new, more pressing query: To be a great man, does one first need to be a good man? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/relativity/OrCoDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Relativity+/+by+Mark+St.+Germain&printsec=frontcover

The naturalists / by Jaki McCarrick

Set in a rural hamlet in Ireland, the isolated lives of two brothers are disturbed by the arrival of a mysterious young woman. This is a story of secrets, atonement, and how, through the forces of love and nature, damaged lives are redeemed. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Naturalists/jUKeDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+naturalists+/+by+Jaki+McCarrick&printsec=frontcover

Jellyfish / Ben Weatherill

Agnes and her daughter Kelly have walked the same stretch of Skegness beach every day for 15 years. They devour ice cream, hunt for crabs and watch as things mysteriously vanish along the shoreline. But when Kelly meets Neil, their cosy world soon begins to unravel. With her mum struggling to understand the needs of a maturing daughter with Down Syndrome, Kelly and Neil have to fight for their right to be together. While Agnes and Kelly drift further and further apart, an event is coming that will change all of their lives forever. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jellyfish/SVtqDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jellyfish+/+Ben+Weatherill&printsec=frontcover

Days of rage / by Steven Levenson

As the war in Vietnam rages halfway across the world, a generation of young people rise up to demand change. Among the movement are five radicals living together as a collective, where everything from money to romantic partners is shared. When two strangers suddenly enter the picture, the group's delicate balance is set askew. Soon new dangers and old wounds threaten to tear the collective, and perhaps the movement, apart. Days of rage explores the conflict between means and ends, ideals and practicality, and the perils of changing the world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Days_of_Rage/ILCoDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Days+of+rage+/+by+Steven+Levenson&printsec=frontcover

The cane / by Mark Ravenhill

It will be the biggest send off any teacher has ever had. No teacher is as loved. After 45 years as a dedicated teacher, Edward is looking forward to the imminent celebration to mark his retirement. But his home is under siege. A mob of angry students has gathered. A brick has been thrown through the window, he and his wife haven't left the house for six days, and now his estranged daughter has arrived with her own questions. Why would they attack the most popular teacher in the school? The Cane explores power, control and identity as well as considering the major failure of the echo-chamber of liberalism. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Cane/0xGEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+cane+/+by+Mark+Ravenhill&printsec=frontcover

Agnes Colander : an attempt at life / by Harley Granville Barker ; revised version by Richard Nelson

It is three years since Agnes, an artist, left her unfaithful husband Henry. Now he writes to her in her Kensington studio begging to reunite, but Agnes married young; her innocence has gone and her ambition and independence is growing. As she travels from London to France, Agnes finds herself torn between Otho, a worldly Danish artist and Alec, an infatuated younger suitor, between a longing to paint and be an independent woman and a yearning to be loved. This witty and compelling exploration of love, sexual attraction and independence was written in 1900 and unearthed among Granville Barker's papers in the British Library a century later. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Agnes_Colander/3C5SDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Agnes+Colander+:+an+attempt+at+life+/+by+Harley+Granville+Barker&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Plays two / by Jon Fosse

Includes A Summer's Day, Dream of Autumn and Winter. These three seasonal plays are typical Fosse, imbuing apparently mundane situations with an almost hypnotic intensity. In A Summer's Day, an old widow remembers the day, many years before, when her husband went out to sea in a terrible storm. In a series of continuous but chronologically distinct scenes, Dream of Autumn shows a man unexpectedly meeting an old friend: she will become his second wife, and cause him to fall out with his family. In Winter a fascinating but mercurial woman tries to seduce a businessman, but once he has given up his family and career, he realizes may have mistaken her intentions.

Blind date / by Horton Foote

A touching and very funny study of what befalls a fluttery, well-meaning aunt when she tries to arrange a date for her visiting (and uncooperative) niece. The setting is the living room of Robert and Dolores Henry’s home in Harrison, Texas; the time 1929. Dolores, once a high-school beauty queen, is now the scourge of her henpecked husband, who comes home from the office hungry and tired to find that there will be no dinner tonight. The reason is that Dolores has, at last, been able to arrange a date for her visiting niece, Sarah Nancy, and she wants Robert out of the way. But the young man, a would-be mortician, goes out the window as the bookish, rebellious Sarah Nancy refuses to play the flirtation game and, instead, makes it abundantly (and hilariously) clear that she considers Felix to be a boring oaf. Sarah Nancy’s attitude delights her uncle as much as it distresses her aunt, who retires from the field with a sudden sick headache. However, the two young people, left alone by their nosy elders, find a common interest at last—and, as the curtain falls, they are contentedly, and wordlessly, poring over a stack of wonderfully corny old high-school yearbooks. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blind_Date/xlwwRYOAFq0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blind+date%3B+and,+the+actor+/+by+Horton+Foote&printsec=frontcover

The carpetbagger's children / by Horton Foote

In funny, moving, engaging monologues, three sisters spin the tale of their family and an era. Their father, the eponymous carpetbagger, was a former Union soldier who used his post as county treasurer and tax collector to amass a Texas plantation of twenty thousand acres. Preserving that plantation through the vicissitudes of their lives becomes a central issue for his daughters, Cornelia, Grace Anne and Sissie. With echoes of The Three Sisters and King Lear, THE CARPETBAGGER’S CHILDREN explores the bonds of a family to the land that has shaped their identity, influenced their destiny and, like the family itself, undergone dramatic change with the passage of time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Carpetbagger_s_Children/z7piU3fUFNEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+carpetbagger%27s+children+/+by+Horton+Foote&printsec=frontcover

Bhutan / by Daisy Foote

BHUTAN follows a New England family’s ups and downs after the death of their father. Frances Conroy wonders how she ended up here. Her mother is driving her crazy. Her aunt is stalking a married man. Her brother is in prison. She dreams of Bhutan but can barely find the kitchen door. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bhutan/J7sBzZghqbYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bhutan+/+by+Daisy+Foote&printsec=frontcover

The murders at Argos; Cressida among the Greeks / by David Foley

The Murders at Argos retells the Oresteia story with Orestes and Electra as murderous teens. Cressida Among the Greeks takes place during the last days of the Trojan War. The story of the doomed lovers is woven together with the foibles of the Trojan royal family as they try to stave off impending disaster. Cressida among the Greeks takes off from Shakespeare and Chaucer, revisting Trolius and Cressida, the classic tale of love and betrayal amid the chaos of war, with romantic passion and acerbic humor. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Murders_at_Argos_Cressida_Among_the_Gree/UJ38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+murders+at+Argos%3B+Cressida+among+the+Greeks+/+by+David+Foley&printsec=frontcover

Three plays / by David Foley

Includes the plays Mother Caldwell, The Last Days of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, in Exile and Suffering the Witch In Mother Caldwell a devout conservative standing for office is tricked into believing that she has heard the voice of God. The Last Days of Magdalyn... imagines an alternative conclusion to the real-life disappearance of a notorious atheist. In Suffering the Witch a young woman returns to her God-fearing home town to confront her troubled past.

The woman's prize: or, The tamer tamed / by John Fletcher

The plot switches the gender roles of Shakespeare's play: the women seek to tame the men. Katherine (the "shrew" of the original) has died, and Petruchio takes a second wife, Maria. Maria denounces her former mildness and vows not to sleep with Petruchio until she "turn him and bend him as [she] list, and mold him into a babe again." After many comedic exchanges and plot twists, Petruchio is finally "tamed" in the eyes of Maria, and the play ends with the two reconciled. The play is seen to reflect how society's views of women, femininity, and "domestic propriety" were beginning to change. It is said that Fletcher wrote this play to attract Shakespeare's attention - the two went on to collaborate on at least three plays together. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tamer_Tamed/bz-JAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+woman%27s+prize:+or,+The+tamer+tamed+/+by+John+Fletcher&printsec=frontcover

The reality shows / by Karen Finley

No other performing artist has captured the psychological complexity of this decade as Karen Finley has. In her inimitable style, she has embodied some of the most troubling figures to cast a long shadow on the public imagination, and has envisioned a kind of catharsis within each drama: Liza Minnelli responds to the September 11 attacks; Terri Schiavo explains why Americans love a woman in a coma; Martha Stewart dumps George W. Bush during their tryst on the eve of the Republican National Convention; Silda Spitzer tells the former governor why “I’m sorry” just isn’t enough; and the ghost of Jackie O cries, “Please stop looking at me!" The Reality Shows is a revelation of a decade by one of our greatest interpreters of popular and political culture. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Reality_Shows/3J0nlAu7eGUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+reality+shows+/+Karen+Finley&printsec=frontcover

Dreams of violence / by Stella Feehily

A riotous comedy about love, death and responsibility. For forty-something Hildy, political activism comes easier than dealing with the disorder of her family life: her druggie son; her philandering soon-to-be-ex husband; her father, misbehaving in a hugely expensive retirement home. Then there's Shirley, Hildy's charismatic mother – a former pop star with a fondness for booze – who sets up camp in Hildy's spare room to belittle her from close range. By day, Hildy leads the City's cleaners in revolt against the bankers. But by night, she dreams of unsettling acts of violence.

Superhoe / by Nicôle Lecky

Superhoe is a monologue play for a female character, about a generation in their twenties whose aspirations are shaped by social media and reality TV, and who are forced through financial dependence to go on living with their parents.

Mary's babies / by Maud Dromgoole

A thousand people. Meeting each other. Making friends. Having babies. Sharing their lives. But whether they know it or not, they all share something else: the same father. Maud Dromgoole's play Mary's Babies is inspired by the true story of Mary Barton and her husband Bertold Wiesner, pioneers of fertility treatment, who used Bertold's sperm to artificially inseminate up to a thousand women, before destroying the evidence. This provocative, funny and fascinating play imagines a series of encounters between the half-siblings, known as the 'Barton Brood'.

The Hoes / by Ifeyinwa Frederick

Bim, Alex and J have been best friends since school. Loud, funny, inseparable - they are the epitome of girls who just want to have fun. But now they're twenty-five, life is starting to get in the way. Careers, relationships, expectations ... What better way to escape than a trip to Ibiza for a week of sun, sea and selfies? But there's trouble in paradise when reality catches up with them, threatening to derail their holiday as they are forced to accept no amount of partying will let them escape themselves. The Hoes is a riotous celebration of sisterhood, showing that while life may throw up unexpected turbulence, friendships will last the course

Drip / words by Tom Wells ; music by Matthew Robins

Liam is fifteen and he's just signed up for Bev Road Baths' first ever synchronised swimming team. It's for his best mate Caz really. She needs to get a team together to win the annual Project Prize at school. She tries every year. She always loses. But Liam's an optimist, he's determined to help. There's just one problem. Liam can't swim ...

Love, loss and what I wore / by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron

A play of monologues and ensemble pieces about women, clothes and memory covering all the important subjects—mothers, prom dresses, mothers, buying bras, mothers, hating purses and why we only wear black. Based on the bestselling book by Ilene Beckerman. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Love_Loss_and_what_I_Wore/0N9rpyUKd9sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Love,+loss+and+what+I+wore+/+by+Nora+Ephron+and+Delia+Ephron&printsec=frontcover

The vagina monologues / by Eve Ensler

The Vagina Monologues introduces a wildly divergent gathering of female voices, including a six-year-old girl, a septuagenarian New Yorker, a vagina workshop participant, a woman who witnesses the birth of her granddaughter, a Bosnian survivor of rape, and a feminist happy to have found a man who 'liked to look at it' Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Vagina_Monologues/0JGMwO7Lo8kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+vagina+monologues+/+by+Eve+Ensler&printsec=frontcover

Necessary targets / by Eve Ensler

In NECESSARY TARGETS, two American women, a Park Avenue psychiatrist and an ambitious young writer, travel to Bosnia to help women refugees confront their memories of war. Though the two have little in common beyond the methods they use to distance themselves from their subjects, they emerge deeply changed as they confront their own fears in the face of violence, resiliency and war. Based on interviews conducted by Eve Ensler with numerous women who survived the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, NECESSARY TARGETS is a timely reminder of how America struggles to define its relationship to the rest of the world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Necessary_Targets/RFkhr6yeUpgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Necessary+targets+/+by+Eve+Ensler&printsec=frontcover

The treatment / by Eve Ensler

This two-character drama delves into the layers of power, fear, and intimacy that exist between a traumatized soldier (and former military interrogator) and the female psychologist colonel who is assigned to give him routine treatment. The Treatment is a blunt exploration of torture, accountability, and a soldier’s “duty” to commit atrocities in the name of democracy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Treatment/2--_l0o2pDMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+treatment+/+by+Eve+Ensler&printsec=frontcover

Tragedy : a tragedy / Will Eno

The sun has set over streets of houses, government buildings and American backyards everywhere. The world is dark. A news team is on the scene. Their report: someone left the lawn sprinklers on; someone's horse is loose; a seashell is lying in the grass; dogs run by. The Governor issues excited statements appealing for calm. It is night-time in the world. Everyone's afraid. Everyone doesn't know if the sun, once down, will ever rise again. But there is a witness, and the witness will speak. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tragedy_A_Tragedy/y3oTEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tragedy+:+a+tragedy+/+Will+Eno&printsec=frontcover

The flu season / by Will Eno

Set in a hospital and in a theatre, THE FLU SEASON is a love story—a reluctant one, a love story in spite of itself.

Thom Pain ; (based on nothing) / Will Eno

He’s just like you, except worse. He is trying to save his life, to save your life—in that order. In his quest for salvation, he’ll stop at nothing, be distracted by nothing, except maybe a piece of lint, or the woman in the second row.

Thom Pain (based on nothing) / by Will Eno

He’s just like you, except worse. He is trying to save his life, to save your life—in that order. In his quest for salvation, he’ll stop at nothing, be distracted by nothing, except maybe a piece of lint, or the woman in the second row.

Middletown : a play / Will Eno

Middletown is a deeply moving and funny play exploring the universe of a small American town. As a friendship develops between longtime resident John Dodge and new arrival Mary Swanson, the lives of the inhabitants of Middletown intersect in strange and poignant ways in a journey that takes them from the local library to outer space and points between. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Middletown_TCG_Edition/mFf6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Middletown+:+a+play+/+Will+Eno&printsec=frontcover

Under the blue sky / by David Eldridge

It's the end of a century, a time for people to look back and try to make sense of who they are. Across six connected lives, repressed emotion are brought to the fore in an attempt to settle the score with the world around them. Sad single teachers get together. Drink tequila, get very pissed and reveal secrets and then stagger home at four in the morning, with some dim light in your brain saying "Shit. Year seven first lesson."' Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Under_The_Blue_Sky/XL1nAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Under+the+blue+sky+/+by+David+Eldridge&printsec=frontcover

M.A.D / by David Eldridge

At the height of the cold war M.A.D. stood for Mutually Assured Destruction. For 11-year-old John it meant Mum and Dad. M.A.D. is a family drama following the lives of a struggling market trader, his frustrated wife and their young boy John, as their whole world appears to be coming to an end. Set in 1984, in the aftermath of the terrifying post-apocalyptic TV drama Threads, and then nearly twenty years later, M.A.D. tenderly explores the gap between the lifestyles and aspirations of parents and son. Out of a world full of cold war paranoia, an emotional fall-out haunts this ordinary family, threatening to rip apart the love that once drew them together.

Festen / adapted by David Eldridge

Helge, the patriarch of a chain of restaurants, is celebrating his sixtieth birthday and everyone is coming home from the party including Helge's sons, Christian, Michael and his daughter Helene. Missing from the roster of invitees is Christian's twin sister, Linda, who recently committed suicide. The reason for her action and the repercussions from it, form the basis of the shocking and painful events that transpire during a twenty-four hour period. In the midst of dinner, Christian makes a startling accusation and, even as the disbelieving guests are choosing sides, the play slowly unwraps the truth. David Eldridge powerful new play is adapted from Thomas Vinterborg's screenplay of the very successful film, Dogme. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Festen/ebfUAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Festen+/+adapted+by+David+Eldridge&printsec=frontcover

The day the waters came / by Lisa Evans

It is summer, 2005, New Orleans. Maya Marsalis takes you by the hand, sometimes the throat, and leads you through her landscape the day Hurricane Katrina came, the levees broke, the world watched and the US Government did nothing. Go with her, as she shows you how her world and that of thousands of black American citizens changed forever, the day the waters came. A sister piece to Evans’ seminal play for young audiences Stamping, Shouting And Singing Home, this new play explores the environmental and social impact of Hurricane Katrina on the communities in New Orleans. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Day_The_Waters_Came/YNP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+day+the+waters+came+/+by+Lisa+Evans&printsec=frontcover

East Lynne / adapted by Lisa Evans from the novel by Mrs. Henry Woods

An adaptation of the Victorian novel seen this time from the point of view of the main character, Lady Isabel Vane, who was punished beyond mercy by her original author, Mrs Henry Wood, for the crime of passion.

Jamaica Inn / by Daphne du Maurier ; in a new adaptation by Lisa Evans

A new adaptation – with songs – of Daphne du Maurier’s classic evocative and chilling tale set in the heart of the bleak Bodmin Moor – full of murder, mystery and malevolence. Shrubs of broom grow black and twisted, as if by Devil's fingers and the wind that never ceases, Like a chorus from the dead. Those who lived here it's for certain, would grow dark and tortured too' In Jamaica Inn, at the heart of the bleak Bodmin Moor, young Mary Yellen soon discovers mysterious goings-on in the dead of night. But worse is yet to come as Mary finds herself helplessly ensnared in the deadly activities taking place around her. Evocative, atmospheric and chilling, this new adaptation of Jamaica Inn has all the hallmarks of a great adventure classic - murder, mystery and malevolence.

Plays 1 / by David Eldridge

First collection by a young dramatist with few peers. This volume showcases the four best early plays by the writer behind the smash hit stage adaptation of 'Serving It Up' - a 'precociously deceptive' debut play about East End loutishness.

Incomplete and random acts of kindness / by David Eldridge

Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness moves between dream story and real lives to tell an intricate, complex story of a young man dealing with the break up of his family and the legacy of race responsibility. Joey's an ordinary man but everywhere he looks people are slipping away. A notice at work catches his eye. He doesn't know where to go next - his Dad, the community or Marvin Gaye. In a world he can't connect with, is there someone out there who can connect with Joey? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Incomplete_and_Random_Acts_of_Kindness/il2JAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Incomplete+and+random+acts+of+kindness+/+by+David+Eldridge&pg=PP14&printsec=frontcover

Market boy / by David Eldridge

There's an art to selling stilettos and you'd better grasp it. Learn a good wind-up, learn the pull of cash, learn drugs, learn sex, and run wild with the market monkeys. Stay sharp in the ruthless world of Essex traders. Romford Market, 1985. This boy has everything to learn. A spectacular, savage, gorgeous yarn which brings a market jungle to the vast Olivier stage; a tale about the time Mrs Thatcher said we should embrace the marketplace; a story about losing your innocence. And your cherry. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Market_Boy/Yfm0AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Market+boy+/+by+David+Eldridge&printsec=frontcover

Such a beautiful voice is Sayeda's AND Karima's city: two one-act plays / by Yussef El Guindi

Here, Islam hangs in the very air you breathe; spirits, or Jinns, may lurk near; flattering dresses and lipstick are evidence of infidelity; and a woman singing can bring dishonor and ruin to herself and her family. Lyrical and delicate, and suffused with moments of haunting theatricality, this exploration of the oppression of the human spirit is a perfect jewel of the one-act art. (3 men, 6 women, doubling possible.) KARIMA’S CITY. Karima’s beloved city is changing around her. The seeds-and-nuts vendor, the fruit seller and the butcher who used to greet her each morning no longer do. Everywhere concrete monstrosities are rising, and the trees are vanishing. These changes are making Karima physically ill, and she can no longer keep silent. But whenever she speaks her mind, all manner of suffering befalls her. In a society that judges iconoclasts shameful, dangerous and a menace, it slowly becomes apparent that Karima’s devastating fate has already been written. Touching on issues of enormous significance in the Islamic world, this finely wrought play bubbles with unexpected charm and humor as it leads to its inexorable conclusion. (6 to 7 actors can play the 25 roles.) Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Such_a_Beautiful_Voice_is_Sayeda_s/XQpsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Such+a+beautiful+voice+is+Sayeda%27s+AND+Karima%27s+city:+two+one-act+plays+/+by+Yussef+El+Guindi&printsec=frontcover

Back of the throat / by Yussef El Guindi

Sparkling with intelligence and humor, BACK OF THE THROAT is the tale of an apparently friendly visit by two government officials, which soon devolves into a full-blown, no-holds-barred probe. Khaled, an Arab-American writer and the focus of their inquiry, finds himself, to his astonishment, suddenly accused of possible ties to terrorists. As the interrogation proceeds, the officials reveal their evidence, but is it evidence? Or have innocent events been distorted through the lens of paranoid suspicion? As the situation turns increasingly surreal, and the menace to Khaled increasingly real, the question of what it means to be an American takes on a very personal and charged significance. An enthralling and ultimately chilling black comedy, BACK OF THE THROAT confronts bureaucratic euphemisms like “person of interest” and “extraordinary rendition” with the frightening reality they seek to obscure. Dark comedy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Back_of_the_Throat/vTRnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Back+of+the+throat+/+by+Yussef+El+Guindi&printsec=frontcover

Continental divide : mothers against / by David Edgar

Five weeks to election day, the polls on a knife edge, Republican candidate for governor Sheldon Vine gathers his key advisors at the family home to prep the big televised debate with his Democrat opponent. Soon it is clear that the most dangerous divisions are within the Republican campaign, as Vine's brother (and campaign chair) and tries to force the candidate to trim his principles. The arrival of Vine's radical daughter and a beautiful right-wing radio "pundette" only increases the tensions within the campaign, which come to an explosive climax in a full-scale mock debate. Finally, Sheldon, his brother and his wife confront the resentments and betrayals of the past, facing the candidate with a choice between his principles and victory.

Continental divide : daughters of the revolution / by David Edgar

Moving on to higher things from his job in a community college, former sixties activist Michael Bern finds that his partner has thrown a surprise fifty-fifth party in his honour, at which she and his friends present him with his FBI file (with dramatized extracts, of course). In the file, Michael finds proof that one of an eight-strong group of activists was an FBI informer. His career and relationship threatened by his discovery, Michael sets forth to find the eight, a quest which takes him from a political campaign to a ghetto neighborhood, from a gated community to a beachside fundraiser, from a group of hippy treesitters deep in the redwood forests to the site of a vital governor's debate. On the journey, Michael discovers what happened to his former friends, but more profoundly, what has happened to himself.

Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge / by Christopher Durang

In this departure from Dickens, young Scrooge’s exclamations of “Bah, humbug!” are an undiagnosed “kind of seasonal Tourette’s Syndrome,” and The Ghost of Christmas Past is played by a sassy African-American woman with enough attitude to portray all three spirits (which she does). She tries to show Scrooge his past, present and future in order to change him, but her magic keeps malfunctioning in Durang’s version of the beloved holiday classic, and they consistently find themselves transported to the wrong time and place. She tries to take Scrooge back to see his old employers, the Fezziwigs— “always an audience favorite” —but instead she and Scrooge keep appearing in the present at the Cratchit’s pathetic home. Mrs. Bob Cratchit, a minor character in the Dickens, takes center stage here. No longer loving and long suffering, Mrs. Bob is in a rage: She’s sick of Tiny Tim (the goody-goody crippled child), she hates her twenty other children (most of them confined to the root cellar), including oversized Little Nell, and she wants to get drunk and jump off London Bridge. As the Ghost loses more control, the plot morphs into parodies of Oliver Twist, “The Gift of the Magi” and It’s a Wonderful Life. And to make matters worse, Scrooge and Mrs. Bob seem to be kindred souls falling in love. With a dénouement that is two parts Touched by an Angel and one part The Queen of Mean, Scrooge’s tale of redemption and gentle grace is placed squarely on its head. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Miss_Witherspoon_and_Mrs_Bob_Cratchit_s/aK7SDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mrs.+Bob+Cratchit%27s+Wild+Christmas+Binge+/+by+Christopher+Durang&printsec=frontcover

Betty's Summer Vacation / by Christopher Durang

Betty is looking forward to her summer share at the ocean. But Trudy, whom she knows only slightly, chatters incessantly; and then there are the other housemates—sexy lout Buck, who’s pathologically on the make with women all the time, and sweet, withdrawn Keith who carries a shovel and a mysterious hatbox and just may be a serial killer. Then the emotionally anarchic landlady, Mrs. Siezmagraff, moves in too; and she invites a crazy derelict to dinner, and, well, the vacation becomes more and more of a strain for poor Betty. Not to mention there seems to be a laugh track coming from the ceiling that no one seems able to shut up. Death, destruction, mayhem—Betty finds it all in her seaside retreat. (Satire of Greek tragedy) Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Betty_s_Summer_Vacation/Ga3SDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Betty%27s+Summer+Vacation+/+by+Christopher+Durang&printsec=frontcover

Mrs. Townley Had a Pomeranian : A One Act Play / by Mark Dunn

After a horrific bus crash kills most of a small Methodist congregation, Maddie Weathers is contacting grieving families and friends to be sure orphaned pets are being cared for. She and a fellow surviving church member who, like her, is wrestling with his faith, begin to hear a disembodied soprano voice singing hauntingly in the sanctuary. This play about profound loss, tested faith and the definition of God is by the popular author of Belles, Five Tellers Dancing in the Rain, and other plays.

Helen's Most Favorite Day : A Romantic Fantasy in Two Acts / by Mark Dunn

Be careful what you wish for... Love at "second sight" and a magic wish doom Helen to repeat the best day of her life ad infinitum, unless she can be rescued by those nearest and dearest to her in this romantic fantasy about love in three tenses, and dreams fulfilled and unfulfilled. Helen's Most Favorite Dayt ells the story of forty-four-year-old Helen, for whom romantic love has been an infrequent caller. At a trip to the fairgrounds, Helen is swept off her feet by a carnie named Jed, who gives her one of the nicest, most special days of her life. He gives Helen another gift as well: a "wish" proffered to him by his friend, a mystic. Helen, playing along, "wishes" for the chance to repeat this special day forever. Her wish is granted. And with it comes the direst of unforeseen repercussions. Her family and friends rally to assist Helen by wishing themselves back to that same day, to extricate her and to, in fact, save the universe. A gentle comedy wrapped in a beat-the-clock rollick, as science and logic take a back seat to the directives of the human heart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Helen_s_Most_Favorite_Day/AJnpPQT5RE0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Helen%27s+Most+Favorite+Day+:+A+Romantic+Fantasy+in+Two+Acts+/+by+Mark+Dunn&printsec=frontcover

A Delightful Quarantine : A Play about a Homebound Town / by Mark Dunn

An extra-terrestrial "invasion" of the suburban, middle-class community of Susqua Creek Acres, Pennsylvania places its human residents and visitors under sudden house-bound quarantine. Secrets get revealed, conflicts erupt and recede, long festering wounds are dressed, and friendships and relationships terminated or reinstated. Offering the rare opportunity for large ensemble casting, A Delightful Quarantine presents audiences with the interwoven stories of a mother reunited with the daughter she gave up for adoption thirty-two years earlier; a man with a secret that upends his marriage; a woman with fourteen cats, all invisible; a foiled house burglary that must wait three days for the police; a rekindled high school romance; two young couture-obsessed little girls "home alone" for the duration; and a brother who cannot honor his sick sister's greatest wish. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Delightful_Quarantine/FmjZ0Tzg2N8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+Delightful+Quarantine+:+A+Play+about+a+Homebound+Town+/+by+Mark+Dunn&printsec=frontcover

Dix Tableaux: A Play in Ten Scenes / by Mark Dunn

The story of friendship between two women in their sixties is played out over the course of ten years, each year representing another reunion for Beverly Duggins and Addie Spool, two participants in a series of annual "tableaux" sponsored by the Museum of Dix, in a small city in the South. Within human diorama settings as simple as a frontier cabin porch or the cow stall of a local dairy barn, and as elaborate as the "Spit and Curl" beauty salon (circa 1930) and the front seat of Thelma and Louise's plummeting convertible, Beverly, the lonely urban professional, and Addie, the down-home pharmacist's assistant, chart the course of each other's lives, while fending off incursions from the officiously bothersome fellow-poser Maureen. Through the ten scenes which comprise the play, the two women are forced to endure the constant interruptions of the museum's "promenaders" who "ooh" and "ah" at the lifelike presentations, offering up their comical comments, both kind and cruel. Though they see one another only one weekend a year, and in spite of their very different backgrounds, Beverly and Addie nurture a growing and abiding friendship. In the end, it becomes the strongest and most sustaining friendship of their lives. (Features a local celebrity cameo) Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dix_Tableaux/x3KpOP7-oc8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dix+Tableaux:+A+Play+in+Ten+Scenes+/+by+Mark+Dunn&printsec=frontcover

PIGmalion / by Mark Dunn

Inspired by Pygmalion, Shaw’s classic drawing-room tale of language and class division, and its musical incarnation, My Fair Lady, this play tells the story of one Eliza Doolittle – the daughter of a hardscrabble Mississippi pig farmer – who sells homemade pork rinds at the Tri-Counties Fair and Livestock Show, and dreams of someday working as a waitress at “one of those nice downtown barbecue restaurants where all the tourists go.” With the support of her best friend, a sassy transgender firecracker named Miss Tiffany Box, patroness Ida Hill and her daughter Clara; and with Ida’s instantly-enamored son Freddy nipping romantically at Eliza’s heels, Delta-drawlin’ Eliza engages the services of a “Kudzu-league” college professor named Henry Higgins to take the country out of her speech and give her some semblance of class. Devotees of Shaw’s original will delight in the transplantation of Eliza, Professor Higgins, and his colleague Pickering to the American South. But this gentle, warm-hearted comedy gives us something else as well, a question to which everyone in the play must find the answer: how do we reconcile the way we present ourselves on the outside with who we truly are on the inside? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/PIGmalion/iKt50PVpyY0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=PIGmalion+/+by+Mark+Dunn&pg=PA88&printsec=frontcover

Plays with participation : Bullet Catch, Wallace, The Majority, Top table, Eulogy, Rolls in Their Pockets / by Rob Drummond

From the award-winning magic of Bullet Catch (the Arches, 2012), to the audience votes of The Majority (National Theatre of Great Britain, 2017), these six plays open up a space for improvisation and participation, and a range of responses and reactions from the audience. The collection includes four previously unpublished scripts along with up-to-date versions of their most successful productions. With introductory essays and in-text commentary by both the writer and director, this is a valuable resource for practitioners, students, and scholars of contemporary British theatre. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rob_Drummond_Plays_with_Participation/Fk4KEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+with+participation+:+Bullet+Catch,+Wallace,+The+Majority,+Top+table,+Eulogy,+Rolls+in+Their+Pockets+/+by+Rob+Drummond&printsec=frontcover

Art of Murder / by Joe DiPietro

In a remote estate in the countryside of Connecticut, Jack Brooks, one of the most accomplished and eccentric painters of his generation, awaits the imminent arrival of his art dealer. But the visit is not a standard one, for Jack feels wronged, and he is intending to kill the man. As Jack lays out his intentions for the evening, his wife, Annie, calmly paints. She is reluctant to go along with the plan, until Jack’s threat of violence convinces her otherwise. Harried and annoyed, Vincent, Jack’s flamboyant art dealer, arrives. Will Jack carry out his plan? Will Annie help him? Or is something else going on? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Art_of_Murder/gmNX64dXTQAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Art+of+Murder+/+by+Joe+DiPietro&printsec=frontcover

Ground / by Lisa Dillman

When Zell Preston inherits her father's struggling pecan farm and moves back to her childhood home in Fronteras, New Mexico, she finds that the once tight-knit border community has changed radically. The government has cracked down on the undocumented immigrant population, dividing families and pitting neighbor against neighbor. Chuy Gallegos, foreman at the Preston farm for 30 years, wants the piece of land he says Zell's father promised him long ago. Ines Sandoval and her sister Angie Zelaya lobby for the return of their recently deported aunt. Angie's husband Carl Zelaya defends his community and family his choice to work for the Border Patrol. And Cooper Daniels, industrial pecan grower and head of a civilian border surveillance group, forges ahead with a volunteer-built fence. These forces collide in Ground, which examines the human costs of immigration policies, and the strength of personal beliefs about family, home, and civil rights in the face of a shifting political and social landscape. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ground/KTUUQ98ztoMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ground+/+by+Lisa+Dillman&printsec=frontcover

The Rememberer / by Steven Dietz

The Rememberer tells the true story of Joyce Cheeka, a young Squaxin Indian girl, who is forcibly taken from her home and placed in a government-run school in 1911. As the chosen "rememberer" for her tribe—an honor passed down to her from her grandfather, Mud Bay Sam—it is Joyce's duty to pass on the stories, history and wisdom of her people. However, the aims of the white boarding school are quite the opposite. Their job is to eliminate any trace of Joyce's heritage. Through her friendship with the headmaster at the school, and with the help of her spirit guide, Joyce succeeds in forming a bridge between this new world and the world of her ancestors. Through her patience, grit, humor, curiosity and inclusiveness of spirit, she does honor to the words of her elders: "Each day is a gift. And to waste that day is inexcusable. Account for yourself. Be useful." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Rememberer/pAh9jZ2AR_QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Rememberer+/+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

Becky's New Car / by Steven Dietz

Have you ever been tempted to flee your own life? Becky Foster is caught in middle age, middle management and in a middling marriage—with no prospects for change on the horizon. Then one night a socially inept and grief-struck millionaire stumbles into the car dealership where Becky works. Becky is offered nothing short of a new life…and the audience is offered a chance to ride shotgun in a way that most plays wouldn’t dare. BECKY’S NEW CAR is a thoroughly original comedy with serious overtones, a devious and delightful romp down the road not taken. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Becky_s_New_Car/ECugMF5M5OEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Becky%27s+New+Car+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

The Nina Variations / by Steven Dietz

In this funny, fierce and heartbreaking homage to The Seagull, Steven Dietz puts Chekhov’s star-crossed lovers in a room and doesn’t let them out. In forty-three variations on their famous final scene, Nina (a young actress) and Treplev (a young writer), pit their vibrant wit and soaring passions against one another in a fast-paced tour de force of romantic entanglement. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Nina_Variations/f9lmwB8Y9CUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Nina+Variations+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

Rocket Man / by Steven Dietz

ROCKET MAN is a serious comedy about the road not taken. Donny Rowan has placed everything he owns on his front lawn, along with a sign that reads: “Here’s my life. Make an offer.” He has cut a skylight into his attic and placed his E-Z Boy recliner underneath—where he can sit, staring at the stars. Somewhere in the universe, Donny believes, is a place where all the roads we never chose converge. ROCKET MAN explores one man’s obsessive desire to find this “parallel world” —and the profound effect of his decision on his family and friends. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rocket_Man/ns2DXSPDrhIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rocket+Man+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

Force of Nature / by Steven Dietz

A play of extravagant romance and combustible desire, FORCE OF NATURE brings together the “perfect couple” —Edward and Charlotte—with two persons from their past: a beautiful young woman and an older man, Edward’s best friend. Beneath the placid exteriors of their lives, a storm is awakening—a rush of dangerous passions which shall alter their lives forever. Freely adapted from Goethe’s Elective Affinities, FORCE OF NATURE is a lush, eloquent drama about the consequences of desire and the power of destiny. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Force_of_Nature/b1aWVtzDlTYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Force+of+Nature+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure / by Steven Dietz

The world’s greatest detective has seemingly reached the end of his remarkable career when a case presents itself that is too tempting to ignore: The King of Bohemia is about to be blackmailed by a notorious photograph, and the woman at the heart of this crime is the famous opera singer, Irene Adler. With his trusted companion, Doctor Watson, at his side, Sherlock Holmes pursues first the case, and then the affections of Miss Adler—and in doing so, marches right into the lair of his longtime adversary, that malevolent genius of crime: Professor Moriarty. In this spirited, fast-moving and thoroughly theatrical adaptation, Steven Dietz presents Holmes at the height of his powers—surrounded by all the elements that fans of his exploits have come to expect: danger, intrigue, wit, humor and surprise. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sherlock_Holmes/DYCAuati57oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sherlock+Holmes:+The+Final+Adventure+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

Last of The Boys / by Steven Dietz

Ben and Jeeter fought in Vietnam, and for thirty years they have remained united by a war that divided the nation. Joined by Jeeter’s new girlfriend and her off-the-grid whiskey-drinking mother, these friends gather at Ben’s remote trailer for one final hurrah. As the night deepens, the past makes a return appearance, and its many ghosts come flickering to life. This is a fierce, funny, haunted play about a friendship that ends—and a war that does not. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Last_of_the_Boys/5BLR3976yh0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Last+of+The+Boys+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

Shooting Star / by Steven Dietz

Snowed in overnight at a middle-America airport, college lovers Elena Carson and Reed McAllister have an unexpected and life-altering reunion. Elena has stayed true to her hippie-ish, counter-culture path, while Reed has gone predictably corporate and conservative. As the night gives way to laughter, banter, remembrance and alcohol, Elena and Reed revisit a past that holds more surprises than they imagined—and a present that neither of them could have predicted. Filled with laughter and ache, SHOOTING STAR is a bittersweet romantic comedy about the middle days of our lives, and how we got there. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shooting_Star/yJ_pPUsv4AcC?hl=en&gbpv=1

How not to drown / by Nicola McCartney and Dritan Kastrati

In 2002, in the turmoil after the end of the Kosovan War, Dritan is sent on the notoriously perilous journey across the Adriatic with a gang of people smugglers to a new life in Europe. He relies on his young wit and charm to make it to the UK. But the fight for survival continues as he clings to his identity and sense of self when he ends up in the British care system. Hilarious, painful and uplifting, How Not to Drown shares a story of endurance for a little kid who wasn’t safe or welcome anywhere in the world.

After the blast / by Zoe Kazan

Generations ago, humans retreated deep underground after an environmental disaster ruined the world above. Nature is now simulated through brain-implanted chips, and fertility is regulated to keep the surviving population in balance. Anna and Oliver want to have a baby, and their options are running out. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/After_the_Blast/Y0i8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=After+the+blast+/+by+Zoe+Kazan.&printsec=frontcover

55 shades of gay : the Balkan spring of the sexual revolution : a comedy / by Jeton Neziraj ; translated by Alexandra Channer.

55 Shades of Gay: Balkan Spring of Sexual Revolution is a contemporary burlesque story about LGBTI politics in the Balkans and Europe by acclaimed Kosovar playwright Jeton Neziraj. In a historically homophobic environment, local Balkan politicians try to manipulate and deceive EU officials; humanitarian mercenaries of international NGOs exploit intolerance for economic gains; and EU officials use their superior financial and political positions to subjugate everyone. This provocative, politically incorrect performance poses the question, “Is sexual liberation possible in the Balkans?”

1936 : Berlin and other plays / by Tom McNab

Includes the plays: 1936: Berlin: Set in the run up to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, at the height of Hitler's rise to power. 1936: Berlintells the story of the legendary Jesse Owens and of a young German Jewish athlete, Greta Bergmann and the Irish American who fought for a boycott of the Games because of Hitler's treatment of the Jews and nearly won. A play about international politics and infighting, greed and naked ambition. 1936: Berlin premiered at the Arcola Theatre in London in 2010 with four star reviews, and featured as part of the Cultural Olympiad in London 2012. Orwell On Jura: Set on the remote island of Jura in the west of Scotland in 1947. Plagued by ill-health, George Orwell travelled to this remote island determined to write his last work. Orwell on Jura is the vivid portrait of a man wrestling with his ghosts as he struggles to finish his seminal novel 1984. The play depicts his life on the island as he deals with his visitors, real and imagined, with wry humour and perceptive wit. Whisper In The Heart: Set in 1955 Spain, McNab imagines a fictitious meeting between two great film directors: Orson Welles and Leni Riefenstahl. It is 1955 and a down-at-heel Orson Welles is reduced to making a documentary on the ball game pelota. Leni Riefenstahl, banned from making films because of her association with Hitler, is struggling to make a living. They both meet in Spain, where Leni is secretly employed to assist Orson and edit his film. In Whisper In The Heart, McNab draws the parallels in their careers as they find a mutual respect in adversity. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/1936_Berlin_and_other_plays/dj6eDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1936+:+Berlin+and+other+plays&printsec=frontcover

Paragon Springs / by Steven Dietz

It is 1926 in the American heartland, and the famed 'healing waters' of Paragon Springs have been mysteriously poisoned. Now, the town's foremost citizen-crusader, Dr. Thomas Stockman, is determined to know the truth behind this tragedy, no matter the cost. In this vibrant, often funny, and highly theatrical re-imagining of Ibsen's An enemy of the people, Steven Dietz puts the lure of capitalism and the greed of small-town self-interest squarely on trial--laced with Dr. Stockman's lasting cry that 'the majority is always wrong!' This is an entertaining and illuminating drama--set amid the birth of radio and the final roar of the 1920s--about the human cost of our political gamesmanship.

Yankee Tavern / by Steven Dietz

Just when you thought you’d heard every crazy 9/11 conspiracy theory, a stranger walks into the Yankee Tavern. There, inside the walls of this crumbling New York tavern, a young couple finds themselves caught up in what might be the biggest conspiracy of all. Steven Dietz’s acclaimed and already widely produced dramatic thriller—a selection of the National New Play Network’s Continued Life Project—is a fierce, funny, and ultimately mind-bending work of theatrical power that grips you until the final word. What you don’t know can hurt you. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Yankee_Tavern/eA7aZ6DCThcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Yankee+Tavern+/+by+Steven+Dietz&printsec=frontcover

The Amish Project / by Jessica Dickey

The Amish Project is a fictional exploration of the Nickel Mines schoolhouse shooting in an Amish community, and the path of forgiveness and compassion forged in its wake. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Amish_Project/b84HrwlkwqgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Amish+Project+/+by+Jessica+Dickey&printsec=frontcover

Toni Morrison's The bluest eye / adapted by Lydia R. Diamond.

Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye is a story about the tragic life of a young black girl in 1940s Ohio. Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove wants nothing more than to be loved by her family and schoolmates. Instead, she faces constant ridicule and abuse. She blames her dark skin and prays for blue eyes, sure that love will follow. With rich language and bold vision, this powerful adaptation of an American classic explores the crippling toll that a legacy of racism has taken on a community, a family and an innocent girl. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Bluest_Eye/ANKODQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Bluest+Eye:+A+Novel+/+by+Toni+Morrison&printsec=frontcover

Stage Black / by Lydia R. Diamond

Writer, a respected but obscure Black playwright, attempts to write the perfect, producible Black play. The Normals, a typical upper-middle-class Black family, are introduced. We meet a momma on the couch, an angry young buck, a pretty little sister, her lover, a grandpa, and an often-referred-to but never-met career-woman grandmother. Despite Writer's efforts, her inclination toward truth and honesty in art conflicts with her desire for commercial viability. Try as she may to write the quintessential Black play that falls within the comfort zones of white and Black audiences, her subconscious artistic and political sensibilities leap to the fore. Her characters rebel. Finally, a humorous and suspenseful coup. Writer is killed. The catatonic momma on the couch and the ethnically ambiguous European bombshell maid are killed. Angry Young Buck is killed. A new matriarch—Grandma—emerges. And with all of the clichés effectively deconstructed and out of the way, Monica (the pretty little sister) will begin a play of truth and honesty. Or can she? Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exStageBlackSN1.pdf

The Gift Horse / by Lydia R. Diamond

A soulful cello solo played by a beautiful young African-American woman sets The Gift Horse in motion. As the mysterious cellist departs, the audience meets Ruth, a warm, attractive African-American woman with an easy laugh and a sharp sense of humor. While Ruth remembers her college days, the audience returns there with her, reliving times when life trajectories were set and bonds with friends and lovers were forged. Ruth takes the audience on her tumultuous journey from then to now, moving back and forth in time as characters from the past and present collide. We learn about Ruth, Ernesto, Brian, Noah, Bill and Jordan. These highly articulate characters confront each other directly and indirectly around issues that challenge us culturally. And the mysterious cellist spools her story as well. The Gift Horse explores the complexities of human interaction in love, commitment and tragedy and celebrates the resilience of the soul. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exGiftHorseG83.pdf

Catch / by April de Angelis, Stella Feehily, Tanika Gupta, Chloe Moss, and Laura Wade

There is a company that knows who you are and traces every detail of your lifestyle. They know your darkest fears and secret hopes. Claire has created a new identity for herself and promises to do the same for others in crisis. Catch is a new collaborative play by five leading writers, which asks timely questions about who we want to become—and at what cost.

Rumpelstiltskin / by Linda Daugherty

Uta conspires with his mother to swindle the king out of his yearly tribute by inventing a false prophecy that his daughter, Alana, would, at the first full moon of each year, spin straw into gold. As Rumpelstiltskin peeks out from a nomad's tent, Alana is abducted by the king and his reluctant son, Marius, and taken to the king's castle, where she is sent to work spinning straw into gold. In the castle the mood lightens as romance blossoms between Alana and Marius. Still, the rhyming Rumpelstiltskin is manipulating every step of the way, and there is always the underlying unease that he will appear and exact his dreadful payment. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exRumpelstiltskinR82.pdf

Daughter of St. Nicholas / by Linda Daugherty

In this play-within-a-play set in early 20th-century Russia, a colorful troupe of actors in a small provincial theater is presenting a dramatization of the Russian classic fairy tale about Snegorka, the daughter of St. Nicholas, who braves adversity and saves Christmas by finding the lost reindeer and riding the lead reindeer herself on St. Nicholas' appointed rounds. Your audience will enjoy the drama, romance, holiday fun and a peek at the backstage world of theater. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exDaughterOfStNicholasD96.pdf

Eat: It's Not About Food / by Linda Daugherty

EAT (It's Not About Food) dramatizes the dangerous world of eating disorders. Candidly exploring causes and warning signs, the play takes a hard look at the influences of society and the media and tells individual stories of young people struggling with this epidemic and too often tragic problem. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exEatE53.pdf

Night train to Bolina / by Nilo Cruz

The play is set in Latin America in the mid-eighties, in an unidentified country, during the guerilla warfare. Threatened by starvation and abuse, two children flee their rural village for “the city.” Dancing on a fine line between innocent fantasy and harsh reality, Mateo and Clara explore their imaginations in a world of dark mysticism and denied love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Night_Train_to_Bolina/FWxN2IuOdTAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Night+train+to+Bolina+/+by+Nilo+Cruz&printsec=frontcover

Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams / by Nilo Cruz

A brother and a sister, whose lives were forever altered when their mother put them on a flight from Havana to the United States in 1961, return to their native land during the Pope’s visit to Cuba. The brother and sister take their own path, as they search for recollection and healing. This tale of estranged siblings seeking to make sense of the childhood that was subtracted from their lives possesses an imaginative and lyrical landscape that elevates the material to a poetic universality. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hortensia_and_the_Museum_of_Dreams/FUdbBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hortensia+and+the+Museum+of+Dreams+/+by+Nilo+Cruz&printsec=frontcover

A Bicycle Country / by Nilo Cruz

Three characters whose lives seem to be moving nowhere set out to build a dream, even if that dream seems perilous. This stirring portrait of three Cuban exiles and their harrowing journey across the Caribbean Sea examines the universal themes of freedom and oppression, hope and survival. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Bicycle_Country/dK-LgBzqR8AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+Bicycle+Country+/+by+Nilo+Cruz&printsec=frontcover

Two Sisters and a Piano / by Nilo Cruz

Set in 1991, during the Pan American Games in Havana and while the Russians are pulling out of Cuba, this play portrays two sisters, Maria Celia, a novelist, and Sofia, a pianist, serving time under house arrest. Passion infiltrates politics when a lieutenant assigned to their case becomes infatuated with Maria Celia, whose literature he has been reading. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Two_Sisters_and_a_Piano/hBsIjlZIYoEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Two+Sisters+and+a+Piano+/+by+Nilo+Cruz&printsec=frontcover

The Men From The Boys: a sequel to The Boys in The Band / by Mart Crowley

Thirty years after the characters in The Boys in the Band gathered in Michael's Manhattan duplex to celebrate Harold's birthday, six of the survivors are assembled again in the same apartment for another occasion: a "Celebration of Life" for one of the original "boys," who has died. This funny, acerbic, and tender sequel does not toe any politically correct line. Rather, it is full of debates about and criticisms of the post-liberation world, allowing these men to realize how much they have changed, and how much further they have to go. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Band_Plays/xlR5GGZCtiEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Men+From+The+Boys:+a+sequel+to+The+Boys+in+The+Band+/+by+Mart+Crowley&printsec=frontcover

England / by Tim Crouch

The patients like to look at the paintings. It helps them to feel better about their illnesses.’ The grateful recipient of a heart transplant travels 4000 miles to thank the widow of the donor and to present her with a very special gift. But much more than a life has been lost. Written and performed in art galleries, ENGLAND tells a compelling story for our times - a disturbing tale of transactions and translations, of culture and commerce, of one thing being placed inside another without thought for the consequences. Presented by two guides, it is a tour to the end of the world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/England/CYoHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=England+/+by+Tim+Crouch&printsec=frontcover

The author / by Tim Crouch

Settle back into the warmth of the theatre. Relax as the story unfolds. For you. With you. Of you. A story of hope, violence and exploitation. Laugh with the actors, tap your feet to the music, turn to your neighbor. You’re here. The Author tells the story of another play: a violent, shocking and abusive play written by a playwright called Tim Crouch and performed at the Royal Court Theatre. It charts the effect that play had on the two actors who acted in it and an audience member who watched it. The Author explores our responsibilities to what we choose to look at in the world and how we choose to act ... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Author/m4kHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+author+/+by+Tim+Crouch&printsec=frontcover

Fuente / by Cusi Cram

Something is not right. There is a secret humidity in the air in a town where the breezes have been on strike for two hundred years. Soledad thinks she is Alexis Carrington from Dynasty and feels itchy. Chaparro can’t seem to scratch her itch anymore. Esteban might just be the man for the job. And Adela watches it all unfold as if it were a soap opera on TV. Maybe it is? Anything is possible in Fuente, an almost-real town, somewhere between where North America ends and South America begins. Fuente is a magically-real comedy, set in a remote desert town, about love, revenge, escape, and the perilous powers of Aquanet hairspray. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fuente/KaaiEOjcQx0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fuente+/+by+Cusi+Cram&pg=PA76&printsec=frontcover

Lucy and the Conquest / by Cusi Cram

Pill popping Lucy Santiago heads to her family home in Bolivia after being fired from the syndicated hit "Beach Detectives". All she wants to do is forget her troubles but her wildly eccentric family and a mysterious spirit that lives under Simon Bolivar's campaign bed won't let her. Lucy is forced to confront her own troubled history as well as the history of a conquered people. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lucy_and_the_Conquest/oGpDPoG15S8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lucy+and+the+Conquest+/+by+Cusi+Cram&printsec=frontcoverhttps://www.google.com/books/edition/Lucy_and_the_Conquest/oGpDPoG15S8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lucy+and+the+Conquest+/+by+Cusi+Cram&printsec=frontcover

Happy Savages / by Ryan Craig

"Nothing changes. Everything just gets worse. What's the point of that?" Two couples trample on friends and lovers as they search for happiness. In Fringe First and Peggy Ramsay award winner Ryan Craig's play, their dialogue crackles with desperation and raw humor. Happy Savages was performed at the Underbelly, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2008. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Happy_Savages/DYoHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Happy+Savages+/+by+Ryan+Craig&printsec=frontcover

The glass room / by Ryan Craig

In a safe-house in the suburbs, human rights lawyer Myles Brody meets with a high-profile and controversial historian. She has been charged with denying the Holocaust, and he has agreed to defend her in court. But as her guilt becomes apparent, Myles is forced to doubt his most sacred principles, question his belief in the right to free speech and acknowledge that he too has been denying the past. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Glass_Room/FYoHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+glass+room+/+by+Ryan+Craig&printsec=frontcover

What we did to Weinstein / by Ryan Craig

Sickened by the everyday arguments and compromises he saw around him in his native London, the idealistic Josh has moved to Israel and joined the army. There, however, he finds himself in a situation with a Palestinian terror suspect which seems to challenge his most strongly held beliefs. Deftly cutting between different locations and time periods, Ryan Craig's play lets us see unexpected connections between disparate events, as well as bringing together people with apparently nothing in common. A wryly humorous, sometimes hilarious, look at a serious issue, What We Did To Weinstein moves between London life and the world of the intifada, creating a portrait of a society where idealism too easily becomes extremism and pragmatism hypocrisy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/What_We_Did_to_Weinstein/OYoHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=What+we+did+to+Weinstein+/+by+Ryan+Craig&printsec=frontcover

The King of Hell's Palace / by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

When the Henan Ministry of Health begins paying citizens for blood plasma which is then sold to pharmaceutical companies, impoverished farmers in the province's remote villages sell blood to buy fertilizer, mend their houses and create a better life for their children. As corrupt health officials cut costs to maximize profits, safety standards are ignored, bringing potential catastrophe to China's most vulnerable population. Inspired by true events, this gripping drama explores the conflicts that arise when a community's greatest source of capital becomes their own bodies. Focusing on the personal repercussions of the cover-up, The King of Hell's Palace questions how political and medical decisions are made and how both a family and an entire country can look to recover from traumatic events. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_King_of_Hell_s_Palace/oLS9DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+King+of+Hell%27s+Palace+/+by+Frances+Ya-Chu+Cowhig&printsec=frontcover

Wet Weather Cover / by Oliver Cotton

Oliver Cotton is a British stage and screen actor, well known for his work on stage, TV and film. In this, his first published stage play, Cotton draws on his own experience as he presents two actors - one English, the other American - marooned on location miles from anywhere, confined in their tiny dressing space by the unrelenting rain. Growing increasingly frustrated, they engage in a magnificently sustained verbal duel, a love-hate clash of cultures, countries and personalities. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wet_Weather_Cover/OtP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wet+Weather+Cover+/+by+Oliver+Cotton&printsec=frontcover

Breath, boom / by Kia Corthron

Fourteen years in the life of Prix, a Bronx native, from her ruthless girl-gang leadership at sixteen through her coming to maturity at thirty. But children do not become violent in a vacuum: As a small child Prix was raped by her mother’s longtime lover—being with the family on and off from the time Prix was two until sixteen—while her mother lived in a blind denial world. Amidst all the brutality Prix is still a kid with her own dreams and delights: fireworks. In the course of the play Prix is locked in teen jail with a lonely outcast, and later in a women’s facility with a white woman who thinks she’s black Prix comes to face old demons: conversations with the mother’s lover, long dead; a chance meeting with a woman who has spent her adult life in a wheelchair because of a confrontation with Prix in their teens; at twenty-eight, an old woman by gang standards, being on the other side of punishment by the fourteen-year-old daughter of a “sister” Prix used to kick around; and ultimately coming to terms with the mother Prix hasn’t seen in thirteen years. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Breath_Boom/usjMqYdwxS0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Breath,+boom+/+by+Kia+Corthron&printsec=frontcover

Seeking the Genesis / by Kia Corthron

Six-year-old hyper Kite “flies.” But his teacher tells his mother, C Ana, that his ever-excitement is a brain disease and urges medication: Ritalin. Not just to calm him down—his jumpiness, C Ana is told, is cerebrally, genetically related to sixteen-year-old brother Justin’s gang violence. C Ana believes it’s all poppycock. Her nineteen-year-old niece Cheryl, however, hanging around the family’s apartment in the projects to tutor Kite and shy eight-year-old sister Kandal, supports the teacher. Cheryl lost all three of her brothers to street violence and desperately seeks a solution. Justin attempts the difficult, dangerous road out of the gangs and along the path is startled by the realization that his mother thinks his extracurricular activities were the result of some brain malformation; Kandal continues getting As while learning nothing—a reward for being “well behaved"; and Kite, medicated, gets quieter, skinnier, sleepless and, while there is no academic improvement, the lesson he learns, or comes to believe, is that he is essentially bad and needs his pills to be good. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Seeking_the_Genesis/ZsDTCI9gEaAC?hl=en&gbpv=1

A cool dip in the barren saharan crick / by Kia Corthron

A Cool Dip offers glimpses into the lives of Abebe, a young Ethopian man with a passion for the unlikely combination of Christianity and ecology, and the family that houses him during his college studies in Maryland. Through their interactions, the play uncompromisingly tackles the issues of drought and social injustice, combining a realistic evocation of human emotion with the fantastical to bring attention to the scarcity of something we so often take for granted: water. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Cool_Dip_in_the_Barren_Saharan_Crick_a/p6N7AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+cool+dip+in+the+barren+saharan+crick+/+by+Kia+Corthron&printsec=frontcover

Out of Water / by Zoe Cooper

Claire and her wife Kit have moved from the confines of London to the wide open coasts of South Shields. To be nearer family, to be nearer the sea, to put down roots. To have a baby. Claire's new job at the local school is a step up, and she wants to make a real difference, but she soon discovers that she has as much to learn from her students as they have from her. A tender new play about gender, wild swimming, and how we define who we are. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Out_of_Water/u-iWDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Out+of+Water+/+by+Zoe+Cooper&printsec=frontcover

You have the right to remain dead: an audience-participation comedy mystery / by Pat Cook

The show starts and you meet Fat Daddy, a rich but vindictive southern gentleman with an equally conniving and scheming family. So you know who's going to die, right? But who will the murderer be? You have to figure out who did it. And not only are you questioning the cast, but they are questioning you! Yes, you are a suspect as well! This frantic mystery-comedy will have audiences guessing until the last clue is dropped and the last ham overacts. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/You_Have_the_Right_to_Remain_Dead/XIowyjD8ZrIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=You+have+the+right+to+remain+dead:+an+audience-participation+comedy+mystery+/+by+Pat+Cook&printsec=frontcover

If it's Monday, this must be Christmas! / by Pat Cook

Christmas time rolls around and our down-and-out gumshoe, Harry Monday, is short of cash as usual. He's down to walking dogs for a few bucks when Harrigan's department store has its payroll stolen. Not only is the payroll missing but, crime of all crimes, somebody kidnapped Santa Claus! Harry has only one day, Christmas Eve, to solve the case. Wise cracks and plot twists fly faster than Santa's sleigh in this yuletide whodunit. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/If_It_s_Monday_this_Must_be_Christmas/2We6S798IhsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=If+it%27s+Monday,+this+must+be+Christmas!+/+by+Pat+Cook&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover

Offices / by Ethan Coen

Hiring and firing are antisocial acts. Workplace pressures make for nasty competition. And the work itself can be meaningless and alienating. Accordingly, the three short plays that make up OFFICES are comedies. OFFICES includes PEER REVIEW, HOMELAND SECURITY and STRUGGLE SESSION. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Offices/jHQO8fz0UakC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Offices+/+by+Ethan+Coen&printsec=frontcover

Almost an Evening / by Ethan Coen

In ALMOST AN EVENING three short plays unsuccessfully tackle important questions. In WAITING, someone waits somewhere for quite some time. In FOUR BENCHES, a voyage to self-discovery takes a British intelligence agent to steam baths in New York and Texas, and to park benches in the U.S. and U.K. In DEBATE, cosmic questions are taken up. Not much is learned. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Almost_an_Evening/x19XKKIKnCQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Almost+an+Evening+/+by+Ethan+Coen&printsec=frontcover

For Better / by Eric Coble

In this plugged-in world of email, text-messaging and camera phones, do a bride and groom really need to be in the same country to go on a honeymoon? Karen and Max are getting married. At least, if their jobs will ever let them be in the same city at the same time. A romantic comedy for the digital age, For Better is a hilarious new farce that pokes fun at our overdependence on the gadgets in our lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/For_Better/C8AsY1opFeEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=for+better+by+eric+coble&printsec=frontcover

The Dead Guy / by Eric Coble

The Pitch: You get one million dollars to spend over the next seven days. A camera crew follows your every move and broadcasts your adventures on national television. The Hook: At the end of the week…you die. The Best Part: The viewing audience gets to vote on the method of your death! For hard-luck Eldon Phelps, the deal is irresistible. But does America have the stomach for this much reality? What would you do if you had one week until you became…"The Dead Guy"? Stay tuned… Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dead_Guy/8aQihX1sxjkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Dead+Guy+/+by+Eric+Coble&printsec=frontcover

Bright Ideas / by Eric Coble

How far would you go for your child? For Genevra and Joshua Bradley, the question is no longer hypothetical. Their three-year-old son, Mac, is next on the waiting list to get into the Bright Ideas Early Childhood Development Academy—and everyone knows once you’re in there, your life will unfold with glorious ease. Josh and Gen have had to scramble all their lives to get this far…and now they are one fatal dinner party away from the ultimate success as parents: The Right Pre-School. You may never look at pre-school—or pesto—the same way again… Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bright_Ideas/fWOUqSqN6wAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bright+Ideas+/+by+Eric+Coble&printsec=frontcover

Vote? / by Eric Coble

In the middle of a heated argument with friends about the importance of voting, eighteen-year-old Nicole Harrison suddenly finds herself in Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War. The men around her battle for the very rights she so casually dismisses. As she is thrown forward through time, standing beside Lucretia Mott, Frederic Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr. and hundreds of minorities and young people at pivotal moments in history, Nicole discovers how many shoulders we all stand on every time we step into a voting booth. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vote/OtVAotTk00MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=vote%3F+by+eric+coble&printsec=frontcover

Virtual devotion / by Eric Coble

Virtual Devotion is a day in the life of three members of a shattered family trying to navigate a world of pollution, terrorism, and disease to make some connection through—and in spite of—their faith. And Jesus, only Son of the Living God, has come back. All four become deeply entwined in one another's lives, eventually "meeting" on the Home Shopping Network selling religious artifacts just moments before what may just be the end of the world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Virtual_Devotion/mh22eoESA08C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Virtual+devotion+/+by+Eric+Coble&printsec=frontcover

Pierre and Marie / adapted by Ron Clark; based on the play Les palmes de M. Schutz by Jean-Noël Fenwick

In a small laboratory in Paris in the 1800s, Pierre and Marie Curie discover uranium, radium and their love. This intelligent comedy is equal parts science, history and riotously charming comedy. A blunt nanny, a profiteering scientist and a dull, ambitious academic department head round out the company.

A Bench in the Sun / by Ron Clark

Harold and Burt, longtime friends, live in a retirement home and spend their days on a bench in the garden bickering. A once famous actress has just moved in, giving them something new to argue over. When they learn that the home is about to be sold and they will have to find a new residence, the three join forces to prevent this upsetting development. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Bench_in_the_Sun/tfIOGLEwv34C?hl=en&gbpv=1

The incomparable Lou Lou / by Ron Clark; based on the French play by Barillet and Gredy

The title character is a singer about to try for a comeback in a nightclub on Staten Island. Her old friend and accompanist tries to help, and another old friend, a caterer, also attempts to boost her morale with help from the teenager who lives in the same apartment building. Meanwhile, LouLou’s sister pushes her to publish her memoirs. The first performance is a bomb, but some of the sting is alleviated by the surprise appearance of LouLou’s ex-husband, now an up-and-coming congressman. Unfortunately, his amorous attempt at reconciliation is only an attempt to stop her from publishing her memoirs, especially certain incriminating photographs. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Incomparable_Lou_Lou/Jd4QQmDoMEwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+incomparable+Lou+Lou+/+by+Ron+Clark&printsec=frontcover

4 Beekman / by Ron Clark

Deanne and Robert, a May-December couple, have just returned from their honeymoon, and Deanne is shocked to find that Robert has unwittingly bought the very same apartment that she used to live in with her ex-husband, Skip. Not only that, but Skip has also bought the apartment right next door to theirs. It becomes apparent in time that Deanne and Skip are still in love, and getting the couple back together is facilitated by Robert falling for Deanne's mother, Louella. All ends right in this swift-moving romantic comedy from master comic writer Ron Clark. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/4_Beekman/nYkoDyb7NLkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=4+Beekman+/+by+Ron+Clark&printsec=frontcover

Serious money / by Caryl Churchill

Serious Money is a Jonsonian satire about capitalism running rampant and unchecked. All money corrupts and serious money corrupts absolutely in the play's world of shady financial deals, insider trading and get rich quick wheeler dealers of both sexes. Not only does the play capture almost every aspect of dirty dealing and money grubbing from London to Wall Street, but it does so in extremely ingenious rhymed couplets! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Serious_Money/n-FspZQR6QAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Serious+money+/+Caryl+Churchill&printsec=frontcover

Undesirable elements: real people, real lives, real theater: four selected works / by Ping Chong

This four-piece volume of Undesirable Elements, the community-specific theater works series, examines the lives of those born into one culture but living in another. Each production grows out of an extended residency, during which Ping Chong and his collaborators conduct interviews of community members and then create a script that explores both historical and personal narratives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Undesirable_Elements/ME36CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Undesirable+elements:+real+people,+real+lives,+real+theater:+four+selected+works+/+by+Ping+Chong&pg=PR4&printsec=frontcover

The Piano Teacher / by Julia Cho

Mrs. K is an elderly widow who lives by herself in a small suburban town. She whiles away her time reminiscing about her late husband and the children she taught long ago as a piano instructor. One day, she finds herself compelled to call her old students, but is it out of loneliness or some other, darker need? As Mrs. K discovers, it may not be what we cannot know that troubles us the most; it may be what we cannot bear to know. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Piano_Teacher/E4A3pCBjQFkC?hl=en&gbpv=1

99 histories / by Julia Cho

What is remembered is made up. The only homelands that exist are imaginary. Love is nothing; there is only "chung". Eunice, a former prodigy, comes home to decide what to do with the baby that has unexpectedly taken root inside her. But before she can move forward she must first confront the ghosts of a difficult past. 99 HISTORIES is a play about memory, legacy and the unbreakable bond between mother and child.

The Architecture of Loss / by Julia Cho

It’s another hot day in Tucson when a strange man arrives at Catherine’s door. To her shock, he turns out to be Greg, her former husband, who—sixteen years earlier and for no clear reason—left and simply never came back. Now, he has returned, but the family he left no longer exists. Catherine informs him that their son, David, disappeared eight years ago and remains missing. One by one each member of the family tells Greg a version of what happened the summer David disappeared. Their stories are a meditation on loss and the abiding power of the unknowable. But they are also about the need we all have for explanations, answers and, perhaps above all, absolution. For as they reveal their stories, the only thing that becomes clear is that the nine-year-old boy who vanished is far from the only thing they lost.

BFE / by Julia Cho

Cute blondes are disappearing from her strip mall-covered suburban town, but fourteen-year-old Panny is more concerned with surviving adolescence. Raised by an unbalanced mother who thinks the perfect birthday gift is plastic surgery, and a shy uncle who spends most of his time painting miniatures, Panny is afraid she’s hopelessly different. Thanks to a fortuitous misdial, she strikes up a phone friendship that seems to be the connection she’s been longing for. However, she soon finds that out in BFE, a.k.a. “the middle of nowhere,” anything can happen—and usually does. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/B_F_E/nwLctWK_DSEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BFE+/+by+Julia+Cho&printsec=frontcover

Durango / by Julia Cho

To the outside world, the Lee boys look perfect: Isaac is on track to be a doctor, and his younger brother, Jimmy, is a champion swimmer. But when their widowed father, Boo-Seng, decides to take them on a road trip to Durango, Colorado, the carefully constructed facades of all three begin to crack. As they near their destination, tempers flare, old wounds reopen, and secrets are revealed. DURANGO is the story of a man who sacrificed everything—a home, a country—for the American Dream, and whose sons must now grapple with the consequences of that choice. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Durango/OZKEfUXu-usC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Durango+/+by+Julia+Cho&pg=PT3&printsec=frontcover

Passage / by Christopher Chen

A fantasia inspired by E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India, PASSAGE is set in the fictional Country X, which is a neocolonial client of Country Y. B, a local doctor, and F, an expat teacher, begin to forge a friendship that is challenged after a fateful trip to a local attraction. A meditation on how power imbalances affect personal and interpersonal dynamics across a spectrum of situations, the play allows a director wide latitude in casting the roles by race, ethnicity, and gender, with different casting choices highlighting different societal structures. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Passage/K-nwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Passage+/+by+Christopher+Chen&printsec=frontcover

The Seagull / by Anton Chekhov; translated by Michael Frayn

A Methuen Student Edition of Chekhov's classic play in Michael Frayn's acclaimed translation. When it opened in St Petersburg in 1896, The Seagull survived only five performances after a disastrous first night. Two years later it was revived by Nemirovich-Danchenko at the newly-founded Moscow Art Theatre with Stanslasky as Trigorin and was an immediate success. Chekhov's description of the play was characteristically self-mocking: "A comedy - 3F, 6M, four acts, rural scenery (a view over a lake); much talk of literature, little action, five bushels of love".

Three sisters : a version of the play by Anton Chekhov / by Brian Friel

Olga, Masha and Irina, army daughters, posted in a backwater, long to get to Moscow where, they imagine, their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. They fall in love, try to engage with the local people, remember happier times. It is a story of desire and frustration. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Three_Sisters/soZMXyEm0aAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Three+sisters+:+a+version+of+the+play+by+Anton+Chekhov+/+by+Brian+Friel&printsec=frontcover

Uncle Vanya / by Anton Chekhov ; adapted by Emily Mann

Alexander, a retired professor, and his beautiful young wife, Yelena, have returned to his country estate. Their presence is a complete disruption to everyone including Sonya, the daughter of the professor and his first wife, and Uncle Vanya, the first wife's brother, who have managed the farm for many years. The presence of the captivating Yelena introduces tension into the household. Dr. Astrov, a frequent visitor, and Vanya both fall in love with her. Unfortunately, Sonya has long been secretly in love with Astrov, who fails even to notice her. Yelena attempts to help Sonya's cause but is unsuccessful as she struggles to deny her own attraction to Astrov. When Vanya realizes that Alexander has a fraudulent reputation and that he is planning to sell the estate, Vanya, furious and desperate, attempts to shoot him. Alexander and Yelena decide to leave the estate, and Vanya asserts that now, "everything will be just as it was." Of course, nothing will ever be the same. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Uncle_Vanya/paFteudf7dAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Uncle+Vanya+/+by+Anton+Chekhov+%3B+adapted+by+Emily+Mann&pg=PP2&printsec=frontcover

Something's burning : a comedy / Eric Chappell

This delightful, wry comedy centers on Nell, an attractive and intelligent woman who has been deserted by her husband and feels at the crossroads of her life. Her hopeless love affair with George Rush, a married local teacher and minor poet, seems bound to end in anger and frustration. George insists on conducting their romance in total secrecy until the arrival in Nell's life of Jim Grant which causes the dying affair to erupt suddenly into flames.

Robert Chafe : two plays : Butler's marsh, Tempting providence

Butler’s Marsh Thirty years ago Nora’s mother disappeared into the small, dense forest of Butler’s Marsh. She emerged three days later, covered in blood, badly shaken, and completely silent about what had happened. Having never been offered a suitable explanation, and now finding herself at her own moment of crisis, Nora ventures to Newfoundland for the first time to explore Butler’s Marsh for herself. She is accompanied by her partner Tim, who, while less than helpful, is nevertheless adamant that she not be left alone. But as Nora’s night in Butler’s Marsh unfolds, and Tim’s good humour wanes, the primary question of what happened to her mother quickly becomes less troubling than another; with whom exactly is she lost in the woods? (1m, 1f) Tempting Providence In 1921 Myra Grimsley signed a two-year contract and boarded a steamship from London, England to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Her charge: to serve as the sole health-care provider for three hundred miles of the sparsely settled coast of Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula. By the time her contract ran out two years later, Myra was married to local Angus Bennett, and had given birth to their first child, Grace. Based on the true story of Nurse Myra Bennett, Tempting Providence is a play about duty and sadness, love and change. Four strong characters drive this no-frills drama about a young British nurse who only signed on for two years, and the local man for whom she stayed for seventy. (2m, 2f)

La Ofrenda = (The offering) / by José Casas

Alex Smith, a young boy who has recently lost both his parents in the tragedy of 9/11, is forced to move to Los Angeles to live with his only living relative, his grandmother: a strong-willed Chicana named Marta Torres. Both Alex and Marta struggle to navigate their feelings after this loss. The rift between grandson and grandmother widens, the tension boils to a point where Alex's emotional release has a devastating effect on his grandmother and on the altar she has created for the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos. Ultimately, Alex and Marta acknowledge, for the first time, their mutual love for each other and come to the understanding that their journey as a family is just beginning. It is a journey with no easy answers, but they are both willing to try to find their way…together. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Offering/S5I7nsBsuLUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=La+Ofrenda+%3D+(The+offering)+/+by+Jos%C3%A9+Casas&printsec=frontcover

The tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry / Elizabeth Cary

The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry is a Jacobean closet drama by Elizabeth Tanfield Cary. First published in 1613, it was the first work by a woman to be published under her real name. Never performed during Cary's lifetime, and apparently never intended for performance, the Senecan revenge tragedy tells the story of Mariam, the second wife of Herod. The play exposes and explores the themes of sex, divorce, betrayal, murder, and Jewish society under Herod's tyrannous rule. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tragedy_of_Mariam/qCuhAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+tragedy+of+Mariam,+the+Fair+Queen+of+Jewry+/+Elizabeth+Cary&printsec=frontcover

On Raftery's Hill / by Marina Carr

Set on the remote hill of Raftery's farm, this play tells the tale of Red Raftery and his children, Dinah, Sorrel and Ded. Removed from the civilized world of the valley, Red lives by his own rules, where all natural order is inverted, and humanity is brutalized. Dinah Raftery, the eldest child, has sacrificed a future for herself to look after her siblings, father, and grandmother. Her brother Ded lives like an animal in the cowshed. And Red Raftery has other ideas about allowing young Sorrel to wed a man from the valley. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/On_Raftery_s_Hill/42fniT-W26QC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Portia Coughlan / by Marina Carr

Beautiful and blessed with a wealthy, adoring husband and three young sons, Portia Coughlan would seem to have it all, but grief over the drowning of her twin brother, Gabriel, fifteen years ago in the Belmont River continues to torment her and prevents her from being the mother and wife she wishes she could be. Meanwhile, the confining village of Belmont that Portia calls home is populated by hilarious, brazen and cantankerous characters. From Portia to her husband, Raphael, to her vicious-tongued octogenarian granny, Blaize, to her loving aunt, the ex-prostitute Maggie-May, Marina Carr’s characters are exquisitely drawn and profoundly human. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Portia_Coughlan/N6bjZyD_XGkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Portia+Coughlan+/+by+Marina+Carr&printsec=frontcover

Woman and Scarecrow / by Marina Carr

A passionate woman—mother of eight children and wife to a remorseful husband—now facing death, looks back over her life and asks what could have been. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Woman_and_Scarecrow/eteVBbE2nWkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Woman+and+Scarecrow+/+by+Marina+Carr&printsec=frontcover

Marble / by Marina Carr

A premonition of impending disaster precedes a collision between the conscious and subconscious lives of two married couples. Hidden fantasies and passions conflict with the calls of friendship and fidelity. The characters’ everyday existences and their struggles to accept mortality provide the backdrop to MARBLE’s exploration of the tragedy of dying of an empty heart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marble/7_YBrGw0coAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Marble+/+by+Marina+Carr&printsec=frontcover

The kids left. The dog died. Now what? / book, music and lyrics by Carole Caplan-Lonner

As introduced on NBC's Today Show, The Kids Left. The Dog Died. Now What? is a musical comedy that salutes those valiantly struggling with divorce on their hands, gravity on their bodies, grandchildren on their self-images and the dating scene on their egos. The risks and uncertainties of being alive come alive through song and scene. Aging gracefully is the final frontier! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Kids_Left_The_Dog_Died_Now_What/-CmuyZwu0LEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+kids+left.+The+dog+died.+Now+what%3F+/+book,+music+and+lyrics+by+Carole+Caplan-Lonner&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

Scab / by Sheila Callaghan

Anima's sphere of desperation and self-destruction is invaded by the arrival of her perky new roommate, Christa. Moved by a particularly malevolent statue of the Virgin Mary and a houseplant named Susan, Anima and Christa soon enter into a profound and intimate friendship that incurs traumatic results. (Set in Los Angeles, CA) Online Preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Scab/ca4OJI97vl8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Scab+:+a+comic+drama+in+two+acts+/+by+Sheila+Callaghan&printsec=frontcover

We are not these hands / by Sheila Callaghan

Ever since their school blew up, Moth and Belly have taken to stalking an illegal internet café in the hopes of one day being allowed in. They take particular interest in Leather, a skittish older man doing research in the café. Leather is a self-proclaimed "freelance scholar" from a foreign land with a sketchy past and a sticky secret. Leather begins to fall head over heals in love with Moth... but what about Belly? This play explores the effects of rampant capitalism on a country that is ill-prepared for it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/We_are_Not_These_Hands/WPRex6cBThgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=We+are+not+these+hands+/+by+Sheila+Callaghan&printsec=frontcover

Crawl, fade to white / by Sheila Callaghan

A scream is heard throughout the stratosphere. It is the voice of the lamp. Louise is selling this expensive family heirloom to keep her daughter April in school and cease her more sordid "consultant" profession. April rushes home with lover in tow to halt the proceedings and save the lamp, but it has been intercepted by a quiet and bizarre middle-aged couple with a haunting secret. Attempts to reclaim the lamp are made, as a misplaced father slowly fades to white in the background. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Crawl_Fade_to_White/sRD7vu4TFHcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Crawl,+fade+to+white+/+by+Sheila+Callaghan&printsec=frontcover

That pretty pretty, or, The rape play / by Sheila Callaghan

A pair of radical feminist ex-strippers scour the country on a murderous rampage against right-wing pro-lifers, blogging about their exploits in gruesome detail. Meanwhile, a scruffy screenwriter named Owen tries to bang out his magnum opus in a hotel room as his best friend Rodney ("The Rod") holds forth on rape and other manly enterprises. When Owen decides to incorporate the strippers into his screenplay, the boundaries of reality begin to blur, and only a visit from Jane Fonda can help keep worlds from blowing apart.

Lascivious Something / by Sheila Callaghan

On a secluded Greek island, an American ex-pat pursues his passions: winemaking and his breathtaking young wife. Then, on the eve of Reagan's inauguration, the first tasting of the new wine is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of August's former lover. Inspired by Greek tragedy, Lascivious Something combines evocative language with sympathetic yet deeply flawed characters straight out of Euripides.

Life is a dream / by Pedro Calderón de la Barca ; translated and adapted by Nilo Cruz

Astrological omens predict that if King Basilio’s son Segismundo is crowned, he will become a horrible tyrant who will bring destruction to his kingdom. Basilio imprisons Segismundo for life, but decades later he decides to let his son prove his ability to defy the stars. Allowed to rule the palace, Segismundo wreaks bloody vengeance on the kingdom, confirming the prediction of the stars, and the prince is returned to his prison. In Nilo Cruz’s sublime translation of Calderón de la Barca’s classic, the question of whether life is a dream or an illusion takes on a renewed relevance and urgency. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Life_is_a_Dream/t9dhDz4Z1AIC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Fit to Kill / by Victor L. Cahn

A thriller about strategy, betrayal, and deception. Adrian, a charming but self-indulgent chess master, enjoys a life of luxury thanks to his marriage to Janice, an older but still sexy and vibrant woman who has made a fortune as the CEO of an exercise empire. The arrival of Amy, a reporter with an agenda of her own, unleashes a whirlwind of deadly schemes that will keep audiences guessing until the final seconds. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fit_to_Kill/2jIxcU733UUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fit+to+Kill+/+by+Victor+L.+Cahn&pg=PA68&printsec=frontcover

Parlour Song / Jez Butterworth

Demolition expert Ned lives in a nice new house on a nice new estate on the edge of the English countryside. He loves his job. Barbecues. Car-boot sales. Fitness programmes. Outwardly his life is entirely unremarkable. Not unlike his friend and neighbour Dale. So why has he not slept a wink in six months? Why is he so terrified of his attractive wife Joy? And why is it every time he leaves on business, something else goes missing from his home? A blackly hilarious exploration of deceit, paranoia and murderous desire, as the spirit of the Blues lands in leafy suburbia.

Jerusalem / by Jez Butterworth

On St George’s Day, the morning of the local county fair, Johnny Byron, local waster and modern day Pied Piper, is a wanted man. The council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his children want their dad to take them to the fair, Troy Whitworth wants to give him a serious kicking and a motley crew of mates want his ample supply of drugs and alcohol.

Voices from the shore : a play in two acts / by Max Bush

Joel seems abnormally tense as he and Lucas discuss their fears and hopes for the future. When Trisha, Holly, Rick, Laura and Joel's girlfriend, Beth, arrive, it's clear that friendship, dreams, and concerns about the future after graduation are on the minds of everyone. Beth confronts Joel about their relationship, and as Joel's anxiety level rises, we begin to understand that he is hearing voices. These Voices insistently torment Joel, resulting in him being admitted into an adolescent, acute care, psychiatric hospital. There, Joel meets other young people who are also struggling with who they are and their changing worlds. As each character seeks to clarify their future, they prepare to say goodbye to their familiar lives and hello to a world of new opportunities. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Voices_from_the_Shore/zkphy_1r6eQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Voices+from+the+shore+:+a+play+in+two+acts+/+by+Max+Bush&printsec=frontcover

Looking through you : a play in two acts / by Max Bush

As Kara, Sue Ellen, Juanita, Lucas and Joel gather on the beach to make plans to go to an amusement park, Lucas plays a compilation tape of songs from the 60s made for him by Christy Bekken, one of "The Crowd" at school. The music on the tape suddenly stops and a distraught Christy is heard speaking angrily to someone. Because no one else is heard on the tape, the friends speculate about who Christy could be speaking to. Lucas—a member of the lower social orders at the school —decides to confront her directly. When he does, Christy is evasive and wants Lucas to give her the tape and forget about it. Lucas returns the tape, but after Christy's boyfriend, Bobby, attacks Lucas, he is sure there is something more going on. As Lucas continues to pursue the truth, we learn more and more about the inner lives of each of the characters and what's beneath the images they present to the world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Looking_Through_You/Qo_2xQ8IvqMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Looking+through+you+:+a+play+in+two+acts+/+by+Max+Bush&printsec=frontcover

Kara in black : a play / by Max Bush

Kara in Black takes place January through March of 2003, beginning prior to the invasion of Iraq and finishing three days after the invasion. Eighteen-year-old Kara's older sister, Della, is leaving to join her Army unit and travel to Kuwait to prepare for the possible invasion of Iraq. Together with Juanita and Sue Ellen, Kara researches the first Gulf War. As her questions multiply, a rising chorus of voices opposes Kara: Sue Ellen, Della, Rachel, and, seemingly, the majority of the American people. Kara finds her way to Women in Black, an international organization which holds nonviolent vigils protesting violence toward women and children. Kara decides to open a local chapter of Women In Black to protest the invasion of Iraq. Throughout the play Kara struggles with her feelings of isolation, frustration, fear, ignorance and helplessness to begin to understand her own views and to find the courage—against the opposing voices—to express herself publicly on matters important to her. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kara_in_Black/JE_TVh9bhC4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kara+in+black+:+a+play+/+by+Max+Bush&printsec=frontcover

From Every Mountainside / by Max Bush

Matt's school work and personal life are deteriorating. Susan takes a strong interest in Matt. He is stunned when Susan seems to know extremely personal things about him. He finds out that her father is a Caucasian-American businessman in China and that her Chinese mother is a member of an outlawed "cult" called Falun Gong and has been imprisoned in a labor re-education camp. Susan asks Matt to help her demonstrate against the major American Internet company she believes is responsible for supplying information that led to her mother's arrest. Matt decides to help her, and their relationship grows—until Susan reveals her real plans. As they struggle through their isolation, pain, cultural differences, fears and prejudices, Susan opens Matt's eyes to a world much larger than he's seen before. Their relationship is threatened by the juggernauts of international politics, eroding social liberties, growing global megabusiness, and a sense of personal responsibility. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exFromEveryMountainsideFA4.pdf

The tale of the allergist's wife / by Charles Busch

Marjorie Taub, a middle-aged Upper West Side Doctor’s wife, is devoted to mornings at the Whitney, afternoons at MOMA and evenings at BAM. Plunged into a mid-life crisis of Medea-like proportions, she’s shaken out of her lethargy by the reappearance of a fascinating and somewhat mysterious childhood friend. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tale_of_the_Allergist_s_Wife_and_Oth/5_7Yay-Y06QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+tale+of+the+allergist%27s+wife+/+by+Charles+Busch&printsec=frontcover

Die! Mommy! Die! : a comic thriller / by Charles Busch

Ex-pop singer Angela Andrews is trapped in a hateful marriage with film producer Sol Sussman. Desperate to find happiness with her younger lover, an out-of-work TV actor named Tony Parker, Angela murders her husband with the aid of a poisoned suppository. In a plot that reflects Greek tragedy as well as Hollywood kitsch, Angela’s Elektra-like daughter Edith convinces Angela’s emotionally disturbed son Lance that they must avenge their father’s death by killing their mother. Lance, demanding proof of Angela’s crime, slips some LSD into her after-dinner coffee. Angela is plunged into a wild acid trip that reveals that she killed not only the children’s father but also their mother; she isn’t their mother at all, but rather their Aunt Barbara. A surprising twist ending has all of the Sussman family’s dirty laundry aired out once and for all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Die_Mommy_Die/cG8-2DIlMAgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Die!+Mommy!+Die!+:+a+comic+thriller+/+by+Charles+Busch&printsec=frontcover

Shanghai Moon / by Charles Busch

Shanghai, 1931. Lady Sylvia Allington is the beautiful, young American-born wife of an aged British diplomat. She and her husband travel to Shanghai to persuade a notorious Chinese warlord, General Gong Fei, to donate a priceless antique jade bust to the British Museum. Lady Sylvia, a former carnival cooch dancer from Chicago, falls headlong into a fatal love affair with the mysterious Gong Fei, getting hooked on opium and antagonizing the general’s chief adviser, the elderly Doctor Wu, and his enigmatic mistress, Mah Li. A scandal involving a local bordello madame, Mrs. Carroll, and a cockney drug runner named Pug Talbot leads to tragedy. Gong Fei blames Sylvia for his troubles, and in a mad fit, brands her on the buttocks. She shoots him and finds herself on trial for his murder. She is acquitted but still imprisoned in her loveless marriage, so she knowingly sniffs a poisoned chrysanthemum and dies. Shanghai Moon is an homage to movie and stage melodramas. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shanghai_Moon/LBSMTBkDmrsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Shanghai+Moon+/+by+Charles+Busch&printsec=frontcover

Our Leading Lady / by Charles Busch

April, 1865. Laura Keene, a famous actress/manager, is performing in Washington, DC during the week the civil war ends. Despite a madcap scramble of backstage squabbles, the ambitious Laura does everything she can to get President Lincoln to attend her closing night performance. Her great plans go awry, as Laura and her theatrical troupe collide with history. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Our_Leading_Lady/ThRoJQDp9F4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Our+Leading+Lady+/+by+Charles+Busch&printsec=frontcover

The Third Story / by Charles Busch

A faded screenwriter in the 1940s woos her troubled ex-writer son into collaborating on a screenplay. The gangster/sci-fi B-movie in their imagination unfolds before us, involving a chic crime czarina, a beautiful but icy lady scientist, and her failed and understandably bitter human cloning experiment. A third story is a Russian fairy tale the screenwriter told her son as a child about a painfully shy princess who forges a diabolical pact with a terrifying but surprisingly vulnerable old witch. The fairy tale inspires the movie, which then inspires the mother and son to mend their fractured relationship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Third_Story/eHtQT66xS-AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Third+Story+/+by+Charles+Busch&printsec=frontcover

The Divine Sister / by Charles Busch

The Divine Sister tells the story of St. Veronica's indomitable Mother Superior, who is determined to build a new school for her Pittsburgh convent. Along the way, she has to deal with a young postulant who is experiencing "visions," sexual hysteria among her nuns, a sensitive schoolboy in need of mentoring, a mysterious nun visiting from the Mother House in Berlin, and a former suitor intent on luring her away from her vows. This madcap trip through Hollywood religiosity evokes the wildly comic but affectionately observed theatrical style of the creator of Die, Mommie, Die! and Psycho Beach Party. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Divine_Sister/XUdfrw0XXvgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Divine+Sister+/+by+Charles+Busch&printsec=frontcover

I used to write on walls / by Bekah Brunstetter

Diane, Georgia, and Joanne are three modern women living very different lives. Unbeknownst to them, they are all pining after the same young man, Trevor: sexy, stoned, oblivious; a surfer on a rad, rad philosophical journey. When a beautiful eleven-year-old girl named Anna, and Mona (a sexy, widowed astronaut) are thrown into the crosswinds of diverse romantic affairs, hearts will be broken, loves will be lost, and youthful cries of hope, anger, and sadness will be written on walls. Mothers will try to guide their daughters from the promise and beauty of youth through the diminishing opportunities of aging. Daughters will go to the extremes of passion for holding on to their fantasies of love. One man will be in the middle of a romantic storm of graffiti, drugs, sexual asphyxiation, gunshots, explosions, and desire. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/I_Used_to_Write_on_Walls/I5_zEhAz5MkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=I+used+to+write+on+walls+/+by+Bekah+Brunstetter&printsec=frontcover

Oohrah! / by Bekah Brunstetter

Ron is back from his third and final tour in Iraq, and his wife Sara is excited to restart their life together in their new home. When a young marine visits the family, life is turned upside down. Sara's sister is swept off her feet; her daughter Lacey trades her dresses for combat boots, and Ron gets hungry for real military action. In this disarmingly funny and candid drama, Bekah Brunstetter raises challenging questions about what it means when the military is woven into the fabric of a family, and service is far more than just a job. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Oohrah/rw4oesa-n10C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Oohrah!+/+by+Bekah+Brunstetter&printsec=frontcover

Ciao, baby! / by Kent R. Brown

Unfulfilled as the faculty wife of a second-rate professor of English stuck at a small, Midwestern college, Joan Samples began accompanying her husband to academic meetings where, most unexpectedly, he became enamored with Amanda York, a seductive British academician who burst upon the scholarly landscape with such critical papers as "Forbidden Impulses and Sexual Ritual: The Symbolist Movement as Literary Terrorism." Oddly aroused by this new element in her life, Joan has been spying on her husband and Amanda for several years, as they met clandestinely at conventions and even during Joan's vacations with her husband. But enough is enough. Earlier this morning, no longer able to play the voyeur, Joan revenged herself by hitting her husband over the head with a poker. And this afternoon, at a small back-street café in Tuscany, she will confront Amanda face to face for the first time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ciao_Baby/hhvgOstHU2oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ciao,+baby!+/+by+Kent+R.+Brown&printsec=frontcover

Hope 'n mercy / by Kent R. Brown

Marcia Hope has just been invited by Bradley Jenkins to witness his execution for the murder of Marcia's granddaughter, Julene, who appears in Marcia's mind asking her to forgive Bradley for his crime. In a series of reenactments, we discover how Julene was seduced by Bradley's dark energies; how they drove the back roads of the South and far West robbing homes and terrorizing lonely widows. And how Marcia—unwittingly?—was instrumental in Bradley's capture and Julene's death. But even at the moment of Bradley's death, Marcia refuses to bestow upon Bradley the mercy he so desperately craves. In revenge, Julene and Bradley appear together in Marcia's mind to haunt her into forgiveness which may be a long time in coming. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hope_n_Mercy/uTHebpABDcUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hope+%27n+mercy+/+by+Kent+R.+Brown&printsec=frontcover

The seduction of chaos / by Kent R. Brown

Arthur Franklin is dangerously depressed. His boss has just fired him, his wife is filing for divorce. Emotionally disoriented, he wanders into an art gallery only to be overwhelmed by "The Seduction of Chaos," a painting of hypnotic intensity. He is joined by Jackie, a good-hearted gallery guard eager for someone to talk with. Kristina Lambrisi, the painting's unstable creator, appears. When she tells Arthur that it depicts her horror as a young child in having witnessed the murder of her parents at the hands of a knife-wielding fanatic and commands him to destroy the painting, the three undergo an emotional crisis that changes them forever. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Seduction_of_Chaos/Whrw9L0BgE0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+seduction+of+chaos+/+by+Kent+R.+Brown&printsec=frontcover

Jessica's will / by Kent R. Brown

It is the end of summer and Jessica is going in for tests. Michelle, in her 20s, has come to assist in putting her high-spirited grandmother's affairs in order. But Jessica's will has little to do with who gets the antique china. In unravelling a complex tapestry of lifelong dreams and deceptions, Jessica and Michelle bequeath to each other intimate, and sometimes painful, gifts of love. Intertwined throughout the scenes is a young girl who, both real and imagined, enters their world and revitalizes their mutual love of life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jessica_s_Will/PPfs9y5WiMYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jessica%27s+will+/+by+Kent+R.+Brown&printsec=frontcover

Designer genes / by Kent R. Brown

It is the not-too-distant future. Dolly the sheep is old news. Gene enhancement is all the rage. Seven years ago, Wesley and Marian's son, beset with a multitude of inherited maladies, died a tragic death. Vowing they would never again have a natural child, they have contacted Designer Genes, Inc., to create the perfect son who will bring them only happiness and joy. Alice Fleming, the company rep for Designer Genes, Inc., has arrived with her sample cases to make her pitch-golden hair and blue eyes, the flexibility of a gymnast, the mathematical computation skill of an Einstein-whatever they wish. But there have been glitches along the road to genetic bliss. Some experimental subjects exhibited bizarre behavior, sometimes aggressive, sometimes…well, unnatural in the worst sense of the word. Designer Genes, Inc., cannot guarantee their work. In fact, there are no guarantees of any kind. The play explores the ethics and moralities involved when science co-mingles with nature in an effort to play God. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Designer_Genes/oKxePEBLUsYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Designer+genes+/+by+Kent+R.+Brown&printsec=frontcover

Gooney Bird Greene and her true life adventures / by Kent R. Brown

Gooney Bird speaks with confidence and dresses in outrageous outfits including Capri pants, blue knee socks, high-topped basketball sneakers, and elbow-length black gloves. But most wondrous of all, she casts herself as the hero in the most improbable, outlandish stories: how she arrived from China on a flying carpet, how she got a lovely pair of diamond earrings at the local palace, how she directed a symphony orchestra while driving through the center of town, and how her beloved cat, Catman, was consumed by a cow! Are these stories really true? Of course they are because, as Gooney Bird proudly proclaims, she only tells "absolutely true stories!" In blending funny and memorable characters with colorful details and her distinctive flair for suspense, Gooney Bird awakens the students' dormant imaginations. They come to realize their lives are as unique as Gooney Bird's and that they, too, can cast themselves as the heroes in their own true tales of discovery and adventure. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gooney_Bird_Greene_and_Her_True_Life_Adv/GqfRE-Iw7QwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gooney+Bird+Greene+and+her+true+life+adventures+/+by+Kent+R.+Brown&printsec=frontcover

The hound of the Baskervilles: a comic thriller starring Shirley Holmes and Jennie Watson / by Kent R. Brown

Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick. Dr. John Watson, have left on an extended holiday throughout Europe, leaving their nieces--Shirley Holmes and Jennie Watson--to keep an eye on the famous flat at 221B Baker Street. Shirley, studying logic, and Jennie, studying medicine, are busy preparing for upcoming exams when there's a knock on the door ... Shirley and Jennie follow the trail of evidence and intrigue until, at last, they are confronted by the ravenous Hound itself! Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exHoundOfTheBaskervillesHA6.pdf

The Wrestling Season / by Laurie Brooks

The Wrestling Season tackles subject matter seldom addressed but vital to youth and their families: the search for identity and the peer pressure that accompanies it. Using only the setting of a wrestling mat, eight young people struggle with the destructive power of rumors and how others see them. This is Matt's year to excel on his high-school wrestling team, but innuendo about his friendship with Luke causes Matt to question himself and his priorities. Kori wants to be accepted for who she is, not the way she looks. Melanie copes with a reputation she cannot grow beyond. Jolt and Heather ultimately regret having too much too soon. And Nicole has so little self-esteem that she agrees with everyone. The action is overseen by The Referee, who comments on the action from inside and outside the drama with hand signals and commands. Using images, movement and sound, cast members function as a chorus and as individual characters whose stories are interwoven to create a theatrical event that challenges and reveals their search for identity. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Wrestling_Season/IPx-6TWMDz8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Wrestling+Season+/+by+Laurie+Brooks&printsec=frontcover

A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas / by Laurie Brooks

In their poorest winter ever, when the crops have been devastated by locusts and the family must deal with the death of baby Freddie, Charles Ingalls backtracks his family to Burr Oak, Iowa, to take over the running of a hotel. And if things weren't bad enough, Ma tells Laura she must be nice to Johnny Steadman, "the worst boy in Iowa." When wealthy Mrs. Starr asks for Laura as a companion to read to her in the afternoons, Laura is overjoyed to be invited into such a fine house, but when she overhears Mrs. Starr offer to adopt Laura as her own daughter to ease the burden of so many children, Laura is certain that Ma and Pa will give her up. As Christmas morning approaches, Laura is faced with a decision: Will she choose what she believes is best for the family or will she find a way to stay with Pa, Ma, Mary and Carrie? This original play presents the poignant story of the "missing" two years in the life of the Ingalls family—the only substantial period that Laura chose not to write about in her Little House books. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Laura_Ingalls_Wilder_Christmas/MdkCu4_oMxUC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Everyday Heroes / by Laurie Brooks

Kurt and Win Lawrence have spent their young lives taking care of their alcoholic mother. When a devastating fire decimates their home, the younger brother, Win, becomes a reluctant media hero, but the brothers harbor a terrible secret. As the media moves closer and closer to the truth, Win, with the help of a female firefighter, Jo Judson, must make a choice between loyalty to his brother and revealing the truth. Ultimately, the insistent voice of Win's conscience leads him to his decision, raising questions about heroic actions that save lives and heroic actions toward others based on personal ethics. The story of Everyday Heroes raises three questions: What happens in the aftermath of a heroic event that is predicated on lies? How does the distorted truth of the media become more valid than reality? What are the consequences of the silencing of the emotional lives of young men? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Everyday_Heroes/HMHQcZInVxAC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The Tangled Web / by Laurie Brooks

The Tangled Web uses theatrical techniques to investigate issues that surround the consequences of irresponsible sexual activity. It examines peer relationships, influences, and the boundaries of loyalty. How far would you go to obtain your heart's desire? In the special interactive forum that follows, the audience is given the opportunity to further explore the characters' choices and actions. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tangled_Web/rEWvfm1XOOoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Tangled+Web+/+by+Laurie+Brooks&printsec=frontcover

Guantanamo : 'honor bound to defend freedom' / by Victoria Brittain and Gillian Slovo

"I don't know what crime I am supposed to have committed for which not only I but my wife and children should continually suffer." - British detainee Moazzam Begg This verbatim play, drawn from letters and interviews from Guantanamo Bay prisoners, their lawyers and relatives, weaves together personal stories, legal opinion and political debate. Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom looks at the questions surrounding the detentions in Guantanamo Bay, and asks how much damage is being done to Western democratic values during the 'war on terror'. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Guantanamo/mYkHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Guantanamo+:+%27honor+bound+to+defend+freedom%27+/+by+Victoria+Brittain+and+Gillian+Slovo&printsec=frontcover

Acting : The First Six Lessons / by Emily Bridges and Beau Bridges

Beau Bridges teams up with his daughter Emily Bridges to create this stage version of Richard Boleslavsky’s 1933 narrative about a dedicated acting teacher who, while instructing a young actress in her craft, gives her valuable life lessons as well. Over the course of ten scenes, the action moves from the teacher’s studio, to a small theater, to a film set, to Central Park and back, and, finally, to a moving denouement atop the Empire State Building in 1936.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui / by Bertolt Brecht

Described by Brecht as 'a gangster play that would recall certain events familiar to us all', Arturo Ui is a witty and savage satire of the rise of Hitler - recast by Brecht into a fictional, small-time Chicago gangster's takeover of the city's greengrocery trade in the 1930s. The satirical allegory combines Brecht's Epic style of theatre with black comedy and overt didacticism. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Resistible_Rise_of_Arturo_Ui/V-EzDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Resistible+Rise+of+Arturo+Ui+/+by+Bertolt+Brecht+ralph+manheim&printsec=frontcover

Prophet / by Thomas Bradshaw

A man wakes up one morning and decides he must kill himself. He is angry with himself for not hitting his wife every time she has an independent thought (as Abraham and Moses would have done). After she dies and God reveals to him that he is the new Prophet, the man takes a new wife, dresses her in slave chains, and begins to preach his newfound gospel of male domination. Simultaneously humorous and disturbing, Bradshaw's Prophet explores controversial issues in startling and unexpected ways. (This play contains scenes of a graphic sexual and violent nature that may not be suitable for all audiences) Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Prophet/cwMZjpLGqWYC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Strom Thurmond is not a racist: and Cleansed / by Thomas Bradshaw

Inspired by a true story, "Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist" is an absurdist look at the life of Senator Strom Thurmond. After fathering a child with his black maid as a young man, the extremely white Strom Thurmond became one of the country's greatest segregationists; all the while playing daddy to his bi-racial daughter Essie Mae Washington Williams. How could someone live such a duplicitous life? It happens. (This play contains mature language and situations). 2f 5m "Cleansed" is a new play about a black doctor, his white wife, and the challenges their mixed-race daughter faces growing up in a white-bread Indiana town. From being taunted by Skinheads to becoming a Skinhead, Cleansed explores the underbelly of racial identification in America. Sometimes the hate you have for yourself overwhelms anything anybody else could feel for you. 4f 4m Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Strom_Thurmond_is_Not_a_Racist/EYSP3myAhdIC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Purity / by Thomas Bradshaw

In Purity, a refined and prominent African-American English professor's life is turned upside down when a new, 'more black' professor is hired in his department and challenges his authenticity, his marriage to a white woman, and his entire way of life. This way of life consists of literature, booze, cocaine binges, and pedophilia. From realism to fantasy, Purity takes us on a journey from the Ivy League to the ante-bellum South to the fields of Ecuador and back again, ending on a note of shocking violence. This play contains scenes of a graphic sexual and violent nature that may not be suitable for all audiences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Purity/8GdC2jbPRSoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Purity+/+by+Thomas+Bradshaw&printsec=frontcover

Southern Promises / by Thomas Bradshaw

When the master of the plantation dies, he wills his slaves to be freed, but his wife doesn’t think that good property should be squandered. Pandemonium ensues. Inspired by the true story of Henry Box Brown, who escaped to the North by mailing himself in a box. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Southern_Promises/eNV6Tgg8ISMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Southern+Promises+/+by+Thomas+Bradshaw&printsec=frontcover

Dawn / by Thomas Bradshaw

Dawn revolves around Hampton, an abusive alcoholic who has completely alienated his wife and children. Can he stop drinking and make up for the past, even amidst some very dark revelations of incest and pedophilia? Dawn is one father's story of redemption and reconciliation — with a twist. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dawn/q69ykE442QMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dawn+/+by+Thomas+Bradshaw&pg=PA72&printsec=frontcover

The bereaved; and Mary / by Thomas Bradshaw

"The Bereaved" portrays an American family turned inside out like a sit-com gone wild. "Mary" brings together a white suburban Beltway family, their black maid, and their young gay son who brings home his college boyfriend, setting off shotguns in surprising directions.

The Children & Have I None / by Edward Bond

Have I None and The Children are both set in a late-21st-century apocalyptic landscape where human behavior is monitored, living spaces are designated and where any emotional displays are immediately eradicated. In The Children a teenager's unquestioning loyalty to his mother has fatal consequences, while in Have I None a couple's lives are irreversibly changed by the appearance of a disturbing stranger who questions their existence. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Children_Have_I_None/al-JAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Plays, 7 / by Edward Bond

THE CRIME OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: The past has been abolished and geography - even the sky - is changed. A woman lives in a vast desert of white rubble. A tiny group of people comes seeking a hiding place - and is exposed to the deepest questions of human existence. OLLY'S PRISON: an ordinary city flat. Evening. A man tries to talk to his daughter. She will not answer. Slowly their world turns to tragedy and a search begins that lasts for years. COFFEE: A young man alone in a room. A stranger enters. Together they journey into a dark forest...When the men return to the daylight world, they are involved in a trivial incident. It is hardly more than a gesture - yet it is something that once happened and in its triviality captures the history of our century and confronts us with the deepest questions about ourselves. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bond_Plays_7/jVwQAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays,+7+/+by+Edward+Bond&pg=PT1&printsec=frontcover

The sea : a comedy / by Edward Bond

A wild storm shakes a small East Anglian seaside village and sets off a series of events that changes the lives of all its residents. Set in the high Edwardian world of 1907, The Sea is a fascinating blend of wild farce, high comedy, biting social satire and bleak poetic tragedy. The plot is a simple one: Willy Carson meets Rose Jones, the girl to whom his drowned friend was engaged and, in the events following the storm, falls in love with her. Bond adds a fantastic subplot about a mad draper who believes there's to be an invasion from outer space and a posse of funny society ladies who stage amateur theatricals. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sea/4yjQAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Plays: 8 / by Edward Bond

Edward Bond Plays:8 brings together recent work by the writer of the classic stage plays Saved, Lear, The Pope's Wedding, and Early Morning. The volume comprises five new plays and two prose essays: Two Cups: introductory essay Born: the third play in the Colline Tetralogy. People: the fourth play in the Colline Tetralogy Chair: first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2000. Existence: first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2002. The Under Room: 'an intricate puzzle that is compelling in both its intellectual and emotional intensity' (Guardian) Freedom and Drama: an extended disquisition on the relationship of drama to the self and society in which Bond argues that drama alone can create human meaning. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bond_Plays_8/kZgdAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Plays 1 / by Dermot Bolger

This volume contains four plays: The Lament for Arthur Cleary: "Theatrically rich and socially powerful, it takes on the lineaments of an epic voyage, a voyage into the dark heart of a city where Irish theatre has seldom been before" (Irish Times); In High Germany: "Thoughtful, comic, sad and provocative, this monologue of a lost and altered heritage ... These two plays [In High Germany and The Holy Ground] are cogent manifestations of a changing Irish world" (Irish Times); The Holy Ground: "A tour de force. It's stream of consciousness theatre at its best ... [which] develops a pace until the listener is hanging on to every syllable" (Sunday Press); Blinded by the Light: "Manically madcap and hilariously funny, it canters in a bawdy romp onto the stage, heralding the arrival of a unique comic writing talent. Energetic, perfectly timed and brilliantly observed" (Irish Press)

The Stanway case / by Sam Bobrick

In this unique psychological thriller, two stories unfold simultaneously in the same space but in different time frames. Maura and Scott, a couple in their early-mid thirties, meet while serving on jury duty for a murder trial and get romantically involved with each other. As their relationship develops, they discover they adamantly disagree on what the verdict should be. They also realize that each is not the person the other thought they were. At the same time and in the same space that their story is being played out to its frightening climax, Jan and Tom, another young couple who have just met, weave through their unusual relationship that strangely enough has ties to the same murder case. (Also titled "The Spider or the Fly") Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Stanway_Case/PJQLC-KrAXsC?hl=en&gbpv=0

New York water : a two character comedy / by Sam Bobrick

Linda Shoup (mid-thirties), a receptionist, and Albert Hives (mid-thirties), a CPA: two New York singles who have just met who feel they have been held back by the city. We follow them as they try to make a go of it in Davenport, Iowa; Los Angeles; and then, no longer together, meeting back in New York. While Linda turns out to be a dynamo with killer instincts, even becoming a major player in the movie business, poor Albert finds himself falling further and further down the ladder of success. Although his love for Linda is overwhelming, Albert slowly comes to realize he is no match for her.

The outrageous adventures of Sheldon & Mrs. Levine : a son's illusive search for his mother's happiness : a two character play / by Sam Bobrick and Julie Stein

This is an exchange of outragous and hilarious letters between an overbearing mother and her 31 year-old runaway son. In this love/hate relationship, Sheldon blames his mother, Mrs. Levine, for breaking up his marriage and ruining his life. His mother can't understand why something so trivial should bother him. NOTE: The play is constructed so that it can be performed either read, memorized or a combination of the two. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Outrageous_Adventures_of_Sheldon_Mrs/w4SLtdtdu9IC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The crazy time : a comedy / by Sam Bobrick

This is a play about men trying to understand women, and how they never will. Miles Gladstone, a man in his mid-fifties, has left his wife of thirty years and married a young woman half his age. Six months later his new wife leaves him, his business partner has screwed him, and his first wife, who is looking better than ever, wants to buy his modern apartment for her and her extremely young boyfriend. Struck by his first wife's fabulous appearance and new vivacious attitude, Miles offers to go back to her. He's shocked that she's not interested. The play ends with Miles, his partner who screwed him, and the young lover all living together and trying to figure out women. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Crazy_Time_a_Comedy/ii_VW0KwtrcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+crazy+time+:+a+comedy+/+by+Sam+Bobrick&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Annoyance : a comedy / by Sam Bobrick

In the first scene, a very annoying man goes to see a woman therapist in the hopes that she will help him become less annoying. He drives her over the edge. In the second scene, he sees her husband, also a therapist, and drives him over the edge. In the third scene, he sees both therapists, who have decided to take drastic measures to rid the world of this most obnoxious man. Of course it doesn't go as planned. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annoyance/kFXNyUdUK08C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Annoyance+:+a+comedy+/+by+Sam+Bobrick&printsec=frontcover

Getting Sara married : a comedy / by Sam Bobrick

Sara Hastings is an unmarried lawyer in her mid-thirties, much too busy to get involved in any romance. Her Aunt Martha has decided to take matters into her own hands and find her a husband. Unfortunately, Aunt Martha's method of doing it amounts to having the prospective groom bopped over the head and brought to Sara's apartment. Aunt Martha's choice is Brandon Cates, a young man who handles Aunt Martha's finances. Although Brandon is engaged to be married, this does not deter Aunt Martha. After being bopped on the head a few times, having a temporary loss of memory and experienceing several instances of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and a confrontation with the very angry fiance, Brandon slowly comes to realize that Sara is really the girl for him. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Getting_Sara_Married/lw-1wk3VjhAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Getting+Sara+married+:+a+comedy+/+by+Sam+Bobrick&printsec=frontcover

Remember me? : a comedy / by Sam Bobrick

A couple in the mid-forties to early fifties, who have a happy but tired marriage, find themselves examining their relationship after woman's college boyfriend shows up... or doesn't. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Remember_Me/jZvRMlo17N0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Remember+me%3F+:+a+comedy+/+by+Sam+Bobrick&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Splitting issues : and several other noteworthy concerns : a bunch of short plays / by Sam Bobrick

Splitting Issues - Pete and Gwen Darren invite their best friends, Larry and Marcie, over for drinks to inform them that they are splitting up. They then want to know which of them Larry and Marcie will choose to remain friendly with. Do You Come Here Often? - Bob and Nan meet at a singles dance for young professionals. She’s a professional manicurist and he’s a professional house painter. Purgatory - Jack, a beaten man who has married a woman with two kids, offers to give them all back to the ex-husband. May I Recommend The Crow? - At a fancy restaurant, a woman is waited on by her ex-husband who now works there because their nasty divorce cleaned him out. Clearing the Air - A couple attempts to ward off any building or hidden anger that might arise in their relationship by starting the day off swearing at each other. Bingo-Bango - A man, not at all interested in art, goes to the museum to pick up women. Dinner With Friendly Neighbors - An anti-social couple take their new and overly friendly neighbors to dinner and scare the hell out of them. Hollywood Love Story - Two couples realize they’ve married the wrong people. He Failure - To the annoyance of his wife, a man reflects on his life Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Splitting_Issues/njnl1X5Gl9QC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The psychic : (a murder mystery of sorts) / by Sam Bobrick

A down and out mystery writer, unable to pay his rent, hangs up a sign offering Psychic readings in his window. To his surprise, he blurts out to his first customer, an attractive young woman, that her husband is planning to kill her. Much to his alarm and confusion he soon finds himself embroiled in a string of bizarre and hilarious murders. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Psychic/ihv9IMRl7fAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+psychic+:+(a+murder+mystery+of+sorts)+/+by+Sam+Bobrick&printsec=frontcover

A body of water / by Lee Blessing

Moss and Avis, an attractive, middle-aged couple, wake up one morning in an isolated summer house high above a picturesque body of water. The weather’s fine; the view’s magnificent. There’s only one problem—neither of them can remember who they are. When a young woman named Wren arrives, information starts to flood in. But will it help? Her explanations seem only to make Moss and Avis’ world—as well as ours—more terrifying. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Body_of_Water/CbegSrqM1CUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+body+of+water+/+by+Lee+Blessing&pg=PA7&printsec=frontcover

Thief river / by Lee Blessing

THIEF RIVER is the story of two men and their fifty-three-year relationship. Ray marries and remains closeted in the small town where they grew up. Gil moves to the city to seek his freedom. Throughout their lives they struggle with their feelings for each other in a society that doesn’t know how to make room for them, while their bond—shaped by a dark and violent event in their youth—forever draws them together. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Thief_River/LaIY8yoo-O4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Thief+river+/+by+Lee+Blessing&printsec=frontcover

Going to St. Ives / by Lee Blessing

May N’Kame, the mother of an African dictator, travels to England to see Dr. Cora Gage about medical treatment for her failing eyesight. Dr. Gage uses the consultation as an opportunity to raise the issue of the imprisonment of some of her colleagues. Meanwhile, May N’Kame’s true motive in visiting the doctor is to obtain a poison with which to kill her murderous son. GOING TO ST. IVES is the story of two impressive women brought together by that which is personal and divided by that which is political as both seek to accomplish the greatest good. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Going_to_St_Ives/ivxFA9bwhpgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Going+to+St.+Ives+/+by+Lee+Blessing&printsec=frontcover

Black sheep / by Lee Blessing

A prominent family’s “black sheep” nephew, the son of an interracial marriage, comes to stay with them after being released from prison. But do they want him? And what does he want from them? In this dark comedy issues of race, sex and family values play out with wildly comic and disturbing results. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Black_Sheep/ddPr6nibMAcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Black+sheep+/+by+Lee+Blessing&printsec=frontcover

Good, Clean Fun / by Lee Blessing

A darkly funny office comedy pitting two workers—one black, one white—against each other as they try to complete a high-pressure project. The office racism intensifies as we learn that one of them has stolen the other’s wife. Part of Flag Day: A Play in two plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Flag_Day/MOxMMUNtNTcC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Great Falls / by Lee Blessing

A man lost in his adult life drives across the West with his stepdaughter—a young girl at the beginning of hers. The broken ground is echoed by their broken past. He’s trying to fit together a new life using pieces of the old; she’s just trying to survive. Two characters, Bitch and Monkey Man (the only names the young girl will allow), roam through the northern Rockies on a long loop from home, with two very different agendas. In a series of increasingly desperate attempts to rescue something from the wreckage of divorce, they test how much they can trust each other—or whether they can ever trust each other again. Along the way darker and darker secrets emerge, and the questions they face ineluctably become those of life and death. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Great_Falls/D6FhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Great+Falls+/+by+Lee+Blessing&printsec=frontcover

Chesapeake / by Lee Blessing

When conservative candidate Therm Pooley’s criticism of Kerr’s government-sponsored performance art lands him a Senate seat, Kerr seeks revenge. The centerpiece of Pooley’s political career is his labrador retriever, Lucky, whose tricks ingratiate Pooley to voters. Kerr seeks to kidnap and retrain Lucky, but his attempt is foiled by a mysterious and supernatural transformation that brings him closer to Pooley than he ever imagined. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chesapeake/bT4CPRT7PVsC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The exonerated : a play / by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

Culled from interviews, letters, transcripts, case files and the public record, THE EXONERATED tells the true stories of six wrongfully convicted survivors of death row in their own words. In this ninety-minute intermissionless play, we meet Kerry, a sensitive Texan brutalized on death row for twenty-two years before being exonerated by DNA evidence; we meet Gary, a Midwestern organic farmer condemned for the murder of his own parents and later exonerated when two motorcycle-gang members confess. We meet Robert, an African-American horse groomer who spent seven years on death row for the murder of a white woman before evidence emerges that the victim was found clutching hair from a Caucasian attacker. We hear from David, a shy man with aspirations to the ministry, bullied into confessing at eighteen to a robbery/murder he had nothing to do with, scarred from a youth spent in prison and struggling to regain his faith; and from Sunny, a bright-spirited hippie who, along with her husband, spent seventeen years in prison for the murder of two police officers—while another man confessed and was ignored by the courts. And we meet Delbert, a poet who serves as the play’s center, convicted of a rape/murder in the Deep South of the 1970s and later freed when evidence surfaced showing that he was not even in the town when the crime occurred. Moving between first-person monologues and scenes set in courtrooms and prisons, the six interwoven stories paint a picture of an American criminal justice system gone horribly wrong—and of six brave souls who persevered to survive it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Exonerated/MVTPUKz2bRcC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Aftermath / by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

March 20, 2003. A date that the ordinary people of Iraq will never forget. A day that changed their lives forever: the day the Americans arrived in their country. Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen travelled to Jordan in June 2008 to find out firsthand what happened to the Iraqi civilians as a result of the events that began on that fateful day. They interviewed some 35 people—a cross-section of lives interrupted—who fled the chaos and violence that befell Iraqi society for the relative safety of Jordan. Following the visit to Amman, Jessica and Erik crafted their conversations with the Iraqis and have turned them into an unforgettable play. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Aftermath/0GqjeyurnfcC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Shotgun / by John Biguenet

In SHOTGUN, set four months after the collapse of defective levees in New Orleans, a white man and his teenaged son, having lost their house to the flood, rent half of a shotgun duplex from an African-American woman, whose father has lost his home in the Lower Ninth Ward and moved in with her. Even living under one roof, though, the two families find a wall still runs between them. But like the city’s levees, can it, too, be breached? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shotgun/fUcb3DQh17YC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The lunatic queen / by Torben Betts

At the turn of the sixteenth century the two most powerful people on the planet, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon are making plans to expand their empire. They are plundering the riches of the New World, removing all Jews and Moors from their territories and waging war on the infidels in the East. At home they seek to assert the dominance of Spain by marrying their daughters to various princes of Europe. One such daughter is Juana, a young woman full of religion and passion. Why, however, is she mad? Though set during the Golden Age of Spain, The Lunatic Queen is both a contemporary satire and classical revenge tragedy, as it tells the story of Juana's two servants who seek vengeance on a system which has victimized them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Lunatic_Queen/qp38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Strictly dandia / Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith

Strictly Dandia takes us into the competitive world of the Navratri Festival where regional and caste rivalries abound in a bid to outdo each other with smart moves and step variations. An affectionate satirical tribute to British Gujaratis adapting their Hindu dance festivities to London street culture. A disco-dandia competition brings the Hindu Juliet and Muslim Romeo together in spite of their communities' disapproval.

Behzti : (dishonour) / by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

"You think it is pleasant watching a fat virgin become infertile? I want to be seen and noticed and invited by people. I want anything... that is not this." Past her prime, Min joyfully spends her life caring for her sick, foul-mouthed mother, Balbir. Today, for the first time in years, they venture out. Mother and daughter head to the local Sikh Temple, but when Balbir encounters old friends, a past trauma rears its ugly head. Min and Balbir´s illusions are about to be shattered as they become immersed in a world of desperate aspiration and dangerous deals. In a community where public honor is paramount, is there any room for the truth? Behzti was scheduled to open at The Door (Birmingham Rep) in December 2004 but was cancelled due to protests by some members of the local Sikh community. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Behzti_Dishonour/r4kHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

The unconquered / Torben Betts

One day you will say something from the heart, a truth forced raw and screeching from the howling depths of your soul. Powerful poetic language, dark humor and provocative ideas build a fast moving story around a fiercely intelligent young girl and her relentless refusal of the establishment. When suddenly a people’s revolution breaks out and a mercenary soldier intrudes the family home, the conflict between the regime and the unconquered girl is revealed. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Unconquered/lp38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+unconquered+/+Torben+Betts&printsec=frontcover

Plays one / by Torben Betts

A Listening Heaven, Mummies and Daddies and Clockwatching. A Listening Heaven focuses on one family’s painful inability to grieve for a dead son. Mummies and Daddies brutally yet hilariously lays bare the soullessness of consumerism. In Clockwatching, a despotic man descends into helplessness when his servile wife falls seriously ill. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Torben_Betts_Plays_One/G5_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+one+/+Torben+Betts&printsec=frontcover

The error of their ways / Torben Betts

A brutal assassination robs a nation of a charismatic politician, a man set to save it from corruption in the impending election. The murder thrusts his beautiful, icy widow into the limelight. As the people demand blood and vengeance, she must choose between the prospect of immense power and her overwhelming desire for the assassin. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Error_of_Their_Ways/pp38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Muswell Hill / Torben Betts

One night in January 2010 and an earthquake in Haiti leaves around a hundred thousand people dead and almost two million homeless. Meanwhile, somewhere in a leafy North London suburb, a group of six individuals convene over avocado and prawns, followed by a monkfish stew. They struggle with worries over their mortgages, their mobile phone tariffs, their Facebook friends, their careers, their love lives, their diets, their alcohol intake, their holiday plans and whether or not any of them will be able to make any lasting impression on history. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Muswell_Hill/79H7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

The most excellent comedie and tragical romance of Two gentlemen of Lebowski / by Adam Bertocci

What if William Shakespeare had written The Big Lebowski? The Dude has met the Bard--and he doth abide. Join "The Knave" and Sir Walter on a wild tale of mistaken identity, kidnapping, bowling, and a rug that, in faith, really tied the room together--in a sidesplitting Shakespearean comedy of errors and ninepins, told in five glorious acts of iambic pentameter and impeccable period prose. Already a theatrical hit and a worldwide viral phenomenon, Two Gentlemen of Lebowski comes alive anew in this definitive and lavishly illustrated edition, featuring recently discovered historical engravings, scholarly annotations, and a revelatory afterword from the author. Online preview: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Two-Gentlemen-of-Lebowski/Adam-Bertocci/9781451605815

Under the black flag : the early life, adventures and pyracies of the famous Long John Silver before he lost his leg / Simon Bent

Scraps of Hamlet, King Lear and The Tempest all find echoes in the disordered mind of John Silver as he plies his violent trade along the Barbary Coast, turning every political enmity to his advantage and dodging the knife of his ruthless pursuer, Captain Mission. Based on the real life cutthroat of Stevenson's Treasure Island and set around the historical pirate republic of Rabat, this wild tale of high seas and low politics exposes the class hatreds and religious hypocrisy of the 17th century.

Accomplices / by Simon Bent

Eddie’s a handyman, Doreen keeps a clean house, John’s got a new hat and Paul’s back from college - but the Jacksons are living under siege. Set on a Northern housing estate plagued by vandalism, threats of violence and thieving, the play shows how poverty of education, expression, expectation and fellow feeling leads to appalling violence.

The associate / by Simon Bent

"It's not safe, the world is not a safe place. Have some more chicken" A pensioner has his council house redecorated by two self-employed chancers. But there are worse crimes than benefit fraud. A richly comic study of politics and wall-papering.

Prick up your ears / by Simon Bent

1962. Kenneth Halliwell and Joe Orton - RADA graduates, aspiring playwrights, and sometime lovers - plot their rightful place at the centre of London’s literary scene. But after a short interlude at Her Majesty’s pleasure, Joe is about to become the greatest, and most notorious comic playwright since Oscar Wilde, whilst Ken stays indoors re-decorating, reduced to sharing Joe’s success with their neighbour, Mrs Corden, over tea and a slice of battenburg. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Prick_Up_Your_Ears/4Jz8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Prick+up+your+ears+/+Simon+Bent&printsec=frontcover

Searching for David's heart / by Cherie Bennett

Middle-schooler Darcy has a tough home life. Money is tight and her parents argue constantly. Her sole salvation is her older brother, David, who adores her, too. But when David gets his first girlfriend, he is blinded by love and stops paying attention to Darcy. They have a huge fight and Darcy flees. When David follows her to apologize, he is killed in a terrible accident. Following his wishes, David's heart is transplanted. Guilt-ridden Darcy comes to believe that if she can find her brother's heart, she can in some way find her brother. And so the search for David's heart begins. On an epic quest with her best friend Sam (a junior magician and would-be Harry Houdini), not only does Darcy find David's heart, she finds her own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Searching_for_David_s_Heart/kpyYH1PPfjcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Searching+for+David%27s+heart+/+Cherie+Bennett&printsec=frontcover

Reviving Ophelia : a play / by Cherie Bennett

Based on "Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls", this is the gripping story of four teenage girls battling the corrosive influences of popular culture and each searching for the personal North Star that will guide her home. Jill is a Native American girl adopted by white parents. Her drinking, truancy and bad attitude are turned around in a very unexpected way. Allie, a pastor's daughter, faces a crisis of faith at a mother-daughter book club when her friend Lia loses her mother to cancer. The scene between Lia and her boyfriend, Alex, harkens back to Hamlet's "Get thee to a nunnery!", as Alex exposes the scary part of his personality which he carefully keeps hidden. Beautiful Dawn approaches high-school graduation with the realization that she's not prepared for anything but attracting guys; her solution is to attempt 18 Jello shots to celebrate her 18th birthday. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exRevivingOpheliaR79.pdf

Life in the fat lane / a play by Cherie Bennett

Lara Ardeche is the perfect girl—and the prom queen—at her high school. But when allergy medication causes her to gain 70 pounds, her world is transformed—same girl on the inside, different girl on the outside. She's certain she can take off the weight with diet and exercise—it's just a matter of will power. Only Lara just keeps getting fatter. Her serious struggle is juxtaposed against the alluring come-ons and comic voices of pop culture weight-loss gurus, all of whom promise that they alone hold the key to weight-loss success. After her massive weight gain, the world as Lara knows it begins to crumble. Who will stay by her side? Her image-conscious family? Her shallow friends? Her handsome boyfriend? Or will she be left alone in the land of the fat girls? Lara's answers come in a form she never expected. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Life_in_the_Fat_Lane/oOGpp_Ow148C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Life+in+the+fat+lane+/+a+play+by+Cherie+Bennett&printsec=frontcover

A heart divided : a play / by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld

When Kate's liberal-minded family moves from New York City's suburbs to a small town outside of Nashville, Kate is convinced her life is over. Redford, Tennessee, is as Southern as it gets—the local diner serves grits and sweet tea, country music rules the airwaves and the Confederate battle flag waves proudly over the courthouse square. Then she meets the handsome and talented Jackson Redford III, scion of the town and embodiment of everything Dixie. Jack shows her the beauty of his Southern roots and Kate begins to appreciate her new home. But a petition to replace the school's Confederate flag insignia gains Kate's support, and soon Kate and Jack—and their families—find themselves pitted against one another in a bitter controversy: not just about the flag, but about what it means to be an American. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Heart_Divided/HWNNmCcg1WMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+heart+divided+:+a+play+/+by+Cherie+Bennett+and+Jeff+Gottesfeld&printsec=frontcover

The habit of art / by Alan Bennett

Benjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W H Auden. During this imagined meeting, their first for twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by, amongst others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Habit_of_Art/Tf4_b1KlsosC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+habit+of+art+/+Alan+Bennett&printsec=frontcover

Tape / by Stephen Belber

Jon, an aspiring filmmaker on the verge of hitting it big, hooks up for the weekend with his best friend from high school, Vince, a volunteer fireman who makes his money selling dope. Jon’s new film is being shown at a festival in Lansing, Michigan, and Vince has come from Oakland to see it. Over the course of the evening, Vince finally gets Jon to admit that ten years ago he date-raped Amy Randall, a girl whom they both dated in high school—only then to reveal that he’s taped their entire conversation. And not only that, he’s invited Amy to have dinner with them that night. Beneath its suspenseful, high-stakes surface, TAPE examines questions of motive, memory, truth and perception. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tape/YRrcH-LQVAUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tape+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

The death of Frank / by Stephen Belber

THE DEATH OF FRANK is the story of Peter, a young, earnest gardener with a desire to save the world, and Natalie, his odd, jaded sister, who tends to like things that hurt her. One of those things is Frank, an older guy with a rough edge and a shady job description. Peter’s world is Natalie, so naturally he wants to save her, but he accidentally falls in love with a linguist named Lynn who tries to teach him that there’s more to life than one’s sister. This is a play about choices made in the face of unavoidable desire; it’s about form and function, sweetness and danger, and passion and articulation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Death_of_Frank/k_I-gOYGmv4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+death+of+Frank+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

The transparency of Val / by Stephen Belber

Val is born. Within minutes, he learns part of the entire history of the world. By then, having finished college, he is faced with the task of actually living. It’s not quite the coconut he was taught, what with all the twisted Buddhists, sexually-amorphous mates and frighteningly friendly Nazis. But Val’s a survivor, and like most good people, he’ll endure. Unless he goes insane. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Transparency_of_Val/AHEgBAap2LYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+transparency+of+Val+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

Match / by Stephen Belber

Mike and Lisa Davis arrive at the apartment of Tobi Powell, who lives alone in Inwood, on the northern tip of Manhattan. They are there to interview him about his life as a dancer and choreographer, but it is soon evident that their agenda is as multilayered as the life story that Tobi begins to tell them. What happens next will either ruin or inspire them—and definitely change their lives forever. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Match/BsCVIG_1rIQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Match+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

McReele / by Stephen Belber

When Delaware journalist Rick Dayne meets death row inmate Darius McReele, the articles Rick writes lead to Darius' exoneration from a sixteen-year murder conviction. Darius' sympathetic past and magnetic personality make him a darling of the lecture circuit, leading to national attention and political viability. With his past and future in the balance, Darius walks the line, as Rick seeks to determine which way he'll ultimately fall. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/McReele/xghsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=McReele+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

Carol Mulroney / by Stephen Belber

Carol Mulroney stands on her roof, watching the sparkling lights of the city below. Her rooftop is her hideaway, her haven, her solace from the chaotic world below. But the roof is being overrun by the inevitable messiness of life and the people in it. Over the fragmented course of a day, Carol will stay on her roof and seek to make connections with those to whom she is closest—her husband, her best friend, her father and someone new. In each encounter she will try to make sense of who she is in relation to these insane, loving, unintentionally hurtful people. She will look for value in the chaos and meaning in the hope, refusing to give in to falseness or a second-rate way of living. And in the end she will find connection on her own defiant terms. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Carol_Mulroney/WR9nBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Carol+Mulroney+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

A small, melodramatic story / by Stephen Belber

In Washington D.C., a widow named O is trying to figure out whether life is worth re-engaging with. In her path are the 1968 riots, the first Gulf War, the Freedom of Information Act and herself. There's also an archivist named Keith, a cop named Perry and a kid named Cleo. And finally, there's the question of just how much about anything do we really need to know. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Small_Melodramatic_Story/SQwE_oKq66UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+small,+melodramatic+story+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

Fault lines / by Stephen Belber

When Jim and Bill get together to celebrate Bill’s thirty-ninth birthday, they meet Joe, who’s slightly older and odder, and their boys’ night out quickly turns sour. Whole Foods, mini-hot dogs and Edie Brickell abound as together they attempt to delineate loyalty, conviction and betrayal. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fault_Lines/2VRHCy7toVIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fault+lines+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

Geometry of fire / by Stephen Belber

In this play based on a true story, we find an investment-banker-turned-Marine-sniper recently returned from Iraq and a Saudi-American who just wants to get laid. In any other world, these two guys would be best friends. But when their lives collide in this one, each is forced to survive on the fly. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Geometry_of_Fire/WwrcpLJxPvMC?hl=en&gbpv=1

The little dog laughed / by Douglas Carter Beane

Mitchell Green is a movie star who could hit big if it weren’t for one teensy-weensy problem. His agent, Diane, can’t seem to keep him in the closet. Trying to help him navigate Hollywood’s choppy waters, the devilish Diane is doing all she can to keep Mitchell away from the cute rent boy who’s caught his eye and the rent boy’s girlfriend (wait, the rent boy has a girlfriend?). Will there be a happy ending as the final credits roll? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Little_Dog_Laughed/eULE1MYc8qsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+little+dog+laughed+/+by+Douglas+Carter+Beane&printsec=frontcover

Mr. England / by Richard Bean

Mr England studies a middle manager's fight for professional survival. Stephen England is a middle-class man who works as a drywall sales rep. As his name implies, he believes in middle class values, free enterprise, and male heroism. But he goes off the rails. Why has he got up in the night and mysteriously defecated on the living room carpet? His frustrated wife Judith doesn't know, nor does his compulsively jabbering mother Irene. Only Andy, the misfit teenager who regularly turns up uninvited to borrow his power tools, can save (or destroy) him. Mr. England is a dark and twisted comedy about what it means to be English, what it means to want love, and what it means to fall apart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mr_England/pdH7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

The mentalists / by Richard Bean

War, poverty, corruption, spiraling taxes, bad behaviour, inter-personal violence and over-population. Do these things worry you? Middle-aged manager Ted, hits on a utopian plan to change the way we live in this darkly funny play. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Mentalists/t9H7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

The God botherers / by Richard Bean

Somewhere in the developing world lies Tambia, a part-Christian, part-Muslim country where water is scarce, AK-47s are plentiful, the lions are hungry and the locals want email. Laura is a young, ambitious American aid worker on her first assignment. Keith, her supervisor, is a world-weary malcontent just trying to get through the day. Sparks fly when Laura shows up three weeks late, ready to bend the rules to save the world. She soon finds that home seems very far away when the locals steal your magazines, your bodyguard makes passes at you, and your boyfriend dumps you — to return to his three wives... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_God_Botherers/k9H7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+God+botherers+/+by+Richard+Bean&printsec=frontcover

Honeymoon suite / by Richard Bean

If Romeo and Juliet had lived, would their marriage have survived? How long? Ten years? Twenty? How would the union have coped with poverty, corruption, his ignorance, her aspiration, an ungrateful daughter, no sons, infidelity with an attractive bloke on a night class, God knows how many miscarriages and even murder? A honeymoon suite in Bridlington. Eddie and Irene begin married life with great excitement, but the future may have other ideas. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Richard_Bean_Plays_Two/1YoHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Honeymoon+suite+/+by+Richard+Bean&pg=PT202&printsec=frontcover

Smack Family Robinson / by Richard Bean

Things have changed since Dad set up the family business in the 60s: new products, more competition, and a bigger market. At the end of the day though, it’s still all about cash and stock. But this is no ordinary family business – the Robinsons are drug dealers. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Smack_Family_Robinson/GvMOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=smack+family+Robinson+/+by+Richard+Bean&printsec=frontcover

Under the whaleback / by Richard Bean

The life of Darrel Ascough, a Hull trawlerman, is played out in three acts in the crew's quarters of a distant water trawler: First, at sixteen, Darrel is a deckie learner on the Kingston Jet. Here he meets Hull's one man circus Cassidy, and is introduced to his legacy. On the James Joyce, and as a young but skilled trawlerman, Darrel is the only survivor when the trawler capsizes when heavy with ice. In the final act, on the heritage museum ship the Arctic Kestrel, Darrel meets the confused and rootless youth Pat, and is forced to address the meaning of his legacy and his true heritage. A powerful and moving story of fate, choices and men at work. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Under_the_Whaleback/V9psBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Harvest / by Richard Bean

In May 1875 Lord Primrose Agar, drunk as a skunk, wagered one of his tenant farmers, Orlando Harrison, that his new border collie pup Jip would outlive the 94 year old Harrison. The prize would be the 82-acre Kilham Wold Farm in East Yorkshire. Thirteen years later, having buried his dog, Agar shook hands with Orlando and conferred on the Harrisons a century of struggle... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Harvest/q9H7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

In the club : a political sex farce for the stage / by Richard Bean

Hapless MEP Philip Wardrobe has a busy day ahead of him, balancing his less-than-irreproachable political career with his attempts to start a family. As he prepares for his girlfriend to fly in from Kettering for an afternoon of fertile frolics, his plan to be voted President of the European Parliament is foiled at every turn by unpredictable colleagues: uncouth Yorkshiremen, irate Turks and amorous Frenchwomen--to say nothing of the mysterious man in the linen cupboard.

Familyman / by Rikki Beadle-Blair

Caesar Ramsay works hard for his family. But the news his son Nelson reveals sends Caesar's seemingly ordinary life rapidly spinning out of his control! Fast, furious and very funny, Familyman asks some vital questions for 21st-century parents, like: - How do you learn to be a dad when yours left before you were two? - How do you take on responsibility for a child before you're legally responsible for yourself? - How do you teach your children respect in an age of liberal parenting? - How do you raise happy, confident and successful children without throttling them before they reach eighteen? Fresh, insightful and delivered with razor-sharp wit, Familyman confirms what many of us know only too well - parenting is messy! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Familyman/O5oJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Familyman+/+by+Rikki+Beadle-Blair&printsec=frontcover

A contemporary American's guide to a successful marriage ©1959 / by Robert Bastron

Set against the backdrop of the late 1950s and told in the style of the social guidance films of that era, A contemporary American's guide to a successful marriage©1959 follows two young couples from courtship to matrimony, and ultimately to what comes after. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Contemporary_American_s_Guide_to_a_Suc/-jJ7tafNw18C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+contemporary+American%27s+guide+to+a+successful+marriage+%C2%A91959+/+by+Robert+Bastron&printsec=frontcover

In extremis : a love letter / by Neil Bartlett

On the night of 24th March 1895, Mrs Robinson, a society palm-reader, agreed to see Oscar Wilde in her London flat. Wilde’s lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, ‘Bosie’, was urging him to sue the Marquis of Queensberry (Bosie’s father) for criminal libel. But Wilde’s friends, wary of Queensberry’s power, were warning him to leave town. In Extremis reveals the strange turmoil of that night, as a man at the height of his fame turns to a complete stranger for advice about a potentially life-changing decision. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_Extremis/HZ_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

My child / by Mike Bartlett

A real man is strong. A real man is driven. A real man provides. A father finds himself being phased out of his son's life. Denied access to his only child, he goes to extraordinary lengths to hold on to him. My Child throws us into a violent world where good intentions count for very little, and offers an incisive, honest look at what it means to be a good parent.

A very common procedure / by Courtney Baron

New Yorkers Carolyn and Michael Goldenhersch are expecting, but when their child is born prematurely and dies, Carolyn is drawn to the doctor who attempted to save the baby’s life. An affair between them ensues, uniting all three on a poignant journey of self-discovery. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Very_Common_Procedure/-P_pyUmJaxEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+very+common+procedure+/+by+Courtney+Baron&printsec=frontcover

The 39 steps / adapted by Patrick Barlow ; from the novel by John Buchan and movie by Alfred Hitchcock

In The 39 Steps, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she’s a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called “The 39 Steps” is hot on the man’s trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale! A riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, The 39 Steps amounts to an unforgettable evening of pure pleasure! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_39_Steps/nPYfohUQtY0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+39+steps+/+adapted+by+Patrick+Barlow&printsec=frontcover

Plays four / by Howard Barker

In I Saw Myself a woman's longing to understand her compulsion to transgress the laws of her society comes into collision with the conventions of an art form. In the weaving of a tapestry Barker's13th century heroine privileges private life over public responsibility. If she is cruelly punished she is also granted self-awareness. A critical moment in social decay is also at the centre of The Dying of Today, in which a stranger who luxuriates in the telling of bad news observes the effects of his devastating narrative on a humble barber. The barber's recovery from pain, and the beauty of his sensibility, bring the two strangers into an emotional proximity. Found in the Ground, a mobile, musical work set during the last days of an aged Nuremberg judge whose baying hounds and burning library form an uncanny background to his wayward daughter's struggle to make meaning from the atrocities of the 20th century. The contradictions of the humanist personality are explored in The Road, the House, the Road. Erasmus' obscure colleague Aventinus was found dead on a wintry road. How he arrived at his solitary death forms the subject of this speculation on scholarship, mischief and the murderer's vocation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Barker_Plays_Four/hYkHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Dead hands / by Howard Barker

A young man rushes to reach the bedside of his dying father, but arrives too late. His younger brother was present at the death, but his attitude is strangely ambiguous, and the elder brother becomes suspicious. The intentions of the dead man's mistress are also unclear. The mourners become increasingly consumed by feverish imagining, building a powerfully tense atmosphere as their characters start to disintegrate. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dead_Hands/k4kHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dead+hands+/+Howard+Barker&printsec=frontcover

The ecstatic bible : a new testament / by Howard Barker

A New Testament informed by the turmoil of the twentieth century, The Ecstatic Bible is a series of interlocking narratives based around the 100-year courtship of a faithless priest and a woman whose decision to abandon free will and collude with every circumstance leads them into extraordinary situations both comic and horrific. Passionate and provocative, this bible of amorality is driven by a wildly inventive plot and language rich in poetry and humor. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Ecstatic_Bible/eYkHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+ecstatic+bible+:+a+new+testament+/+Howard+Barker&printsec=frontcover

The fence in its thousandth year / by Howard Barker

The Fence in its Thousandth Year was inspired by the long distance fence whilst it was under construction in the Gaza to separate the Palestinian and Jewish communities. Set in a world of rising frontiers and illegal immigration, The Fence uses powerful poetic language, provocative ideas and rich, dark humour to build a compelling epic about scandal in a ruling monarchy and its subsequent downfall. At the heart of this tale is the intensely personal story of a blind boy’s struggle to discover his true identity in a world where nothing is what it seems... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Fence_in_its_Thousandth_Year/j4kHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+fence+in+its+thousandth+year+/+Howard+Barker&printsec=frontcover

Blue door : a play with original songs / by Tanya Barfield

Lewis is a tenured professor of mathematics at a well-regarded university. Underneath his veneer of success, however, lies a soul troubled by questions of personal and cultural identity. When his wife leaves him, apparently due to the fact that he won’t embrace his heritage and attend the Million Man March, Lewis experiences a disorienting insomnia and inadvertently conjures his ancestors. Three generations of men (all played by one actor), from slavery through Black Power, challenge Lewis to embark on a night journey combining past and present. Infused with abundant humor and woven through with original songs, BLUE DOOR is a tour de force for two actors, a vivid, exuberantly theatrical play about the African-American male experience. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blue_Door/Wf22U0O2GlEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blue+door+:+a+play+with+original+songs+/+by+Tanya+Barfield&printsec=frontcover

Body awareness / by Annie Baker

It’s Body Awareness Week on a Vermont college campus and Phyllis, the organizer, and her partner, Joyce, are hosting one of the guest artists in their home: Frank, a photographer famous for his female nude portraits. Both his presence in the home and his chosen subject instigate tension from the start. Phyllis is furious at his depictions, but Joyce is actually rather intrigued by the whole thing, even going so far as to contemplate posing for him. As Joyce and Phyllis bicker, Joyce’s adult son, who may or may not have Asperger syndrome, struggles to express himself physically – with heartbreaking results. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Body_Awareness/k7PN6OG38ZQC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Enchanted April / by Matthew Barber

From the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim. Feeling lost in the shadows of marriage and forgotten in the rush of 1920s post-war society, two London housewives pool their savings to rent a villa in Italy for a ladies-only holiday away, reluctantly recruiting a pair of difficult upper-class women to share the cost and the experience. Together under the Mediterranean sun, the four women clash—and then begin to bond and bloom—until men once again upset the balance. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Enchanted_April/-VuefExuby8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Enchanted+April+/+by+Matthew+Barber&printsec=frontcover

Circle mirror transformation / by Annie Baker

When four lost New Englanders who enroll in Marty’s six-week-long community-center drama class begin to experiment with harmless games, hearts are quietly torn apart, and tiny wars of epic proportions are waged and won. A beautifully crafted diorama, a petri dish in which we see, with hilarious detail and clarity, the antic sadness of a motley quintet. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Circle_Mirror_Transformation/c5HA2JlrbegC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Circle+mirror+transformation+/+by+Annie+Baker&printsec=frontcover

Hedda Gabler / by Henrik Ibsen ; adapted by Jon Robin Baitz

Ibsen’s most beguiling antiheroine is given a new twist in Jon Robin Baitz’s acclaimed adaptation of HEDDA GABLER: She’s no longer the chilly, inscrutable manipulator but a woman with, as the New York Times put it, “a context and a persuasive raison d'être.” Ibsen’s classic play here emerges with renewed vitality and newfound dramatic resonance. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hedda_Gabler/bFTDO5q5v2wC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Ten unknowns / by Jon Robin Baitz

Malcolm Raphelson is a painter who was at the top of the art world -- until the critical vogue turned from realism to abstract expressionist work. He has been in self-imposed exile in Mexico for decades, until dealer Trevor Fabricant decides it's time for a retrospective. Trevor sends Judd, a talented and tormented young painter, to serve as Malcolm's assistant and unofficial minder. When they are joined by a beautiful young student, their tense equilibrium is upset. With seemingly spontaneous dialogue and a world portrayed with its many conflicts, Ten Unknowns is an important contemporary work about modern America, bringing into question its morals and sensibilities. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ten_Unknowns/_AXRNjd68c0C?hl=en&gbpv=1

The Paris letter : a play in two acts / by Jon Robin Baitz

Wall Street powerhouse Sandy Sonnenberg finds his personal and professional life threatened by the unraveling secrets of his past. A tragic game of financial and moral betrayal is played out over four decades and between two friends at the cost of family, friendship, love and marriage. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Paris_Letter/879i4U7NaNkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Paris+letter+:+a+play+in+two+acts+/+Jon+Robin+Baitz&printsec=frontcover

Awaking beauty / by Alan Ayckbourn

Ever wondered what else happened to Sleeping Beauty when she finally woke up in the 21st century? Alan Ayckbourn provides the answer with this alternative seasonal fare in the musical Awaking Beauty. The prince awakens Princess Aurora and the eager, happy young couple are about to embark on their first night of passionate love when ugly, unloved Carabosse, the wicked witch, butts in having taken a fancy to the prince. But which one will be the Awaking Beauty? Love, lust, triplets and the ultimate in makeovers are just some of the milestones our heroes and heroines must pass before they can all live happily ever after.

Hamlet and zombies! : or Something's rotting in the state of Denmark / by Will Averill

Something is rotting in the state of Denmark, and Hamlet may be the only one who is on to it. With the help of his friend Horatio and cousin Laertes, Hamlet solves the mystery of his mother’s marriage to his uncle, observes his father’s transformation from king to zombie king, saves his love, Ophelia, and fends off both the Norwegians and the zombie hordes. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exHamletAndZombiesHH7.pdf

Bird woman : the story of Sacagawea : a biographical play in nine scenes / by Ric Averill

This play follows the adventures of the Shoshone girl who was kidnapped from her people only to become the best-known Native American woman of all time. Sacagawea's grasp of languages and her knowledge of the terrain made her an indispensable part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The play explores her early childhood vision and naming, her marriage to Toussaint Charboneau, their joining the Corps of Discovery's epic voyage west, and finally the company's vote on where to establish a winter camp. Both Sacagawea and York, Clark's slave, became so important to the company that they were allowed to vote in this election—the first recorded vote of a woman, a Native American and a black man in America. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bird_Woman/nxCD7FCHya0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bird+woman+:+the+story+of+Sacagawea+:+a+biographical+play+in+nine+scenes+/+by+Ric+Averill.&printsec=frontcover

Pixies, kings, and magical things : four tales by Hans Christian Anderson / adapted by Ric Averill

The Swineherd: A vain and "particular" princess learns a lesson from a very clever boy, who ultimately compares her behavior to the animals he tends. The Pixie and the Grocer: A pixie lives in the home of a grocer and survives every day on the gruel he leaves out. Then the pixie overhears the student reading his poetry. She is so enraptured that when the grocer's house is engulfed by fire, the pixie chooses to run back and save the poetry book rather than the grocer's gold—thus choosing "art over appetite." Of course her magic leads to a happy ending. The Emperor's New Clothes: The classic tale of vanity is given a fun comic twist as the emperor is advised by his ill-advised ministers. The weaver weaves her invisible magic, and at the end of the play, the children are encouraged to join in stating that, "The emperor has no clothes!" The Ugly Duckling: Udrich is ugly—there is no question. But is he really an ugly DUCK? Follow this lonely fellow as he searches for his identity and tries to become a turkey, a goose, a dog, a cat, a hen and even a human child. Only after a full year of danger and growth does the gentle Udrich find his place and his happiness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pixies_Kings_and_Magical_Things/OrEdEAg_RYkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pixies,+kings,+and+magical+things+:+four+tales+by+Hans+Christian+Anderson+/+adapted+by+Ric+Averill&pg=PT24&printsec=frontcover

Frankenstein : an adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic / by Ric Averill

In this retelling of Frankenstein, a mysterious laboratory, a dark cemetery and a university classroom provide the setting for Victor Frankenstein and his university friends, students who dabble in the mystical science of regeneration. Victor's fiancé, Elizabeth, and best friend, Henry, bring body parts from the cemetery for his experiments. But Victor's work backfires when he brings to life a superhuman, monstrous creation he cannot control. Huge and haunted by memories of a dark past, the Creature breaks out of the laboratory. The Creature is met with horror from everyone he meets except for Victor's blind professor, who feels sympathy for the Creature "of the earth" and helps him with both language and memory. The Professor also speaks of the importance of love and companionship, and the Creature realizes that this is something Victor has and he is denied. The Creature follows Henry's beautiful girlfriend, Justine, to the cemetery and asks her to be his love, his companion. When she resists him, he holds her so tightly she dies. The Creature brings her body to Victor to reanimate—to make him a bride. Victor refuses until the Creature threatens to take Elizabeth from him on their wedding night. Victor begins to do the Creature's bidding. Elizabeth tries to stop the terror by facing the Creature and even offering to be his bride if Victor might be spared. But the final confrontation leaves Elizabeth dead, the Creature gone and Victor alone. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Frankenstein/RE9vDdFO0MIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Frankenstein+:+an+adaptation+of+Mary+Shelley%27s+classic+/+by+Ric+Averill.&printsec=frontcover

The journals of Mihail Sebastian / adapted by David Auburn

In the decadent, politically explosive Bucharest of the 1930s and 40s, a young writer struggles to maintain his career, his integrity and his Jewish identity, even as his closest friends ally themselves with Fascism. Based on the controversial journals, this epic one-man play spans eight tumultuous years and opens a uniquely personal window on the Romanian Holocaust and the Second World War. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Journals_of_Mihail_Sebastian/JJcqCFahWBkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+journals+of+Mihail+Sebastian+/+adapted+by+David+Auburn&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover

Flyer / by Kate Aspengren

While the Project Mercury astronauts carried America's hopes and dreams into space, NASA was busy training another elite corps of pilots, some with more flight experience than John Glenn and company. None of this group soared into space; they were women and here is their story. Flyer focuses on the hopes and dreams of one young pilot in particular. Fran Douglas rises above family scorn and her fiancee's condescension to join the women's corps. Action scenes involving NASA, Congress and Fran's family are intertwined with dream sequences about an intrepid black barnstormer, Bessie Coleman, who died in the 1920s performing an aerial feat. Bessie warns Fran about the many obstacles she will have to overcome to achieve her dream, a dream left unfulfilled when NASA pulled the plug on training women for space flight. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Flyer/LLsQEOAWzvIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Flyer+/+by+Kate+Aspengren.&printsec=frontcover

Looking for normal / by Jane Anderson

Roy and Irma have been married for twenty-five years. They have two children. They live in the heartland. They’re respected members of their church and their community. When Roy and Irma go to their pastor for marriage counseling, Roy confesses that he’s a woman trapped in a man’s body and would like to have a sex change. As would be expected, Irma throws Roy out of the house. But their bond as a couple is stronger than either of them imagined, and eventually Irma finds a way to make peace with this unfathomable situation and accept her transformed husband as her lifelong mate. They not only have to wrestle with the meaning of their marriage, they must deal with the delicate dynamics of their family as well. Roy is burdened by his father’s stubborn assessment of his manhood and his mother’s sad acceptance of life’s cruelties. Irma, in the midst of menopause, is struggling with her adolescent tomboy daughter, Patty Ann, who is raging against the injustices of her own budding hormones. And the grown and absent son, Wayne, who has always bemoaned his father’s emotional limitations, is now outraged by his father’s desire to be a woman. Overseeing it all is Roy’s legendary grandmother, who left her husband and son to pursue her own sexual and emotional needs. The play explores the complexities of marriage, family and deconstructs the very notion of love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Looking_for_Normal/NBsoVPHfze4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Looking+for+normal+/+by+Jane+Anderson&printsec=frontcover

The quality of life / by Jane Anderson

Dinah and Bill, a devout, church-going couple from the Midwest are struggling to keep their lives intact after the loss of their daughter. Dinah is compelled to reconnect with her left-leaning cousins in Northern California who're going through their own trials. Jeannette and Neil have lost their home to a wildfire and Neil has cancer. However they seem to have accepted their situation with astounding good humor, living in a yurt on their burn site and celebrating life with hits of pot and glasses of good red wine. Bill and Dinah are both moved and perplexed by their cousins' remarkable equanimity. But their sympathy turns to rage when they find out that Jeannette is planning to take her own life to avoid a life of grief without her beloved Neil. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Quality_of_Life/hPqjMqpPQ7cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+quality+of+life+/+by+Jane+Anderson&pg=PA81&printsec=frontcover

Snogging Ken, an after-dinner entertainment / by Tariq Ali

Pity Tony's nannies at New Labour's Millbank election war-room: they're working night and day to get 'Red Ken' and prevent him from becoming Mayor of London. Suddenly it's Ken, the cuckoo in the nest, who's getting the people's vote and Millbank, charged with plotting his downfall, is getting desperate. Ever more dastardly plots are afoot as the election draws nearer. A politically charged after-dinner entertainment play looking at the world of politicians.

Six dance lessons in six weeks / by Richard Alfieri

Lily, an aging but formidable retiree, hires Michael, an acerbic dance instructor, to give her dance lessons in her condo in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. Antagonism between a gay man and the wife of a Southern Baptist minister gives way to profound compatibility as they swing dance, tango, foxtrot, and cha-cha while sharing barbs and intimacies along with the dance steps. During the sixth lesson, Lily reveals a closely guarded secret -- she is terminally ill -- and Michael shares his greatest gifts -- loyalty and compassion. As Michael takes Lily in his arms on their final meeting, they both transcend fear and mortality while the sun sets on their last dance.

Edward Albee's occupant / Edward Albee

New York sculptor Louise Nevelson's life was marked by intrepid triumphs and deep inner turmoil. Both her public accomplishments and private emotional conflicts are thoroughly examined by an unnamed interviewer who questions the posthumous Nevelson with an unabashed scrutiny. The result is a touching, humorous, and honest tribute to a woman who was a pioneer for free-thinking females everywhere, but also stood on her own as one of the 20th century's greatest artistic minds. Edward Albee's Occupant is a testament of will, internal strength, and the cryptic force that continues to drive great artists. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Edward_Albee_s_Occupant/AfeYSTCDcv8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=edward+albee%27s+occupant&printsec=frontcover

Me, myself & I / by Edward Albee

Mother can’t tell her identical twins apart. But when Otto announces his brother doesn’t exist, the household descends into chaos. Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize–winner Edward Albee is in top form with this dark, funny and moving play that takes sibling rivalry to existential heights. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Edward_Albee_s_Me_Myself_I/xQnOeFhCPm8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=edward+albee+me+myself+and+i&printsec=frontcover

Kalila wa dimna, or, The mirror for princes / Sulayman Al-Bassam

New writing based on the fables Kalila wa Dimna, one of the masterpieces of Eastern culture. Intended originally as a book of Council for Kings, literally, a 'mirror' for princes, these subtle and philosophical animal fables carry immense significance to all sections of Arab and Persian society, to this day. From India, via Persia, the tales reached the Arab world through the pen of Ibn Al-Muqaffa, court scribe, wit, and radical reformer. The production locates Ibn Al-Muqaffa's work in its original historical context – Iraq circa 750 AD and the dawn of the Abbasid revolution – one of the most turbulent moments in Islamic history, and an age with all too many parallels to our own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Mirror_for_Princes_Kalila_Wa_Dimna/WNP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kalila+wa+dimna,+or,+The+mirror+for+princes+/+Sulayman+Al-Bassam&printsec=frontcover

The weird : a collection of short horror and pulp plays / by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

A collection of six short, creepy, pulpy plays, The Weird is narrated by horror host M.T. Grave, who introduces each of the evening's ghoulish, funny delights. In Bloody Mary, two oversexed teenagers play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse while driving along a deserted highway late at night. In Insect Love, a scientist and his lab assistant fall in love...while the sci-fi classic The Fly plays in movie theatres across the country. In The Ten-Minute Play About Rosemary's Baby, a young couple moves into an apartment building with nosey neighbors...as well as a demonic presence. In Swamp Gothic, a handsome college student risks man-eating alligators, voodoo and zombies to find his equally handsome missing best friend. In Morning Becomes Olestra, a conniving femme fatale plans her obese husband's murder...with the help of a vampire. And in Dinner with the Superfriends, two gal pals get together for some reminiscing...and crime-fighting.

The mystery plays / by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

THE MYSTERY PLAYS is two interrelated one acts, loosely based on the tradition of the medieval mystery plays. In the first play, THE FILMMAKER’S MYSTERY, Joe Manning, a director of horror films, survives a terrible train wreck—only to be haunted by the ghost of Nathan West, one of the passengers who didn’t survive. As the police investigate Joe, he investigates Nathan, desperate to understand why he survived and what Nathan’s specter could possible want. In the second play, GHOST CHILDREN, Joe’s attorney and friend, Abby Gilly, travels to a small town in rural Oregon to make peace with the man who brutally murdered her parents and younger sister sixteen years earlier. The man—the murderer—is her older brother. Like the original medieval mystery plays, THE MYSTERY PLAYS wrestles with the most profound of human ideas: the mysteries of death, the afterlife, religion, faith, and forgiveness—in a uniquely American way.

Say you love Satan / by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Late one rainy night in Baltimore, Andrew—an affable graduate student researching the works of Dostoevsky—meets a handsome stranger named Jack. The two immediately hit it off and start dating, despite the fact that Andrew already has a super-duper boyfriend and that Jack has the Mark of the Beast—you know, 666—burned into his forehead. “Are you a satanist?” Andrew asks Jack. “No,” he replies sheepishly. “But my father…he’s the Devil.” Intrigued-slash-slightly apprehensive (and against the urgings of his best gal-pal Bernadette), Andrew does his best to make a go of it with Jack. Until, as this seriously entertaining comedy unspools, Andrew slowly begins to realize, with mounting dread and horror—and, always, an undefeatable sense of humor—that Jack isn’t the Devil’s son at all. On the contrary, he’s something far, far worse…truly, a boyfriend of the damned.

Based on a totally true story / by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

A contemporary comedy that moves at the speed of lightning, BASED ON A TOTALLY TRUE STORY chronicles the hilarious, bittersweet misadventures of twenty-something New Yorker Ethan Keene. A semi-successful comic book writer by day (he writes The Flash for DC Comics) and struggling playwright by night, Ethan’s world is turned upside down when a veteran Hollywood producer decides she wants to turn one of Ethan’s unproduced plays into a big-budget horror movie—possibly starring Nicole Kidman. With that tasty carrot clouding his vision, Ethan struggles to be a loving, supportive, giving partner to his boyfriend Michael Sullivan, a Village Voice reporter and budding novelist. On top of which, Ethan’s lovable dad announces that he’s leaving Ethan’s mom for a married woman—and can he please stay with Ethan and Michael until he finds a new place to live? Hearts are broken, lessons learned, and dreams deferred in this quirky, offbeat romantic comedy of manners. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=EeLhFkdX7-AC&printsec=frontcover&dq=based+on+a+totally+true+story+/+by+Roberto+Aguirre-Sacasa&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjE6ueR0pL2AhUhJUQIHY1pD2AQuwV6BAgEEAc

The muckle man / by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Tragedy strikes the Clarke family with the death of young Malcolm and the near-drowning of his brother Harvey. Their parents' grief splinters the family. Addison, a marine biologist, buries himself in his work, the study of the Architeuthis, a giant squid. His wife Marina, staring out at the sea, becomes more and more isolated on the icy shores of Newfoundland. Two portentous events take place on the same day: a live Architeuthis washes up on shore, and a man walks naked out of the sea and approaches Marina. The discovery of these two creatures, and the series of events that are unleashed by them, change the Clarke family irrevocably. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=XQTFa23fg0sC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+muckle+man+/+by+Roberto+Aguirre-Sacasa&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXxPe_0JL2AhW3D0QIHdodAysQuwV6BAgCEAc

The velvet sky / by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Poor Bethany Palmer hasn't slept in thirteen years. When her husband, Warren, steals their son, Andrew, away in the middle of the night, her already fragile grip on reality starts to weaken-- even as she sets off after them on a nightmarish phantasmagoria through an urban dreamscape. Chronicling Bethany's desperate flight, THE VELVET SKY is a dark fairytale for grown-ups, about the stories and lies adults tell children to keep them safe from the things that lurk in the dark. Things like the macabre Sandman, who is hungry to steal the innocent gleam from young Andrew's eyes... Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=9iTkbmKyLvcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+velvet+sky+robert+aguirre-sacasa&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj4jIHDzpL2AhUiJEQIHY1EBP4QuwV6BAgHEAc

King of shadows / Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

A fifteen-year-old runaway named Nihar is living on the streets, hustling to survive. When he meets a well-intentioned (and well-off) graduate student named Jessica, he tells her an unbelievable story--there is a mythical world beneath our world, ruled by the King of Shadows, a terrifying demon-like creature that is hunting San Francisco's homeless population in an effort to find him. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/King_of_Shadows/-w6JkJ81IJQC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Good boys and true / by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Prep-school senior Brandon Hardy is brilliant, athletic, popular and charming—the kind of student that makes St. Joe’s School for Boys proud to call its own. However, his privileged life threatens to collapse when a disturbing videotape is found on campus. As the resulting scandal takes unexpected turns, Brandon’s mother Elizabeth must sort fact from fiction from family and confront unsettling truths about her son, herself, and their life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Good_Boys_and_True/ekalKTjK1rEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Good+boys+and+true+/+by+Roberto+Aguirre-Sacasa&printsec=frontcover

Iya-Ile = The first wife : 20 years before the estate / Oladipo Agboluaje

It's 1989 in Lagos. Political hysteria and social change are sweeping Nigeria. Chief Adeyemi's wife Toyin is turning forty and, behind the mansion walls, the household is preparing for her party. But there are other distractions. Their troublesome sons, returning from college, are more interested in seduction and starting revolutions than their parents' disintegrating marriage. Meanwhile, Helen, the ambitious house girl, is waiting for her chance...

Disconnect / by Rob Ackerman

When marketing consultant Steven Gold invites near strangers to dinner, his wife, Patty, helps put their home in order. But she can't do the same for her husband. Just back from a business trip to Chicago, Steve is rattled by encounters with his childhood friend Artie and his overbearing client Peter Hamish. When the alluring Jane and her reticent spouse, Fred, arrive, the safe shell protecting hosts and guests starts to crumble. Goaded by the women they love and haunted by memories they can no longer suppress, two men confront the lies of their lives. Hilarious and harrowing, Disconnect explores marriage, friendship and passion in the age of telecommunications. With so many flashy new ways to communicate, why are we still so bad at it? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Disconnect/T95mBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=disconnect+rob+ackerman&printsec=frontcover

The special relationship / by Hassan Abdulrazzak

True stories from the sharp edge of transatlantic deportation. In America, foreign nationals can be deported after serving prison sentences; some of them are British. Hassan Abdulrazzak interviewed ex-prisoners and experts in immigration and criminal law to get behind the political rhetoric, and to explore the extraordinary realities of people caught up in the quagmire of immigration detention and deportation. These are their verbatim stories of double punishment and separation, stuck in the transatlantic tango between Trump and May. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Special_Relationship/eqL8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+special+relationship+hassan+abdulrazzak&printsec=frontcover

Or, / by Liz Duffy Adams

OR, takes place (mostly) during one night in the life of Aphra Behn, poet, spy, and soon to be the first professional female playwright. Sprung from debtors' prison after a disastrous overseas mission, Aphra is desperate to get out of the spy trade. She has a shot at a production at one of only two London companies, if she can only finish her play by morning despite interruptions from sudden new love, actress Nell Gwynne; complicated royal love, King Charles II; and very dodgy ex-love, double-agent William Scot -- who may be in on a plot to murder the king in the morning. Can Aphra resist Nell's charms, save Charles' life, win William a pardon, and launch her career, all in one night? Against a background of a long drawn-out war and a counter-culture of free love, cross-dressing, and pastoral lyricism, the 1660s look a lot like the 1960s in this neo-Restoration comedy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Or/cMdDEgyRtXYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=or+liz+duffy+adams&printsec=frontcover

Chronicles of Long Kesh / by Martin Lynch

Written by one of Northern Ireland's most celebrated playwrights Martin Lynch, this is the painful, shocking, and hilarious story of Northern Ireland's infamous prison, Long Kesh, told through the eyes of prison officers, Republicans and Loyalists, a rich assortment of patriots, scheming opportunists, leaders, wives, escapers, and hypochondriacs. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chronicles_of_Long_Kesh/R4sHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Chronicles+of+Long+Kesh+/+by+Martin+Lynch&printsec=frontcover

The fox on the fairway / by Ken Ludwig

A tribute from Ken Ludwig (Lend me a tenor, Moon over Buffalo) to the great English farces of the 1930s and 1940s, The fox on the fairway takes audiences on a hilarious romp which begins as Quail Valley Country Club prepares to take on archrival Crouching Squirrel in the Annual Inter-Club Golf Tournament. With a sizable wager at stake, the contest plays out amidst three love affairs, a disappearing diamond, objectionable sweaters and an exploding vase. A charmingly madcap adventure about love, life, and man's eternal love affair with-- golf

Secret thoughts : a play for two actors / by David Lodge

Helen Reed, a novelist in her early forties, still grieving for her husband who died suddenly a year before, is the visiting teacher of creative writing at the university where Ralph Messenger, a cognitive scientist with a special interest in Artificial Intelligence and an incorrigible womaniser, is director of a prestigious research institute...

Good people / by David Lindsay-Abaire

Welcome to Southie, a Boston neighborhood where a night on the town means a few rounds of bingo, where this month's paycheck covers last month's bills, and where Margie Walsh has just been let go from yet another job. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Good_People/XFs2zcXgEjgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Good+people+/+by+David+Lindsay-Abaire&printsec=frontcover

Infinite black suitcase / by E. M. Lewis

From critically-acclaimed playwright EM Lewis, comes Infinite Black Suitcase, the story of one day in a small Oregon town and three families who are trying, in the most loving and human ways, to deal with death and dying

No foreigners beyond this point / by Warren Leight

Paula and Andrew, two twenty-something Americans, arrive in China right after the Cultural Revolution, when the country is just starting to open up to foreigners. Paula has come to teach English and Andrew has come to spend a semester close to Paula. Their naiveté is astounding as they blunder into the heavily socialist and guarded community of the school. They are spied on by everyone, obliquely threatened, mystified by local customs, and general fish out of water. Ultimately, Andrew returns to the States, but Paula decides to stay, despite her seeming distaste for their surroundings.

The Prince of Homburg / by Heinrich von Kleist ; a new version by Dennis Kelly

Heroic commander of the Prussian cavalry, the Prince of Homburg dreams of victory, glory and fame. But reckless disobedience during a crucial military operation leads the Prince into his greatest battle yet. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Prince_of_Homburg/VNP7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Prince+of+Homburg+/+by+Heinrich+von+Kleist+%3B+a+new+version+by+Dennis+Kelly&printsec=frontcover

Sons of the Prophet : a play / by Stephen Karam

A deeply humorous, clear-eyed portrait of grief and loss, Sons of the Prophet depicts a Lebanese American family in rural Pennsylvania beset by an absurd string of tragedies. At the play's center is Joseph Douaihy, a once promising world-class runner now sidelined by injury. As Joseph confronts his deteriorating health, he is also forced to face the death of his father, an ailing uncle, and a desperate boss consumed by her own troubles. Deftly keeping its various story lines in careful balance, Karam's play confronts the inevitability of loss and the equally inevitable comedy resulting from our attempts to cope with its consequences.--From publisher description. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sons_of_the_Prophet/H_NMkiKGKS0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sons+of+the+Prophet+:+a+play+/+by+Stephen+Karam&printsec=frontcover

Dashing through the snow : a Christmas comedy in two acts / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

It's four days before Christmas in the tiny town of Tinsel, Texas, and a colorful parade of eccentric guests arrive at the Snowflake Inn and deck the halls with holiday hilarity. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dashing_Through_the_Snow/g-IT46Y_iYgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dashing+through+the+snow+:+a+Christmas+comedy+in+two+acts+/&printsec=frontcover

Soul of a whore / by Denis Johnson

Sprawling three-act narrative commences with an hourlong scene in a Greyhound depot, in Huntsville, Texas, just across the street from a state penitentiary. Exuberantly trashy Masha has just run away — again — from her job of ill repute at a strip joint and is holding a series of payphone conversations with her erstwhile employer. Her conniptions attract flirtatious interest from Bill Jenks, an alleged holy healer just sprung from four months served for embezzlement; Bill’s recent cellmate, HT, a loud, pimp-styled double murderer on the lam after breaking parole; likewise newly freed John Cassandra, who’s used his state-issued $50 to buy a life-sized crucifix, intending to pray for his mother left behind on Death Row; a deadpan station clerk; a senile old lady; and others. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Soul_of_a_Whore_and_Purvis/flWIpLUveBYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Soul+of+a+whore+/+by+Denis+Johnson&printsec=frontcover

When I come to die / by Nathan Louis Jackson

Tells the story of Damon Robinson, a death-row inmate who struggles to find faith and hope and understand why his life has been spared after he survives a lethal injection. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/When_I_Come_to_Die/dq7JjZ3UpREC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=When+I+come+to+die+/+by+Nathan+Louis+Jackson&printsec=frontcover

Venus in fur : a play / by David Ives

In David Ives's seductive, darkly funny Venus in Fur, a playwright-director, Thomas, has written an adaptation of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's classic erotic novel Venus in Fur, the story of an obsessive relationship between a man and the mistress to whom he becomes enslaved. At the end of a long day in which the actress Thomas auditions fail to impress him, in walks Vanda, very late and seemingly clueless, but she convinces him to give her a chance. As they perform scenes from Thomas's play, the lines between writer, actor, director, and character begin to blur. Online play: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Venus_in_Fur/JZvjzijd2qMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Venus+in+fur+:+a+play+/+by+David+Ives&printsec=frontcover

Rewrite : a musical comedy triple feature / by Joe Iconis

ReWrite, a musical comedy triple feature is comprised of three wild musicals that connect in surprising and dangerous ways. Nelson Rocks! is a pop/rock show about a young dude who needs to fix his life before the 'You better get to class' bell rings. Populated by adolescents, the show throbs and pulses along a locker-filled hallway, barreling towards its inevitable showdown. Miss Marzipan is a dizzy musical about the life changing preparation that goes into a high stakes dinner party. In this heightened look at the suburban experience, a little bit of blood is spilt, but nothing that some kitchen towels can't clean up. The Process deals with a writer. With a deadline. As the Dunkin Donuts fills with the voices in his head, the writer must conquer his writer's block and finish his musical. The Dunkin Donuts counter lady acts as our guide through this passionate look into one man's writing process.

Running / by Arlene Hutton

It's the weekend of the New York City Marathon, and Stephen, preparing for his first race, needs a good night's sleep. Emily, his wife's old roommate, shows up unexpectedly in the wee hours of the morning. In crisis and unable to find a hotel room, Emily is returning to the apartment she once lived in and where, years ago, she and Stephen may or may not have met. Seeing her old home brings back memories and Stephen, dealing with his own troubles with marriage and work, is jarred from his complacency and forced to face his failures. Late night conversations become late night confessions and connections. Will Stephen be running on empty? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Running/y91ylC3McT0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Running+/+by+Arlene+Hutton&printsec=frontcover

A bright new Boise / by Samuel D. Hunter

In the bleak, corporate break room of a craft store in Idaho, someone is summoning The Rapture. Will, who has fled his rural hometown after a scandal at his Evangelical church, comes to the Hobby Lobby, not only for employment, but also to rekindle a relationship with Alex, his brooding teenage son, whom he gave up for adoption several years ago. Alex works there along with Leroy, his adopted brother and protector, and Anna, a hapless young woman who reads bland fiction but hopes for dramatic endings. As their manager, foul-mouthed Pauline, tries ceaselessly to find order (and profit) in the chaos of small business, these lost souls of the Hobby Lobby confront an unyielding world through the beige-tinted impossibility of modern faith. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Bright_New_Boise/6LvHl6lJrAYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+bright+new+Boise+/+by+Samuel+D.+Hunter&printsec=frontcover

26 miles / by Quiara Alegría Hudes

The custody battle left them estranged for eight years. The road trip destination is two thousand miles across the country. The mother's skin is brown, the teenage daughter's, white. So what if reality's nipping at their heels? This reunited pair runs fast and furious from the secrets in their lives, hunting valuable antiques, chasing Arctic explorers, and getting lost in Wyoming's wilderness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/26_Miles/hdySm8gcId0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=26+miles+/+by+Quiara+Alegr%C3%ADa+Hudes&printsec=frontcover

Kokoro (true heart) / by Velina Hasu Houston

Yasako, a young Japanese mother, struggles to adapt to the very foreign culture of the United States. Feeling hopeless after discovering her husband's infidelity, Yasako feels that oyako shinju, or parent-child suicide, is her only honorable escape from the world that does not accept her. Yasako truly believes that the outcome to such an act is not the finality of death, but a chance for herself and her daughter to reunite with their family on a spiritual plane of existance. But Yasako survives the suicide attempt, and she learns that she is being tried for the murder of her daughter... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kokoro_true_Heart/0WDLvEOHBwwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kokoro+(true+heart)+/+by+Velina+Hasu+Houston&printsec=frontcover

Ghost-writer / by Michael Hollinger

Novelist Franklin Woolsey dies mid-sentence, but his secretary Myra continues to take dictation. Attacked by skeptics, the press and Woolsey's jealous widow, Myra sets out to prove she is more than just an artful forger. Is she trying to steal Woolsey's legacy now that she cannot have his love, or might she truly possess a gift the world can't understand? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ghost_writer/BA91su_3b90C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ghost-writer+/+by+Michael+Hollinger&printsec=frontcover

Double feature. Volume one

Includes the plays: Edgar & Annabel / by Sam Holcroft; The swan / by D.C. Moore

Collaborators / by John Hodge

John Hodge's blistering play depicts a lethal game of cat and mouse through which the appalling compromises and humiliations inflicted on any artist by those with power are held up to scrutiny. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Collaborators/tK3SDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Collaborators+/+by+John+Hodge&printsec=frontcover

After the revolution / by Amy Herzog

The brilliant, promising Emma Joseph proudly carries the torch of her family's Marxist tradition, devoting her life to the memory of her blacklisted grandfather. But when history reveals a shocking truth about the man himself, the entire family is forced to confront questions of honesty and allegiance they thought had been resolved. After the Revolution is a bold and moving portrait of an American family, thrown into an intergenerational tailspin, forced to reconcile a thorny and delicate legacy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/After_the_Revolution/5FgqfiFbdd8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=After+the+revolution+/+by+Amy+Herzog&printsec=frontcover

4000 miles / by Amy Herzog

After suffering a major loss while he was on a cross-country bike trip, 21 year-old Leo seeks solace from his feisty 91 year-old grandmother Vera in her West Village apartment. Over the course of a single month, these unlikely roommates infuriate, bewilder, and ultimately reach each other. 4000 MILES looks at how two outsiders find their way in today's world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/4000_Miles/te1vOwdCdUoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=4000+miles+/+by+Amy+Herzog&printsec=frontcover

Bachelorette / by Leslye Headland

Ten years out of high school, Regan, Gena and Katie convene in the luxurious bridal suite of their old friend, Becky, the night before her wedding in New York City. Fueled by jealousy and resentment, the girls embark on a night of debauchery that goes from playfully wasted to devastatingly destructive. Their old fears, unfulfilled desires and deep bonds with each other transform a prenuptial bender into a night they'll never forget. A wicked black comedy about female friendship and growing up in an age of excess. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bachelorette/5eo0thxhd3UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bachelorette+/+by+Leslye+Headland&printsec=frontcover

Mrs. Mannerly / by Jeffrey Hatcher

Inspired by hilarious memories of a childhood etiquette class, playwright Jeffrey Hatcher conjures up the world of a ten-year-old studying manners. Mrs. Mannerly is a demanding teacher, and no student in her thirty-six years of etiquette classes has achieved a perfect score. But when he discovers her secret power, young Jeffrey is determined to be the first to achieve this feat. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mrs_Mannerly/FXzpzEEzLAIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mrs.+mannerly+/+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher&printsec=frontcover

No romance / by Nancy Harris

Laura has a secret. Joe's has been revealed. Peg's been keeping hers for years. Rich with the absurdities, hypocrisies and vulnerabilities that course through our lives, Nancy Harris's No Romance playfully observes the longings, fears and desires we reveal - and don't reveal - in our closest relationships.

The Kreutzer sonata / Leo Tolstoy ; adapted by Nancy Harris

A play about death, desire and Beethoven. A man boards a train: the confined space of the carriage triggers potent memories. Soon he is confessing to a terrible crime, one for which he holds Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata responsible. Written in 1889, Leo Tolstoy’s novella became instantly notorious, and was banned in both Russia and America. Tolstoy hoped one day to see it performed to the accompaniment of live music. In this adaptation by Nancy Harris, musicians and actors come together to bring the story to life for the stage. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Kreutzer_Sonata/YQCmmuO0epoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Kreutzer+sonata+/+Leo+Tolstoy+%3B+adapted+by+Nancy+Harris&printsec=frontcover

The brother / by John Hancock and Dorothy Tristan ; based on the book by Sam Roberts

Written by noted stage and film director John Hancock, The Brother is the largely untold story of the Rosenberg spy case, based on the book by New York Times editor, Sam Roberts. It follows the espionage trial that led to the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, focusing on the memories of Ethel's brother, David Greenglass. He was the spy ring's man inside Los Alamos while America was developing the atomic bomb, and his confession saved his wife from indictment but implicated his sister and her husband, ultimately sending them to the electric chair. In this account, Greenglass admits to lying for the first time about the memory of his sister's role. Recounting this bitter episode in American history, The Brother is a dramatic and cautionary tale of families, state power in times of fear and repression, and the all-too-human capacity for rationalization.

Office hours / by A.R. Gurney

Set on the campus of an unnamed liberal arts college in the early 1970s, "Office hours" depicts the relationships between the teachers and students of an embattled class called "The Western Tradition." The course's status as a requirement for graduation is being called into question as the radicalized culture of the time takes root in academia. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Office_Hours/3AdIRJwXZWkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Office+hours+/+by+A.R.+Gurney&printsec=frontcover

The grand manner / by A.R. Gurney

In 1948, playwright A.R. Gurney, then a young boarding-school student, traveled to New York where he attended a performance of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, going backstage afterwards to meet the production's star, the great stage actress Katharine Cornell, who was dubbed "The First Lady of the American Stage" by the legendary critic Alexander Woollcott. A mix of remembrance and imagination, The grand manner is a love letter to this fabled actress and a heartfelt look back at the glorious heyday of the Broadway theatre. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Grand_Manner/uTbuLhPSR24C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+grand+manner+/+by+A.R.+Gurney&printsec=frontcover

Black tie / by A.R. Gurney

Father of the groom, Curtis, simply wants to make a memorable toast. But before he is able to raise his glass, he must defend the time-honored ways of his past, including his attire. Cultures clash when a surprise guest is announced, threatening to throw convention out the window. Curtis finds that balancing the standards of his late father and the needs of his future family may prove too messy for a black tie affair. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Black_Tie/ZmrtLSER--EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Black+tie+/+by+A.R.+Gurney&pg=PT10&printsec=frontcover

A free man of color / by John Guare

Set in boistrous New Orleans prior to the historic Louisiana Purchase. Before law and order took hold and class, racial, and political lines were drawn, New Orleans was a carnival of beautiful women, flowing wine, and pleasure for the taking. At the center of this Dionysian world is the mulatto Jacques Cornet, who commands men, seduces women, and preens like a peacock. But it is 1801 and the map of New Orleans is about to be redrawn. The Louisiana Purchase brings American rule and racial segregation to the chaotic, colorful world of Jacques Cornet and all that he represents, turning the tables on freedom and liberty. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Free_Man_of_Color/E7dsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+free+man+of+color+/+by+John+Guare&printsec=frontcover

Maria/Stuart / by Jason Grote

Inspired by Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart. Up-and-coming cartoonist Stuart fights to keep the lid on his mother's and aunts' simmering angst. But the family's secrets channel themselves into a bizarre shapeshifter that guzzles soda, communicates by fax, and spouts old German verse. Friedrich Schiller's classic tale of warring queens inspires this gothic romp through the weirder side of suburban America.

Blu / by Virginia Grise

Memory, history and culture collide with the starlit rooftop dreams of a myth-inspired character as Soledad and her partner, Hailstorm, redefine family on their own terms after the death of their eldest son in Iraq. Steeped in poetic realism and contemporary politics, this text challenges us to try to imagine a time before war. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blu/YNIvFblG7P0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blu+/+by+Virginia+Grise&printsec=frontcover

The late middle classes / Simon Gray

England in the 1950s. Celia, bored to distraction, fills her time with tennis and gin; Charles, a pathologist, is buried in his work among the living and the dead; and their gifted son, Holly, is having his first lessons in both music and in life.

Something intangible / by Bruce Graham

It's Hollywood, 1941. Two very different brothers--one an extravagant visionary, the other a plain-speaking numbers man--run a movie studio famous for its cartoon dog, Petey Pup. Gifted Tony longs to move beyond Petey and create a feature-length animated film set to classical music. His loyal brother Dale manages everything: unrealistic budgets, unpredictable Tony and unrelenting deadlines while trying not to lose himself or his family in the wake of Tony's feverish genius. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Something_Intangible/WMLbsiMpIrkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Something+intangible+/+by+Bruce+Graham&printsec=frontcover

Yerma / Federico García Lorca ; translated and introduced by John Clifford

The tale of an impassioned, childless woman living with her husband in rural Spain. Tortured by her incessant longing to conceive a child, Yerma is driven by madness to commit a heinous crime.

Into the mist : a dramatic adaptation of Miguel de Unamuno's Niebla (1914) / by Edward H. Friedman

The protagonist ... is Augusto Perez, a solitary man whose life lacks direction. A good-looking lady named Eugenia Domingo del Arco catches Augusto's attention, and he initiates a campaign to pursue and conquer her. He is now a man with a mission, but, consistent with his attachment to abstract thought, he seems more in love with love than with the flesh-and-blood Eugenia.

Dandy in the underworld : based on the book by Sebastian Horsley / by Tim Fountain

With a childhood surrounded by alcoholism and petty cruelties, an adolescence of rebellion and punkish anarchy and an adulthood peppered with heroin addiction, voluntary crucifixion, failed suicide and a penchant for sex with prostitutes, Sebastian Horsley's life was always destined to become a work of art.

Red hot patriot : the kick-ass wit of Molly Ivins / by Margaret Engel and Allison Engel

The story of the unsinkable Molly Ivins, the famously brassy newspaper columnist and best-selling author. A true Texas original, Ivans was a sharp-tongued wit who skewered the political establishment and the 'good ol' boys' with her unforgettable humor and wisdom. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Red_Hot_Patriot/lQoyIx6IMTcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Red+hot+patriot+:+the+kick-ass+wit+of+Molly+Ivins&printsec=frontcover

Untitled : a one man play / Inua Ellams

To name something is to call it into life, to determine its future. If we let our children name themselves, will they author their own destinies? Will the nameless ones be free? Untitled is a magical, lyrical story set in Nigeria and England, of identical twin boys separated at infancy. In the quarrel after the married naming ceremony, the mother grabs the titled child and flees, leaving the unnamed brother to lead an impetuous, chaotic, blasphemous existence until the spirits of the land make their stand.

A thousand stars explode in the sky / David Eldridge, Robert Holman and Simon Stephens

A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky is a refreshingly subtle and compassionate vision of the world on the edge of apocalypse. Within a cosmological context, the focus is on a single family, their relations with each other and their unreconciled regrets, soon to become permanent. With an ensemble of strong, engaging characters, there are knotty, realistic family dynamics and a palimpsest of recent family history. The characters and dialogue are naturalistic but the serious themes are elucidated and alleviated with humour and quirky, surreal touches. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Thousand_Stars_Explode_in_the_Sky/Vb3UAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+thousand+stars+explode+in+the+sky+/+David+Eldridge,+Robert+Holman+and+Simon+Stephens&pg=PP5&printsec=frontcover

The master builder / Henrik Ibsen ; in a new version by David Edgar

Part psychological thriller, part Gothic tragedy, Henrik Ibsen's late masterwork is a compelling portrait of one man's obsessive determination, and what might lie on the darker side of ambition. Halvard Solness, the leading architect of his age, is at the end of his career. A single-minded man of angry pride, trapped in a frozen marriage to Aline, he is terrified of being eclipsed by the younger generation snapping at his heels. A decade after their first meeting, the charismatic and bewitching young Hilde Wangel comes back into his life and inspires him to even greater heights. But will his last towering achievement renew him or destroy him?

Arthur & George / adapted for the stage by David Edgar ; from the novel by Julian Barnes

In 1903, Birmingham solicitor George Edalji was found guilty of a terrible crime and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. Desperate to prove his innocence, he recruited Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, to help solve his mysterious case and win him a pardon.

Why torture is wrong, and the people who love them / by Christopher Durang

Tells the story of a young woman suddenly in crisis: Is her new husband, whom she married when drunk, a terrorist? Or just crazy? Or both? Is her father's hobby of butterfly collecting really a cover for his involvement in a shadow government? Why does her mother enjoy going to the theater so much? Does she seek mental escape, or is she insane? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Why_Torture_is_Wrong_and_the_People_who/1i2WdVMxFf0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Why+torture+is+wrong,+and+the+people+who+love+them+/+by+Christopher+Durang&printsec=frontcover

Home death / Nell Dunn

Inspired by real-life stories, Nell Dunn's play Home Death is a courageous, compassionate exploration of how our society deals with the reality of dying, raising urgent questions about palliative care in the UK. Seventy per cent of us want to die at home, but in reality only a quarter of us do. A lingering death in a nursing home is one of the biggest fears of the elderly, and yet research from the think-tank Demos predicts that by 2013, 90% of us will die in the soulless setting of a hospital ward.

Memphis : the complete book and lyrics of the Broadway musical / book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro

Set in the turbulent South in the 1950s, Memphis is the story of Huey Calhoun, a white radio DJ whose love of good music transcends race lines and airwaves. Thanks in part to his passionate persistence, “race” music reaches the center of the radio dial, quickly exploding throughout mainstream America. But when Huey falls for a beautiful black singer he has set on the path to stardom, whether the world is really ready for this music, and their love, is put to the test.

The last romance / by Joe DiPietro

A crush can make anyone feel young again--even a widower named Ralph. On an ordinary day in a routine life, Ralph decides to take a different path on his daily walk--one that leads him to an unexpected second chance at love. Relying on a renewed boyish charm, Ralph attempts to woo the elegant, but distant, Carol. Defying Carol's reticence--and his lonely sister's jealousy--Ralph embarks on the trip of a lifetime, and regains a happiness that seemed all but lost. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Last_Romance/q0l0lk3g6bMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+last+romance+/+by+Joe+DiPietro&printsec=frontcover

Welcome to Arroyo's / by Kristoffer Diaz

Alejandro Arroyo owns the newest (and cleanest) lounge in New York City's Lower East Side. His sister, Molly, has a nasty habit of writing graffiti on the back wall of the local police precinct. Officer Derek is a recent NYC transplant with something to prove. Lelly Santiago is a socially awkward college student who may have discovered that the Arroyo siblings' late mother was one of the founders of hip-hop music. Two DJs/narrators/Greek chorus members spin the story in this hip-hop theater coming-of-age story. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Welcome_to_Arroyo_s/3n2PR5atUgcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Welcome+to+Arroyo%27s+/+by+Kristoffer+Diaz&printsec=frontcover

The elaborate entrance of Chad Deity / by Kristoffer Diaz

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity follows the life of wrestler Macedonio Guerra. As a lifelong fan, he has followed wrestling only to become a "jobber," one who is paid to lose to bigger-name stars in the ring. Macedonio meets Vigneshwar Paduar, a young Indian man from Brooklyn, who he wants to team up with. The wrestling execs go for it, but pitch them as "terrorists" in the ring. Macedonio and Vigneshwar find a way to push the personas to the limits and say what needs to be said. Unspoken racism, politics, and courage are all woven into this play that leaves it all on the mat. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Elaborate_Entrance_of_Chad_Deity/LxgfEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+elaborate+entrance+of+Chad+Deity+/+by+Kristoffer+Diaz&printsec=frontcover

Harriet Jacobs : a play / Lydia R. Diamond

In her book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs describes with brutal honesty the hardships she endures under slavery, including the extraordinary choices she makes to be near her children. To survive, she escapes into her imagination and through writing, discovers hope for a better life. Accompanied by the rich musical traditions of slave spirituals, Harriet Jacobs is an inspiring look at a young woman’s fascinating journey from slavery to freedom. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Harriet_Jacobs/_Dfiy_2__aYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Harriet+Jacobs+:+a+play+/+Lydia+R.+Diamond&printsec=frontcover

Milk / by Emily DeVoti

Rural New England, just before Reagan's second term. Meg and Ben are a creditor away from losing their family farm. To the rescue flies a high-powered businessman – in a private chopper no less – offering a tidy sum for a taste of farm life and the pure, raw milk that goes with it. Even before locavores roamed the earth, "back to the land" was hardly as simple as its promise; livestock and humans aren't known for behaving as expected. And so it is Milk, an elegant parable of change set on the cusp of a shifting American landscape. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Milk/o1BrIrCtdfkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Milk+/+by+Emily+DeVoti&printsec=frontcover

Detroit : a play / by Lisa D'Amour

In a "first ring" suburb outside a midsize American city, Ben and Mary fire up the grill to welcome the new neighbors who've moved into the long-empty house next door. The fledgling friendship soon veers out of control, shattering the fragile hold that newly unemployed Ben and burgeoning alcoholic Mary have on their way of life--with unexpected comic consequences. Detroit is a fresh, offbeat look at what happens when we dare to open ourselves up to something new. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Detroit/8MmgCcIPOSAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Detroit+:+a+play+/+by+Lisa+D%27Amour&printsec=frontcover

The color of desire / by Nilo Cruz

The Color of Desire, set in 1960 Havana, revolves around a passionate romance between an American businessman and an out-of-work Cuban actress. As the relationship becomes a metaphor for their countries' ruptured love affair, Cruz artfully weds magical realism to a familial story that is touching, harrowing, and funny. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Color_of_Desire_Hurricane/cfLoCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+color+of+desire+/+by+Nilo+Cruz&printsec=frontcover

Remote asylum / by Mart Crowley

In the heat of a blazing summer, three physically and spiritually exhausted Americans: Tom, a famous tennis pro; Dinah, his beautiful, cosmopolitan, not-yet divorced lover; and their mutual pal, Michael, a gay writer (first introduced in The Boys in the Band), try to "get away from it all" by visiting Dinah's enormously wealthy retired friends - the older, imperious Irene and her terminally ill husband, Ray - at their fabulous cliff-side villa on an island in the Mediterranean. But it turns out to be far from the perfect, restorative holiday they were so desperately seeking. This odyssey has not brought them or their hosts anywhere near the paradise they were seeking, but rather to an inferno where a painful, purgatorial breakthrough occurs, releasing them all and providing true escape from this distant and deceptively idyllic haven.

Avec schmaltz / by Mart Crowley

There are all sorts of surpising complexities in the failed marriage of Kit, the WASP flame-haired rich girl, and Manny, the wry, wise-cracking Jewish TV composer, which has produced two precocious, sassy children and a situation in which the ex-wife and the ex-husband can't seem to live with each other or without each other. Avec schmalz (a phrase European musicians would ironically use to instruct violinists how to emotionally heat-up their romantic string passages) is about this devoted divorced couple, their new partners, and their glib offspring at holiday time

A lifetime burning / by Cusi Cram

If you had the power to revise your past, what would you change? Who would you be? Trust fund darling Emma imagines what her life would have been like had she come from a less privileged background. Trouble is, she chronicles her alternate life in a new tell-all "memoir" that was sold for a hefty advance. When Emma is exposed, will her sister, Tess, stand by her? Or will Emma's deceit destroy their already fractured relationship? This dark comedy brings up questions of legacy, loyalty and what it means to belong

The holy Rosenbergs : a play in two acts / Ryan Craig

As big-hearted patriarch David clings to a deal that could save both his ailing catering firm and his cherished standing in the Edgware Jewish community, his children are at loggerheads. While eldest son Danny fights for the Israelis in Gaza, his sister investigates war crimes in the same conflict. Their brother drinks and brawls and refuses to join their father's business. But when tragedy strikes, each family member is forced to confront head-on the clash between individual identity and the demands and expectations of community. The Holy Rosenbergs explores tribal loyalties, the culpability of family and the consequences of standing up for what you believe to be right. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Holy_Rosenbergs/W4oHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+holy+Rosenbergs+:+a+play+in+two+acts+/+Ryan+Craig&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

What we know / by Pamela Carter

Lucy has lost something very important. One minute Jo's there, the next he isn't, leaving Lucy with a pile of half-cooked food and a collection of invited (and uninvited) guests. As Lucy acclimatises to her new situation, she is absorbed, along with her visitors, into an intimate and sensory experience.

The faith machine / by Alexi Kaye Campbell

Travelling from America to Britain to a remote Greek island this epic new play explores the relationship between faith and capitalism and asks fundamental questions about the true meaning of love.

Roadkill confidential : a noir-ish meditation on brutality / by Sheila Callaghan

A possibly rogue g-man stalks a stalled-out artist with a suspicious affinity for accident victims. Traps are set, traps are sprung, and everyone gets caught. Roadkill Confidential tackles, with style, humor and high theatricality, mediated violence and the numbness it produces, and, whether in art or in global politics, the ends can justify the means.

Fever/dream : an adaptation of Calderón's Life is a dream / by Sheila Callaghan

Chained to his desk in the basement of customer service hell, Segis suddenly finds himself set free in the CEO's penthouse—but is it a dream? This raucous reinvention of Pedro Calderon de la Barca's Life is a Dream gleefully skewers corporate America with razor-sharp wit.

Embraceable me / by Victor L. Cahn

Edward is smart, shy, and quirky, while Allison is sexy, dramatic, and vulnerable. Embraceable Me is a comic and passionate "He said - She said" that traces the twenty-year journey of these unlikely friends as they struggle to resolve their feelings for the most important person in their lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Embraceable_Me/bEZU2pdaCFwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Embraceable+me+/+by+Victor+L.+Cahn&printsec=frontcover

Olive and the bitter herbs / by Charles Busch

Olive Fisher is an elderly character actress whose claim to fame were the iconic "Gimme the Sausage" commercials of the 1980s. She is a classic New York curmudgeon, at war with the world and in particular her next door neighbors. Her closed-off life is shaken by the appearance of a spectral male figure viewed through her living room mirror. A series of strange and outrageous coincidences reveals that the man in the mirror has intimate links to everyone in Olive's world and most revealingly to Olive, encouraging her that it's never too late to change one's life. HISTORY

Be a good little widow : a funeral / by Bekah Brunstetter

Young wife Melody has never been to a funeral--until her husband dies in a plane crash. Expected to instantly assume proper widowhood, Melody is left to wonder, what's the right way to grieve? Fortunately, her mother-in-law is a professional. Widow, that is. Under her guidance, Melody must try her best to be a good little widow.

The meaning of waiting : tales from the war on terror : prisoners' wives verbatim / Victoria Brittain

Eight women tell their stories - using their own words - stories of the unseen fallout of the war on terror in Britain. These are stories of real women, from cultures as varied as Palestine, Senegal , Jordan, Libya, St John's Wood, and the English Midlands. They all came to the UK as refugees, or married refugees here. After 9/11 the world they loved here vanished almost overnight. One after another they were engulfed by isolation and private terror. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Meaning_of_Waiting/TJ_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+meaning+of+waiting+:+tales+from+the+war+on+terror+:+prisoners%27+wives+verbatim+/+Victoria+Brittain&pg=PT1&printsec=frontcover

House of several stories : a tragedy in two acts of nonsense / by A. John Boulanger

House of Several Stores, a tragedy in two acts of nonsense, is an absurdist comedy about a dysfunctional family and their Thanksgiving "guests." Bastian returns home for Thanksgiving with news of "joining the service." Mother suggests he join a gym. Bastian's news takes a backseat when his sister, Rissa, suddenly decides that she's pregnant, and though not yet showing, expects to deliver "any minute now". Both children are then bombarded with Mother's news of an older brother that they've never known about, Thom, who has returned home for Thanksgiving from the war. Things are further complicated with the arrival of the mysterious, young Abigail, who has simply stopped by to drop something off--her newborn baby. That is, until she discovers the baby's father might be in the house. The play explores how stories help fill voids in people's lives caused by death, loss and dysfunction.

The Ballymun trilogy / Dermot Bolger

Contains the plays: From these green heights -- The townlands of Brazil -- The consequences of lightning. The Ballymun Trilogy - by Irish playwright Dermot Bolger - uniquely captures the birth, demolition, and regeneration of an Irish satellite town.

Emma / by Jane Austen ; adapted by Michael Bloom

Pledging never to marry, the mischievous Emma Woodhouse is nevertheless the 'matchmaker of of Highbury.' Her newest project, Harriet Smith, has already received a proposal, but Emma insists she marry the eligible vicar, Mr. Elton, while an older family friend, Mr Knightley, warns Emma to give up matchmaking ..

Lonesome hollow / by Lee Blessing

In this dystopic view of the near-future, sexual offenders have been removed from the traditional penal system and placed in a series of "gulag"-like camps created out of dying, rural towns all over America. Laws have changed, and now offenders can be kept indefinitely (largely incommunicado), for as long as the state sees fit, no matter the relative seriousness of their crime. Tuck, an inmate who's served his sentence for sleeping with a teenage girl, has hopes of being released. Nye, an unrepentant serial child molester, scoffs at the possibility. Things grow more ominous with visits from Tuck's sister and the camp's shadowy director--and suspicion grows that a secret psychological program may also be going on. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lonesome_Hollow/vZm83lLveSMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lonesome+hollow+/+by+Lee+Blessing&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover

Dusk rings a bell / by Stephen Belber

Molly and Ray unexpectedly meet 25 years after a one-afternoon adolescent fling. She has a successful media career; he owns a small landscaping business. Both begin to romanticize their chance reunion, but a renewed connection is disrupted when Ray reveals the sordid details of a crime that left him incarcerated for 10 years. Their encounter reveals two vastly different paths taken and two lonely souls attempting to reclaim a moment of possibility, when they were young and perhaps at their very best. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dusk_Rings_a_Bell/Vwn8I3jNOw0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dusk+rings+a+bell+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

Mr. & Mrs. Fitch / Douglas Carter Beane

Meet gossip columnists Mr. and Mrs. Fitch. When the social circuit no longer provides juicy morsels, when the pressure to create news in our never-ending news cycle becomes just a bit much, it's time to toss back the martinis, toss around the bon mots and realize that great celebrity can just appear out of thin air Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mr_Mrs_Fitch/6bpV4fY94IkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mr.+%26+Mrs.+Fitch+/+Douglas+Carter+Beane&printsec=frontcover

Love, love, love / by Mike Bartlett

Love, Love, Love takes on the baby boomer generation as it retires, and finds it full of trouble. Smoking, drinking, affectionate and paranoid, one couple journeys forty-years from initial burst to full bloom. The play follows their idealistic teenage years in the 1960s to their stint as a married family unit before finally divorced and, although disintegrated, free from acrimony. Their children, on the other hand, bitterly rail against their parents' irresponsibility and their relaxed, laissez-faire attitude. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Love_Love_Love/g_TtBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Love,+love,+love+/+by+Mike+Bartlett&printsec=frontcover

Hurts given and received ; Slowly / Howard Barker

Slowly As barbarians approach the palace of a decaying culture, four princesses debate their fate. Decorum demands suicide. But, for some, the possibility of life is all too compelling. In a culture of conformity, it may not be up to the individual to decide... Hurts Given and Received Howard Barker re-examines the creative life of the artist through one of his most fascinating and appalling creations. Provocative ideas, pungent poetic language, and savage wit build a thought-provoking allegory of the artist's relationship with society.

2401 objects / written by Hannah Barker, Lewis Hetherington, and Liam Jarvis

Henry lives each day like the last. Exactly like the last. Every day, he tries to make sense of the world around him; the girl sitting on the lawn outside his window, the pages of a book filled with the same sentence, the 80 year old man looking at him in the mirror. In 2009 Patient H.M.’s brain is dissected live on the internet to a global audience of 400,000 people, cut into carefully preserved slices: manuscripts of tissue like the pages of a book. In 1953 Henry Molaison emerges from experimental brain surgery without any recollection of the last two years of his life or the ability to form new memories. In 1935 nine-year old Henry is knocked over by a bike, leaving him unconscious for five minutes. Following Analogue's critically acclaimed Mile End and Beachy Head and inspired by the world’s most important neuroscientific case-study, 2401 Objects tells the remarkable story of a man who could no longer remember, but who has proven impossible to forget. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/2401_Objects/g4kHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=2401+objects+/+written+by+Hannah+Barker,+Lewis+Hetherington,+and+Liam+Jarvis&printsec=frontcover

The aliens / by Annie Baker

Two angry young men who sit outside a Vermont coffee shop and discuss music and Bukowski. When a lonely high school student arrives on the scene, they decide to teach him everything they know Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Aliens/q82ShUfJIQsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+aliens+/+by+Annie+Baker&printsec=frontcover

Life and Beth : a play / by Alan Ayckbourn

It's Christmas, and Beth Timms is mourning the recent death of her health and safety officer husband, Gordon. Beth's sister-in-law Connie and son Martin have come to stay, determined to ensure that she should have a stress-free Christmas, but between Connie's drinking problem and Martin's unspeaking and emotionally volatile girlfriend Ella, their intentions prove to be short-lived. Only David, the local vicar, provides Beth with any comfort, but when he says a prayer for her bereavement he unwittingly summons Gordon's ghost to return to the family home. Gordon has been busy implementing health and safety measures in the afterlife and is now determined to stick around to help Beth manage her affairs. It soon becomes apparent, however, that his return is not altogether welcome.

If I were you / by Alan Ayckbourn

The Rodales seem like an ordinary family, but beneath the surface things are beginning to crack. Jill and Mal have lost the spark in their marriage, their son Sam resents his father and their daughter Chrissie has recently become a mum and is dealing with marriage issues of her own. And while they all share advice on how others should live their lives, nobody is really taking in on board--until Mal and Jill see things from a dramatically different perspective that is. Waking up one morning and finding they have switched personas, Mal in Jill's body and Jill in Mal's, they must continue life "as normal" as their other half. Jill faces the challenges of working with their son-in-law, Dean, as the Store Manager of a homewares shop, while Mal has suddenly become a housewife, learning more about his children and finding out the secrets they already know about him! Will seeing things from the other side make matters even worse, or is this just what they need in order to save their family?

The New York idea / adapted by David Auburn ; from the original by Langdon Mitchell

Cynthia Karslake is a freewheeling divorcee in 1906 New York City society. She has decided to settle down again into a much more stable, reliable relationship with the prominent Judge Philip Phillimore. Little does she know, however, that neither of their bombastic and blowsy ex-spouses, nor her beloved racehorse Cynthia K is yet down for the count. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_York_Idea/BEZIYImJyO0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+New+York+idea+/+adapted+by+David+Auburn&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover

The columnist : a play / by David Auburn

In midcentury America, newspaper columnists are kings—and Joseph Alsop wears the biggest crown. Joe sits at the nexus of Washington life: beloved, feared, and courted in equal measure by the very people whose careers and futures he determines. But as the sixties dawn and America undergoes dizzying change, the intense political dramas Joe has been throwing his weight around in—supporting the war in Vietnam and Soviet containment, criticizing student activism—come to bear a profound personal cost. Based on the real-life story of Joe Alsop, whose columns at the time of his 1974 retirement were running three times a week in more than three hundred newspapers, David Auburn's The Columnist is a deft blend of history and storytelling. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Columnist/OQ_R6bOUFpgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+columnist+:+a+play+/+by+David+Auburn&printsec=frontcover

The sisters / by Richard Alfieri

Using a college on New York's Upper East Side as their surrogate home and sanctuary, four siblings struggle to banish the ghost of their dead father and create some semblance of harmony as adults. Suggested by Chekhov's Three Sisters, this unflinchingly honest drama with comedy explores and explodes the myths about family and friendship. But in contrast to Chekhov's family, who yearn to leave the staid provinces for the excitement of Moscow, Alfieri's modern siblings long to escape the chaos of Manhattan for the simpler life they left behind in their childhood home in Charleston. As they strive to reconcile their individual desires, they expose each other's deceptions with barbed wit and candor escalating to moments of shocking power. Their final realization is that violence and chaos reside within the walls of their sanctuary -- and within the heart.

Fixer / by Lydia Adetunji

An unsettling, intelligent and savagely funny play about oil geopolitics and the price of human life. An attack on a pipeline in Northern Nigeria. Journalists and PR consultants rush to the scene. Everyone wants control of the story - and they're prepared to pay. For the reporters, this could be the exclusive that makes their careers. For Chuks, their fixer, the stakes are even higher.

The electric baby / by Stefanie Zadravec

When Helen causes a car accident that kills a young man, a group of fractured souls cross paths and connect around a mysterious dying baby who glows like the moon. Folk tales and folklore weave throughout this magical story of sad endings, strange beginnings, and the unlikely people that get you from one place to the next. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Electric_Baby/nOReCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ELECTRIC+BABY%09ZADRAVEC,+STEFANIE&printsec=frontcover

Tear the curtain! : a film/theatre hybrid / written by Jonathon Young and Kevin Kerr ; created with Kim Collier

In this psychological thriller set in a fictionalized 1930s Vancouver, Alex Braithewaite, a troubled but passionate theatre critic, believes he has found the legendary Stanley Lee, director of the infamous avant-garde theatre The Empty Space. Alex becomes convinced that this man's radically subversive ideas are what the city's arts community needs to shatter audience complacency. In his pursuit of the truth behind Stanley Lee's mysterious disappearance and his artistic ideas, Alex becomes caught between the warring factions of two prominent mob families – one controlling the city's playhouses, the other its cinemas, but both ensnared by the Empty Space Society. At the dawn of the Talkies, can Alex tear through the artifice of these art forms in time to save the city's art community from ripping itself apart?

The hatmaker's wife / Lauren Yee

When a young woman moves in with her boyfriend expecting domestic bliss, their new house reveals the magical tale of its previous inhabitants: an old hat-maker and his long-suffering wife, who runs away with his favorite hat. This sweet and surreal story bends time and space to redefine the idea of family, home, and true love itself.

The empty quarter / Alexandra Wood

Dubai seems to offer British twenty-somethings Greg and Holly everything they could want: tax-free income, a brand-new apartment and an exotic landscape waiting to be explored. But surviving on the edge of a desert, in a society they don't understand, proves more difficult than they could have imagined. They soon start to question why it is they came, and whether they'll ever get home.

Project XXX / by Kim Wiltshire, Paul Hine

Amy, a teenage feminist blogger decides it is time to prove that sex on the web is not just for men. During a rainy summer in a northern seaside town, Amy decides to show that sexual choice is firmly in the hands of women by persuading new love interest Callum to film her first time. Meanwhile, Callum has his own issues to deal with, including a mother on the edge of a nervous breakdown and an obsession with faded porn star Jaze. The play explores the mainstreaming of internet pornography, the changing face of technology and its impact on human relationships and a young person's burgeoning sense of self. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Project_XXX/b0KeDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=PROJECT+XXX%09WILTSHIRE,+KIM&printsec=frontcover

Wildefire / Roy Williams

Gail Wilde is an average policewoman, but one who lives up to her nickname, 'Wildefire' – and in the precarious world of modern policing, being wild or full of fire is hardly likely to be appropriate for the job in hand . Suspicions surrounding Gail's professional conduct reach fever pitch when a fellow officer is involved in a serious incident on the beat. Conspiracy theories and rumours are rife – not only at work but at home too – and a cycle of accusations and recrimination ensues, spiralling out of control. Roy Williams's riveting thriller looks at the maelstrom of urban policing, and the mental and physical impact it has on the people we rely on to keep the peace. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wildefire/XyadBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=WILDEFIRE%09WILLIAMS,+ROY&printsec=frontcover

Kingston 14 / Roy Williams

Set in modern-day Jamaica, Kingston 14 follows the story of James, a black British police officer, who is sent to Kingston to investigate the murder of an English tourist in a local hotel. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kingston_14/eTNjAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=KINGSTON+14%09WILLIAMS,+ROY&printsec=frontcover

Antigone / Sophocles ; a contemporary version by Roy Williams

When Creon refuses to bury the body of Antigone's unruly brother, Antigone's anger quickly turns to defiance. Creon condemns her to a torturous death: she's to be buried alive. Acclaimed playwright Roy Williams takes Sophocles' play and, by placing it into a contemporary setting, brings this classic tale vividly to life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Antigone/Qj1iBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ANTIGONE:+A+CONTEMPORARY+VERSION%09WILLIAMS,+ROY&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

A Tuna Christmas / by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, Ed Howard

In this hilarious sequel to Greater Tuna, it’s Christmas in the third-smallest town in Texas. Radio station OKKK news personalities Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie report on various Yuletide activities, including the hot competition in the annual lawn-display contest. In other news, voracious Joe Bob Lipsey’s production of A Christmas Carol is jeopardized by unpaid electric bills. Many colorful Tuna denizens, some you will recognize from Greater Tuna and some appearing here for the first time, join in the holiday fun. A Tuna Christmas is a total delight for all seasons, whether performed by two quick-changing comedians as it was on Broadway, or by twenty or more. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Tuna_Christmas/72uG_t7XXscC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=TUNA+CHRISTMAS%09WILLIAMS,+JASTON&printsec=frontcover

Annapurna / by Sharr White

After twenty years apart, Emma trackes Ulysses to a trailer park in the middle of nowhere for a final reckoning. What unfolds is a visceral and profound meditation on love and loss with the simplest of theatrical elements : two people in one room. A breathtaking story about the longevity of love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annapurna/q9FsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ANNAPURNA%09WHITE,+SHARR&printsec=frontcover

The snow geese / by Sharr White

With war raging abroad, newly widowed Elizabeth Gaesling gathers her family for their annual shooting party, to mark the opening of hunting season in rural upstate New York. But Elizabeth is forced to confront a new reality as her carefree eldest son comes to terms with his impending deployment overseas and her younger son discovers that the father they all revered left them deeply in debt. Together, the family must let go of the life they've always known. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Snow_Geese/PMlZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=SNOW+GEESE%09WHITE,+SHARR&printsec=frontcover

The mystae, or, The initiates / Nick Whitby

Preparing to leave small-town Cornwall for the bright lights of university and beyond, best friends Ina, Holman and Tre arrange one final night together. Inspired by Ina's Greek heritage, they gather in a sea cave late at night to perform an ancient ritual that they hope will cement their friendship for ever. But as the waves rise to cut them off and the ritual unfolds, hidden betrayals emerge ...

Conservatory / Michael West

An elderly couple sit in a dark room in their house, doing the crossword, taking their tablets and knitting, all the while raking over a traumatic past that has all but destroyed them. Conservatory is a compelling play about loss and family which shows that happiness is not a necessary condition of togetherness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Conservatory/QMBnAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=CONSERVATORY%09WEST,+MICHAEL&printsec=frontcover

Chicken dust / Ben Weatherill

A chicken farm in rural England. New boy Tim has just arrived for his first shift. The job is pretty simple: grab chickens seven at a time by their legs and ram them into cages for shipping. All of this in the dark, stomping around in ankle-deep chicken shit, muck and mud. But the chickens are dying, rotting from the inside-out like hot fruit just hours after they arrive. As disease spreads and pressure mounts, enter Oscar, the meticulous poultry inspector . . . A hard-hitting exploration of the human cost of our enormous appetite for cheap meat. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chicken_Dust/SQwRBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=CHICKEN+DUST%09WEATHERILL,+BEN&printsec=frontcover

Charles Dickens' Hard times / adapted for the stage by Charles Way

Dominated by Gradgrind and Bounderby, Coketown’s prosperity is built on the cotton mills where thousands of men and women slave away for long hours and little pay. Gradgrind’s obsession with material progress damages his children Louisa and Tom, leading to scandal and disaster. Hard Times celebrates the importance of the human heart in an age obsessed with materialism. Circus, music, and dark comedy all go into the rich mix of this truly Dickensian theatrical tale.

The sisters Rosensweig / by Wendy Wasserstein

Three Jewish middle-aged sisters, originally from Brooklyn, come together in Queen Anne's Gate, London, to celebrate the fifty-fourth birthday of Sara, the eldest, now a brilliant British banker. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sisters_Rosensweig/PaPvQg3taKgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=SISTERS+ROSENSWEIG%09WASSERSTEIN,+WENDY&printsec=frontcover

Mr Burns : a post-electric play / Anne Washburn

It's the end of everything in contemporary America. A future without power. But what will survive? Mr. Burns asks how the stories we tell make us the people we are, explores the boundaries between pop and high culture and, when society has crumbled, imagines the future for Americas most famous family.

Parramatta girls and Eyes to the floor / Alana Valentine

Based on the testimony of dozens of women from Parramatta Girls Training School, Parramatta Girls is a dramatisation of the experiences of eight inmates and their reunion forty years later. Interspersed with songand storytelling, this is a tribute to mischief and humour in the face ofhardship and inequality. Commissioned by Outback Theatre in Hay, fyes to the Floor chronicles the experience of girls sent from Parramatta Girls Home to the Hay Girls Home for even more brutal, punitive treatment. Written to be played by young adults, this moving work emphasises the childlike vulnerability of the inmates in a world where they must find connection with each other in order to to survive

The rolling stone / Chris Urch

Set in Uganda, a country subjected to severe anti-homosexuality laws, The Rolling Stone is an intimate yet explosive family drama about two brothers at odds – one a gay man in a clandestine relationship, and the other a church pastor who fervently rails against the lifestyle his brother is forced to conceal. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Rolling_Stone/I7KFCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ROLLING+STONE%09URCH,+CHRIS&printsec=frontcover

The happy sad / by Ken Urban

Armed with art and flowers, Stan discovers his girlfriend Annie wants to take a break. Meanwhile, long-term boyfriends Aaron and Marcus struggle with the question of monogamy. In a city with too many options, the lives of these two couples (and their friends) become intertwined when Stan and Marcus meet online and hook up. The Happy Sad is a comedy with songs that tackles open relationships, sexual confusion, and figuring out what you really want from life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Happy_Sad/rRtfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=HAPPY+SAD%09URBAN,+KEN&printsec=frontcover

The Correspondent / by Ken Urban

A grieving husband hires a dying woman to deliver a message to his recently deceased wife in the afterlife. When he receives letters describing events that only his wife could know, he must determine if the correspondence is from a con artist or if his wife has returned from the grave. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Correspondent/G95eCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=CORRESPONDENT%09URBAN,+KEN&printsec=frontcover

The awake / by Ken Urban

A mysterious corporation connects the lives of three strangers. Faced with lives they no longer recognize, this trio -- a devoted son, an Eastern-European actress, and a Canadian on the run -- take shelter in dreams. But a series of chance encounters force these strangers to face the truth. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Awake/B8teCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=AWAKE%09URBAN,+KEN&printsec=frontcover

Harajuku girls / Francis Turnly

On Jingu Bridge in Tokyo, teenage girls dress in cosplay outfits for fun, fashion, and the fantasy of being someone else, but for Mari, Keiko and Yumi, their schooldays are over... In a race to escape from overbearing parents, stifling dead-end jobs and economic deprivation, they find their way to Kabukicho, a district of panty shops, love hotels and image clubs, where every aspect of the body and soul can be bought and sold. Only they can decide how far they're willing to go. As the three young women grow up and apart, they tread a dangerously fine line between empowerment and victimhood as they struggle to pursue their dreams, despite the obstacles that society and tradition put in their way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Harajuku_Girls/RRPSBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=HARAJUKU+GIRLS%09TURNLY,+FRANCIS&printsec=frontcover

Buyer & cellar / by Jonathan Tolins

Alex More has a story to tell. A struggling actor in L.A., he takes a job working in the Malibu basement of a beloved megastar. One day, the Lady Herself comes downstairs to play. It feels like real bonding in the basement, but will their relationship ever make it upstairs? Buyer & Cellar is an outrageous comedy about the price of fame, the cost of things, and the oddest of odd jobs. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Buyer_Cellar/lkxnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BUYER+%26+CELLAR%09TOLINS,+JONATHAN&printsec=frontcover

We are here / by Tracy Thorne

We Are Here weaves a joyful past with a devastated present and an indefinite future, as three generations of family cope with an unimaginable loss: the death of a young boy. With compassion, wit, and music, everyone--including the child--searches for the will to endure. Each strong-minded, smart, funny member of the family must find his or her own way to peace. And also: everybody sings. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/We_are_Here/hR1gCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=WE+ARE+HERE%09THORNE,+TRACY&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

White biting dog & other plays / Judith Thompson

Contains the plays: White biting dog -- Pink -- I am yours.

Hopelessly devoted / Kate Tempest

Chess is in prison. Facing a lengthy sentence, her cell mate, Serena, becomes her soul mate. But when Serena is given parole, Chess faces total isolation. Hope comes in the form of a music producer looking for a reason to love music again. She finds a powerful voice in Chess. But to harness her talent, Chess must first face her past. Featuring Kae Tempest's trademark lyrical fireworks and live music, this is a story of love and redemption. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hopelessly_Devoted/mS7bBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hopelessly+devoted+/+Kate+Tempest&printsec=frontcover

Instructions for Breathing and other plays / by Caridad Svich

Includes the plays: Instructions for breathing -- Wreckage -- Fugitive Pieces: a play with songs -- Thrush: a play with slaughter songs -- Rift -- Steal back light from the virtual.

Becoming Dr. Ruth / by Mark St. Germain

Everyone knows Dr. Ruth Westheimer from her career as a pioneering radio and television sex therapist. Few, however, know the incredible journey that preceded it. From fleeing the Nazis in the Kindertransport and joining the Haganah in Jerusalem as a scout and sniper, to her struggles to succeed as a single mother coming to America, Becoming Dr. Ruth is filled with the humor, honesty and life-affirming spirit of Karola Ruth Siegel, the girl who became Dr. Ruth, Americaʼs most famous sex therapist. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Becoming_Dr_Ruth/hKNhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BECOMING+DR.+RUTH%09ST.+GERMAIN,+MARK&printsec=frontcover

Fix me, Jesus / by Helen Sneed

In a Neiman Marcus changing room in Dallas, on the most important day of her life, Annabell Armstrong frantically searches for the perfect dress. A rising star in the Texas Democratic Party, Annabell is trapped in the Reagan eighties. Her political career, love affair, finances, and family relations are in crisis; and strong-minded characters from her past begin to appear from behind the changing room mirror. Fix Me, Jesus is a dark comedy -- the hilarious, timely, and poignant story of a woman who finds herself at the epicenter of history and politics, struggling for personal independence and social justice against the lifelong theft of her own power. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fix_Me_Jesus/wPBeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=FIX+ME,+JESUS%09SNEED,+HELEN&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

Bronx bombers / by Eric Simonson

BRONX BOMBERS follows beloved baseball icon Yogi Berra and his wife Carmen through a century of the team’s trials and triumphs. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bronx_Bombers/os1eCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BRONX+BOMBERS%09SIMONSON,+ERIC&printsec=frontcover

Too much sun / by Nicky Silver

Audrey Langham, an actress of some repute but greater temperament, reaches her breaking point while rehearsing Medea in Chicago. She walks off the stage and out of the production. With no place else to go, she heads to her daughter's summer house on Cape Cod. Kitty and her husband Dennis, however, hardly greet Audrey with champagne and confetti. Audrey gets a warmer reception from the star-struck widower next door and his troubled son. A summer by the sea full of hilariously calculated romance and clandestine trysts leads to an inevitable tragedy. But from that tragedy emerge new beginnings and new bonds. Secrets are unearthed as each of these characters finds a way to be who they really are when they stop 'acting. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Too_Much_Sun/r-FfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=TOO+MUCH+SUN%09SILVER,+NICKY&printsec=frontcover

Now or later / by Christopher Shinn

On election night, the son of a presidential candidate sends his father's political team into crisis mode when controversial photos of him at a college party spread over the internet, potentially sparking an international incident. Smart and timely, Christopher Shinn's searching new play examines religion, freedom of expression, and personal responsibility Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Now_or_Later/QLz4DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=NOW+OR+LATER%09SHINN,+CHRISTOPHER&printsec=frontcover

In love and Warcraft / Madhuri Shekar

Evie Malone -- gamer girl, college senior, and confirmed virgin -- has it figured out. Not only does she command a top-ranked guild in Warcraft with her online boyfriend, she also makes a little cash on the side writing love letters for people who've screwed up their relationships. Love is like Warcraft, after all. It's all about strategies, game plans, and not taking stupid risks. Well, that's what she thinks...until she actually falls for a guy. In Real Life. And no amount of gaming expertise will help her out when she finds herself with a non-virtual, totally real, and incredibly cute boyfriend, who wants more from her than she's willing to give.

Somewhere fun / Jenny Schwartz

Rosemary and Evelyn met 'a hundred thousand years ago' in Central Park when their children were barely born. [This play] reunites the two women thirty-five years later on Madison Avenue, on a windy fall day. With their children now grown and the world changing rapidly before (what's left of) their eyes, each finds herself face to face with the terrors, joys, and surprises of life and time. This is a wildly original story about connection-- to our families, our memories, our moment in time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Somewhere_Fun/7pkUzbWGSMoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=SOMEWHERE+FUN%09SCHWARTZ,+JENNY&printsec=frontcover

All the way / by Robert Schenkkan

Chronicles the first 11 months of Lyndon Baines Johnson's presidency. The story tells how nation-shifting legislation was accomplished and how the presidency was won in 1964. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_the_Way/fGY5BAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ALL+THE+WAY%09SCHENKKAN,+ROBERT&printsec=frontcover

Bakersfield mist / by Stephen Sachs

Maude, a fifty-something unemployed bartender living in a trailer park, has bought a painting for a few bucks from a thrift store. Despite almost trashing it, she’s now convinced it’s a lost masterpiece by Jackson Pollock worth millions. But when world-class art expert Lionel Percy flies over from New York and arrives at her trailer home in Bakersfield to authenticate the painting, he has no idea what he is about to discover. Inspired by true events, this hilarious and thought-provoking comedy-drama asks vital questions about what makes art and people truly authentic. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bakersfield_Mist/M8HoBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BAKERSFIELD+MIST%09SACHS,+STEPHEN&printsec=frontcover

Dear Elizabeth : a play in letters from Elizabeth Bishop to Robert Lowell and back again / Sarah Ruhl

From 1947 to 1977, Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop exchanged more than four hundred letters. Cataloging the composition of their poems, their travel and daily routines, the pyrotechnics of their romantic relationships, and the profound affection they had for each other, these letters are the most intimate record of both poets and one of the greatest correspondences in American letters. In Dear Elizabeth, Ruhl attempts the impossible: adapting Lowell and Bishop's thirty-year correspondence into a stage play. And she succeeds brilliantly, re-embodying the letters and poems in human voices, elegantly suggesting the poets' lives outside of the letters, and poignantly depicting the emotional closeness and geographical distance that defined their thirty-year relationship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dear_Elizabeth_A_Play_in_Letters_from_El/wXtzAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=DEAR+ELIZABETH:+A+PLAY+IN+LETTERS+FROM+ELIZABETH+BISHOP+TO+ROBERT+LOWELL+AND+BACK+AGAIN%09RUHL,+SARAH&printsec=frontcover

Liolà / Luigi Pirandello ; in a new version by Tanya Ronder

A funny and touching new version of Pirandello's high-spirited drama, set at the heart of a rural community where property and family unleash fierce passions. Sicily, summer 1916. The women gather to harvest old Simone's almond crop. He's the richest landowner in the district but he has no heir. Local lad Liolà, untroubled by convention, has fathered three boys, each with a different mother. When another of the girls falls pregnant, Simone is persuaded he might recognize the baby as his own, much to his young wife, Mita's, despair. But he underestimates the power of Liolà, who has his own unusual sense of what's right and wrong - and a way with women to make your hair curl.

Ghost from a perfect place / Philip Ridley

Back in the Swinging Sixties, Travis Flood led a gang that terrorised East London. Now, after an absence of many years, he returns to find his old turf in the clutches of a new kind of gang... with a new kind of leader. Rio -- ruler of a mob of girls -- instantly captivates Travis with her haunting beauty. But soon a shocking story begins to emerge -- one that shatters both their distorted memories. A scorching dark comedy where a monster from the past meets the monsters of the present. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ghost_From_A_Perfect_Place/-gWrBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=GHOST+FROM+A+PERFECT+PLACE%09RIDLEY,+PHILIP&printsec=frontcover

The emperor of China ; The mute canary ; & The executioner of Peru / Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes

Dark road / by Ian Rankin, Mark Thomson

It's been 25 years since Alfred Chalmers was convicted of the gruesome murder of four young women in Edinburgh. Isobel McArthur, Scotland's first Chief Superintendent, was the woman responsible for putting him behind bars, but the case has haunted her ever since. Now, with her retirement approaching, McArthur decides the time has come for answers. To uncover the truth, she revisits the case and interviews Chalmers for the first time in decades. But her decision rips opens old wounds and McArthur is soon caught up in a web of corruption, psychological mind-games and deceit that threatens not only her own life, but those of her fellow officers and even her own daughter. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dark_Road/mL88AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dark+road+/+by+Ian+Rankin,+Mark+Thomson&printsec=frontcover

The war zone is my bed : and other plays / Yasmine Beverly Rana

The war zone is my bed and other plays follows journeys of spiritual destruction and redemption from the banks of the Mississippi River to the conflicted streets of Sarajevo and Kabul, only to return to the fallen levees surrounding New Orleans, as the characters attempt to seek and sustain love in violent circumstances. Includes the plays: Blood sky -- Returning -- The war zone is my bed -- Paradise.

Plays. 1 / Tim Price

Includes the plays: For once -- Salt, root and roe -- The radicalisation of Bradley Manning -- I'm with the band -- Protest song -- Under the sofa. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tim_Price_Plays_1/87toBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=plays+1+tim+price&printsec=frontcover

The white whale / James Phillips

In the future we hunt whales for the oil in their bodies. Just like they did in centuries past. The oil of a single whale can run an army for a week. This is new science. This is our future. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_White_Whale/oMCdBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+white+whale+/+James+Phillips&printsec=frontcover

From White Plains / by Michael Perlman in collaboration with Craig Wesley Divino, Karl Gregory, Jimmy King, and Aaron Rossini

In an emotional Academy Awards acceptance speech, Dennis Sullivan publicly denounces Ethan Rice, the high school bully Dennis believes pushed his gay best friend to suicide, and who, fifteen years later, inspired the screenplay that garnered the Oscar. As the speech rapidly escalates from internationally-televised to viral, a now more mature Ethan must confront what he did as a teenager. As the two men are thrust into the court of public opinion, their closest relationships begin to unravel. When old actions have unforgivable consequences, how can the world be expected to move forward, and does anyone ever outgrow who they were in high school? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/From_White_Plains/8vReCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=From+White+Plains+/+by+Michael+Perlman&printsec=frontcover

A kid like Jake / by Daniel Pearle

On the eve of the admissions cycle for Manhattan's most exclusive private schools, Alex and Greg have high hopes for their son Jake, a precocious four-year-old who happens to prefer Cinderella to G.I. Joe. But as the process continues, Jake's behavior becomes erratic and perplexing, and other adults in his life start to wonder whether his fondness for dress-up might be cause for concern. The story of a husband and wife struggling to do right by their son, A Kid Like Jake is a study of intimacy and parenthood and the fantasies that accompany both. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Kid_Like_Jake/QctZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+kid+like+Jake+/+by+Daniel+Pearle&printsec=frontcover

Constellations / Nick Payne

This spellbinding, romantic journey begins with a simple encounter between a man and a woman. But what happens next defies the boundaries of the world we think we know—delving into the infinite possibilities of their relationship and raising questions about the difference between choice and destiny. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Constellations/9a-VKe-NZU4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=CONSTELLATIONS%09PAYNE,+NICK&printsec=frontcover

Bubble Boy / book by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio ; music and lyrics by Cinco Paul

Jimmy Livingston was born without immunities and has spent his entire life confined inside a plastic bubble room. Enter Chloe, the girl next door, who becomes his friend and steals his heart. When she leaves town to get married, Jimmy travels cross-country in a homemade bubble suit in order to stop the wedding and finally tell her how he feels. Along the laugh-filled journey he deals with a crazy cult, a biker gang, a dead cow, and a controlling mother who will stop at nothing to get him back in the bubble. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bubble_Boy/YHNVBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=BUBBLE+BOY%09PAUL,+CINCO&printsec=frontcover

Trey Parker's Cannibal! : the musical / book, music, and lyrics New Cannibal Society

Cannibal! The Musical is the true story of the only person convicted of cannibalism in America - Alfred Packer. The sole survivor of an ill-fated trip to the Colorado Territory, he tells his side of the harrowing tale to news reporter Polly Pry as he awaits his execution. And his story goes like this: While searching for gold and love in the Colorado Territory, he and his companions lost their way and resorted to unthinkable horrors, including toe-tapping songs!

Chapatti / by Christian O'Reilly

Romance is a distant memory for two lonely animal lovers living in Dublin. When forlorn Dan and his dog Chapatti cross paths with the amiable Betty and her nineteen cats, an unexpected spark begins a warm and gentle story about two people re-discovering the importance of human companionship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chapatti/ufwSBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=CHAPATTI%09O%27REILLY,+CHRISTIAN&printsec=frontcover

Little thing, big thing / by Donal O'Kelly

In Nigeria, a frightened child puts an old roll of film into the hands of Dublin-bound teacher Sister Martha. In Dublin, ex-con Larry, with a wounded backside, has to get out of the city to rob a convent. Meanwhile, Scarab Oil plans to unleash its new clean fuel of the future. The film roll Martha is carrying attracts the urgent interest of some very powerful and ambitious people. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Little_Thing_Big_Thing/QS8eAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=LITTLE+THING,+BIG+THING%09O%27KELLY,+DONAL&printsec=frontcover

The body of an American / Dan O'Brien

Exploring the developing friendship of two men, The Body of an American speaks to a moment in recent history when a single, stark photograph—of the body of an American dragged from the wreck of a Blackhawk through the streets of Mogadishu—reshaped the course of global events.

By the way, meet Vera Stark / Lynn Nottage

In her first new play since the critically acclaimed "Ruined, " Nottage tells the story of Vera Stark, an African-American maid and budding actress who has a tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold onto her career Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/By_the_Way_Meet_Vera_Stark_TCG_Edition/J_LoCAAAQBAJ?gbpv=1

Collected plays / Marsha Norman

Includes the plays: Getting out -- Third and oak -- Circus Valentine -- The holdup -- Traveler in the dark -- Sarah and Abraham -- Loving Daniel Boone -- Three speeches

Three plays / by Lars Norén ; translated [from the Swedish] by Marita Lindholm Gochman

Includes the plays: Demons -- Act -- Terminal 3

The Apple family : scenes from life in the country / Richard Nelson

This critically acclaimed play cycle about loss, memory and remembrance follows the Apple family of Rhinebeck, New York, as they grapple with events both personal and political in their immediate present: the 2010 election (That Hopey Changey Thing), the tenth anniversary of 9/11 (Sweet and Sad), Obama's reelection (Sorry), and the fiftieth anniversary of JFK's assassination (Regular Singing). Delicately constructed and precisely observed, this quartet of plays-- each of which premiered at The Public Theater on the day it was set-- is a masterpiece of stage naturalism and a powerful reminder of the theater's unique capacity for civic dialogue and public communion. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Apple_Family/iu7oCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=APPLE+FAMILY:+SCENES+FROM+LIFE+IN+THE+COUNTRY%09NELSON,+RICHARD&pg=PR4&printsec=frontcover

The wolf from the door / Rory Mullarkey

Rory Mullarkey imagines a wild road trip across Middle England where Lady Catherine and her young protege Leo, enlist every tearoom, hot yoga class and WI group on a mission to change the country forever. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Wolf_From_The_Door/z7edBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=WOLF+FROM+THE+DOOR%09MULLARKEY,+RORY&printsec=frontcover

Each slow dusk / Rory Mullarkey

Towards the end of the First World War, three young soldiers, a private, a corporal and a captain, cross no-man's land in a terrifying night raid on an enemy trench. Stealth is key to their survival and so they walk in silence ... in the present day, a visitor on a tour of the battlefields encounters rememberance, restaurants and bright, themed gift shops. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Each_Slow_Dusk/Hb1PBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=EACH+SLOW+DUSK%09MULLARKEY,+RORY&printsec=frontcover

This is war / Hannah Moscovitch

Master Corporal Tanya Young, Sergeant Stephen Hughes, Private Jonny Henderson, and Sergeant Chris Anders have lived through an atrocity while holding one of the most volatile regions in Afghanistan. As each of them is interviewed by an unseen broadcasting organization, they recount their version of events leading up to the horrific incident with painful, relenting replies. What begins to form is a picture of the effects of guilt and the psychological toll of violence in a war where the enemy is sometimes indiscernible.

Bloom / by Andrew Morton

Following the death of his father, 15-year-old Daniel and his mother, Lisa, are forced to move to unfamiliar Flint, Michigan. After a violent outburst at his new school, Daniel's social worker, Michelle, suggests he spend a week working with her father, Bobby, an urban gardener of several abandoned lots in the middle of the city. A week soon turns into a few months, and, as the two men spend the summer tending the gardens, they begin to plant some much-needed hope in a neighborhood plagued by blight and help each other heal some old wounds. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBloomBL7.pdf

Another place / D.C. Moore

Paul is a specialist in cognitive behaviour, tasked with designing a twenty-year mission to Mars. Daniel is a husband and new father struggling with the reality of marriage and the monotony of everyday life. Nat is a twin sister, disillusioned by the world's obsession with space travel and sorry that she didn't say goodbye. And Amy asks a lot of questions . . . Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Another_Place/GCedBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ANOTHER+PLACE%09MOORE,+D.C&pg=PT6&printsec=frontcover

Thousand years waiting, and other plays / Chiori Miyagawa

Includes the plays: Thousand years waiting -- Comet hunter -- Leaving Eden: a Chekhovian tragicomedy -- Awakening -- Firedance -- Broken morning: stories from the death row factory -- Red again.

The fairytale lives of Russian girls (or, devyshkts) / Meg Miroshnik

Once upon a time -- in 2005 -- a twenty-year-old girl named Annie returned to her native Russia to brush up on the language and lose her American accent. Underneath a glamorous Post-Soviet Moscow studded with dangerously high heels, designer bags, and luxe fur coats, she discovers an enchanted motherland teeming with evil stepmothers, wicked witches, and ravenous bears. Annie must learn how to become the heroine of a story more mysterious and treacherous than any childhood fairy tale: her own. This subversive story haunts the audience, and carries a powerful message for young women living in a world where not everything ends up happily ever after.

Oblivion / Carly Mensch

Uber-hip Brooklynites Pam and Dixon take great pride in their secular humanist approach to parenting. But when their 17-year-old daughter, Julie, decides to become a Christian, their laid-back, open-minded facade comes crashing down. Carly Mensch's Oblivion takes a wry look at Nietzsche, famed film critic Pauline Kael, and the nature of belief in the 21st century.

The Night Alive / Conor McPherson

Tommy's not a bad man, he's getting by. Renting a run-down room in his uncle Maurice's house, just about keeping his ex-wife and kids at arm's length and rolling from one get-rich-quick scheme to the other with his pal Doc. Then one day he comes to the aid of Aimee, who's not had it easy herself, struggling through life the only way she knows how. Their past won't let go easily. But together there's a glimmer of hope they could make something more of their lives. Something extraordinary. Perhaps. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Night_Alive/rjRfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Night+Alive+/+Conor+McPherson&printsec=frontcover

Golden Age / by Terrence McNally

It's opening night of Vincenzo Bellini's new opera I Puritani in Paris, and the Italian composer is determined to win the adulation of not only his audience, but his colleagues and rivals as well. When the curtain falls, will a thunderous ovation cement his prominence? Or has Bellini unwittingly composed his own swan song? Blending 21st-century language with the timeless beauty of 19th-century bel canto opera, Golden Age portrays the final act of an artist whose desire for greatness has eclipsed all else. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Golden_Age/JEtnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Golden+Age+/+by+Terrence+McNally&printsec=frontcover

Mothers and sons / by Terrence McNally

At turns funny and powerful, Mothers and Sons portrays a woman who pays an unexpected visit to the New York apartment of her late son's partner, who is now married to another man and has a young son. Challenged to face how society has changed around her, generations collide as she revisits the past and begins to see the life her son might have led. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mothers_and_Sons/P-NZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mothers+and+sons+/+by+Terrence+McNally&printsec=frontcover

And away we go / by Terrence McNally

Times change, but life in the theatre remains the same: chaotic, sometimes brutal, but often euphoric, too. And Away We Go jumps through time from backstage in ancient Athens to a rehearsal at the Globe, from Versailles' Royal Theatre to the first reading of a new play by Chekhov--with an unlikely stop in Coral Gables and the American premiere of Waiting for Godot along the way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/And_Away_We_Go/-ONZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=And+away+we+go+/+by+Terrence+McNally&printsec=frontcover

Checkers / by Douglas McGrath

CHECKERS is a revelatory look at Nixon’s drive, history and most surprisingly, his marriage to Pat—all of which are explored with insight, blistering wit and unexpected tenderness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Checkers/39ZsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Checkers+/+by+Douglas+McGrath&printsec=frontcover

Pomona / Alistair McDowall

Ollie's sister is missing. Searching Manchester in desperation, she finds all roads lead to Pomona -- an abandoned concrete island at the heart of the city. Here at the centre of everything, journeys end and nightmares are born. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pomona/0pvGDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pomona+/+Alistair+McDowall.&printsec=frontcover

Choir boy / by Tarell Alvin McCraney

The Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys is dedicated to the creation of strong, ethical black men. Pharus wants nothing more than to take his rightful place as leader of the school's legendary gospel choir. Can he find his way inside the hallowed halls of the institution if he sings in his own key? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Choir_Boy/g_joCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=CHOIR+BOY%09MCCRANEY,+TARELL+ALVIN&printsec=frontcover

Spoiling / John McCann

In front of the world's media, Scotland's Foreign Minister will shortly deliver a keynote speech outlining the newly independent nation's relationship with the former UK. But there's a problem. She's refusing to speak the words she's been given. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Spoiling/zlY7BAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=SPOILING%09MCCANN,+JOHN&pg=PP17&printsec=frontcover

Keely and Du / by Jane Marvin

From the author of Talking With and Vital Signs, here is a volatile drama about abortion. Du, a right-to-life activist, and Keely, a pregnant rape victim Du is confining, transcend their circumstances and the ideological issues that separate them. Keely and Du is a mind-probing issue play with a gripping human face. Who is accountable? What is the extent of individual freedom? What are a rape victim’s rights? What are a Christian’s realities of procreation? Their passionate stories exist on the extreme edge of everyday reality.

H2O / Jane Martin

After arriving to the City of Angels, an aimless young man catapults to movie stardom and into Hollywood's sleazy celebrity culture. Banking on his fame (and name), he is soon selected to appear on Broadway in Hamlet. Given full casting approval, he embarks to New York City to seek out his Ophelia and encounters his muse and his match -- a young evangelical Christian woman set on getting the role...and saving his life.

Be infants in evil : a new play / by Brian Martin

Father Patrick is newly appointed to a parish in Dublin, and he needs to be alone. But two of his parishoners have other ideas. Noleen, a blind widow who knows more than she lets on, wants him to hear her confession. Jacinta, an unmarried mother and recent convert to Islam, needs proof that she has left the church. And then Henry arrives - twelve years old and on a quest of his own. Will Father Patrick ever find peace?

Wingman and skittles / Richard Marsh

Mum's dead. Annoyingly, dad's not. After twenty years apart, can father and son say goodbye to mum without saying hello to each other? This achingly funny story reminds us that no matter how bad life is, family can make it worse. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wingman_and_Skittles/1QWrBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=WINGMAN+AND+SKITTLES%09MARSH,+RICHARD&printsec=frontcover

The country house / by Donald Margulies

Gathering in their Berkshire home, a family of actors wrestles with fame, art, and (as always) each other. Brought back together for a melancholy purpose, the solemnity is quickly undercut by restless egos and inflamed temperaments. When the events of the weekend go off-script, secrets are spilled and bonds are broken. Inspired by-and often directly referencing -Chekhov's pastoral comedies, this witty and compelling new comedy unfolds in a fragile old home brimming with memories, new love, and discarded dreams. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Country_House/1E3pBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=COUNTRY+HOUSE%09MARGULIES,+DONALD&printsec=frontcover

Coney Island Christmas / by Donald Margulies

Pulitzer Prize-winner Donald Margulies weaves together nostalgia, music, and merriment in this new season classic. A holiday show for people of all ages and all faiths, Coney Island Christmas introduces us to Shirley Abramowitz, a young Jewish girl who (much to her immigrant parents' consternation) is cast as Jesus in the school's Christmas pageant. As Shirley, now much older, recounts the memorable story to her great-granddaughter, the play captures a timeless and universal tale of what it means to be an American during the holidays. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Coney_Island_Christmas/8NteCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=CONEY+ISLAND+CHRISTMAS%09MARGULIES,+DONALD&printsec=frontcover

Having our say : the Delany sisters' first 100 years : a play / by Emily Mann

A dramatization of the celebrated memoir by two century-old African American sisters, offering advice on living a long life while reflecting on the monumental changes in African-American history throughout their lifetimes. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Having_Our_Say/nV6C8u9xmdcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=HAVING+OUR+SAY:+THE+DELANY+SISTERS%27+FIRST+100+YEARS&printsec=frontcover

Things being what they are / by Wendy MacLeod

As Bill anxiously waits for his unfaithful wife and his furniture, he is visited by Jack, a divorced neighbor who suggests the loneliness of life after marriage. At first Jack appears to be a nightmare neighbor—intrusive, needy, boorish—but gradually Bill’s perception of his new “friend” deepens. While it’s true that Jack managed to lose his wife’s trust and his children’s love, Bill discovers that Jack is wrestling with circumstances that would challenge the best of us. A funny and wistful exploration of love, loss, masculinity, and the needs that bring people together and drive them apart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Things_Being_What_They_Are/DsFeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=THINGS+BEING+WHAT+THEY+ARE+wendy+macleod&printsec=frontcover

Wittgenstein : the crooked roads / William Lyons

Difficult to know and impossible to forget, Ludwig Wittgenstein is remembered as the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century. He published only one book in his lifetime - a masterpiece that molded the evolution of philosophy and baffled his teachers. Spanning most of his life, from his early encounters with Bertrand Russell in Cambridge to a final trip to New York via the Russian Front, Wittgenstein: The Crooked Roads tracks the journeys of a tortured soul. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wittgenstein/vHcpBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=WITTGENSTEIN:+THE+CROOKED+ROADS&printsec=frontcover

Shrapnel : 34 fragments of a massacre / Anders Lustgarten

There is no such thing as a happy colonised people. Never has been and never will be. That is our basic delusion. December 2011. Watching video footage from a drone, Pentagon officials see a huddle of people - unarmed smugglers, with mules - treading their familiar path across the Turkish-Iraqi border. Hours later, Turkish Armed Forces drop bombs on the group. 34 civilians are killed. The Roboski massacre is one of the most controversial episodes in the 'war on terror'. Piecing together the fragments of the tragedy, Anders Lustgarten's startling new play dares to ask what a massacre is made of. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shrapnel_34_Fragments_of_a_Massacre/6RVpBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=SHRAPNEL:+34+FRAGMENTS+OF+A+MASSACRE&printsec=frontcover

Milked / Simon Longman

Paul is trying to find a job. Snowy is trying to find himself. But when Snowy stumbles across an ailing cow stuck in a local field, he ropes Paul into trying to help the cow, either to improve its lot or put it out of its misery. What follows is a hilarious procession of failed suffocations, experiments with a saw and trip to the train tracks in this funny and moving black comedy about friendship, unemployment and a cow called Sandy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Milked/IBPSBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Milked+/+Simon+Longman&printsec=frontcover

I'll eat you last : a chat with Sue Mengers / by John Logan

For more than 20 years, Sue Mengers’ clients were the biggest names in show business: Barbra Streisand, Faye Dunaway, Burt Reynolds, Ali MacGraw, Gene Hackman, Cher, Candice Bergen, Ryan O’Neal, Nick Nolte, Mike Nichols, Gore Vidal, Bob Fosse…If her clients were the talk of the town, she was the town, and her dinner parties were the envy of Hollywood. Now, you’re invited into her glamorous Beverly Hills home for an evening of dish, dirty secrets and all the inside showbiz details only Sue can tell you. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/I_ll_Eat_You_Last_A_Chat_with_Sue_Menger/_5ZeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=I%27ll+eat+you+last+:+a+chat+with+Sue+Mengers+/+by+John+Logan&printsec=frontcover

The Tutors / by Erica Lipez

No one dreams of being a tutor: just ask Heidi, Toby, and Joe. While catering to the offspring of New York elite has forced them to confront the anticlimax of adulthood, these roommates are not ready to give up on their social networking startup -- just yet. When Heidi's online editing begins to invade her subconscious and a student crosses the line, all three friends might be in over their heads. A funny, heartfelt look at day jobs versus dream jobs and the people we count on to remind us of the difference. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tutors/EtRZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Tutors+/+by+Erica+Lipez&printsec=frontcover

5 lesbians eating a quiche / Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood

It's 1956 and the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are having their annual quiche breakfast. Will they be able to keep their cool when Communists threaten their idyllic town?

The unavoidable disappearance of Tom Durnin / by Steven Levenson

After a lifetime of empty promises, can Tom find a place in a family that has worked so hard to move on without him? Steven Levenson gives us this funny, raw and moving play about the price we pay for defaulting on those we love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Unavoidable_Disappearance_of_Tom_Dur/bktnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+unavoidable+disappearance+of+Tom+Durnin+/+by+Steven+Levenson&printsec=frontcover

Killer Joe / Tracy Letts

A definitively dysfunctional family gives in to its basest instincts and is forced to face hidden truths in this twisted modern-day fairy tale by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of August: Osage County. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Killer_Joe/ulb6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Killer+Joe+/+Tracy+Letts&printsec=frontcover

Side man / by Warren Leight

Set in 1953 and traveling to 1985, this lovely and poignant memory play unfolds through the eyes of Clifford, the only son of Gene, a jazz trumpet player, and Terry, an alcoholic mother. Alternating between their New York City apartment and a smoke-filled music club, Clifford narrates the story of his broken family and the decline of jazz as popular entertainment. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Side_Man/Dk8rVELx97cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Side+man+/+by+Warren+Leight&printsec=frontcover

The radiant / Shirley Lauro

Set one hundred years ago in Paris, The Radiant centers on the true, tempestuous, and love-torn life of Madame Marie Curie. Widowed at thirty-nine, with two young children to raise and support, she becomes involved in a scandalous affair with her young married assistant, and affair which rocks Paris and nearly costs her her career - and her life. But, she survives this and the great bias against women scientists throughout Europe then and goes on to discover and isolate radium, earn two Nobel Prizes, and revolutionize the world of science forever, ushering in "The Atomic Age" and the first cure for cancer.

Fishskin trousers / by Elizabeth Kuti

A haunting play about loss and grief, set in the mists of Suffolk. Fishskin Trousers weaves together the haunting tales of three lost people from different eras, united by the common setting of the fishing village of Orford in Suffolk, its castle and its mysterious island, Orford Ness. From the twelfth century, Mab gives an eyewitness account of the legendary Wild Man of Orford, caught in the nets of fishermen... Eight hundred years later, at the height of the Cold War, Ben, a young Australian scientist, hears strange noises on the Ness as he tries to fix the island's radar system. While Mog, in 2003, is faced with a heartbreaking decision..

Urinetown : the musical / book and lyrics by Greg Kotis ; music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann

The story of a Gotham-like city in which a catastrophic drought has led to draconian water-conservation measures, including a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The "privilege to pee" is regulated by a single malevolent corporation that profits by charging admission to the public toilets--and anyone who commits a desperate act like ducking behind a bush is dragged off by the police, never to be seen again. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Urinetown/4OZcDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Urinetown+:+the+musical&printsec=frontcover

Night and fog : the collected dramas and screenplays / of Danilo Kiš ; translated and with an introduction by John K. Cox

This volume of translations represents the entire dramatic and cinematic ouevre of the Yugoslav writer Danilo Kis (1935, Subotica, Yugoslavia – 1989, Paris)

Chimerica / Lucy Kirkwood

A powerful, provocative play about international relations and the shifting balance of power between East and West. Tiananmen Square, 1989. As tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door, Joe--a young American photojournalist--captures a piece of history. New York, 2012. Joe is covering a presidential election, marred by debate over cheap labour and the outsourcing of American jobs to Chinese factories. When a cryptic message is left in a Beijing newspaper, Joe is driven to discover the truth behind the unknown hero he captured on film. Who was he?

Underneath / Pat Kinevane

A woman lies dead in her grave in the Tumbledown cemetery, Cobh, County Cork. It's a recent relocation; only two weeks before she was living in a flat near Croke Park in Dublin, beneath two East European prostitutes who she had begun to be friendly with. From her last resting place, she tells the story of her life: her happy childhood and the mother who loved Cleopatra; being struck by lightning and then missing school for a year; her night shifts in hotels washing and mending laundry; up to her ultimate and untimely demise in a north Dublin flat; all via a series of unlikely encounters and heartbreaking betrayals. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Underneath/K3gpBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Underneath+/+Pat+Kinevane&printsec=frontcover

To Sir, with love / E.R. Braithwaite ; adapted for the stage by Ayub Khan-Din

Ricky Braithwaite, an ex-RAF fighter pilot and Cambridge graduate, arrives in London in 1948. Despite his First Class degree in electronic engineering he is turned down for job after job in his chosen profession and discovers the reality of life as a black man in post-war England. Taking the only job he can get, Ricky begins his first teaching post, in a tough but progressive East End school. Supported by an enlightened headmaster, the determined teacher turns teenage rebelliousness into self-respect, contempt into consideration and hate into love, and on the way, Ricky himself learns that he has more in common with his students than he had realised

Collision / by Lyle Kessler

Collision takes place in a college dormitory somewhere in the heart of America. Three students, a professor, and a stranger collide in this black comedy of emotions on the edge of the abyss. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Collision/ndheCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Collision+/+by+Lyle+Kessler&printsec=frontcover

Too much, too much, too many / by Meghan Kennedy

Following the death of her husband, Rose locks herself in her bedroom for the better part of a year, leaving her daughter Emma to care for her through the closed door. When the church sends a pastor to help coax Rose out of her room, he soon finds that Rose is not the only one using barriers to hide her true feelings. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Too_Much_Too_Much_Too_Many/PvlfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Too+much,+too+much,+too+many+/+by+Meghan+Kennedy&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

Madame Bovary / adapted by Adrienne Kennedy ; from Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary is the tragic, yet scintillating story of a woman who longed for a life she could never fully achieve. Emma Bovary is a woman who desires the illustrious and romantic world she has only read about in books or observed from afar. As this desire grows, Emma must seek to fulfill it, whatever the cost, in an ultimate quest to become the Madame Bovary of her wildest and most passionate dreams. Telling Emma's story through the eyes of her own daughter, Adrienne Kennedy brings a fresh and exciting approach to this classic novel.

Diary of lights : New York about 1955 / Adrienne Kennedy

Diary of Lights: New York About 1955 is a series of scenes which depict a group of friends during one evening in New York City, in the mid-50s. Part dramatic literature, part dance, and part musical theatre, Diary of Lights is a window into a part of American culture, expressed through the unique voice of one of America's most formidable dramatists.

Agnes under the big top : a tall tale / by Aditi Brennan Kapil

Agnes Under the Big Top: A Tall Tale explores the intersecting lives of several immigrants in a US city. It is a magical tale of hope and disappointment, identity and reinvention, narrated by an itinerant subway busker. Against the subterranean rhythms of a subway train, a Liberian home care worker, a former Bulgarian ringmaster and his wife, an Indian call center escapee, and a bed-ridden American woman, find and redefine themselves in today's America.

Honky / by Greg Kalleres

When a young African American is shot for a pair of basketball shoes, sales triple among white teens. Are ghetto-glorifying commercials to blame, or is it the white CEO that only sees dollar signs? Luckily, there's a new pill on the market guaranteed to cure racism. Honky is a darkly comedic look at five people, white and black, as they navigate the murky waters of race, rhetoric and basketball shoes. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Honky/XXJVBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Honky+/+by+Greg+Kalleres&printsec=frontcover

All in the timing : fourteen plays / David Ives

Includes the plays: Sure thing -- Words, words, words -- The universal language -- Variations on the death of Trotsky -- The Philadelphia -- Long ago and far away -- Foreplay, or The art of the fugue -- Seven menus -- Mere mortals -- English made simple -- A singular kinda guy -- Speed-the-play -- Ancient history -- Philip Glass buys a loaf of bread. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_in_the_Timing/ormMRiS0KjsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=All+in+the+timing+:+fourteen+plays+/+David+Ives&printsec=frontcover

Chinglish / by David Henry Hwang

Chinglish is a hilarious comedy about the challenges of doing business in a country whose language - and underlying cultural assumptions - can be worlds apart from those of the West. The play tells the adventures of Daniel, an American business-everyman from the Midwest, who hopes to establish his family's sign-making business in China, only to learn what is lost and found in translation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chinglish/Prvh7RkCuSYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Chinglish+/+by+David+Henry+Hwang&printsec=frontcover

The whale / Samuel D. Hunter

On the outskirts of Mormon Country, Idaho, a six hundred pound recluse hides away in his apartment eating himself to death. Desperate to reconnect with his long-estranged daughter, he reaches out to her, only to find a viciously sharp-tongued and wildly unhappy teen. Big-hearted and fiercely funny, The Whale tells the story of a man's last chance at redemption, and of finding beauty in the most unexpected places.

Water by the spoonful / by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Somewhere in Philadelphia, Elliot has returned from Iraq and is struggling to find his place in the world. Somewhere in a chat room, recovering addicts keep each other alive, hour by hour, day by day. The boundaries of family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide. Water by the spoonful is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Water_by_the_Spoonful/lga51BzRCjUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Water+by+the+spoonful+/+by+Quiara+Alegr%C3%ADa+Hudes&printsec=frontcover

The happiest song plays last / Quiara Alegría Hudes

At the dawn of the Arab Spring in an ancient Jordanian town, an Iraq War veteran struggles to overcome the traumas of combat by taking on an entirely new and unexpected career: action film hero. A search for redemption, humility, and one's place in the world, this is the final installment in Quiara Alegría Hudes's The Elliot Trilogy, which began with Pulitzer Prize finalist Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue and Pulitzer Prize-winner Water by the Spoonful. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Happiest_Song_Plays_Last/QvArDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+happiest+song+plays+last+/+Quiara+Alegr%C3%ADa+Hudes&printsec=frontcover

No one loves us here / Ross Howard

Central Valley, California. When the Native American Washington is invited to stay in the Beaumonts' guest house, Mr Beaumont thinks he'll get one thing from the arrangement. But just as Mrs Beaumont avidly tends to her front yard, so Washington decides to do some pruning himself. A contest for territory, No One Loves Us Here is a black comic portrait of love and obsession, the aspiration of displaced youth and a crumbling white collar class.

A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney / by Lucas Hnath

Tonight, Walt is going to read you a screenplay he wrote. It's about his last days on earth. It's about a city he's going to build that's going to change the world. And it's about his brother. It's about everyone who loves him so much, and it's about how sad they're going to be when he's gone. Right? I mean, how can they live without him? How can anyone live without him? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Public_Reading_of_an_Unproduced_Screen/YBWFDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+Public+Reading+of+an+Unproduced+Screenplay+About+the+Death+of+Walt+Disney+/+by+Lucas+Hnath&printsec=frontcover

Isaac's Eye / Lucas Hnath

To understand light and optics better, young Isaac Newton inserted a long needle “between my eye and the bone, as near to the backside of my eye as I could.” Why take such a risk? Lucas Hnath reimagines the contentious, plague-ravaged world Newton inhabited in ISAAC’S EYE, exploring the dreams and longings that drove the rural farm boy to become one of the greatest thinkers in modern science. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Isaac_s_Eye/ReVZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Isaac%27s+Eye+/+Lucas+Hnath&printsec=frontcover

Belleville / Amy Herzog

A young American couple has abandoned a comfortable post-graduate life in the states for Belleville, a bustling, bohemian, multicultural Parisian neighborhood, and their fraught relationship begins to unravel as secrets are revealed in this nail-biting psychological thriller. Here, the Obie Award-winning Amy Herzog looks at the limits of trust, truth, deception, and dependency in a world where love and loss can be pathological and cathartic. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Belleville/7_foCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Belleville+/+Amy+Herzog&printsec=frontcover

The Jacksonian : a play / Beth Henley

Set in a seedy motel in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1964, the play centers around Rosy, a troubled teenager, and Bill, her dentist father who has been living at the motel for several months as his wife, Susan, considers the disgrace of divorce. Fred, the motel bartender, and Eva, a waitress, are locked in a gruesome pact: he'll marry her if she agrees to help him evade punishment for a hideous crime. But Bill, turning to nitrous oxide to ease the pain of his life collapsing around him, is a convenient target for Eva's desperate desire for companionship. At the height of the violence associated with the civil rights movement, these characters gradually reveal the shameful secrets and psychological turmoil just beneath the surface of their insistent Southern gentility. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Jacksonian/TSBfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Jacksonian+:+a+play+/+Beth+Henley&printsec=frontcover

Taken at Midnight / Mark Hayhurst

An historical drama about the anti-Nazi movement in Berlin during the Third Reich, and the famous lawyer Hans Litten's capture by Hitler. Further, this drama focuses on Litten's mother, Irmgard, and her brave attempt to combat the treatment of her son and plea for his release. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Taken_At_Midnight/KAEzBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Taken+at+Midnight+/+Mark+Hayhurst&printsec=frontcover

Family Furniture / A.R. Gurney

Amid the gin and tonics, vichyssoise, and tennis doubles of Buffalo's summer scene, siblings Nick and Peggy must confront their mother's possible infidelity, their father's apparent indiffference, and their own increasingly complicated love lives. Family furniture is a coming-of-age-tale of one certain summer when everything shifts. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Family_Furniture/4rZhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Family+Furniture+/+A.R.+Gurney&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

The motherfucker with the hat / by Stephen Adly Guirgis

Struggles with addiction, friendship, love and the challenges of adulthood are at the center of the story. Jackie, a petty drug dealer, is just out of prison and trying to stay clean. He's also still in love with his coke-addicted childhood sweetheart, Veronica. Ralph D. is Jackie's too-smooth, slightly slippery sponsor. He's married to the bitter and disaffected Victoria, who, by the way, has the hots for Jackie. And then there's Julio, Jackie's cousin-- a stand-up, 'stand by me" kind of guy Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Motherfucker_with_the_Hat/MODJMMhCvukC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+motherfucker+with+the+hat+/+by+Stephen+Adly+Guirgis&printsec=frontcover

Three plays / Jean-Claude Grumberg ; translated and introduced by Seth L. Wolitz

Includes the plays: Workplace; On the way to the promised land: a dental tragedy; Mama's coming back, poor orphan Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jean_Claude_Grumberg/gy3TAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Three+plays+/+Jean-Claude+Grumberg+%3B+translated+and+introduced+by+Seth+L.+Wolitz&pg=PR4&printsec=frontcover

Perfect Harmony / by Andrew Grosso

Perfect Harmony is a musical comedy about the greatest a cappella group in high school history, eighteen-time national champions, the Acafellas. It's also about their classmates and female counterpart, perennial runners up, the Ladies in Red. Through song and story, we see these students grapple with the weighty issues of truth, love, and what constitutes appropriate choreography for Nationals. As the story unfolds, we learn not just about these students themselves but also about the true nature of harmony

The luck of the Irish / Kirsten Greenidge

When an upwardly mobile African-American couple wants to buy a home in an all-white neighborhood of 1950's Boston, they pay a struggling Irish family to "ghost-buy" a house on their behalf. Fifty years later, the Irish family wants "their" house back. Moving across two eras, this play explores racial and social issues and the universal longing for home.

The Assembled Parties / by Richard Greenberg

The Assembled Parties welcomes us to the world of the Bascovs, an Upper West Side Jewish family in 1980. In a sprawling Central Park West apartment, former movie star Julie Bascov and her sister-in-law Faye bring their families together for their traditional holiday dinner. But tonight, things are not usual. A houseguest has joined the festivities for the first time and he unwittingly, or perhaps by design, insinuates himself into the family drama. Twenty years later, as 2001 approaches, the Bascovs' seemingly picture-perfect life may be about to crumble. A stunning play infused with humor, The Assembled Parties is an incisive portrait of a family grasping for stability at the dawn of a new millennium. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Assembled_Parties/1O7oCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Assembled+Parties+/+by+Richard+Greenberg&printsec=frontcover

Trade / by Debbie Tucker Green

A short play dealing with the controversial topic of female sex tourism. Three black women on a Caribbean island: a hip young thing from London, an older tourist and a resident native. One subject. Two worlds. Three points of view.

The Angry Brigade / by James Graham

Against a backdrop of Tory cuts, high unemployment and the deregulated economy of 1970s Britain, a young urban guerrilla group mobilises: The Angry Brigade. Their targets: MPs, embassies, police, pageant queens. A world of order is shattered by anarchy and the rules have changed. An uprising has begun. No one is exempt. As a special police squad hunt the home-grown terrorists whose identities shocked the nation, James Graham's heart-stopping thriller lures us into a frenzied world that looks much like our own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Angry_Brigade/gg50CQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Angry+Brigade+/+by+James+Graham&printsec=frontcover

Losing the plot / by John Godber

When Jack Munroe’s life is turned upside down by changes at the school where he teaches art, he turns his back on the world – he walks out on his job, his wife Sally and two university-bound teenagers without explanation, leaving only unanswered questions and copies of Which Caravan and a book of Hot Sex Tips on the bedside table. In his absence Sally ploughs on running her flower shop as best she can but the weeks turn to months and the debts begin to rise. Jack unexpectedly returns home three months later to find that to occupy herself, Sally has been writing a book – a comedy about him – which promises to be a best-seller. Unlike the promising artist Jack once was, Sally has the popular touch and with the publication of her book talk of television sitcoms grow and Jack’s foibles are on show for all the world to see (and laugh at). As they gradually repair their relationship after Jack’s return, it’s clear that the roles in their relationship have been turned on their head with Jack left to run the flower shop and field phone calls for Sally in this heartwarming comedy examining the trials and tribulations of modern married life.

Trying / by Joanna McClelland Glass

Trying is a two-character play based on the author’s experience during 1967-1968 when she worked for Francis Biddle at his home in Washington, D.C. Judge Biddle had been Attorney General of the United States under Franklin Roosevelt. After the war, President Truman named him Chief Judge of the American Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. The play is about a young Canadian girl and an old, Philadelphia aristocrat “trying” to understand each other in what Biddle knows is the final year of his life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Trying/SUBRVfNqAQcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Trying+/+by+Joanna+McClelland+Glass&printsec=frontcover

Cut snake / by Dan Giovannoni and Amelia Evans with Paige Rattray

Join them for the wild ride. Cut Snake is a comedy about growing up, dying young, and being extraordinary no matter what.

The City of Conversation / by Anthony Giardina

In 1979, Washington D.C. was a place where people actually talked to each other...where adversaries fought it out on the Senate floor and then smoothed it out over drinks and hors d'oeuvres. But it was all about to change. In this play spanning 30 years and six presidential administrations, Hester Ferris throws Georgetown dinner parties that can change the course of Washington’s politics. But when her beloved son suddenly turns up with an ambitious Reaganite girlfriend and a shocking new conservative world view, Hester must choose between preserving her family and defending the causes she's spent her whole life fighting for.

The three lions / by William Gaminara

David Beckham, Prince William and David Cameron are in Zurich the night before England's bid for the 2018 World Cup. Between them they thrash out a plan that will woo FIFA and bring the beautiful game home. But as precious minutes tick by things start to go disastrously and deliciously wrong. Whatever else is at stake, this is more, much more, than a question of sport.

Four minutes twelve seconds / by James Fritz

Seventeen-year-old Jack is the apple of his mother's eye. His parents, Di and David, have devoted their lives to giving him every opportunity they never had. As a result, Jack is smart, outgoing, and well on his way to achieving the grades to study Law at Durham University. But a startling incident outside the school gates threatens to ruin everything they've striven for: an incident that suggests a deep hatred of their son. As events begin to accelerate, Di and David start to doubt Jack's closest friends, Jack himself, and ultimately themselves – who can they trust? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Four_minutes_twelve_seconds/T87cBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Four+minutes+twelve+seconds+/+by+James+Fritz&printsec=frontcover

Plays six / by Jon Fosse

Includes the plays: Rambuku -- Over there -- These eyes -- Girl in yellow raincoat -- Christmas tree song -- Sea -- Freedom. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fosse_Plays_Six/9TM2DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+six+/+by+Jon+Fosse&printsec=frontcover

From the mouths of mothers / by Amanda Stuart Fisher

A verbatim play created from the testimonies of seven mothers who have had to come to terms with the devastating reality of their children being sexually abused.

Savage world : an urban drama / Stephen Fife

Solomon Eisner, a former freelance journalist is trying to find a way to repair his broken relationship with his bi-racial son Danny. Sol has tried to protect Danny from a dangerous past, but now he decides to videotape himself telling about this dark chapter from his youth that led to Danny's birth. The play dramatizes Sol's attempt to save his son from a descent into violence, as Sol travels back to the 1970s, chronicling his quest to prove the innocence of "Savage" James, an outspoken black boxer who has been convicted of murdering a Jewish couple during the Newark riots. The play alternates between these two realities (the 1970s and "the present"), as Sol tries to rediscover the thread of belief and conviction that can give his son an understanding of events that Sol himself has not been able to come to terms with.

This may hurt a bit : a play / by Stella Feehily

With wit, tenderness and surrealism, Stella Feehily's This May Hurt A Bit explores one family's journey through the digestive system of the National Health Service and asks: what is the prognosis for this much-loved, fiercely debated institution?

Home / by Nadia Fall

A powerful, inventive play that mixes real testimonials alongside existing and original music to explore one of the most important social concerns of today: homelessness amongst young people. Bullet doesn't want to call a hostel home. Eritrean Girl was smuggled here in a lorry. Singing Boy dreams of seeing his name in lights and Garden Boy just wants to feel safe. In 2013, homelessness amongst young people in the UK is at a record high, so when the Big Society doesn't work - where do you go? An inner-city high-rise hostel, Target East, offers a roof. Home brings to life the unheard voices of the young residents and staff who live and work behind the anonymous concrete walls. Using real testimonials alongside beatboxing and R & B, Nadia Fall's bold verbatim play asks what it really means to call somewhere home.

Lucky Guy / by Nora Ephron

The charismatic and controversial tabloid columnist Mike McAlary covered the scandal- and graffiti-ridden New York of the 1980s. From his sensational reporting of New York's major police corruption to the libel suit that nearly ended his career, the play dramatizes the story of McAlary's meteoric rise, fall, and rise again, ending with his coverage of the Abner Louima case for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, shortly before his untimely death on Christmas Day, 1998. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lucky_Guy/atRsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lucky+Guy+/+by+Nora+Ephron&printsec=frontcover

The Realistic Joneses / by Will Eno

In The Realistic Joneses, we meet Bob and Jennifer and their new neighbors, John and Pony, two suburban couples who have even more in common than their identical homes and their shared last names. As their relationships begin to irrevocably intertwine, the Joneses must decide between their idyllic fantasies and their imperfect realities. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Realistic_Joneses/kEVDCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Open+house+/+by+Will+Eno&printsec=frontcover

Open house / by Will Eno

People have been born into families since people started getting born at all. Playwrights have been trying to write 'family plays' for a long time, too. And typically these plays try to answer endlessly complicated questions of blood and duty and inheritance and responsibility. They try to answer the question, "Can things really change?" People have been trying nobly for years and years to have plays solve in two hours what hasn't been solved in many lifetimes. This has to stop. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Open_House_TCG_Edition/9J6OCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Open+house+/+by+Will+Eno&printsec=frontcover

Title and deed, monologue for a slightly foreign man ; Oh, the humanity and other good intentions / by Will Eno

This new volume of the acclaimed playwright's work includes five short plays about being alive--Behold the Coach, in a Blazer, Uninsured; Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rain; Enter the Spokeswoman, Gently; The Bully Composition; and Oh, the Humanity--as well as Title and Deed, a haunting and severely funny solo rumination on life as everlasting exile. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Title_and_Deed_Oh_the_Humanity_and_other/dlj6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Title+and+deed,+monologue+for+a+slightly+foreign+man+%3B+Oh,+the+humanity+and+other+good+intentions+/+by+Will+Eno&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover

The Twenty-Seventh Man / by Nathan Englander

The setting is a Soviet prison, 1952. Joseph Stalin's secret police have rounded up twenty-six writers, the giants of Yiddish literature in Russia. As judgment looms, a twenty-seventh suddenly appears: Pinchas Pelovits, unpublished and unknown. Baffled by his arrest, he and his cellmates wrestle with the mysteries of party loyalty and politics, culture and identity, and with what it means to write in troubled times. When they discover why the twenty-seventh man is among them, the writers come to realize that even in the face of tyranny, stories still have the power to transcend. In his last act of storytelling, Pelovits asks us: who writes the eulogy when all the writers are gone? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Twenty_Seventh_Man/POJZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Twenty-Seventh+Man+/+by+Nathan+Englander&printsec=frontcover

Dominoes / by Susan Emshwiller

Mikey, about to head "over there" to fight in WWII, can't win on the home front. Mom manipulates her son with baby-talk, pouting, and flirting. Pop demeans the young man with his cynical worldliness. The family dynamics play out with humor and pathos; Mikey yearns for warmth and intimacy, but his folks can't give it. Every grunt or glance is a power-play. Mikey's war experiences accentuate his dilemma between needing real connection and sinking into boorishness. Back home, shamed by his powerlessness, Mikey becomes all that he hates in his parents. The dysfunction of family is passed down, and the dominoes of one generation topple the next. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dominoes/LFLpBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dominoes+/+by+Susan+Emshwiller&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the new world / by Yussef El Guindi

Anyone who has ever looked for love knows the dilemma. Do you make a safe, sensible match? Or take a risk on an exciting someone who might -- just might -- be the One Great Romance of your life? Musa, an Egyptian immigrant, and Sheri, a very quirky Caucasian waitress, must negotiate the twists and turns of not only love but cultural expectations in this charming romantic comedy with a delightful twist. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pilgrims_Musa_and_Sheri_in_the_New_World/u1FfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pilgrims+Musa+and+Sheri+in+the+new+world+/+by+Yussef+El+Guindi&printsec=frontcover

Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov babes / by Yussef El Guindi

Ashraf is an actor who has just received rave reviews for his performance of Hamlet at a struggling theatre in Los Angeles. But he's only earning $200 a week and he's having trouble paying the bills. He needs his big break. And that's just what is smarmy agent is offering: a starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster. Big money, working for his favorite director, and playing opposite his favorite Tinsel Town starlet. All Ashraf has to do is play the most stereotypically evil, fanatical Islamic terrorist ever to grace the silver screen. Jihad Jones follows Ashraf as he battles the infamous slippery slope, while hilariously balancing his personal ethics and cultural pride against his professional ambition. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jihad_Jones_and_the_Kalashnikov_Babes/NyVfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jihad+Jones+and+the+Kalashnikov+babes+/+by+Yussef+El+Guindi&printsec=frontcover

Sex with strangers : a play / by Laura Eason

Twenty-something sex blogger Ethan tracks down his idol, the gifted but obscure 40-something novelist Olivia. Each has something the other needs but as attraction turns to sex both must confront the dark side of ambition. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sex_with_Strangers/jrFfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sex+with+strangers+:+a+play+/+by+Laura+Eason&printsec=frontcover

The waste ground party / by Shaun Dunne

Gary returns home from college to confront age-old rivalries, bitter disputes, and bin bags that just won't stop falling from the sky. As Gary and his old friend Martin fight to find their place in the world, their mothers desperately search for meaning in a life that has already passed them by. Will Gary leave the estate forever or return to the rubbish heap? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Waste_Ground_Party/i8XuBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+waste+ground+party+/+by+Shaun+Dunne&printsec=frontcover

The life and sort of death of Eric Argyle / by Ross Dungan

Eric Argyle is having a bad Sunday. It's late. He's still in his pajamas. A room full of people are staring at him. And he died at 11:42 a.m., two days ago. An issue that people don't seem all that receptive to. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Life_and_Sort_of_Death_of_Eric_Argyl/_-3Za2idbaMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+life+and+sort+of+death+of+Eric+Argyle+/+by+Ross+Dungan&printsec=frontcover

Fucking Men / by Joe DiPietro

A free-wheeling adaptation of the 19th century play La Ronde, in which ten men in ten scenes sleep with and seduce one another; each encounter subtly, sometimes radically, changing their lives. The search for emotional fulfillment -- the thread that connects the episodes in La Ronde -- is given fresh resonance in Tony Award-winning playwright Joe DiPietro's hilarious and heartwarming take on the German classic, transposed to the gay subculture in contemporary Manhattan.

Creating Claire / by Joe DiPietro

Employed as a docent at a natural history museum, nice, middle-aged Claire comes under fire when her tour-guide patter deviates from the strict scientific beliefs of her formidable supervisor and heads down a path that espouses intelligent design. Claire's spiritual slant attracts extra visitors but soon leads to legal action. A powerful exploration of the supernova that results when science, faith, and politics collide. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Creating_Claire/3eFeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Creating+Claire+/+by+Joe+DiPietro&printsec=frontcover

Four plays for family audiences / by Steven Dietz

Includes the plays: The Rememberer -- Still Life with Iris -- Honus & Me -- Jackie & Me.

Row after row / by Jessica Dickey

When two hard-core Civil War re-enactors show up for their annual Gettysburg beer and find a pretty stranger at their table, old allegiances come into question. Straddling 1863 and today, Row After Row is a dark comedy about choosing your cause and finding your courage. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Row_After_Row/5JxfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Row+after+row+/+by+Jessica+Dickey&printsec=frontcover

Hot spot : a play in two acts / by Basil Dawkins

The play presents a hilarious but thought provoking look at the vagaries of human relationships; forgiveness and second chances. Set against the backdrop of a threat to the characters' livelihood by a multinational food franchise, the play explores how the human spirit coupled with innovation triumphs over capricious market forces.

Inner yardie : three plays / by Patricia Cumper

Includes the plays: Coversations with my inner yardie / Patricia Cumper -- The rapist -- Benny's song -- The key game.

410[GONE] / by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

Where do we go when we die? In Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's dark and dazzling 410[GONE], that all depends on how you play the game. The stakes couldn't be higher when a young woman goes in search of her lost brother in the Land of the Dead - a dominion ruled by the Chinese Goddess of Mercy and the Monkey King, where time is suspended, and an arcade dance console holds the key to transmigration. On this fantastical journey into the underworld, a sister and brother must face the ultimate question: If there is no love without pain, what does it mean to love? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/410_Gone/OcNeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=410%5BGONE%5D+/+by+Frances+Ya-Chu+Cowhig&printsec=frontcover

Really really / by Paul Downs Colaizzo

A contemporary drama that pushes the edges and embraces the harsh reality of today's youth. At an elite university, when the party of the year results in the regret of a lifetime, one person will stop at nothing to salvage a future that is suddenly slipping away. In this quick-witted and gripping comic tragedy about "Generation Me," it's every man for himself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Really_Really/mI9fCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Really+really+/+by+Paul+Downs+Colaizzo&printsec=frontcover

Recall / by Eliza Clark

Lucy makes people uncomfortable. There's something about her eyes. There's something about the way her mother's boyfriends keep disappearing. And there's something about the government agents on her trail. Radically imaginative and achingly plain, Recall explores our need to feel connected, understood and loved. No matter the damage, no matter the cost.

Edgewise / by Eliza Clark

Work sucks, especially in the middle of a war zone. It's just another Saturday flipping burgers for three suburban teens, but when bombs start dropping and a bloodied stranger staggers in, these kids deal with the unknown the only way they know how - by tying it up. It's World War III at your local burger joint. Eliza Clark's terrifying comedy, originally produced by Page 73 Productions and The Play Company in NYC, builds suspense, rattles audiences, and poses questions about humanity in crisis.

Husbands / by Sharmila Chauhan

It's Aya's wedding day. Her third. Her current two husbands aren't too fussed. In a society in which there are few women, that's just what happens. But as the household prepares for the wedding feast, a stranger arrives -- one who threatens to challenge everything they believe in. Against a backdrop of modern rural India, Sharmila Chauhan weaves an extraordinary tale of love and wonder. From the preparation of luxury food and the sacrifice of the lamb to the dressing of the bride and the dance to end all dances, this will be an exuberant, joyful and thought provoking piece of theatre. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Husbands/HTALEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Husbands+/+by+Sharmila+Chauhan&printsec=frontcover

Lydia's funeral video : a solo play / by Sam Chanse

Lydia’s Funeral Video, a one-woman play that takes that most existential of quandaries — to be or not to be — and transposes it onto a dystopian not-so-distant future.

Red velvet / by Lolita Chakrabarti

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed on stage whilst playing Othello. A young black American actor has been asked to take over the role. But as the public riot in the streets over the abolition of slavery, how will the cast, critics and audience react to the revolution taking place in the theatre? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Red_Velvet/TLz4DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Red+velvet+/+by+Lolita+Chakrabarti&printsec=frontcover

Stone cold murder / by James Cawood

Newlyweds Robert and Olivia Chappell have bought a small hotel in the English Lake District, and at the end of their first season they settle down with a drink in front of a warm fire. But their evening is interrupted by the arrival of a rugged hiker seeking shelter from the snow storm outside. Unlike her husband, Olivia senses danger. Could the stranger have anything to do with her own dark past involving a stolen diamond and a dangerous ex-boyfriend looking for revenge? Another male visitor soon appears and Olivia’s worst nightmare comes true. A desperate fight for survival begins, shedding a very different light on all those involved while ratcheting up the suspense until the very end.

Wet house / by Paddy Campbell

When Andy, an idealistic young graduate, gets a job in a wet house, a homeless hostel where residents can drink alcohol, he is plunged into a twilight world where the rules about what is right and what is normal have become a little blurred. And that’s just among the other staff.

The pride / by Alexi Kaye Campbell

Alternating between 1958 and 2008, THE PRIDE examines changing attitudes to sexuality and the perennial themes of love, lust, and betrayal. In 1958, Philip is married to Sylvia but finds himself falling in love with another man. His refusal to acknowledge his true nature leads both him and the people he loves to a devastating conclusion. In 2008, Oliver is addicted to anonymous sexual encounters. Forced to make a choice between promiscuity and monogamy, he has to ask himself fundamental questions on the nature of intimacy and identity. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Pride/3lux5G_yY7cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+pride+/+by+Alexi+Kaye+Campbell&printsec=frontcover

Boeing Boeing / by Marc Camoletti ; translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans

Features self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has French, German and American fiancees, each beautiful airline hostesses with frequent 'layovers.' He keeps 'one up, one down and one pending' until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris and Bernard's apartment at the same time.

Equivocation / by Bill Cain

England, 1605: A terrorist plot to assassinate King James I and blow Parliament to kingdom come with 36 barrels of devilish gunpowder! Shagspeare (after a contemporary spelling of the Bard's name) is commissioned by Robert Cecil, the prime minister, to write the "true historie" of the plot. And it must have witches! The King wants witches! But as Shag and the acting company of the Globe, under the direction of the great Richard Burbage, investigate the plot, they discover that the King's version of the story might, in fact, be a cover-up. Shag and his actors are confronted with the ultimate moral and artistic dilemma. Speak truth to power-and perhaps lose their heads? Or take the money and lie? Is there a third option-equivocation? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Equivocation/559hBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=EQUIVOCATION+bill+cain&printsec=frontcover

What every girl should know / by Monica Byrne

In a Catholic reformatory in 1914, three teenage girls (Anne, Theresa, and Lucy) pass the time with masturbation rituals, though they're innocent of the "sinful" nature of the act. Then a belligerent new girl, Joan, shows up, bearing illegal contraband: birth control materials distributed by the women's-rights activist Margaret Sanger. The girls start reading the material and jokingly pretend to venerate Sanger as a saint, but then they undergo a profound conversion experience. They begin to follow Sanger's life in the newspaper, pretending that they're traveling on their own, assassinating enemies and taking lovers at will. Through their letters to each other, they reveal their pasts, marked by abuse. The girls slide deeper and deeper into their illusion, to the extent that objects from their fantasy world start appearing in the real one -- including a baby. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/What_Every_Girl_Should_Know/ciNgCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=What+every+girl+should+know+/+by+Monica+Byrne&printsec=frontcover

Mojo / by Jez Butterworth

Silver Johnny is the new singing sensation, straight out of a low-life Soho clubland bar in 1958. His success could be the big break for two dead-end workers in the bar, if they play their cards right and trust the owner of the place to make a good deal with the local money mogul. Before they can dream what to do with all the money they’ll make, the owner turns up dead, Silver Johnny disappears, the second in command takes over the bar, and power positions are juggled about. Going through the uppers and downers filched from pocketbooks, and trying to keep a lid on the precocious anger of the dead owner’s son, the band of losers figures out the law of the streets and who killed the boss, but not in time to save one of their own, and perhaps their souls. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mojo/k-PO9DdugwkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mojo+/+by+Jez+Butterworth&printsec=frontcover In the anthology: Mojo and Other Plays

The library / by Scott Z. Burns

After Caitlin Gabriel survives a deadly shooting at her high school, she struggles to tell her story to her parents, the authorities, and anyone who will listen. But there are other narratives that gain purchase in the media and paint her in a different light. Renowned Hollywood screenwriter Scott Z. Burns returns to the stage with this bold and chilling play that asks us to examine our relationship to the truth and the lies that claim to heal us. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Library/JCtfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+library+/+by+Scott+Z.+Burns&printsec=frontcover

Not the worst place / by Sam Burns

Seventeen-year-old Emma dreams of travelling adventures beyond her Swansea home. Rhys, her boyfriend, has other plans for them. Facing the consequences of their actions under the disapproving eye of Emma's mother, they struggle to find a happy medium. Now, camped out on Swansea seafront, they must confront the difficult question of what it takes to leave the place that shaped them. A story about what happens when life gets in the way of your dreams. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Not_The_Worst_Place/C0-JAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Not+the+worst+place+/+by+Sam+Burns&printsec=frontcover

Woyzeck : a play / by Georg Büchner ; adapted by Neil LaBute.

Georg Büchner's unfinished play about the poor soldier Woyzeck, subject of a medical experiment and tormented by hallucinations from a diet of only peas; his girlfriend, Marie, by whom he's fathered a child; Marie's overpowering desire for the alluring Drum-Major; and the murderous outcome of this oppressive admixture of circumstances is without a doubt one of the bleakest works of world literature. It is also considered by many to mark the beginning of modern drama. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Woyzeck/MxOEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Woyzeck+:+a+play+/+by+Georg+B%C3%BCchner+%3B+adapted+by+Neil+LaBute.&pg=PT13&printsec=frontcover

Mortal terror / by Robert Brustein

Mortal Terror is set in 1605, the year of the Gunpowder Plot, a terrorist conspiracy to blow up the houses of Parliament. Shakespeare, delicately balancing his allegiances to assure his own survival, is commissioned by King James to write a play to justify to the throne. That play is Macbeth.

The last will / by Robert Brunstein

The Last Will finds William Shakespeare retired at his country home on Stratford after decades of struggle and success in the city of London. In the last stages of a fatal illness, his deteriorating mind obliterates the distinction between fiction and fact, and the playwright begins acting as a character in his own plays. Richard Burbage, leader of Shakespeare's acting company, attempts to persuade him to return to London and to playwriting, as Will wrestles with his suspicions, delusions, family resentment, and final testaments. The Last Will is the final piece in a trilogy of plays by Robert Brustein about the life of Shakespeare

Drawing the line / by Howard Brenton

London, 1947. Summoned by the Prime Minister from the court where he is presiding judge, Cyril Radcliffe is given an unlikely mission. He is to travel to India, a country he has never visited, and, with limited survey information, no expert support and no knowledge of cartography, he is to draw the border which will divide the Indian sub-continent into two new Sovereign Dominions. To make matters even more challenging, he has only six weeks to complete the task. Wholly unsuited to his role, Radcliffe is unprepared for the dangerous whirlpool of political intrigue and passion into which he is plunged – untold consequences may even result from the illicit liaison between the Leader of the Congress Party and the Viceroy's wife… As he begins to break under the pressure he comes to realise that he holds in his hands the fate of millions of people.

Grounded / by George Brant

An unexpected pregnancy ends an ace fighter pilot's career in the sky. Reassigned to operate military drones from a windowless trailer outside Las Vegas, she hunts terrorists by day and returns to her family each night. As the pressure to track a high-profile target mounts, the boundaries begin to blur between the desert in which she lives and the one she patrols half a world away. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Grounded/-p38DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Grounded+/+by+George+Brant&printsec=frontcover

The house of fog / by Peter Brammer

Timothy Rackonsfield has brought his northern fiancée Lucy Lackenspiel to Rackonsfield House to meet his parents. Upon their arrival, however, Timothy's mother break the news of his father's death and the curse placed on the house when Timothy was a young boy. She then introduces him to the mysterious Count Silvio, who claims he can remove the curse and lay the ghost of his father and the other spirits to rest. What evil scheme is Count Silvio planning to hatch? Why is the ghost of Timothy's father so mean? Why has nobody heard of the Lackenspiels' famous cow and hippo farm? ANd why is there so much bloody smoke everywhere? These are all questions you will ask when you enter the House of Fog...

A hard rain / by Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper

Kicked out of the military after a year in Vietnam, Ruby rocks up in Greenwich Village in high heels and a rage, and meets the street kid who will change his world. A Hard Rain is a vibrant drama set during the sweltering few days in 1969 before the Stonewall riots erupted in New York. Unfolding in a Mafia-run bar greased with smart-talking queers, bribe-happy cops and nervous Wall Street high-flyers, it's a play about what happens when you push things underground.

A user's guide to Hell, featuring Bernard Madoff / by Lee Blessing

Is there really a Hell? This speculative dark comedy follows the footsteps of the highly guilty Ponzi-scheming Bernard Madoff (and Verge, his guide) through an updated version of Dante's Inferno. As a Jew, Bernie doesn't believe in Hell -- so why's he here? And why does everything look like Manhattan? Trying to solve these metaphysical mysteries, Bernie and Verge encounter both criminals and their prey. What kind of Hell is this? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_User_s_Guide_to_Hell_Featuring_Bernard/NwNgCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+user%27s+guide+to+Hell,+featuring+Bernard+Madoff+/+by+Lee+Blessing&printsec=frontcover

My name is... / by Sudha Bhuchar

When Gaby disappears from her Scottish home, it is assumed that her Pakistani father, Farhan, has kidnapped her. The spiralling headlines are only momentarily silenced when it emerges that Gaby may have fled of her own accord, choosing to spend her life in Pakistan. To the distress of her Scottish mother, Suzy, Gaby declares, “My name is Ghazala”, turning her back on "Gaby" and, seemingly, the West. This moving verbatim play reveals a cross-cultural love story that began in late-seventies Glasgow, a world away from the frantic "tug of love" well documented in the world's press. A captivating new play about love, family and ever-shifting identities, My Name Is . . . tells the story behind an event that fleetingly hit headlines in 2006 and continues to resonate throughout the UK and beyond. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_Name_Is/Jqj6AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+name+is...+/+by+Sudha+Bhuchar&printsec=frontcover

Invincible / by Torben Betts

The recession is biting hard and so Emily and Oliver have decided to downsize and shift their middle-class London lifestyle to a small town in the north of England. They want to live, work and to raise their two young children in a friendly community, among what Emily terms 'real people', away from the cold anonymity of the city. So these left-leaning, well-educated people have invited over two of their new neighbours in an attempt to break the ice. Tonight Alan and Dawn are to be offered olives, anchovies and are to be introduced to Karl Marx and abstract art. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Invincible/EzALEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Invincible+/+by+Torben+Betts&printsec=frontcover

The Explorers Club / by Nell Benjamin

London, 1879. The prestigious Explorers Club is in crisis: their acting president wants to admit a woman and their bartender is terrible. True, this female candidate is brilliant, beautiful, and has discovered a legendary lost city, but the decision to let in a woman could shake the very foundation of the British Empire, and how do you make such a decision without a decent drink? Grab your safety goggles for some very mad science involving deadly cobras, irate Irishmen, and the occasional airship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Explorers_Club/yudeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Explorers+Club+/+by+Nell+Benjamin&printsec=frontcover

Stroke of luck / by Larry Belling

Shortly after the death of his wife, Lester Riley, an invalid who has suffered a premature stroke, announces to his three estranged middle-aged children that he is getting married again – to his young, sexy Japanese nurse. His children are also shocked to learn that Lester has saved an enormous amount of money from his secret life as the exclusive television and radio repairman to a Long Island Mafia family. To stop the nurse from getting this surprise inheritance they must stop the marriage. They try every trick in the book: legal, religious, psychological and – in the case of one son – criminal. But they fail; or do they? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stroke_of_Luck/ftHaAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stroke+of+luck+/+by+Larry+Belling&printsec=frontcover

Plays eight / by Howard Barker

Includes the plays: The Bite of the Night -- Brutopia -- The Forty -- Wonder and Worship in the Dying Ward. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Barker_Plays_Eight/9zM2DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays+eight+/+by+Howard+Barker&printsec=frontcover

Nocturama / by Annie Baker

The play is set in Shirley, Vermont in 2007. Twenty-six year-old Skaggs comes to stay with his divorced mother, Judy, after suffering a nervous breakdown as a result of a breakup. Judy lives with her boyfriend Gary, who is overweight and addicted to video games, one in particular called Nocturama. During his stay, Skaggs visits the house/museum of a local 19th-century poet, who committed suicide. Tending the museum is Amanda, who is African-American and obsessed with the poet and her house. Skaggs invites Amanda over for dinner one night, which reveals Skagg's brooding nature and the tenuous structure of Judy and Gary's relationship.

Other desert cities : a play in two acts / by Jon Robin Baitz

A ... play about a family coming to terms with long held secrets. When a once-promising novelist returns home to Palm Springs to visit her parents conflict ensues after she announces the imminent publication of her memoir--a book that focuses on the politically explosive and tragic death of her antiwar-activist brother. With her parents trying to cling to their Reaganesque social status, the family is torn apart and must come to grips with its painful past. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Other_Desert_Cities/LIMm3GoA2-AC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Other+desert+cities+:+a+play+in+two+acts+/+by+Jon+Robin+Baitz&printsec=frontcover

Plays five / by Alan Ayckbourn

This fifth collection of Alan Ayckbourn's plays includes Snake in the Grass, If I Were You, Life and Beth, My Wonderful Day and Life of Riley.

Neighbourhood watch / by Alan Ayckbourn

Brother and sister Martin and Hilda Massie live together, leading a quiet, Christian existence in the confines of the Bluebell Hill Development. Just as they are preparing for a housewarming gathering, their peace is shattered by a young trespasser in their garden. The Massies' neighbours congregate in their living room and together they agree to form a neighbourhood watch group to safeguard against further incidents. But after the Massies' beloved garden gnome Monty is thrown through their window, matters swiftly escalate, complicated by Martin's burgeoning romance with Amy, wife of Gareth, who was formerly involved with Luther, husband of Magda... What begins as a well-intentioned scheme for a safer community ends in violence and acrimony. Online preview: https://shop.concordtheatricals.com/content/samples/103798/neighbourhoodwatch-9780573113185_nwaa_text_5x8.pdf

queerSpawn / by Mallery Avidon

queerSpawn tells the story of The Kid, a fourteen-year-old starting high school in a small town. Everyone knows he has two moms, and that's just the beginning of his trouble. While dodging bullies, The Kid invents a group of imaginary friends with whom to share his troubles, including sex/relationship advice columnist Dan Savage and Dr. McSteamy from TV's Grey's Anatomy. But as his reality becomes more and more hazardous, their 'help' becomes less and less helpful. Staring down four more friendless years, what is a Kid to do? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/queerSpawn/fXpfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=queerSpawn+/+by+Mallery+Avidon&printsec=frontcover

In Skagway / by Karen Ardiff

A compelling and lyrical tale of the desires and loyalties of women in an American wilderness. For years, Francis Harmon has traded off her reputation as a star actress in the prospering American cities. Now, at the end of the nineteenth century, she and her companion May have washed up in a cabin on the Alaskan frontier, while May's daughter prospects for gold. But the gold rush is almost exhausted, and when Francis is struck down by illness, they all must choose between facing up to a bleak future or giving in to the lure of the past.

I Forgive You, Ronald Reagan / by John S. Anastasi

This play explores the very real, very personal ramifications of the firing of more than 11,000 air traffic controllers in 1981 by President Reagan, an event that is characterized as one of the most important events in U.S. history. When it comes to air traffic, Ray Deluso, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, has everything under control. But on the ground, his life is a struggle after a rebellious, life-altering political decision in the early '80s, which he felt was in the best interest and welfare of his country. Twenty years later he is unable to accept the consequences of that decision and the overwhelming feelings of betrayal by friends as well as the country he fought for—which threatens to destroy him as well as the two most important people in his life: his wife and daughter. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exIForgiveYouRonaldReaganIF2.pdf

The new adventures of Don Quixote / by Tariq Ali

Tariq Ali’s latest play, The New Adventures of Don Quixote, can be read as an homage to German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht as much as a playful tribute to Cervantes’s masterwork. The central characters from the original novel, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, are mounted on their beasts of burden, Rocinante and the Mule, and Ali has them ride into the twenty-first century, where they are confronted by old, familiar vices: war, greed, ethnic and religious prejudices, disappointed love, and economic crisis. Amid the satirical and sad songs, there are odd moments of happiness for Quixote, when he imagines that a wounded US colonel is Dulcinea and allows himself to be seduced by her in a military hospital in Germany.

The Arab Shakespeare trilogy / by Sulayman Al Bassam

This volume brings together for the first time three of Al Bassam's adaptations of Shakespearean plays - including versions of Hamlet, Richard III and Twelfth Night - collectively known as The Arab Shakespeare Trilogy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Arab_Shakespeare_Trilogy/DSDkAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Arab+Shakespeare+trilogy+/+by+Sulayman+Al+Bassam&printsec=frontcover

The who and the what : a play / by Ayad Akhtar

Zarina has a bone to pick with the place of women in her Muslim faith, and she's been writing a book about the Prophet Muhammad that aims to set the record straight. When her traditional father and sister discover the manuscript, it threatens to tear her family apart. With humor and ferocity, Akhtar's incisive new drama about love, art, and religion examines the chasm between our traditions and our contemporary lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Who_The_What/Z-xDBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+who+and+the+what+:+a+play+/+by+Ayad+Akhtar&printsec=frontcover

Disgraced / by Ayad Akhtar

New York. Today. Corporate lawyer Amir Kapoor is happy, in love, and about to land the biggest career promotion of his life. But beneath the veneer, success has come at a price. When Amir and his artist wife, Emily, host an intimate dinner party at their Upper East Side apartment, what starts out as a friendly conversation soon escalates into something far more damaging Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Disgraced/mZ8dAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Disgraced+/+by+Ayad+Akhtar&printsec=frontcover

Stunning / by David Adjmi

Sixteen-year-old Lily knows nothing beyond the Syrian-Jewish community in Brooklyn where she lives a cloistered life with her much older husband. Soon an unlikely relationship with her enigmatic African-American maid opens Lily's world to new possibilities – but at a huge price. David Adjmi's daring new work shifts from caustic satire to violent drama as it exposes the ways we invent and defend our identities in the melting-pot of America. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stunning/mCFta4DvpPcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Stunning+/+by+David+Adjmi&printsec=frontcover

The evildoers / by David Adjmi

Carol and Jerry celebrate their anniversary with friends Martin and Judy. But an evening of haute cuisine and expensive wine is cut short when Martin, no longer able to repress years of frustration, lashes out at the people he loves. Soon, the facade of their pristine American lives shatters. With ferocious humor and violent turns, David Adjmi's searing drama lays bare the vast desolation that lies beneath a quiet dinner with friends.

Elective affinities / by David Adjmi

Elective Affinities takes the audience into the apartment of Alice, a witty octogenarian offering a funny and savage portrait of cultured life, promising to initiate a vital discourse about what it means to be civilized.

Gidion's Knot / by Johnna Adams

Over the course of a parent/teacher conference, a grieving mother and an emotionally overwhelmed primary school teacher have a fraught conversation about the tragic suicide of the mother's son, Gidion. Gidion may have been bullied severely-or he may have been an abuser. As his history is slowly uncovered, the women try to reconstruct a satisfying explanation for Gidion's act and come to terms with excruciating feelings of culpability. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gidion_s_Knot/mgZsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Gidion%27s+Knot+/+by+Johnna+Adams&printsec=frontcover

Journey to home / by Santayana Li

Santayana Li’s Journey to Home is an intensely poignant story based on the playwright’s own youth. Twenty years ago, Li’s mother left her family – Li, her father and her two elder sisters. Journey to Home charts the youngest daughter’s journey to Taiwan to find her mother after turning 18. That unforgettable experience was also the first time that the mother and daughter spent time together in two decades. This is a moving, thought-provoking coming-of-age story.

Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein : two horror plays / by Bryony Lavery

Bram Stoker’s Dracula adapted by Bryony Lavery This is the modern world. Its inhabitants can go anywhere, even to Transylvania. They can communicate globally in the blink of an eye. But their feet, in their modern shoes, walk upon the gravestones of a vast cosmic graveyard. Count Dracula is still alive. He could always come through walls, arrive on a moonbeam but, in the modern world, he has emails, smartphones, webcams and the worldwide web... Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein adapted by Lisa Evans Mary is imprisoned in a present-day psychiatric hospital, convicted of murdering her baby daughter. During her incarceration she becomes obsessed with Mary Shelley’s famous novel. The novel comes to life within her imagination, and we are left to question just who the real monster really is, Mary or Frankenstein himself...

Lovely head and other plays / by Neil LaBute

The title play, which had its American premiere at La MaMa in 2012, rivetingly explores the relationship between a nervous older man and a glib young prostitute, as their evening together drives toward a startling conclusion. Also included is the one-act play The Great War, which looks at a divorcing couple and the ground they need to cross to reach their own end of hostilities; In the Beginning, which was written as a response to the Occupy movement and produced around the world in 2012-13 as part of Theatre Uncut; The Wager, the stage version of the film Double or Nothing starring Adam Brody; the two-handers A Guy Walks Into a Bar, Over the River and Through the Woods, and Strange Fruit; and two powerful new monologues, Bad Girl and The Pony of Love.

In the wake / by Lisa Kron

It's Thanksgiving of 2000 and the presidential election still has not been decided. Ellen insists that her friends and family don't understand how bad the situation really is. But no one--not her loving partner, Danny, nor the passionate Amy, nor the brutally pragmatic and world-weary Judy--can make Ellen see the blind spot at the center of her own politics and emotional life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_the_Wake/RVT6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In+the+wake+/+by+Lisa+Kron&printsec=frontcover

The Laramie project / by Moisés Kaufman

The Laramie Project, one of the most-performed theater pieces in America, has become a modern classic. In this expanded edition, it is joined by an essential and moving sequel to the original play. On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence outside Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of brutality and hate that shocked the nation. Matthew Shepard’s death became a national symbol of intolerance, but for the people of the town, the event was deeply personal. In the aftermath, Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie and conducted more than 200 interviews with its citizens. From the transcripts, the playwrights constructed an extraordinary chronicle of life in the town after the murder. In The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, the troupe revisits the town a decade after the tragedy, finding a community grappling with its legacy and its place in history. The two plays together comprise an epic and deeply moving theatrical cycle that explores the life of an American town over the course a decade.

Too many cooks / by Marcia Kash

It's 1932 in Niagara Falls, Canada, where the rum-running business is at its peak. In the aftermath of the Crash, Irving Bubbalowe and his daughter, Honey, have risked everything they have to open a new gourmet restaurant. When their star - the renowned singing chef François LaPlouffe - fails to appear, tonight's grand opening is suddenly placed in jeopardy. However, when unemployed chef Frank Plunkett wanders in looking for work, Honey persuades him to masquerade as the missing LaPlouffe.

The North Pool / by Rajiv Joseph

Khadim has no idea why he's been called into the office of Dr. Danielson, the Vice Principal at Sheffield High. At first, Danielson is cagey, using a minor violation to keep the boy at school for detention. But as tension mounts, Danielson alternately plays good cop and bad, and winds up catching Khadim in a series of lies about crimes he may (or may not) have committed. The truth shifts constantly in this riveting cat-and-mouse thriller from Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph. What’s bothering Dr. Danielson? What are the secrets that trouble Khadim? As the semester reaches its final hour, the time for revelation begins. The North Pool is a psychological drama that weaves a timely character study about racial and cultural profiling in America, skillfully using an interrogation to peel away ever more unexpected layers of the characters’ lives as they navigate our increasingly complex society. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_North_Pool/UdwREAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+North+Pool+/+by+Rajiv+Joseph&printsec=frontcover

Toussaint Louverture : the story of the only successful slave revolt in history / by C.L.R. James

In 1934 C. L. R. James, the widely known Trinidadian intellectual, writer, and political activist, wrote the play Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History, which was presumed lost until the rediscovery of a draft copy in 2005. The play's production, performed in 1936 at London's Westminster Theatre with a cast including the American star Paul Robeson, marked the first time black professional actors starred on the British stage in a play written by a black playwright. This edition includes the program, photographs, and reviews from that production, a contextual introduction and editorial notes on the play by Christian Høgsbjerg, and selected essays and letters by James and others. In Toussaint Louverture, James demonstrates the full tragedy... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Toussaint_Louverture/SCAI6lgHuMgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Toussaint+Louverture+:+the+story+of+the+only+successful+slave+revolt+in+history+/+by+C.L.R.+James&printsec=frontcover

The school for lies : a play adapted from Molière's Le misanthrope / by David Ives

It's 1666 and the brightest, wittiest salon in Paris is that of Celimene, a beautiful young widow so known for her satiric tongue she's being sued for it. Surrounded by shallow suitors, whom she lives off of without surrendering to, Celimene has managed to evade love since her beloved husband died -- until today, when Frank appears. A traveler from England known for his own coruscating wit and acidic misanthropy, Frank turns Celimene's world upside-down, taking on her suitors, matching her barb for barb, and teaching her how to live again. (Never mind that their love affair has been engineered by a couple of well-placed lies.) This wild farce of furious tempo and stunning verbal display, all in very contemporary couplets, runs variations on Moliere's The Misanthrope, which inspired it. Another incomparable romp from the brilliant author of All in the Timing. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_School_for_Lies/OB77IVd7_KsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+school+for+lies+:+a+play+adapted+from+Moli%C3%A8re%27s+Le+misanthrope+/+by+David+Ives&printsec=frontcover

Ten chimneys / by Jeffrey Hatcher

Summer, 1938. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, the two most revered stars of the Broadway stage, have decided to perform Anton Chekhov's The Sea Gull. But first they must retreat to "investigate" the play at Ten Chimneys, their sprawling Wisconsin estate, surrounded by actors, family and hangers-on. When a young actress named Uta Hagen arrives, a romantic triangle begins to mirror the events in Chekhov's play about passion and art. The result is a funny, poignant and revealing look at private lives that never really leave the stage.

Go back to where you are / by David Greenspan

In Go Back to Where You Are God offers Passalus, a failed actor from ancient Athens festering in hell, the opportunity of redemption by returning to Earth to free a young woman from her domineering mother, Claire, a distinguished stage actress. Passalus accepts the proposal with the understanding that on completing his mission his soul be annihilated. God agrees - with the caveat that Passalus not become entangled in the lives of others. Granted the ability to shape-shift, Passalus assumes the role of a British matron and former actress, arriving at Claire’s summer home during a week-end in which she is hosting friends and family.

Milk like sugar / by Kirsten Greenidge

It's Annie Desmond's sixteenth birthday, and her friends have decided to help her celebrate in style, complete with a brand new tattoo. Before her special night is over, however, Annie and her friends enter into a life-altering pact. When Annie tries to make good on her promise to her friends, she's forced to take a good look at the world that surrounds her.

Truth and reconciliation / by Debbie Tucker Green

A hard-hitting, provocative new play from one of the United Kingdom's leading writers. From Rwanda to Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe to Bosnia, answers are demanded, reconciliation is hard to hear, and truth is rarely told. This bold drama sets out to inspire serious reflection by confronting, shocking, and unsettling audiences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/truth_and_reconciliation/hbxhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Truth+and+reconciliation+/+by+Debbie+Tucker+Green&printsec=frontcover

Relative good / by David Gow

In Relative Good, David Gow grapples with the complex implications of the War on Terror, and the resulting sweeping changes to law that allow authorities to violate basic civil rights. Mohamed El Rafi is a Syrian-born Canadian engineer. He's arrested in New York's JFK airport, held without explanation, interrogated, and eventually forced to sign papers that facilitate his deportation to Syria. As Canadian government involvement only worsens El Rafi's predicament, his lawyer and wife team up in an attempt to gain his freedom in a world where, as one character says, "Sometimes the price of freedom is freedom itself." This incisive drama lays bare the absurdity of official policy, and the human cost of racial profiling.

Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte ; adapted from Emily Brontë's novel / by Lucy Gough

The passionate but doomed relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff - and its destructive impact on those surrounding them - is one of the most famous and enduring love stories in the English language. In Lucy Gough's adaptation for the stage, the spirit of Emily Brontë's haunting novel is brought to exhilarating life.Growing up together on the Yorkshire moors, Catherine Earnshaw and the gypsy Heathcliff are inseparable after he is adopted into her family. But when Catherine agrees to marry the refined Edgar Linton, Heathcliff setshis mind to revenge.

Monkey bars / by Chris Goode

When you're a child you don't really think... cos you like to live like a child. Doesn't really seem you're just going to be an adult. Like time flies by and you just want... to, like, stay as a child, but you just enjoy things, the way it goes. Award-winning writer Chris Goode asked thirty 8-10 year olds to talk about their lives, their thoughts, their world. In Monkey Bars their words are spoken by adults. Not adults playing children, but adults playing adults, in adult situations. Monkey Bars is a revelatory verbatim show that is funny, touching and endlessly surprising. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Monkey_Bars/J4oHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Monkey+bars+/+by+Chris+Goode&printsec=frontcover

Kafka the musical / by Murray Gold

Kafka the musical is an engaging and unexpected fantasy in which Franz Kafka is woken one day by his imperious father to be told that a local impresario is willing to put on a theatrical version of his life. In the play a promising but unsuccessful writer finds himself in a world that is, for want of a better word, Kafkaesque. The play will make him money, something his writing hasn't done. Will this be the event that can turn his life around? Or is it really even happening? All the characters and familiar events of Kafka's life come together in a great melange so that reality belnds into dream.

Mrs. Dexter and her daily / by Joanna McClelland Glass

For the past ten years Edith Dexter has employed Peggy Randall as her housekeeper, but the time has come for them to part ways: Mrs. Dexter is moving after a difficult divorce. Before they can say goodbye, the women must prepare the house for potential buyers. As they go about their domestic tasks, both reflect on the hardships they have faced and on their fears of growing old alone. Though very different in class and culture, their lives have become closer than either expected, struggling with failed marriages, loneliness and the physical and mental threats of aging. A story of love and loss, Mrs. Dexter and Her Daily is a candid portrait of two elderly women dealing with the past and treading on into their senior years.

Abrogate / by Larry Gelbart

This political comedy from acclaimed film, theatre, and television legend Larry Gelbart examines the long-term consequences of the Bush-era White House through an imaginary hearing investigating the abrogation of human rights under the Bush regime. Hillary Clinton is now president and, in an attempt to sift through the debris of the post-Bush regime, holds a congressional meeting to explore how the atrocities during the previous administration could have possibly happened. As the hearing progressing, some shocking truths about the infamous conservative leaders are revealed.

Social darwinism / by Angela Gant

To anyone who has ever gotten a beat down for looking like a woman, being a woman, looking like a queer, being a queer, not being manly enough, being too manly, or having the audacity to be any race other than Caucasian, here's the last laugh!" Social Darwinism is a socio-political absurdist comedy that follows a familial group: an Alpha Male, Alpha Female, Second Banana (Subordinate Male), Subordinate Female, Adolescent Male, Adolescent Female, Outside Male, and Outside Female as they move through several different social classes as viewed by a Field Scientist and his Assistant.

Camerado & The trial of Pius XII: two plays / by Richard Gambino

Camerado is a play presenting the very dramatic life and compelling thoughts of Walt Whitman, who remains the foremost American poet of the greatness possible in the human spirit, and in the spirit of a vital democracy. His inspiring views and tough criticisms, expressed in simple, but beautiful and powerful language remain as critically relevant to us today as they were in his lifetime. History placed Pius XII on trial during his reign as pope, from 1939 to 1958, testing how a moral and religious leader, in his case of the largest Christian church on earth, should lead in the midst of World War II, the Cold War, and horrible mass crimes against humanity. This play presents very dramatic but fair views of that test and how the pope performed vis a vis them, and provokes thoughts about moral leaders facing great challenges in our time.

The train driver / by Athol Fugard

Roelf, a train driver, has spent weeks searching for the identities of a mother and child he unintentionally killed with his train. After a fruitless journey through shanty towns, he encounters an old gravedigger named Simon who helps the desperate man unburden his conscience. Based on a true story, The Train Driver is a soulful exploration of guilt, suffering, and the powerful bonds that grow between strangers. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Train_Driver_and_Other_Plays/SFX6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+train+driver+/+by+Athol+Fugard&printsec=frontcover

The labyrinth of love: inspired by El laberinto de amor / by Edward Friedman

This original drama from Edward Friedman aims at baroque intensity. The main characters are three women who escape from their homes, disguised as men, in order to seek independence. Each becomes a metaphorical playwright on the road to freedom. The three male love objects are at the mercy of the women, whose maneuverings bring them success, but only through a labyrinthine process of role-playing, cross-dressing, quick thinking, and collaborative efforts. Highlighting its comic frame, The Labyrinth of Love examines intersections of love, social customs, and gender politics.

Crossing the line: a Quixotic adventure in two acts / by Edward Friedman.

Crossing the Line: A Quixotic Adventure in Two Acts is based on Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote, published in two parts (1605, 1615). The play does not attempt to "adapt" the novel, but rather to evoke both Don Quixote's errant knighthood and Cervantes's confrontation with literary tradition. Each of the elements-the knight's actions and the author's self-conscious approach to writing-is broadly comic and, at the same time, profound, serious, and engaging.

Takin' over the asylum / by Donna Franceschild

When Ready Eddy McKenna, Soul Survivor and replacement window salesman, arrives to re-launch a defunct hospital radio station in a psychiatric unit, he turns more than the ramshackle station upside-down. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Takin_Over_the_Asylum/BvhgKv2vv7wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Takin%27+over+the+asylum+/+by+Donna+Franceschild&printsec=frontcover

Bookworms / by Bernard Farrell

Bookworms is centred around an all-female book club and their decision to allow men join them for the first time, with husbands invited in. Their daily lives spill over into the book discussions. where suspicions are roused and tempers are frayed. Larry, an out-of-work builder, and Robert, a banker, are struggling in different ways. Ann is showing off her home and trying to be the perfect hostess, while Jennifer isn't used to her position as top-dog being challenged. And poor Dorothy has had a tough time of it recently, and wants to share her literary opinions with the group.

Mies Julie : restitutions of body and soil since the Bantu Land Act No. 27 of 1913 and the Immorality Act No. 5 of 1927 / by Yael Farber

South African born internationally acclaimed theatre artist, Yael Farber, sets her explosive new adaptation of Strindberg's 'Miss Julie' in the remote, bleak beauty of the Eastern Cape Karoo. Transposed to a post-apartheid kitchen - a single night, both brutal and tender, unfolds between a black farm-labourer, the daughter of his master and the woman who has raised them both. The visceral struggles of contemporary South Africa are laid bare, as John and Mies Julie spiral in a deadly battle over power, sexuality, mothers and memory. Haunting and violent, intimate and epic, the characters struggle to address issues of reprisal and the reality of what can and cannot ever be recovered.

Knight watch / by Inua Ellams

In a world where tower blocks are stone mountains and city walls are urban tapestries retelling epic fights, Michael keeps away from the warring tribes until a passerby helps him out of a tight situation. Instantly, he is pulled into the culture he has tried to escape. The city spirals out of control as battle lines are drawn and redrawn. In the quest for balance, loyalty, faith and friendships are tested, but will Michael succeed in ending the war? In rhythmic, sizzling poetry award-winning spoken word artist, Inua Ellams, conjures the violence of a city not unlike London and imagines a more beautiful world beyond it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Knight_Watch/04kHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

Asuncion / by Jesse Eisenberg

Edgar and Vinny are not racist. In fact, Edgar maintains a blog condemning American imperialism and Vinny is three-quarters into a Ph.D. in Black studies. When a young Filipina woman named Asuncion becomes their new roommate, the boys have a perfect opportunity to demonstrate how open-minded they truly are. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Asuncion/Od638ASRyN8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Asuncion+/+by+Jesse+Eisenberg&printsec=frontcover

Mary Shelley / by Helen Edmundson

This title presents the astonishing tale of Mary Shelley - and how she came to write one of the greatest stories ever told, aged just 19. This powerful new play explores Shelley's remarkable life: her controversial philosopher father, her scandalous elopement aged 16 and how she wrote a novel, so radical in its ideology, that in 1817 she changed the literary landscape forever.

Shibari: A New Play / by Gary Duggan

An ad sales team leader on a joyride to self-destruction. A Romanian bookshop employee who wants to try something new. An entertainment journalist who wants out. A restaurant manager who mourns a suicide. An English movie star who seeks credibility by slumming it in theatre. A Japanese florist who feels it’s time to take another chance. Relationships are strained, snapped and formed in this modern-day look at life in a multi-cultural Dublin. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shibari/F4oHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

Kin / by Bathsheba Doran

Anna, a Texas Ivy League poetry scholar, and Sean, an Irish personal trainer, hardly seem destined for one another. But as their web of family and friends crosses distances both psychological and geographical, an unlikely new family is forged. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kin/0w42EUutt7QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kin+/+by+Bathsheba+Doran&printsec=frontcover

Reborning / by Zayd Dohrn

Art and life become disturbingly interchangeable when a sculptor of baby dolls meets a woman desperate to recreate the past. This dark comedy takes an unsettling look at work, latex, and the power of creation.

Things My Mother Taught Me / by Katherine DiSavano

Romantic comedy where Olivia and Gabe are moving into their first apartment together, halfway across the country from their parents, so imagine their surprise when everyone shows up to help them. Funny and touching, this one will make you laugh out loud and fall in love all over again.

The Theatre of E.E. Cummings / by E.E. Cummings

The Theatre of E. E. Cummings collects in their entirety Cummings’s long out-of-print theatrical works: the plays HIM (1927), Anthropos (1930), and Santa Claus (1946), and the ballet treatment Tom (1935). In HIM, a creatively blocked artist and his lover, Me, struggle to bridge the impasse in their relationship and in his art. In Anthropos, a Platonic parable, three “infrahumans” brainstorm slogans while a man sketches on a cave wall; and in Santa Claus, Death and Saint Nick exchange identities. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is reimagined as dance, transforming the novel into a symbolic attack against Evil itself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Theatre_of_E_E_Cummings/TFXCwvG1LjgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+theatre+of+E.E.+Cummings+/+by+E.E.+Cummings&printsec=frontcover

Women and War: A One Act Play / by Jack Hilton Cunningham.

Weaving together key narratives from the popular title, Women and War, this one act collection is perfect for high school and college performances. Through correspondence and monologues, in the style of reader's theater, Women and War: A One Act Play is a collection of fictional stories based on historical fact, told by generations of Americans impacted by conflict from The Great War to the War in Afghanistan. From housewife to worker, young bride to nurse, mother to widow, and now, young woman to soldier, these are tales of sacrifice, love, determination and hope told by those who bravely persevere on the home front and on the battlefield.

Herding Cats / by Lucinda Coxon

Lucinda Coxon's play Herding Cats is a dark drama about the difficulty of negotiating intimacy and independence in the twenty-first century. It was first staged at the Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath, on 7 December 2010. The play is set in 'the city', in 'the present'. Justine, in her late twenties, has a new boss, Nigel, whose lewd remarks and provocative suggestions she can't stand. Her housemate Michael, also in his late twenties, chats to strangers for a living, about their sexual fantasies. Saddo, in his fifties, is one of his clients, and Michael is gradually drawn into Saddo's sadistic fantasies concerning his own daughter. All three appear to be living a comic fiction in an attempt to avoid the facts. And now Christmas is coming.

Great Expectations : Adapted from Charles Dickens's Novel / by Jo Clifford

Great Expectations is the epic coming of age novel from Charles Dickens about a young boy who sets out to seek his way in the world and discovers great potential in himself.

The Tree of Knowledge / by Jo Clifford

As austerity measures continue to bite and unemployment statistics make headlines, it becomes easier to focus on the present and much harder to step back and reflect on the events that led us here. The ideologies and greed that have gotten out of hand in recent years derive from the philosophies of David Hume and Adam Smith who worked and lived throughout the 18th century. What would they make of us now? Jo Clifford attempts to answer this in a darkly funny and tragically reflective look at how two men, three hundred years ago have shaped our culture, economy and potentially our future.

Undesirable Elements / by Ping Chong.

UE/Asian America is a powerful exploration of the Asian-American experience in New York, featuring real people telling their personal experiences of creating cultural identity out of a rich and complex heritage. The cast consists of six artists, writers, and activists from diverse Asian-American backgrounds (South Asia, Pacific Islands, Central Asia, East Asia), each sharing their own real-life experiences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Undesirable_Elements/ME36CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Undesirable+Elements+/+by+Ping+Chong.&printsec=frontcover

Before It Rains / by Katherine Chandler

Before It Rains is set on a proud, forgotten Cardiff estate. Gloria is a single mum who enjoys sitting in her deckchair drinking her troubles away on her allotment, while her gentle son, Michael, digs the soil and makes sure everything is in order. From a relocated, troubled home, Carl -- wild, unpredictable and near feral watches both the mother and son with interest, bouncing his ball. It's a play about what a mother would do to protect her son and how complicated friendship can be when you haven't been taught to love. Funny, brave and beautifully told, Katherine Chandler's tale of parenthood, protection and provocation looks at how we all develop our own ways of coping with the world, our craving for companionship and the consequences of having either threatened.

Next Swan Down the River Might Be Black / by Sean Burn

Next swan down the river might be black is a poetic and personal response to being sectioned under the mental health act. We follow the shifting alliances of three young women on a psychiatric ward over one momentous week. Cerys, nineteen, black and depressive, Kay, twenty-six, white and bipolar, and Zee, a Pakistani-British student nurse and former service user, are all fighting a faceless institution in their own way. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Next_Swan_Down_the_River_Might_be_Black/UUKeDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Next+Swan+Down+the+River+Might+Be+Black+/+by+Sean+Burn&pg=PT4&printsec=frontcover

All-American / by Julia Brownell

ALL-AMERICAN is the story of a modern American family: suburban dad and former NFL star Mike Slattery works hard to make his daughter, Katie, the star quarterback at her new school while ignoring her brainy twin brother, Aaron. But Katie isn't sure she wants to keep playing, and Mike's wife, Beth, isn't sure she wants to keep playing along. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_American/ucDMhOKfGwAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=All-American+/+by+Julia+Brownell&printsec=frontcover

Atypical Boy / by Laurie Brooks

In a fantastical world (not entirely unlike our own) where "conformity is compulsory," Boy cannot conform. Others make a desperate attempt to fix him, but neither they nor he can change his nature. Labeled a monster by the experts, Boy is shunned until, heartbroken and alone, he disappears into a world of monsters. There, Boy struggles with Hugo, ruled by his monster side, and is drawn to Girl, who is still in touch with her true feelings. A metaphor for invisible disabilities and disenfranchised youth, this play asks the question: Will Boy hold on to his humanity and accept himself, or will he become a monster? A cautionary tale that presents a comic anti-model of behavior, this entertaining fable for all times and all ages tells about the beauty and danger of being different in a world where conformity is valued and individuality is feared. Preshow audience interaction with the ensemble sets the tone for this highly original play, and a unique interactive experience called "The Forum" is built into the running time of the play to actively involve the audience in exploring the timely issues of belonging, conforming and individuality. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exAtypicalBoyAK1.pdf

Life of Galileo / by Bertolt Brecht

Arguably Brecht's greatest play, A Life of Galileo charts the seventeenth century scientist's extraordinary fight with the church over his assertion that the earth orbits the sun. The figure of Galileo, whose 'heretical' discoveries about the solar system brought him to the attention of the Inquisition, is one of Brecht's more human and complex creations. Temporarily silenced by the Inquisition's threat of torture, and forced to abjure his theories publicly, Galileo continues to work in private, eventually smuggling his work out of the country. Brecht's beautiful depiction of the explosive struggle between scientific discovery and religious fundamentalism is captured masterfully in this new translation by RSC writer-in-residence, Mark Ravenhill. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Life_of_Galileo/mSlMAQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Life+of+Galileo+/+by++Bertolt+Brecht+mark+ravenhill&printsec=frontcover

Valentine: The Quintessential Vampire / by Peter Brammer

Valentine, a 100-year-old human-vampire hybrid, late-night florist living in Putney, is waiting for his full vampiric traits to kick in. He lives with his sister Natalia and is incredibly lonely until the bubbly Hayley wanders into his shop ... Can a vampire have a healthy relationship with a mortal that doesn't end in blood being spilt?

All New People / by Zach Braff

The dead of winter, Long Beach Island, New Jersey, Charlie, has hit rock bottom. Away from the rest of the world, this perfect escape is interrupted by a motley parade of misfits who show up and change his plans. A hired beauty, a fireman, and an eccentric British real estate agent desperately trying to stay in the country all suddenly find themselves tangled together in a beach house where the mood is anything but sunny. This pithy piece portrays a scenario of attempted suicide with mordant humor, where a basis of social alienation leads to unexpected connections. The richly-drawn characters are quick-witted and narcissistic yet self-aware and the dialogue is fluid and witty. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_New_People/PleONy9-uQkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=All+New+People+/+by+Zach+Braff&printsec=frontcover

Longing / by William Boyd

All things pass – is this your philosophy? Is there no room for love in your philosophy of life? Renowned and best-selling novelist William Boyd, CBE, adapts two Chekhov short stories, A Visit to Friends and My Life, to weave a comic tale about nineteenth-century Russian provincial life, both familiar and unfamiliar. When Kolia is invited to visit his oldest friends on their Estate in the country he anticipates a pleasant break from Moscow life. But as the comedy of provincial life plays out around him, he finds himself adrift in a miasma of false expectations, missed opportunities, and unspoken passions. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Longing/dS9MAQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Longing+/+by+William+Boyd&printsec=frontcover

One-Act Plays / by Steven Berkoff

Collecting together nineteen one-act plays, this volume presents never-before-published material. Abusive, shocking and endlessly surprising, these sharply written pieces showcase Berkoff's trademark controversy, black humour and dramatic dialectics.Themes that haunt much of his work are present: his luxurious verbosity; his counterpoint of crude street-patter and elegiac proclamation; sex wars; class wars; dislocation and abandonment of love in a thankless and unyielding world.

One Man, Two Guvnors / by Richard Bean

In 1963 Brighton, out-of-work skiffle player Francis Henshall becomes separately employed by two men – Roscoe Crabbe, a gangster, and Stanley Stubbers, an upper class twit. Francis tries to keep the two from meeting, in order to avoid each of them learning that Francis is also working for someone else. Complicating events, Roscoe is really Rachel Crabbe in disguise, her twin brother Roscoe having been killed by her boyfriend, who is none other than Stanley. Complicating events still further is local mobster Charlie the Duck, who has arranged his daughter Pauline's engagement to Roscoe despite her preference for over-the-top amateur actor Alan Dangle. Even further complications are prompted by several letters, a very heavy trunk, several unlucky audience volunteers, an extremely elderly waiter and Francis' pursuit of his twin passions: Dolly (Charlie's feminist bookkeeper) and food and drink. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/One_Man_Two_Guvnors/JPMOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=One+Man,+Two+Guvnors+/+by+Richard+Bean&printsec=frontcover

Shalom Baby / by Rikki Beadle-Blair

In 1930s Berlin - an intriguing city of Jazz and overground cabaret overpowered by the rise of Hitler and World War II - the daughter of a Jewish family falls in love with their black shabbes goy (a term used for those who assist Jews on the Sabbath with tasks forbidden to Jews within Jewish law). Fast-forward to the tale of a mixed-race couple in seemingly unprejudiced modern-day Brooklyn, where the same family is coping with a number of calamities. Shalom Baby is a touching and very funny exploration of love, family and friendship. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shalom_Baby/y4oHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

The Girl I Left Behind Me / by Neil Bartlett and Jessica Walker

A cool and contemporary look at one of the most intriguing aspects of musical theatre – just what is it that makes a woman in trousers so appealing? Accompanied by a piano, mezzo-soprano Jessica Walker dons a few well-chosen items of male attire, giving a supremely well-sung performance that conjures up an entire world, from the swaggering cross-dressers of the Victorian Music Hall to the ambiguous boy-heroes of Mozart and Strauss, to the back-room bulldykes of the Harlem Renaissance Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Girl_I_Left_Behind_Me/0YkHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

Three Sisters in a New Version / by Benedict Andrews

In a remote Russian town, Olga, Masha and Irina yearn for the adrenaline rush of life in Moscow – but their plans go nowhere. Disaster, deception, meaningless self-sacrifice – in Chekhov’s heartbreaking masterpiece, each new twist of fate sees the sisters’ control over their destiny slip away. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Three_Sisters/d4oHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Three+Sisters+in+a+New+Version+/+by+Benedict+Andrews&pg=PT33&printsec=frontcover

Tru: From the Words and Works of Truman Capote / by Jay Presson Allen

Winner! 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show Adapted from the words and works of Truman Capote, Tru takes place in the writer's New York City apartment during the week before Christmas 1975. An excerpt from Capote's infamous novel Answered Prayers has recently been published in Esquire and the author's friends, recognizing the characters as thinly veiled versions of themselves, have turned their back on the man they once considered a close confidant. Alone and hurting, Capote soothes himself with pills, alcohol, and chocolate truffles while musing about his checkered life and career.

Mustafa / by Naylah Ahmed

Mustafa is in prison serving 14 years for the death of a teenage boy during an attempted exorcism. Racked with guilt at the loss of an innocent life and isolated in a world where his beliefs are constantly challenged, he tries to keep his head down to avoid drawing attention to himself. But soon, the prisoners who have been taunting him suffer unexplained injuries and the prison officers start behaving strangely. Mustafa believes that something, out of his control, is making his sentence intolerable, whilst others are sceptical of his odd behaviour. Is Mustafa the innocent, spiritual man he claims to be, or is a djinn, the evil spirit that he tried to banish from the boy's body, inside the prison looking for its next victim? A compelling and vivid ghost story, Mustafa will have audiences on the edge of their seats.

The Prophet / by Hassan Abdulrazzak

It's January 28th 2011 and Egypt stands on the brink. For three days the streets of Cairo have been pounded by the feet of thousands of protesters marching against the ossified, stagnant regime of Hosni Mubarak. But for Layla and Hisham, a young couple living in downtown Cairo, a dictatorial and corrupt government is only one of their problems. As the world shares this, cataclysmically, around them, some long hidden secrets threaten to emerge and tear them apart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Prophet/y4kHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

First person shooter : a drama in one act / by Don Zolidis

After a horrific school shooting, a community is left to pick up the pieces. Whay did this happen? The only friend of the shooter, Tad, who managed to stop the killer early in the rampage, blames himself. What's it like to be the best friend of a killer? Tortured and guilty, Tad is forced to examine his life and his relationship with his best friend, and where it went wrong .. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exFirstPersonShooterFE8.pdf

The white snake : a play / by Mary Zimmerman

In a beloved Chinese legend, a snake spirit disguised as a beautiful woman falls in love with a young scholar. White Snake keeps her true identity secret from him, but a disapproving monk persists in unmasking her. With the help of Green Snake, White Snake summons all her magic powers to defeat the spirits and monsters threatening her life and her great love The primary source of this play, based on the ancient White Snake story, is a 1956 novel by Zhao Qingge called The Legend of the White Snake, translated by Paul White (New World Press Limited, 1998

Argonautika : the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts / by Mary Zimmerman

Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts was adapted primarily from two versions of the ancient tale: The Argonautika, by Apollonios Rhodios, translated by Peter Green; and The Voyage of the Argo: The Argonautica of Gaius Valerius Flaccus, translated by David Slavitt Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Argonautika/ytPIUbyN1PUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Argonautika+:+the+voyage+of+Jason+and+the+Argonauts+/+by+Mary+Zimmerman&printsec=frontcover

Einstein is a dummy / book and lyrics by Karen Zacarías ; music by Deborah Wicks La Puma

As an adult, Albert Einstein changed our view of the universe. But as a boy, he struggled with the same issues any twelve year-old might – keeping up with violin lessons, impressing the girl next-door and – oh yeah, comprehending the fundamental relationship of space and time to the speed of light, of course. This uplifting play about a fictional day in young Einstein’s life confirms that each of us is both ordinary and special. With an engaging, original score, a healthy dose of imagination, and the help of a mysterious cat, Einstein is a Dummy reveals life’s atomic possibilities. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exEinsteinIsADummySmallE81.pdf

Chasing George Washington : a White House adventure / book and lyrics by Karen Zacarias ; music by Deborah Wicks La Puma

Field trips are fun, especially when your destination is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! In this charming and exciting new musical, Dee, José, and Annie accidentally knock George Washington out of his portrait and into real life–turning their White House tour into an unexpected adventure. As they try to get the nation’s First President back into his painting, the threesome encounters Jacqueline Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd, Dolley Madison, and other famous White House residents. Together, they learn that the White House isn’t just a historic building…it’s also a home. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exChasingGeorgeWashingtonCP4.pdf

The thrill of love / by Amanda Whittington

A divorcee with a young child to care for, Ruth Ellis works in the kind of nightclubs where there's more than just a drink to offer. The girls work hard, play hard and dream of a movie-star life. Then she meets the wealthy, womanising David, a racing driver with whom she becomes obsessed. Fame comes - but not in the way she imagines. Why does their relationship end in murder? Why does she plead not guilty but offer no defence? Why does she show no remorse? And who is she trying to protect? The Thrill of Love ... dramatises the true story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, and takes a fresh look at the woman behind the headlines.

Black Medea : adaptations for modern plays / edited by Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr

Black Medea is an anthology of six adaptations of the Euripidean tragedy by contemporary American playwrights that present Medea as a woman of color, combined with interviews, analytical essays and introductions which frame the original and adaptations. Jim Magnuson’s African Medea, for example, sets the play in Angola in the early nineteenth century with Medea as an African princess and Jason as a Portuguese soldier. Ernest Ferlita’s Black Medea, set in New Orleans in 1810, posits Medea as a voodoo priestess and Jason as a French colonial aristocrat. Silas Jones’s American Medea is set at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate, with Medea as a slave a Jason as an American colonist. Steve Carter’s Pecong sets the play in the Caribbean, at Carnival time, with a black Jason chasing a black Medea, only to spurn her and pay the price. Marianne McDonald’s Medea, Queen of Colchester presents the character as a black drag queen, a young man who is as much an outsider in his society as Medea was in Athens. Edris Cooper’s The Tragedy of Medea Jackson sets the play in contemporary San Francisco. All adaptations must in some way deal with issues of race and gender.

Lonely, I'm not / by Paul Weitz

At an age when most people are discovering what they want to do with their lives, Porter has been married and divorced, earned seven figures as a corporate ninja, and had a nervous breakdown. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lonely_I_m_Not/f7phBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lonely,+I%27m+not+/+by+Paul+Weitz&printsec=frontcover

O starry starry night : a play / by Derek Walcott

A new play by Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott, exploring the fraught friendship between master painters Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/O_Starry_Starry_Night/maB_AQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=O+starry+starry+night+:+a+play++/+by+Derek+Walcott&printsec=frontcover

Death by design : a comedy with murder / by Rob Urbinati

What happens when you mix the brilliant wit of Noel Coward with the intricate plotting of Agatha Christie? Set during a weekend in an English country manor in 1932, this musical version of Rob Urbinati's Death by Design is a delightful and mysterious “mash-up” of two of the greatest English writers of all time, with a terrific musical theatre score that kills!

The how and the why / by Sarah Treem

Evolution and emotion collide in Sarah Treem's thought-provoking and sharp play about science, family, and survival of the fittest. On the eve of a prestigious conference, an up-an-coming evolutionary biologist wrestles for the truth with an established leader in the field. This intimate and keenly perceptive play explores the difficult choices faced by women of every generation.

Bound by Blood / by Clinnesha D. Sibley

Inspired by a photo of Theatrice Bailey cleaning up Dr. Martin Luther King's blood after his assasination. In the anthology: King Me

Heartless : a play / by Sam Shepard

When Roscoe, a 65-year-old Cervantes scholar, runs off with a young woman named Sally, he decides to stay a while in her family home. Soon he discovers that Sally's house--once inhabited by James Dean; perched precariously over the San Fernando valley--is filled with secrets, sadness, and haunted women who cannot leave themselves or anyone else in peace. From Lucy, Sally's suspicious sister, to Mable, their Shakespeare-quoting invalid mother, to Elizabeth, Mable's lovely and mysteriously mute nurse, the forces of the house conspire to make Roscoe question his assumptions about everything. As scars and histories are revealed, Shepard shows, as only he can, what happens when the secrets simmering within a family boil over. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Heartless/uL59DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Heartless+:+a+play+/+by+Sam+Shepard&printsec=frontcover

Tender napalm / by Philip Ridley

Tender Napalm is a high-impact, high-concept exploration of the relationship between two people and the violent world that surrounds them ... and the place where these things meet. Explosive, poetic and brutal, the play weaves a compelling tapestry to re-examine and re-define the language of love ... and how that love struggles to survive in the face of catastrophe. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tender_Napalm/Dx9nBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tender+napalm+/+by+Philip+Ridley&printsec=frontcover

Shivered / by Philip Ridley

A young couple are moving into their new home. A soldier is being held hostage. Two boys are searching for monsters. All these things are connected by both family and time ... but what story can be told when family and time are broken? Covering over twelve years, 'Shivered' unpicks the story of two families and then re-weaves it into something new and startling. Seven people, one war, a derelict car plant and mysterious lights in the sky ... all come together in the Essex new-town of Draylingstowe, where the view from green hills once offered hope and prosperity for all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shivered/o0SJAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Shivered+/+by+Philip+Ridley&printsec=frontcover

Anton Chekhov's The Seagull : in a new version / by Anya Reiss

We need the theatre, couldn't, couldn't do without it. Could we? A successful actress visits her brother's isolated estate far from the city, throwing the frustrated residents unfulfilled ambitions into sharp relief. As her son attempts to impress with a self-penned play, putting much more than his pride at stake, others dream of fame, love and the ability to change their past. Chekhov's darkly comic masterpiece is reignited for the 21st century by one of the most exciting new voices in British Theatre, Anya Reiss, Winner of the Most Promising Playwright at both the Evening Standard and Critics Circle awards. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Seagull/28a6EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Anton+Chekhov%27s+The+Seagull+:+in+a+new+version+/+by+Anya+Reiss&printsec=frontcover

Collected plays / by Theresa Rebeck

Includes the plays: v. 1. 1989-1998. Spike heels -- Sunday on the rocks -- Loose knit -- The family of Mann -- View of the dome -- Does this woman have a name? -- The bar plays -- Sex with the censor -- What we're up against -- The contract -- Katie and Frank -- Great to see you -- -- v. 3. Short plays, 1989-2005 -- v.4. 2007-2012. Mauritius -- The understudy -- Our house -- O beautiful -- Seminar -- Dead accounts -- What we're up against.

Plays, 3 / by Mark Ravenhill

Includes the plays: Shoot/Get treasure/Repeat -- Over there -- A life in three acts -- Ten plagues -- Ghost story -- The experiment. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ravenhill_Plays_3/1VEBAQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plays,+3+/+by+Mark+Ravenhill&printsec=frontcover

Candide / by Mark Ravenhill

Candide is an optimist. A dreamer. He believes that everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. But that belief is about to be tested as Candide's comfortable life is overtaken by an endless barrage of misfortune. As his world collapses around him, we are transported across the centuries to new locations and parallel universes. How will Candide's optimism fare when it collides with life in the twenty-first century. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Candide/Tc_UAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Candide+/+by+Mark+Ravenhill&printsec=frontcover

An early history of fire / by David Rabe

Early 1960s in a Midwestern town. Danny Mueller's working class life is one of fierce loyalty to childhood friends, Jake and Terry. But the bigger world is stirring once he meets Karen, back from college in the east and alluring because of what she knows, and unsettling for that same reason. The grip of Danny's past is intensified by his father, a German immigrant mourning a vanished world of lost prestige. For Pop the question is how to let go of a son and life he never quite had now that the future has shrunk to almost nothing. While Danny hopes to change without betraying the bonds that have sustained him, Karen, a whirl of brilliance, looks to J.D. Salinger for answers and to Danny for a simplicity he does not possess. To fall in love, to have a destiny, to know what it is. That's what they all want, even Benji hanging onto Pop, and Shirley, too, adrift in a way she could not have foreseen. The old look backward and the young look ahead, while we watch from the future they long to inhabit. And it's all about to burn in the heat of whatever's coming. The way it always does.

Protest song / by Tim Price

Danny sleeps rough on the streets of St Paul's Cathedral. Has done for years. Then one morning he wakes up to see a canvas city being erected in front of him. And Danny finds himself swept up in the last occupation of London. Protest Song is a fictional play inspired by real events. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Protest_Song/LShtAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Protest+song+/+by+Tim+Price&printsec=frontcover

Wolf Hall ; &, Bring up the bodies : RSC stage adaptation / by Mike Poulton ; based on the novels by Hilary Mantel

A new, revised edition for the London transfer of Mike Poulton’s expertly adapted two-part adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s hugely acclaimed novels, featuring a substantial set of character notes by Hilary Mantel. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wolf_Hall_Bring_Up_the_Bodies_The_Stage/Qit-BAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Wolf+Hall+%3B+%26,+Bring+up+the+bodies+:+RSC+stage+adaptation&printsec=frontcover

Shakespeare's nigga / by Joseph Jomo Pierre

Shakespeare holds the fate of several black slaves in his hands. Among them are the rebellious Aaron and the obedient Othello, who each have complicated relationships with Shakespeare's daughter, Judith. But a vital secret remains hidden that could untangle complex familial ties and change the course of their history.

An Iliad / by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare ; based on Homer's The Iliad ; translated by Robert Fagles

An Iliad is a modern-day retelling of Homer's classic. Poetry and humor, the ancient tale of the Trojan War and the modern world collide in this captivating theatrical experience. The setting is simple: the empty theater. The time is now: the present moment. The lone figure onstage is a storyteller -- possibly Homer, possibly one of the many bards who followed in his footsteps. He is fated to tell this story throughout history. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/4481.pdf

Black 'n blue boys/broken men / by Dael Orlandersmith

This gritty, one-man play portrays five unforgettable male characters, linked by their efforts to forge identities in families fractured by abuse. Each relates a story that transforms these challenges into a celebration of our capacity to survive. Orlandersmith created this piece after working at a shelter for homeless youth in the 1980s, and her writing brings these characters roaring to life. At once powerful and heartbreakingly poetic, Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men will leave you breathless. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Black_N_Blue_Boys_Broken_Men/63BVBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Black+%27n+blue+boys/broken+men+/+by+Dael+Orlandersmith&printsec=frontcover

Angels / by Ronan O'Donnell

A suspicious death in the workplace, and loner security guard Nick Prentice is hauled in for interrogation. The Inspector thinks he's got his man, as Nick's seedy wee 'stories' seem to nail him to the crime. Is he complicit in the death of two-bit shoplifter Gary Glover? Will Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson come to his rescue?

Assisted living / by Deirdre O'Connor

Anne Kelly needs help. She’s pushing forty and still lives with her mother. Her deadbeat brother won’t return her calls, and the ancient family home seems to be falling down around her. When a younger man with a troubled past comes into her life, Anne begins to see the upside of not always being the grown-up. ASSISTED LIVING is a funny and surprising look at the struggle to discover where our families end, and we begin. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Assisted_Living/GEZkRFNaXs4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Assisted+living+/+by+Deirdre+O%27Connor&printsec=frontcover

Plays and Teleplays / by Flann O'Brien

Includes Stage Plays: Faustus Kelly -- Thirst (short version) -- Thirst (long version) -- The insect play -- An scian -- The handsome carvers -- A moving tale: a Dublin hallucination -- Television Plays: The boy from Ballytearim -- The time Freddy retired -- Flight -- The man with four legs -- The dead spit of Kelly -- O'Dea's your man, episode one; The meaning of malt -- Th' oul lad of Kilsalaher, episode one; Trouble about names.

The low road / by Bruce Norris

A young entrepreneur sets out on a quest for wealth with priceless ambition and a purse of gold. A fable of free market economics and cut-throat capitalism. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Low_Road/9SWNDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+low+road+/+by+Bruce+Norris&printsec=frontcover

Solomon and Marion / by Lara Foot Newton

Over the years, Marion has watched her life drain away. Children and husband gone, she ekes out her life in a country utterly transformed. But it's the only home she has. As the new South Africa prepares for the World Cup finals, old divisions and suspicions seem as deep as ever, and the intruder she has been expecting, dreading and needing, arrives. Will true reconciliation turn darkness into hope? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Solomon_and_Marion/p4sHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Solomon+and+Marion+/+by+Lara+Foot+Newton&printsec=frontcover

Bluebeard / by Hattie Naylor

Bluebeard invites you into his chamber to share in the violent passion of his deviant acts. Will he excite you? Will he seduce you? Will he love you to death?

Engaging Shaw / by John Morogiello

The hilarious true story of Irish playwright Bernard Shaw’s relationship with wealthy heiress Charlotte Payne-Townshend. According to her, “no man can resist a woman once she has set her sights upon him, unless thwarted by another woman.” But confirmed bachelor Shaw may prove to be more than she bargained for.

Detroit '67 / by Dominique Morisseau

It's 1967 in Detroit. Motown music is getting the party started, and Chelle and her brother Lank are making ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours joint. But when a mysterious woman finds her way into their lives, the siblings clash over more much more than the family business. As their pent-up feelings erupt, so does their city, and they find themselves caught in the middle of the '67 riots. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Detroit_67/QZoJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Detroit+%2767+/+by+Dominque+Morisseau&printsec=frontcover

Three plays / by Charles Morgan

The combination of serious themes with dramatic tension and masterly craftsmanship was continued in his other plays, The River Line and The Burning Glass, which are also included in this collection. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Morgan_Three_Plays/B-waVHaB5kMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Three+plays+/+by+Charles+Morgan&printsec=frontcover

Marcus, or, The secret of sweet / by Tarell Alvin McCraney

Marcus is sixteen and "sweet." Days before Hurricane Katrina strikes the projects of Louisiana, the currents of his life converge, overflowing into his close-knit community and launching the search for his sexual and personal identity on a cultural landscape infused with mysterious family creeds. The provocative, poignant, and fiercely humorous coming-of-age of a young gay man in the South, Marcus is the stirring conclusion of The Brother/Sister Plays Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marcus_Or_The_Secret_of_Sweet/9J9sBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Marcus,+or,+The+secret+of+sweet+/+by+Tarell+Alvin+McCraney&printsec=frontcover

The brothers Size / by Tarell Alvin McCraney

In the Louisiana bayou, big brother Ogun Size is hardworking and steady. Younger brother Oshoosi is just out of prison and aimless. Elegba, Oshoosi's old prison-mate, is a mysterious complication. A simple circle defines a world that begins in ritual and evolves into a tough and tender drama of what it means to brother and be brothered. Flights of poetry, music, dance and West African mythology combine in a contemporary tale that explores the tenuousness of freedom and the need to belong somewhere, to something, to someone. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Brothers_Size/YLxhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+brothers+Size+/+by+Tarell+Alvin+McCraney&printsec=frontcover

The grand gesture / by Deborah McAndrew ; freely adapted from the Suicide by Nikolai Erdman

Simon Duff is unemployed, broke and desperate ... When word gets out that Duff is going to top himself, a host of ne'er-do-wells crawl out of the woodwork, each wanting to claim his grand gesture for their 'noble cause'. Let's face it, why waste a death? But which cause shall it be - love, politics, religion or the rising price of fish Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Grand_Gesture/5V8BAQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+grand+gesture+/+by+Deborah+McAndrew+%3B+freely+adapted+from+the+Suicide+by+Nikolai+Erdman&pg=PT1&printsec=frontcover

Golgotha / by Nirjay Mahindru

Two people, united by blood and separated by time, weave the tapestry of their lives. Loretta arrives in Victorian England as a wide-eyed young Ayah for two children. Her dream is to earn enough money to pay for a ticket back to her beloved Indian homeland. However fate intervenes leaving her destined to a controversial, colourful life in Victorian London. A century later, Loretta's great great grandson Kalil leaves his East African homeland to start a life in England. He dreams of respect and the good life for his family but, as it did for his ancestor, fate intervenes. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Golgotha/UYsHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Golgotha+/+by+Nirjay+Mahindru&printsec=frontcover

Louis MacNeice : the classical radio plays / edited by Amanda Wrigley and S.J. Harrison

Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Louis_MacNeice_The_Classical_Radio_Plays/FZYeAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Louis+MacNeice+:+the+classical+radio+plays+/+edited+by+Amanda+Wrigley+and+S.J.+Harrison&printsec=frontcover

Socrates and his clouds / by William Lyons

Strepsiades lives in Greece. He has debt. A lot of debt. And that's because his son, Phiddy, has a penchant for betting and isn't so keen on working. At a loss, Streps has an idea: Phiddy can go to Socrates' Academy and learn how to talk himself out of trouble! Job done! What could possibly go wrong? Socrates and His Clouds, inspired by Aristophanes' Clouds and Plato's Dialogues, is a serio-comic drama about the fragility of morality, the hazards of education and the burdens of being a teacher Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Socrates_and_his_Clouds/8S8LEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Socrates+and+his+clouds+/+by+William+Lyons&printsec=frontcover

Black Jesus / by Anders Lustgarten

Zimbabwe. 2015. Eunice Ncube, working for the new Truth and Justice Commission, begins the interviewing of Gabriel Chibamu, one of the most infamous perpetrators of the horrors of the Mugabe regime. As Gabriel's trail and inevitable prosecution approach, Eunice begins to sift through the past -- only to find that right and wrong, and guilt and innocence, are far less clear than she first thought ... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Black_Jesus/jcWOAQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Black+Jesus+/+by+Anders+Lustgarten&printsec=frontcover

Blonde poison / by Gail Louw

Blonde Poison is based on the true story of a Jewish woman during World War II who betrayed up to 3,000 fellow Jews. Gail Louw's powerful play examines the motivation of evil. Stella Goldschlag was living illegally in war-torn Berlin when she herself was betrayed and tortured. When offered the chance of saving herself and her parents from the death camps, she agreed to be a 'Greifer' for the Gestapo and inform on Jews in hiding. She was extraordinarily successful in this and her activities increased after her parents had finally been deported. The vast dimensions of Stella's character range from tortured victim to cruel killer, from loving daughter to betrayer of friends, from gentle lover to depraved promiscuity. She was given the name 'Blonde Poison' by the Gestapo who revelled in her treachery. Decades after the war Stella agrees to be interviewed by a well-respected journalist -- her last chance for redemption. Can she ever be released from her past? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blonde_Poison/w4kHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Blonde+poison+/+by+Gail+Louw&printsec=frontcover

Warrior class / by Kenneth Lin

When Assemblyman Julius Lee makes a bid for Congress, the ghosts of his college days come back to haunt him. Nothing reveals true colors like a sprint to the finish, when friends become enemies and allies can turn on a dime. WARRIOR CLASS is a political battle of race, romance, forgiveness and debt. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Warrior_Class/3MNmBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Warrior+class+/+by+Kenneth+Lin&printsec=frontcover

F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the night / adapted for the stage by Simon Levy

The carefree swirl of the Jazz Age...and the tragic romance of Dick and Nicole Diver. Fitzgerald's 'favorite novel' is the story of their passionate love affair and their life as the perfect Jazz Age couple. He's an idealistic American psychiatrist, full of charm and a promising career. She's an extraordinarily beautiful and wealthy mental patient being treated at a Swiss sanitarium. They fall in love and marry. Unfortunately, her shameful and tragic past continually forces him to be both doctor and husband. He can't. And though they love each other, he eventually has an affair with a Hollywood starlet, dooming their marriage and setting the stage for his disintegration and loss of self. Surrounding them are a host of expatriate Americans and glamorous Europeans Dick has 'collected. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/F_Scott_Fitzgerald_s_Tender_Is_the_Night/bxpnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=F.+Scott+Fitzgerald%27s+Tender+Is+the+night+/+adapted+for+the+stage+by+Simon+Levy&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The last tycoon / adapted for the stage by Simon Levy

1930s. The Golden Age of Hollywood. F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece about the movie industry. The tragedy of a man obsessed ... the 'Boy Wonder' is only 36 and the most celebrated producer in Hollywood, but already the corporate men are ready to throw him over if he doesn't turn a profit ... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/F_Scott_Fitzgerald_s_The_Last_Tycoon/hEdbBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=F.+Scott+Fitzgerald%27s+The+last+tycoon+/+adapted+for+the+stage+by+Simon+Levy&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The great Gatsby / adapted for the stage by Simon Levy

Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, passionately pursues the elusive Daisy Buchanan. Nick Carraway, a young newcomer to Long Island, is drawn into their world of obsession, greed and danger. The breathtaking glamour and decadent excess of the Jazz Age come to the stage in F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, and in Simon Levy's adaptation, approved by the Fitzgerald Estate Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/F_Scott_Fitzgerald_s_The_Great_Gatsby/pwQIubwQCO0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=F.+Scott+Fitzgerald%27s+The+great+Gatsby+adapted+for+the+stage+/+by+Simon+Levy&printsec=frontcover

The big meal / by Dan LeFranc

Somewhere in America, in a typical suburban restaurant on a typical night, Sam and Nicole first meet. Sparks fly. And so begins an expansive tale that traverses five generations of a modern family, from first kiss to final goodbye. A stunning, big-hearted play that spans nearly eighty years in roughly ninety minutes, The Big Meal tells the extraordinary story of an ordinary family.

Some velvet morning : a play / by Neil LaBute

Velvet is enjoying a relaxing morning at home when Fred arrives on the doorstep of her apartment, suitcases in tow. He tells her he's finally left his wife to be with her, news to Velvet since she hasn't seen him in years and is now friends with Fred's recently married son ... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Some_Velvet_Morning/2TqEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Some+velvet+morning+:+a+play+/+by+Neil+LaBute&printsec=frontcover

Reasons to be happy / by Neil LaBute

Three years after their contentious break-up, Greg and Steph think about giving it another go, but the trouble is, Steph is married to someone else and Greg is in a relationship with his volatile best friend Kent's ex-wife--and single mom--Carly, who is also Steph's best friend. Navigating this minefield of conflicting agendas and exploding emotions isn't going to be easy for any of them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/reasons_to_be_happy/vfQrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Reasons+to+be+happy+/+by+Neil+LaBute&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

Miss Julie : a play by August Strindberg / adapted by Neil LaBute

Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Miss_Julie/3TqEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Miss+Julie+:+a+play+by+August+Strindberg+/+adapted+by+Neil+LaBute&pg=PT11&printsec=frontcover

In a forest, dark and deep : a play / by Neil LaBute

In this exhilarating play of secrets and sibling rivalry, which had its premiere in London's West End in 2011, Neil LaBute unflinchingly explores the dark territory beyond, as Bobby sneeringly says, "the lies you tell yourself to get by." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_a_Forest_Dark_and_Deep/2zqEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=In+a+forest,+dark+and+deep+:+a+play+/+by+Neil+LaBute&printsec=frontcover

Angels in America : a gay fantasia on national themes / by Tony Kushner

The play is a complex, often metaphorical, and at times symbolic examination of AIDS and homosexuality in America in the 1980s. Certain major and minor characters are supernatural beings (angels) or deceased persons (ghosts). The play contains multiple roles for several of the actors. Initially and primarily focusing on a gay couple in Manhattan, the play also has several other storylines, some of which occasionally intersect. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Angels_in_America_A_Gay_Fantasia_on_Nati/yvfoCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Angels+in+America+:+a+gay+fantasia+on+national+themes+/+by+Tony+Kushner&printsec=frontcover

We live here / by Zoe Kazan

Allie Bateman's wedding is Sunday. When Dinah, her precocious younger sister, returns to their parents' home for the festivities, she brings more than anyone expected: a new boyfriend, whose hidden history resurrects passions and painful memories for the whole family. Over one emotionally charged weekend, the Batemans find they must acknowledge and accept loss to gain hope for regeneration Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/We_Live_Here/ZrErKke262cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=We+live+here+/+by+Zoe+Kazan&printsec=frontcover

One arm / by Moisés Kaufman ; based on the short story and screenplay by Tennessee Williams

Based on Tennessee Willliams' unproduced screenplay of his own classic short story, this new adaptation from pioneering theatrical auteur Moisés Kaufman follows Ollie, a young farm boy who joins the Navy and becomes the lightweight boxing champion of the Pacific Fleet. Soon after, he loses his arm in a car accident, and he turns to hustling to survive. One of Williams' most searing character studies, One Arm takes us through Ollie's odyssey in a disenfranchised American underworld before the Second World War. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/One_Arm/B-lZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=One+arm+/+by+Mois%C3%A9s+Kaufman&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo / by Rajiv Joseph

The lives of two American Marines and an Iraqi translator are forever changed by an encounter with a quick-witted tiger who haunts the streets of war-torn Baghdad attempting to find meaning, forgiveness and redemption amidst the city's ruins. Rajiv Joseph's groundbreaking play explores both the power and the perils of human nature. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bengal_Tiger_at_the_Baghdad_Zoo/3aRsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bengal+Tiger+at+the+Baghdad+Zoo+/+by+Rajiv+Joseph&printsec=frontcover

Always a bridesmaid / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

In this hilarious comedic romp, four friends have sworn to keep the promise they made on the night of their Senior Prom: to be in each other's weddings...no matter what. More than thirty years later, these Southern friends-for-life are still making "the long walk" for each other, determined to honor that vow. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Always_a_Bridesmaid/Gb1hBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Always+a+bridesmaid+/+by+Jessie+Jones,+Nicholas+Hope,+Jamie+Wooten&printsec=frontcover

Frenchtown : a drama about Shanghai, P.R.C. / by Lawrence Jeffery

Anything new happens first in Shanghai, and the wrecker's ball is making way for the coming change in times. Frenchtown brings together Kate, an American archivist and resident of Shanghai for over twenty years, Canadian writer DJ, who is looking for his ancestral home in Shanghai's old French Concession, DJ's father, James, who is a boozy and gruff WWII hero searcing for his estranged son since the recent death of his wife, and Xinhua journalist Sam, who retains an unshakeable faith in China's ultimate and glorious destiny. The play is an examination of family and the power of place to force people to confront uncomfortable truths as China faces its own uncertain future.

Thebes : (after Sophocles and Aeschylus) / by Gareth Jandrell

Weaves together Sophocles and Aeschylus to present the full, visceral and bloody account of the Oedipus dynasty. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Thebes/ROqnAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Thebes+:+(after+Sophocles+and+Aeschylus)+/+by+Gareth+Jandrell&printsec=frontcover

Three plays / by Mark Jackson

Includes the plays: God's Plot -- Mary Stuart -- Salomania

In the heights : the complete book / by Lin-Manuel Miranda ; book by Quiara Alegría Hudes

In the Heights is an exciting musical about life in Washington Heights, a tight-knit community where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music.

Billy the girl / by Katie Hims

Billy is out waiting for love where she last saw it. Her mum is certain love has walked into her life again. Her sister thinks love could still be found somewhere in the house ... but Billy herself isn't even allowed through the door. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Billy_the_Girl/g0JDAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Billy+the+girl+/+by+Katie+Hims&printsec=frontcover

The great god Pan / by Amy Herzog

Jamie's life in Brooklyn seems just fine: a beautiful girlfriend, a budding journalism career, and parents who live just far enough away. But when a possible childhood trauma comes to light, lives are thrown into a tailspin. Unsettling and deeply compassionate, THE GREAT GOD PAN tells the intimate tale of what is lost and won when a hidden truth is unloosed into the world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Great_God_Pan/vVf6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+great+god+Pan+/+by+Amy+Herzog&printsec=frontcover

Out! : a musical / book by Nancy Gilsenan Hersage and Molly Hersage

In the quiet and conservative little town of Decent, Oklahoma, a high-school senior boy named Chives starts rocking the pedestal by running for prom queen. Flamboyant and in-your-face, Chives is determined to bring Decent into the new millennium despite how many people he upsets. His antics are so outrageous that even his best friend, Maddy Murphy—the most likeable girl on campus—is having trouble sticking by him. When Maddy argues that people are angry with Chives not because he's gay but because he's obnoxiously and provocatively gay, Chives calls her naïve and bets that if the All-American-Girl Maddy were gay, no one would like her either. It's a challenge she can't refuse, and the game is on. What follows is a comedic roller-coaster ride of tap-dancing ranchers, Helen BeGenerous leading a gospel choir, and a potent test of the power of gay-dar. The result is not at all what Maddy is expecting from her town, her friends or herself. What she and Chives learn is a lesson filled with pain, joy and the realization that, despite all the challenges of adolescence, it really does get better. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exOutO98.pdf

Proud / by Michael Healey

Shortly after the Conservatives win a majority government in the 2011 federal election, the prime minister discovers a secret weapon in his caucus--Jisbella Lyth, a single mother with a limited understanding of her role as an MP. Using her ignorance to his advantage, the PM hatches a plan to have Jisbella front and centre in a campaign of misdirection and distraction. Humorous and clever, Proud explores the corrosive nature of the politics of division.

I do, I do, I do / by Robin Hawdon

Diana has it all. What’s more she is the daughter of that most reviled of species, a wealthy banker. The three men in her life are Jamie, the much envied man to whom she is officially betrothed; Tom, the attractive boyfriend of Jamie’s sister; and Geoff, the oldest friend who is to be best man. Diana’s insurmountable problem is that, during the course of the longest weekend of her life, she finds herself having promised marriage to all three! How can she decide? What matters most - familiarity, suitability, sexual passion? Can she make up her mind in time for the big society wedding arranged in a month’s time?

Sherlock holmes and the adventure of the suicide club / by Jeffrey Hatcher

Arthur Conan Doyle's famous characters dropped into a story inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The suicide Club. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sherlock_Holmes_and_the_Adventure_of_the/4xpJSj5kIF4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sherlock+holmes+and+the+adventure+of+the+suicide+club+/+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher&printsec=frontcover

Call me Waldo : a transcendental romance / by Rob Ackerman

Lee Fountain is an ordinary electrician: his boss doesn't appreciate him, his wife keeps correcting him, and his life seems to have lost all meaning. But when Lee starts channeling the spirit of Ralph Waldo Emerson, everyone wakes up. Call me Waldo shows us how one person's poetic yearnings can change everyone and everything--even our imperfect world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Call_Me_Waldo/-0slSgpPYEcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Call+me+Waldo+:+a+transcendental+romance+/+by+Rob+Ackerman&printsec=frontcover

May 4th voices : Kent State, 1970 : a play / David Hassler

Presents a play based on the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project, which includes more than 110 interviews, with first-person narratives and personal reactions to the 1970 tragedy. Original.

The color of stars : a play in two acts / by Dwayne Hartford

Eddie's father is fighting in the Pacific. His mother works at a shipyard and is concerned that Eddie needs more adult supervision. Missing his parents and friends, Eddie struggles to adjust to life in a small town. His grandparents, Luke and Mable, live a simple life that has been disrupted by the war ... When a stranger, Felix Stetler, arrives in town to survey the local woods for trees to use in building Navy minesweepers, events are set in motion that will challenge the ties of family and friendship, and question the definitions of patriotism and civic duty. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exColorOfStarsCP5.pdf

Hurt Village / by Katori Hall

It's the end of a long summer in Hurt Village, a housing project in Memphis, Tennessee. A government Hope Grant means relocation for many of the project's residents, including Cookie, a thirteen-year-old aspiring rapper, along with her mother, Crank, and great-grandmother, Big Mama. As the family prepares to move, Cookie's father, Buggy, unexpectedly returns from a tour of duty in Iraq. Ravaged by the war, Buggy struggles to find a position in his disintegrating community, along with a place in his daughter's wounded heart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hurt_Village/lBpnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hurt+Village+/+by+Katori+Hall&printsec=frontcover

Heresy / by A. R. Gurney

In a parade of government imprisonment, immaculate conception, religion, politics, cocktails and one articulate working girl, Heresy views the not-so-distant-future through the satiric and hilarious lens of A.R. Gurney. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Heresy/oB5nBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Heresy+/+by+A.+R.+Gurney&printsec=frontcover

Mind walking / by Tanika Gupta

Bobby has led a remarkable life. Migrating from India as a young man he found love in the UK with his with wife Moira, but as a Parsi Bobby was expected to marry within the community. His family disowns him and as a result he cuts them, their religion and their culture from his life forever... until his mind starts to wander. As secrets and hidden stories tumble out of Bobby’s mouth, his family start to question the truth about their ancestry and shared history. Mind Walking explores what happens to a family when the mind of an old, Indian man, Bobby starts to unravel. This delicate, poetic play tumbles and traverses through Bobby’s memories on an intergenerational journey of family ties, religious dogma and cultural expectations. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mind_Walking/f4sHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mind+walking+/+by+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

The panza monologues / written, compiled, and collected by Virginia Grise and Irma Mayorga

With the full performance script and a wealth of materials for producing, teaching, and using the play to build community, The Panza Monologues reveals important truths about women and body image, as well as Chicana cultural production and its material realities. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Panza_Monologues/ecs9AQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+panza+monologues+/+written,+compiled,+and+collected+by+Virginia+Grise+and+Irma+Mayorga&printsec=frontcover

Rapture, blister, burn / by Gina Gionfriddo

After grad school, Catherine and Gwen chose polar opposite paths. Catherine built a career as a rockstar academic, while Gwen built a home with her husband and children. Decades later, unfulfilled in polar opposite ways, each woman covets the other’s life, commencing a dangerous game of musical chairs—the prize being Gwen’s husband. With searing insight and trademark wit, this comedy is an unflinching look at gender politics in the wake of 20th-century feminist ideals. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rapture_Blister_Burn/y9LaAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rapture,+blister,+burn+/+by+Gina+Gionfriddo&printsec=frontcover

How do I love thee?/ Florence Gibson MacDonald

Victorian poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning are as renowned for their passionate relationship as they are their poetry. How Do I Love Thee? revisits the life of the 19th-century poets from their courtship, carried out entirely through letters, to their sudden elopement to their tumultuous marriage marred by drug addiction and financial strife.

Seven homeless mammoths wander New England / Madeleine George

Dean Wreen is not having a good week. Her college is in dire financial straits and a plan to close its tiny, all-but-forgotten natural history museum is sending unexpected shock waves across campus and out into the local community. At home, her ex-lover, Greer, is staying with her—sending shock waves of a different sort through her relationship with her current (and much younger) girlfriend, Andromeda. Town-gown relations are in tatters! The local newspaper is erupting in protest! Even the awful, historically inaccurate dioramas in the museum have started mouthing off! A screwball sex comedy about the perils of monogamy, certainty, and academic administration.

The Hound of the Baskervilles / Arthur Conan Doyle ; adapted for the stage by Clive Francis

A bloodcurdling howl is heard across a cold, moonlit moor; the spectral hound has claimed another victim. Sherlock Holmes, the world famous detective of Baker Street, and the ever-reliable Watson are called upon to investigate the legendary plague of Baskerville Manor. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Hound_of_the_Baskervilles/kYsHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Hound+of+the+Baskervilles+/+Arthur+Conan+Doyle+%3B+adapted+for+the+stage+by+Clive+Francis&printsec=frontcover

The orphans' home cycle. Part two, The story of a marriage / by Horton Foote

Act One: 'The widow Claire.' On the night before he leaves Harrison for business school in Houston, Horace calls on the widow Claire Ratliff. Over the course of the evening he becomes further entangled in the lives of Claire and her young children as she makes a decision that will decide their futures. Act Two: 'Courtship.' Elizabeth Vaughn has been seeing Horace Robedaux against the wishes of her parents and now must make a choice between Horace and her family. Act Three: 'Valentine's Day.' While Horace and Elizabeth plan for their future and reconcile with her family, the once-stable lives of the previous generation seem to be falling apart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Orphans_Home_Cycle/5bdhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+orphans%27+home+cycle.+Part+two,+The+story+of+a+marriage+/+by+Horton+Foote&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover

The orphans' home cycle. Part three, The story of a family / by Horton Foote

Act One: '1918.' The 1918 Flu Epidemic strikes Harrison, and the Robedaux family is hit particularly hard. Act Two: 'Cousins.' Horace is called to Corella's bedside in Houston when she faces another operation. Meanwhile, as everyone attempts to sort through their complex family trees, the past haunts his cousins Minnie Curtis and Lewis Higgins. Act Three: 'The death of Papa.' The death of Elizabeth's father sends the Vaughn and Robedaux households into a tailspin while Horace struggles through the turbulent economy to keep his store open and support his family. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Orphans_Home_Cycle/sD1bBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+orphans%27+home+cycle.+Part+three,+The+story+of+a+family+/+by+Horton+Foote&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover

The orphans' home cycle. Part one, The story of a childhood / by Horton Foote

Act One: 'Roots in a Parched Ground.' When his father dies and his mother and sister move to Houston, Horace Robedaux is left behind in Harrison, Texas with his feuding relatives, the Robedauxs and the Thorntons. Act Two: 'Convicts.' Horace takes a job on Soll Gautier's plantation in order to earn money to buy a tombstone for his father's grave and while there witnesses the harsh treatment of Gautier's convict laborers. Act Three: 'Lily Dale.' Horace makes a rare visit to Houston to see his mother, Corella, and sister, Lily Dale. As Horace's presence stirs up difficult memories for his mother and sister, Corella strives to maintain harmony between her children and their stepfather, Pete Davenport. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Orphans_Home_Cycle/b71sBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+orphans%27+home+cycle.+Part+one,+The+story+of+a+childhood+/+by+Horton+Foote&printsec=frontcover

Him / by Daisy Foote

In the tradition of great American plays, Daisy Foote explores the institution of the American family in Him. Two siblings struggling to keep the family store afloat must decide which is a priority: their father's final wishes or their financial stability. It's a choice that could tear them apart. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Him/eTZnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Him+/+by+Daisy+Foote&printsec=frontcover

Sword against the sea : an adaptation of William Butler Yeats' Cuchulain plays and poems / by Arthur Feinsod

An adaptation of William Butler Yeats' six one-act plays and some of his most stirring poems about the Celtic hero Cuchulain, arranged in the chronological order of Cuchulain's life and drawing exclusively on Yeats' own magnificent poetry.

Cherokee Family Reunion : comedy/drama / Larissa FastHorse

This modern-day Brady Bunch blends two nearly grown families when a Cherokee man, John, and a white woman, Emma, get married and move into his small community, surrounded by his family. Before the wedding decorations are down, the two groups are thrown into planning the biggest family reunion in Cherokee, N.C., complete with a historical reenactment! Looking for acceptance, Emma hopes that playing out the story of Henry Timberlake, a white explorer visiting the Cherokees in the 1700s, will help the kids realize what it is like to fit into a foreign world. Instead, cultures clash, young love blooms and history threatens to repeat itself. Through music, dance and some wild fights, everyone learns what it really means to be a family. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exCherokeeFamilyReunionCP7.pdf

My heart is hitchhiking down Peachtree Street / by J. Fergus Evans

Sometimes home sits heavy in your bones. Sometimes you leave. Performed in a mystery location at the Albany and using animation, folk music and spoken word, this intimate and original new show is about trying to make sense of where you come from when you're far away from home. Fergus has lived in England for almost seven years. He hasn't been back to his hometown in five. my heart is hitchhiking down peachtree street explores what it's like to live far away from home, the stories you tell people when they ask you where you're from and how, once you leave, you can't go back. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/my_heart_is_hitchhiking_down_peachtree_s/7y8LEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+heart+is+hitchhiking+down+Peachtree+Street+/+by+J.+Fergus+Evans&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

The adventures of Tom Sawyer / by Laura Eason ; adapted from the novel by Mark Twain

Join Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and Becky Thatcher in the greatest summer adventure ever told in this imaginative, highly theatrical adaptation of Mark Twain's incomparable classic. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Adventures_of_Tom_Sawyer/VgyuDHT403IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+adventures+of+Tom+Sawyer+/+by+Laura+Eason&printsec=frontcover

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike / Christopher Durang

Vanya and his adopted sister Sonia live a quiet life in the Pennsylvania farmhouse where they grew up, but their peace is disturbed when their movie star sister Masha returns unannounced with her twentysomething boy toy, Spike. A weekend of rivalry, regret, and raucousness begins! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vanya_and_Sonia_and_Masha_and_Spike/qrxhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Vanya+and+Sonia+and+Masha+and+Spike+/+Christopher+Durang&printsec=frontcover

Snookered / Ishy Din

On the sixth anniversary of T's death, his four friends meet as they always do for a game of snooker and a night to celebrate T's life. As they excavate the past and measure their own lives against T's, secrets are revealed and allegiances shift as quickly as the drinks are downed. Can they put to rest the guilt they feel over T's untimely death? And will their friendship survive the final betrayal? In a volatile political climate, Ishy Din opens a timely window into a strand of British Muslim life that often remains unseen. Through sparky dialogue, Snookered probes into the lives of these young men and their fragile masculinity, burdened by cultural expectations yet charged with personal dreams. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Snookered/J2cmBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Snookered+/+Ishy+Din&printsec=frontcover

Jackie & me : adventure, comedy / by Steven Dietz ; adapted from the book by Dan Gutman

Ten-year-old Joey Stoshack is a headstrong young boy with a special talent for time travel. When Joey is assigned to write a report on an African American who has made an important contribution to society, he uses his special ability to go back to Brooklyn, New York, in 1947. He meets one of baseball's greatest players, Jackie Robinson. Joey plans on writing a prize-winning report, but he doesn't plan on a trip that will forever change his view of history and his definition of courage. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exJackieAndMeJ66.pdf

The world of extreme happiness / Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

When Sunny is born in rural China, her parents leave her in a slop bucket to die because she's a girl. She survives, and at 14 leaves for the city, where she works a low-paying factory job and attends self-help classes to improve her chances at securing a coveted office position. When Sunny's attempts to pull herself out of poverty lead to dire consequences for a fellow worker, she is forced to question the system she's spent her life trying to master - and stand up against the powers that be Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_World_of_Extreme_Happiness/abqdBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+world+of+extreme+happiness+/+Frances+Ya-Chu+Cowhig&printsec=frontcover

Beautiful province : (Belle province) / Clarence Coo

A fifteen-year-old boy decides to accompany his severely depressed high school French teacher on a road trip to the Canadian province of Quebec, where the mother tongue of Voltaire and Balzac is still spoken and cherished. Clarence Coo's mesmerising new play is a delicious amalgam of farce and tragedy, a carnival funhouse with very dark corners. Wildly inventive and heartbreakingly sad, the strange odyssey of Jimmy and the unpredictable Mr. Green takes many surprising turns, crossing the border from reality into unreality and back again while encountering displaced characters from history, literature and the mundane, often dangerous world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beautiful_Province/bVGrAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Beautiful+province+:+(Belle+province)+/+Clarence+Coo&pg=PT3&printsec=frontcover

Relatively speaking / by Ethan Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen

"In Talking Cure, Ethan Coen uncovers the sort of insanity that can only come from family. Elaine May explores the hilarity of passing in George is Dead. In Honeymoon Motel, Woody Allen invites you to the sort of wedding day you won't forget. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Relatively_Speaking/OzpnBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Relatively+speaking+/+by+Ethan+Coen,+Elaine+May,+and+Woody+Allen&printsec=frontcover

Sons without fathers : the untitled play, known as Platonov / Anton Chekhov ; translated and adapted by Helena Kaut-Howson

Village school teacher Platonov is a man who is loved by women. Despite his best intentions he is drawn into a series of extra-marital affairs that all hold the promise of escape from the provincial Russian reality where he and his circle of friends are trapped. Consumed by bitterness and disappointment, they attempt to fill the void in their lives with sex and vodka, blaming their fathers for the mess they've been left in. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sons_Without_Fathers/7S8LEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sons+without+fathers+:+the+untitled+play,+known+as+Platonov+/+Anton+Chekhov+%3B+translated+and+adapted+by+Helena+Kaut-Howson&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover

9 circles / by Bill Cain

Private Daniel Reeves recently returned from Iraq. The repercussions from his service become a descent through the nine circles of Dante's "Inferno." Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/9_Circles/lXtvGouw0IMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=9+circles+/+by+Bill+Cain&printsec=frontcover

No way around but through / by Scott Caan

When Jacob discovers that his girlfriend, Holly, might be pregnant, he drags his friend Frank into the maddening wormhole that is his psyche, a venture that lands them on the doorstep of Lulu: Jacob’s mother and the matriarch of madness herself. However, Holly and her friend Rachel are one step ahead of them. NO WAY AROUND BUT THROUGH is a dark, thoughtful and quirky romantic comedy about facing the inevitable dysfunctions of life and love head-on, and it is a reminder to never let where you’ve been get in the way of where you’re going. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/No_Way_Around_But_Through/ZFe_O0i4LKMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=No+way+around+but+through+/+by+Scott+Caan&printsec=frontcover

An identified enemy : drama / by Max Bush

In 2009, Jamie Foster, age 23, an Iraq war veteran now enrolled in a university, tries to piece together the truth about what happened one day in Baghdad with his friend Jalil, a local Iraqi national. In flashbacks to 2007, during "The Surge," we see the developing friendship between the 20-year-old American Army Private Foster and 21-year-old Jalil Khalifa Al-Majid, who operated as a street vendor just outside the patrol base. Jamie replays scenes from that day over and over, looking for clues as to what exactly happened. He searches U.S. videos of that day, captured enemy videos and videos of terrorist interviews. He contacts people who knew Jalil—including an American corrections officer who encountered Jalil in an Iraqi black-site prison. Jamie is particularly interested in an al-Arabiya interview with Shehedah Jawhar, a Palestinian terrorist who trained insurgents in Iraq during the time Jamie knew Jalil. Did Jalil know there was a roadside bomb? Did Jalil set it? Did Jalil train with Shehedah Jawhar? Was Jalil an ally? Did Jalil save Jamie's life that day? Della, Jamie's girlfriend, also an Iraq war veteran, seems convinced that Jalil is not as innocent as Jamie believes him to be and urges him to let it go and focus on his classes. But Jamie, struggling to believe in something, needs answers. First he must find Jalil, who seems to have disappeared. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exIdentifiedEnemyID6.pdf

Blood : a scientific romance / by Meg Braem

Twin sisters Poubelle and Angelique are bonded in both biology and shared tragedy after a car accident leaves them orphaned along a prairie highway in a pool of blood. But the young twins are brought home with Dr Glass after their remarkable recovery, and quickly find themselves the subject of endless experiments. In a quest to study Poubelle and Angelique's undeniable bond, Dr Glass's questionable practices are soon scrutinized by a young doctor who might be the twins' only hope for a normal life. Blood: A Scientific Romance probes the questions: do relationships take on new meaning when they begin to shape not only our experiences, but our biology? And do we, in fact, complete one another?

The Trojan women : after Euripides / Caroline Bird

The war is over. Beyond the prison walls, Troy and its people burn. Inside the prison, the city's captive women await their fate. But their grief at what has been before will soon be drowned out by the horror of what is to come, as the Greek lust for vengeance consumes everything man, woman and baby in its path. This caustic and radical new version of Euripides classic tragedy comes from one of the UK's most exciting young poets, Caroline Bird. It is an intense, gripping look at what happens when the world collapses. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Trojan_Women/H4sHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Trojan+women+:+after+Euripides+/+Caroline+Bird&printsec=frontcover

The trouble with Asian men / created by Sudha Bhuchar, Kristine Landon-Smith and Louise Wallinger

Macho men or metrosexual guys? Mummy's boys or blokes under their missus' thumbs? Self-made entrepreneurs, pukka professionals and successful executives with their Mercedes Benz lives and designer-clad wives; husbands, sons, uncles, brothers and fathers – these successful, soulful and spirited Asian men have come a long way from their origins but they've all got roots! The Trouble with Asian Men is a vital, tender and hilarious insight into lives that surround us every day, from the award-winning theatre company that brought us East is East. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Trouble_with_Asian_Men/iUKeDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+trouble+with+Asian+men+/+created+by+Sudha&pg=PT3&printsec=frontcover

Don't Go Gentle / by Stephen Belber

By all accounts, Judge Lawrence Driver was a powerhouse on the bench but a failure at home. Now retired and widowed, Lawrence volunteers to help Tanya, a young African American single mother caught up in legal red tape--and the kind of woman he regularly put behind bars. But do-overs don't come easy for either Lawrence or Tanya, especially when race, class and the long-simmering resentments of Judge Driver's adult children boil to the surface in this searing and surprising family drama. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Don_t_Go_Gentle/WcJsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Don%27t+Go+Gentle+/+by+Stephen+Belber&printsec=frontcover

The full monty : a play / by Simon Beaufoy

In 1997, a BAFTA award-winning British film about six out of work Sheffield steelworkers with nothing to lose took the world by storm. And now they're back, live on stage, only for them, it really has to be The Full Monty. Simon Beaufoy, the Oscar-winning writer of the film, has now gone back to Sheffield where it all started to rediscover the men, the women, the heartache and the hilarity of a city on the dole. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Full_Monty/I9L7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+full+monty+:+a+play+/+by+Simon+Beaufoy&printsec=frontcover

Bull / Mike Bartlett

The play is intended to be performed with 'a minimum of scenery, props and furniture, in order to keep the focus on the drama of the scene'. Three youngish business people – Tony, Isobel and Thomas – are waiting to hear which of them will lose his or her job. As they await the arrival of their boss, Carter, to deliver the verdict, the three of them debate each other’s chances of survival. For alpha male Tony and calculating Isobel, it’s clear that Thomas is getting the chop. And in the struggle for survival, no blow is too low. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bull/gaJhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bull++/+Mike+Bartlett&printsec=frontcover

Eat your heart out / by Courtney Baron

Alice and Gabe are desperate to adopt a child. Nance, a single mom just starting to date, struggles to connect with her teenage daughter, Evie. And Evie wishes her best friend, Colin, could fall for her rather than just trying to fix things. With both humor and aching insight, these lives are woven together in a tale of parental hopes and fears, and of hearts consumed by longing. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Eat_Your_Heart_Out/3j_KL-kMkm0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Eat+your+heart+out+/+by+Courtney+Baron&printsec=frontcover

The Flick / Annie Baker

In a run-down movie theater in central Massachusetts, three underpaid employees mop the floors and attend to one of the last 35 millimeter film projectors in the state. Their tiny battles and not-so-tiny heartbreaks play out in the empty aisles, becoming more gripping than the lackluster second-run movies on screen .. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Flick/VccKCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Flick+/+Annie+Baker&printsec=frontcover

The Bremen town musicians : nothing is worthless/ comedy by Ric Averill

This play presents the classic fairy tale in delightful simplicity and then turns the same story into an urban fairy tale. In the classic fairy tale, four farm animals, a donkey, dog, cat and rooster, are kicked out of their homes as worthless. The animals find new strength and purpose as they band together, becoming an orchestra of musicians with their bray, bark, meow and cock-a-doodle-doo. They're far better in their minds than the cacophony presented to the audience—and later to a robber. The impromptu concert frightens the robber so much that he leaves his hideout and ill-gotten gold, and the animal musicians retire happily. The urban fairy tale takes the same story but makes the characters human and sets them on the streets of a big city, where the decrepit old junkyard of Jake is being condemned. Junkyard Jake meets and takes in Fiona, a homeless woman, then Sherri, a deaf girl selling flowers who communicates through sign language, and finally Pop-Head, a street kid. The street people band together playing junkyard instruments and fend off a series of city bureaucrats determined to turn them out as worthless. The four almost give up when belief in their own worth and music allows them to convince the mayor that their junkyard is really an art park. Just like in the classic fairy tale, the four look to live happily ever after. The urban fairy tale, however, does pose the question: "How do we each determine the worth of other human beings?" Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBremenTownMusiciansBK7.pdf

Walking toward America / drama by Sandra Fenichel Asher; adapted from the memoirs of Ilga Katais-Paeglis Vise

On the eve of a three-generational pilgrimage back to her Latvian homeland, Ilga speaks to her grandchildren about their great-grandparents. Her memories become the action of the play, all seen through her eyes at ages 4, 10 and nearly 17. At the center of her narrative is the winter of 1944-1945, when 10-year-old Ilga and her parents leave Riga, Latvia, to escape the Russian occupation of their city. Soon they are taken into a German forced-labor camp, where they spend a brutal month but fare better than the Jewish prisoners held on the other side of a barbed-wire fence. Eventually, they walk 500 miles across frozen, war-torn northern Germany, survive strafing by Russian planes and find their way to a refugee camp in western Germany. Six years later, they sail through an Atlantic storm to safety and freedom in America. What makes Ilga's event-filled story unique and compelling is that she is a child witness to the devastation of war and the sources of strength that get her family through it. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exWalkingTowardAmericaWG4.pdf

Ark 5 : drama / by Sandra Fenichel Asher

The ARK System began taking control of Earth Enterprise in 2050 A.D. as a technical aid to global commerce. As the play begins in 2129, the power of its Triumvirate, and particularly of Petra, its founder, is nearly absolute. People world over enjoy "contentment"-sheltered, useful lives that are stress and disease free-except for those who are deemed "useless" and face banishment to the Wilderness, or worse. Worldwide, much has been gained, but at what price? In this futuristic re-envisioning of the Joan of Arc story, Joan is called not by saints or angels, but by an unexplained presence on her transcommunicator and a forbidden visitor to her Life/Work Station. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exARK5AK3.pdf

My brilliant divorce / by Geraldine Aron

MY BRILLIANT DIVORCE is a fast-moving play with many subtle layers and nuances of emotion, sarcasm, and humor. The truly wonderful dialogue is heartwarming, funny, and filled with relatable touches that bring each point home whether you’ve been through a divorce or not. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_Brilliant_Divorce/ELphBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=My+brilliant+divorce+/+by+Geraldine+Aron&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

Moby Dick : a new play / adapted from Herman Melville's novel ; by Sebastian Armesto in association with Simple8

Nantucket.1851. Centre of a whaling industry that transformed blubber into the oils and candles that lit the world. It's there that a schoolmaster called Ishmael arrives to ship on a whale-boat. He enrols under Ahab, Captain of the Pequod -- a man bent on destroying the white whale that lost him his leg. Certain the destruction of his nemesis will slake his thirst; Ahab's single-minded pursuit of Moby-Dick consumes Ishmael, the crew and the Pequod itself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Moby_Dick/lYkHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Moby+Dick+:+a+new+play+/+adapted+from+Herman+Melville%27s+novel+%3B+by+Sebastian+Armesto+in+association+with+Simple8&printsec=frontcover

The escort / by Jane Anderson

Nothing is taboo in this play about a high-class call girl. Charlotte is charged with escorting us through this titillating tale as members of one seemingly liberal family test the limits of their own sexual morality. What happens when social ideals are in direct conflict with personal choices in the bedroom? This sexually charged roller-coaster ride takes us down a path of unexpected thoughtfulness and depth that asks the question: how far are you willing to go to prove your open mindedness? Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/4328.pdf

Radiance : the passion of Marie Curie / by Alan Alda

With backbreaking work in a ramshackle lab in Paris, Marie Curie and her husband Pierre achieve a revolutionary understanding of radiation and share a Nobel Prize. When her beloved Pierre dies in an accident, Marie is plunged into depression. Paul Langevin, fleeing an unhappy marriage, gives her the strength to return to her work. But the scandal over their affair threatens to end her career - just when she might become the first person ever to receive a second Nobel Prize.

The picture of Dorian Gray / by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa ; based on the novel by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde's Faustian tale of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth is updated as a bold, stylish, and bloody contemporary thriller. London, 1988: Preternaturally handsome Dorian Gray has his portrait painted by his college classmate, the on-the-rise artist Basil Hallwood. When their mutual friend Henry Wotton offers to include it in a show, Dorian makes a fateful wish, that his portrait should grow old instead of him, and strikes an unspeakable bargain with the devil. So begins Dorian's steady decline into a life of depravity, following a twisted path that will lead him towards sexual deviance, violence, and much, much worse. However, Dorian's vile acts are not reflected upon his own visage, but rather upon Basil's portrait, which seems to rot from within, every one of Dorian's sins warping it more and more. The portrait is Dorian's secret, and he will do anything to keep it hidden and safe, even kill, if he has to Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray/xR5nBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+picture+of+Dorian+Gray+/+by+Roberto+Aguirre-Sacasa+%3B+based+on+the+novel+by+Oscar+Wilde&printsec=frontcover

#Aiww the arrest of Ai Weiwei / by Howard Brenton, based on Ai Weiwei's account in Hanging man by Barnaby Martin

A timely play based on the true story of an imprisoned Nobel Laureate. On 3 April 2011, as he was boarding a flight to Taipei, the Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Airport. Advised merely that his travel?could damage state security", he was escorted to a van by officials after which he disappeared for 81 days. On his release, the government claimed that his imprisonment related to tax evasion. Howard Brenton's new play is based on Ai Weiwei's account in Barnaby Martin's book Hanging Man, in which he told the story of that imprisonment - by turns su.

Sins of Sor Juana : a play in two acts / by Karen Zacarías

Sor Juana Inéz de la Cruz, one of the first published poets of the Americas, was born in Mexico in 1648, a poor and illegitimate child. She became renowned for her intelligence and ambition when, at the age of 12, she tried sneaking into the University of Mexico by dressing as a man. The viceregal court of New Spain heard about this phenomenal girl and invited her to join the court, where she developed an extremely close relationship with the vicereine. By all records Juana was a very attractive, complex, witty and difficult young woman. She wrote and read voraciously. Her circumstances and intelligence provoked admiration and envy. However, when she was 17, she suddenly and inexplicably left the viceregal court to join a convent. There are theories about failed love, fear of marriage and her sexual identity. In the convent her focus was not God, but writing—and her work and poetry expressed a feminism centuries ahead of her time. For years while the church struggled to silence her she resisted and continued writing until, one day, she wrote a declaration in her own blood, vowing never to write again. She remained true to her word and died soon after. This play is a researched fantasy that explores the two turning points in this woman's life.

The magical piñata : an original Mexican play with music / book and lyics by Karen Zacarías

A seemingly plain clay pot magically transports Cucha, a selfish and lonely girl, from her town of Zapotoco, Mexico, to a mysterious jungle filled with eccentric characters. Using her knowledge of English and Spanish, Cucha encounters Parrot Rivera, a jungle muralist who paints the future; Señor Chapulin, a soccer star with the heart of the present; and Burro Burrito, a farmer who plows the past. But the evil Monkey King and his silly Sidekick know the clay pot is really a magical piñata and scheme to steal it from her. Through Cucha's journey, she discovers the magic of the mundane, the roots of cultural pride and the power of sharing.

Looking for Roberto Clemente / book and lyics by Karen Zacarías

In this rock musical, the year is 1972. The place is Pittsburgh, where legendary baseball player Roberto Clemente is at the top of his game. Sam Kowalski and the neighborhood baseball-playing kids are in an intense competition to win the chance to meet Clemente in person. But when their hero helps natural disaster victims in Nicaragua, his fateful off-field actions teach the kids about what is more important than winning. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exLookingForRobertoClementeLK6.pdf

Frida libre : book and lyrics / by Karen Zacarías

Alex may seem like a quiet, shy boy, but he secretly holds big ideas inside his head. He wants to be a luchador (wrestler) and defeat bad guys in the ring. His life changes when he meets brave and colorful Frida, an unusual girl who dreams of being a doctor so she can help people. Forced to do a science project together on butterflies and metamorphosis, the pair discovers how true friendship can help you overcome fear and transform your dreams into reality. Inspired by the childhood of legendary Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Frida Libre is an uplifting story full of physical acting (actors become trees, trains and sinks) featuring delightful songs that explore the meaning of friendship, bravery and transformation. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exFridaLibreFE7.pdf

Winners and losers / Marcus Youssef and James Long

Two buddies, theatre artists and long-time friends Marcus and James, sit at a table and pass the time together playing a made-up game in which they name people, places, or things – Pamela Anderson, microwave ovens, their fathers, Goldman Sachs – and debate whether they are successful or not; in other words, whether they are winners or losers. Each friend seeks to defeat the other, and because one of these men grew up economically privileged, and the other did not, the competition very quickly adds up.

Regeneration / Pat Barker ; adapted for the stage by Nicholas Wright

Craiglockhart War Hospital, Scotland 1917. Poet and soldier Siegfried Sassoon has been institutionalised in an attempt to undermine his public disapproval of the war. His Army Psychiatrist, Dr William Rivers, has been tasked with returning shell-shocked officers to the trenches, yet under Sassoon's influence, has become tormented by the morality of what is being done in the name of medicine.

Posterity / by Doug Wright

Norway's most celebrated sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, is commissioned to create the last official bust of its most famous writer--the irascible, imperious, and inscrutable Henrik Ibsen. The two artists, each needing something from the other, wage war over both the creation of Ibsen's likeness and the prospects of his legacy. With his inimitable wit and insight, Doug Wright explores the nature of artistic success and the fear of being forgotten. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Posterity/t_IrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Posterity+/+by+Doug+Wright&printsec=frontcover

Lovesong of the Electric Bear / Snoo Wilson

An epic, psychedelic and electrifying trip through the life of Alan Turing, the computer visionary and maths genius whose gifts made him the code-breaking hero of World War II, but whose homosexuality led him to betrayal and vilification by the very establishment who had depended on him for victory. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lovesong_of_the_Electric_Bear/0PXtBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lovesong+of+the+Electric+Bear+/+Snoo+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

Plaques and Tangles/ Nicola Wilson

Days before her wedding Megan discovers she has a 50-50 chance of developing early onset Alzheimer's. Years later she's offered a genetic test. But if she's got the gene does she really want to know? Megan, 21. Megan, 47. Megan, 32. Megan, 27. One woman lurches through time while her young family deal with the consequences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Plaques_and_Tangles/yV3DCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Plaques+and+Tangles/+Nicola+Wilson&printsec=frontcover

Handle with care / by Jason Odell Williams

Circumstances both hilarious and tragic bring together a young Israeli woman, who has little command of English, and a young American man, who has little command of romance. Is their inevitable love an accident...or is it destiny, generations in the making? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Handle_With_Care/noJeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Handle+with+care+/+by+Jason+Odell+Williams&printsec=frontcover

The Dug Out / Amanda Whittington

An exciting, original play inspired by the legendary Bristol nightclub, the Dug Out. Based on real-life events, this is an uplifting tale of black and white teenage clubbers in the 1970s, set against a classic love story of thirty years earlier.

Where do little birds go? / Camilla Whitehill

This is the terrifying story of Lucy's time with Ronnie, Reggie, and Frank 'The Mad Axeman' Mitchell. Where Do Little Birds Go? is a colourful and poignant tale of crime, kidnap and lost innocence in the heart of the 1960s East End.

The Richard Wesley play anthology / by Richard Wesley

Includes the plays: The black terror -- The sirens -- The mighty gents -- The talented tenth -- Autumn. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Richard_Wesley_Play_Anthology/RtCGDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Richard+Wesley+play+anthology&printsec=frontcover

Ballyturk / Enda Walsh

The lives of two men unravel over the course of ninety minutes. Where are they? Who are they? What room is this, and what might be beyond the walls? Gut-wrenchingly funny and achingly sad, and featuring jaw-dropping moments of physical comedy, Ballyturk is an ambitious, profound and tender work from one of Ireland's leading playwrights.

Dead metaphor : three plays / George F. Walker

Includes the plays: Dead metaphor. -- The ravine. -- The burden of self-awareness.

Sense of an ending / by Ken Urban

Charles, a discredited New York Times journalist, arrives in Rwanda for an exclusive interview with two Hutu nuns. Charged with alleged war crimes committed during the 1994 genocide, the nuns must convince the world of their innocence or face a lifetime in prison. When an unknown Tutsi survivor contradicts their story, Charles must choose which version of the truth to tell. Based on real events, SENSE OF AN ENDING shines a light on questions of guilt, complicity, and faith in the face of extreme violence. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/4902.pdf

When we were young and unafraid / by Sarah Treem

In the early 1970s, before Roe v. Wade, before the Violence Against Women Act, Agnes has turned her quiet bed and breakfast into one of the few spots where victims of domestic violence can seek refuge. But to Agnes's dismay, her latest runwaway, Mary Anne, is beginning to influence Agnes's college-bound daughter Penny. As the drums of a feminist revolution grow louder outside of Agnes's tiny world, Agnes is forced to confront her own presumptions about the women she's spent her life trying to help. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/When_We_Were_Young_and_Unafraid/6_crDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=When+we+were+young+and+unafraid+/+by+Sarah+Treem&printsec=frontcover

Satchmo at the Waldorf / by Terry Teachout

A one-man, three-character play in which the same actor portrays Louis Armstrong, the greatest of all jazz trumpeters; Joe Glaser, his white manager; and Miles Davis, who admired Armstrong's playing but disliked his onstage manner. It takes place in 1971 in a dressing room backstage at the Empire Room of New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where Armstrong performed in public for the last time four months before his death. Reminiscing into a tape recorder about his life and work, Armstrong seeks to come to terms with his longstanding relationship with Glaser, whom he once loved like a father but now believes to have betrayed him. In alternating scenes, Glaser defends his controversial decision to promote Armstrong's career (with the help of the Chicago mob) by encouraging him to simplify his musical style, while Davis attacks Armstrong for pandering to white audiences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Satchmo_at_the_Waldorf/4vQrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Satchmo+at+the+Waldorf+/+by+Terry+Teachout&printsec=frontcover

Nell Gwynn / Jessica Swale

They've disgraced our trade. Ruined our art. They've put a woman on the stage." It is 1660. The Puritans have run away with their drab grey tails between their legs. Charles II has exploded onto the scene with a love of all things loud, French and sexy. And at Drury Lane, a young Nell Gwynn is selling oranges for sixpence. Little does she know who's watching.

Guapa : a play / by Caridad Svich

In Caridad Svich's play GUAPA: Single-mom Roly lives in a dusty Texas town that everyone longs to escape. She's never seen anything like Guapa, a natural-born athlete with a fiery ambition to become an international soccer star.

The glamour house / by Lydia Stryk

It is 1947. In the glamourous world of Trudi Stein's dress shop on Manhattan's Upper East Side, everything is cloaked in silence -- until the arrival of an enigmatic new salesgirl, Esther Bayer, a young immigrant from Germany, whose very presence fills the joyless establishment with energy, laughter, and life. What ensues is a mysterious, obsessive relationship that culminates in revelation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Glamour_House/Ye4rDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+glamour+house+/+by+Lydia+Stryk&printsec=frontcover

Plays, 4 / Simon Stephens

Includes the plays: Three Kingdoms - Trial of Ubu - Morning - Carmen Disruption.

Heisenberg / Simon Stephens

Amidst the bustle of a crowded London train station, Clare spots Alex, a much older man, and plants a kiss on his neck. This electric encounter thrusts these two strangers into a fascinating and life-changing game. Simon Stephens's play brings to blazing, theatrical life the uncertain and often comical sparring match that is human connection. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Heisenberg_The_Uncertainty_Principle/BQA-DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Heisenberg+/+Simon+Stephens&printsec=frontcover

Carmen disruption / Simon Stephens

In the opulent grandeur of a European city, a renowned singer abandons the opera house for the truth of the streets. A gorgeous prostitute. A tough-talking taxi driver. A global trader. A teenage dreamer. Everyone's looking for something. Simon Stephens's strange and beautiful play re-imagines Bizet's opera Carmen and the possibility of love in a fractured urban world. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Carmen_Disruption/bMZKCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Carmen+disruption+/+Simon+Stephens&printsec=frontcover

Plays: 3 / Simon Stephens

Includes the plays: On the shore of the wide world -- Marine parade -- Harper Regan -- Punk Rock.

Plays, 2 / Simon Stephens

Includes the plays: One minute -- Country music -- Motortown -- Pornography -- Sea wall.

Dancing lessons / by Mark St. Germain

Dancing Lessons centers on Ever, a young man with Asperger's syndrome, who seeks the instruction of a Broadway dancer to learn enough dancing to survive an awards dinner. The dancer, Senga, however, is recovering from an injury that may stop her dancing career permanently. As their relationship unfolds, they're both caught off-guard by the discoveries -- both hilarious and heartwarming -- that they make about each other and about themselves. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dancing_Lessons/6VdgCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dancing+lessons+/+by+Mark+St.+Germain&printsec=frontcover

Dry land / by Ruby Rae Spiegel

Ester is a swimmer trying to stay afloat. Amy is curled up on the locker room floor. Dry Land is a play about abortion, female friendship, and resiliency, and what happens in one high school locker room after everybody's left. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dry_Land/FO0rDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dry+land+/+by+Ruby+Rae+Spiegel&printsec=frontcover

Hello/goodbye / Peter Souter

'Who the hell says 'ergo'? Whilst breaking into someone's flat? What kind of person does that?' It's a new year. And Juliet - young, smart and sassy - has got herself a fresh start in a new flat. But there's also a problem: amidst the boxes, as strange guy is also moving in - and he won't leave. He says the agency has messed up and her flat is actually his flat. As if that's not enough, the real problem is that, well he's rather gorgeous..... This chic comedy is a modern metropolitan guide to falling in (and out) of love.

Love Alone / by Deborah Salem Smith

When Helen's lesbian partner of twenty years dies unexpectedly in minor surgery, Helen and her daughter want answers. Confused by the hospital's silence around the death, they bring a lawsuit against the doctors. Now Dr. Becca Neal must confront her feelings about losing her patient while she juggles the demands of a lawsuit. Love Alone tracks the fallout in both the patient's and the doctor's homes, as both households navigate uncharted waters of anger, humor, and longing. This powerful story of how we grieve and how we heal speaks to an essential truth: We will all be patients one day. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Love_Alone/baNeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Love+Alone+/+by+Deborah+Salem+Smith&printsec=frontcover

The new sincerity / by Alena Smith

Rose Spencer has just achieved the ultimate young-intellectual's dream: becoming a staff writer for a prestigious New York literary/criticism journal. And her editor, the smart and attractively cynical Benjamin, is definitely flirting with her -- while also respecting her writing. With the sudden rise of an Occupy-style political movement in a public park right outside the journal's offices, Rose sees a way to participate in what may be the defining activist movement for her generation, but too quickly she must learn to recognize the difference between sincere action and skillful self-promotion. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Sincerity/IPErDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+new+sincerity+/+by+Alena+Smith&printsec=frontcover

Ages of the moon / by Sam Shepard

A gruff, affecting, and funny play. Byron and Ames are old friends, reunited by mutual desperation. Over bourbon on ice, they sit, reflect, and bicker--until fifty years of love, friendship, and rivalry are put to the test at the barrel of a gun. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ages_of_the_Moon/6qjoBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ages+of+the+moon+/+by+Sam+Shepard&printsec=frontcover

I and the village / Silva Semerciyan

Shortlisted for the Bruntwood Playwriting Prize, I And The Village is a coming-of-age story that asks pointed questions about conformity, dissent and America's devotion to guns. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/I_and_The_Village/diPfCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=I+and+the+village+/+Silva+Semerciyan&printsec=frontcover

A dog's house / by Micah Schraft

On the surface, Michael and Eden are a solid pair with a bright future. When their beloved Rottweiler, Jock, grows unexpectedly violent -- killing the neighbors' toy poodle, and then taking a bite out of the neighbor -- Michael and Eden must confront darker truths in their relationship that have been ignored for too long. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Dog_s_House/yuwrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+dog%27s+house+/+by+Micah+Schraft&printsec=frontcover

Miss Julie : Freedom Summer / by Stephen Sachs ; from the play by August Strindberg

A re-imagined adaptation of August Strindberg's masterpiece, set in Mississippi on the night of July 4, 1964, two days after the signing of the Civil Rights Act during the explosive Freedom Summer of the Civil Rights Era. The white Miss Julie and her black chauffeur, John, struggle for independence and freedom from the personal and social demons that bind them. This sexually-charged social drama explores racial and sexual tensions in a riveting struggle for power, freedom, and social change. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=_vErDAAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PA1&dq=Miss%20Julie%20%3A%20Freedom%20Summer%20%2F%20by%20Stephen%20Sachs%20%3B%20from%20the%20play%20by%20August%20Strindberg&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=Miss%20Julie%20:%20Freedom%20Summer%20/%20by%20Stephen%20Sachs%20;%20from%20the%20play%20by%20August%20Strindberg&f=false

Stage kiss / Sarah Ruhl

Art imitates Life. Life imitates Art. When two actors with a history are thrown together as romantic leads in a forgotten 1930s melodrama, they quickly lose touch with reality as the story onstage follows them offstage. Stage Kiss captures Sarah Ruhl's singular voice. It is a charming tale about what happens when lovers share a stage kiss--or when actors share a real one. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=a0j6CAAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Stage%20kiss%20%2F%20Sarah%20Ruhl&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Stage%20kiss%20/%20Sarah%20Ruhl&f=false

By the water / by Sharyn Rothstein

Hurricane Sandy has just ravaged the lifelong Staten Island home of Marty and Mary Murphy. But the storm has ripped apart more than just the walls: with their neighbors too devastated to stay, the couple's beloved community is in danger of disappearing forever. Determined to rebuild, Marty wages a campaign to save his neighborhood and his home, but when the Murphys' sons arrive to help their parents dig out, past betrayals come rushing to the surface. With fierce compassion and poignant humor, By the Water reminds us that the very powers that tear us apart can also bring us together. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=o0npBwAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=By%20the%20water%20%2F%20by%20Sharyn%20Rothstein&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=By%20the%20water%20/%20by%20Sharyn%20Rothstein&f=false

Thinner than water / by Melissa Ross

When their father falls ill, three estranged half-siblings reunite. As the world around them crumbles, they argue with each other and with everyone around them in a desperate struggle to do the right thing and mend their rapidly deteriorating lives. Thinner Than Water is a blood-raw, wicked comedy-drama about fighting through the thick and thin of family. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=wPUrDAAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Thinner%20than%20water%20%2F%20by%20Melissa%20Ross&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Thinner%20than%20water%20/%20by%20Melissa%20Ross&f=false

Luchadora! / by Alvaro Saar Rios

Imagine the Chinese legend Hua Mulan set in the world of lucha libre--Mexican wrestling. The discovery of a worn pink wrestling mask prompts Nana Lupita, a Wisconsin grandmother, to share her tale about growing up in 1960s Texas. As her tale unfolds, Lupita's life as a teen tomboy comes alive--bike riding with her friends Leopold and Liesl, working at her father's flower stand and lucha libre. When a World Championship match is announced, Lupita anticipates seeing it until she discovers her ailing father is one of the wrestlers. With the help of a magical mask maker, Lupita secretly trains to take her father's place. She soon finds it difficult keeping her secret from her friends, and most importantly, her father. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exLuchadoraLL5.pdf

Dead accounts / by Theresa Rebeck

Jack's unexpected return throws his family into a frenzy, and his sister Lorna needs answers. Is he coming home or running away? Where is his wife everyone hates? And how did he get all that money? Theresa Rebeck’s new comedy tackles the timely issues of corporate greed, small town values, and whether or not your family will always welcome you back… with no questions asked.

Jocasta / by Sandra Perlman

Jocasta combines both comedy and tragedy in the story of three women—mother, daughter and servant—bound together by blood and loyalty. In this new twist on the Oedipus complex, we take a look at the myth from Jocasta's complex point of view as a wife, devoted mother and conflicted daughter. On the night before Jocasta is to marry Oedipus, her mother, Ismene, arrives with a beautiful wedding gown. Ismene, a bawdy, hard-drinking tiger mom who loves being the mother of the queen, comes on a mission to convince Jocasta that being queen again will finally bring her happiness. And so begins a familiar mother-daughter dance. They drink wine and confess their sins in a night they will always remember—and we will never forget. Jocasta is hopeful, radiant and ready for the marriage bed one more time. Ten years later, children have been born, and Ismene is dead. Jocasta is consumed with the bitter reality that the Oracle's predictions have been fulfilled. She will do anything to spare all of her children the shame she thinks is coming. Iris lives to make her queen happy. Saved from death, this young woman would lie, cheat or die for Jocasta. Now her maidservant must be her only witness and comfort. These are strong and complex women who struggle against their fate—and sometimes one another. But their love and devotion is the link that binds them together in life and death.. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exJocastaJ71.pdf

The book of grace / Suzan-Lori Parks

Her first full-length play since her award-winning Topdog/Underdog, The Book of Grace is a scorching three-person drama in which a young man returns home to south Texas to confront his father, unearthing deep-seated passions and ambition. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/CWGfCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+book+of+grace+/+Suzan-Lori+Parks

The shoplifters / Morris Panych

In this riotously funny new comedy from Morris Panych, we meet Alma, a seasoned career shoplifter who prefers the five-finger discount over some lousy seniors’ day deal. But it’s not just an empty wallet that leads Alma to a life of petty crime – it’s also her strong convictions about social justice and economic equality.

Women of Asia / Asa Palomera

Inspired by true stories, this critically acclaimed modern play explores the everyday abuse and exploitation of Asian women and their struggles to obtain freedom.

The groundling / by Marc Palmieri

After stumbling upon an outdoor production of a Shakespeare play in Manhattan, Long Island landscaper Bob Malone returns home inspired to write a play about his troubled marriage. He hires two reluctant New York theater professionals to spend a week at his home and stage the play in his garage, with a cast of colorful locals. The Groundling is a comedy exploring the meaning of the final moments of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, and how the power of theater can affect the most unsuspecting, and perhaps deserving of us all. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=YVtgCQAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=The%20groundling%20%2F%20by%20Marc%20Palmieri&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=The%20groundling%20/%20by%20Marc%20Palmieri&f=false

Forever / by Dael Orlandersmith

Inspired by her experiences in Paris at the famed Père Lachaise Cemetery -- the final resting place of such legendary artists as Richard Wright and Jim Morrison -- award-winning playwright/performer Dael Orlandersmith explores the strange way we form powerful bonds with people who, though unrelated to us by blood, come to feel like family. Observing strangers from around the world making pilgrimages to their favorite artist's grave, Orlandersmith investigates the complex legacy she received from her mother -- a legacy of bitterness, abuse, and frustration, but also of poetry, music, and art. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/YVtgCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+groundling+/+by+Marc+Palmieri

Woman of flowers / by Kaite O'Reilly

An innovative re-telling of an ancient Welsh myth - Blodeuwedd from The Mabinogi - where nothing is quite as it seems. Rose cannot remember what came before the house at the edge of the isolated forest. Gwynne says he magicked her out of the flowers, but she's not so sure. She has played the part of the perfect farmer's wife for Lewis, who is kept firmly in place by his uncle Gwynne, and accepted her lonely existence. Then a stranger is seen in the forest. What lengths will she go to, to escape the life chosen for her? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/d0KeDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Woman+of+flowers+/+by+Kaite+O%27Reilly

I put the fear of México in 'em / Matthew Paul Olmos

When Jonah and Adray cross the border into Tijuana for a quick vacation, they stumble off the beaten path and come face to face with a Mexican couple in an alley. What ensues is a humorous and complex dance that explores and challenges notions of boundaries, safety and identity.

The nature of captivity / Matthew Paul Olmos

Inspired by the Dog Catcher Riots that followed a law that was passed in New York which made it illegal for dogs to roam the city without being leashed. To implement this law, the city sent teams of dog catchers to the streets to capture all the strays. However, many people did not agree with this law, and there was a small spurt of riots with people trying keep the dogs from being caught. The story is told in two parts, the first part from the captive's point of view and the second from the captors. In part one, a put-upon family is run from their home by a settlement of people. In part two, a settlement of people get a surprise guest while simply trying to run a put-upon family from their home.

Nine lives ; and, Come to where I'm from / Zodwa Nyoni

See over here it's not like over there. Here there are neon lights. Here there are queens. Here there are rainbow flags draw high. One man and a suitcase filled with the past, uncertainty, high heels, brokenness, African dancing shells and hope. Ishmael has been outed, along with his lover, David. He has sought sanctuary in the UK, but is this evidence enough? As Ishmael waits to hear his fate, he encounters new friends – and enemies, all the while looking for a place to call home again. Zodwa Nyoni threads together humour and humanity to tell the real personal story behind asylum headlines. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=yzNOCgAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Nine%20lives%20%3B%20and%2C%20Come%20to%20where%20I'm%20from%20%2F%20Zodwa%20Nyoni&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Nine%20lives%20;%20and,%20Come%20to%20where%20I'm%20from%20/%20Zodwa%20Nyoni&f=false

One more river to cross : a verbatim fugue / adapted by Lynn Nottage

Between 1936 and 1938, the Federal Writers' Project gathered over 2,300 interviews with former slaves. Pulitzer winner Lynn Nottage has collected and condensed these interviews into a theatrical exploration of the history of slavery in the United States. By resurrecting these slaves' stories onstage, Nottage resurrects the voices of people who for so many years had none, and creates a space for the contemplation of the enduring effects of slavery in America Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/57NeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=One+more+river+to+cross+:+a+verbatim+fugue+/+adapted+by+Lynn+Nottage

The totalitarians / by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb

We might be on the brink of revolution in Nebraska. Penny, a compulsive and compulsively watchable candidate for state office enlists the help of Francine, a silver-tongued operative. Francine's husband Jeffrey, a doctor, is lying to his dying patients -- one of whom opens his eyes to Penny's nefarious plans for the Cornhusker State. The Totalitarians is a raucous dark comedy about the state of modern political discourse, modern relationships, and how easy it is to believe truths without facts. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/L_YrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+totalitarians+/+by+Peter+Sinn+Nachtrieb

Switzerland / by Joanna Murray-Smith

Somewhere in the Swiss Alps, grande dame of crime literature Patricia Highsmith lives with an impressive collection of books, and a somewhat sinister collection of guns and knives. She finds solace in her solitude, her cats, and cigarettes. But when a mysterious international visitor arrives at her perfectly secluded home, her love of fictional murders becomes a dangerous reality. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/UfUrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Switzerland+/+by+Joanna+Murray-Smith

What's left of the flag / Jimmy Murphy

New recruit Yossi, has just graduated from the Mossad training academy in Tel Aviv, the Midrasha, and is sent to Dublin on his first mission. In Dublin he is teamed up with veteran agent, and soon to be retired field agent, Jacob, who is on his last mission. As the minutes tick away and the target nears, Yossi discovers that a conscience is a luxury he can no longer afford.

The Oresteia / adapted by Rory Mullarkey from the original by Aeschylus

Before setting out for the Trojan War, King Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia. Many years later, when Agamemnon returns to his palace, his adulterous Queen Clytemnestra takes her revenge by brutally murdering him and installing her lover on the throne. How will the gods judge Orestes, their estranged son, who must avenge his father's death by murdering his mother? The curse of the House of Atreus, passing from generation to generation, is one of the great myths of Western literature. In the hands of Aeschylus, the story enacts the final victory of reason and justice over superstition and barbarity.

The audience / by Peter Morgan

For sixty years, Queen Elizabeth II has met with each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a private weekly audience. The discussions are utterly secret, even to the royal and ministerial spouses. Peter Morgan imagines these meetings over the decades of the Queen's remarkable reign, through Prime Ministers from Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher to the 2014 incumbent David Cameron. The Audience is a glimpse into the woman behind the crown, and the moments that have shaped the modern monarchy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/NExgCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+audience+/+by+Peter+Morgan

I see you / Mongiwekhaya

Post-Apartheid South Africa, after dark. Ben meets Skinn for a night out. But the party is interrupted by the police. Ben, a young student who doesn't know his own history, is accused of a crime he didn't commit. And Officer Buthelezi, a former freedom fighter, can't let it go. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/n00DDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=I+see+you+/+Mongiwekhaya

The patron saint of sea monsters / by Marlane Meyer

Aubrey, a very determined romantic, believes she's met her soul-mate in Calvin, a boozing womanizer. But in this tilted thoughtful comedy, true love is an even more tangled predicament. Peopled by an assortment of eccentrics, mystics, and front porch philosophers, Marlane Meyer's play is a sweet polemic, an unexpected love story, and a deliciously cockeyed view of the sustaining -- and destructive -- power of belief. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/srpeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+patron+saint+of+sea+monsters+/+by+Marlane+Meyer

Guadalupe in the guest room / by Tony Meneses

Guadalupe in the Guest Room tells the story of two people -- with nothing in common but a shared grief -- who bond in the most unexpected ways. Written by the rising playwright Tony Meneses, the play is a deeply moving and very funny celebration of life, new beginnings, and the healing power of telenovelas. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=G-8rDAAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Guadalupe%20in%20the%20guest%20room%20%2F%20by%20Tony%20Meneses&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Guadalupe%20in%20the%20guest%20room%20/%20by%20Tony%20Meneses&f=false

Prison graduates : (acquired prison traumatic syndrome (A.P.T.S.)) : (a drama in four legs) / by Efo Kodjo Mawugbe

The flame-haired dynamo / Mick Martin

He discovers the Christmas Annuals in his loft, filled with stories of sporting triumph against great odds! His favourite being Titch McCreavie, aka THE FLAME-HAIRED DYNAMO! – star player for Felsworth Rovers! As Christopher throws himself back into his boyhood fantasy he returns to the world of his 13-year-old self... to his parents, Grandad and his first love Fiona Garbutt... reality and fantasy collide as he revisits that Christmas of 1978, when his world changed…

These shining lives/ by Melanie Marnich

These Shining Lives chronicles the strength and determination of women considered expendable in their day, exploring their true story and its continued resonance. Catherine and her friends are dying, it's true; but theirs is a story of survival in its most transcendent sense, as they refuse to allow the company that stole their health to kill their spirits--or endanger the lives of those who come after them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/1B2s4GtZNC0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=These+shining+lives/+by+Melanie+Marnich

Mine / by Laura Marks

As a first-time mother about to have a home birth, Mari is certain of one thing: She can't wait to hold her baby. The next morning, she's certain of something else: The baby in her arms is not her baby. A contemporary thriller with age-old roots, Mine explores an unseen world where doubt and certainty blur and madness vies with reality. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/gqpeCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Mine+/+by+Laura+Marks

Plays 6 / David Mamet

Anthology includes: November -- Race -- The anarchist.

China doll : a play / by David Mamet

This complex new work from celebrated playwright David Mamet revolves around a wealthy man, his young fiancée, and an airplane. The man has just bought a new plane as a wedding present for the girl. He intends to go into semiretirement and enjoy himself. While in the process of leaving his office, and giving last minute instructions to his young assistant, he takes one final phone call. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/kUHpCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=China+doll+:+a+play+/+by+David+Mamet

Chef / Sabrina Mahfouz

Chef tells the gripping story of how one woman went from being a haute-cuisine head chef to a convicted inmate running a prison kitchen. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/mA7xCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Chef+/+Sabrina+Mahfouz

Emerging artist grant / by Angus MacLachlan

Ethan, a successful independent filmmaker, is sweating over casting his newest project in his hometown of Winston-Salem when Spencer, a newly-minted adjunct theatre professor, auditions for the lead. Their mutual attraction is immediate, and they start a charming and amusing dance of personal and professional eroticism. Ethan's smart and witty older sister, Liz, is thrown into the mix. She supports herself as a hairdresser; her acting career, and her hopes, have derailed a bit with time. A subtly comedic story set in the creative world, Emerging Artist Grant explores how we struggle to make something of our lives, and it questions the moral crises we encounter when trying for our dreams. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/4UEpDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Emerging+artist+grant+/+by+Angus+MacLachlan

Hir : a play / by Taylor Mac

In a cheap house made of plywood and glue, notions of masculinity and femininity become weapons with which to defeat the old order. But in Taylor Mac’s sly, subversive comedy, annihilating the past doesn’t always free you from it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/0EpdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Hir+:+a+play+/+Taylor+Mac

Ode to joy / by Craig Lucas

Adele, hard at work on a large triptych, looks back on the two major loves of her life, which somehow managed to provide her with everything she needed to know about the art of living. Through these two tumultuous loves, Adele discovered both the limits of her powers and the true depths of her gifts. The road to redemption remains before her with the return of both loves to her side. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/sFs2DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Ode+to+joy+/+by+Craig+Lucas

Two things you don't talk about at dinner / by Lisa Loomer

Myriam's annual Passover Seder, a multicultural mix of family and friends, threatens to explode as politics and religion hijack the dinner conversation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/UbdhBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Two+things+you+don%27t+talk+about+at+dinner+/+by+Lisa+Loomer

The play that goes wrong / by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields

The Play That Goes Wrong is a farcical murder mystery, a play within a play, conceived and performed by award-winning company Theatre Mischief. It was first published as a one-act play and is published in this new edition as a two-act play. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/LzNjAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+play+that+goes+wrong+/+by+Henry+Lewis,+Jonathan+Sayer,+Henry+Shields

Leveling up / Deborah Zoe Laufer

From the award winning playwright of End Days, Deborah Zoe Laufer, comes a story about three twenty-something roommates who are glued to their video games. They are masters of the virtual worlds behind the computer screens in their Las Vegas basement. When one of them uses his gaming skills to land a job with the National Security Agency launching actual drones and missiles, online battles begin to have real consequences. Leveling Up is a fresh, contemporary look at how we navigate the blurry line between worlds both virtual and real and what it means to grow up.

Act one / by James Lapine ; from the autobiography by Moss Hart

Growing up in an impoverished family in the Bronx, Moss Hart dreamed of being part of the glamorous world of the theater. Forced to drop out of school at age thirteen, Hart's famous memoir Act One is a classic Hortatio Alger story that plots Hart's unlikely collaboration with the legendary playwright George S. Kaufman. Tony Award-winning writer and director James Lapine has adapted Act One for the stage, creating a funny, heartbreaking, and suspenseful play that celebrates the making of a playwright and his play Once in a Lifetime. Act One offers great fun to a director to utilize over fifty roles, which can be played a cast as few as twelve, and in a production that can be done as simply or elaborately as desired. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/hdUrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Act+one+/+by+James+Lapine+;+from+the+autobiography+by+Moss+Hart

The way we get by : a play / by Neil LaBute

It’s very awkward—and it also leads the pair to ponder how much they really know about each other, and how much they really care about what other people think. THE WAY WE GET BY is a play about love and lust and the whole damn thing. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/tE1dDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+way+we+get+by+:+a+play+/+by+Neil+LaBute

Kill floor / Abe Koogler

A small town. Today. Following a long incarceration, Andy returns to her hometown to restart her life. After securing a job at the local slaughterhouse, the challenges of reentry unfold as she reconnects with her teenage son, B, a staunch vegetarian with a life he's unwilling to share with his mother. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/zwHYCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT6&dq=Kill+floor+/+Abe+Koogler

Dublin oldschool / Emmet Kirwan

Jason, a wannabe DJ, is making his way through the streets of Dublin on a chemically enhanced trip, stumbling from one misguided misadventure to another. Somewhere between the DJs, decks, drug busts and hilltop raves, he stumbles across a familiar face from the past: his brother, Daniel. Daniel is an educated, homeless addict, living on the streets of Dublin. The brothers haven't seen or spoken to each other in three years but over a lost weekend they reconnect and reminisce over tunes, trips, their history and their city. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/7QhoCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Dublin+oldschool+/+Emmet+Kirwan

Contact.com / Michael Kingsbury

Professional Islington-based couple seek young couple for shared pleasures. He 46. She 42. Can accommodate. Young sexy South London couple. He 29. She 27. Seek older couple for nights of pleasure and fulfilment. Will travel. Middle-aged Matthew and his long-suffering wife Naomi await the arrival of the youthful Ryan and Kelly to their elegant North London home. They'll meet for one night of unlimited pleasure, then part. That's the agreement, that's the plan -- but can they stick to it? Perhaps Ryan and Kelly have a different agenda. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/5Rt5BgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP3&dq=Contact.com+/+Michael+Kingsbury

The humans / Stephen Karam

This year for Thanksgiving, the Blake family gathers in a new Chinatown apartment shared by daughter Brigid and her boyfriend: a typical housing space for New York, cramped with people and all the compassion, cares, and consternation they bring with them. This "delirious tragicomedy" (Chicago Sun-Times) by talented young playwright Stephen Karam encapsulates what we all dread most about the holidays and the pressure to present our best selves to the people who mean the most to us. The intricate dialogue and delicate interactions weave a beautifully despondent family portrait, revealing the true depth of each individual's anxiety - a nature that is, desperately and accurately, human. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ZEtdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+humans+/+Stephen+Karam

Guards at the Taj / by Rajiv Joseph

In 1648 India, two Imperial Guards watch from their post as the sun rises for the first time on the newly-completed Taj Mahal -- an event that shakes their respective worlds. When they are ordered to perform an unthinkable task, the aftermath forces them to question the concepts of friendship, beauty, and duty, and changes them forever. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Guards_at_the_Taj/ru8rDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Guards+at+the+Taj+/+by+Rajiv+Joseph&printsec=frontcover

Last round-up of the guacamole queens / by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten

In this deliciously funny Southern-fried comedy, the Verdeen cousins of Sweetgum, Texas -- Gaynelle, Peaches, and Jimmie Wyvette -- are up against the clock as they frantically attempt to produce the ultimate high school reunion before the old building is demolished. But they've got a bushel of obstacles to overcome before they can pull off this miracle: Gaynelle is reeling from the humiliating demise of her loathed ex-husband; Peaches' romantic life has tanked because the older her dates get, the more horrified they are by her job as a mortuarial cosmetologist; and Jimmie Wyvette is trying to live down her on-camera catfight with a local televangelist. To top it all off, the cousins have got to impress a governor's aide with their party-planning capabilities, so that they can nab the plum job of throwing the governor's birthday bash -- and keep their business afloat. Their scramble to prepare the perfect event is interrupted by the exploits of their beloved Uncle Aubrey, who is in danger of getting throttled by the two octogenarian sisters he's simultaneously romancing, and by threats from their self-righteous Aunt LaMerle, who is determined to be crowned the final and forever Guacamole Queen of Sweetgum High. And that's before one of Peaches' former classmates arrives with a malevolent hand puppet and a score to settle, Jimmie Wyvette hog-ties the sheriff with police tape, the high school gym is blown away, and the desperate battle for Guacamole Queen heats up into an outrageous fight to the finish. Chaos is side-splittingly achieved! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/jPArDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Last+round-up+of+the+guacamole+queens

Rasheeda speaking / by Joel Drake Johnson

This tense workplace thriller examines the realities of so-called "post-racial" when two co-workers --one black, the other white -- are driven apart by the machinations of their boss. A chilling power struggle ensues that spins wildly out of control. RASHEEDA SPEAKING is an incisive and shocking dark comedy that keeps you in its claustrophobic grip until the final moment. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/_HZgCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Rasheeda+speaking+/+by+Joel+Drake+Johnson

Rechnitz ; and, the Merchant's contracts / Elfriede Jelinek ; translated and introduced by Gitta Honegger

In Rechnitz, a chorus of messengers reports on the circumstances of the massacre of 180 Jews, an actual historical event that took place near the Austrian/Hungarian border town of Rechnitz. More than a docu-drama, this work explores the very transmission of historic memory and has been called Jelinek’s best performance text to date. In The Merchant’s Contracts, Jelinek brings us a comedy of economics, where the babble and media spin of spectators leave small investors alienated and bearing the brunt of the economic crisis. In the age of the global economy, Jelinek turns the story of a merchant of Vienna into a universal comedy of errors, making this her most accessible work.

The libertine/ by Stephen Jeffreys

The play opens with a prologue delivered by Rochester direct to the audience, in which he declares: 'I am John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester and I do not want you to like me.' As the play opens, Rochester is already a writer and dramatist of reputed brilliance, a sexual adventurer of polymorphous tastes, a feverish alcoholic and a mischief-maker. He amuses the degenerate but shrewd King Charles II, but his irreverence is losing acceptability and Rochester is sternly reminded that 'there is a time to be for things.' Nevertheless, he continues to compulsively test the limits of his society. Most perilous of all, he falls madly in love with Elizabeth Barry, a young actress he attempts to mould. But Barry is more than his match, and Rochester's downfall is set in motion.

Clarion / by Mark Jagasia

The Clarion is Britain's worst newspaper. Morris Honeyspoon, its egomaniacal editor, spends his weekends dressed as Julius Caesar, and daily life at his beloved paper is a masterclass in incompetence and deceit. But the Clarion's attention-seeking headlines have real-world consequences. As political storm clouds gather over an uneasy country, it seems the paper's worst crimes are about to be exposed. While Morris hunts for a traitor in his midst, the once-great foreign correspondent Verity Stokes masterminds a murderous day of reckoning... Clarion is an urgent black comedy about free speech, nationalism and the state of the British media.

An octoroon / by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Judge Peyton is dead and his plantation Terrebonne is in financial ruins. Peyton's handsome nephew George arrives as heir apparent and quickly falls in love with Zoe, a beautiful octoroon. But the evil overseer M'Closky has other plans -- for both Terrebonne and Zoe. In 1859, a famous Irishman wrote this play about slavery in America. Now an American tries to write his own. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/qqteCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=An+octoroon+/+by+Branden+Jacobs-Jenkins

Picture ourselves in Latvia / by Ross Howard

Desires are suppressed and aspirations thwarted for both the staff and patients of a psychiatric ward. Orderly Oliver pines for Margaret Thatcher. Dr Rupert wants Nurse Whitehall who wants Dr Rupert. But Dr Rupert and his wife are trying to have a baby and Nurse Whitehall who is also married has just returned from maternity leave. As for the patients, Duncan secretly loves Anna who secretly loves Martin who openly loves no one. Both a love story and a modern allegory of the state, Picture Ourselves in Latvia confronts the impossibility of categorising people as either sane or insane.

The Christians / by Lucas Hnath

Twenty years ago, Pastor Paul's church was nothing more than a modest storefront. Now he presides over a congregation of thousands, with classrooms for Sunday School, a coffee shop in the lobby, and a baptismal font as big as a swimming pool. Today should be a day of celebration. But Paul is about to preach a sermon that will shake the foundations of his church's belief. A big-little play about faith in America -- and the trouble with changing your mind. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/D-srDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+Christians+/+by+Lucas+Hnath

Wait until dark / by Frederick Knott ; adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher

Forty-seven years after Wait Until Dark premiered on Broadway, Jeffrey Hatcher has adapted Frederick Knott's 1966 original, giving it a new setting. In 1944 Greenwich Village, Susan Hendrix, a blind yet capable woman, is imperiled by a trio of men in her own apartment. As the climax builds, Susan discovers that her blindness just might be the key to her escape, but she and her tormenters must wait until dark to play out this classic thriller's chilling conclusion. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/DfcrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Wait+until+dark+/+by+Frederick+Knott+;+adapted+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher

Shakespeare in love / based on the screenplay by Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard

Penniless and indebted to two demanding producers, struggling young playwright William Shakespeare is tormented by writer's block, until he meets the beautiful Viola de Lesseps, daughter of a wealthy merchant, whose fiery passion for poetry and drama leaves her secretly longing to be an actor. Viola quickly become the playwright's muse, while she disguises herself as a man to become a player. Both are despondent when they learn that Viola's father has promised her to the stuffy Lord Wessex in order to gain a title for their family. Under veil of secrecy, Will and Viola's passionate love affair becomes the basis of the very play he is writing -- Romeo and Juliet. With opening night -- and the wedding day -- fast approaching, the plots race toward a parallel conclusion. Will it work out in the end or are the two star-crossed lovers destined for tragedy?

Our lady of Kibeho / by Katori Hall

In 1981, a village girl in Rwanda claims to see the Virgin Mary. She is denounced by her superiors and ostracized by her schoolmates -- until impossible happenings begin to appear to all. Skepticism gives way to fear, causing upheaval in the school community and beyond. Based on real events, Our Lady of Kibeho, is an exploration of faith, doubt, and the power and consequences of both. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/bfIrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Our+lady+of+Kibeho+/+by+Katori+Hall

The curious incident of the dog in the night-time / Simon Stephens

Christopher, stands beside Mrs Shears's dead dog. It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight, and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in the book he is writing to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/DjcQAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+curious+incident+of+the+dog+in+the+night-time+/+Simon+Stephens

Silent sky / by Lauren Gunderson

When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn't allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women "computers," charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in "girl hours" and has no time for the women's probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman's place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women's ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/LPUrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Silent+sky+/+by+Lauren+Gunderson

Bauer / by Lauren Gunderson

Love. Art. Defiance. The visceral and visual true story of forgotten modern artist Rudolf Bauer, struggling with his fading place in the history of art as his paintings are removed from the walls of the Guggenheim Museum. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/5ukrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Bauer+/+by+Lauren+Gunderson

Between Riverside and crazy / Stephen Adly Guirgis

Ex-cop and recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington and his newly paroled son Junior have spent a lifetime living between Riverside and crazy. But now, the NYPD is demanding his signature to close an outstanding lawsuit, the landlord wants him out, the liquor store is closed—and the church won’t leave him alone. When the struggle to keep one of New York City’s last great rent-stabilized apartments collides with old wounds, sketchy new houseguests, and a final ultimatum, it seems that the old days may be dead and gone. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ODopDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Between+Riverside+and+crazy+/+Stephen+Adly+Guirgis

Stella and Lou/ by Bruce Graham

On a quiet night at Lou's Bar, two kindred spirits seek solace as they navigate changing times and relationships past. From the author of The Outgoing Tide comes an intimate exploration of friendship, forgiveness, and the longing for companionship that grows with the passage of time. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/zX9gCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Stella+and+Lou/+by+Bruce+Graham

Writer's cramp : or, How Will Shakespeare got into show biz / by Larry Glaister

He was born in 1564, but after early adolescence, historians lose track of Will Shakespeare until 1590, more or less. By then he's already married, the father of three and a full-fledged, wildly successful young actor and playwright! Shakespeare's so-called "lost years" have confounded scholars for generations. Writer's Cramp (or How Will Shakespeare Got Into Show Biz) gleefully jumps in to fill in the gaps! It's 1585, Will is a 21-year-old dreamer, the father of three and quite jobless. He'd rather cavort with children and fiddle around with phrases than worry about bread on the table and household chores. Small wonder his older and long-suffering wife, Anne, is easily distracted by the amorous attentions of Hamnet, a profligate neighbor with insatiable appetites—and right under Will's nose! But how to consummate the attraction when Will is unemployed and always underfoot? A series of fool's errands to get Will out of the house almost work, but the steamy tryst is spoiled by one intrusion after another: screaming babies, a giddy adolescent girl, a band of strolling players. It's uphill for Ann and Ham. Poverty, lust and gender confusion rock everyone's boat, but, in the end, fortune smiles on the aspiring young poet. As for Ham and as for Anne, what of this folly that they began? When neighbor betrays neighbor and friend, there's only one way the story can end. Always and ever, at the end of the day, when trust is broken, there's hell to pay. But how great the inferno when trust is broken? A farthing, a shilling, a modest token? Or would you prefer more justice this time … something hideous to befit the crime? Well, yes. Absolutely! Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exWritersCrampWH6.pdf

Placebo / by Melissa James Gibson

A minty green pill -- medication or sugar? Louise is working on a placebo-controlled study of a new female arousal drug. As her work in the lab navigates the blurry lines between perception and deception, the same questions pertain more and more to her life at home. With uncanny insight and unparalleled wit, Melissa James Gibson's affectionate comedy examines slippery truths and the power of crossed fingers. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/h70rDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Placebo+/+by+Melissa+James+Gibson

Wolf in snakeskin shoes, or, The gospel of tartuffe / Marcus Gardley

This fresh take on Molière's Tartuffe, set in a world of fast-food tycoons and megachurches is a wicked new comedy that rocks the foundations of trust, faith and redemption. Given just days to live, multi-millionaire Archibald Organdy rejects costly experimental treatment and opts to face his end surrounded by his loving family. However, things could be about to change. Arriving in Atlanta the flamboyant Archbishop Tardimus Toof, a prophet, preacher and part-time masseur promises to absolve Archibald's sins and heal his disease. But his family suspects there's more to this healer than faith, virtue and snakeskin shoes. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/HcHCCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Wolf+in+snakeskin+shoes,+or,+The+gospel+of+tartuffe+/+Marcus+Gardley

Collected plays / Anne García-Romero

Santa Concepción -- Earthquake Chica -- Mary Peabody in Cuba. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=KJXDFfzNP_UC&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Collected%20plays%20%2F%20Anne%20Garc%C3%ADa-Romero&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Collected%20plays%20/%20Anne%20Garc%C3%ADa-Romero&f=false

One night / by Charles Fuller

After surviving a fire in a homeless shelter, two Iraqi Freedom vets, Alicia G. and Horace Lloyd, are sent to a motel outside the city where they will be safe for the night. Both are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder-- Alicia as a consequence of a gang rape by three fellow soldiers while in Iraq and Horace from battlefield pressure linked to his Army MOS as a sniper. The two of them have been together for more than nine months, Horace acting as a kind of helpmate to Alicia, who was so traumatized by the rape that she can't even consider having a normal relationship with a man. Their arrival at the motel introduces them to the owner Doug Mensing, called Meny, and the beginning of our understanding of the trials sexually abused women face in the American military. Alicia refused to stay silent like so many other women and fought while she was in the Army to have the rapists punished. But only two of the men were charged and merely given pay reductions, while the third man was never named or prosecuted. Once discharged, she received little help from the VA. She found herself rejected by a religious mother who blamed everything that happened to Alicia on a "God-less army peopled by marching masturbators." Exhausted from the loss of all their possessions, and having reached a motel they thought would provide them with shelter, Alicia and Horace find themselves instead in a highway bordello. Here, throughout one night, old wounds are opened, flashbacks recount their histories and the truth of events they both hoped were over emerge from the past to color the rest of their future. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exOneNightOA1.pdf

The old friends / by Horton Foote

Matriarch Mamie Borden and the remaining members of two longtime Texas farming families await a visit from Mamie's son Hugo and his wife, Sybil. When Sybil arrives, alone, with alarming news, old friends must confront the issues surrounding legacy, loyalty, and the meaning of happiness that have hounded them for generations. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/SPIrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+old+friends+/+by+Horton+Foote

A coffin in Egypt / by Horton Foote

Myrtle Bledsoe, a ninety-year-old Texas widow, looks back on the dramatic events that caused a small Southern town, and her own relationships, incredible strife. This almost-monologue by American master Horton Foote is a haunting tale of how men and women, blacks and whites, rich and poor are all entangled in the chaos of life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/WOsrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=A+coffin+in+Egypt+/+by+Horton+Foote

I'm gonna pray for you so hard / a play by Halley Feiffer

Ella is a precocious and fiercely competitive actress whose aims in life are making her famous playwright father David proud--and becoming famous herself. Over the course of a boozy, drug-fueled evening, Ella and David deliberate over whether to read the reviews of her off-Broadway debut... and things unravel from there. Halley Feiffer's dark, daring, and irreverent new play plumbs the depths of a deeply complicated relationship and sheds new light on the eternal struggles of parents and children to find common ground Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/aTuEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=I%27m+gonna+pray+for+you+so+hard+/+a+play+by+Halley+Feiffer

Yaël Farber : plays one / Yaël Farber

Molora / based on The oresteia by Aeschylus -- RAM : the abduction of sita into darkness / based on The Ramayana by Valmiki -- Mies Julie / based on Miss Julie by August Strindberg.

My night with Reg / Kevin Elyot

A tragicomedy of gay manners set in London, England, during the latter half of the eighties, this play explores the sexual foibles and desires of a group of friends in the ever-looming shadow of AIDS. "One of the major ironies of [the play] is that Reg never actually reaches the stage, let alone The Big Chill-style flat-warming party hosted by Guy for his charismatic, gay, old college friends [but] Guy finds himself the target of his friends' clandestine confessions. It seems the late Reg was unusually generous with his sexual favours. As the play slips disconcertingly forward in time…we see the loaded consequences of such generosity. Bursts of nostalgia are diluted by naked fear as an almost Agatha Christie like suspense shrouds those who succumbed to Reg. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Ox0MhmYd5eEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=My+night+with+Reg+/+Kevin+Elyot

The spoils / Jesse Eisenberg

Nobody likes Ben. Ben doesn't even like Ben. He's been kicked out of grad school, lives off his parents' money, and bullies everyone in his life, including his roommate, an earnest Nepalese immigrant. When Ben discovers that his grade school crush is marrying a straitlaced banker, he sets out to destroy their relationship and win her back. The Spoils is a deeply personal and probing comedy written by one of America's most interesting writer-thespians Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/mcMrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+spoils+/+Jesse+Eisenberg

Road to Damascus / by Tom Dulack

As full-scale civil war rages in Syria, a bomb explodes in Manhattan and all roads lead to Damascus. A peace-seeking African Pope is elected to the Vatican and a third-party president is in power in the U.S. With nuclear war looming, will the new Pope intervene directly in American foreign policy, or will he accede to the demands of Washington? Riddled with international intrigue, Tom Dulack's astonishingly prescient play imagines a world ripped from today's headlines. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Zb4rDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Road+to+Damascus+/+by+Tom+Dulack

Selected plays : Kissing the witch, Trespasses, I know my own heart, Ladies and gentlemen, Don't die wondering / by Emma Donoghue

Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=7zQ2DwAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PT1&dq=Selected%20plays%20%3A%20Kissing%20the%20witch%2C%20Trespasses%2C%20I%20know%20my%20own%20heart%2C%20Ladies%20and%20gentlemen%2C%20Don't%20die%20wondering%20%2F%20by%20Emma%20Donoghue&pg=PT1#v=onepage&q=Selected%20plays%20:%20Kissing%20the%20witch,%20Trespasses,%20I%20know%20my%20own%20heart,%20Ladies%20and%20gentlemen,%20Don't%20die%20wondering%20/%20by%20Emma%20Donoghue&f=false

Miss Marx : or The involuntary side effect of living / by Philip Dawkins

Plays out the remarkably true story of Karl Marx's youngest daughter, Eleanor. Known throughout Victorian England as an actress and political activist, Eleanor finds it far easier to fight for equality on a soapbox than in the bedroom. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exMissMarxMP8.pdf

Fish in the dark : a play / Larry David

Fish in the Dark is the astonishing playwriting debut by Larry David, the multiple Emmy-winning star of Curb Your Enthusiasm and co-creator of Seinfeld. This sidesplitting play, a testimony to David's great writing talent, is also his first time on Broadway--in fact, his first time acting on stage since eighth grade. In Fish in the Dark, Larry David stars as Norman Drexel, a man in his fifties who is average in most respects except for his hyperactive libido. As Norman and his family try to navigate the death of a loved one, old acquaintances and unsettled arguments resurface with hilarious consequences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/_gGCBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&dq=Fish+in+the+dark+:+a+play+/+Larry+David

Octagon / by Kristiana Rae Colón

After Wall Street and Tahrir Square, after ISIS and the NSA, after Ferguson and Eric Garner: here come the poets. In a downtown poetry slam with a place on the team to be won, eight young poets prepare to do battle. But backstage it's all kicking off with love triangles, families to feed and wounds to rip open. And in the end, is it about winning – or finding the words that need to be said? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/0PKuCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Octagon+/+by+Kristiana+Rae+Col%C3%B3n

Gathering blue / a play by Eric Coble ; based on the book by Lois Lowry

In an apocalyptic future where children are kept like animals and human life is cheap, young Kira learns the ugly truth about the powers controlling her world. A gifted weaver, her talent catches the attention of the Council of Guardians. Under their custody, Kira is made to mend and embellish the ceremonial Singer's Robe—a garment that tells the history of the world. But the longer she works, the more she learns about the horrifying secrets that keep her community hostage. Can she use her knowledge and art to reshape the future? Based on Lois Lowry's companion piece to The Giver, Gathering Blue tells a suspenseful tale of the power of creativity to fight brutality. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exGatheringBlueGD1.pdf

You for me for you / Mia Chung

As they attempt to flee the Best Nation in the World, North Korean sisters Minhee and Junhee are torn apart at the border. Each must race across time and space to be together again – navigating the perilous Land of the Free and the treacherous terrain of personal belief. Food has learned to sprint. Money is so fast it doesn't wait to be printed. Gossip travels swifter than germs. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/yhQqCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=You+for+me+for+you+/+Mia+Chung

Datong : the Chinese utopia / libretto, Evans Chan ; English translation, Jane Lai

Datong: The Chinese Utopia focuses on this Guangdong native’s years of exile in Europe, Asia and America, as he and his daughter Kang Tongbi campaigned for a better future for their compatriots at home and abroad—which culminated in an anti-American boycott (1905–1906) to beat back the Chinese Exclusion act, and two meetings with a conciliatory Theodore Roosevelt.

Under wraps : a spoke opera / Robert Chafe

The moment Mark meets David his world is thrown off balance. Who could have predicted finding love in a furniture store, or finding it with an unemployed lifeguard? But despite their immediate connection, Mark isn’t sure if David is gay. Mark isn’t even sure if Mark is gay. As he falls deeper in love, Mark works desperately to make David nothing more than a friend and to make that enough. Filled with hopeful exhilaration and devastating missed opportunities, Under Wraps nimbly tracks one man’s tumultuous quest to finally love himself and let it all out.

The bleeding tree / Angus Cerini

In a dirt-dry town in rural Australia, a shot shatters the still night. A mother and her daughters have just welcomed home the man of the house - with a crack in the shins and a bullet in the neck. The only issue now is disposing of the body. Triggered into thrilling motion by an act of revenge, The Bleeding Tree is rude, rhythmical and irreverently funny. Imagine a murder ballad blown up for the stage, set against a deceptively deadly Aussie backdrop, with three fierce females fighting back.

Raz : just one more night out in the booze Britain / Jim Cartwright

Come on the raz with him and his boys as he hits the town for all it's worth – tanned, buffed and blowing his wage packet: a weekend millionaire. Tonight he's in charge, living it large. On Monday, it's back to the grind and he starts all over again. At turns bitingly funny and heartbreaking, Raz takes you on an illuminating rollercoaster of a night out in modern Britain.

The Gospel according to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy : discord / by Scott Carter

A Founding Father, a Victorian novelist and a Russian revolutionary walk into a ... stop me if you've heard this one. Thomas Jefferson (yes that one), Charles Dickens (the very same) and Count Leo Tolstoy (who else?) are brought together in a blistering battle of wits. From Scott Carter (executive producer of Real Time with Bill Maher), this whip-smart comedy examines what happens when great men of history are forced to repeat it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Kw7zBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+Gospel+according+to+Thomas+Jefferson,+Charles+Dickens+and+Count+Leo+Tolstoy+:+discord+/+by+Scott+Carter

Neva : bilingual edition / Guillermo Calderón

This politically charged, haunting yet humorous meditation on theater and the revolutionary impulse tells the story of three actors, including Anton Chekhov's widow, who gather to rehearse scenes from The Cherry Orchard as Russia faces an impending revolution. A savage examination of the relationship between theater and historical context, Neva is the author's first play. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/VFn6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Neva+:+bilingual+edition+/+Guillermo+Calder%C3%B3n

For the loyal / by Lee Blessing

Toby and Mia are graduate students with a bright future ahead of them: a baby on the way and a college coaching job for Toby. But when Toby stumbles across a secret that threatens to derail their future, he and Mia must decide between honesty and loyalty, and whether doing something wrong is the only way to do what's right. Inspired by the Penn State sexual abuse scandal, For the Loyal is an emotional and thought-provoking night of theater. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/g-0rDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=For+the+loyal+/+by+Lee+Blessing

We want you to watch / Text: Alice Birch ; Movement: RashDash

This is about pornography. This is an interview. This is an intervention. This is an interrogation. We’re recording now. We want to pull its plug out. We want to stop its heartbeat. We want to blow its brains out and begin again. We know exactly what we’re doing. We’re not stupid. An unsettling, powerful new piece of theatre tackling pornography and violence against women. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/We_Want_You_to_Watch/Y5oJEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=We+want+you+to+watch++/+Text:+Alice+Birch&pg=PT1&printsec=frontcover

The Rising Water trilogy : plays / John Biguenet

Widely praised by critics and hailed by audiences, the award-winning plays in John Biguenet's The Rising Water Trilogy examine the emotional toll of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Murder at the prop table : a farce in two acts / by Ed Bassett

As the saying goes, "All the world's a stage," and it couldn't be more true of a group of actors living life as though it were part of a play … oh wait, it is … is that in the script? Did he really just do that?! Stars of the stage and screen, Alex and Lynn are unhappily married; Alex loves Jane, but Jane is Herbert's girlfriend; and Herbert wrote the play that Alex and Lynn are starring in with hopes of making a triumphant comeback to the stage. Add in a confused gardener and a stage manager trying to keep things in order, and you have a recipe for disaster with a dash of love, a sprinkle of loathing, a splash of suspicion and one dead body. And the critics are in the audience. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exMurderAtThePropTableMP9.pdf

Bright half life / by Tanya Barfield

A moving love story that spans decades in an instant--from marriage, children, skydiving, and the infinite moments that make a life together. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/MOorDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&dq=Bright+half+life+/+by+Tanya+Barfield

Little children dream of god / by Jeff Augustin

On a balmy night in Miami, a soon-to-be mother, Sula, floats ashore on a car tire. Having braved a perilous journey to escape her native Haiti, Sula is determined to forge a better life in America for her unborn son. She soon finds safety in an apartment building that shelters refugees in need, joining a diverse community of immigrants, each with their own unique dreams and dilemmas. But even though the life she has hoped for seems within reach, Sula knows she can't outrun her demons forever. Little Children Dream of God is a darkly lovely drama about learning to start a new life by facing the one you left behind. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/sfArDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Little+children+dream+of+god+/+by+Jeff+Augustin

Corktown, : or through the valley of dry bones / by Jeff Augustin

Jackee, a fabulous fourteen-year-old-boy, takes us on a tour of one of Detroit's oldest neighborhoods between 2007 and 2034. From the neighborhoods urban blight to the gentrified renaissance, Jeff Augustin chronicles the life cycle of a city, affected by and affecting the lives of its residents. This tale filled with gospel music, graffiti, and organic coffee shows how -- even when the music gets turned down, the graffiti is painted over, and the streets become safer -- there's a beating heart in a place's history that can't be erased. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ousrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Corktown,+:+or+through+the+valley+of+dry+bones+/+by+Jeff+Augustin

Liberian girl / Diana Nneka Atuona

Set during the early years of the First Liberian Civil War (1989 – 1996), this startling debut play by Diana Nneka Atuona tells the story of fourteen-year-old Martha who flees her country, disguised as a boy, when it's invaded by rebels. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/TXcpBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Liberian+girl+/+Diana+Nneka+Atuona

The Doyle and Debbie show : a musical / by Bruce Arntson

Doyle Mayfield is an old-guard country star in the Porter Wagoner/George Jones mold, who had a handful of regional hits with his duet partner Debbie, back in the '70s and '80s. Thirty years, four wives, and three Debbies later, he finds himself back in Nashville at a Lower Broadway honky-tonk for one final attempt to regain his former "glory." Doyle has just discovered his new (third) Debbie singing at the VFW Hall in his hometown of Mooney's Gap in East Tennessee, and immediately saw her as his ticket back to the big-time. Debbie, a single mother of three, sees Doyle as her last chance to make it to Nashville and make a record, but she is gradually realizing what a terrible mistake she's made in hitching her star to this loose cannon. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/5104.pdf

Sans merci / by Johnna Adams

Kelly, an idealistic young woman -- and a survivor of rape and attempted murder by South American revolutionaries -- is visited three years after the attack by conservative mother of Tracy, the other victim. Slowly, the survivor and mother dance through their grief at losing Tracy, while negotiating the truth of what brought the two young women together, why they undertook their dangerous humanitarian mission, and what happened on that final day Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/53tgCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA2&dq=Sans+merci+/+by+Johnna+Adams

The frogs : a modern adaptation / by Don Zolidis

Disgusted with the state of current entertainment, Dionysus, God of Wine and Poetry, decides that it's time to retrieve Shakespeare from the underworld. Surely if the Bard were given a series on HBO, he'd be able to raise the level of discourse! Accompanied by his trusted servant, Xanthias (the brains of the operation), Dionysus seeks help from Hercules and Charon the Boatman. Unfortunately, his plan to rescue Shakespeare goes horribly awry, as he's captured by a chorus of reality-television-loving demon frogs. The frogs put the god on trial and threaten him with never-ending torment unless he brings more reality shows into the world. It won't be easy for Dionysus to survive, and, even if he does get past the frogs, Jane Austen isn't ready to let Shakespeare escape without a fight. Adapted from Aristophanes' classic satire, The Frogs is a hilarious and scathing look at highbrow and lowbrow art. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/IEC_exFrogsFE3.pdf

Dov and Ali / by Anna Ziegler

Once upon a time, in the middle of a school, in the middle of Detroit, in the middle of the United States of America, there was a confused teacher and a precocious student. When Dov, an orthodox Jew, and Ali, a strict Muslim, get caught in a cultural crossfire, both are confronted with the same choice: Will they stand by their beliefs or face the devastating consequences? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dov_and_Ali/mEEpDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dov+and+Ali+/+by+Anna+Ziegler&printsec=frontcover

A delicate ship / by Anna Ziegler

A haunting love triangle triggers an unexpected chain of events in this poetic play. In the early stages of a new relationship, Sarah and Sam are lovers happily discovering each other. Sarah and Nate know everything about each other, best of friends since childhood and maybe something more. But when Nate shows up unannounced on Sarah’s doorstep, she’s left questioning what and who she wants in this humorous and heartbreaking look at love, memory, and the decisions that alter the course of our lives. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/3kApDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=A+delicate+ship+/+by+Anna+Ziegler

Boy / by Anna Ziegler

Inspired by a true story, Anna Ziegler's BOY explores the tricky terrain of finding love amidst the confusion of sexual identity, and the inextricable bond between a doctor and patient. In the 1960s, a well-intentioned doctor convinces the parents of a male infant to raise their son as a girl after a terrible accident. Two decades later, the repercussions of that choice continue to unfold. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/sA5dDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Boy+/+by+Anna+Ziegler

BFF : "best friends forever" / by Anna Ziegler

Best friends Lauren and Eliza are challenged by the onset of adulthood in this deeply felt and incisive meditation on young women coming of age. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/2NMta1pzuQQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=BFF+:+%22best+friends+forever%22+/+by+Anna+Ziegler

The last lifeboat / by Luke Yankee

J. Bruce Ismay was an upper-crust Englishman who always did what was expected of him. He went to the best schools, married the right society girl (even though he was in love with someone else) and vowed to his staunch, unfeeling father on his deathbed that he would take over the family shipping business and build the biggest, most opulent ship the world had ever seen: the RMS Titanic. What an accomplishment! We all know the story of how the ship sank, or do we? Ismay saved as many people as he could on that fateful night, and finally, with no women and children in sight, he stepped into the last lifeboat, and was branded a coward and a traitor forever. The world needed a scapegoat for the sinking of the Titanic and Ismay became the perfect target. He had a powerful enemy in the United States--newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Hearst condemned Ismay nationwide before the rescue ship Carpathia even landed in New York. Hearst's cause was aided by William Alden Smith, a ruthless senator with presidential aspirations, who led a "witch-hunt" investigation into this high-profile disaster. Although there was no solid evidence against Ismay, Senator Smith managed to drag the hearings on for months. More than 3,000 passengers brought lawsuits against the White Star Line for loss of life and property, which only fueled Ismay's intense survivor's guilt. When he was forced to resign from the White Star Line, he spent the rest of his days as a recluse at his estate in Ireland, haunted by the ghosts of that fateful night to the point of near insanity. THE LAST LIFEBOAT is the story of the Titanic that has never been told. This epic tale explores not only the tragedy itself, but the sensationalized trials and aftermath of the night that changed the world forever. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/h-psBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+last+lifeboat+/+by+Luke+Yankee

The remains of Maisie Duggan / Carmel Winters

Kathleen Duggan has rushed home to Ireland upon hearing the news that her mother, Maisie, has died. Only when she gets back to the house, she finds that her mother is alive and well. Almost. However, after a routine car accident, Maisie believes that she is now dead and wandering around the homestead, awaiting her funeral. Still able to talk to her childish adult son and her violent, temperamental husband, she will no longer be silenced by the male-dominated, pugnacious atmosphere that has kept her quiet all these years. So when Kathleen comes back for the ‘funeral’, Maisie expects to find her final resting place, safe from the threat of domestic violence once and for all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/f0o-DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+remains+of+Maisie+Duggan+/+Carmel+Winters

Future dawning : or, Awakening in America (a spiritual fantasia on world themes) / by Glen Williamson

a drama in two parts in sequel to the four mystery dramas by and through Rudolf Steiner (and in appreciation of Tony Kushner's Angels in America)

Now the cats with jeweled claws : and other one-act plays / Tennessee Williams

A recluse and his guest -- Now the cats with jeweled claws -- Steps must be gentle -- Ivan's widow -- This is the peaceable kingdom -- Aimez-vous Ionesco? -- The demolition downtown -- Lifeboat drill -- Once in a lifetime -- The strange play. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=9Yb8CwAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Now%20the%20cats%20with%20jeweled%20claws%20%3A%20and%20other%20one-act%20plays%20%2F%20Tennessee%20Williams&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Now%20the%20cats%20with%20jeweled%20claws%20:%20and%20other%20one-act%20plays%20/%20Tennessee%20Williams&f=false

Arnold Wesker's historical plays / by Arnold Wesker

Shylock -- Blood libel -- Longitude -- Caritas. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=nosTTAO0Mp8C&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PA1&dq=Arnold%20Wesker's%20historical%20plays%20%2F%20by%20Arnold%20Wesker&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=Arnold%20Wesker's%20historical%20plays%20/%20by%20Arnold%20Wesker&f=false

I Have Loved Strangers / by Anne Washburn

Inspired by the Book of Jeremiah, and the exploits of the Weather Underground, I Have Loved Strangers is a play about true prophets, false prophets, non prophets, cockatrices, and lions all battling for the salvation of Ancient New York.

10 out of 12 / Anne Washburn

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tech. Around you, a company of fourteen is engaged in a very peculiar -- and particularly imposible -- task of making a new play. You'll have a seat next to the sound designer as he mixes cues. You'll eavesdrop on backstage gossip as it happens over headset. You'll watch the director struggle to contain the uncontainable. Anne Washburn (Mr. Burns) took notes during her tech rehersals over the years. 10 out of 12 is a wry and absorbing look at how work forms us and deforms us.

Night is a room / Naomi Wallace

Naomi Wallace's new work Night is a Room centers around the timeless subject of love and relationships, specifically in their tenuousness. This story of a seemingly ideal married couple is torn apart when the husband's previously unknown birth mother makes a surprise visit for his fortieth birthday. In Night is a Room, Wallace examines the heart of human connections, and the intimate challenges love can create, romantic or otherwise. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/5E2rDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Night+is+a+room+/+Naomi+Wallace

The liquid plain / Naomi Wallace

On the docks of late eighteenth-century Rhode Island, two runaway slaves find love and a near-drowned man. With a motley band of sailors, they plan a desperate and daring run to freedom. As the mysteries of their identities come to light, painful truths about the past and present collide and flow into the next generation. Acclaimed playwright Naomi Wallace's newest work brings to life a group of people whose stories have been erased from history. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/DKDoDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+liquid+plain+/+Naomi+Wallace

Meg : a play in three acts / by Paula A. Vogel

With the action of A Man for All Seasons as backdrop, Meg explores the forces imprisoning Margaret More, daughter of Sir Thomas More. “Meg,” uniquely isolated from her time and environment, finds being an intelligent, independent woman in such a male-dominated society to be a double-edged sword. The play intertwines several themes on multiple levels: the story of Sir Thomas More as seen through his daughter’s eyes; the story of a young wife and mother that also explores dynamics of the father-daughter relationship as Meg discovers her role in both her father’s legacy, and her own place in history. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/fp1_SDHu9rcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Meg+:+a+play+in+three+acts+/+by+Paula+A.+Vogel

A Civil War Christmas : an American musical celebration / Paula Vogel ; music by Daryl Waters

It’s 1864, and Washington, D.C. is settling down to the coldest Christmas Eve in years. In the White House, President and Mrs. Lincoln plot their gift-giving. On the banks of the Potomac, a young rebel challenges a Union blacksmith’s mercy. In the alleys downtown, an escaped slave loses her daughter just before finding freedom. This musical by Pulitzer Prize–winner Paula Vogel intertwines many lives, showing us that the gladness of one’s heart is the best gift of all. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/6fXoCAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR3&dq=A+Civil+War+Christmas+:+an+American+musical+celebration+/+Paula+Vogel+;+music+by+Daryl+Waters

Future perfect/ by Ken Urban

Claire and Max find their values put to the test when best friends Alex and Elena announce they are having a baby. Claire is climbing the corporate ladder in advertising, while her husband Max is a puppeteer for PBS. With friends entering into parenthood, they ask: What happened to the indie-rock kids that hated everything their parents believed in? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/YUpdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Future+perfect/+by+Ken+Urban

In the tank / by Rosemary Frisino Toohey

What's it like to be peered at by hungry humans? Studied like a microbe under a glass? Chosen to be someone's dinner entree? Such is the predicament of Harry and Stu (or Liz and Angela), two lobsters who find themselves in the tank of a seafood restaurant. Harry is a crustacean who's been around the tank a few times. He's cleverly devised a "dead" act. Frozen in position, starey-eyed, claws rigidly akimbo, the "dead" pose is meant to ward off hungry diners and send them scurrying off to order the stuffed flounder or the filet of sole. Enter Stu, a lobster of a more philosophical bent. When Harry explains the rationale behind his act, Stu observes, "If you spend all your time acting like you're dead, what's the point of being alive?" Harry's not exactly a deep thinker, but he knows that if he doesn't try to fool the humans on the other side of the glass, he'll end up in the stewpot or the broiler; people are the ones who hold the dreaded tongs. But Stu reveals a little-known theory: humans are in a tank, too, and they face their own risks. They won't end up impaled on little forks, but they sometimes do stupid things that bring about their own destruction. Unlike animals empowered by instinct, humans must choose. For some, Stu says, it's a recipe for disaster. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exInTheTankI90.pdf

Insurgents / by Lucy Thurber

When Sally Wright returns to her dead-end rural northeast town after losing her athletic scholarship, she's forced to face her beer guzzling father, wayward brother, and the dearth of hope in her impoverished town. She starts carrying her shotgun wherever she goes and buries herself in books about Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, John Brown, and Timothy McVeigh. She begins escaping into an interior world where their spirits talk to her, telling stories of their resistance to injustice. Yet even as she immerses herself in the live of American insurgents and clutches her shotgun to her chest, the bleak oppression of a life without opportunity threatens to poison her spirit. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/iLErDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Insurgents+/+by+Lucy+Thurber

Ashville / by Lucy Thurber

ASHVILLE is the story of Celia, sixteen years old and trapped in her poor white rural town, among people who can't hope for anything more than a good blue-collar job and a decent marriage. Celia wants something else in life, even if she can't articulate what that is. For a fleeting moment she thinks she finds the unnameable thing in her neighbor and tentative friend Amanda, but it may be that no one else can save Celia--only she herself can orchestrate her escape. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/kjMpDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Ashville+/+by+Lucy+Thurber

Wonderland wives / by Buddy Thomas ; conceived by Phil Poluliah & Buddy Thomas

Cinderella’s Prince Charming is serving ten years in the pen, Belle’s house is overrun with little monsters, Alice has been hitting the caterpillar’s pipe a little too hard lately, and Snow White’s husband has shacked up with the three little pigs. Now she’s keeping up appearances as the fairest in the land with the help of a little girdle and a lot of hair dye, and trying to keep Belle from draining the royal booze reserves and Cindy from inhaling the banquet table. When Briar Rose comes home from rehab with the face of a beauty, and Charming returns from prison with the libido of a beast, the desperate housewives of the magical kingdom are forced to grapple with princely infidelity, poison apples, and Cindy’s appetite for creamy poofs and brutal revenge. This fractured fairy tale brings an arched brow and an eye for dark, sexy hilarity to the Ever After that keeps going long after the Happily fades away.

Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility/ [Jane Austen] ; adapted by Jen Taylor with Book-It Repertory Theatre

In this vivid new adaptation of Jane Austen’s first published novel, we meet the Dashwood sisters, whose happy lives are dramatically changed in the wake of their father’s death. Their home is taken by their half-brother and his overbearing wife and they must learn to live on much less far away from all they’re accustomed to. Amid their misfortune, love alights: the very sensible Elinor falls for the equally cautious Edward Ferrars, while the flighty sensibilities of Marianne flutter ill-advisedly to their handsome, reckless neighbor John Willoughby. Both hard lessons and gentle guidance help them learn that happiness in love is an unpredictable struggle against the most important social values: family, honor, and wealth. Luckily, with Jane Austen love wins.

An evening with Sherlock Holmes / by Jules Tasca

An Evening With Sherlock Holmes presents a unique evening of mystery. The triad of one acts begins with The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor (5m., 2w.), the tale of a British aristocrat, Sir Robert, who marries an American millionaire because his family fortune has run out. However, on the wedding day, his young American wife, Hatty Doran, disappears. Sir Robert immediately calls on Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to uncover the mystery of what has happened to Hatty. A happy ending ensues for Hatty but, alas, not for Sir Robert. The second piece, The Milverton Adventure (3m., 2w.), pits Holmes and Watson against a nefarious blackmailer, Charles Milverton, who is blackmailing one of Holmes' clients, a woman who wrote several damning letters to a former lover that could, if revealed, destroy her impending marriage to the Earl of Dovercourt. In his effort to save his client, Holmes plans a radical solution: burgling Milverton's house and retrieving the damning correspondence. On the night of the burglary, however, Holmes' and Watson's attempt is interrupted by an unforeseen incident. Another woman, whose life has already been destroyed by Milverton's blackmailing schemes, intrudes and fatally shoots the blackmailer. Do they turn the woman who murdered Milverton into the police or not? It is the original concluding play, The Disappearance of Adam (2m., 2w.), that makes this evening with Holmes unique. In this mind-boggling play, Holmes must solve one of the existential mysteries. With its theme of life and death, the great detective, the super sleuth of innumerable cases, must solve the riddle that has puzzled the most brilliant minds in history! How does a person cope with his or her own demise? Does Holmes solve this case? Yes and no. A not-to-be-missed climax! Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exEveningWithSherlockHolmesE89.pdf

Concord Floral : a play / by Jordan Tannahill

Concord Floral is a one-million-square-foot abandoned greenhouse and a refuge for neighbourhood kids; a place all to themselves in which to dream, dare, and come of age. But hidden there is a secret no one wants to confront, and when two friends stumble upon it they set off an unstoppable chain of events, from shadows in parking lots to phone calls from the grave. It's time for the teens of Concord Floral to start talking.

Fireworks / Dalia Taha

In a Palestinian town eleven-year-old Lubna and twelve-year-old Khalil are playing on the empty stairwell in their apartment block. As the siege intensifies outside, fear for their safety becomes as crippling as the conflict itself.

After independence / May Sumbwanyambe

Guy and Kathleen grow their crops, raise their daughter, and pay their taxes. But Africa is changing, country by country. White farmers in Zimbabwe must now answer for history’s crimes. When Charles arrives with a smile and a purchase order, there’s more than just land at stake. With violence threatening to erupt, he will do whatever it takes to restore their farm to the ‘native’ population.

Punk rock / Simon Stephens

Based on his experience as a teacher, Stephens describes his play as 'The History Boys on crack'. It explores the underlying tensions and potential violence in a group of affluent, articulate seventeen year old students. Contemporary and unnerving, with elements of The Catcher in the Rye, Punk Rock follows the story of seven sixth-formers as they face up to the pressures of teenage life, while preparing for their mock A-level exams and trying to get into Oxbridge. They are a group of educated, intelligent and aspirational young people but step-by-step, the dislocation, disjunction and latent violence simmering under the surface of prosperity is revealed.

War horse / Nick Stafford ; adapted for the stage from the novel by Michael Morpurgo

At the outbreak of the First World War, Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. Caught up in enemy fire, fate takes Joey on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man's land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find and bring him home. Nick Stafford's stage adaptation of the celebrated novel by the Children's Laureate (2003-5) Michael Morpurgo leads us on a gripping journey through history. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/dNrdAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=War+horse+/+Nick+Stafford+;+adapted+for+the+stage+from+the+novel+by+Michael+Morpurgo

Pumpgirl / Abbie Spallen

Pumpgirl works in a small garage in a border town of south Armagh, on the wrong side of the exchange rate. A tom girl who thinks she’s one of the lads becomes obsessed with local racetrack star ‘No Helmet’ Hammy. Hammy’s embittered wife Sinead has been left nursing a stomach like ‘a bag of onions’ after two pregnancies whilst he spends the nights out racing with the boys.

Wish list / by Katherine Soper

The play is set in a flat in Oldbrook, Milton Keynes, where teenage siblings Dean (17) and Tamsin (19) Carmody have been left to fend for themselves after their mother's death. Tamsin is trying hard to care for the housebound Dean, who suffers from a form of obsessive compulsive disorder. She works at a 'fulfilment centre', packing boxes on a zero-hours contract, where she meets fellow warehouse worker Luke Mburu (age 16). When Dean is declared fit for work, their benefits are cut; Tamsin must pack faster, work harder, and fight to get the support she and her brother so desperately need.

20,000 leagues under the sea / by Ann Sonneville and Clint Sheffer, from the novel by Jules Verne

We join the prolific naturalist Professor Aronnax, his devoted assistant Conseil and the gritty harpooner Ned Land for an epic journey aboard the Nautilus, the world's first submarine vessel. Forcefully led by the dangerous and enigmatic Captain Nemo on an unprecedented tour of the seven seas, our three heroes are confronted by harrowing challenges, incredible adventure, and a host of most unusual creatures. They must also wrestle with the dark forces that lurk in the depths of men's souls if they are ever to return home alive. In this daring new adaptation of Jules Verne's classic 19th-century saga, an emphasis on action strips this adventure down to its essence, bringing spectacle and ensemble to the fore. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/ex20000LeaguesUnderTheSeaTV1.pdf

Santos & Santos / by Octavio Solis

A crime saga about the Santos Family Law Practice in El Paso of the 1980's, loosely based on the Chagra brothers' killing of Judge John Wood. Drugs, gambling, and trafficking fuel the law office of Santos & Santos, and the brothers are quick to incorporate the younger brother after the death of their father. He questions his relationship to his heritage as he sees his brothers so eagerly trying to live the life of the "American." When one of the brothers is tried for murder, Tomas leads an elaborate plot to assassinate the presiding judge in the trial.

El Paso Blue / Octavio Solis

Al has to take the rap for his pal Duane’s botched robbery, but before he goes, he leaves his drunken ex-beauty-queen wife, Sylvie, in the care of his father, Jefe. In the year he is gone, Jefe and Sylvie fall in love, and when Al is granted early parole, he enlists Duane in a mad and murderous hunt for the fleeing lovers. In the course of their search, they meet China, a weird changeling who wields a water gun filled with ammonia and purports to know where Al’s wife has been taken.

Human animals / by Stef Smith

In the overcrowded city, nature is getting out of control. The mice are scratching between walls, the pigeons are diseased and the foxes are beginning to rule the streets. The problem is growing. It's contagious. It has to be stopped, before it's too late.

Feathers and teeth / by Charise Castro Smith

Home-sweet-home turns into a haunted house for thirteen-year-old Chris when Carol—her father's new fiancée—moves in. Struggling with the recent death of her mother, Chris is convinced Carol is evil, but she just can't persuade Dad. When a mysterious, potentially dangerous but kind of cute creature is found in the family's backyard, Chris assumes it's a sign from above to eliminate Carol once and for all. This imaginative, bone-chilling, and wildly funny play brings the notion of dysfunctional family drama to sensationally scary heights. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/PEpdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Feathers+and+teeth+/+by+Charise+Castro+Smith

Let me down easy / by Anna Deavere Smith

In this solo show constructed from verbatim interview transcripts, Anna Deavere Smith examines the miracle of human resilience through the lens of the national debate on health care. After collecting interviews with over 300 people on three continents, Smith creates an indelible gallery of 20 portraits--known and unknown, from a rodeo bull rider, a prize fighter, to a New Orleans doctor during Hurricane Katrina, as well as former Texas Governor Ann Richards, cyclist Lance Armstrong, film critic Joel Siegel, and supermodel Lauren Hutton. It renders laughter and tears--a work of emotional brilliance and political substance from one of the treasures of the American theater. Originally created as a one person show, the author encourages multi-actor productions of the play. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/kbQrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Let+me+down+easy+/+by+Anna+Deavere+Smith

Plucker / by Alena Smith

Ever since Alexis moved in with her boyfriend, her pet parrot has developed a problem. What's worse, the girl she's been illicitly flirting with just showed up uninvited to their dinner party. And she might have bedbugs. And a secret past. PLUCKER is an old-school farce about a new generation dealing with the anxieties of commitment and co-habitation Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/5503.pdf

Harrogate / Al Smith

Harrogate tells the story of a father struggling to confront his obsessions head-on without destroying his family. It is a play about how we perform versions of ourselves depending on what company we keep, and how we project onto others versions of the people we want to see, rather than accepting who stands in front of us. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/eU-jDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Harrogate+/+Al+Smith

Dying city / Christopher Shinn

A young therapist, Kelly, whose husband Craig was killed while on military duty in Iraq, is confronted a year later by his identical twin Peter, who suspects that Craig's death was not accidental. Set in a spare downtown-Manhattan apartment after dark, scenes shift from the confrontation between Peter and Kelly, to Kelly's complicated farewell with her husband Craig. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ZmqJAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Dying+city+/+Christopher+Shinn

Gently down the stream / Martin Sherman

Beau, a pianist expat living in London, meets Rufus, an eccentric young lawyer, at the dawn of the internet dating revolution. After a life spent recovering from the disappointment and hurt of loving men in a world that refused to allow it, Beau is determined to keep his expectations low with Rufus. But Rufus comes from a new generation of gay men who believe happiness is as much their right as anyone else's, and what Beau assumed would be just another fling grows into one of the most surprising and defining relationships of his life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Q7urDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Gently+down+the+stream+/+Martin+Sherman

A particle of dread (Oedipus variations) / by Sam Shepard

As a young man, Oedipus is told by a seer that he will grow up to kill his own father and marry his mother. He flees from home to avoid this terrible fate, but there is no escape--the dreadful prophecy finally catches up with him. Celebrated playwright Sam Shepard reimagines this Ancient Greek tale as a modern thriller. A murder is committed. Who is the victim? Who is responsible? What are the consequences for generations to come? There are many versions of the crime in this intriguing tale. People are hiding from the truth, even when it stares them in the face. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/6FJdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=A+particle+of+dread+(Oedipus+variations)+/+by+Sam+Shepard

Russian transport / by Erika Sheffer

Russian transport is a suspenseful family drama set in the Russian Jewish community of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Diana and Misha, an immigrant couple, run a struggling car service while trying to carve out the American Dream for their teenagers, Alex and Mira. When Diana's mysterious brother Boris arrives to stay with them, family loyalty is tested. For Alex and Mira, Uncle Boris is an exciting addition to their home, but soon Alex is pulled into his uncle's dangerous world. Laced with humor and intrigue, Russian transport captures the complex layers of one very particular immigrant experience. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/SnwA4cULPzgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Russian+transport+/+by+Erika+Sheffer

Evening at the talk house / Wallace Shawn

Gathering around a table at the Talk House, an old haunt, a group of friends and theatre artists reunite after ten years to reminisce and catch-up on each other's lives. At first, the conversation is fairly run-of-the-mill: current TV shows and where their careers have taken them. Eventually, the discussion's tone takes a turn when they mention supplementing their incomes through the government-led program to enlist unemployed artists for drone strikes and carrying out violent attacks on foreign land. As is typical of Shawn's plays, the premise at once amuses and unsettles, forcing the viewer to wonder whether being too idle makes all of us complicit in the world's ongoing destruction. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/3_9ADwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Evening+at+the+talk+house+/+Wallace+Shawn

Prodigal son / John Patrick Shanley

A 17-year-old boy from the Bronx suddenly finds himself in a private school in New Hampshire. He’s violent, gifted, alienated, and on fire with a ferocious loneliness. Two faculty members wrestle with the dilemma: Is the kid a star or a disaster? A passionate, explosive portrait of a young man on the verge of salvation or destruction. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/D2BdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Prodigal+son+/+John+Patrick+Shanley

Outside mullingar / John Patrick Shanley

Anthony and Rosemary are neighbors in rural Ireland. Anthony is introverted but Rosemary vows to have him at all costs, even if it means stepping into the middle of a father-son land feud. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Is1ZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Outside+mullingar+/+John+Patrick+Shanley

Celia, a slave / Barbara Seyda

Celia, a Slave is a vivid tableau of interviews with the dead that interweaves oral histories with official archival records. Powerful, poetic, and stylistically bold, this work foregrounds twenty-three diverse characters to recall the events that led to the hanging of nineteen-year-old Celia, an African American slave convicted in a Missouri court of murdering her master, the prosperous landowner Robert Newsom, in 1855. Excavating actual trial transcripts and court records, Seyda bears witness to racial and sexual violence in U.S. history, illuminating the brutal realities of female slave life in the pre-Civil War South while exploring the intersection of rape, morality, economics, and gender politics that continue to resonate today. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/j-W7DAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Celia,+a+slave+/+Barbara

El nogalar / by Tanya Saracho

Set in modern day Northern Mexico, the Galvan family, led by Matriarch Maite, have come back to their pecan orchard to reclaim their land after she has squandered away their money. In the time they were away, however, the Mexico they once knew has slowly been taken over by a drug war. Focusing on the relationships between sisters, and a mother and her daughters, will these women choose to adapt to the world around them or get left behind? A modern adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, set in modern-day Northern Mexico.

Mala Hierba / by Tanya Saracho

Liliana has a sparkle few can deny and no one can resist. The trophy wife of a border magnate living in Texas, she’s seemingly impeccable. But beneath that polished exterior lies a fierce determination to survive at any cost. When Liliana’s true desires break the surface, she’ll have to decide between the value of obligation versus the price of freedom.

Poppy + George / by Diane Samuels

It is 1919. The Great War is over and Poppy Wright arrives in London to make her mark on the world. In the East End, she finds work in Smith's tailor and costumiers workshop, where she falls for the dashing chauffeur George.

Of good stock / by Melissa Ross

When legendary novelist Mick Stockton died, he left his three daughters a house in Cape Cod, control over his books, and a whole lot of issues. Years later, the men in their lives struggle to be a part of this elusive family's legacy. It's not always easy keeping up with the hurricane of the whip-smart and sharp-tongued Stockton Sisters. Especially during a weekend filled with dramatic confrontations and surprising confessions. But good scotch helps. A raw, poignant, and hilarious look at the fun and dysfunction of family. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/uk9dDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Of+good+stock+/+by+Melissa+Ross

Nice Girl / by Melissa Ross

In suburban Massachusetts in 1984, thirty-seven-year-old Josephine Rosen has a dead-end job, still lives with her mother, and has settled into the uncomfortable comfort of an unintended spinsterhood. But when a chance flirtation with an old classmate and a new friendship at work give her hope for the possibility of change, she dusts off the Jane Fonda tapes and begins to take tentative steps towards a new life. A play about the tragedy and joy of figuring out who you are and letting go of who you were supposed to be. Online preview:https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/SE5dDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Nice+Girl+/+by+Melissa+Ross

Fuck the polar bears / by Tanya Ronder

A funny and surreal family drama about the power of the individual in a world obscured by politics. Gordon has worked hard to get where he is. He's on the verge of a massive promotion at one of the 'Big Six' energy companies. His wife Serena has worked hard too, and now dreams of a bigger house, a slimmer body, a happier life. The family appear to be cooking on gas. But behind their perfect front door, light bulbs are blowing, the drains keep blocking, and a phone inexplicably refuses to charge. Not to mention that daughter Rachel's adored toy polar bear is nowhere to be found. As Gordon chases the spectres behind these mysterious events, he spirals out of control and the family are forced to ask whether the life they desire is worth its cost.

The zombies : a musical spoof! / book, lyrics, and music by Max Resto

The zombie apocalypse has arrived and everybody's hungry. Our teenage hero, Little Pete, has his hands full. Forced into going hunting with his abusive father and bully older brother when he'd rather be online, he also has to deal with alcoholism, illegal drugs, gun control (or lack thereof), racism, conspiracy theories, human sexuality ... all of these and zombies too! A musical spoof celebrating the classic zombie lore and the original George Romero films, this play combines comedy and social commentary with fifteen original tunes, loads of zombie shooting, horrified townsfolk, and plenty of live ones to munch on. THE ZOMBIES: A MUSICAL SPOOF! Offers lots of blood, gore, horror, and the delicate feeding rituals of the undead. The perfect recipe for fun. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/_k1dDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&dq=The+zombies+:+a+musical+spoof!+/+book,+lyrics,+and+music+by+Max+Resto

All on her own / Terence Rattigan

A powerfully atmospheric one-woman short play, All On Her Own tells the story of Rosemary who, alone at midnight in London, has a secret burden to share that is both heartbreaking and sinister.

Rose / by Adam Rapp

The play begins in 1953 with Rose, in which a young, troubled actress searches for affirmation from the one person who has shown her a bit of kindness – the great playwright Eugene O’Neill.

The Royale : a play in six rounds / Marco Ramirez

Jay 'The Sport' Jackson dreams of being the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. But it's 1905 and, in the racially segregated world of boxing, his chances are as good as knocked out. When a boxing promoter hatches a plan for the 'Fight of the Century', The Sport might land a place in the ring with the reigning white heavyweight champion, but at what cost? It's not just a retired champ he's facing, it's 'The Great White Hope'. In daring to realise his dream, is Jay responsible for putting African American lives in the danger zone? Told in six rounds and set in a boxing ring, The Royale is inspired by the often overlooked story of Jack Johnson, a boxer who -- at the height of the Jim Crow era -- became the most famous and the most notorious black man on Earth. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Royale/Rp_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Royale+:+a+play+in+six+rounds+/+Marco+Ramirez&printsec=frontcover

Fetch Clay, make man : a play / by Will Power

Set on the eve of the Cassius Clay--Sonny Liston rematch and based on the friendship between the actor Stepin Fetchit and Clay--soon to become Muhammad Ali--Fetch Clay, Make Man explores how each handled a life in the public eye as black men in their respective eras--Hollywood in the 20s, where a black actor's career depended on playing caricatures, and the mid-60s, after the assassination of Malcolm X. With "incisive characterizations, crackling dialogue and generous doses of dark humor" (Hollywood Reporter), Fetch Clay, Make Man audaciously recreates this improbably friendship and, through the relationship, digs to the heart of race relations during the highly charged days of 1960s America

Perfect arrangement / Topher Payne

It’s 1950, and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. There’s just one problem: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two “All-American” couples are forced to stare down the closet door.

Evelyn in purgatory / Topher Payne

When a complaint is filed against one of the 70,000 teachers in New York’s public schools, they’re sent to a Reassignment Center, one of a series of empty offices in the Department of Education Building. There, they sit and wait for their case to be reviewed. Usually for months. Sometimes for over a year. A claim of improper behavior by a failing student lands Evelyn Reid in “the rubber room,” where she encounters a group of teachers, some guilty, some not, who have long since lost any hope of returning to a classroom. Over the course of the school year, these colleagues form an unlikely alliance, reminding each other of forgotten passions, emerging to face life outside in unexpected new directions. They also learn French and workshop a screenplay.

Platinum/ Hannah Patterson

Martha McDonald was a world-famous singer – Grammy Hall of Fame resident, poster girl for revolution, and writer of one of the most iconic songs of the 1970s. Until she disappeared. For many years she hasn't written or sung a single note. Hidden from public view deep in the Californian Mountains, Martha guards a secret that, if revealed, will change everything. And only one other person holds a key to this enigma: her estranged daughter, Anna. Anna is desperately trying to escape the long shadow of her mother's fame and legacy. Will exposing the secret liberate her – and her mother – or might it destroy them both? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/LCd0DgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Platinum/+Hannah+Patterson

Giving / Hannah Patterson

Laura has been commissioned to write an exclusive profile of businesswoman extraordinaire Mary Greene, who has recently become a leading philanthropist. But as Laura digs deeper into Mary's charitable motivations, she discovers a much more interesting angle. Michael, Mary's "Charitable Giving Advisor", seems to have an inordinate amount of influence over her decisions. Is it right that he wields so much power when his motives and priorities might not stand up to scrutiny? Or does the rationale for -- and the morality of -- philanthropic giving matter less than the outcome? It's always better to give than to receive. Isn't it? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/kj1FDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT1&dq=Giving+/+Hannah+Patterson

Dada woof papa hot : a play / by Peter Parnell

It's a fall night in New York City, and two couples who recently met at a parents group are out to dinner at the hot new restaurant. The foursome share photos of their kids, trade war stories from preschool applications, and discuss their work. Alan and Rob & Scott and Jason find plenty of common ground as gay couples raising kids in the city, and a play-date with their children is set. As we follow these couples through their developing friendship, the conversation deepens from after-school pick up to the cracks in their marriages. Dada Woof Papa Hot smartly captures the urban parent experience, particularly at this head-spinning cultural moment. #LoveWins, or so the marriage equality campaign has decreed. But then what happens? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/T0RdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Dada+woof+papa+hot+:+a+play+/+by+Peter+Parnell

House rules / by A. Rey Pamatmat

Rod thinks the game is fixed. Momo’s still learning the rules. Twee doesn’t think winning is enough. JJ hates his hand. And why the hell is Henry still playing? Two families (and some guy named Henry) panic with hilarious and heartbreaking results when they realize their parents won’t be around forever. Can anybody prepare for the inevitable moment when they’re the ones left holding all the cards?

This land / Siân Owen

Fracking. How far down do you own the land beneath your feet? How much does where you live inform the person you become? What happens when someone else comes along and stakes their claim? For young couple Bea and Joseph this is a story of fracture: of fractured hearts, lives and lands.

Three birds / by Janice Okoh

Tiana, Tionne and Tanika have found themselves home alone. Tiana's keeping it all together by taking charge of housework and homework. But Tionne's experiments are getting stranger and stranger, and Tanika's starting to act up ... As the outside world begins to press in, the three siblings will do anything to keep their secret safe from the adults who come to call.

So here we are / by Luke Norris

Frankie’s dead. And no one’s quite sure why. But the boys won’t talk about it. They can’t. There are some truths that men can’t share. So Here We Are is a play about what can happen when nothing happens, a compassionate look at young lives cut short and a touching portrait of childhood friendships under strain in adult life.

Six rounds of vengeance / by Qui Nguyen

In a post-apocalyptic "Lost Vegas," a young gunslinger named Jess December enlists the help of a mysterious samurai cowboy to avenge the murder of her sister. However, the gang they'll be going against has powers that go way beyond just gunpowder and steel. To get revenge, they may have to become just as blood-thirsty as the monsters they're facing.

Begets : fall of a high school Ronin / Qui Nguyen

In this action-packed samurai story set inside the halls of an all-American high school, Begets: Fall of a High School Ronin tells the tale of Emi Edwards, a high school geekgurl whose fighting to overthrow the cruel shoguns of her school. However in her journey to right wrongs, will her own cravings for popularity and power corrupt her quest to save the school? Will she be able to establish a new world order? Or will violence just beget more violence?

The opponent/ by Brett Neveu

The Opponent takes a look at the hardscrabble world of boxing from the perspective of a small-time boxing gym owner, the seen-it-all-and-then-some Tremont "Tre" Billiford, and a young up-and-comer, the charismatic and fast-moving Donell Fuseles. Beginning with an ad-hoc training session between the two, Donell seeks motivation, reps and inspiration from Tre for his upcoming fight with rising star Jas Dennis. As Tre and Donell trade barbs, insight and jabs, Donell shows his supreme confidence in his abilities as Tre attempts to keep Donell's sights on the fight and not on Donell's dreams of a lavish career. Donell reacts with frustration toward Tre, dumping his worry and anger at the trainer's feet and insulting both Tre's decaying gym and Tre's own decision-making. Trying to ignore their mutual concern about the fight with Jas Dennis, both rise to the occasion as Tre finally finds a way to channel Donell's fear and frenetic energy as he assures Donell he'll see him later that night after his big win. Time shifts forward five years, and the fight with Jas Dennis is now (seemingly) buried in the past. Tre's mental ability has begun to crumble as his own former time in the ring begins to take its toll, and Donell, showing up unannounced, starts to question Tre's advice given to him five years previously. Difficult truths are revealed as questions of loyalty, dreams deferred and fractured losses become unearthed. Tensions quickly rise between the two broken men as both accuse the other of causing the failures that define their lives while they approach the inevitable fight that will ultimately prove who truly is the champ. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exOpponentOA6.pdf

Detective partner hero villain / by Brett Neveu

The black-and-white morality of superheroes is turned on its head in this ode to the modern action/comic book genre mixed with the dark humor of a gumshoe noir. Introducing the world to crime-fighter The Fantastic Phenomenon (the hero) and his arch nemesis Supernova (the villain), a detective searches for the killer of superhero super-fans while trying to understand his own relationship to The Fantastic Phenomenon. Discovering that The Fantastic Phenomenon is having an emotional breakdown, the detective tries to be a shoulder for him to lean on in hopes of getting the hero back on track toward capturing Supernova. The detective's world unravels as he begins to question his own belief in law and justice and peel back the good-versus-evil veneer, exposing the consequences of trusting those who tell us to 'keep the faith. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exDetectivePartnerHeroVillainDF9.pdf

Valhalla / Paul Murphy

As violence sweeps the city, a couple escape to an isolated Nordic research facility. On the brink of discovering a cure for the devastating disease, cracks in their marriage start to appear. The outside world grows increasingly hostile and the couple are forced to choose between conflicting allegiances. As they battle for power and truth, the future of the human race is at stake. Suffused with Norse mythology, Valhalla depicts a world where the boundaries of scientific research and the endurance of human love are stretched to their limits.

The Javier plays / Carlos Murillo

Diagram of a paper airplane -- A thick description of Harry Smith -- Your name will follow you home.

The session / Andrew Muir

Lena meets Robbie. Girl meets Boy. Head over heels. Eyes only for each other. They don't speak the same language, but they both know the language of love, and surely that's enough for a while – until the unspeakable happens and the truth comes spewing out. As their marriage hurtles towards oblivion, Lena and Robbie desperately attempt to find a common language and save their shared history.The Session is a heartfelt play about how couples communicate, taking in twenty years of a relationship that is based on misunderstanding and crossed wires. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/E2frCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+session+/+Andrew+Muir

This wide night / by Chloë Moss

The play is set in a cramped bedsit belonging to Marie, age thirty. A knock at the door heralds the arrival of Lorraine, age fifty, a woman Marie knew while they were both in prison. Lorraine has just been released, and has come straight to Marie’s. On the inside, the two women used to share everything; but the friendship that once protected them now threatens to smother the fragile freedom they have found.

946 : the amazing story of Adolphus Tips / adapted by Michael Morpurgo and Emma Rice

Based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, 946 explodes everything we thought we knew about the D-Day landings, using music, puppetry and foolishness to tell this tale of war, prejudice and love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/946_The_Amazing_Story_of_Adolphus_Tips/5Z78DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

The tall girls : a play about playing basketball / Meg Miroshnik

Award winning playwright, Meg Miroshnik transports her audience to Poor Prairie, the dusty, desolate town where fifteen-and-a-half-year-old Jean has been exiled as caretaker for her wild-child cousin, Almeda. It's a grim, dangerous place to eke out an existence as a teenage girl -- until a handsome man arrives with a past and a brand-new basketball in tow. As the town's girls come together to form a team set on making it out of Poor Prairie, a murky committee of townspeople threatens to stamp out girls' sports altogether. Inspired by the flourishing and the decline of high school girls' basketball teams in the 1930s rural Midwest, The Tall Girl asks: Who can afford the luxury of play? And what is the cost of childhood? Featuring a strong ensemble of female characters, The Tall Girls examines issues of class and gender amidst the historic 1930s Dust Bowl.

No villain / by Arthur Miller

No Villain tells the story of a garment industry strike that sets a son against his factory proprietor father. Here, Miller explores the Marxist theory that would see him hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee years later. This remarkable debut play gives us a tantalizing glimpse of Miller's early life, the seeding of his political values, and the beginning of his extraordinary career. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Ls43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=No+villain+/+by+Arthur+Miller%5C

All my sons : a drama in three acts / Arthur Miller

Joe Keller and Steve Deever, partners in a machine shop during the war, turned out defective airplane parts, causing the deaths of many men. Deever was sent to prison, while Keller escaped punishment and became a wealthy man. In this commanding work, a love affair between Keller's son Chris, and Ann Deever, Steve's daughter; the bitterness of Steve's son, George, who returns from the war to find his father in prison and his father's partner free; and the reaction of a son to his father's guilt escalate toward a climax of electrifying intensity Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/dAQmCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=All+my+sons+:+a+drama+in+three+acts+/+Arthur+Miller

Villon and other plays / Murray Mednick

Borderline -- Destruction of the fourth world -- Adele -- Villon.

X / by Alistair McDowall

It's a tax write-off. This is where they send the new, the under-qualified, the old. And most of all the British. Mars is full of blonde Americans. It's like they're building the master race out there. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/pM3fCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=X+/+by+Alistair+McDowall

Mayenburg : three plays / Marius von Mayenburg ; translated by Maja Zade.

A nocturnal flaneur gets caught in a nightmare of murder and desire (The dog, the night and the knife), a canny businessman is suddenly brought low (Eldorado) and two couples get tangled in absurdly comic partner relationships (Perplex). In Marius von Mayenburg's plays, dreams and reality are very closely linked and social existence is an endangered construction. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=9zU2DwAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Mayenburg%20%3A%20three%20plays%20%20%2F%20Marius%20von%20Mayenburg%20%3B%20translated%20by%20Maja%20Zade.&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Mayenburg%20:%20three%20plays%20%20/%20Marius%20von%20Mayenburg%20;%20translated%20by%20Maja%20Zade.&f=false

Torn / Nathaniel Martello-White

Generations of secrets have broken the Brook family. Siblings split-up, traded-off, treated differently. Angel, the youngest, has called a family meeting to sift through the wreckage. And she's not leaving until they've confronted the truth about how and why her family failed her. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/dPo0DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Torn+/+Nathaniel+Martello-White

The fish eyes trilogy / by Anita Majumdar

Fish eyes -- Boys with cars -- Let me borrow that top.

Ironbound / by Martyna Majok

At a bus stop in a run-down New Jersey, Darja, a Polish immigrant cleaning lady, is done talking about feelings; it's time to talk money. Over the course of 20 years, and three relationships, Darja negotiates for her future with men who can offer her love or security, but never both. Award-winning playwright Martyna Majok's 'Ironbound' is a darkly funny, heartbreaking portrait of a woman for whom love is a luxury - and a liability - as she fights to survive in America. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/HUxdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Ironbound+/+by+Martyna+Majok

With a little bit of luck / Sabrina Mahfouz

London, 2001. Raves. Revision. Re-election. Nadia is swept up in one hot summer's night of love that promises endless possibilities. Drinking, dancing, hope, ambition, lust, greed . . . and decisions that will determine the rest of her life. Rhythmically underscored by a live mix of old-school UK Garage, With A Little Bit of Luck explores the legacy of a cultural movement that defined the hopes of a generation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/CJf3CwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=With+a+little+bit+of+luck+/+Sabrina+Mahfouz

Women in jeopardy! / by Wendy Macleod.

Divorcees Mary and Jo are suspicious of their friend Liz's new dentist boyfriend. He's not just a weirdo; he may be a serial killer! After all, his hygienist just disappeared. Trading their wine glasses for spy glasses, imaginations run wild as the ladies try to discover the truth and save their friend in a hilarious off-road adventure. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/2U1dDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Women+in+jeopardy!+/+by+Wendy+Macleod.

Can I start again please / Sue MacLaine

The play explores how possible the cognition and articulation of traumatic and private experience is. A hymn to resilience, this personal and political piece spars across the heard and the unheard, the spoken and the unspoken, and contemplates what the act of trying to tell really entails. Written in English and in British Sign Language, the two languages and two scripts work both in opposition and in harmony to test and stretch the capacities of language.

Lela & Co. / by Cordelia Lynn

The story of a young girl trapped in an increasingly tiny world. In the beginning was the mattress. Gradually, other little changes - more bolts on the front door; the gun; the locked cupboard. And she knew in her heart that change was bad

Sparks / Simon Longman

It's raining in the Midlands. Again. It won't stop. Someone's standing in it. They're shivering. They're cold. They're waiting for someone they haven't seen in a very long time. They've got a rucksack full of alcohol. And a fish. A touching play about abandoned responsibilities, what we choose to remember and what we thought we'd forgotten.

The cheats / by Hamish Linklater

John and Anne have two children and a good marriage--they have sex, drive hybrids, and recently, they cut out sugar. But John has been spying on the neighbors, frankly, for a while now, and at 9 a.m, Halloween morning, the neighbors drop by for a visit. The Cheats is a play about your marriage, and how it can get f*cked when you forget to lock the front door. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/pzBdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+cheats+/+by+Hamish+Linklater

Three sisters by Anton Chekhov / a new version by Tracy Letts

The play focuses on the lives of three sisters, Olga, Masha, and Irina, young women of the Russian gentry who try to fill their days in order to construct a life that feels meaningful while surrounded by an array of military men, servants, ...

Mary Page Marlowe / by Tracy Letts

Known for his complex portrayals of the human psyche, Tracy Letts' new play expands what at first appears to be an intimate snapshot of one woman's seemingly ordinary life into a grand and elaborate manifest, complete with different versions of the same woman at various stages of her life. In a series of elegant, nonlinear scenes spanning the years from 1946 all the way to 2015, the play hopscotches through Mary Page Marlowe's quiet existence as an accountant from Ohio-complicating the notion of what it means to lead a "simple life" Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/v02rDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Mary+Page+Marlowe+/+by+Tracy+Letts

Brownsville song (b-side for tray) / by Kimber Lee

Set in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, brownsville song (b-side for tray) is a powerful tale of resilience in the face of tragedy. Moving fluidly between past and present, this bold new play tells the story of Tray, a spirited African-American 18-year-old and his family, who must hold on to hope when Tray's life is cut short.

Absolute brightness of Leonard Pelkey / by James Lecesne

One actor portrays every character in a small Jersey shore town as he unravels the story of Leonard Pelkey, a tenaciously optimistic and flamboyant fourteen-year-old boy who goes missing. A luminous force of nature whose magic is only truly felt once he is gone. Leonard becomes an unexpected inspiration as the town's citizens question how they live, who they love, and what they leave behind. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/UvtcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Absolute+brightness+of+Leonard+Pelkey+/+by+James+Lecesne

Rose / by Laurence Leamer

Set in 1969 at the Kennedy's Hyannis Port compound the week after Teddy's fateful accident at Chappaquiddick, Rose struggles with all the tragedies that Kennedys have overcome and finds new understanding of the choices she made as well as those made by her husband and children. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/OmJdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Rose+/+by+Laurence+Leamer

All the ways to say I love you 2 plays + 1 story / by Neil LaBute

All the ways to say I love you -- All my white sins forgiven -- With hair of hand-spun gold.

Mumburger / Sarah Kosar

In her visceral play about family, grief and red meat, Sarah Kosar (Spaghetti Ocean, Live Lunch, Royal Court, London) asks how far we'd go to reconnect with the ones we love most. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ZjLSDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Mumburger+/+Sarah+Kosar

Blake / Thomas Kilroy

'Blake' is a fictionalised account of the visionary poet's incarceration in a 19th-century London asylum. It continues the author's exploration of the minds, and secret lives, of exceptional, often marginalised figures.

Scenes from 68* years / Hannah Khalil

You are an educated young Palestinian man. We need you here. Stay. Scenes from 68 Years is a selection of intertwined vignettes telling the story of ordinary Palestinians at a very human level with mischievous humour. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ok4DDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Scenes+from+68*+years+/+Hannah+Khalil

Trudy and Max in love / by Zoe Kazan

Trudy writes young adult fiction. And Max is a novelist of celebrity status. Trudy is married. And Max doesn't believe in love. So their mutual attraction is anything but convenient . Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ak1dDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Trudy+and+Max+in+love+/+by+Zoe+Kazan

Indian Arm / by Hiro Kanagawa ; adapted from Henrik Ibsen's Little Eyolf

Rita and Alfred Allmers live in an isolated family cabin on native leasehold land overlooking Indian Arm, a still untamed glacial fjord just north of Vancouver, BC. With Alfred—a formerly promising novelist—now struggling with his latest work, Rita has been tasked with caring for their adopted son Wolfie, a sensitive First Nations teen who has been designated as “special needs” for much of his life. Rita’s resentments and frustrations are further embittered by her younger half-sister, Asta, a constant reminder of the innocence, idealism, and sexual allure Rita once had and yearns for again. The fragile impasse of their lives is torn asunder by the appearance of Janice, the surviving member of the Indigenous family who leased the land to Rita and Asta’s reclusive and mysterious father over fifty years ago. With the lease now expired, they are all engulfed by the secrets and contradictions of their lives and of the land itself—in both the past and the present—and their stories are drawn inexorably toward an unspeakable tragedy.

Matt & Ben : a new play / by Mindy Kaling & Brenda Withers

Matt & Ben depicts its Hollywood golden boys – before J-Lo, before Gwyneth, before Project Greenlight, before Oscar… before anyone actually gave a damn. When the screenplay for Good Will Hunting drops mysteriously from the heavens, the boys realize they’re being tested by a Higher Power. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/VpqNMe3VxR0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Matt+%26+Ben+:+a+new+play+/+by+Mindy+Kaling+%26+Brenda+Withers

Yen / by Anna Ruth

Yen explores a childhood lived without boundaries and the consequences of being forced to grow up on your own. Hench is sixteen, Bobbie is thirteen. They're home alone in Feltham with their dog Taliban; playing PlayStation, streaming porn, watching the world go by. Sometimes their mum Maggie visits, usually with empty pockets and empty promises. Then Jenny shows up.

Charges (the supplicants) / by Elfriede Jelinek ; translated by Gitta Honegger

Elfriede Jelinek's new book Charges (The Supplicants) is an analysis and lament of the global plight of migrants and refugees. It is a portrait of the xenophobia, denial, political corruption, and favoritism that premise asylum policy when displaced people from elsewhere challenge European comfort and profits.

Appropriate / by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Every estranged member of the Lafayette clan has descended upon the crumbling Arkansas homestead to settle the accounts of the newly-dead patriarch. As his three adult children sort through a lifetime of hoarded mementos and junk, they collide over clutter, debt, and a contentious family history. But after a disturbing discovery surfaces among their father's possessions, the reunion takes a turn for the explosive, unleashing a series of crackling surprises and confrontations Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/cAVdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Cyprus avenue / by David Ireland

Eric Miller is a Belfast Loyalist. He believes his five-week old granddaughter is Gerry Adams, the noted Irish Republican politician who is the president of Sinn Féin. Eric’s family keep telling him to stop living in the past and fighting old battles that nobody cares about anymore, but his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act. David Ireland’s black comedy takes one man’s identity crisis to the limits as he uncovers the modern day complexity of Ulster Loyalism. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/mDeSDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Cyprus+avenue+/+by+David+Ireland

A doll's house / by Henrik Ibsen : a new version in English for Jed Harris; by Thornton Wilder

With clarifying dialogue, Wilder uproots this classic from Norway and funnels it through an American lens. The marriage of Ibsen's naturalistic style melds with Wilder's knack for emotional nuance to create a demonstrative edition of the revered A Doll's House Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/FgWrDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT71&dq=A+doll%27s+house+/+by+Henrik+Ibsen+:+a+new+version+in+English+for+Jed+Harris;+by+Thornton+Wilder

Laugh / by Beth Henley

The West. The 1920s. Mabel's had a hard few weeks. A dynamite accident at a gold mine has left her wealthy but orphaned; she's shipped off to a calculating aunt, whose nephew is charged with seducing her to control Mabel's fortune. This hapless courtship reveals a shared love of silent movies and a plan for greater things. A story of mishaps and moxie, the romance of Hollywood and ultimately a Hollywood-caliber romance. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/5kVdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&dq=Laugh+/+by+Beth+Henley

Wild Kate : a tale of revenge at sea : a play / by Karen Hartman

Call me Isabel." A brainy teen with a chip on her shoulder seeks adventure and escape when she enrolls in High School on the High Seas. But soon Isabel, her new pal Quinn, and a rag-tag collection of classmates and crew find themselves swept off course in an extracurricular payback mission led by the boat's strange and formidable captain, Wild Kate. In this fast-paced contemporary adventure inspired by Melville's Moby Dick and the Deepwater Oil Rig disaster, these young sailors are forced to consider whether saving the ocean is worth risking their lives.

Troy women / adapted by Karen Hartman ; based on the play by Euripides

Hecuba and the women of Troy mourn and celebrate their city on the morning after its destruction. Together, they grieve the deaths of their husbands and children as they await their fates at the hands of their Greek captors. With modern elements adapted into Euripides' classic, Troy Women is a chilling, brutal, but accessible portrait of women during war.

Leah's train : a drama / by Karen Hartman

When Ruth, a young doctor, skips her grandmother Leah's funeral, she ignites three generations of love and secrets. Her boyfriend walks out, her mother pays a devastating surprise visit, and Leah's harrowing childhood journey -- a family legend -- intertwines with Ruth's own. An ordinary train ride mysteriously takes Ruth through her Russian Jewish family's untold history, opening her to a fuller understanding of her mother, her grandmother, and herself.

Gum / by Karen Hartman

Set in a fictional fundamentalist country where chewing gum is outlawed, Gum explores the human need to tame nature and control desire. Two veiled girls stand in a walled garden, sharing a piece of gum, which serves as a metaphor for pleasure, release, desire, transgression, America, the forbidden, the secret sexual act. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/f1v6CAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Gum+/+by+Karen+Hartman

Alice : tales of a curious girl : a serious comedy with songs by / by Karen Hartman

On a hot spring day, Alice leaps from a stifling photographer's studio into Wonderland, a world where cakes talk, cats smoke, and little girls change size. In Part Two, she tries to repeat the adventure by stepping Through the Looking Glass. Alice's second journey is more inversion than fantasy, a place of fleeting memories and mismatched childhood dreams. An invigorating race through the brain of a curious girl, based on Lewis Carroll's Alice books.

Marjorie Prime / by Jordan Harrison

In a future not far from our present, Marjorie spends her time rewriting her past in favor of her idealized memories, with help from the intriguingly innovative technology that allows her to do so. With deeply felt characters - both real and in the form of holograms or "Primes"--Jordan Harrison's widely acclaimed new play burrows into the most troubling questions of the digital age: are we replacing our memory with a false reality, and what does that mean about the preservation of the truth? Marjorie Prime ultimately asks whether manipulating our past is a corruption of history or a welcome consolation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/eFqvDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Marjorie+Prime+/+by+Jordan+Harrison

Maple and Vine / by Jordan Harrison

Katha and Ryu have become allergic to their 21st-century lives. After they meet a charismatic man from a community of 1950s re-enactors, they forsake cell phones and sushi for cigarettes and Tupperware parties. In this compulsively authentic world, Katha and Ryu are surprised by what their new neighbors - and they themselves - are willing to sacrifice for happiness.

Hans Christian Andersen's The flea and the professor : a musical adaptation / by Jordan Harrison

A young professor loses just about everything in the world - everything, that is, except for the flea who lives in his vest. Starting over again, the professor and the flea become the best of friends, start a circus act, and set off to tour the world. Together they must overcome shipwrecks, cannibals, and tickling. Adapted by Jordan Harrison and Richard Gray from the last tale by master storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, this new musical odyssey celebrates friendship, whimsy, and the excitement of the unknown.

The Robben Island Shakespeare / by Matthew Hahn

During the Apartheid years in South Africa, a copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare was smuggled around the prison on Robben Island. The book's significance resides in the fact that the book's owner, Sonny Venkatratham, passed it to a number of his fellow political prisoners in the single cells, including Nelson Mandela, asking them to mark their favourite passages with a signature and date. Informally known as "the Robben Island Bible", numerous prisoners selected the speeches that meant the most to them and their experience as political prisoners. In 2008 and 2010, playwright and scholar Matthew Hahn conducted interviews with eight former political prisoners in South Africa. Offering a vivid and startling account of the experience of these political prisoners during Apartheid, this extraordinary verbatim play weaves Shakespeare's words together with first-hand accounts from these men. They offer their reflections on their time as Liberation activists and, twenty years later, on the costs, consequences and whether or not it was all worth it. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/bMJkDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+Robben+Island+Shakespeare+/+by+Matthew+Hahn

She like girls : a drama / by Chisa Hutchinson

Kia Clark has dreamt of Marisol Feliciano since the start of the school year, but always assumed that she was staunchly heterosexual (like everyone else in their neighborhood). While supporting Marisol through a health crisis, the two share a forbidden kiss that starts a fulfilling--but challenging--romantic relationship. Straining to keep their involvement a secret from their conservative mothers and their gay-bashing classmates, harassment from even their closest friends escalates, forcing Kia to choose between the newfound sexuality and societal acceptance.

I and you : a drama / by Lauren Gunderson

One afternoon, Anthony arrives unexpectedly at classmate Caroline's door bearing a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, an urgent assignment from their English teacher. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, this seemingly mundane poetry project unlocks a much deeper mystery that has brought them together.

Toil and trouble : a black comedy / by Lauren Gunderson

Underemployed friends Adam, Matt and Beth are desperate to beat the recession any way they can--like combining forces to take over a small island in South America. But when a fortune cookie tells Matt that he will rule and Beth gets a little too handy with a dagger, plans go awry. This hilarious adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth pits friend against friend, ambition against fate, pet-sitting against miniature vicuna mogul-dom.

Exit, pursued by a bear / a revenge comedy by Lauren Gunderson

Nan has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson. With the help of her friend Simon (acting as her emotional -- and actual -- cheerleader) and a stripper named Sweetheart, she tapes Kyle to a chair and forces him to watch as they reenacts scenes from their painful past. In the piece de resistance, they plan to cover the room in meat and honey so Kyle will be mauled by a bear. Through this night of emotional trials and ridiculous theatrics, Nan and Kyle are both freed from their past in this smart, dark revenge comedy.

Crush / by Stephen Gregg

Welcome to Pin Cushion, California: population 791 and falling fast. Pin Cushion High School Drama has reached its final-ever production: Our Town. Despite never having once gotten a part, Bark Melon--16 and delightfully goofy despite some recent hard times--is convinced that he's going to get a lead. But Bark's audition goes awry when Aspen, the new student, enters and a chorus of malevolent voices enters with her. Only Bark can hear (and later see) that Aspen is not what she seems; that she's actually the lead body of a six-bodied alien creature ... Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exCrushCR1.pdf

Dead dog in a suitcase (and other love songs) / by Carl Grose

An extraordinary cast of characters shoot, hoot and shimmy their way through this twisted morality tale of our times...one that is by turns shocking, hilarious, heartfelt and absurd. A radical new version of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dead_Dog_in_a_Suitcase_and_Other_Love_So/gJ78DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dead+dog+in+a+suitcase+(and+other+love+songs)+/+by+Carl+Grose&printsec=frontcover

Shibboleth / by Stacey Gregg

An exhilarating and unsentimental exploration of working-class life in Belfast. Development. Hotels, spas, Nando's, boutiques. Belfast is changing, but for some people, progress means new barriers. A group of construction workers is building an extension to the Peace Wall that separates Themans from Us-ens. When Polish worker Yuri's daughter starts having serious problems with her boyfriend, they rally round in support. But good intentions can easily go too far....

Plastic figurines / by Ella Carmen Greenhill

Rose loves her brother Mikey. Mikey loves Rose, Bruce Willis films and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but he hates change. When their mum is diagnosed with leukaemia, their world is plunged into chaos. Rose returns home to find a very different brother to when she left. But today is his eighteenth birthday and Rose wants everything to be perfect, though life with Mikey isn't ever that simple. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/2lR5DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Plastic+figurines+/+by+Ella+Carmen+Greenhill

The world's strongest librarian /adapted by Jeff Gottesfeld and Elizabeth Wong

A play about the power of books, muscles and human kindness. Josh (or Jo, since almost any role can be cast as male or female) is the children's librarian at a poor public library facing a huge budget crisis. He's also a power lifter, pumping iron in the library basement and running a video blog about young adult and children's books, weights and life. Kids flock to his unconventional story time and check out books by the dozens. All but one kid, that is - a loner named Mr. T (or Ms. T), who has the loud tics of Tourette syndrome. Slowly, Josh and Mr. T form a friendship, and Mr. T finally ventures to Josh's basement gym, where a friendship is born. The stakes go up when the town says the library needs to close for monetary reasons. This hits Josh and the kids hard and leads to them staging a '60s-inspired Read-In rather than letting their library be shut down. At the play's end, a Sixth Sense-like ending reveals the true identity of Mr. T. The World's Strongest Librarian will get kids pumped up to read, to work themselves into shape and especially to be kind to others Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/worlds-strongest-librarian

This is modern art / by Idris Goodwin and Kevin Coval

Graffiti crews are willing to risk anything for their art. Though people call them vandals, criminals, and even creative terrorists, they're determined to make their voices heard and alter the way people view the world. So when a young graffiti artist named Seven comes up with an big, audacious idea to shake up the Chicago art scene, his crew is all in. But the biggest graffiti bomb of the LOH Crew's careers may also have serious consequences, for some of them more than others. This is Modern Art takes you racing over the rooftops, through the history of graffiti art, and face-to-face with a question of the moment: Where does art belong?

The terrible girls : a dark comedy / by Jacqueline Goldfinger

In this wicked dark comedy of friendship, obsession, and Southern sensibilities, Mr. Witherose leaves Birdie, Gretch, and Minnie to tend to his bar while he is away on business in Atlanta. Birdie and Gretch are battling for Mr. Witherose's affection in his absence, but neither knows that Minnie is guarding his terrible secret. When an innocent tryst goes awry, the ghosts of sordid secrets come out into the open, providing a wild mix of fearless comedy and Southern Gothic horror.

Enter Bogart : the most spectacularly misfit adventure in the history of high school crime : a short comedy / by Jacqueline Goldfinger and Jennifer MacMillan

Sam is a high school freshman who walks, talks, and dresses like Humphrey Bogart's popular 1930s private eye character, Sam Spade. Shunned at school as a freak, Sam finds a chance to redeem herself in the eyes of the student body when the biology teacher is suspiciously gnawed to death by the freshman class goldfish. As Sam gathers clues, she also acquires a circle of friends who will not only assist her in solving the mystery -- they'll help her figure out how to survive high school.

A Christmas carol / adapted by Jacqueline Goldfinger ; based on the novella by Charles Dickens

This swift adaptation of the Christmas classic remains true to the original story by incorporating portions of the Dickens' novella not usually seen on the stage or screen. Infused with a myriad of popular Christmas carols and a subtle twist of contemporary humor, the morality tale of Ebenezer Scrooge is once again alive with holiday spirit.

The second coming of Joan of Arc / by Carolyn Gage

Joan of Arc led an army to victory at seventeen. At eighteen, she engineered the coronation of a king. At nineteen, she went up against the Catholic church… and lost. Her trial lasted five months, and the testimony by witnesses was carefully transcribed by notaries. Twenty years after her death, a new trial was authorized, and again detailed records were kept. There was testimony by her childhood playmates, by her parents, by the women who slept with her, by the soldiers who served under her, by the priests who confessed her, by those who witnessed and administered her torture. She is the most thoroughly documented figure of the fifteenth century. So, why do the myths about the simple-minded peasant girl still pervade the history books? In this play, Joan returns to share her story with contemporary women. She tells her experiences with the highest levels of church, state, and military, and unmasks the brutal misogyny behind male institutions.

In a blue moon : a play / by Lucia Frangione

When Frankie’s dad dies, her mom, Ava, can’t afford to live in the city anymore. The only asset they’re left with is a farmhouse situated on twenty acres of land far outside of town. Ava decides to move there and start an Ayurveda clinic on the property, giving her precocious and grieving daughter a new start. One problem presents itself, though: a squatter who won’t leave. Will, professional photographer, long-estranged brother-in-law to Ava, and uncle to Frankie, lives rent-free on the farm and isn’t eager to give up his space. While mother and daughter face the challenges of starting over and grieving, they also need to figure out how to weave a new man into the picture. Soon, though, Frankie finds in Will someone to look up to and trust during her time of emotional upheaval, and Ava discovers a companion who pushes her to grow and helps her to discover her potential. In their journey the group thread together a new understanding of family, and a tender love story unfolds.

Freda & Jem's best of the week / by Lois Fine

Jem is a self-described butch dyke from Montreal who always imagined spending her life in bars and having multiple flings. When she meets Freda, a woman who exposes Jem’s vulnerabilities, her preconceived notions of who she is become moot as she finds herself partnered in a long-term relationship with kids. Which she surprisingly loves – most of the time. But that’s all changing as Jem and Freda’s marriage shifts from one of love and lust to one of gripes and grumbles.

Ugly lies the bone / by Lindsey Ferrentino

Newly discharged soldier Jess has finally returned to her Florida hometown. She brings with her not only vivid memories of Afghanistan, but also painful burns that have left her physically and emotionally scarred. Jess soon realizes that things at home have changed even more than she has. Through the use of virtual reality video game therapy, she builds a breathtaking new world where she can escape her pain. As Jess advances farther in the game, she begins to restore her relationships, her life, and slowly, herself

Straight / by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola.

Meet Ben. Ben is a 26-year-old investment banker. Ben likes beer, sports, and Emily ... and Chris. Straight is a provocative new play that deals with fidelity, sexuality and identity in 'post-Equality' America. Funny, sad, sexy and surprising, this three-character drama takes a hard look at the moral complex of a generation that prides itself on the pretense of acceptance. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exStraightS2J.pdf

The suicide / adapted by Suhayla El-Bushra ; from the original by Nikolai Erdman

Things are getting tough for Sam. No job, benefits stopped and stuck in a tiny flat with his girlfriend Maya and her mum. The pressure is building. It feels like there might be only one way out. But every ending is a beginning and there are plenty of people keen to capitalise on Sam's momentous decision. From corrupt local politicians to kids trying to raise the number of views of their online videos, everyone wants a piece of Sam's demise. It scarcely matters what Sam actually wants. Faced with the promise of immortality, what's his life worth? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Dk4DDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP2&dq=The+suicide+/+adapted+by+Suhayla+El-Bushra+;+from+the+original+by+Nikolai

Queen Anne / by Helen Edmundson

Helen Edmundson's gripping play tells the little-known story of a monarch caught between friendship and duty. Princess Anne is soon to become Queen, and her advisors vie for influence over the future monarch. Who can Anne turn to when even her most trusted friends seem bent on pursuing power? Contending with deceit and blackmail, Anne must decide where her allegiances lie, and whether to sacrifice her closest relationships for the sake of the country.

Orpheus X and other plays / by Rinde Eckert

This collection gathers for the first time four outstanding works for music-theatre by acclaimed composer/librettist/performer Rinde Eckert, including Orpheus X, which was a finalist for the Pultizer Prize, and the works Horizon, and God Created Great Whales and The Gardening of THomas D. Introduced by scholar Jonathan Chambers, which contextualizes Eckert's boundary-breaking work for theatre, this volume is an important contribution to the field of experiemental theatre and poetry. Shot through with Eckert's sass, vigor, beauty and passion, Orpheus X and other plays also fills a necessary gap in dramatic literature scholarship. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=cDsHBAAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Orpheus%20X%20and%20other%20plays%20%2F%20by%20Rinde%20Eckert&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Orpheus%20X%20and%20other%20plays%20/%20by%20Rinde%20Eckert&f=false

Plays of love and conflict / by Neil Duffield

Brothers in arms -- The hunchback of Notre Dame -- With all my love. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=vUKeDwAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Plays%20of%20love%20and%20conflict%20%2F%20by%20Neil%20Duffield&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Plays%20of%20love%20and%20conflict%20/%20by%20Neil%20Duffield&f=false

In fidelity / by Rob Drummond

September 2016 marks the fifteen-year anniversary of Rob and Lucy's very first date. What better way to mark this milestone than to create a show all about love? As part of his research Rob underwent an MRI scan. His ventromedial prefrontal cortex surged when looking at a picture of his wife. However, it also surged while looking at other pictures. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/gKXhDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=In+fidelity+/+by+Rob+Drummond

Death of the author / by Steven Drukman

With a world of knowledge just a smart phone away, is there still such a thing as an original idea? When a young professor suspects a student of plagiarism, his inquiry sparks a chain of events affecting the lives of four people in very real terms. Drukman's beautifully cutthroat competition that thrives within these ivy-covered walls. Extending beyond postmodern literature and academic rigors, this smart, funny, and engrossing play becomes a personal battle to decide what is right , what is wrong, and what must be done. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/mURdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Death+of+the+author+/+by+Steven+Drukman

Dot / by Colman Domingo

The holidays are always a wild family affair at the Shealy house. But this year, Dotty and her three grown children gather with more than exchanging presents on their minds. As Dotty struggles to hold on to her memory, her children must fight to balance care for their mother and care for themselves. This twisted and hilarious new play grapples unflinchingly with aging parents, midlife crises, and the heart of a West Philly neighborhood.

Sick / by Zayd Dohrn

A college professor brings a student home to meet his dysfunctional family – a home so obsessed with cleanliness that the real dirt lurks around every corner and behind every sentence. Toying with post 9/11 phobias, this dark comedy plays upon our fears, both real and imagined.

Outside people / by Zayd Dohrn

A dark, comic look at China/U.S. relations-- economic, political, and sexual. In modern-day Beijing, a young American guy falls for a Chinese girl and then struggles to understand where she's coming from. A play about loneliness, culture-shock, language, and trying to make connections across borders

Living on love / by Joe DiPietro

When a demanding diva discovers that her larger-than-life maestro husband has become enamored with the lovely young lady hired to ghostwrite his largely fictional autobiography, she hires a handsome young scribe of her own. Sparks fly, silverware is thrown, and romance blossoms in the most unexpected ways in this delightful and hilarious romantic comedy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/6UZdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Living+on+love+/+by+Joe+DiPietro

Clever little lies / by Joe DiPietro

A mother always knows when something is wrong. When Alice notices her beloved husband, Bill, has returned home on edge after a tennis match with their son, she grows suspicious and springs into action. Determined to piece together the puzzle, she invites her son, Billy, and daughter-in-law, Jane, over for drinks and dessert. Sidesplitting chaos ensues as Alice digs for the truth, resulting in even more honesty than anyone expected. Shattering and hilarious, Clever Little Lies is a story of long-term love and marriage...for better...and for worse. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/6jpdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Clever+little+lies+/+by+Joe+DiPietro

Smart people : a play / by Lydia R. Diamond

This funny and thought-provoking play gives us four characters all associated with Harvard: a young African American actress cleaning houses and doing odd jobs to pay the bills until her recently earned M.F.A. starts to pay off; a Chinese and Japanese American psychology professor studying race and identity in Asian American women; an African American surgical intern; and a white professor of neuroscience with a shocking hypothesis, researching the way that our racial perceptions are formed. As their relationships evolve, the four discover that their motivations and interpretations are not as pure as their wealth of knowledge would have them believe.

Sotto voce / by Nilo Cruz

The millennium, New York City, Bemadette Kahn, an eighty-year-old German-born writer, spends her days in her apartment, trying to forget the past. Until Saquiel Rafaeli, a young Jewish-Cuban researcher, appears on her doorstop, forcing her to confront those haunted memories. He's eager to learn about Bemadette's long-lost lover, Ariel Strauss, who set sail in 1939 aboard the St. Louis, never to be seen again. With layered lyrical language and vibrant intimacy, Sotto Voce is an imaginative exploration of the power of memory, love and human connection. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/MQQgDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Sotto+voce+/+by+Nilo+Cruz

Whiskey tango foxtrot / by Rebecca Crookshank

Based on Crookshank’s time in the Royal Air Force serving queen and country by protecting the UK Air Defence Region, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot charts her journey from basic training to the Falkland Islands. From feeling low to flying high (literally, in a Tornado F3), join Crookshank and a host of colorful characters on this hilarious heart-warming adventure. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Whiskey_Tango_Foxtrot/1Z78DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Whiskey+tango+foxtrot+/+by+Rebecca+Crookshank&printsec=frontcover

Our class : a new play / by Tadeusz Słobodzianek

A group of schoolchildren, Jewish and Catholic, grow up together in Poland, 1925. As their country is torn apart by Soviet and then Nazi armies, fervent nationalism develops, friends betray each other, and violence escalates until these ordinary people carry out a monstrous act. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Our_Class/L4oHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Our+class+:+a+new+play+/+by+Tadeusz+S%C5%82obodzianek&printsec=frontcover

Snow in midsummer / by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

Men in this town were born with mouths that can right wrongs with a few words. Why are you too timid to speak? As she is about to be executed for a murder she didn't commit, young widow Dou Yi vows that, if she is innocent, snow will fall in midsummer and a catastrophic drought will strike. Three years later, a businesswoman visits the parched, locust-plagued town to take over an ailing factory. When her young daughter is tormented by an angry ghost, the new factory owner must expose the injustices Dou Yi suffered before the curse destroys every living thing. A contemporary re-imagining by acclaimed playwright Frances-Ya Chu Cowhig of one of the most famous classical Chinese dramas, which breathes new life into this ancient story, haunted by centuries of retelling. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/oFhCDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Snow+in+midsummer+/+by+Frances+Ya-Chu+Cowhig

King Liz / by Fernanda Coppel

Sports agent Liz Rico has money and an elite client roster but a woman in a man's industry has to fight to stay on top. She's worked twice as hard to get where she is and wants to take over the agency that she's helped build. Enter Freddie Luna, a high school basketball superstar with a troubled past. If Liz can keep this talented yet volatile young star in line, she just might end up making not only his career, but her own as well. But at what price?

Petrification/ by Zoe Cooper

Sean is irritated by Simon's new cosmopolitan ways. And Aidan? He just wants to be part of the family. This is a play for anyone who ever left home and comes back to find everything changed. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/U95pDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Petrification/+by+Zoe+Cooper

If truth be told / Beverley Cooper

It's 1977, and successful writer Peg Dunlop has returned to her small Ontario hometown to look after her ailing mother. When an eager young English teacher decides to teach one of Dunlop's books to the town's Grade 13 class, a group of parents and the local pastor start a movement to have the book banned. Based on real-life events, Cooper's balanced look at the issues on both sides raises important questions: Who decides what we can and cannot read? How do we tell stories? How do we fight for what we believe in? And how do we coexist when we have opposing views?

But I cd only whisper : a play / by Kristiana Colón

America. 1970. Black Vietnam veteran Beau Willie Brown is held in custody, accused of a heinous crime. A story comes to light that sticks in the throat, a story murmured between dark dreams. "but i cd only whisper' wrestles with being vulnerable and black in white America.

The language archive / by Julia Cho

George is a man consumed with preserving and documenting the dying languages of far-flung cultures. Closer to home, though, language is failing him. He doesn't know what to say to his wife, Mary, to keep her from leaving him, and he doesn't recognize the deep feelings that his lab assistant, Emma, has for him Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/sNjiAlOeeJsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+language+archive+/+by+Julia+Cho

Fast company / by Carla Ching

Mable Kwan is the best grifter that ever lived. She taught sons H and Francis to be the best roper and fixer around. When youngest daughter Blue puts together the con of the decade, will they work together as a crew or will one of them walk away with it all?

Ground rules / by Eric Chappell

When Gerry and Judith, a long married couple, rescue Jo from an assault by her aggressive partner Ashley one night in a pub they trigger off a chain of events that even Judith – a marriage councillor – can’t manage. Things quickly spiral out of control, putting both couples’ relationships under the microscope and challenging the ground rules each couple thought were clearly established.

Bird / by Katherine Chandler

Ava and Tash are up on a cliff, looking out at the flocking birds – and at their future. On the cusp of adulthood and about to leave the care home they've shared, the two friends road-test their impending freedom and living in the outside world.

The hunchback of Seville / by Charise Castro Smith

At the turn of the 16th century, Christopher Columbus has just returned from the new world with gold in his pockets and blood on his hands. Maxima Terriblé Segunda, the brilliant adopted sister of dying Her Royal Highness Queen Isabella, is living out her life locked away in a tower... until it is decided that the future of the country is in her nerdy, reclusive hands. In a bitingly funny and madcap take on Spanish history and colonialism, Maxima weaves her way through mountains of prejudice, politics, religion and the horrors of history. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/rktdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+hunchback+of+Seville+/+by+Charise+Castro+Smith

The HIV monologues / by Patrick Cash

He's just your type. But hold on. He's about to tell you he's got HIV. How will you respond emotionally? Brush it aside and practise safe sex? Go on to a deeper relationship? Or do you walk away? In these eloquently interwoven and often funny monologues Patrick Cash invites you to explore these emotions of living with a virus that attacks the emotions as well as the body. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_HIV_Monologues/2p_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+HIV+monologues+/+by+Patrick+Cash&printsec=frontcover

Hecuba / by Marina Carr

Troy has fallen. It's the end of war and the beginning of something else. Something worse. As the cries die down after the final battle, there are reckonings to be made. Humiliated by her defeat and imprisoned by the charismatic victor Agamemnon, the great queen Hecuba must wash the blood of her buried sons from her hands and lead her daughters forward into a world they no longer recognize. Agamemnon has slaughtered his own daughter to win this war. But now another sacrifice is demanded... In a world where human instinct has been ravaged by violence, is everything as it seems in the hearts of the winners and those they have defeated? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/hkpdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Hecuba+/+by+Marina+Carr

Need to Know / by Jonathan Caren

Lilly and Steven are smart, talented, and charming. Their new neighbor is not. After moving into a new apartment, they meet the man they now share a wall with--Mark Manners, an aspiring fiction writer and longtime tenant of the building. Lilly and Steven proceed to Google-stalk Mark and have a field day mocking his website...only to realize the walls are thin. Did he hear everything they said about him? When they try to resolve the newfound tension, it escalates in ways none of them could ever predict. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/I05dDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Need+to+Know+/+by+Jonathan+Caren

Dead city : a modern riff on Joyce's Ulysses / by Sheila Callaghan

Samantha Blossom, a chipper woman in her 40s, wakes up one June morning in her Upper East Side apartment to find her life being narrated over the airwaves of public radio. She discovers in the mail an envelope addressed to her husband from his lover, which spins her raw and untethered into an odyssey through the city.... a day full of chance encounters, coincidences, a quick love affair, and a fixation on the mysterious Jewel Jupi. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dead_City/VfCDcgWQxrkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dead+city+:+a+modern+riff+on+Joyce%27s+Ulysses+/+by+Sheila+Callaghan&printsec=frontcover

The open hand / by Robert Caisley

Allison does not accept gifts. Not even on her birthday. Not even from her fiancé. So when she finds herself without her wallet and unable to pay the tab for an expensive lunch with a friend, it is with great reluctance that she accepts the generosity of a total stranger. Determined to repay his kindness, Allison comes face-to-face with the dark secrets that drive her inability to accept even the simplest act of benevolence.

The trouble with where we come from / by Scott Caan

In this romantic comedy, Charlie finds himself at a crossroads in his life when he discovers that his girlfriend is expecting. Charlie confides in his best friend, Vince, that he has recently crossed paths with women from his past, and this tangled web of previous girlfriends is making Charlie doubt his ability to commit to his future. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/-0xdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+trouble+with+where+we+come+from+/+by+Scott+Caan

Dry powder / by Sarah Burgess

The same week his private equity firm forced massive layoffs at a national grocery chain, Rick Hannel threw himself an extravagant engagement party, setting off a publicity nightmare. Fortunately, Seth, one of Rick's partners has a dream of a deal to invest in an American-made luggage company for a song that will rescue his boss from the PR disaster. But Jenny, Rick's other partner, has an entirely different plan: to maximize returns, no matter the consequences. The game is on in this gripping, razor-sharp play about the price for success and the real cost of getting the deal done. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/70hdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Dry+powder+/+by+Sarah+Burgess

Fat kids on fire/ by Bekah Brunstetter

Back at home, Bess is just another angst-ridden teenager trying to fit in. But this summer, things are going to be different. Campers and counselors alike are automatically drawn to the new skinny fat girl who's a definite shoo-in for the illustrious title of Camp Princess. Popularity, power, and self-worth get mixed up as Bess struggles to find her identity. Will she return to school a new woman or will her new self fade like the summer? Colored with sweat stains, stashed sweets, and the awkward innocence of first loves, Fat Kids on Fire is a candid telling of fitting in, living big, and feeling small.

Four play / by by Jake Brunger

A comic play about sex and commitment in the 21st century. Rafe and Pete have hit a rut. After seven-and-a-half blissfully happy years, their lack of sexual experience is driving them apart. So when they proposition mutual friend Michael to help out with their problems – knowing full well that Michael has his own partner Andrew – what seems like a simple solution quickly spirals out of control.

The Argument / by William Boyd

That's why we shout and scream at each other. Clears the air. A kind of truth begins to emerge. We see clearer. Pip and Meredith have had a bust-up. It was only about their opinion of a film, but it's led to more significant differences coming to light. Pip has been having an affair for the past three months with a young colleague at work. Meredith's slate doesn't seem to be entirely clean either. As their families and friends become embroiled in Pip and Meredith's separation, past prejudices, harsh judgements and painful truths come to light. The arguments that ensue go beyond just being about Pip and Meredith, and what they should do about their marriage. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ZAyuCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP9&dq=The+Argument+/+by+William+Boyd

Dea / by Edward Bond

Edward Bond takes from the Greek and Jacobean drama the fundamental classical problems of the family and war to vividly picture our collapsing society. The war is raging, Dea, a heroine, has committed a terrible act and has been exiled. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/5wdfDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=dea+edward+bond

Reckoning / an Article 11 work by Tara Beagan and Andy Moro

Reckoning is a triptych of three short plays: Witness is a dance-movement piece featuring a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner who unravels as he confronts the brutal testimony of residential school survivors. In Daughter, the daughter of a teacher who was accused of rape seduces her father's accuser. And Survivor is a virtuoso solo piece about a man preparing to commit suicide as a protest against the insufficiencies of the reconciliation process. Agonizing, poignant, theatrical, hilarious, and true, Reckoning illuminates the difficulties of trying to come to terms with our country's painful past.

Fracked!, or, Please don't use the f-word / by Alistair Beaton

This new razor-sharp black comedy by Alistair Beaton takes a timely look at the conflicted core of planetary energy and earthly power. Fracked! received its world premiere at the Chichester's Minerva Theatre on 8 July 2016. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=xEuvDAAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=Fracked!%2C%20or%2C%20Please%20don't%20use%20the%20f-word%20%2F%20by%20Alistair%20Beaton&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Fracked!,%20or,%20Please%20don't%20use%20the%20f-word%20/%20by%20Alistair%20Beaton&f=false

Revolt. she said. revolt again / by Alice Birch

Just behave. This play is not well behaved. Alice Birch examines the language, behaviour and forces that shape women in the 21st century and asks what’s stopping us from doing something truly radical to change them. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Revolt_She_Said_Revolt_Again/4578DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Revolt.+she+said.+revolt+again+/+by+Alice+Birch&printsec=frontcover

Little light / by Alice Birch

A house by the sea. Teddy wants more light. He’s knocked that staircase down. Alison is soaked through. She’s livid. Clarissa’s ready to burst. They can’t keep meeting like this. A dark, volatile new play from Alice Birch, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, that asks if we can ever let go.

Pheasant plucker / by Lily Bevan

"I mean falconry is a weird life. In a way. I could sort of do without this. I'm here in this field 24/7 - last week I ate one of his frozen rats thinking it was a Calippo" - Harriet

Cock / by Mike Bartlett

John has been in a stable relationship with his boyfriend for a number of years. But when he takes a break, he accidentally falls in love with a woman. Torn between the two, filled with guilt and conflicting emotions, he doesn't know which way to turn . As the pressure mounts, a dinner with both parties is arranged, and everyone wants to know. Who is John? What is he? And what will his decision be? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/RqNsBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Cock++/+by+Mike+Bartlett

Stella / by Neil Bartlett

Alone in a silent room, a man waits for a knock on his door. As the minutes tick by, he remembers a life filled with daring and laughter, with parties and heartbreak -- a life spent searching for the courage to be truly himself. Inspired by the true story of the scandalous life and lonely death of Ernest Boulton -- better known as one half of the now infamous Victorian cross-dressing double-act Fanny and Stella -- Stella is a theatrical love-letter to a truly remarkable person and a timely meditation on the dangerous art of living in the present.

Baby screams miracle / by Clare Barron.

A freak storm knocks down all the trees in town and brings a prodigal daughter rushing home. But has she come for reconciliation? Or as an angel of vengeance? A comic new play about love, forgiveness and family struggling to operate in a relentlessly chaotic and violent world.

The Wolves : a short play / by Tanya Barfield

A group of teenagers hiking discover a mysterious Arab-American woman next to the train tracks. Their dilemma over whether to get involved is darkly comic and unsettling.

The call / by Tanya Barfield

Annie and Peter decide to adopt, setting their sights on a child from Africa. But, when they receive surprising news from the adoption agency, their marriage is put to the test, secrets of the past are exposed, and this couple approaching mid-life is left with an unexpected choice. Politically charged, funny and tack-sharp, The Call is a startling portrait of culture divide, casting global issues into the heart of an American home. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/4796.pdf

John / by Annie Baker

The week after Thanksgiving. A bed and breakfast in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A cheerful innkeeper. A young couple struggling to stay together. Thousands of inanimate objects, watching. Annie Baker’s compelling new work, John, is revolutionary in theme and structure and challenges the boundaries of what theatre can be.

The man she was : the story of emma edmonds serving as Frank Thompson / by Ric Averill

In this gender-bending historical action drama based on her book Memoirs of a Soldier, Nurse, and Spy: A Woman's Adventures in the Union Army, Emma Edmonds enlists as Frank Thompson and serves as a male nurse, then a spy and finally a soldier. Emma was one of more than 400 women who posed as men to fight in the Civil War. Originally from Canada, Emma ran from an abusive father and lived in Michigan as a man, selling books door to door for a trade. Her disguise as Frank leads her into complicated relationships with Nellie, a captured Rebel woman, and Billy, her tent mate. Emma is a deeply religious woman and serves as an assistant to Chaplain Brady, who is the first to detect her secret. Frank is promoted by General Poe and defended against Simpson, a drunken camp mate who suspects her secret, in a "don't ask, don't tell" moment that speaks clearly to the complexities of today's gender-fluid culture. The final life and death actions of the play give a Shakespearean feel to the story, one clearly found in Emma's memoir. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exManSheWasMQ4.pdf

The book club play / by Karen Zacarías

Ana is a Type A personality who lives in a letter-perfect world with an adoring husband, the perfect job and her greatest passion: Book Club. But when her cherished group becomes the focus of a documentary film, their intimate discussions about life and literature take a turn for the hilarious in front of the inescapable camera lens. Add a provocative new member along with some surprising new book titles, and these six friends are bound for pandemonium. Sprinkled with fun theatrical references to documentaries and novels galore from Moby Dick and Age of Innocence to Twilight and The Da Vinci Code, this buoyant comedy on contemporary culture will have everyone laughing … and reflecting. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBookClubPlayBM1.pdf

Octopus / by Steve Yockey

After young couple Kevin and Blake engage in an adventurous and hastily planned night of group sex with the older, more "experienced" Max and Andy, they are left trying to salvage their relationship from a pummeling mix of jealousy, betrayal, telegrams from a soaking wet delivery boy and a ravenous sea monster from the ocean floor. This universal love story rendered through a post-modern gay lens slips from domestic comedy into a darkly fantastic fable examining the role and depth of commitment in relationships and what it really means to say the words "I love you

In a word / by Lauren Yee

Today is the two-year anniversary of Fiona's son's disappearance, and still, nothing makes sense to her. Not her blasé husband, the incompetent detective, or the neighborhood kidnapper who keeps introducing himself in the checkout line. As Fiona dives back into her memories of that fateful day, to uncover that crucial missing piece, grief and comedy collide, and ordinary turns of phrase take on dangerous new meanings.

Samsara / by Lauren Yee

Katie and Craig are having a baby… with a surrogate… who lives in India. A month before the baby’s due date, Craig reluctantly travels to the subcontinent, where he meets Suraiya, their young, less-than-thrilled surrogate. As all three “parents” anxiously wait for the baby to be born, flights of fancy attack them from all sides, in the form of an unctuous Frenchman and a smart-mouthed fetus. A whimsical take on modern day colonialism.

Hookman / by Lauren Yee

Freshman year at college is hard when your roommate is weird, you're feeling homesick, and a hook-handed serial killer is slashing girls' throats. But if Lexi can discover what really happened to her high school best friend on that car ride to the movies, everything will be okay. In this existential slasher comedy, Lexi and her friends learn what it means to grow up -- and it's not pretty

Soft subject : (a love story) / by Chris Woodley

Today's class is about love, heartbreak and The Little Mermaid. Not all lessons can be learnt in school. Chris Woodley's autobiographical solo show invites you back into the classroom to learn about loss, survival and Brazil nuts.

A girl with a book and other plays/ by Nick Wood

A Girl with a Book is an honest response to the story of Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban. This play has been produced in Germany and the United Kingdom and raises serious questions about the West's complex relationship and attitudes towards the Muslim world. Other plays in this wide-ranging collection for young people concern refugees, friendship, loss, and courage. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=qUKeDwAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=A%20girl%20with%20a%20book%20and%20other%20plays%2F%20by%20Nick%20Wood&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=A%20girl%20with%20a%20book%20and%20other%20plays/%20by%20Nick%20Wood&f=false

Kentucky / by Leah Nanako Winkler

Hiro is a self-made woman making it in New York. But she is also single, almost thirty, and estranged from her dysfunctional family who lives in Kentucky. When her little sister, a born-again Christian, decides to marry at twenty-two, Hiro takes it up on herself to do whatever she can to stop the wedding and salvage any shred of hope she had about her sister's future. The themes of identity, religion, and love collide in this unique coming-of-age story. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/As43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Kentucky+/+by+Leah+Nanako+Winkler

In care / by Kenneth T. Williams

In Care is about a mother's quest to get her children out of foster care. Janice Fisher has not had an easy life. She worked the streets as a teenager, was addicted to cocaine, and had her first daughter taken from her when she was just 15. But she's since turned her life around, and is a good mother to three happy girls - until a false accusation gets them apprehended by foster care. Now, Janice is trapped in the system like a butterfly in a spider's web: the more she struggles to get out, the more stuck she gets. In Care is both an indictment of the racism that's inherent in our system and a tribute to the strength people as disadvantaged as Janice must have in order to survive.

Church & state / by Jason Odell Williams

Three days into his bid for reelection, in the wake of a school shooting in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, a republican U.S. senator makes an off-the-cuff comment to a blogger that gets leaked on "the Twitter," calling into question the senator's stance on guns and God. As his devoutly Christian wife and liberal Jewish campaign manager try to contain the damage, this look at how religion influences politics and how politics has become a religion is simultaneously funny, heartbreaking, and uplifting. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/N8k3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Church+%26+state+/+by+Jason+Odell+Williams

Kiss me quickstep / by Amanda Whittington

Justin and Jodie have finally made it to the national ballroom-dancing championships in Blackpool. Luka's come all the way from Russia. Nancy's been training for this since she was three. Lee and Samantha arrive on a wave of success. But what if your dance-floor dreams turn into a nightmare? How do you stop

The kitchen sink / by Tom Wells

This is a very good place to come from. Cos it's knackered and funny and it's falling in the sea. . . But it's not a good place to end up. Things aren't going to plan for one family in Withernsea. Pieces are falling off Martin's milk float as quickly as he's losing customers and something's up with Kath's kitchen sink. Billy is pinning his hopes of a place at art college on a revealing portrait of Dolly Parton, whilst Sophie's dreams of becoming a Jiu-Jitsu teacher might be disappearing down the plug hole. And amid the dreaming, Dramas and dirty dishes, something has to give. But will it be Kath or the kitchen sink?

Antlia Pneumatica / by Anne Washburn

A group gathers at a remote ranch in the Texas Hill Country to mourn the loss of a friend they haven’t seen in years. As they mine through their pasts, it may be more than just the loss of a friend that binds them. The past and present begin to blur in Anne Washburn’s haunting exploration of friendship and loss.

Arlington : [a love story] / by Enda Walsh

Enda Walsh's play Arlington (subtitled 'A Love Story') is a story of love and oppression set in a dystopian world of entrapment, isolation and surveillance. It was first performed at Leisureland, Salthill, Galway, on 11 July 2016, as part of the 2016 Galway International Arts Festival. The play is set in a 'realistic waiting room – of no fixed time or place'. Isla, a young woman, is trapped here, waiting for her number to be called on a prominent LED number display screen. Her only human contact is with a Young Man who sits in an adjacent control room operating the cameras that keep her under constant surveillance and listening to the stories she invents about the outside world. Both characters are victims of a tyrannical system, as is the Young Woman who, in a long, wordless, central section, dances her way to her own death. The play, however, concludes on a note that suggests that the human spirit can withstand oppression.

Muscle : a one-act comedy / by Tom Wainwright

Three men. One gym. A Disaster waiting to happen. Steve has been stalking Dan. Terry has also been stalking Dan. Steve and Terry are best friends. Steve wants a fight. Terry wants to get laid. Dan just wants to do some reps. It's not going to work out like that.

Indecent / a play by Paula Vogel

When Sholem Asch wrote God of Vengeance in 1907, he didn't imagine the height of controversy the play would eventually reach. Performing at first in Yiddish and German, the play's subject matter wasn't deemed contentious until it was produced in English, when the American audiences were scandalized by the onstage depiction of an amorous affair between two women. Paula Vogel's newest work traces the trajectory of the show's success through its tour in Europe to its abrupt and explosive demise on Broadway in 1923--including the arrest of the entire production's cast and crew Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/7hWSDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Indecent+/+a+play+by+Paula+Vogel

Truth and treason / by Rahul Varma

It is 2007, and Iraq is roiling under the American occupation. Fractured by warring political factions, threatened by Islamic fundamentalism, preyed on by American industrialists, it is a place where the cry of a dying child often goes unheard. Against this backdrop, the Americans prepare to host the Conference for Democracy and the Salvation of Iraq, a glittering assembly of powerful Iraqis and Americans. One day, at the checkpoint in front of the conference, a little girl called Ghazal Ahad in search of her father is shot by an unidentified American soldier. As the conference unfolds, American commanders struggle to contain the fallout from the "incident." Nonetheless, a Sheikh declares a fatwa, the Iraqi prime minister finds his government threatened, and the commander in charge, Hektor, who harbors a secret past, is forced to protect both the army and himself. At the centre of this chaos unfolds an intensely private drama of grief, revenge and forgiveness. As the turmoil tightens around them, we are led to question not only what comprises "war" and "terror," but how, where and by whom the real "war on terror" is fought.

Nibbler / by Ken Urban

In the summer of 1992 in Medford, New Jersey, Adam and his gang of friends face life after high school. But when the fivesome encounter a mysterious visitor from another world, their lives are forever changed. A dark comedy about that time when everything and nothing seems possible. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Ks43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Nibbler+/+by+Ken+Urban

Spoon Lake Blues / by Josh Tobiessen

In the mountain town of Spoon Lake, two brothers, Denis and Brady, are struggling to save their house from the bank. Sure it's got plumbing issues and a bit of a carpenter ant problem, but hell, their grandparents are buried in the backyard, so this is home. When doing odd jobs for the summer residents doesn't raise the necessary cash, they decide to start robbing their wealthy neighbors. Things are going better than you might think, until Brady falls in love with Caitlin, the daughter of an African-American family they've just robbed, and brings her back to their modest home. But just when things start getting complicated, the idealistic Caitlin begins to sympathize with the brothers" predicament and helps hatch a new plot that complicates things even more. Spoon Lake Blues is fast-paced, hilariously irreverent comedy that still has room for a lot of heart. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exSpoonLakeBluesS2M.pdf

The great wave / by Francis Turnly

On a Japanese beach, teenage sisters Hanako and Reiko are caught up in a storm. Reiko survives while Hanako is lost to the sea. Their mother, however, can't shake the feeling her missing daughter is still alive, and soon family tragedy takes on a global political dimension. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/SjNWDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+great+wave+/+by+Francis+Turnly

Lone Star Spirits / by Josh Tobiessen

Marley is hoping for a quick trip home to the dwindling Texas town where she grew up, but she and her hipster fiancé, Ben, are in for more than they bargained for. Upon entering her estranged father’s liquor store, she’s immediately set upon by Drew, her football hero ex-boyfriend, who’s looking to relight a romance with the only girl he’s never cheated on. Then there’s Jessica, the former classmate and current single mom looking to drag Marley into a two-woman bachelorette party. By the time Marley finally manages to reveal to her father the real reason for her visit, things are further complicated by the ghost of the bear-wrestling pioneer who used to live in the store and who Marley’s father and Drew speak to on a daily basis. Lone Star Spirits is a fast-paced comedy with hairpin turns that takes a hilarious and sympathetic look at family, spirituality, those who stay and those who leave their hometowns, and the ghosts that haunt us either way. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exLoneStarSpiritsLL8.pdf

Woyzeck / by George Büchner ; in a new version by Jack Thorne

1980s Berlin. The Cold War rages and the world sits at a crossroads between Capitalism and Communism. On the border between East and West, a soldier and his lover are trying to build a future for their child. But the cost of escaping poverty is high, and its tragic consequences unfold in this tale of the people society leaves behind.

The 146 point flame / by Matt Thompson

This piece is based on the historic 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. Through words, movement and music, four young women share their dreams, thoughts, fears and feelings about their ultimate destinies. An Italian immigrant, Vincenza, shares her last night on Earth with romance, smiles and dancing. Tessa celebrates her life with a story about her brother and mother. Sisters Lena and Yetta meditate on the strength and endurance of moving from Russia to America and the parallels of moving from life to the afterlife. Touching and poetic, this piece illuminates the definition of human courage. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/ex146PointFlameOA7.pdf

When January feels like summer/ by Cori Thomas

Five characters stumble toward the possibilities of being sene, being heard and being loved one unusually warm January day in Harlem. Devaun and Jeron are two young African-American men who are looking to earn respect in the neighborhood. Nirmala Singh and her brother, Ishan, run a small neighborhood grocery store. Nirmala's husband, Prasad, has been in a coma for three years after a robbery gone wrong. Ishan desperately wants gender reassignment surgery so he can transition to female, change his name to Indira and start a dating service. He wants Nirmala to pull the plug and cash in Prasad's million-dollar life insurance to fund his surgery. Devaun and Jeron's door-to-door poster campaign to make the neighborhood aware of a sex predator brings them into the store and the lives of Nirmala and Indira. Indira's first attempt at matchmaking is with Joe, a lonely neighbor sanitation worker with a crush on Nirmala. Meanwhile, Devoun is smitten with pre-op Indira, who agrees to go out on a date with him. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exWhenJanuaryFeelsLikeSummerWJ7.pdf

Medea / Catherine Theis

Through a mix of sound-poems, dance, and traditional scenes, Catherine Theis attempts to jostle Medea from her traditional, male-defined narrative in this modern retelling set in the mountains of Montana. A 2015 Leslie Scalapino Award for Innovative Women Performance Writers finalist, MEDEA features a Chorus of Flames, choreography for The Milky Way, and a collection of palate-cleansing satyr plays to be performed after. Grappling with both love and language, Theis' Medea "wants to join with the world, to meld with it. Let's let her do that—see what falls away.

Crees in the Caribbean : a Native comedy drama / Drew Hayden Taylor

Crees in the Caribbean is about two middle-aged First Nations elders on their very first trip out of the country. Cree Elders Evie and Cecil Poundmaker are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary. As a gift, their grown children send them on a second honeymoon – to a fabulous resort on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Only neither of them has ever been out of the country, let alone off their Cree reserve in Northern Saskatchewan (well, Cecil did go to Montana that one time). Each reacts to the new experience in different ways, but Cecil seems particularly challenged. Despite the sun, sand, and sea sparkling right outside his hotel-room window, all Cecil seems to want to do is sit alone on the couch, idly flipping through TV channels, curtains pulled tight. What is he worried about? Is there more to this trip than he has been told? Cecil is sure that everyone is being nice to him because he is dying. If he doesn't get over it, Evie just might kill him herself. Memories from a lifetime together revisit the couple as they acclimatize to the pleasures of Mexico – and spicy food. Mixed up in all the fun is their hotel housekeeper, Manuela. As they form a bond with this courteous young local, they help her navigate some of the troublesome situations in which she finds herself. A story of two imperfect people who are perfect together, and an unlikely friendship that takes them back to their own younger days.

Address unknown / by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor

In an era of austerity, recession, and rising nationalism, two friends are torn apart when the Nazi regime infiltrates their friendship and families to devastating effect. Based on the bestselling book, which was written as an anti-fascist call to arms and banned in 1930s Germany for dramatically exposing the threat of Nazism, ADDRESS UNKNOWN is a timely warning of how humanity can fail in the face of extreme ideology Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/MfxKDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Address+unknown+/+by+Kathrine+Kressmann+Taylor

The gravedigger's lullaby / by Jeff Talbott

Baylen is a gravedigger, a working-class man trying to keep food on the table in a world where other people make the rules. His wife, Margot, helps to make ends meet by doing laundry, but they’re slipping further behind with each passing minute. The extremity of their situation is being further challenged by the new baby who cries and cries, night and day. But still Baylen goes on, digging one hole at a time for the pennies he brings home, trying to keep his family afloat. His workdays are spent with his best friend and fellow gravedigger, Gizzer, the little brother he never had. He seems trapped, but he’s making the best of it. A chance encounter with Charles Timmens, a rich young man, brings the possibility of changing everything, though. Is a better life possible? If Baylen can keep his mouth shut and not challenge the young man’s opinions about money and happiness, maybe it is. But keeping his mouth shut has never been Baylen’s strong suit. And if he can’t, the next hole he digs may be his own. Torn between his struggle to bring home more money and find some peace in a home that is never quiet, Baylen is pushed to the edge and very possibly over it. The Gravedigger’s Lullaby is a bold and gripping contemporary drama about a time that has passed. And how little things have changed. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exGravediggersLullabyGD7.pdf

Rare birds / by Adam Szymkowicz

Sixteen-year-old Evan Wills is an avid bird watcher who wears colorful songbird shirts to school despite the constant antagonism it brings him. Evan's mother just wants Evan to be normal, and happy--and normal--and get along with her new boyfriend. While Evan summons the courage to talk to Jenny Monroe (whose locker is next to his), troubled bully Dylan has something darker in mind. After some stupid choices and unexpected results, Evan learns that the worst thing you can do in high school is admit you love something. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Ns43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Rare+birds+/+by+Adam+Szymkowicz

Ben Butler / by Richard Strand

When an escaped slave shows up at Fort Monroe demanding sanctuary, General Benjamin Butler is faced with an impossible moral dilemma--follow the letter of the law or make a game-changing move that could alter the course of U.S. history? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/78c3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Ben+Butler+/+by+Richard+Strand

The spark and fire of it : a one-act romance / by Gary Soto

Love is a good thing--so true in The Spark and Fire of It, this classic one-act romance: two young people smitten to the point of delirium and a gruff father who will have none of it.

Against / by Christopher Shinn

Silicon Valley. The future. A rocket launches. Luke is an aerospace billionaire who can talk to anyone. But God is talking to him. He sets out to change the world. Only violence stands in his way Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/HVwzDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Against+/+by+Christopher+Shinn

Tuck everlasting / book by Claudia Shear and Tim Federle ; music by Chris Miller ; lyrics by Nathan Tysen ; based on the novel by Natalie Babbitt

Eleven-year-old Winnie Foster yearns for a life of adventure beyond her white picket fence, but not until she becomes unexpectedly entwined with the Tuck Family does she get more than she could have imagined. When Winnie learns of the magic behind the Tuck's unending youth, she must fight to protect their secret from those who would do anything for a chance at eternal life. As her adventure unfolds, Winnie faces an extraordinary choice: return to her life, or continue with the Tucks on their infinite journey

Homos, or everyone in America / by Jordan Seavey

“Love is love” – but is navigating it any less complicated today? What does it mean to be in a committed relationship? Is monogamy just monotony? Told through interweaving glimpses into the life of an everyday couple unexpectedly confronted by a vicious crime, Homos, or Everyone in America is a fearless, funny, heart-on-its-sleeve examination of the moments that can bring two people together – or pull them apart.

Building the wall / by Robert Schenkkan

On January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Over the next sixteen months, events would unravel that test every American's strength of character: executive actions, an immigration round-up of unprecedented scale, and a declaration of martial law. Rick finds himself caught up as the frontman of the new administration's edicts and losses his humanity. In a play that recalls George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four and the Nazi regime, Building the Wall is a terrifying and gripping exploration of what happens if we let fear win. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Bcg3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&dq=Building+the+wall+/+by+Robert+Schenkkan

Fade / by Tanya Saracho

When Lucia, a Mexican-born novelist, gets her first TV writing job, she feels a bit out of place on the white male-dominated set. Lucia quickly becomes friends with the only other Latino around, a janitor named Abel. As Abel shares his stories with Lucia, similar plots begin to find their way into the TV scripts that Lucia writes. Fade is a play about class and race within the Latinx community, as well as at large, and how status does not change who you are at your core

Nice fish / by Mark Rylance & Louis Jenkins

On a frozen Minnesota lake, the ice is beginning to creak and groan. It’s the end of the fishing season, and two old friends are out on the ice, angling for something big; something down there that is pure need. Something that might just swallow them whole. In Nice Fish, celebrated actor Mark Rylance draws on his own teenage years in the American Midwest in a unique collaboration with critically-acclaimed Minnesotan contemporary prose poet Louis Jenkins. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nice_Fish/ErDSDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Nice+fish+/+by+Mark+Rylance+%26+Louis+Jenkins&printsec=frontcover

Oslo / by J.T. Rogers

Oslo tells the surprising true story of the back-channel talks, unlikely friendships, and quiet heroics that led to the 1993 Oslo Accords between the Israelis and Palestinians Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/WfxKDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Oslo+/+by+J.T.+Rogers

The interference / by Lynda Radley

"Allegations. Drunk? He said. She said. Truth." In a culture of amplified voices and distorted information where student athletes become celebrities, everyone has incentive to bury truth. When a survivor speaks up, can her truth rise above the noise? THE INTERFERENCE is a story for a world in the midst of a tectonic cultural shift that shakes the old patriarchal society to its core. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/6c03DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+interference+/+by+Lynda+Radley

Visiting Edna / by David Rabe

Edna has suffered losses as she has aged, and now she faces a late-life cancer diagnosis. Edna’s son, Andrew, is home for a visit. Together they try to bridge the gulf between the love they shared in his childhood and the polite but baffling relationship they now live with. Mother and son stumble toward honesty as they wrestle with the phantoms—both mundane and profound—that keep them from real connection. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/5477.pdf

Good for Otto / by David Rabe

A psychologist tries to keep the health center he runs in rural Connecticut afloat, battling insurance companies and his own demons, while ministering to the distressed souls who find their way in the door Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/oeRcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Good+for+Otto+/+by+David+Rabe

The effect / by Lucy Prebble

Connie and Tristan have palpable chemistry--or is it a side effect of a new antidepressant? They are volunteers in a clinical trial, but their sudden and illicit romance forces the supervising doctors to face off over the ethical consequences of their work Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/VmU0DAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+effect+/+by+Lucy+Prebble

Her requiem / by Greg Pierce

When Caitlin takes a year off from high school to sequester herself in her bedroom to write a requiem, it inspires her father and alarms her mother. As their idyllic Vermont home transforms into an asylum for dark souls, Caitlin's creation threatens to undo her family Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/q0pdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Her+requiem+/+by+Greg+Pierce

Peerless / by Jiehae Park

Asian-American twins M and L have given up everything to get into The College. So when D, a one-sixteenth Native American classmate, gets "their" spot instead, they figure they've got only one option: kill him. A darkly comedic take on Shakespeare's Macbeth about the very ambitious and the cut-throat world of high school during college admissions

Punts / by Sarah Page

Jack, a young man with a learning disability, lives at home, cared for by his devoted parents. Like most men in their twenties, he has needs – his mates at the rugby club talk about nothing but getting laid, whilst Jack's most erotic experience to date is the time he was winked at by the pretty cashier in Lloyds. Desperate for their son to not feel left out, his parents decide to bring in a professional. But the woman they hire has a far more profound impact on the whole family than they could ever have imagined. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/YUonDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Punts+/+by+Sarah+Page

Ode to Leeds / by Zodwa Nyoni

Five young poets from Leeds are selected to compete at the world's most prestigious international poetry slam competition in New York City. Fuelled by love, pride and passionate protest, their words light fires to show the world who they are and what they can be. But the determination to be crowned International Slam Champions threatens to overwhelm everything. As the competition draws closer, the poets are forced to discover not just their voices, but what they must find the courage to say Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/NDYoDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Ode+to+Leeds+/+by+Zodwa+Nyoni

Sweat / by Lynn Nottage

In one of the poorest cities in America, Reading, Pennsylvania, a group of down-and-out factory workers struggles to keep their present lives in balance, ignorant of the financial devastation looming in their near futures. Set in 2008, the powerful crux of this new play is knowing the fate of the characters long before it's even in their sights. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/KfxKDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Sweat+/+by+Lynn+Nottage

Mouthpiece a play / by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava

MOUTHPIECE follows one woman, for one day, as she tries to find her voice. Two performers express the inner conflict that exists within a modern woman's head: the push and the pull, the past and the present, the progress and the regression. Interweaving a cappella harmony, dissonance, text and physicality, MOUTHPIECE is a harrowing, humorous, and heart-wrenching journey into the female psyche Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/hHo3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Mouthpiece+a+play+/+by+Amy+Nostbakken+and+Norah+Sadava

Vietgone / by Qui Nguyen

An all-American love story about two very new Americans. It's 1975. Saigon has fallen. He lost his wife. She lost her fiancé. But now in a new land, they just might find each other. Using his uniquely infectious style The New York Times calls 'culturally savvy comedy' - and skipping back and forth from the dramatic evacuation of Saigon to the here and now - playwright Qui Nguyen gets up-close-and-personal to tell the story that led to the creation of...Qui Nguyen

Shangri-La / by Amy Ng

Bunny, a young woman from the officially designated 'Shangri-La' in the Himalayan foothills of China's Yunnan Province, has witnessed her family's livelihood destroyed by mass tourism. She dreams of escape as a globetrotting photographer. But what happens when the only thing you have to sell is your culture? When the only way to free yourself is to betray your roots?

Strangers in between / by Tommy Murphy

Shane has fled his family and is seeking refuge in Sydney's Kings Cross. Confused and naïve, he meets two strangers: the ultra-urban Will, who offers brotherhood, sex and something unexpected; and Peter, a fifty-year-old gay man whose mother is dying in a nursing home. With their help - or hindrance - Shane grapples to reconcile himself with events from his past. But how can he move on when he can't even use laundry powder?

Masquerade / by Kate Mulvany ; based on the book by Kit Williams

In a wondrous world of riddles and hidden treasure, bumbling Jack Hare is on a race against time to deliver a message of love from the Moon to the Sun. Far, far away in a world just like ours, a mother cheers her son Joe with the tale of Jack Hares adventure. But when Jack's mission goes topsy-turvy, Joe and his mum must come to the rescue, and the line between the two worlds becomes blurred forever

Scorched / by Wajdi Mouawad ; translated by Linda Gaboriau.

Wajdi Mouawad's writing is powerful; a beautifully penned story that paves a path to a mother's unspeakable pain. The closer Janine and Simon get to finding the source of her silence, the closer they are to uncovering a tragedy so horrific it will engulf the world they know. Continuing his quest for sense and beauty, Wajdi Mouawad has plunged into the turbulent depths of writing to discover, washed up midst the sand dunes, fiery tales lost in the mists of time. Making their way through the dunes are Nawal's twin children, Janine and Simon, who want to solve the mystery of their origins. In retracing the bitter history of their mother, other characters come into the story—witnesses or key players able to assist in the investigation. Carried aloft by poetic language, the inquiry pursued by Janine and Simon unfolds in a dreamlike atmosphere that cultivates the mystery surrounding a knife thrust into the heart of childhood.

Indian summer / by Gregory S. Moss

Abandoned by his wayward mom, Daniel is consigned to spend summer with granddad in a Rhode Island beach town, where the locals don't look kindly on city kids. But his hapless vacation turns around when he meets Izzy: tough-acting, back-sassing, beguiling, and taken. Gregory S. Moss's feisty romantic comedy follows a passing fling that could last a lifetime - as impossible and charmed as an indian summer Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/tutcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Indian+summer+/+by+Gregory+S.+Moss

Blue, black and white : a play / by Donald Molosi

BLUE, BLACK AND WHITE, the longest running one-man show in Botswana's history, was the first-ever Botswana play staged off-Broadway in New York City, where Molosi won a best actor award. BLUE, BLACK AND WHITE is about the country's first democratically-elected president, Sir Seretse Khama, and his interracial, transformative marriage. Winner of several awards, the play has been performed around the world.

Cry it out / by Molly Smith Metzler

Four months ago, Jessie was a corporate lawyer with a glamorous Manhattan life. Today, she is in dirty yoga pants, covered in breast milk, trying to comfort a screaming newborn. Isolated in a sleepy Long Island suburb while her commuter husband works long hours, Jessie is desperate to talk to anyone besides Food Network. So when she spies a fellow new mom and neighbor, Lina, at the local Stop & Shop, she vaults over the cantaloupe to introduce herself. Happy to have found each other, the two moms agree to meet for coffee during naptime in the sweet spot behind their adjoining yards where both their baby monitors get reception, and a fast friendship is born. Jessie and Lina may be from vastly different financial backgrounds—Jessie is Ivy-educated and of the manor born; Lina has a night-school nursing degree and terrible credit—but they have one huge thing in common: they’ve been cracked open by the love they feel for their newborns. One coffee quickly becomes a daily coffee, as Jessie and Lina laugh through the highs and lows of motherhood. But their intimacy is punctured when a stranger who lives in the mansion up on the cliff appears in the yard, asking if they would include his wife, a new mom who is having “a hard time,” in their coffee klatch. Reluctantly, the duo tries to become a trio, but with very mixed—and surprising—results. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exCryitOutCR7.pdf

Buckshot / by Courtney Meaker

Alana and Mel are officially moving in together. While packing up in preparation for their new apartment, Alana receives a phone call from her brother, Saul. Unearthing a pact made by two scared children and facing memories of brutally attacking an old friend, Alana tries to figure out if she’s capable of following through on the pact while her friends try to bring her back from the brink. Buckshot explores the lengths to which we go in order to protect our siblings and ourselves from the past and present. Surprisingly funny at times, this new play deals with the common ups and downs of being in relationships as well as the realities of sexual abuse. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exBuckshotBM4.pdf

Girl from the north country / by Conor McPherson ; music and lyrics by Bob Dylan

Duluth, Minnesota. 1934. A community living on a knife-edge. Lost and lonely people huddle together in the local guesthouse. The owner, Nick, owes more money than he can ever repay, his wife Elizabeth is losing her mind, and their daughter Marianne is carrying a child no one will account for. So when a preacher selling bibles and a boxer looking for a comeback turn up in the middle of the night, things spiral beyond the point of no return. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/p2FhDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Girl+from+the+north+country+/+by+Conor+McPherson+;+music+and+lyrics+by+Bob+Dylan

Wig out! / by Tarell Alvin McCraney

Enter the legendary House of Light, a hyper-glamorous, uber-competitive drag queen refuge where a daughter who was once a son can find a family. While the House are primping and preening for a catwalk showdown with the other houses, drag queen Nina is wooing the delectable Eric as Wilson, a de-camped, make-up free 'straight' gay man. How can Nina/Wilson strut the thorny divide between opposite genders and differing worlds?

Half breed / by Natasha Marshall

Jazmin feels different. She doesn’t want to stay in the village. She doesn’t want to have a baby. She doesn’t want to laugh at racist jokes in the local pub. She’s got to get out.

A strange and separate people / by Jon Marans

A young Manhattan couple finds their world shaken when a gay doctor's passion for his new religious beliefs challenges theirs and questions the meaning of love. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/7ZjLcZ1H9DAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=A+strange+and+separate+people+/+by+Jon+Marans

His greatness / by Daniel MacIvor

Three men, a great American playwright, his trusted and loyal assistant, and a young Canadian street hustler, find themselves together for two days in a hotel room in Vancouver. This is the story about the nature of life in a created world. Inspired by a potentially true story about the great American playwright Tennessee Williams.

With bated breath / by Bryden MacDonald

This is the provocative tale of Willy, a troubled but charismatic gay kid who flees Cape Breton Island for Montreal with hopes of forgetting a newly broken heart by starting a new life in the big city. There, hopelessly awkward and naïve, caught up in the cynical and brutalizing cash-economy of the city's red light district, he retreats ever further into a world of fantasy and anonymity, and soon goes missing without a trace. Willy, in one way or another, has had a profound effect on the lives of the people he has touched. As rumours fly, secrets explode a reality blurs with fantasy, he is both remembered and reinvented by each of the play's characters in their own way.

Ga ting/ by Minh Ly

Ga Ting, which means "family" in Cantonese, is about an immigrant Chinese couple trying to come to terms with the suicide of their son, Kevin. When they invite Kevin's Caucasian boyfriend to dinner, the evening devolves into a fiery cultural and generational clash. Minh Ly's poignant play explores one family's struggle to accept their son as he was, not as they wished him to be.

The sugar-coated bullets of the bourgeoisie : the formation of modern China / by Anders Lustgarten

Anders Lustgarten's epic play covers the years 1949 when Chairman Mao founded the Communist Party of China to the present day when investors swoop in to make money off the land. Following a number of characters and generations through these years, it portrays the foundation of modern China. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/-K_1CwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+sugar-coated+bullets+of+the+bourgeoisie+:+the+formation+of+modern+China+/+by+Anders+Lustgarten

The legend of Georgia McBride / by Matthew Lopez

He's young, he's broke, his landlord's knocking at the door, and he's just found out his wife is going to have a baby. To make matters even more desperate, Casey is fired from his gig as an Elvis impersonator in a run-down, small-town Florida bar. When the bar owner brings in a B-level drag show to replace his act, Casey finds that he has a whole lot to learn about show business -- and himself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Ds43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+legend+of+Georgia+McBride+/+by+Matthew+Lopez

Messenger / by Wendy Lill ; a play inspired by Henrik Ibsen's Enemy of the people

As in Ibsen's Enemy of the People, two brothers struggle for power and ideals each believes are right. Messenger takes place in another country, Canada, and in another century but tackles similar themes. It is a memory play, set both in the present day and in 1990, when the Progressive Conservative government of the day, contrary to the public record, in fact set a lofty goals of joining - if not leading - the world in tackling climate change. The mechanism by which that goal was lost is played out primarily between two brothers. One brother, Peter, is the Prime Minister's chief of staff, who wants to maintain political control and has any players and interests to juggle to keep his Prime Minister in office. The other brother, Thomas, is an idealist, a newly minted Cabinet minister who tries to show leadership and tell the truth about the impending climate change crisis and get the whole country on board with the rightness of his vision. The stakes are heightened when strong family loyalties are tested by the crisis that ensues when Thomas refuses to back down from what he knows is right. A timely play in terms of environmental issues, full of lots of great political dirty tricks.

Dear Evan Hansen : through the window / book, music, lyrics, and annotations by Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

An official compendium offers a behind-the-scenes look at the hit musical, and winner of six Tony Awards, Dear Evan Hansen, in a visual journey that includes interviews with the cast and crew, behind-the-scenes photos, a deeper look into Evan's fictional world and the show's visual world, unreleased lyrics, the libretto and much more. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/AsIlDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT4&dq=Dear+Evan+Hansen+:+through+the+window+/+book,+music,+lyrics,+and+annotations+by+Steven+Levenson,+Benj+Pasek+%26+Justin+Paul

If I forget / by Steven Levenson

In the final months before 9/11, liberal Jewish studies professor Michael Fischer has reunited with his two sisters to celebrate their father’s seventy-fifth birthday. Each deeply invested in their own version of family history, the siblings clash over everything from Michael’s controversial scholarly work to the mounting pressures of caring for an ailing parent. As destructive secrets and long-held resentments bubble to the surface, the three negotiate—with biting humor and razor-sharp insight—how much of the past they’re willing to sacrifice for a chance at a new beginning. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/P_xKDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=If+I+forget+/+by+Steven+Levenson

Church / by Young Jean Lee

Acclaimed playwright and director Young Jean Lee transforms her life-long struggle with Christianity into an exuberant church service. Both celebratory and confrontational, CHURCH will test the expectations of religious and non-religious alike--looking deep into why we believe what we believe. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/L-NcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Church+/+by+Young+Jean+Lee

Single Asian female / by Michelle Law

The Golden Phoenix, a restaurant on the Sunshine Coast. The last customers have left for the night, and Pearl can unwind. She’s the quintessential matriarch – balancing family, business, and her love of karaoke. Enter her daughters: Zoe, in the throes of online dating, and making big life decisions; while Mei, a teenager, grapples with her identity in modern Australia. Of course they see the world differently to their mother. Pearl provides the classic (hilarious) onslaught of embarrassing observations, constantly questioning her Westernised children. Tonight she reveals a secret that threatens to tear their family apart.

Beyond glory / a play by Stephen Lang ; based on the book by Larry Smith

In Stephen Lang's theatrical adaptation of Larry Smith's book Beyond Glory: Medal of Honor Heroes in Their Own Words, Lang presents the stories of eight veterans from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, rendering firsthand accounts of the actions which resulted in each of them receiving the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor. Beyond glory gathers these men together in the present to look back on the defining moments of their lives and to examine the meaning of courage, duty, and, ultimately, humility. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/m-JcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Beyond+glory+/+a+play+by+Stephen+Lang+;+based+on+the+book+by+Larry+Smith

A pacifist's guide to the war on cancer / book by Bryony Kimmings and Brian Lobel ; music by Tom Parkinson ; lyrics by Bryony Kimmings.

An all-singing, all-dancing celebration of ordinary life and death. Single mum Emma confronts the highs and lows of life with a cancer diagnosis; that of her son and of the real people she encounters in the daily hospital grind. Groundbreaking performance artist Bryony Kimmings creates fearless theatre to provoke social change, looking behind the poster campaigns and pink ribbons at the experience of serious illness. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Pacifist_s_Guide_to_the_War_on_Cancer/0J_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=A+pacifist%27s+guide+to+the+war+on+cancer+/+book+by+Bryony+Kimmings+and+Brian+Lobel+%3B+music+by+Tom+Parkinson+%3B+lyrics+by+Bryony+Kimmings.&pg=PT12&printsec=frontcover

Cardboard piano / by Hansol Jung

Northern Uganda on the eve of the millennium: The daughter of American missionaries and a local teenage girl steal into a darkened church to seal their love in a secret, makeshift wedding ceremony. But when the surrounding war zone encroaches on their fragile union, they cannot escape its reach. Confronting the religious and cultural roots of intolerance, The play explores violence and its aftermath, as well as the human capacity for hatred, forgiveness, and love.

A media trilogy / by John Jesurun

Three media-plays by MacArthur Award-winning playwright-director-designer John Jesurun. DEEP SLEEP, WHITE WATER and BLACK MARIA chart the "loss of the real" in a landscape of adrenaline-charged freefall poetry, mediated images and vestiges of Pop culture. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=MWxWAgAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=A%20media%20trilogy%20%2F%20by%20John%20Jesurun&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=A%20media%20trilogy%20/%20by%20John%20Jesurun&f=false

My mother#*!̂%#! college life / conceived by Jon Jory ; created by Brooke Jennett and Michael Bigelow Dixon ; written by Janet Allard [and 29 others]

What's in the minds and hearts of college students today? In 40 monologues and a few dialogues, this multicultural ensemble questions everything they encounter: social justice and gender identity, self-awareness and relationship boundaries, future prospects and roommate etiquette. What emerges is a humorous and heartbreaking portrait of a new generation struggling with higher education’s promise of “personal transformation.” Structured in three acts, the play begins with matriculation and ends with graduation. The monologues in Act I, titled “Great Expectations,” focus on encounters with new friends, financial aid, antidepressants, homework, sex, sleep deprivation and courses in physics and math. Act II, “Paradise Lost,” features parties, budding and broken relationships, unexpected encounters with race and religion, sexual orientation and hitting rock bottom. Act III, “Metamorphoses,” portrays students emerging from four years of challenge and change with surprising insights, political convictions and plans for a scary, uncertain future. The mixture of serious and comedic monologues captures the extreme difficulty—sometimes absurd and at other times overwhelming—of self-discovery and community-building. While the monologues convey the sense that students often feel alone in their quest for great success or simply survival, the ensemble itself presents a very different truth—at least they’re alone together. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exMMCLMQ6.pdf

Roller diner / by Stephen Jackson

A theatrical jukebox with songs, sexual tension and failed dreams… all served with extra ketchup. Welcome to Eddie Costello’s Roller Diner – a faded Brummie beacon of a deep fried American dream. The staff can’t skate and there’s a whiff of burnt sausages and disappointment. So when new waitress Marika arrives from somewhere foreign looking for a slice of a better life, hearts are set alight in a fiery recipe of love, jealousy and murder. A savage sweet musical comedy, it opens up the heart of middle England and the universal search for a place to call home.

Sarah Ballenden / Maureen Hunter

When gossip about her spreads like wildfire through the Red River Settlement, the independent-minded Métis wife of a Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company decides to fight back. Based on actual 19th century events, Sarah Ballenden is a vivid portrait of one woman’s struggle for acceptance and respect in an age of colliding cultures and shifting social values.

Daphne's Dive / by Quiara Alegría Hudes

In a tucked away corner of North Philly, six regulars gather at a neighborhood watering hole. Over twenty years, they turn their collective memories into a vivacious mythology. At Daphne's Davie, an aloe plant, a girl's sneaker, a stiff drink, and mounds of trash become talismanic treasures to a group of outsiders trying to be "in" together. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/xc03DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Daphne%27s+Dive+/+by+Quiara+Alegr%C3%ADa+Hudes

Red Speedo / by Lucas Hnath

Ray’s swum his way to the eve of the Olympic trials. If he makes the team, he’ll get a deal with Speedo. If he gets a deal with Speedo, he’ll never need a real job. So when someone’s stash of performance-enhancing drugs is found in the locker room fridge, threatening the entire team’s Olympic fate, Ray has to crush the rumors or risk losing everything. A sharp and stylish play about swimming, survival of the fittest, and the American dream of a level playing field—or of leveling the field yourself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/tfdcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Red+Speedo+/+by+Lucas+Hnath

Hillary and Clinton / by Lucas Hnath

In an alternate universe light-years away from our own is a planet called Earth. It looks a lot like our Earth, except it's slightly different. And living on this other Earth is a woman named Hillary. Hillary is trying to become the president of a country called the United States of America. It's 2008 and she's campaigning in a state called Iowa. She's not doing very well in the polls. She needs more money to keep the campaign going, so she calls her husband for help. He offers her a deal, a tough deal, but when she gets his help, she gets more than she bargained for. You may think you know where this story is going, but you don't. After all, the play takes place in an alternate universe where anything can happen. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/2803DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Hillary+and+Clinton+/+by+Lucas+Hnath

A doll's house, part 2 / by Lucas Hnath

In the final scene of Ibsen's 1879 groundbreaking masterwork, Nora Helmer makes the shocking decision to leave her husband and children and begin a life on her own. This climactic event -- when Nora slams the door on everything in her life -- instantly propelled world drama into the modern age. In A doll's house, part 2, many years have passed since Nora's exit. Now, there's a knock on that same door. Nora has returned. But why? And what will it mean for those she left behind? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/sf5QDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=A+doll%27s+house,+part+2+/+by+Lucas+Hnath

The virgin trial / by Kate Hennig

In this gripping companion piece to The Last Wife, Kate Hennig cleverly explores victim shaming, the age of sexual consent, and the extraordinary ability of girls becoming women as she reimagines the scandalous and little-known story of Elizabeth the First before she was queen. Fifteen-year-old Bess has no idea when she heads to London to see her Uncle Ted that she is about to find herself at the heart of a scandal involving sexual impropriety, her stepfather, Thom, and an attempted overthrow of the government. What does all this have to do with her? How adroitly can Bess manoeuvre through a series of interviews to avoid being swept up in the peril that might ensue? And will she be able to spin the facts to create a myth based on her own innocence

1979 / by Michael Healey

A fast-paced political comedy from Michael Healey, the critically acclaimed author of The Drawer Boy and Proud, that examines the space between ideals and political reality during a monumental moment in Prime Minister Joe Clark's career. It's December 1979 and Clark's minority Progressive Conservative government is under threat of dissolution before it has a chance to accomplish anything — even pass a budget. But Clark is young and idealistic, resolute on making his mark in office. When he steals a moment at his desk to make a crucial decision, his colleagues, including Brian Mulroney and Pierre Trudeau, take the opportunity to steer him in different directions.

Courageous / by Michael Healey

A play in two acts, Healey introduces two sets of characters. In the first, a lawyer and his partner seek a civil ceremony, but are stopped when the officiant won’t perform a homosexual marriage because tenets of his religious beliefs won’t allow it. But tensions only mount when they learn that the officiant himself is openly gay. In the second act, a young couple decide to marry to secure a family for their unborn child, despite their poor financial situation. Facing eviction, the husband—a young Aboriginal man—meets his new neighbour, a refugee from Somalia, and they become fast friends. As the young couple finds happiness, prosperity, and friendship, their competing civil rights tears that friendship apart. Nominated for the 2010 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama

The League of youth / by Henrik Ibsen ; adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher.

In an adaptation full of sparkling wit and cynical humor, this political comedy follows the meteoric rise of ambitious young Stensgaard, an office-seeker who's willing to say anything to win an election. Forming the 'League of Youth' to lobby against his opposition, Stensgaard schemes, romances, and manipulates in his rush to power. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Q_xKDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&dq=The+League+of+youth+/+by+Henrik+Ibsen+;+adapted+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher.

The critic / by Richard Brinsley Sheridan ; adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher.

From comic mastermind Jeffrey Hatcher comes a fresh take on Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 18th-century romp THE CRITIC, a whirlwind comedy about bad theatre, worse playwrights...and, worst of all, the critics. The meta-theatrical frenzy builds throughout, from wacky antics and quick changes to an operatic burlesque as the company jumps from role to role. Experience a madcap night of life in the theatre with this classic behind-the-scenes comedy Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/3cs3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP2&dq=The+critic+/+by+Richard+Brinsley+Sheridan+;+adapted+by+Jeffrey+Hatcher.

Canary / by Jonathan Harvey

In 1960s Liverpool two lovers hide their homosexuality in the closet, then go their separate ways. While pits close and dole queues grow, a couple of runaways find Heaven in 1980s London. And today the paparazzi chase a love story that could tear a family apart. Then a grieving mother gets lost up a mountain, with a vicar for some dubious consolation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/kiPLAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Canary+/+by+Jonathan+Harvey

Is God Is : a play / by Alesha Harris

Blending tragedy, typography, the Spaghetti Western, hip-hop and Afropunk, Is God Is is a classic revenge tale about two sisters that looks like no other play. In this necessary new work by playwright Aleshea Harris, emotions are laid bare through gaps in language and characters are a window into the canon as well as our own broken times

Ruby : the story of Ruby Bridges / Book and lyrics by Christina Ham

Ruby Bridges was only 6 years old when the Civil Rights movement came hammering at her door, making her the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. On the heels of Brown v. Board of Education, schools were ordered to integrate with “all deliberate speed,” and in 1960, Ruby became one of six black children to integrate all-white schools in the city. While Ruby integrated William Frantz Elementary School, the other five students went to other schools throughout the city, which left her to attend her school alone. When the white families learned of Ruby’s enrollment at William Frantz, they pulled their children from her class. This left Ruby and her first-grade teacher, Mrs. Henry, the only ones left in the classroom for the entire school year. Undaunted, Mrs. Henry and Ruby formed a tight bond with each other while protestors jeered and threatened Ruby’s life outside the school every day that she attended it. Ruby’s integration placed undue pressure on her family—almost tearing them apart—as they watched helplessly while federal marshals escorted young Ruby to school. With songs inspired by The Shirelles, Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson, this musical explores a little girl’s unbeatable courage in the face of adversity as she helped to lead the Civil Rights movement up the front steps and into the classrooms of an elementary school in New Orleans. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exRubyRD8.pdf

Love & money / by A.R. Gurney

Determined to donate almost everything she owns before her life of grace and privilege ends, wealthy widow Cornelia Cunningham's plan hits a snag when an ambitious and ingratiating young man arrives to claim his alleged inheritance...an inclusive and hysterical portrait of the trials of class, family, legacy, race, and the power of a good story Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/RvdcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Love+%26+money+/+by+A.R.+Gurney

Miss Bennet : Christmas at Pemberley / by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon

A sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice set two years after the novel ends, MISS BENNET continues the story, only this time with nerdy middle-sister Mary as its unlikely heroine. Mary is growing tired of her role as dutiful middle sister in the face of her siblings' romantic escapades. When the family gathers for Christmas at Pemberley, an unexpected guest sparks Mary's hopes for independence, an intellectual match, and possibly even love Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/GM43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Miss+Bennet+:+Christmas+at+Pemberley+/+by+Lauren+Gunderson+and+Margot+Melcon

The miracle at Naples / by David Grimm

A motley band of traveling commedia players in Renaissance Italy arrives in Naples just in time for the Feast of San Gennaro. The passions of the actors and the locals are ignited when lustful lovers romp through the town piazza seeking pleasure and discovering the many forms of love in this outrageously smart and bawdy comedy. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/KhS6T85qMs0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+miracle+at+Naples+/+by+David+Grimm

Demerara gold / by Ingrid Griffith

Demerara Gold is a coming-of-age-story of the unconquerable spirit of a seven-year old girl left in the clutches of her two grandmothers in the Caribbean after her parents suddenly get visas to the USA. Ingrid cherishes a ring of Demerara gold given to her as a token of her parents promise to return. When she finally rejoins her parents in America five years later, she finds her father railing at "this blasted life", her mother wrestling with her disappointments and a life burdened by a family secret. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Gw2BCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Demerara+gold+/+by+Ingrid+Griffith

Salvation Road / by D.W. Gregory

Denise Kozak was always an independent thinker, or so her family thought. A talented musician with a rebellious streak, she cultivated a passionate social conscience, to the irritation of her younger brother Cliff, 17. He was just the opposite—a bit cynical, priding himself on his calm, rational approach to the universe. Cliff’s declared philosophy: “If it doesn’t kill me, I don’t care.” But when Denise leaves for college and falls in with a charismatic church, her family and friends notice a strange shift in her personality and interests. Denise believes The True Disciples has the answer to all that life holds. She neglects her music and abandons her studies to volunteer with the church, all the while talking obsessively about the church and its founder, Reverend Douglas. Her parents’ concerns intensify when Denise refuses to come home for the holidays. When her father tries to force the issue, she declares her family a “toxic” influence to her newfound faith—and disappears. Months go by without a word, driving a rift between their parents as Cliff and his younger sister, Jill, struggle to hold it all together. Cliff pretends that he isn’t hurt that Denise cut him out of her life; Jill worries that she is somehow to blame for it. One day, Cliff’s best friend, Duffy, comes to them with the startling news that he found Denise. A chance sighting of her selling flowers at a New Jersey strip mall has convinced him that she’s in trouble and needs their help. Cliff resists at first, but Jill persuades him to start the search, a decision that propels Cliff and Duffy onto a road trip into the heart of a deepening mystery. Why would a smart and talented girl like Denise fall for the hollow promises of a preacher whose private life doesn’t line up with his public message? And where do you draw the line between faith and fanaticism? With the help of a savvy nun and a former member of The True Disciples, cynical, agnostic Cliff finds himself embarking on a spiritual search of his own. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exSalvationRoadS2Q.pdf

Our mother's brief affair / by Richard Greenberg

On the verge of death for the umpteenth time, Anna makes a shocking confession to her grown children: an affair from her past that just might have resonance beyond the family. But how much of what she says is true? While her children try to separate fact from fiction, Anna fights for a legacy she can be proud of. With razor sharp wit and extraordinary insight, Our mother's brief affair considers the sweeping impact of indiscretions both large and small. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/kPdcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Our+mother%27s+brief+affair+/+by+Richard+Greenberg

Labour of love / by James Graham

Labour MP David Lyons cares about modernisation and electability ... his constituency agent, Jean Whittaker cares about principles and her community. Set away from the Westminster bubble in the party's traditional northern heartlands, this is a clash of philosophy, culture and class against the backdrop of the Labour Party over 25 years, as it moves from Kinnock through Blair into Corbyn... and beyond? This razor-sharp political comedy from James Graham was produced by Michael Grandage Company and Headlong and received its world Premiere at the Noel Coward Theatre in September 2017. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/xWo6DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Ink+/+by+James+Graham

Ink / by James Graham

It’s 1969 London. The brash young Rupert Murdoch purchases a struggling paper, The Sun, and sets out to make it a must-read smash which will destroy – and ultimately horrify – the competition. He brings on rogue editor Larry Lamb who in turn recruits an unlikely team of underdog reporters. Together, they will go to any lengths for success and the race for the most ink is on! Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/irMqDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Ink+/+by+James+Graham

White guy on the bus / by Bruce Graham

Week after week, a wealthy white businessman rides the same bus, befriending a single black mom. As they get to know one another, their pasts unfold and tensions rise, igniting a disturbing and crucial exploration of race. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/SfhcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=White+guy+on+the+bus+/+by+Bruce+Graham

I have AIDS! / by Sky Gilbert

When stand-up comic Prodon Slamzeck tells his lover Vidor that he has aids, it barely interrupts their dinner. And why should it? What was once a death sentence is now no more than a chronic condition, and most gay men deal with aids with much less melodrama than they did years ago. Following him through the five stages of acceptance-- Denial, Partying, Loss of Control, Religious Conversion, and Acceptance--the play pops in and out of monologues with Prodon and into scenes with Lady Booty, an outrageous drag queen, Ron, a man who has made aids his personal religion, and the ever supportive Vidor, each giving their own advice for how to take the news. A black comedy like no other, I Have AIDS! is a play about gay men who are neither tragic or sad, and we are led to laugh with them, not at them.

Falling in time / by C.E. Gatchalian

Raw in its emotionalism and bold in its theatricality, Falling in Time is set in Vancouver in 1994 and tells the story of four individuals, across two continents and over a span of more than forty years. The lives of these characters miraculously intertwine in Vancouver playwright C.E. Gatchalian's uncompromising meditation on war, masculinity, sexuality, personal boundaries, and love. Falling in Time asks the question, how do we let go?

True love lies/ by Brad Fraser

Kane and Carolyn are happily married, run their own business, and have two rebellious teenagers: outgoing Madison and geeky Royce. The typical nuclear family. But when Madison applies for a job at the new restaurant in town, Kane and Carolyn find that a man they had long forgotten has just re-entered their lives: Kane's ex-lover. Sparking a series of further revelations, the sudden re-appearance of David exposes suppressed emotions and desires in everyone and the family must renegotiate their relationships with each other and, ultimately, redefine their family.

Skin flick / by Norm Foster

Middle-aged couple Daphne and Rollie and their friend Alex have found themselves out of work and out of luck. So when they come across a mistakenly rented x-rated movie, they get the idea to make their own porno film for some quick cash. The only problem is none of them want to star in it themselves. As if on cue, Jill, a birthday telegram messenger, arrives on their doorstep accidentally and their cast is set. A light-hearted comedy told from the perspective of Rollie, the story's charming narrator, Skin Flick puts a steamy spotlight on a group of innocent people navigating the world of pornography

Fefu and her friends / by Maria Irene Fornes

New England, Spring 1935. Fefu and seven friends gather at Fefu's house to rehearse a charity performance. Before and after their rehearsal, the women interact with one another, and share their thoughts and feelings about life along with their personal struggles and societal concerns

The things you take with you / by Andreas Flourakis

If you had to leave home in a hurry -- in the face of a cataclysm -- what would you take with you?

The feast / by Cory Finley

Matt and Anna's relationship is going swimmingly, until the sewers under their apartment open up and begin to speak. The plumber is angry, Matt's paintings are getting stranger, and a storm is gathering. An eerie comedy about what is real, what is not, and who knows Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/F0pdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+feast+/+by+Cory+Finley

A funny thing happened on the way to the gynecologic oncology unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City / by Halley Feiffer

A foul-mouthed twenty-something comedian and a middle-aged man embroiled in a nasty divorce are brought together unexpectedly when their cancer-stricken mothers become roommates in the hospital. Together, this unlikely duo must negotiate some of life's biggest challenges...while making some of the world's most inappropriate jokes. Can these two very lost people learn to laugh through their pain and lean on each other, when tall they really want to do is run away? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/zc03DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=A+funny+thing+happened+on+the+way+to+the+gynecologic+oncology+unit+at+Memorial+Sloan+Kettering+Cancer+Center+of+New+York+City+/+by+Halley+Feiffer

Dirty Paki lingerie / by Aizzah Fatima

Whether it's as Selma, a second-generation, hijab-wearing feminist grappling with her Muslim practice and desire to please her new husband with sexy lingerie, or Asma, a Pakistani immigrant mother searching for her daughter's future husband in the Urdu Times Matrimonial section, Fatima embodies the complex interplay between heritage and contemporary society. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/6ZN0CQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&dq=Dirty+Paki+lingerie+/+by+Aizzah+Fatima

Teaching disco square dancing to our elders : a class presentation / by Larissa Fasthorse

Kenny Two Hawks and Martin Leads to Water have problems. It's the end of middle school, and Kenny is on the brink of not making it into high school. Through a random drawing, the boys are assigned bizarre topics for their last middle-school presentation: Do It Yourself Disco and Teaching Square Dancing to Senior Citizens. Enter Amanda Smith, the class klutz and painfully shy half-white, half-Native American girl who gets Exploring Your Culture: Taking Oral Histories as her project. But Amanda is adopted and does not have anyone to ask about her culture, which she so desperately wants to learn about. Martin and Kenny make a deal with Amanda. They will combine all three projects so that the boys have a dance partner, and Amanda can interview Kenny's cool Grandma Two Hawks about the heritage they all share. They have three days to pull it together to create a presentation that will get Kenny into high school. Over the weekend, friendship is tested, first love blooms, and serious secrets threaten to unravel everything. Through it all, Grandma Two Hawks keeps her young people on track with her humor, guidance and a wicked disco dance. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exTeachingDiscoSquareDancingTQ1.pdf

The undeniable sound of right now / by Laura Eason

1992. Chicago. Hank is struggling to keep his legendary rock club going amid changing times and changing tastes. But when his beloved daughter, Lena, starts dating a rising star DJ, Hank must contend with the destructive power of the next big thing. Like a blast of feedback from a Fender amp, The Undeniable Sound Of Right Now brings to hilarious and heartbreaking life the moment in popular culture when Kurt and Courtney ruled, but Moby was just around the corner ... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/JPhcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+undeniable+sound+of+right+now++/+by+Laura+Eason

The tomb of King Tot / by Olivia Dufault

Jane Haley is the punny voice of the comic strip “King Tot,” a three-panel strip about a nine-year-old pharaoh in Ancient Egypt. Jane has just been nominated for the Chuckling Willow, the single most important award for female cartoonists in New England. All seems to be going well until bleak news strikes the Haley household. As Jane tries to hide her coping by working extensively on her comics, her art suffers as her main character tries to find his way through the Land of the Dead to find his “mummy.” Playwright Olivia Dufault pairs humor with heartache in this exploration of the processing of grief.

A piece of work / by Annie Dorsen

Mixing live performance with algorithms and interfaces, A Piece of Work is the second project in Annie Dorsen’s “algorithmic theater” series. A digital Hamlet for a post-humanist age, A Piece of Work deploys a set of ingeniously designed computer algorithms to generate real-time adaptations of Shakespeare’s original play. New scenes, songs, scores and visuals emerge from an intricate web of technology. With an introduction by Dorsen, and screen-shots of the system as it runs, this book elaborates both the technological and the poetic procedures of algorithmic theater.

Rancho mirage / by Steven Dietz

A bitingly funny black comedy about what happens when the fictions that hold our lives together are exposed. In this sharp and surprising sojourn into the psyche of modern-day America--where affluence is perhaps our greatest mirage--three couples, long-time friends, find themselves at a dinner party where everyone finally decides to tell the truth Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Ms43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Rancho+mirage+/+by+Steven+Dietz

Bloomsday / by Steven Dietz

Robert returns to Dublin to reunite with Cait, the woman who captured his heart during a James Joyce literary tour thirty-five years ago. Dancing backwards through time, the older couple retrace their steps to discover their younger selves. Through young Robbie and Caithleen, they relive the unlikely, inevitable events that brought them--only briefly--together. This Irish time-travel love story blends wit, humor, and heartache into a buoyant, moving appeal for making the most of the present before it is past Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/-8c3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Bloomsday+/+by+Steven+Dietz

American La Ronde / by Steven Dietz

A simple silver bracelet travels through the lives of ten bold and desperate lovers, giving us a glimpse of the intrigue and heartache left in its wake. AMERICAN LA RONDE is a provocative and fully contemporary re-imagining of Schnitzler's notorious play Reigen, known as its French translation, La Ronde. Sexy, literate, emotional, and highly theatrical Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/5cc3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=American+La+Ronde+/+by+Steven+Dietz

Daisy / a play by Sean Devine

It’s the fall of 1964. Bloody turmoil over civil rights is spilling onto the streets. A fearful ideology is growing from the conservative right. The threat of nuclear war is palpable. And a little skirmish in the far-off nation of Vietnam just won’t go away. With a presidential election looming, a group of “ad-men” working for Lyndon Johnson unleash the most devastating political commercial ever conceived, the “Daisy ad.” Based on true events, DAISY explores the moment in television history that launched the age of negative advertising, and forever changed how we elect our leaders. War was the objective. Peace was the bait. Everyone got duped. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/8VBgDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Daisy+/+a+play+by+Sean+Devine

The wolves / by Sarah DeLappe

Left quad. Right quad. Lunge. A girls indoor soccer team warms up. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals

Plague over England : a play / Nicholas De Jongh

Late on 20th October, 1953, Sir John Gielgud, then at the zenith of his theatrical career, was arrested in a Chelsea public lavatory. He pleaded guilty the next day to the charge of persistently importuning male persons for immoral purposes. In the prim, homophobic Britain of the 1950s, Gielgud's offence attracted vicious criticism from public and press alike and threatened to terminate his career. A few weeks later, however, when Gielgud opened in London in a new play, something extraordinary happened. Nicholas de Jongh's Plague Over England is not just a dramatized account of a scandal. It relates Gielgud's emergency to the country's political mood and depicts a nation in the grip of a gay witch-hunt.

The Gorges Motel / by Gretchen Cryer, Lynne Halliday, Isaac Himmelman, James Hindman, Arlene Hutton, and Craig Pospisil

Lives intersect in comic and dramatic fashion in a motel that has seen better days in Watkins Glen, New York. Break-ups and a wedding, a rapping reverend and a drone attack, the ridiculous and the sublime all come together in one unlikely place. THE GORGES MOTEL is comprised of the short plays... Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/1803DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+Gorges+Motel+/+by+Gretchen+Cryer,+Lynne+Halliday,+Isaac+Himmelman,+James+Hindman,+Arlene+Hutton,+and+Craig+Pospisil

Etched in skin on a sunlit night / by Kara Lee Corthron

Jules, an African-American painter has fled the U.S. under ambiguous circumstances and embraced a whole new life and family in Iceland. But Obama Fever, Iceland’s economic meltdown, the appearance of a shocking children’s book, and a mysterious visitor unearth the demons of Jules’ past and shake her sense of racial and personal identity. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/vjXsAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Etched+in+skin+on+a+sunlit+night+/+by+Kara+Lee+Corthron

The homophobes : a clown show / by Susana Cook

A misunderstood miracle shakes a conservative congregation's values to its core when their beloved pastor becomes the center of a spectacular firestorm that will forever shatter their notions of sex, gender and intercourse between animate beings. A transcendent trans-comedy of errors featuring mad ministers, Saturdayanic and divine interventions, confused angels and maybe even the antichrist Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/GEXrAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=The+homophobes+:+a+clown+show+/+by+Susana+Cook

Blue heart / by Caryl Churchill

Heart's Desire sees a family awaiting their daughter's return from Australia, though in a series of alternative scenarios, the play collapses as it keeps veering off in unexpected and ridiculous directions. Blue Kettle tells the story of conman Derek and the five women he misleads into believing he is their biological son. Try as he might, Derek's plans are scuppered as the play is invaded by a virus. In Caryl Churchill's ever-inventive style, the two plays in Blue Heart pull apart language and structure in a way that is theatrically remarkable and fast paced, in a stirring yet truthful exploration of family and relationships.

Aubergine / by Julia Cho

A man shares a bowl of berries, and a young woman falls in love. A world away, a mother prepares a bowl of soup to keep her son from leaving home. And a son cooks a meal for his dying father to say everything that words can't. In Julia Cho's poignant and lyrical new play, the making of a perfect meal is an expression more precise than language, and the medium through which life gradually reveals itself. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/58c3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Aubergine+/+by+Julia+Cho

Caught / by Christopher Chen

An art gallery hosts a retrospective of the work of a legendary Chinese dissident artist who was imprisoned in a Chinese detention center for a single work of art. Recently profiled in the New Yorker, the artist himself is present, and shares with patrons the details of an ordeal that defies belief. A labyrinthine exploration of truth, art, social justice, and cultural appropriation, where nothing is as it first appears Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/5eJcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Caught+/+by+Christopher+Chen

New World plays : Isabella dreams the New World ; My Nebraska ; Coaticook / by Lenora Champagne

New World Plays is comprised of three lyrical, fantastical works for theatre by acclaimed writer and performance artist Lenora Champagne. Online preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=AEHNCQAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=New%20World%20plays%20%3A%20Isabella%20dreams%20the%20New%20World%20%3B%20My%20Nebraska%20%3B%20Coaticook%20%2F%20by%20Lenora%20Champagne&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=New%20World%20plays%20:%20Isabella%20dreams%20the%20New%20World%20;%20My%20Nebraska%20;%20Coaticook%20/%20by%20Lenora%20Champagne&f=false

The colony of unrequited dreams : a play / by Robert Chafe ; based on the novel by Wayne Johnston

Based on the classic novel by Wayne Johnston, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a fictionalized portrait of Joseph R. Smallwood, the controversial political figure who ambitiously led Newfoundland into Confederation with Canada, and became its first premier

So the arrow flies : a solo performance piece / conceived, written and performed by Esther K. Chae

So the arrow flies is a political thriller about an alleged North Korean spy and the FBI agent who interrogates her. ​The solo performance play explores complex political and social issues including America's national security apparatus, global identity and gender roles through modern heroines. This volume contains the English language script and its Korean language translation. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/vlTSBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&dq=So+the+arrow+flies+:+a+solo+performance+piece+/+conceived,+written+and+performed+by+Esther+K.+Chae

The chemsex monologues / by Patrick Cash

The Chemsex Monologues explore the sexual, high world of the chillouts through six different characters. A nameless narrator meets a sexy boy on a Vauxhall night out, who introduces him to G’s pleasures; the poster boy for Room Service gets taken to Old Mother Meph’s place by a porn star; Fag Hag Cath is finding the chillouts have become more about the sex; Daniel is a sexual health worker who does community outreach in the saunas; and the nameless narrator meets up with his sexy boy again in different circumstances. Explicit, funny and touching, The Chemsex Monologues display a realm that is sometimes dark, but populated by very real, loveable human beings Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Chemsex_Monologues/o5_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=chemsex+monologues&pg=PT54&printsec=frontcover

Bakkhai / by Euripides ; a new version by Anne Carson

A stunning, new translation by the poet and classicist Anne Carson, first performed in 2015 at the Almeida Theatre in London. Anne Carson writes, "Euripides was a playwright of the fifth century BC who reinvented Greek tragedy, setting it on a path that leads straight to reality TV. His plays broke all the rules, upended convention and outraged conservative critics. The Bakkhai is his most subversive play, telling the story of a man who cannot admit he would rather live in the skin of a woman, and a god who seems to combine all sexualities into a single ruinous demand for adoration. Dionysos is the god of intoxication. Once you fall under his influence, there is no telling where you will end up Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/d2MnDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Bakkhai+/+by+Euripides+;+a+new+version+by+Anne

Love/sick / by John Cariani

A darker cousin to Almost, Maine, John Cariani’s LOVE/SICK is a collection of nine slightly twisted and completely hilarious short plays. Set on a Friday night in an alternate suburban reality, this 80-minute romp explores the pain and the joy that comes with being in love. Full of imperfect lovers and dreamers, LOVE/SICK is an unromantic comedy for the romantic in everyone. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/EUhdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Love/sick+/+by+John+Cariani

Breakfast at Tiffany's / by Truman Capote ; stage adaptation by Richard Greenberg

Based on Truman Capote's classic novella, Breakfast at Tiffany's tells the story of a young Southern-born writer, known only to us as Fred, who becomes infatuated with his Upper East Side neighbor: the beguiling, effervescent beauty Miss Holiday Golightly. As Holly pulls Fred into her world of spontaneous parties and luxury, he finds himself increasingly fascinated with this captivating woman Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/gRddDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Breakfast+at+Tiffany%27s+/+by+Truman+Capote+;+stage+adaptation+by+Richard+Greenberg

Old love, new love / by Laura Brienza

A mother and daughter navigate the choppy waters of infidelity under very different circumstances: Gloria's husband Colin has fallen for another Alzheimer's patient at the facility where he resides. Michelle's husband Matt has strayed after losing a local election and wrestling with his unfulfilled ambitions. A play about what we can't remember and what we can forgive, Old Love New Love explores what happens when old love faces new challenges. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/a_dcDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Old+love,+new+love+/+by+Laura+Brienza

Lawrence after Arabia / Howard Brenton

August, 1922. The most famous man in England has vanished without a trace: T.E. Lawrence has completely disappeared. But in the idyllic calm of the village of Ayot St Lawrence, on the top floor of the home of Mr and Mrs Bernard Shaw, the 'uncrowned King of Arabia' is hiding – with slabs of homemade carrot cake for comfort. Wearied by his romanticised persona and worldwide fame, disgusted with his country and himself, Lawrence is craving normality. But when you're a brilliant archaeologist, scholar, linguist, writer and diplomat – as well as a legendary desert warrior – how can you ever be normal? And beyond the Shaws' garden wall, nobody cares how he feels: England just wants its hero back. Can he ever return?

Lazarus/ a musical by David Bowie and Enda Walsh ; inspired by The man who fell to earth by Walter Tevis.

One of the last works completed by beloved rock icon David Bowie before his death in early 2016, the otherworldy musical Lazarus is a poignant homage to his legacy. Inspired by the 1963 novel The man who fell to earth, Lazarus weaves a thrilling rock opera from new compositions by Bowie as well as many of his classic songs. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/HAIkDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Lazarus/+a+musical+by+David+Bowie+and+Enda+Walsh+;+inspired+by+The+man+who+fell+to+earth+by+Walter+Tevis.

Tom and the farm / by Michel Marc Bouchard

Tom at the Farm unfolds with blurred boundaries between lust and brutality, truth and fiction. Following the accidental death of his lover, and in the throes of his grief, urban ad executive Tom travels to the country to attend the funeral and to meet his mother-in-law, Agatha, and her son, Francis – neither of whom know Tom even exists. Arriving at the remote rural farm, and immediately drawn into the dysfunction of the family's relationships, Tom is blindsided by his lost partner's legacy of untruth. With the mother expecting a chain-smoking girlfriend, and the older brother hellbent on preserving a facade of normality, Tom is coerced into joining the duplicity until, at last, he confronts the torment that drove his lover to live in the shadows of deceit. The lover – the friend, the son, the brother, the nameless dead man – has left behind a fable woven of false-truths which, according to his own teenage diaries, were essential to his survival. In this same rural setting, one young man had once destroyed another young man who loved yet another. Like an ancient tragedy, years later, this drama will shape the destiny of Tom. In a play that unfolds with progressively blurred boundaries between lust and brutality, between truth and elaborate fiction, Michel Marc Bouchard dramatizes how gay men often must learn to lie before they learn how to love.

Brief Chronicle, Books 6-8 / by Alexander Borinsky

Drama. Poetry. Performance Studies. LGBTQIA Studies. Hybrid Genre. Introduction by Amina Cain. A quietly heartbreaking play that grounds epic themes—unabated longing, violence and imperialism, and the bond between mother and son—in the small ways we hurt and love one another and decide where to go on vacation. In BRIEF CHRONICLE, BOOKS 6-8, Alexander Borinsky delivers a play in a single column that reads as poetry, critique, and philosophy for the practice of everyday life in America.

Forward : the Arctic cycle / by Chantal Bilodeau

The Arctic Cycle consists of eight plays that examine the impact of climate change on the eight countries of the Arctic. Forward is the second play. Forward was partly inspired by a ten-day sailing expedition around the Svalbard Archipelago, located halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Spanning a hundred years and thousands of kilometres from the sixtieth parallel north to the top of the world, Forward presents a poetic history of energy development in Norway, from the initial passion that drove explorer Fridtjof Nansen to the North Pole to the consequences of decades of our addiction to fossil fuels. Using a blend of theatre and electropop music, the play progresses backwards from 2013 to 1893 and zeroes in on close to forty characters whose day-to-day lives illustrate how the choices we make often have unintended consequences.

Butcher / by Nicolas Billon

An old man in a military uniform and a Santa hat is dumped at the police station. he doesn't speak English, and a lawyer's business card is baited on the meat hook that hangs on his neck. As a lawyer, a police officer and a translator struggle to unravel the truth, they uncover a past that won't stay buried, and a decades-old quest for justice that must be served. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/sIUvBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Butcher+/+by+Nicolas+Billon

Between Pancho Villa and a naked woman / by Sabina Berman ; translated from the Spanish by Shelley Tepperman.

BETWEEN PANCHO VILLA AND A NAKED WOMAN is a rollicking feminist farce by acclaimed Mexican playwright Sabina Berman. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/2XK3BwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Between+Pancho+Villa+and+a+naked+woman+/+by+Sabina+Berman

Shows for days / by Douglas Carter Beane

It's May 1973 when a young man wanders into a dilapidated community theater in Reading, PA. The company members welcome him--well, only because they need a set painter that day. The young man then proceeds to soak up all the idealism and the craziness that comes with being part of a struggling theater company with big dreams. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/QkxdDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Shows+for+days+/+by+Douglas+Carter+Beane

Young Marx / by Richard Bean & Clive Coleman

1850, and Europe’s most feared terrorist is hiding in Dean Street, Soho. Broke, restless and horny, the thirty-two-year-old revolutionary is a frothing combination of intellectual brilliance, invective, satiric wit, and child-like emotional illiteracy. Creditors, spies, rival revolutionary factions and prospective seducers of his beautiful wife all circle like vultures. His writing blocked, his marriage dying, his friend Engels in despair at his wasted genius, his only hope is a job on the railway. But there’s still no one in the capital who can show you a better night on the piss than Karl Heinrich Marx Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Young_Marx/fqD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Young+Marx+/+by+Richard+Bean+%26+Clive+Coleman&printsec=frontcover

Slaying the mosquito : a monodrama / by Xhevdet Bajraj ; translated by Ani Gjika.

A strong endeavor by a blossoming poet, his traumatic experience allowed him to discover the humanity of how people are able to overcome and adapt even under the harshest of conditions. Poetry was how Mohsen Mohamed was able to cope with the long days of confinement and resist his feeling of powerlessness. He was able to find the patience to endure his deferred youth until he was released from prison, vindicated by this collection of poems which adds to the library of Egyptian colloquial poetry.

The making of St. Jerome / Marie Beath Badian

Inspired by the 2004 death of seventeen-year-old Jeffrey Reodica by a plain-clothes police officer in Toronto, The Making of St. Jerome is a poignant look at the aftermath of a teenager's untimely death, the media's role on the truth, and one family's attempt to reconcile a haunting reality. When Jason De Jesus discovers his younger brother Jerome is the victim of a senseless shooting, his world is suddenly filled with questions surrounding Jerome's death. Was his brother innocent, or was he the victim of a racial hate crime? Or is the truth more complex, falling somewhere in the middle? Internalizing his survivor's guilt while reflecting on his strained relationship with Jerome, Jason's quest for truth and justice is tainted as he discovers there are no simple answers.

Men on boats / by Jaclyn Backhaus

Ten explorers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon. MEN ON BOATS is the true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a crew of insane yet loyal volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/FM43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=men+on+boats+backhaus

Junk : a play / by Ayad Akhtar

A fast-paced economic thriller that exposes the financial deal making behind the mergers and acquisitions boom of the 1980s Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/QFV3DAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=junk+aktar

The invisible hand / by Ayad Akhtar

The Invisible Hand follows a kidnapped American investment banker, held for ransom in Pakistan, as he trades for his life. This suspenseful play by Pulitzer Prize-winning Ayad Akhtar is a chilling and complex look at how far we will go to save ourselves and the devastating ramifications of our individual actions on global power and politics. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Rio6CQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=invisible+hand+aktar

Marie Antoinette : (1789) / by David Adjmi

In David Adjmi’s contemporary take on the young queen of France, Marie is a confection created by a society that values extravagance and artifice. But France’s love affair with the royals sours as revolution brews, and for Marie, the political suddenly becomes very personal. From the light and breezy banter at the palace to the surging chants of “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité!” in the streets, Marie Antoinette holds a mirror up to our contemporary society that might just be entertaining itself to death.

Abigail/1702 : a twice-told tale / by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

In this tale of New England witchery, it is ten years after the harrowing and tragic events of the Salem witch trials. Abigail Williams--the lead accuser who sent twenty people to their doom as a young girl--now lives under an assumed name on the outskirts of Boston, quietly striving to atone for her sins. When a handsome stranger arrives claiming to be a sailor in need, Abigail takes him in, and long-dormant passions awaken within her. Love starts to grow between the two--an unlikely flower cracking through salty earth. But their contentment is short-lived, for someone else is coming for Abigail, someone who has been looking for her since she danced in the weird woods of Salem. The Devil is demanding Abigail's soul, and a debt will be paid--but first, Abigail must make peace with the woman she most wronged.. Online preview:https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/08c3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=Abigail/1702+:+a+twice-told+tale

Southwark Fair / by Samuel Adamson

Past misdemeanors bear down on the present when Patrick calls up one lover with another in mind. When his wife discovers what he's up to, she pursues his discarded date through the maelstrom of the South Bank, where a Bird Whistler flogs his wares, a trainee barista primes himself for his wedding, and an elderly actress stalks the Deputy Mayor of London. Unexpectedly connected by time and place, a tangle of lost souls fight, fall in love and lay their private fears bare in this extraordinary, evocative, metropolitan comedy. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/qcclBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&dq=southwark+fair+adamson

God said this / by Leah Nanako Winkler

Set in Kentucky, this compelling drama centers around a Japanese-American family reunited as their matriarch undergoes cancer treatment. The father, James, is a recovering alcoholic seeking redemption, and the two daughters are struggling to overcome their differences—Sophie is an ardent born-again Christian, while Hiro lives a single’s life in New York City. John, an old high school classmate of Hiro’s who is now a single dad, worries about leaving a legacy for his son. Wry and bittersweet, God Said This vividly captures the complexities of a familial reconciliation in the throes of crisis and looks deeply at the meaning of family—Japanese, Southern, and otherwise Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/God_Said_This/RtimDwAAQBAJ?q=GOD+SAID+THIS+winkler&gbpv=1#f=false

Fatimah : a play in 8 acts / by Hoesin Bafagih

In Arab circles in the Dutch East Indies in the 1930s, plays were staged not only to entertain but also to educate and to further the emancipation of the traditionally oriented Arab minority. Some plays were well received, others evoked protests. Fatimah was one of the plays which stirred up commotion, inciting riots throughout Java. The play and accompanying events make clear which kind of norms and values governed relations within the community and what kind of frustrations and aspirations members of the minority experienced. Original text of the play included.

Diva : live from hell / book & characters by Nora Brigid Monahan, music & lyrics by Alexander Sage Oyen

As president of the drama club at Ronald Reagan High School and the star of every school play, Desmond Channing spent most of his short life in the spotlight. But when Evan Harris, a hotshot transfer from New York, challenges his throne, Desmond responds, as any diva would, with lethal force. Now, stuck in the Seventh Circle, Hell’s most squalid cabaret venue, Desmond is forced to relive his disturbing tale of woe. As he presents his one-millionth consecutive show, Desmond performs with a desperate vigor in the hopes that he can prove he’s repented and be freed from this eternal, campy torment. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Diva_Live_From_Hell/oreZDwAAQBAJ?q=Diva+:+live+from+hell+mohahan&gbpv=1#f=false

Dan Cody's yacht / by Anthony Giardina

In a small Boston suburb, a schoolteacher is struggling to get by when the wealthy father of one of her students surprises her with a financial proposal that could change her daughter's life. Suddenly, their worlds collide in ways that open up the question: What truly separates the haves and the have-nots? Is it wrong to seize an incredible chance, even if the circumstances seem questionable? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dan_Cody_s_Yacht/8SWNDwAAQBAJ?q=DAN+CODY%27S+YACHT+giardina&gbpv=1#f=false

Cardinal / by Greg Pierce

Paint it red. So begins Lydia's wild idea to invigorate her Rust Belt town. But when a whip-smart entrepreneur co-opts her scheme, a precarious rivalry is born. A battle for the town's soul ensues, causing its obsessive mayor, its defiant matriarch, and the rest of its residents to question who they are and where they're headed Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cardinal/7SWNDwAAQBAJ?q=CARDINAL+greg+pierce&gbpv=1#f=false

The wild women of Winedale / by Jessie Jones

This ... comedy focuses on three women at crossroads in their lives--the Wild sisters of Winedale, Virginia--Fanny and Willa and their frustratingly quirky sister-in-law, Johnnie Faye. This feisty and fun-loving trio has supported and cheered one another through life's highs and lows through the years, including the early demise of two of their husbands. And they really need each other now as Fanny experiences a hilariously inappropriate reaction to her 60th birthday while Willa is so stressed out from her nursing job she resorts to vodka and speed-knitting to cope and Johnnie Faye, determined to put her year of fraught widowhood behind her, desperately tries to find a man--preferably a man with a house since hers is somewhere at the bottom of a Florida sinkhole. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Wild_Women_of_Winedale/gyaNDwAAQBAJ?q=The+wild+women+of+Winedale+jones&gbpv=1#f=false

The true / by Sharr White

When it comes to Polly Noonan, there's no fine line between the political and personal. For her...it's only personal. Especially now that her hero, "mayor for life" Erastus Corning, is in a pitched battle for control of the Albany Democratic Party. The play explores the bounds of love, loyalty, and female power in the male-dominated world of 1977 machine politics. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_True/ariZDwAAQBAJ?q=The+true+sharr+white&gbpv=1#f=false

The originalist / by John Strand

When a bright, liberal, Harvard Law School graduate embarks on a nerve-wracking clerkship with fearsome conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, she discovers him to be both an infuriating sparring partner and an unexpected mentor. John Strand’s critically acclaimed drama depicts passionate people risking heart and soul to defend their version of the truth. What does it cost us to suppress our fear and distrust, take a step toward the middle, and sit down with the monsters? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Originalist/_SWNDwAAQBAJ?q=ORIGINALIST+strand&gbpv=1#f=false

The gentleman caller / by Philip Dawkins

Tennessee Williams and William Inge today are recognized as two of the greatest American playwrights, whose work irrevocably altered the theatrical and social landscapes. In 1944, however, neither had achieved anything like genuine success. As flamboyant genius Williams prepares for the world premiere of his play The Gentleman Caller--to become The Glass Menagerie--self-loathing Inge struggles through his job as a theater critic, denying his true wish to be writing plays. Based on real-life but closed-door encounters, reconstructed from troves of comments (and elisions) by each man about their relationship, the author envisions what might have taken place during those early-career meetings Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Gentleman_Caller/7reZDwAAQBAJ?q=&gbpv=1#f=false

The burn / by Philip Dawkins

Mercedes is an outsider. Tara makes sure she knows it. When a high school production of The Crucible forces them together, tensions escalate into acts of bullying—both online and IRL. THE BURN explores what happens to a teacher and his students when a classroom conflict turns into an online witch hunt. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Burn/tLeZDwAAQBAJ?q=The+burn+dawkins&gbpv=1#f=false

The Royal Society of Antarctica / by Mat Smart

A young woman seeking to understand her mother’s disappearance joins the ranks of a ragtag group of misfits and scientists who serve at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Amidst janitorial duties, never-ending daylight and subzero temperatures, this lonely and rugged bunch finds an escape from the world and a home for one another. A striking and luminous story about why we run away and what happens when we finally come face to face with what we’ve been running away from. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exRoyalSocietyOfAntarcticaRE1.pdf

Teenage Dick / by Mike Lew

In this brilliant retelling of Shakespeare's Richard III, one of the most famous disabled characters in history is reimagined as a 16-year-old outsider taking on the political turmoil of high school. Bullied for his cerebral palsy (and his sometimes disturbing tendency to speak with a Shakespearean affect), Richard plots his revenge...as well as his glorious path to the senior class presidency. But as he falls deeper into a pattern of manipulation and greed, Richard is faced with an unexpected choice: Is it better to be feared or loved? TEENAGE DICK is a hilarious and sharp-witted adaptation about perception, disability, and the treacherous road to ascendancy. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Teenage_Dick/XLiZDwAAQBAJ?q=Teenage+Dick+lew&gbpv=1#f=false

Notes from the field / by Anna Deavere Smith

Notes from the Field--originally performed as a one-person play--portrays a host of real-life figures who have witnessed, experienced, and fought the system that pushes students of color out of the classroom and into prisons Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Notes_from_the_Field/0beWDwAAQBAJ?q=Notes+from+the+field+deavere&gbpv=1#f=false

Naperville / by Mat Smart

Howard leaves his career in Seattle and moves back home to Naperville, Illinois, to help his mother Candice transition after an accident leaves her blind. At the local Caribou Coffee, they cross paths with Anne, Howard's old classmate and an expert on Naperville's founder, Captain Joseph Naper. NAPERVILLE is a comedy about high school crushes, curfews (for your mother), sight, and how beauty reveals itself in the suburbs Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Naperville/-SWNDwAAQBAJ?q=Naperville+mat+smart&gbpv=1#f=false

Mlima's tale / by Lynn Nottage

Mlima is a magnificent elephant trapped by the underground international ivory market. As he follows a trail littered by a history of greed, Mlima takes us on a journey through memory, fear, tradition, and the penumbra between want and need. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mlima_s_Tale/DriZDwAAQBAJ?q=Mlima%27s+tale+nottage&gbpv=1#f=false

Another Medea / by Aaron Mark

Marcus Sharp is a charismatic and enigmatic New York actor who recounts in gruesome detail how his obsessions with a wealthy doctor named Jason and the myth of Medea lead to horrific, unspeakable events. At once ancient and contemporary, this provocative mono-thriller is Grand Guignol horror in the style of Spalding Gray. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Another_Medea/mLeZDwAAQBAJ?q=Another+Medea+mark+aaron&gbpv=1#f=false

Two mother and son : a play / by Hope Eghagha

Two Mothers and Son explores the seeming needless, perpetual conflict between wife and mother-in-law in a typical African marriage; it is set in twenty-first century Nigeria which itself is a victim of conflicting and confusing interruptions of life. The son who is at the centre of it all, is caught between two loves, both possessive and obsessive, equally important but suffocating in a most debilitating manner. Added to this is the issue of religion which attempts to resolve the crisis but inadvertently contributes to the sad resolution of the conflict. Preview: http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/two-mothers-and-a-son

Oh my grandfather / by Stephen Chifunyise

In this play by Zimbabwean playright Stephen Chifunyise, a peasant farmer, Mutumwa Matanga from Gutu, visits his son in Borrowdale suburb, Harare where he finds his 16-year-old granddaughter and 14-year-old grandson. Matanga is surprised at how unaware his grandchildren are of themselves, their family and their culture. He decides to correct the situation by teaching them everything he thinks is critical for them to know. Preview: http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/oh-my-grandfather

A good farmer / by Sharyn Rothstein

A moving drama, laced with humor and heartache, this is the story of two women--a farm owner and her unlikely best friend, an illegal Mexican immigrant--fighting to survive in a small town divided by America's immigration battle. With rich, complicated roles for women, the play is about love, friendship and finding the power to face what divides us. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Good_Farmer/8reZDwAAQBAJ?q=GOOD+FARMER+rothstein&gbpv=1#f=false

Treasure Island : a play / by Mary Zimmerman

Mary Zimmerman's glorious rendition is a straightforward retelling of the pirates' swashbuckling mid-18th century adventures amidst mutiny, rum, and buried treasure on an exotic island. Young (perhaps in his early teens), brave Jim Hawkins has recently lost his father. He is an average, middle-class child of the late Victorian era, who signs on as the cabin boy aboard the Hispaniola in order to assist his widowed mother with the family's economic situation. Jim's antagonist, the peg-legged and morally ambiguous buccaneer Long John Silver, is both a malicious mutineer and (upon occasion) a charismatic father figure whom Jim learns to love. Treasure Island explodes like a cannon ball onto the stage regaling thrill-seekers of all ages with a story both epic and intimate, hilarious and harrowing. Tony Award-winner Mary Zimmerman (Metamorphoses, Arabian Nights) has penned a glorious adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's most beloved novel.

Turning off the morning news / by Christopher Durang

Cliff and Salena are happily living a nice, normal life in the suburbs. But their neighbors, Jimmy and Polly, threaten to disrupt their domestic bliss. They're sometimes a little strange--and sometimes completely unhinged. Equally unnerving and delightful. Turning Off the Morning News takes a hilarious aim at the absurdity of our modern world Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Turning_Off_the_Morning_News/RrCoDwAAQBAJ?q=TURNING+OFF+THE+MORNING+NEWS+durang&gbpv=1#f=false

Slow food / by Wendy MacLeod

A vacationing couple celebrates their anniversary at a Greek restaurant in Palm Springs--but will the marriage survive the service? As a needy waiter insinuates his way into their meal--and their lives--the couple examines their past and their future together. Playwright Wendy MacLeod brings us a tender comedy that delves deeply into what we hunger for Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Slow_Food/PLCoDwAAQBAJ?q=SLOW+FOOD+macleod&gbpv=1#f=false

Kill move paradise / by James Ijames

Four black men find themselves stuck in a waiting room for the afterlife. As they attempt to make sense of their new paradise, Isa, Daz, Grif, and Tiny are forced to confront the reality of their past, and how they arrived in this unearthly place. Inspired by the ever-growing list of slain black men and women, Kill Move Paradise illustrates the potential for collective transformation and radical acts of joy Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kill_Move_Paradise/KLCoDwAAQBAJ?q=Kill+move+paradise+ijames&gbpv=1#f=false

A long trip / by Dan McGeehan

This highly sought-after one act features an elderly couple who have lived a long and happy life together. Now, however, the woman is slowly slipping away as dementia runs its course. In an attempt to reawaken the bond they have held for so many years, the man tells her of the moment they fell in love. It is a story so vivid that she can see it play out before her eyes: a younger version of the man and woman meeting, falling in love and sharing a first kiss. One final, happy memory for her to take with her on her last long trip. Told with both laughter and tears, A Long Trip is a journey of lasting love and interdependence. Audiences everywhere have taken A Long Trip to heart for its mixture of joy, sadness and the wonder of life itself. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exLongTripLM7.pdf

Everyone's fine with Virginia Woolf / by Kate Scelsa

A sharp-witted parody of a celebrated American drama, EVERYONE’S FINE WITH VIRGINIA WOOLF is, in turns, loving homage and fierce feminist takedown. Kate Scelsa’s incisive and hilarious reinvention of Edward Albee’s classic Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? slyly subverts the power dynamics of the original play’s not-so-happy couple. In the end, no one will be left unscathed by the ferocity of Martha’s revenge on an unsuspecting patriarchy. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Everyone_s_Fine_with_Virginia_Woolf/JLCoDwAAQBAJ?q=Everyone%27s+fine+with+Virginia+Woolf+by+Kate+Scelsa.&gbpv=1#f=false

Year of the rooster : a play / by Olivia Dufault

Gil is a loser. He works at McDonalds, lives with his ailing mother, and hasn't had a girlfriend since ... ever. But that's all about to change. He's been secretly training (and drugging) a rooster to fight. And Odysseus Rex aka "Odie" is the baddest barnyard bird there is. Gil has so much faith in Odie's abilities that he bets everything on him-but victory and revenge may not yield the delicious spoils he anticipates. A fiercely comic play about cockfighting, connections, and clawing your way to the top.

To whom it may concern / by Aurin Squire

"To Whom It May Concern" is an epistolary play about transcendent and oft-kilter ways of love and internet relationships. When a 15- year-old boy writes a letter to a soldier and is confused for an older woman, a series of seductive exchanges begins, leading to an explosive encounter. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/To_Whom_it_May_Concern/W-BrCgAAQBAJ?q=TO+WHOM+IT+MAY+CONCERN+squire&gbpv=1#f=false

The death of King Arthur : a drama / by Matthew Freeman

Thomas Mallory's L'Morte D'Arthur is transformed into a five-act play in verse in this thrilling epic tale. The Holy Grail has been found and the Round Table has won its place in history, but Lancelot has returned from the Quest in shame, a secret sin on his head. King Arthur discovers the sin, and the ensuing struggle dramatically exposes the deep flaws and nobility of the Arthurian myth as it examines the transition from an idealistic monarchy to a modern and pragmatic democracy.

Soldier's heart / by Tammy Ryan

Before heading off to war in Iraq, Casey Johnson neatly organizes her life into a box of lists, envelopes, and registration forms for her son's activities. Months later, she returns to Western Pennsylvania forever changed, with deep psychological scars that no amount of arranging seems to be able to fix.

Masha no home : a drama / by Lloyd Suh

When her late mother's secret legacy - a large sum of "community" money -- is discovered, 17-year-old Masha does the noble thing and steals it. A comic drama about a second-generation Korean American and her suprising journey of reconciliation

Lava / by James Fritz

The play is set in an unspecified English town, in a time period not far removed from the present. A young man called Vin has lost the power of speech, and the only person who seems to notice is his friendly colleague Rach, who resolves to find out what’s troubling him and help him find his voice again. Vin's condition seems to be related to recent events in London, which has been hit by a small asteroid, displacing thousands of people. But Rach's concern for Vin, and their growing intimacy, is overtaken when her family take in Jamie, an articulate and charismatic survivor of the asteroid incident. Suddenly Vin is no longer Rach's first priority, and the resulting tensions bring the truth about Vin’s silence to the surface.

Knowing Cairo / by Andrea Stolowitz

Rose, an elderly German-Jewish New Yorker, is a screamer. Approaching the big 8-0, she has managed to scare away an array of caretakers with her overwhelming antics. That is until her busy psychoanalyst daughter hires Winsome, an African American woman, who proves to be Rose's match. When Lydia realizes how close the two have become, she suspects Winsome of being a clever grifter, but are her suspicions based on truth, or merely produced by jealously? Alternately funny, moving and disturbing, this play raises questions of trust, race, and family obligation.

Hannah and the dread gazebo / by Jiehae Park

Inside the FedEx box are two things: a 100% bona-fide-heart's-desire-level wish, and a suicide note. Hannah tracks the package back to Korea, where her grandmother recently jumped from the roof of the Sunrise Dewdrop Apartment City for Senior Living onto the wrong side of the Demilitarized Zone. Oops

Glee club : a comedy / by Matthew Freeman, music by Stephen Speights

Eight misfit members of Romeo, Vermont's cut-throat glee club are on the verge of a meltdown after their soloist makes a disastrous decision to stop drinking right before a performance. Will they be ready in time for the big recital? Will they mend torn friendships and wounded hearts? Isn't music the most important thing? An explicit comedy about singing, friendship, and the riffs in between

Don't you f**king say a word / by Andy Bragen

Russ has a temper. Brian tends to cheat. But how did a weekly tennis match go this far awry? Their girlfriends Kate and Leslie return to the court to investigate what happened to Russ and Brin's friendly rivalry in a volley of sharp observations, as the game itself unfolds. An explosive comedy about love, competition, and the consequences of a lousy backhand.

Dead and breathing : a play / by Chisa Hutchinson

Cranky old Carolyn Whitlock has been in hospice for far too long and just wants to die already. But she'll have to work harder than she ever has in her privileged life to convince her oversharing and very Christian nurse to help her end it. Through surprising humor and persistent questioning, Dead and Breathing investigates morality, mortality, and the intense tug-of-war between the right to die with dignity and the idea of life as a gift.

Dark part of the forest / by Tammy Ryan

Joan moves from the city to the country with her air traffic controller husband and their twelve-year-old daughter in search of peace and safety. Instead the move creates a growing sense of anxiety in Joan. When young girls begin to disappear, her anxieties are confirmed and the growing tension begins to tear apart the family. Interweaving fairytales with Joan’s memories of her own sexual coming of age, DARK PART OF THE FOREST follows Joan back through her fears until she can emerge transformed.

Baby's blues / by Tammy Ryan

Susan is a career woman with a seemingly perfect life, complete with sensitive husband and a brand new bundle of joy on the way. Beginning at the moment a very pregnant Susan goes into labor, the play follows her journey as she becomes a new mother, with a frighteningly inexplicable newborn to care for. Employing both realistic and surrealistic elements, BABY’S BLUES explores one woman’s descent into postpartum depression, but also brings into focus the difficult challenge of becoming a mother for the first time, as well as the fine line that sometimes exists between health and madness.

A confluence of dreaming / by Tammy Ryan

Carol, an underappreciated and seemingly invisible suburban homemaker, finds herself wondering what the hell happened to her life. She rediscovers stifled thrill and passion in the secret, sexy world of cyberspace. As her husband obsesses over their local property tax assessment and the cost of their current kitchen renovation, the state of their marriage (along with their roof) is about to collapse under the weight of what they haven’t addressed. Their 17-year-old “activist” daughter, who is about to leave the nest and save the world, is torn between going to college or Tibet. Taking place in Pittsburgh during the summer of 2001, Carol solicits a face-to-face meeting with her online lover in New York City. When fantasy collides with reality in his studio apartment, Carol confronts the choices she’s made against the desires she has suppressed in the quest for self-fulfillment.

On the exhale / by Martin Zimmerman

When a senseless act of violence changes her life forever, a liberal college professor finds herself inexplicably drawn to the very weapon used to perpetrate the crime - and to the irresistible feeling of power that comes from holding life and death in her hands. Peering down the barrel of a uniquely American crisis, she begins to suspect that when it comes to gun violence, we're all part of the problem. Google preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=_-dmDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=ON%20THE%20EXHALE%20zimmerman&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=ON%20THE%20EXHALE%20zimmerman&f=false

Jane of the jungle / by Karen Zacarias

Jane is an ordinary girl, complete with a bratty little brother, Milo. But she and her best friend, Kayla, are on the verge of big changes. Middle school is looming, and what could be better than getting an invitation to popular Nicolette Miller's party? Yet nothing compares to the jolt Jane gets when she wakes up to discover she has acquired furry ears and a tail, and Kayla is turning into a bird! Not only that, but her neighborhood seems to be a jungle! As Jane, Kayla and Milo navigate the jungle to the party, they run into "packs" of friends not invited. At every turn, Jane is confronted with difficult choices, but none as hard as when Kayla urges her to ditch Milo. How can she tame all these conflicting wild feelings inside her? This inventive musical takes a wild approach to everything kids must go through before they're truly "grown up. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exJaneOfTheJungleJ72.pdf

Build a rocket / by Christopher York

Yasmin is young and feisty and lives on the edge. A young mum, her Scarborough isn't sandcastles, arcades and donkey rides. She's been dealt a rough hand and has to decide whether to give in or get smart. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Build_a_Rocket/U1tqDwAAQBAJ?q=BUILD+A+ROCKET+york&gbpv=1#f=false

King of the Yees / by Lauren Yee

For nearly twenty years, playwright Lauren Yee's father, Larry, has been a driving force in the Yee Family Association, a seemingly obsolescent Chinese American men's club formed a hundred fifty years ago in the wake of the Gold Rush and the building of the transcontinental railroad. But when her father goes missing, Lauren must plunge into the rabbit hole of San Francisco Chinatown and confront a world both foreign and familiar. At once bitingly hilarious and heartbreakingly honest, King of the Yees is an epic joyride across cultural, national, and familial borders that explores what it means to truly be a Yee

The great leap / by Lauren Yee

When an American college basketball team travels to Beijing for a "friendship" game in the post-Cultural Revolution 1980s, both countries try to tease out the politics behind this newly popular sport. Cultures clash as the Chinese coach tries to pick up moves from the Americans and Chinese-American player Manford spies on his opponents. Inspired by events in her own father's life, Yee "applies a devilishly keen satiric eye to...her generation (and its parents).

Acquiesce / by David Yee

Sin Hwang is a semi-successful Toronto novelist. He's stubborn, slightly egotistical, and used to the easy way out. Marks from his past are left on his body, but he refuses to acknowledge them. When he learns his estranged father has passed away, all he says is "it's fine." But he agrees to visit Hong Kong, where his father grew up, at the request of his cantankerous cousin Kai, whom he's never met. When he arrives, Kai explains that Sin is required to perform traditional duties before burying his father. Besides not knowing how to read Chinese, Sin has to learn how to be a part of a family, compromise, and confront his past. Written like a Buddhist meditation on the cycle of violence by starting in the middle then reaching the end and the beginning at the same time, the story of Sin's journey is familiar, witty, and rewarding

Carmilla : a ghost story for theatre / by Adam Yee

Camilla is a ghost story for theatre, enmeshing spoken word and through composed music for live chamber orchestra. This adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu's controversial 1872 gothic novella explores violence, transgressive sexuality and the fragile boundary between the living and the dead.

My dad's gap year / by Tom Wright

Seeing the world. Popping your cherry. This is our chance to start living. Me and you. This is the story of Dave; a dad in mid-life freefall who takes his repressed, gay, teenage son William on a wild adventure to Thailand. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_Dad_s_Gap_Year/tLGIDwAAQBAJ?q=MY+DAD%27S+GAP+YEAR+wright&gbpv=1#f=false

Hands on a hardbody / by Doug Wright and Amanda Green

For 10 hard-luck Texans, a new lease on life is so close they can tough it. Under a scorching sun for days on end, armed with nothing but hope, humor and ambition, they'll fight to keep at least one hand on a brand-new truck in order to win it. In the hilarious, hard-fought contest that is Hands on a Hardbody only one winner can drive away with the American Dream.

How I learned what I learned / by August Wilson

From Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson comes a one-man show that chronicles his life as a Black artist in the Hill District in Pittsburgh. From stories about his first jobs to his first loves and his experiences with racism, Wilson recounts his life from his roots to the completion of The American Century Cycle. How I Learned What I Learned gives an inside look into one of the most celebrated playwriting voices of the twentieth century

My big gay Italian mid-life crisis / by Anthony Wilkinson

Anthony Pinnunziato is approaching his forties and is faced with the challenges of balancing his now very successful company with past and present gay relationships. Fun characters come together to join him on his journey in this laugh-out-loud interactive fiasco comedy of errors.

Jane Austen's Sense and sensibility / adapted by Emma Whipday

When Mr. Dashwood dies, he leaves behind him a fine estate - but the law dictates that this must go to his eldest son, John, leaving his wife and daughters bereft. The Dashwood women must learn to embrace a new life, for better or for worse. Sisters Marianne (a hopeless romantic) and Elinor (a stoic realist) experience the pitfalls of society, the generosity of new friends, and the passion of unexpected love in this funny and poignant adaptation of Jane Austen's exquisite early work. Battling vicious gossip, painful secrets, and the well-meaning interference of would-be matchmaker Mrs. Jennings, the Dashwood sisters learn the importance of both sense and sensibility.

Electra / by John Ward

A Queen masterminds the murder of her Husband and takes the throne with her new lover. Her Daughter, Electra, grows up in the grip of a cruel regime, swearing revenge. Her Son Orestes, exiled as a boy and raised in the arms of the rebels, waits to embark on a holy mission to reclaim his country. Two decades later a twist of fate brings Brother and Sister together; united by hate but divided by faith. With the country on the brink of civil war, the most powerful family in the Kingdom are torn apart from the inside as their dark past once again becomes the present. The revolution will be televised, but are The Gods watching? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Electra/CaH8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=electra+john+ward&printsec=frontcover

Sentence to hope : a Saʻdallah Wannous reader / by Sa'dallah Wannous

This is the first major English-language collection that brings together his most significant plays and essays. Google preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=ZA-LDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=SENTENCE%20TO%20HOPE%3A%20A%20SA'DALLAH%20WANNOUS%20rOBERT%20MYERS.&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=SENTENCE%20TO%20HOPE:%20A%20SA'DALLAH%20WANNOUS%20rOBERT%20MYERS.&f=false

The view UpStairs / by Max Vernon

When Wes, a young fashion designer from 2017, buys an abandoned building in the French Quarter of New Orleans, he finds himself transported to the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant seventies gay bar. As this forgotten community comes to life, Wes embarks on an exhilarating journey of self-exploration that spans two generations of queer history. This smash Off Broadway hit features a gritty, glam rock score and a tight-knit ensemble of unforgettable characters. The View UpStairs asks what has been gained and lost in the fight for equality, and how the past can help guide all of us through an uncertain future

A guide for the homesick / by Ken Urban

On his way home after a year in East Africa, a young aid worker goes back to a shabby Amsterdam hotel room with a fellow American. Over beers, the two strangers confess their shared fear that they betrayed the friends who needed them most. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Guide_for_the_Homesick/tr59DwAAQBAJ?q=GUIDE+FOR+THE+HOMESICK+urban&gbpv=1#f=false

26 pebbles / by Eric Ulloa

Similar in style to The Laramie Project, playwright Eric Ulloa conducted interviews with members of the community in Newtown and crafted them into an exploration of gun violence and a small town shaken by a horrific event.

Sojourners / by Mfoniso Udofia

This play is Part One of the Ufot Cycle, Udofia's sweeping, nine-part saga which chronicles the triumphs and losses of Abasiama Ufot, a Nigerian immigrant, and her family. Abasiama came to America with high hopes for her arranged marriage and her future, intent on earning a degree and returning to Nigeria. But when her husband is seduced by America, she must choose between the Nigerian or American Dream. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sojourners/I_xKDwAAQBAJ?q=SOJOURNERS+udofia&gbpv=1#f=false

Her portmanteau / by Mfoniso Udofia

An installment in the Ufot Cycle, Udofia's sweeping, nine-part saga which chronicles the triumphs and losses of Abasiama Ufot, a Nigerian immigrant, and her family. As Nigerian traditions clash with the realities of American life, Abasiama and her daughters must confront complex familial legacies that span time, geography, language and culture. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Her_Portmanteau/D1FgDwAAQBAJ?q=HER+PORTMANTEAU+udofia&gbpv=1#f=false

Dolphins and sharks / by James Anthony Tyler

Dolphins and Sharks follows three employees of Harlem Office, New York, a neighbourhood copy shop where promotions are rare, raises are even rarer, and racism is often on display. But when one staff member is given the chance to move up to manager, friendships are tested and loyalty turns out to be less valuable than cold hard cash. Soon cutbacks and office politics have everyone fighting to keep their jobs and their sanity. A searing new comedy about clocking in, clocking out and rising up. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dolphins_and_Sharks/jKD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dolphins+and+sharks+/+by+James+Anthony+Tyler&printsec=frontcover

Bull in a china shop / by Bryna Turner

Inspired by the real letters between Mary Woolley and Jeannette Marks spanning from 1899 to 1937, this fast-paced comedy asks: What is revolution? What does it mean to be at odds with the world? How do we fulfill our potential? And how the hell do we grow old together?

Hungry ghosts / by Jean Tong

When you’re a young queer Chinese-Malaysian Australian, how do you work out where you belong in the world? Criss-crossing between our unnamed protagonist, the disappearance of flight MH370 and an unsolved mystery, Hungry Ghosts offers an unconventional take on the complexities of contemporary life from exciting new playwright Jean Tong.

Grotty / by Izzy Tennyson

Grotty is a dark and savage play exploring the London lesbian scene. A couple of little sad old basements that drip with sweat and piss, with second-hand noise pulsating from some gay-boy night upstairs. The women sit there in their uniformed black… and they are looking at you. They are not nice girls. But Grotty is not a nice story.

Sir John A : acts of a gentrified Ojibway rebellion / by Drew Hayden Taylor

Explores the possibility of reconciliation between Peoples and urgently questions past and contemporary forms of Canadian colonialism. Taylor's twenty-seventh play, Sir John A's characters include Canada's infamous first Prime Minister, red-nosed and pompous, full of patriarchal contempt for those "strange and perplexing Indians," and his contemporary accusers: two Ojibway men and a soul-searching white woman. Bobby Rabbit, Sir John A's irked, Anishinaabe main character, in a fit of anger and revenge, convinces his friend Hugh to accompany him on a "sojourn of justice": to dig up Sir John A. Macdonald's bones and hold them for ransom. Decades before, a medicine pouch belonging to Bobby's grandfather was taken away by the staff of the residential school where he was detained. The precious object was sent to a British Museum exhibition room for conservation--and now Bobby wants it repatriated. Along the way the pair pick up Anya, a young, bright, and opinionated woman fleeing a bad breakup, with conflicting ideas about Sir John A's place in Canadian history. Not to be left out of the argument, Canada's first Prime Minister, broadcasting live from nineteenth-century Ottawa, shows up with opinions of his own. Sir John A: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion is a powerful satire, a creative debate about the past violences of colonial racism and the as yet untested potentiality of restoring harmony between Peoples in Canada.

Botticelli in the fire ; & Sunday in Sodom / by Jordan Tannahill

Award-winning playwright Jordan Tannahill is back with modern-day queer and feminist retellings of two momentous events one historic, one mythic. Botticelli in the Fire imagines the famed painter of The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli, as an irrepressible seeker of love and pleasure caught between the powerful Medici family, the firebrand teachings of a zealot friar, and his young lover, Leonardo da Vinci. Entangled in sexual and political brinkmanship, Botticelli must choose between art and survival. In Sunday in Sodom, Lot's wife Edith tells of the Biblical destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but set in the present day. American troops obliterate her surroundings with drone strikes and villagers turn against each other, but Edith's still focused on protecting her family, finally giving an answer as to why, when told to run and never look back, she looked back

It can't happen here / by Sinclair Lewis; adapted by Tony Taccone

A cautionary dark satire about the fragility of democracy and how fascism can take hold even in the land of liberty. IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE follows the ascent of a demagogue who becomes president of the United States by promising to return the country to greatness. Witnessing the new president's tyranny from the sidelines is a liberal, middle-class newspaper editor from Vermont who trusts the system will fix itself -- until he ends up in a prison camp. Sinclair Lewis' eerily prescient 1935 novel gets a fresh update in this adaptation that examines what brings a citizenry to the point of sacrificing its own freedom and how a courageous few can prevail to overcome the fall. Online preview: https://www.dramatists.com/previews/5617.pdf

Nine dragons : a play in two acts / by Jovanni Sy

Set in 1920s Hong Kong, Nine Dragons is a hard-boiled detective fiction with a twist: an inquisition into colonialism, racism, assimilation, and the clash of cultures. It's the classic mystery/detective genre overlaid with the topical issue of identity - a struggle that any person of colour faces in any society that privileges whiteness. It starts with murder: a wealthy, white woman is found dead.

The total bent / by Stew

When a British record producer arrives in Montgomery, Alabama to hook Marty Roy, a young black musical prodigy, he launches us back into Marty's tumultuous upbringing. The son of a gospel star and self-proclaimed healer, Marty spent his childhood writing the songs that have made his charismatic father famous. But in a nation on the verge of social upheaval, with the rising heat from the street guiding his pen, Marty finds himself at odds with his spiritually forceful father as he strives to create a masterpiece that will change America -- no matter the cost. The total bent is about the passions that divide a father and son as they make their music and make their choice between salvation and selling out Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Total_Bent/L_xKDwAAQBAJ?q=TOTAL+BENT+stew&gbpv=1#f=false

The oven : an anti-lecture / by Ilan Stavans

After a chance meeting with a shaman in Colombia, Ilan Stavans, the highly regarded literary scholar, found himself in the Amazon rainforest. He had reluctantly agreed to participate in a religious ceremony that involved taking the hallucinogen ayahuasca. Even though he considered himself a skeptic and a rational intellectual, as someone whose worldview was defined by his education and his heritage as a Mexican Jew, Stavans found that the ritual pushed him to reconsider many of his basic understandings, including his perceptions of indigenous cultures in Latin America, as well as his career as teacher, thinker, and artist

Obama-ology / by Aurin Squire

When African-American college graduate Warren takes a job with the 2008 Obama campaign, he's fired up and ready to go -- until he lands in the troubled streets of East Cleveland. But somewhere between knocking on doors, fending off cops, and questioning his own racial and sexual identity, he learns that changing society isn't as easy as he imagined Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Obama_ology/n578DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Obama-ology+/+by+Aurin+Squire&printsec=frontcover

Don't smoke in bed / by Aurin Squire

Jamaican-American Richard and White-American Sheryl are starting a family together. When they agree to a series of 'bedroom interviews', they believe that their interracial relationship is the focus of the article Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Don_t_Smoke_in_Bed/-Z78DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Don%27t+smoke+in+bed+/+by+Aurin+Squire&printsec=frontcover

Stop kiss / by Diana Son

After Callie and Sara meet, their fast friendship leads to an unexpected attraction. Their first kiss provokes a violent attack that transforms their lives in a way they could never anticipate. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stop_Kiss/QOxF33PYoxQC?q=STOP+KISS+diana+son&gbpv=1#f=false

White Rabbit Red Rabbit ; Blank : two plays / by Nassim Soleimanpour

This collection contains Soleimanpour's international hit White Rabbit Red Rabbit and his second play BLANK. White Rabbit Red Rabbit has been translated into over 30 languages and performed over 1000 times by some of the biggest names in theatre and film, including actors Stephen Rea, Sinead Cusack, John Hurt, Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane and Ken Loach. BLANK is a joint effort between audience and performer, the gaps in the script filled in to reveal a story that celebrates the human imagination. As formally inventive as it is engaging, BLANK reverses the typical theatre experience.

Icebergs / by Alena Smith

Los Angeles, California, where the weather is always nice, and the future looks bright…at least on the surface. Welcome to Silver Lake on a warm November night, where a new generation of thirtysomethings navigate filmmaking and family planning, trying to put down roots before everything melts away. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Icebergs/H1FgDwAAQBAJ?q=ICEBERGS+alena+smith&gbpv=1#f=false

The Moors / by Jen Silverman

Two sisters and a dog live out their lives on the bleak English moors, dreaming of love and power. The arrival of a hapless governess and a moor-hen set all three on a strange and dangerous path. The Moors is a dark comedy about love, desperation, and visibility.

Collective rage : a play in 5 Betties / by Jen Silverman

Betty is rich; Betty is lonely; Betty's busy working on her truck; Betty wants to talk about love, but Betty needs to hit something. And Betty keeps using a small hand mirror to stare into parts of herself she's never examined. Five different women named Betty collide at the intersection of anger, sex, and the 'thea-tah Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Collective_Rage_A_Play_in_Five_Betties/46D8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Collective+rage+:+a+play+in+5+Betties+/+by+Jen+Silverman&printsec=frontcover

This day forward / by Nicky Silver

Martin has just married the girl of his dreams. Only moments after their vows, however, Irene reveals that she, in fact, is deeply in love with someone else, a gas station attendant named Emil. To make matters worse, she called Emil during the reception and he's on his way to confront the groom. By the end of Act I, Irene has left Martin to be with her love. Act II is set forty-six years later. Noah, Irene's son, is waiting for his mother to be delivered by the police, having been found disoriented at the airport. We learn from Noah that Martin and Irene did, in fact, end up together. The mystery of how that happened is slowly revealed as Noah grapples with his combative and confused mother, his desperate sister, and Leo, the young man Noah pushes away despite the love between them. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/This_Day_Forward/Rs43DwAAQBAJ?q=THIS+DAY+FORWARD+silver&gbpv=1#f=false

The Portuguese kid / by John Patrick Shanley

In Providence, Rhode Island, habitually widowed Atalanta pays a visit to her second-rate lawyer, Barry Dragonetti. Intending to settle her latest husband's affairs, this larger-than-life Greek tightwad quickly becomes a nightmare for her cheesey, self-aggrandizing attorney. Add Barry's impossible Croatian mother, a dash of politics, and a couple of opportunistic young lovers, and you have in hand a recipe for comic combustion. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Portuguese_Kid/0r59DwAAQBAJ?q=PORTUGUESE+KID+shanley&gbpv=1#f=false

Better angels : a parable / by Andrea Scott

Better Angels: A Parable is a story that is not uniquely Canadian but it will resonate with audiences due to its timely arrival. Since the play is about Modern Day Slavery (otherwise known as ‘Day Slavery’) it complements the challenges Canada is having with the Temporary Foreign Workers issue facing the nation. Not only does it speak to Canadians experiencing a difficult job market but it also addresses the issues of having a foreign worker in one’s home when no Canadian wants the job because of poor wages and intransigent, demanding employers. Those employers are also our peers, people in their 30’s with small children who have better than average jobs who want live-in care but not willing to always pay industry standard wages. On the other side is the employee/slave who comes to Canada expecting to make a living and is locked in invisible handcuffs. There are numerous stories about people moving here from Africa, the West Indies, the Philippines and Asia to work and being taken advantage of by family members and strangers once in the country. With landlines practically obsolete in most homes and sometimes a language barrier these people become isolated and alienated in metropolises like Toronto and Vancouver. When Leila and Greg hire a woman from Ghana to take care of their home and children they think they’ve put one over on a simple country girl. Unbeknownst to them, she is a disciple of the spider god, Anansi, and will use her wits to turn the tables on them.

Utility / by Emily Schwend

Marking the tenth anniversary of the Yale Drama Series for emerging playwrights, Emily Schwend's powerful work centers on Amber, a young woman struggling to raise a family in East Texas. Amber is juggling two nearly full-time jobs and three kids. Her on-again, off-again husband Chris is eternally optimistic and charming as hell, but rarely employed. The house is falling apart and Amber has an eight-year-old's birthday party to plan Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Utility/laAzDwAAQBAJ?q=SCHWEND,+EMILY+utility&gbpv=1#f=false

The gingerbread house / by Mark Schultz

Brian and Stacey want a better life, the life they deserve. Raising two children has left them unsatisfied, running back and forth endlessly from work to Little League games. To advance their careers and penetrate the secretive ranks of "The Club," the beleaguered parents propose to ditch their little bundles of responsibility. With the aid of Brian's friend Marco acting as broker, they'll sell their kids to Albanian buyers. But as Brian and Stacey begin to enjoy the fruits of the good life, Stacey begins to suspect that happiness is just the ability to turn a blind eye to horror. And she's finding it hard to be happy. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Gingerbread_House/9UYgO3j142UC?q=GINGERBREAD+HOUSE+schultz&gbpv=1#f=false

The great society : part II of the LBJ plays / by Robert Schenkkan

The minute you gain power, you start to lose it. In his second term of office, LBJ struggles to fight a war on poverty as the war in Vietnam spins out of control. Besieged by opponents, Johnson marshals all his political wiles to try to pass some of the most important social programs in U.S. history. The great society depicts the larger-than-life politician's tragic fall from grace, as his accomplishments--the passage of hundreds of bills to enact reform in civil and voting rights, poverty, and education--are overshadowed by the bitter failure of the Vietnam War. The great society is complemented by its companion piece, the Tony Award winning All the Way, depicting LBJ's first term in office. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Great_Society/6_tKDwAAQBAJ?q=SCHENKKAN,+ROBERT+great+society&gbpv=1#f=false

A thousand splendid suns / by Khaled Hosseini; adapted by Ursula Sarma

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss, and by fate. As they endure the ever-escalating dangers around them-- in their home, as well as in the streets of Kabul-- they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other. It will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Thousand_Splendid_Suns_Play_Script/xessDwAAQBAJ?q=THOUSAND+SPLENDID+SUNS+(PLAY+SCRIPT):+BASED+ON+THE+NOVEL+BY+KHALED+HOSSEINI&gbpv=1#f=false

Citizen : an American lyric / by Claudia Rankine, adapted by Stephen Sachs

A searing, poetic riff on race in America, fusing prose, poetry, movement, music, and the visual image. Snapshots, vignettes, on the acts of everyday racism. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams, online, on TV -- everywhere, all the time. Those did-that-really-just-happen-did-they-really-just-say-that slurs that happen every day and enrage in the moment and later steep poisonously in the mind. And, of course, those larger incidents that become national or international firestorms. As Rankine writes, "This is how you are a citizen Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Citizen_An_American_Lyric/ar19DwAAQBAJ?q=CITIZEN:+AN+AMERICAN+LYRIC:+ADAPTED+FOR+THE+STAGE&gbpv=1#f=false

Molly's hammer / by Tammy Ryan

In 1980, Molly Rush, a Pittsburgh housewife and mother of six, walked into a G.E. plant in King of Prussia, Penn., and took a hammer to the nose cone of a nuclear warhead in protest of the buildup of our nuclear arsenal. She and her fellow activists, The Plowshares Eight, including Daniel and Philip Berrigan, went to trial to sound the alarm, and the world was pulled back from the brink of nuclear annihilation for the time being. Molly's Hammer is the fictionalized story of these events, inspired by the book Hammer of Justice by Liane Ellison Norman. Told with humor and love through the competing narratives of Molly and her working-class husband, Bill, Molly's Hammer shines a light on how the choice of ordinary people to take action is what is needed to save our world. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exMollysHammerMQ7.pdf

Lost boy found in Whole Foods / by Tammy Ryan

In the early '90s in Sudan after civil war destroyed their villages, an exodus of boys trekked 800 miles across Africa until making it to refugee camps in Kenya, where they lived on a bowl of grain a day for 10 years. In 2001, the U.S. resettled 3,600 of these "lost boys" in cities across America. Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods tells the story of Christine, a recently divorced "East Ender" from Pittsburgh, who meets Gabriel, a former "lost boy" working in the produce section of Whole Foods. Soon Gabriel's world becomes enmeshed with hers and daughter Alex-leading to a remarkable journey of awareness, struggle and hopefulness. The play asks the question: what happens when we open up our lives to help another human being-leaving us to wonder about the effect of one soul upon another. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exLostBoyFoundInWholeFoodsLK4.pdf

For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday / by Sarah Ruhl

When Ann thinks of her father, she immediately remembers playing Peter Pan in her hometown theater in Iowa, particularly when he used to bring her flowers after her performance. Her memory is jogged by the fact that she and her four siblings are in their father's hospital room during his final moments. His death sparks a conversational wake that includes everything from arguments over politics to when each sibling realized that they grew up. A loving look at a family's view of death, life, and the allure of never growing up Google preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=aiBzDgAAQBAJ&lpg=PT17&dq=FOR%20PETER%20PAN%20ON%20HER%2070TH%20BIRTHDAY&pg=PT17#v=onepage&q=FOR%20PETER%20PAN%20ON%20HER%2070TH%20BIRTHDAY&f=false

Radiant vermin / by Philip Ridley

When a young couple is offered an ideal house by a mysterious stranger, it prompts the question: How far would any of us go to get our dream home? A fast-paced, pitch-black comedy, RADIANT VERMIN is a provocative satire about the housing market, homelessness, and inequality. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Radiant_Vermin/ehVpBwAAQBAJ?q=RADIANT+VERMIN+ridley&gbpv=1#f=false

Mercury fur / by Philip Ridley

In a society ravaged by warring gangs and a hallucinogenic-drug epidemic, Elliot and Darren, under the sway of the ruthless Spinx, throw parties for rich clients in abandoned apartment buildings--parties that help guests act out their darkest, most sinister fantasies. As the teenage brothers prepare for the latest festivities, some unexpected guests threaten the balance of the world they have created in the midst of this dystopian nightmare. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mercury_Fur/xL59DwAAQBAJ?q=MERCURY+FUR+ridley&gbpv=1#f=false

Gutted / by Liz Richardson

Liz has got an embarrassing problem, and these yogurts aren't helping. Her body's acting up. Gutted is a bold new journey of frank confessions, colourful characters and too much brown sauce. A shameless tale of love, laughter and lavatories, it is based on solo performer Liz Richardson's real-life experiences as a young woman living with ulcerative colitis (similar to Crohn's Disease). Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gutted/Hyp1DwAAQBAJ?q=GUTTED+richardson&gbpv=1#f=false

That day in Tucson / by Guillermo Reyes

A shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., creates international headlines as Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords becomes one of the victims. A young intern from Tucson, Daniel Hernandez Jr., rushes to Giffords’ rescue, and he’s credited with helping save her life. The media creates a circus around him, transforms him into a reluctant hero and opens up his private life to public scrutiny, especially when he wasn’t ready to discuss his involvement in the LGBTQ community. This is the real story of an unexpected hero who is thrown unintentionally into the limelight, and, in flashbacks, the play depicts what led to that crucial day in Tucson in which everything changed for Daniel and for the national political landscape surrounding the gun debate and gun violence. The play features elements of growing up in a bicultural, bilingual Latino family in the southwest and Daniel’s discovery of his commitment to public life. There’s also humor and compassion as the play depicts Daniel’s real-life friendship with Gabby Giffords, which survives this tragedy. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exThatDayinTucsonTV8.pdf

The tug of war / by David Rambo

In October 1962, the nation's young president, John F. Kennedy, learns the Soviet Union is building military bases in Cuba--only 90 miles from the U.S. coast. Despite Soviet assurances that the build-up is solely for Cuba's defensive capability, Kennedy learns that the Soviets have been lying. Their Cuban installations comprise a nuclear missile force capable of wiping out most of the continental United States. In an act of brilliant courage, Kennedy resists his urge to bomb the installations immediately. Instead, he assembles a committee of the best and brightest minds to debate what action the U.S. should take. As the stakes rise by the day...the hour...the minute...the second...the president weighs conflicting counsel from his national security team, the military, and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. But the clock on human survival is ticking...and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev is behaving more and more erratically. Drawn from White House Cuban Missile Crisis files and recordings, THE TUG OF WAR is a heart-pounding battle of intellect and hubris, when two rival leaders held the fate of the world in their hands Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tug_of_War/P1FgDwAAQBAJ?q=TUG+OF+WAR+rambo&gbpv=1#f=false

All rights reserved / by Michael Ragozzino

As the marketing directors of PharmaHope Inc., Grace and Ralph have had months to come up with an advertising strategy for the company’s new drug. Now, mere hours from the start of a massive production run of pills, pill bottles, blister packs and physician info sheets, they’re still scrambling to come up with a name! To make matters worse, Christie, their assistant and slogan guinea pig, has convinced her father, the PharmaHope CEO, to bring in a new person on the marketing team. But instead of a grizzled marketing vet with years of crisis management experience, the team gets Jerry, a naive, newly graduated go-getter with fresh ideas but an annoying case of morality. With the clock ticking and with no good ideas of their own, Grace and Ralph must try to dismantle Jerry’s youthful idealism in record time. Fast-paced and funny, All Rights Reserved holds up a mirror to one of the most absurd practices of modern society, the marketing of prescription drugs. This timely play will not only make audiences laugh but also inspire them to think about a world in which any problem can be solved by a pill. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exAllRightsReservedAM3.pdf

The funeral director / by Iman Qureshi

Life as the director of a Muslim funeral parlour isn't always easy, but Ayesha has things pretty sorted. She and Zeyd share everything: a marriage, a business, a future. Until Tom walks in to organise his boyfriend's funeral. A snap moral decision, informed by the values of Ayesha's community and faith, has profound consequences. Forced to confront a secret she has hidden even from herself, Ayesha must decide who she is – no matter the cost. Iman Qureshi's play The Funeral Director is an incisive and heartfelt story of sexuality, gender and religion in twenty-first-century Britain.

Snore / by Max Posner

In 2011, a tight-knit group of socially conscious college graduates strive to remain whole as the green pastures of their liberal arts educations are paved over. Tom hopes to pass his bar exam to prevent the U.S. from illegally deporting immigrants. He and Nina are finally moving in together. Deb is back from the orphanage in Honduras, where she fell in love in Spanish. Abe remains committed to Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution, although he can't stop needling his friends. Mia won't stop talking, and Allie doesn't know where to start. On the audacious hunt for romantic fulfillment and societal worth, a circle of friendship changes shape. In six breathless birthday parties, SNORE maps a generational shift as idealism starts to rupture. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Snore/4L59DwAAQBAJ?q=SNORE+posner&gbpv=1#f=false

Sisters on the ground / by Max Posner

Massachusetts, 1825. Martha was buried by all six of her sisters, including me. That spring, we started sleeping outdoors. We didn't go back inside. What with Papa. Harriet got cholera. Beth got Married. Hannah began bundling. Abigail got drunk. Lying on the dirt, facing the sky, we started saying sentences to each other. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sisters_on_the_Ground/2r59DwAAQBAJ?q=SISTERS+ON+THE+GROUND+posner&gbpv=1#f=false

Popcorn elder / by Curtis Peeteetuce

As a condition of his parole, Darren has been ordered by the court to live with his father, Wally, on the rez. The two have always had a contentious relationship: Wally is a problem drinker, and Darren's got a short fuse. But Wally tells his son that he's stopped drinking and started going to ceremony, and urges Darren to do the same. As old family secrets start to be revealed, the father and son grapple with complex issues.

Angry fags / by Topher Payne

Bennett is really trying to keep it together right now. He broke up with his boyfriend and moved in with his best friend, Cooper. It's election season, and he's the speechwriter for Georgia's only gay state senator, who's engaged in a bloody campaign against a conservative darling. Then Bennett's ex is attacked in the parking lot of a gay bar. Bennett and Cooper are informed that the assault can't be classified as a hate crime - because in Georgia, hate crimes against homosexuals don't legally exist. Their frustration and fear eventually turn to rage as they realize "acceptance" simply isn't enough. They're still living in a society that relegates them to second-class status. They're not respected. They're not feared. It's time for that to change.

Children of God : a musical / by Corey Payette

Children of God is a powerful musical about an Oji-Cree family whose children were taken away to a residential school in Northern Ontario. The play tells the story of one family: Tommy and Julia, who are trying to survive in the harsh environment of a religious school, and their mother, Rita, who never stops trying to get them back. The impact of this experience on the lives of them all is profound and devastating, yet the story moves toward redemption. Children of God offers a thrilling blend of ancient traditions and contemporary realities, celebrating resilience and the power of the Indigenous cultural spirit. Includes study guide.

An adventure / by Vinay Patel

On a stormy night in 1954, a woman doomed to marry one of five men discovers the wildcard choice might just be the person she'd been hoping for all along. An Adventure follows headstrong Jyoti and her fumbling suitor Rasik as they ride the crest of the fall of the Empire from the shores of post-Partition India to the forests of Mau Mau Kenya onto the industrial upheaval of 1970s London and the present day. But what happens when youthful ambitions crash hard against reality? When you look back at the story of your time together, can you bear to ask yourself: was it all worth it? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Adventure/2KJyDwAAQBAJ?q=ADVENTURE+vinay+patel&gbpv=1#f=false

Until the flood: a new play based on interviews conducted in St. Louis in the spring of 2015 / by Dael Orlandersmith

Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith's UNTIL THE FLOOD was written in response to Michael Brown's death. Having interviewed scores of St. Louis residents. Orlandersmith portrays the many faces found within the community, giving each a chance to take center stage Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Until_the_Flood/Eb99DwAAQBAJ?q=UNTIL+THE+FLOOD:+A+NEW+PLAY+BASED+ON+INTERVIEWS&gbpv=1#f=false

The sonic life of a giant tortoise / by Toshiki Okada

A man dreams that his girlfriend is dead. Not because he wants to kill her but because he imagines his life would be more meaningful to have a girlfriend who has died. A woman dreams she is riding the subway, forever. She arrives at a mysterious gathering deep underground, and when she returns to her real life, she finds that decades have gone by and her boyfriend is aged and dying. The Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise is a modern folktale set against an urban landscape, about our collective longing for the extraordinary, and the mundanity of everyday life.

Split/mixed : a thought-provoking quest to find a singular voice / by Ery Nzaramba

The genocide in Rwanda shocked the world. Back then, Ery Nzaramba was only a teenager and his family's escape to Europe turned him into a "survivor". How should he now respond to questions about who he is and where he comes from? In this autobiographical one-man play, performed to acclaim on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the author journeys back to his Rwandan childhood. With the help of a cassette player, he brings to life nearly a dozen characters, exploring memories of kinship, cultural attitudes and personal identity. Both funny and poignant, the play highlights not only the intolerance that can breed violence and war but also the importance of power and privilege in the struggle for survival. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Split_Mixed/aD6eDwAAQBAJ?q=SPLIT/MIXED+ery&gbpv=1#f=false

Pass over / by Antoinette Nwandu

Moses and Kitch stand around on the corner - talking shit, passing the time, and hoping that maybe today will be different. As they dream of their promised land, a stranger wanders into their space with his own agenda and derails their plans. Emotional and lyrical, Pass Over crafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, exposing the unquestionable human spirit of young men stuck in a cycle just looking for a way out. A provocative riff on Waiting for Godot, Pass Over is a rare piece of politically charged theater by a bold new American voice. Google preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=NkSEDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=NWANDU%2C%20ANTOINETTE%20pass%20over&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=NWANDU,%20ANTOINETTE%20pass%20over&f=false

The sum : a play with songs / by Lizzie Nunnery

I'm a number's person. Always have been. Eve's been doing the maths her whole life. But when the squeeze comes, how do you balance a life that doesn't add up and a family that refuses to read the bottom line? A play with songs about searching for the magic formula in hard times, The Sum by Lizzie Nunnery premiered at Liverpool Everyman in May 2017. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sum/e8exDgAAQBAJ?q=SUM:+A+PLAY+WITH+SONGS+nunnery&gbpv=1#f=false

Dare to do : the bear maxim / by Mark Norfolk

Meet 'The Bear'. A wealthy trader, a family man, a success story. But his world is about to come crashing down when he loses his job, his wife, his self-respect. But he has plan, one that takes the tried and tested rules of the corporate finance world to the streets. Inspired by the true story of the infamous city trader who ran up the biggest loss in British banking history Dare to Do delves into the world of finance and its relationship with the world, and the people it owns. The untold story of the man who broke the city - Kweku Adoboli

The Gabriels : election year in the life of one family / by Richard Nelson

In this acclaimed three-part play cycle, Richard Nelson--author of the much-lauded The Apple Family plays--deftly embeds the chaotic tension of the 2016 Presidential election into the hyperrealistic family gathering in the home of the Gabriels in Rhinebeck, New York. Each play is set over the course of one evening in the house the family grew up in. History (both theirs and our country's), money, politics, family and culture are mixed together as a meal is being made--all combining to make theatre that is as immediate as it is riveting in its humanity. The trilogy includes Hungry, What Did You Expect?, and Women of a Certain Ag

Borders / by Henry Naylor

Two artists from opposite worlds meet in an unlikely place - the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. It's 2017, and an ageing fishing boat is sinking fast, its occupants quickly abandoning ship. However, one young woman is panicking - she's six months pregnant, and can't swim. Sebastian, an English photojournalist-turned-paparazzo, is sent to cover the Syrian refugee crisis for a well-known magazine. At the same time, an unnamed Syrian street artist is forced to flee the Assad regime after a dramatic change in her life.

The immeasurable want of light / by Daaimah Mubashshir

THE IMMEASURABLE WANT OF LIGHT is a collection of many short plays drawn from Mubashshir's two-year personal practice of writing a play a day to capture and express the ever-shifting perspective of living in black skin.

Woza Albert! / by Percy Mtwa

Woza Albert! is one of the most popular and influential plays to have come out of the South African cultural struggle of the 1980s and a central work in the canon of South African theatre. Working with the idea of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ taking place in apartheid South Africa, the playwrights improvised a brilliant two-man show consisting of 26 vignettes, commenting on and satirising life under the apartheid regime. The play has become one of the most anthologized and produced South African plays both in South Africa, and internationally and is studied widely in schools as well as universities. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Woza_Albert/NMZIDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Woza+Albert!+/+by+Percy+Mtwa&printsec=frontcover

Vengeance can wait / by Yukiko Motoya

A kinky comedy about love, submission, and sweet revenge ... Vengeance Can Wait navigates Japanese sub-culture as it charts a different kind of love story. A couple has the ideal domestic relationship: he spends his days planning the perfect revenge, while she awaits her perfect punishment. Dark, twisted and touching, the couple comes to understand the 'kinks' in their relationship--and embrace them

Reunion / by Gregory S. Moss

Twenty-five years ago, in a small city in Massachusetts, three teenage boys ran wild. Best friends Mitch, Peter and Max drank, played their music loud and made trouble while trying to survive high school, their families and the demands of the conservative working-class community in which they grew up. Max was the leader, the boldest and most ruthless; Mitch was Max’s right-hand; and Peter—Peter was the third wheel and the butt of their jokes. After a harrowing graduation night, the threesome grew up and grew apart. But tonight—the night of their high-school reunion, exactly 25 years since graduation—Mitch is getting the gang back together to celebrate and recreate the wildness of their teenage years. Time has changed them—Peter is doughy and domesticated, still eager for his friends’ acceptance; Mitchell is an eccentric, loquacious loner, hungry for reconnection; and Max, now a reformed alcoholic, recently divorced, is wounded and secretive, seeking forgiveness from his friends for past bad behavior and trying to distance himself from the kid he once was. Max struggles to make an early exit, but the familiar comfort of old friends and Mitch’s persuasion win him over, opening the door to a night of exhilarating intoxication, celebration, risky behavior and a reconnection with the reckless freedom of youth. But as morning encroaches, secrets are revealed, and all three men find that the past can be a dangerous place to return to, and their memories of youth and bonding are troubled and complicated by adulthood, leading ultimately to a long overdue atonement. A darkly comic drama, Reunion explores the risks and pleasures of revisiting the past, examines the precariousness of male identity and reveals the fraught and dangerous aspects of male bonding. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exReunionRD6.pdf

Completeness / by Itamar Moses

How does a computer scientist hook up with a molecular biologist? He blinds her with science, of course. When Elliot builds a computer program to help Molly with her research project, the variables in their evolving relationship shift as rapidly as the terms of their experiment. This deft and imaginative new ROM-comedy shows that even the most sophisticated algorithm may freeze in the face of life’s infinite possibilities.

The band's visit / by Itamar Moses

After a mix-up at the border, Egypt's Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, bound for the cosmopolitan Israeli city Petah Tikvah, is stranded in a small desert town. With no transportation until the next day, the band is taken in by the locals. By morning, the lives of visitors and hosts are forever altered. Itamar Moses and David Yazbek's stunning musical adaptation of the 2007 acclaimed film finds transcendence in the surprising and tender relationships that are forged between strangers under the desert sky Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Band_s_Visit/ulFUDwAAQBAJ?q=BAND%27S+VISIT+moses&gbpv=1#f=false

Skeleton crew / by Dominique Morisseau

At the start of the Great Recession, one of the last auto stamping plants in Detroit is on shaky ground. Each of the workers have to make choices on how to move forward if their plant goes under. Shanita has to decide how she'll support herself and her unborn child, Faye has to decide how and where she'll live, and Dez has to figure out how to make his ambitious dreams a reality. Power dynamics shift as their manager Reggie is torn between doing right by his work family, and by the red tape in his office. Powerful and tense, Skeleton Crew is the third of Dominique Morisseau's Detroit cycle trilogy

Pipeline : a play / by Dominique Morisseau

With profound compassion and lyricism, Morisseau brings us a powerful play that delves into the urgent issue of the ?school-to-prison? pipeline that ensnares people of color. Issues of class, race, parenting, and education in America are brought to the frontlines, as we are left to question the systematic structures that ultimately trap underserved communities Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pipeline_TCG_Edition/gaxvDwAAQBAJ?q=PIPELINE+morisseau&gbpv=1#f=false

Blood at the root / by Dominique Morisseau

A drama based on the Jena Six: six black students who were initially charged with attempted murder for a school fight after being provoked with nooses hanging from a tree on campus. The play examines issues of racism, homophobia, and justice -- or the lack thereof.

Paradise Blue / by Dominique Morisseau

Blue, a gifted trumpeter, contemplates selling his once-vibrant jazz club in Detroit’s Blackbottom neighborhood to shake free the demons of his past and better his life. But where does that leave his devoted Pumpkin, who has dreams of her own? And what does it mean for the club’s resident bebop band? When a mysterious woman with a walk that drives men mad comes to town with her own plans, everyone’s world is turned upside down. This dynamic and musically-infused drama shines light on the challenges of building a better future on the foundation of what our predecessors have left us. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Paradise_Blue/pd_yDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Paradise+Blue+/+by+Dominique+Morisseau&printsec=frontcover

The May Queen / by Molly Smith Metzler

Who were you in high school? Were you a popular kid, a nerd, a jock or a prom queen? What “most likely to” superlative did you receive, and did you go on to become the person you aspired to be? For Jen Nash, being crowned the May Queen of Kingston High School was more of a jail sentence than a superlative. An honor bestowed upon one lucky girl at the annual May Day ceremony, the May Queen wears a white toga and is paraded through town in celebration of spring’s arrival. She is envied and worshipped by many. But for Jen Nash, May Day was a trauma from which she’s never recovered, and she disappeared from her hometown shortly thereafter. The gossip mill in Kingston kicks into high gear when, 15 years later, she returns home under mysterious circumstances, seeming a husk of her former self. Everyone has a theory about where she’s been, of course. Was she one of Elliot Spitzer’s hookers? Was she in a cult? Was she married to a sheik in Dubai? Jen answers none of these questions; she just hides out in her parents’ house and takes a temp job at a discount insurance company, where her new coworkers—the Zumba-addicted Gail and bookish nerd Dave—attempt to pull out any info they can. But when Jen finds out that her former high-school flame, Mike Petracca, with whom she shares a complicated past, is the star salesman at the insurance company, she knows she won’t be able to keep her secrets for long. In this fun, dark and surprising office comedy, Jen fights to be released from the prison of her small town’s expectations, abdicate the throne and disclose once and for all who she really is. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exMayQueenMR1.pdf

Turkey / by Frankie Meredith

Madeline wants a baby, so a baby she will have. It doesn't matter that she is in a relationship with a woman, or that they can't afford the high private clinic fees, she'll go about getting this child whichever way she can. Together with her partner, the selfless, kind, stable Toni the two women explore all the options available to them but when Madeline gets excited about one possibility in particular alarm bells are raised for Toni. Now the Nuclear Family is no longer considered the norm, how far can Madeline go to get the baby she so desires? And does it really matter who she has this baby with? People are manipulated, games are played and hearts ultimately shattered in this tale of one woman's longing for a child Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Turkey/16D8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Turkey+/+by+Frankie+Meredith&printsec=frontcover

King Arthur's night ; and, Peter Panties : a collaboration across perceptions of cognitive difference / by Niall McNeil

Among the first by a writer with Down syndrome, these two plays demonstrate an ability to riff and shift perspective, with disarming, hilarious, and occasionally heart-stopping results. Based on the iconic stories of King Arthur and Peter Pan, they are modern-day mash-ups that meld the fictional, the meta-fictional, and the real in ways that are counter-intuitive and absurd. And they're musical! Both feature songs by beloved Vancouver musician Veda Hille, with lyrics by the playwrights

Locker room talk / by Gary McNair

'Grab them by the pussy!' Donald J Trump, 45th President of the United States. Locker Room Talk is a provocative piece of event theatre. Inspired by Trump's leaked sexually aggressive comments, the show is a confronting exploration of the phenomenon the then-presidential candidate later dismissed as 'locker room talk'. Does Trump speak to a silent majority or is he simply a loathsome individual? To find out, Gary McNair had frank and honest conversations with men in private about women. The words of these men are performed by a cast of women in this verbatim piece. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Locker_Room_Talk/gqD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Locker+room+talk+/+by+Gary+McNair&printsec=frontcover

Ultimate beauty bible / by Caroline McGraw

Danielle, Lee, and Tiffany have scaled the masthead of Crimp magazine, gaining access to the best the city has to offer--nightlife, men, and the beautiful baubles showcased in every issue. But when workaholic Danielle is forced to face her mortality, she begins to wonder what it's all worth. In this dark comedy, questions of romance, sex, ambition, and loyalty spin Danielle and her friends out of control as they consider the possibility of life without each other. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ultimate_Beauty_Bible/D799DwAAQBAJ?q=ULTIMATE+BEAUTY+BIBLE+mcgraw&gbpv=1#f=false

Salmon is everything / by Theresa May

After a devastating fish kill on the Klamath River, tribal members and theatre artist Theresa May developed a play to give voice to the central spiritual and cultural role of salmon in tribal life. Salmon Is Everything presents the script of that play, along with essays by artists and collaborators that illuminate the process of creating and performing theatre on Native and environmental issues.

The shroud maker / by Ahmed Masoud

Hajja Souad, an 80-year old Palestinian woman living on the besieged Gaza Strip, knows about business. She has survived decades of wars and oppression through making shrouds for the dead. A compelling black comedy that delves deep into the intimate life of ordinary Palestinians to weave a highly distinctive path through Palestine's turbulent past and present, The Shroud Maker is a one-woman comedy that weaves comic fantasy and satire with true stories told first hand to the writer, and offers a vivid portrait of Palestinian life in Gaza underscored with gallows humour Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Shroud_Maker/RaH8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+shroud+maker+/+by+Ahmed+Masoud&printsec=frontcover

Meteor shower / by Steve Martin

Corky and Norm are excited to host Gerald and Laura at their home in the valley outside Los Angeles to watch a once-in-a-lifetime meteor shower. But as the stars come out and the conversation gets rolling, it becomes clear that Gerald and Laura might not be all that they appear to be. Over the course of a crazy, starlit dinner party, the wildly unexpected occurs. The couples begin to flirt and insanity reigns. Martin, using his trademark absurdist humor, bends the fluid nature of time and reality to create a surprising and unforgettably funny new play

Squeamish / by Aaron Mark

SQUEAMISH is a grotesque tale of phobia and compulsion, a minimalist work of psychological horror about craving what terrifies us most. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Squeamish/6L59DwAAQBAJ?q=SQUEAMISH+mark+aaron&gbpv=1#f=false

Scenes from a marriage / by Emily Mann

In Emily Mann's highly theatrical adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's popular 1974 film Scenes from a marriage, audiences are invited into an intimate stage space to collectively experience the human politics of a relationship, through all the stages of life--from youth to middle age to maturity Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Scenes_from_a_Marriage/2vdcDgAAQBAJ?q=SCENES+FROM+A+MARRIAGE+mann&gbpv=1#f=false

The penitent : a play / by David Mamet

In this new drama about ethical boundaries and pressures of the legal system, David Mamet digs deep into American corruption and the degradation of social mores. The Penitent follows the story of an acclaimed psychiatrist who refuses to testify in court on behalf of his patient--an act that might undo everything he's worked for Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Penitent_TCG_Edition/6ThDDwAAQBAJ?q=PENITENT:+A+PLAY+mamet&gbpv=1#f=false

Cost of living / by Martyna Majok

What is the road that brought us here? Unemployed truck driver Eddie sits at a bar alone, recalling his final moments with wife, Ani Luz, when a car accident turned the focus of their relationship from divorcing to caregiving. Overworked and underpaid, Jess takes on another job to make ends meet - this time, as a personal caregiver for a wealthy and beautiful graduate student named John, who has cerebral palsy. "Cost of Living" is a play that delves into the chasm between abundance and need and explores the space where bodies - abled and disabled, rich and poor - meet each other Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cost_of_Living/31BgDwAAQBAJ?q=COST+OF+LIVING+majok&gbpv=1#f=false

The tailor-made man / by Claudio Macor

By 1930 William Haines was one of MGM's most idolized male stars, second only to John Gilbert. On screen he was tailor-made to get the girl in the last reel. On the backlot he cruised every bit player and stage hand in sight. Billy openly lived with his ex-stand-in and lover Jimmy Shields. He was tolerated by the studio until rumours started erupting. Louis B. Mayer ordered him to marry the sultry silent screen vamp Pola Negri. Billy refused. William Haines's defiance of the studio led to his second and even more successful career. It's a powerful story about Hollywood, its system and hypocrisy, but above all it's the story of Billy and Jimmy's turbulent, passionate love affair that survived it all and lasted over 50 years. an unforgettable true love story. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tailor_Made_Man/mqD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+tailor-made+man+/+by+Claudio+Macor&printsec=frontcover

Gracie : a play / by Joan MacLeod

Gracie is a dramatic monologue telling the story of a girl raised in a fundamentalist community that transports child brides between polygamist communities in both Canada and the United States.

The mystery play : a Sister Salter mystery / by Josh MacDonald

The Mystery Play is a detective story, a ghost story, and a memory play: a theatrical blending of Wit and The Woman In Black. In The Mystery Play, Salter recounts her late-stage struggles with her own beliefs while also detailing her father George's descent into Alzheimer's. In his seventies, George is becoming prone to semi-violent outbursts, to speaking with phantoms in the middle of the night, and to eerie sleepwalking all of which leave Salter exhausted and questioning the existence of God's love. Then, into the adjoining suite next door moves a young schoolteacher, Jennifer Craig, and her husband, Peter. This newlywed couple seems perfect, and very much in love ... until they don't

The perfectly timed death of an imaginary friend / by Kieran Lynn

Alex and Sara are worried. Their daughter Lee starts school soon and they think her best friend Ernie is going to be a problem. It isn’t that he is badly behaved or mischievous, the problem with Ernie is that he is imaginary. They hatch a plan to force their daughter to grow up and to get rid of Ernie. But as the plan begins to work they learn a lesson that parents usually have to teach their children – be careful what you wish for Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Perfectly_Timed_Death_of_an_Imaginar/a6H8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+perfectly+timed+death+of+an+imaginary+friend+/+by+Kieran+Lynn&printsec=frontcover

Black is the new white / by Nakkiah Lui

Charlotte Gibson is a lawyer with a brilliant career ahead of her. As her father Ray says, she could be the next female Indigenous Waleed Aly. But she has other ideas. First of all, it's Christmas. Second of all, she's in love. The thing is, her fiance, Francis Smith, is not what her family expected - he's unemployed, he's an experimental composer ... and he's white! Bringing him and his conservative parents to meet her family on their ancestral land is a bold move. Will he stand up to the scrutiny? Or will this romance descend into farce? Love is never just black and white. It's complicated by class, politics, ambition, and too much wine over dinner. But for Charlotte and Francis, it's mostly complicated by family. Secrets are revealed, prejudices outed and old rivalries get sorted through. What can't be solved through diplomacy can surely be solved by a good old-fashioned dance-off.

Thanks for giving / by Kevin Loring

Nan's family is home for Thanksgiving, but some unsolicited truths are about to be dropped at the dinner table. Old wounds and new realities collide, and sibling rivalry is stoked, but the enduring spirit that guides this family charges on, ever fierce. Thanks for Giving offers plenty to chew on.

Mala / by Melinda Lopez

A darkly funny tale about what it means to put our loved ones first, right to the very end, and what happens when we strive to be good but don't always succeed. It is a comical and brutally honest look at family dynamics, including stubborn parents and unequipped children, and explores the unsentimental poetry of everyday life. A one-woman [play that] careens from comedy to deep pathos, while having the toughest conversation about the most common of events -- the end of life Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mala/SfxKDwAAQBAJ?q=MALA.+lopez+melinda&gbpv=1#f=false

Homefree / by Lisa Loomer

Franklin, Breezy, JJ. Kicked out for being gay, for being pretty, for being nuts. Their journey is crazy, funny, and frightening, beginning in a conservative city in Oregon--where Grandma's house is a meth house, where bed's an underpass, and the safest place you can wander is the mall. When tragedy hits, they travel to another America. An idyllic liberal town, right smack in the forest. But is there shelter here? Or is home each other? And, when push comes to shove, as it always does...is each other enough? Homefree is a dark urban fairy tale about three cast-out teens and the flip side of the American dream Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Homefree/G1FgDwAAQBAJ?q=HOMEFREE.+loomer&gbpv=1#f=false

This is our youth / by Kenneth Lonergan

In 1982, on Manhattan's Upper West Side, the wealthy, articulate pot-smoking teenagers who were small children in the '60s have emerged as young adults in a country that has just resoundingly rejected everything they were brought up to believe in. The very last wave of New York City's '60s-style Liberalism has come of age--and there's nowhere left to go. In meticulous, hilarious, and agonizing detail, 'This is Our Youth' follows forty-eight hours of three very lost young souls in the big city at the dawn of the Reagan Era: Warren Straub, a dejected nineteen-year-old who steals fifteen thousand dollars from his abusive lingerie-tycoon father; Dennis Ziegler, the charismatic domineering drug-dealing friend who helps him put the money to good use; and Jessica Goldman, the anxiously insightful young woman Warren yearns for. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/This_is_Our_Youth/ezS9C5n2fRkC?q=THIS+IS+OUR+YOUTH.+lonergan&gbpv=1#f=false

Tumacho / by Ethan Lipton

In a small town in the Old West, the mayor can't keep his people from running away or dying at the hands of the local brute. And just when things can't get any worse, an omen predicts that a demon ghost might soon return to possess one of the town's few remaining people, and then to ravage the rest. Which tyrant will be more awful, the demon or the brute? And assuming the mayor can't save the day - for it seems he can't do much - will Catalina, the town vagrant, be the one who steps up? Tumacho considers hope in the face of evil, the community struggle to act, and demon cuisine, all in a deadpan ode to comedies of yore.

Bike America / by Mike Lew

The play peddles the audience along a cross-country bike trip from Boston to California, with stops in big cities and small towns along the way. Our feckless heroine Penny is looking to bring more meaning into her life, to find a lifestyle that suits her and a town that feels like a home ... so she drops her clingy boyfriend in Beantown and takes off for Santa Barbara! Along the way she befriends a colorful crew of bikers: Ryan, the health nut biking instructor; Tim Billy, the innocent wanderer; Annabel and Rorie, the badass activists seeking to get gay-married in every state they hit on the trip; and the mysterious Man with the Van who carries their stuff. Featuring a flexible and diverse cast, Bike America is a multi-state, multi-generational odyssey to discover our obsession with happiness.

Straight white men / by Young Jean Lee

When Ed and his three adult sons come together to celebrate Christmas, they enjoy cheerful trash-talking, pranks, and takeout Chinese. Then they confront a problem that even being a happy family can’t solve: When identity matters, and privilege is problematic, what is the value of being a straight white man? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Straight_White_Men/QM43DwAAQBAJ?q=STRAIGHT+WHITE+MEN.+lee&gbpv=1#f=false

Suicide forest / by Kristine Haruna Lee

In 1990's Japan, a salaryman searches for self-worth, while a lonely teenage girl grapples with her sexuality in a nightmarish, male-defined society. When the two find an awkward companionship, they expose their darkest desires. Written to be performed by a Japanese heritage cast, Suicide Forest is a bilingual play that breaks through the silence and submissiveness often associated with Japanese and Japanese American identity, exploring questions of emotional, psychic and social suicide through the playwright's lived stories and inner landscape. -- Publisher website.

The art of building a bunker : a play / by Adam Lazarus

The Art of Building a Bunker is a dark, viciously funny story recounting a week in the life of your average Elvis as he endures mandatory workplace sensitivity training. Elvis struggles to meet the demands of Camerson, the sensitivity training leader, and to work with the group that surrounds him without revealing anything about what he really feels or believes. His struggles culminate in a radical oration delivered on the last day of the course to the sensitivity group, workplace colleagues, as well as international luminaries of sensitivity like Nelson Mandela, Geddy Lee, and Malala Yousafzai.

A piece of my heart : a play in two acts / by Shirley Lauro

This is a powerful, true drama of six women who went to Vietnam: five nurses and a country western singer booked by an unscrupulous agent to entertain the troops. The play portrays each young woman before, during, and after her tour in the war-torn nation and ends as each leaves a personal token at the memorial wall in Washington. A Piece of My Heart premiered in New York at Manhattan Theatre Club. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Piece_of_My_Heart/m46RhTfa4P8C?q=PIECE+OF+MY+HEART:+A+PLAY+IN+TWO+ACTS.+lauro&gbpv=1#f=false

All through the night / by Shirley Lauro

Set during and after the Third Reich, this work is a stylist, surrealistic play inspired by interviews with German gentile women. With a minimal set, minimal props, and an unconventional time frame that jumps chronological order, the play sweeps from the women's teen years through adulthood during WWII and beyond. The Nazi Regime impacts the women's lives as they struggle over work, religion, marriage, and motherhood. Making overwhelmingly hard choices, they survive or succumb to Hitler's reign and are ultimately changed forever. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_Through_the_Night/rS5vmeg78g4C?q=All+through+the+night+by+Shirley+Lauro.&gbpv=1#f=false

OLIVÉRio : a Brazilian twist / by Karen Zacarias

OLIVÉRio: A Brazilian Twist is a joyful retelling of Oliver Twist set in modern-day Rio de Janeiro that tackles issues of poverty, inequity and injustice while exploring Brazil’s rich music and culture. Esperanca Oliverio, nicknamed Oli, is a homeless orphan girl who asks Iemanja, the goddess of the sea, for a “little bit more” in her life. Con man Falcão and his artful young thief Zé Esquiva invite Oli to live with them in the favela, hoping they can use her sweet nature as a perfect distraction to steal from Rosa Maria, the rich widow who lives in a penthouse in Copacabana. In the favela, Oli meets Nancí, a young woman who begins to teach Oli how to read. But when Nancí’s jealous police officer boyfriend, Sykes, gets involved, everyone’s life is in peril and everyone has to choose between doing what is easy and what is right. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exOliverioOA8.pdf

Collected plays / by Agota Kristof

John and Joe -- The lift key -- A passing rat -- The grey hour -- The monster -- The road -- The epidemic -- The atonement -- Line, the time. Google preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=bdtdDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=collected%20plays%20smet%20agota&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=collected%20plays%20smet%20agota&f=false

Lasso of truth / by Carson Kreitzer

Inspired by the amazing tale of Wonder Woman's real-life genesis, Lasso of Truth explores the knotty origin story of our preeminent female superhero. William Marston is a truly improbable character in American history: psychologist, author and inventor of both the lie detector -- a precursor to our modern polygraph -- and Wonder Woman. It comes as only a slight surprise to learn that Marston was a bondage enthusiast. The early Wonder Woman comics involve a great deal of capture and tying-up, not to mention the veracity-forcing Lasso of Truth. More surprising is the revelation that he lived with two women in a large blended family: his wife, Elizabeth, and Olive Richards, his research assistant. The two amazingly strong forward-thinking and iconoclastic women together served as the inspiration for Wonder Woman. This unusual family romance is the perfect proving ground for the play's overarching questions of truth and verifiability, especially in matters of the human heart. We follow two intertwined stories: one set in the 1930s and '40s, with the trio responsible for Wonder Woman's creation, and one set in the 1990s, with a girl trying to track down both All-Star Comics #8 and some answers about her childhood heroine. This smart, seductive, wild ride of a play features an eclectic cast of characters, hand-drawn comic panels, visitations from a beatific Gloria Steinem and a chorus of tantalizing voices in the dark. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exLassoOfTruthLM4.pdf

We're gonna be okay / by Basil Kreimendahl

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, two average American families build a slapdash bomb shelter on their shared property line. With nuclear warfare looming, they wonder: Is it the end? The end of baseball ...and table manners ...and macrame? But as they fret about the fall of civilization, they start to worry that something more personal is at stake. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/We_re_Gonna_Be_Okay/E799DwAAQBAJ?q=&gbpv=1#f=false

Orange Julius / by Basil Kreimendahl

Nut grew up the youngest child of Julius, a Vietnam vet, in 1980s and '90s working-class America. As Julius suffers the toxic effects of Agent Orange, Nut worries their time together may run out before they can embrace something essential about their relationship. Paging through forgotten photo albums and acting out old war movies about brothers-in-arms, Nut leaps through time and memory, tracing the complex intimacy between father and child when the child is transgender, fighting for a mutual recognition before it's too late Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Orange_Julius/MVFgDwAAQBAJ?q=Orange+Julius+by+Basil+Kreimendahl.&gbpv=1#f=false

There there / by Kristen Kosmas

A wildly unpredictable text about being the completely wrong person in the totally wrong place at the exact wrong time doing all the wrong things, written by one of theater's great poets of failure and surprise, Kristen Kosmas. Christopher Walken, on tour in Russia with a solo show inspired by everyone's favorite Chekhovian sociopath, mysteriously falls off the ladder and is unable to perform. Karen, who apparently proofread the script once, is asked to go on in Walken's place. A precarious bilingual performance duet ensues between Karen and her Russian interpreter.

The mayor of Baltimore / by Kristen Kosmas

THE MAYOR OF BALTIMORE composes a broken-hearted strain of disappointment out of the clatter of everyday speech. Like shining bird's nests built of bottle caps and discarded plastic, Kosmas's writing knits blunt literalism to unhinged linguistic invention, finding a plane of ordinary life tilted and almost singing, somewhere between Chekhov and Beckett. At a party in a forgotten American city, a coterie of friends and strangers gather to celebrate a modest electoral victory. Oblique poetry alternates with the syncopated banality of small talk, and a tiny aria of self-revelation hangs in the empty space after the guests leave.

Tinderbox / by Lucy Kirkwood

Sometime in the 21st Century, England is dissolving into the sea. Amidst the chaos, one man clings to his traditional British values and his love of meat. For Londoner Saul Everard, his butchers shop is an empire that he will do anything to preserve, including moving it to Bradford. An outlaw Scottish artist swims Hadrian's Channel from Scotland to England and seeks refuge in Saul's shop. There's rioting on the streets and the police are onto him but Saul's meaty little realm may be the last place to seek sanctuary. In the anthology: Chimerica and Other Plays

The children / by Lucy Kirkwood

Two retired nuclear scientists reside in an isolated cottage by the sea as the world around them crumbles. Together they are going to live forever on yogurt and yoga, until an old friend arrives with a frightening request Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Children/m7t9DwAAQBAJ?q=CHILDREN.+lucy+kirkwood&gbpv=1#f=false

Eris / by John King

Seán is feeling wronged because his boyfriend Tim has been excluded from a family wedding back home in Ireland. What does it matter that they've just broken up? The problem for his family is that Tim is femme, fabulous and worst of all, English. Spurred on by righteous anger, Seán is determined to do something about it. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/ERIS/HNl1DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Eris+/+by+John+King&printsec=frontcover

Bred from the eyes of a wolf / by Kim Kyun Ju; trans. by Jake Levine

Equal parts poetry, drama, and sci-fi, award-winning poet Kim Kyung Ju's verse play BRED FROM THE EYES OF A WOLF follows a post-apocalyptic family of wolves (indistinguishable from humans) forced to taxidermy their own cubs in order to survive. An allegory for the degraded social relations of the present, Kim Kyung Ju's all-too-familiar dystopia partitions the male body into monetized parts while the female body is valued only for its reproductive ability. Various mythologies and science fictions layer one over the other--from Oedipus to zombies to a cybernetic police state--in this stunning depiction of family, alienation, and contemporary capitalism, translated from Korean into English

Stage fright : selected plays from San Francisco Poets Theater / by Kevin Killian

That -- Island of lost souls -- Three on a match -- Life after Prince -- Cut -- Wet paint -- The big keep -- The lenticular -- Box of rain -- New light on riboflavin.

Combustion / by Asid Khan

Bradford, in the month of Ramadan. Shaz, a local garage mechanic, is trying to keep his business going despite the terrible scandal of Asian men involved in grooming young girls for sex in the area. Racists plan to march through the city in protest and Samina, Shaz’s sister wants to make a speech at a counter-demonstration. Shaz just wants a quiet life so that his prospective in-laws will let him marry their beautiful daughter, but as the city gets swept up in the protest, his world gets turned upside down Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Combustion/00KeDwAAQBAJ?q=COMBUSTION+khan+asif&gbpv=1#f=false

Napoli, Brooklyn / by Meghan Kennedy

In 1960 Brooklyn, the Muscolinos have raised three proud and passionate daughters. But as the girls come of age in a rapidly changing world, their paths diverge--in drastic and devastating ways--from their parents' deeply traditional values. Despite their fierce love, each young woman harbors a secret longing that, if revealed, could tear the family apart. When an earth-shattering event rocks their Park Slope neighborhood, life comes to a screeching halt and the Muscolino sisters are forced to confront their conflicting visions for the future in this gripping, provocative portrait of love in all its danger and beauty Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Napoli_Brooklyn/-yWNDwAAQBAJ?q=NAPOLI,+BROOKLYN.+kennedy&gbpv=1#f=false

Absalom : a play in four scenes / by Zoe Kazan

On a warm June afternoon in the Berkshires, siblings Adam, Teddy and Sophia prepare their family's summer house for a party and anxiously await the arrival of their father, celebrated author and publisher Solomon Weber. Not only is today his birthday, but a celebration has been planned for the release of his autobiography, which details his rise from ambitious orphan to publishing magnate and lauded author. But to what extent, Adam wonders, does his father's book betray or invent family secrets among this thoroughly artistic clan? And when an estranged member of the family arrives at the party to challenge Saul about the authorship of an earlier book, his reappearance sets in motion confrontations and shifting allegiances Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Absalom/qAEAqZnRxnYC?q=absalom+zoe+kazan&gbpv=1#f=false

The cherry orchard / by Anton Chekhov; version by Stephen Karam

Set in Russia at the turn of the twentieth century, The Cherry Orchard chronicles a noblewoman's return to her family estate after a five-year absence to escape troubling memories of her son's death. Lyubov Ranevskaya arrives home to find the cherry orchard in full bloom, but the finances of the estate on the verge of ruin. Lyubov and her brother, Gaev, find themselves scrambling to retain a vision of gentility amidst a climate of huge social and economic transition. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Cherry_Orchard/B8g3DwAAQBAJ?q=CHERRY+ORCHARD+A+COMEDy+karam&gbpv=1#f=false

Orange / by Aditi Brennan Kapil

An adventure through Orange County told from the point of view of a young woman on the autism spectrum.

Love person / by Aditi Brennan Kapil

A four part love story in Sanskrit, ASL and English in which love transcends sexual orientation, physical attraction, and social structure, and rests instead on the ways in which we communicate and how communication bonds or breaks us.

Imogen says nothing : the annotated life of Imogen of Messina, last sighted in the first folio of William Shakespeare's Much Adoe About Nothing / by Aditi Brennan Kapil

A revisionist comedy in verse and prose featuring Imogen, a character who only appears in the first folio of William Shakespeare's Much Adoe About Nothing, speaks no lines, and is probably a typo. A feminist hijacking of Shakespeare that investigates the voices that have been absented from our canon, and the consequences of cutting them.

SparkPlug / by David Judge

He's got two dads, my lad. One's black. That makes him black. I suppose." Manchester, 1983. Dave loves Rod Stewart, Joanne and his Ford Capri. He's all set for a new start. Only Joanne's about to have someone else's baby. Is Dave ready to become a dad even though he's not the father? A punch and poetic exploration of family, race, identity and love, SparkPlug is the story of a white man who becomes the adoptive father, mother and best friend of a mixed-race child, David. Inspired by autobiographical events and exploring the playwright's background as an actor and spoken word artist, SparkPlug is a lyrical and energetic monologue that examines what family means in today's society

Ali and Dahlia / by Tariq Jordan

Accused of rioting, Ali awaits his fate in an Israeli interrogation room. But when an old lover steps in to defend him, the two are forced to confront their past; finding themselves torn between bitter loyalties. A story of love, sacrifice, and redemption. Ali and Dahlia explores the loss of innocence, the longing for lost homelands, and the political forces that shape our lives.

Farce of habit / by Jessie Jones

Comic fireworks explode in FARCE OF HABIT, an absurdly funny Southern-fried romp that takes us back to the Reel 'Em Inn, the finest little fishing lodging in the Ozarks. The proprietor, D. Gene Wilburn, is looking forward to a peaceful weekend on the lake. But there are only two chances of that happening: slim and none. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Farce_of_Habit/y803DwAAQBAJ?q=FARCE+OF+HABIT.+jones&gbpv=1#f=false

Stay with me awhile / by Mary Johnson and Barbar Fraser

Every milestone in life has a story. When a child is born, we tell the story. When we celebrate our vows in marriage, we tell the story. When we begin retirement, we tell the story. but there is one milestone story we seldom tell - the story of our experience of being present for the death of a loved one. Many times these are not easy stories to tell, so we don't often ask about them, and the stories are left untold. When death is anticipated, many societies, cultures and family systems expect that loved ones will be present. The vigil, or devotional watching, is an intentional gathering. Stay With Me Awhile is a compilation of vigil stories from across cultures, religions, political views and socio-economic circumstances. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exStayWithMeAwhileS3A.pdf

Everybody / by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

This modern riff on the fifteenth-century morality play Everyman follows Everybody (chosen from amongst the cast by lottery at each performance) as they journey through life's greatest mystery--the meaning of living Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Everybody/C1FgDwAAQBAJ?q=JACOBS-JENKINS,+BRANDEN+everybody&gbpv=1#f=false

Skin a cat / by Isley Lynn

With a kaleidoscope of off-kilter characters, Skin A Cat follows Alana on an awkward sexual odyssey: from getting her first period, to watching bad porn at a house party, to a painful examination by an overly cheery gynaecologist, all in the pursuit of losing her virginity and finally becoming a woman. Whatever that means ... Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Skin_a_Cat/3L59DwAAQBAJ?q=SKIN+A+CAT.+isley&gbpv=1#f=false

The men in white / by Anosh Irani

When Abdul's cricket team decides to take action to end their losing streak, they talk of recruiting Abdul's brother, Hasan, who is an expert at the sport. But bringing Hasan from India to Canada will take more than just a plane ticket, and not all members of the team agree with the high cost. Alternating between Mumbai and Vancouver and exploring urgent themes surrounding the modern immigrant experience and Islamophobia, this heartwarming story follows Anosh Irani's unforgettable characters as they discover that home can be found in a sport and unite family across nations. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Men_in_White/mVBtDwAAQBAJ?q=men+in+white+irani&gbpv=1#f=false

The most spectacularly lamentable trial of Miz Martha Washington / by James Ijames

The recently widowed 'Mother of America' lies helpless in her Mount Vernon bed, ravaged by illness and cared for by the very slaves that will be free the moment she dies. As she begins to slip away, she falls deep into a fever dream of terrifying theatricality that investigates everything from her family to her historical legacy Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Most_Spectacularly_Lamentable_Trial/L1FgDwAAQBAJ?q=&gbpv=1#f=false

White / by James Ijames

Gus is an artist. Vanessa is an actress. Gus wants to be presented in a major exhibition for artists of color, so he hires Vanessa to perform as Balkonae Townsend, a brash and political artist that will fit the museum's desire for "new voices." Everything is great, until BalkonaeÌ takes over and Gus has to deal with the mess he's made. This plays spins out of control as it explores issues of race, gender, sexuality, and art. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/White/R1FgDwAAQBAJ?q=&gbpv=1#f=false

Moon man walk / by James Ijames

Upon hearing about the sudden death of his mother, Spencer returns to his home in Philadelphia to plan her funeral. Along the way Spencer falls in love, discovers the truth about his absent father, and learns that his past is also the making of his present. This magical journey through space and time takes us literally from Philadelphia to the moon and back Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Moon_Man_Walk/K1FgDwAAQBAJ?q=MOON+MAN+WALK.+ijames&gbpv=1#f=false

Somebody's daughter / by Chisa Hutchinson

Alex is a fifteen-year-old Asian-American girl going to extremes to get her own mother to notice her. She's a dream child--except to her parents who wish she was a boy. Luckily she finds a sympathetic ear in Kate, her irreverent guidance counselor who knows all too well what it's like to walk in Alex's shoes. As three generations of women find their identity in question, each needs to decide who makes the rules and what happens when you break them Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Somebody_s_Daughter/OVFgDwAAQBAJ?q=SOMEBODY%27S+DAUGHTER.+hutchinson&gbpv=1#f=false

Miss you like hell / by Quiara Alegria Hudes

A daughter who gets to stay, a mother on the brink of deportation, and the wall that threatens to come between them. Join this intense, funny, and raw female duo and the cadre of American originals they meet en route to mom's immigration hearing. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Miss_You_Like_Hell/az58DwAAQBAJ?q=MISS+YOU+LIKE+HELL.+hudes&gbpv=1#f=false

Frontieres sans frontiers / by Phillip Howze

Here, at the corner of a country that feels both foreign and familiar, three orphaned, stateless youth have built a simple life out of recreation and mischief-making. Their world is rocked as a parade of immodest strangers slowly invade, offering gifts of language, medicine, art, and commerce. As the lure of development blurs their beliefs, life and landscape mutate, threatening their long-held values, community, and humanity. In a comic spectacle to challenge the pretense of altruism and civilization, Frontieres Sans Frontieres asks what happens when generosity looks a lot like self-interest? How to comprehend when the promise of language matures to the tyranny of words? Who wins and who loses in a war to hold on to the people and places we love?

Hope and gravity / by Michael Hollinger

When an elevator falls in a major city, nine lives intersect in surprising ways, both comic and tragic--through love and sex, poetry and dentistry; in offices, homes, and hotel rooms. Jill longs for Steve, who's engaged to Barb, who hooks up with Peter, who's already having an affair with Nan, who's married to Marty, who subscribes to Elevator World. Meanwhile, nine stories off the ground, Douglas meets Tanya--who's hoping to get pregnant with Hal--and a little miracle changes hands Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hope_and_Gravity/vL59DwAAQBAJ?q=HOPE+AND+GRAVITY.+hollinger&gbpv=1#f=false

Too heavy for your pocket / by Jireh Breon Holder

In the summer of 1961, the Freedom Riders are embarking on a courageous journey into the Deep South. When twenty-year-old Bowzie Brandon gives up a life-changing college scholarship to join the movement, he'll have to convince his loved ones--and himself--that shaping his country's future might be worth jeopardizing his own Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Too_Heavy_for_Your_Pocket/CL99DwAAQBAJ?q=TOO+HEAVY+FOR+YOUR+POCKET.+holder&gbpv=1#f=false

Plays. One / by Ella Hickson

Eight -- Hot Mess -- PMQ -- Precious little talent -- Gift -- Boys.

Mary Jane / by Amy Herzog

As Mary Jane navigates both the mundane and the unfathomable realities of caring for Alex, her chronically ill young son, she finds herself building a community of women from many walks of life. Mary Jane is Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog’s remarkably powerful and compassionate portrait of a contemporary American woman striving for grace. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mary_Jane_TCG_Edition/Ce1TDwAAQBAJ?q=MARY+JANE.+herzog&gbpv=1#f=false

The femme playlist / by Catherine Hernandez

This multidisciplinary feast for the eyes reveals what it is like to be sexy and proud, slutty and loud, queer and brown.

World of wonder / by Tonya Hays

World of Wonder is a hip-hop musical that opens with the perfect family: two loving, successful parents with a daughter and a son. Their fairy-tale family is destroyed when their 2-year-old son, Noah, “disappears.” He stops talking, won't look people in the eyes and doesn’t wish to be touched. Jenny, Noah’s older sister, takes us through the story as the family faces the diagnosis of autism and the challenges it brings. Jenny journeys into Noah’s world and finds the courage and strength to understand and support his struggles. The family comes to understand that autism is not a death of dreams but another way to live and that Noah is different but not less. Framed loosely by Alice in Wonderland, World of Wonder takes us on a musical journey and invites all to join the adventure and take the first step in understanding autism. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exWorldOfWonderWK1.pdf

Significant other / by Joshua Harmon

Jordan Berman would love to be in love, but that's easier said than done. So until he meets Mr. Right, he wards off nights with his trio of close girlfriends. But as singles' nights turn into bachelorette parties, Jordan discovers that the only thing harder than finding love is supporting the loved ones around you when they do.

I'm not running / by David Hare

Should I run? This is the question Pauline Gibson is asking herself. She has spent her adult life as a doctor, the inspiring leader of a campaign for local health provision. When she crosses paths with her old boyfriend, Jack Gould, who has made his way in Labour party politics, she's faced with an agonising decision. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/I_m_Not_Running/ZyFuDwAAQBAJ?q=i%27m+not+running+david+hare&gbpv=1#f=false

Vanity fair : an (im-)morality play / by Kate Hamill

Becky is "bad." Amelia is "good." But in an unfair world, it isn't always that simple... Two women--one born into privilege, another straight from the streets--attempt to navigate a society that punishes them for every misstep. Clever Becky's not afraid to break the rules; soft-hearted Amelia's scared to bend them. Both strive for what they want--but neither can thrive without the other. Through Becky and Amelia's victories and losses, this thrilling, highly theatrical (im)morality play explores how flexible our morals can become when the wheel of fortune turns... Bold, wickedly funny, and shockingly relevant, VANITY FAIR demands that we face our own hypocrisy. After all...who are we to judge? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vanity_Fair/QVFgDwAAQBAJ?q=VANITY+FAIR:+AN+(IM-)MORALITY+PLAY.+kate+hamill&gbpv=1#f=false

Pride and prejudice; based on the novel by Jane Austen / by Kate Hamill

This isn't your grandmother's Austen! Bold, surprising, boisterous, and timely, this P&P for a new era explores the absurdities and thrills of finding your perfect (or imperfect) match in life. The outspoken Lizzy Bennet is determined to never marry, despite mounting pressure from society. But can she resist love, especially when that vaguely handsome, mildly amusing, and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn?! Literature's greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical, or so full of life than it does in this effervescent adaptation. Because what turns us into greater fools... than the high-stakes game of love? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pride_and_Prejudice/1L59DwAAQBAJ?q=PRIDE+AND+PREJUDICE.+kate+hamill&gbpv=1#f=false

How to survive an Apocalypse / by Jordan Hall

A young and successful urban couple becomes convinced that their lifestyle is coming to an end. They become "preppers," hoarding supplies and learning to hunt. But their obsession takes its toll, and they are both forced to imagine the apocalypse without the love of their life. A romantic comedy about the end of days.

Breadcrumbs / by Jennifer Haley

A reclusive fiction writer diagnosed with dementia must depend upon a troubled young caretaker to complete her autobiography. In a symbiotic battle of wills, they delve into the dark woods of the past, unearthing a tragedy that shatters their notions of language, loneliness and essential self.

Squash / by A.R. Gurney

A professor of classic literature finds himself questioning his identity when a student presents an intriguing take on Plato’s Symposium. Boundaries are tested and personal lives are upended as teacher and student grapple with sexuality, love, and sport. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Two_Class_Acts/Qs43DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Squash+/+by+A.R.+Gurney&printsec=frontcover

In the continuum / by Danai Gurira

In the continuum puts a human face on the devastating impact of AIDS in Africa and America through the lives of two unforgettably courageous women. Living worlds apart, one in South Central LA and the other in Zimbabwe, each experience a kaleidoscopic weekend of life changing revelations ..

The convert / by Danai Gurira

A young Shona girl escapes an arranged marriage by converting to Christianity, becoming a servant and student to an African Evangelical. As anti-European sentiments spread throughout the native population, she is forced to choose between her family's traditions and her newfound faith. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Convert/05_8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+convert+/+by+Danai+Gurira&printsec=frontcover

Familiar / by Danai Gurira

It's winter in Minnesota, and a Zimbabwean family is preparing for the wedding of their eldest daughter, a first-generation American. But when the bride insists on observing a traditional African custom, it opens a deep rift in the household. Rowdy and affectionate, Familiar pitches tradition against assimilation, drawing a loving portrait of a family: the customs they keep, and the secrets they bury.

Lions and tigers / by Tanika Gupta

Based on the true story of her great uncle and freedom fighter Dinesh Gupta, Lions and Tigers is Tanika Gupta's most personal play yet. It charts Dinesh Gupta's emotional and political awakening as this extraordinary 19 year old pits himself against the British Raj. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lions_and_Tigers/6rQ8EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lions+and+tigers+/+by+Tanika+Gupta&printsec=frontcover

The revolutionists : a comedy, a quartet, a revolutionary dream fugue, a true story / by Lauren Gunderson

Four beautiful badass women lose their heads in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793 Paris. This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world. It's a true story. Or total fiction. Or a play about a play. Or a raucous resurrection ... that ends in a song and a scaffold Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Revolutionists/M1FgDwAAQBAJ?q=BOOK+OF+WILL.+gunderson&gbpv=1#f=false

The book of Will / by Lauren Gunderson

Without William Shakespeare, we wouldn't have literary masterpieces like Romeo and Juliet. But without Henry Condell and John Heminges, we would have lost half of Shakespeare's plays forever! After the death of their friend and mentor, the two actors are determined to compile the First Folio and preserve the words that shaped their lives Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Book_of_Will/b1BgDwAAQBAJ?q=BOOK+OF+WILL.+gunderson&gbpv=1#f=false

Ada and the engine / by Lauren Gunderson

As the British Industrial Revolution dawns, young Ada Byron Lovelace (daughter of the flamboyant and notorious Lord Byron) sees the boundless creative potential in the "analytic engines" of her friend and soul mate Charles Babbage, inventor of the first mechanical computer. Ada envisions a whole new world where art and information converge--a world she might not live to see. A music-laced story of love, friendship, and the edgiest dreams of the future. Jane Austen meets Steve Jobs in this poignant pre-tech romance heralding the computer age. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ada_and_the_Engine/-09gDwAAQBAJ?q=ADA+AND+THE+ENGINE.+gunderson&gbpv=1#f=false

Riot act / by Alexis Gregory

Hard-hitting, provocative, tender, truthful, funny, political and personal, these are stories of queerness, activism, addiction, sex, drag, community, conflict, youth, ageing, fierce queens and a Hollywood diva.

Why we like love stories / by Stephen Gregg

In the hills above Pin Cushion, California, students go to talk of the world, flirt and yearn. It’s a place where heartbreak awaits. In a La Ronde-style chain, Chloe breaks up with her boyfriend, Crooper, devastating him. Months later, Crooper ineptly attempts to use a mathematical equation to break up with Jessica—his girlfriend of seven months. She’s furious, since she’s in the middle of declaring her love for him. Months later, a calmer Jessica rebuffs Bark, who pines for her. But then things come full circle. Bark and Chloe—outsiders both—take an awkward, fumbling-for-words walk in the hills. Chloe has a secret, and Bark’s reaction to it gives them a surprising connection that, for the moment at least, promises a future. Why We Like Love Stories is a wistful comedy about the things we learn from the people we love, even once they’ve left us. The play has four great parts—and four great two-hander scenes—for high-school actors, each written with Stephen Gregg’s signature combination of intelligence, warmth and whimsy. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exWhyWeLikeLoveStoriesWJ6.pdf

Random / by Debbie Tucker Green

A powerful new play about a random shooting of a black kid outside his school. A young black woman starts talking about her day in a continuous present tense. She and her family are starting what they think is an ordinary day until the police show up with devastating news. Their world suddenly implodes.

Talker's town / by Nelson Gray

The story is conveyed by a teenage non-Indigenous boy whose friend has had a relationship with the girl and whose attempts to hush up the affair lead to disastrous consequences. Set in a small northern B.C. mill town in the 1960s.

Nine night / by Natasha Gordon

Family, food, music and mourning. Gloria is gravely sick. When her time comes, the celebration begins; the traditional Jamaican Nine Night wake. But for Gloria's children and grandchildren, marking her death with a party that lasts over a week is a test. Nine nights of music, food, sharing stories – and an endless parade of mourners.

The inconvenience of wings / by Lara Foot

Set in a landscape of memory and dreams, The Inconvenience of Wings tackles the issues of friendship, dysfunction, addiction and angels. This dynamic new drama was inspired by author Abraham J Twerski`s book Addictive Thinking that examines the notion of compulsion, addiction, denial and abuse of self as well as conversations on bipolar disorder that Foot had with celebrated psychiatrist Dr Sean Baumann. It was further stirred by her own father who has suffered from dementia for more than a decade. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Inconvenience_of_Wings/ZKD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+inconvenience+of+wings+/+by+Lara+Foot&printsec=frontcover

Katrina / by Rob Florence

What happens when six Hurricane Katrina survivors retrace their footsteps at the Mother-in-Law Lounge? Experience heartbreak, humanity, and yes, comedy through the journeys of these real-life New Orleanians, forever steeped in this life-changing, unparalleled misadventure.

Faceless / by Selina Fillinger

Susie Glenn, a white eighteen-year-old from the Chicago suburbs, was arrested at O'Hare International Airport for conspiring with ISIS. Recent Harvard Law grad and practicing Muslim Claire Fathi has been brought on to prosecute. Inspired by real court cases, Selina Fillinger's crackling drama looks at two women fighting for justice in a world gripped by fear

Torch song trilogy : the celebrated landmark play, in both its original and newly revised versions / by Harvey Fierstein

A new edition of the classic drama portraying gay life in New York in the 1970s and 80s—winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, now back on Broadway in a revival hailed by The New York Times as “irresistibly compelling.” What begins as a chance encounter in a New York nightclub leads drag performer Arnold Beckoff on a hilarious yet touching pursuit of love, happiness, and a life he can be proud of. From a failed affair with a reluctant lover to a committed relationship with the promise of a stable family, Arnold’s struggle for acceptance meets its greatest resistance when he faces off against the person whose approval is most important to him: his mother. This edition contains for the first time ever both the original scripts for the three one-act plays (The International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First!) as they were performed in the 1970s, as well as the revised script for the 2017 revival that condensed all three into Torch Song. It also includes a never-before-published introduction by Harvey Fierstein, as well as photographs from both the original production and the revival starring Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl and directed by Moisés Kaufman.

The almighty sometimes / by Kendall Feaver

Diagnosed with a severe mental illness as a child, Anna was prescribed a cocktail of pills. Now a young adult, she’s wondering how life might feel without them. But as she tries to move beyond the labels that have defined her, her mother feels compelled to intervene – threatening the fragile balance they have both fought so hard to maintain. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Almighty_Sometimes/yzBHDwAAQBAJ?q=ALMIGHTY+SOMETIMES.+feaver&gbpv=1#f=false

Twenty-first-century Chinese drama : four plays by Wan Fang

This anthology is a collection of four contemporary Chinese plays by the playwright Wan Fang, presented in the original Chinese and in English translation. Since the 1990s, modern Chinese drama has experienced a revival, and these plays are representative of the kind of theatre which audiences in China now enjoy. The time is ripe for them to be staged internationally through the medium of translation. This book provides Chinese and English versions consecutively, to enable the plays to be used for study or performance. The volume also offers an introduction to the development of modern Chinese drama over the twentieth century, as a background to the plays included here. In addition, Wan Fang?s own introduction to the writing of plays, and these plays in particular, gives us insights into the mechanisms of writing and staging in a twenty-first-century Chinese context.

Attack of the Giant Tent Worms / by Elizabeth Egloff

Billy and Clara are nearing the end of their summer vacation on Cape Cod, as their cottage is being devoured by billions of tent-worms. Worse, Billy has just gotten word from his oncologist that there are no more treatment options for his brain cancer. A darkly humorous exploration of which is more terrifying: bugs or death? In the anthology: Desire: Six One-Act Plays Based on the Short Stories of Tennessee Williams

The oily marriage / by Hope O. Eghagha

The Oily Marriage, Professor Hope Eghagha's third published play, delves into the socio-cultural and political conflicts, conflicting emotions, and dilemma which the discovery and exploitation of crude oil present to the people of the Niger Delta in Nigeria. It functions at the personal level and the level of inter-ethnic relations and how sometimes the solutions to problems become intertwined with and undermined by selfish and personal interests. The image of the exploiter looms large in the play as business and commerce are locked in mortal combat for the soul of the region. How these issues play out in the twenty-first century is the concern of the playwright in this fast-moving drama of ideas. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Oily_Marriage/1PFTDwAAQBAJ?q=&gbpv=1#f=false

Outside / by Paul Dunn

Daniel’s ready to talk. And his friends Krystina and Jeremy are ready to help. But is it too late? Set in separate but simultaneous lunch periods at two different high schools, the teenagers are faced with acknowledging what drove them apart. At his new school, Daniel speaks to the Gay-Straight Alliance about the bullying and depression that forced him to move. He looks back fondly at the bond he formed with Krystina and Jeremy in history class and the trauma he faced from anonymous text messages. At his former school, Krystina and Jeremy are setting up for their first GSA meeting while grappling with the guilt of not doing more to help their friend. For the first time Daniel has an appreciative audience, but his friends face an empty room. The narratives intertwine as Daniel gains more confidence in his queer identity and Krystina and Jeremy try to assess their boundaries as straight people who want to create a safe space. By talking about mistakes, abuse, a suicide attempt and a move, the teens find comfort in perspective and power in numbers.

The glitter girls / by Mark Dunn

The play revolves around an ad hoc meeting of a North Georgia women's social club called "The Glitter Girls," convened by its richest member - one Trudy Tromaine - who is supposedly at death's door and wishing to bequeath some of her millions to one lucky "Sister of the Gleam and Sparkle." The hitch is that it's the members themselves who must decide to whom to award the small fortune (with hopes that the Glitter Girl they select will see it in her heart to share the money with the rest of her "sisters"). The play can be economically described as Steel Magnolias meets Survivor, with a big dose of quirky Mark Dunn humor thrown in for good measure.

Still Alice / by Christine Mary Dunford

Alice Howland is a university professor at the height of her career when she is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, with a husband and two children, Alice strives to make sense of her changing world as her memory begins to fail. This heartbreaking and hopeful adaptation of the award-winning book by Lisa Genova puts Alice onstage with Herself, providing the audience with an extraordinary window into the experience of living with dementia.

We are proud to present a presentation about the Herero of Namibia, formerly known as Southwest Africa, from the German Sudwestafrika, between the years 1884-1915 / by Jackie Sibblies Drury

A group of actors gather to tell the little-known story of the first genocide of the twentieth century. As the full force of the horrific past crashes into the good intentions of the presents, what seemed a far-away place and time is suddenly all too close to home. Just whose story are they telling? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/We_Are_Proud_To_Present_a_Presentation_A/9r9nAwAAQBAJ?q=WE+ARE+PROUD+TO+PRESENT+A+PRESENTATION+ABOUT+THE+HERERO+OF+NAMIBIA,+FORMERLY+KNOWN+AS+SOUTHWEST+AFRICA,+FROM+THE+GERMAN+SUDWESTAFRIKA,+BETWEEN+THE+YEARS+1884-1915.&gbpv=1#f=false

The profane / by Zayd Dohrn

Safe in the liberal fortress of Manhattan, Raif Almedin is a first-generation immigrant who prides himself on his modern, enlightened views. But when his daughter falls for the son of a conservative Muslim family in White Plains, he discovers the threshold of his tolerance. In this sharp and timely tale, two families are forced to confront each other's religious beliefs and cultural traditions, and to face their own deep-seated prejudice. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Profane/OM43DwAAQBAJ?q=profane+dohrn&gbpv=1#f=false

Centennial Casting / by Gino Dilorio

Vincent DiDonato is an overweight, unattached, and unevolved goombah in his late forties who spends most of his time doing as little as possible at Centennial Casting, the metal casting shop he owns with his mother on Manhattan's Lower East Side. When Vincent's mom dies suddenly, he inherits the shop and is thrown into the front office, where he discovers a pile of headshots sent in by actors over the years that had mistaken the metal shop's casting service for a theatrical casting agency. Vincent is struck by the photo of one Edie Keaton. Ms. Keaton, a down-on-her-luck actress in her late thirties, is trying to return to the business after a difficult divorce. Vincent, who has never been in a successful relationship, saves the picture and résumé. When his assistant and boyhood chum, Doo-Doo, realizes his boss is interested in Edie, he sets up an "interview" for the actress, hoping it might lead to a date for Vincent, his first in many years. Vincent reluctantly agrees to pose as a casting director in order to meet the actress, and when Edie walks in for her "audition," he falls head over heels in love with her. Edie, in turn, is interested in Vincent, but is even more interested in getting an acting job. As the ruse continues, Vincent and Doo-Doo realize they must heighten the stakes in order to keep the relationship going. What will happen when Edie discovers that Vincent is only posing as a casting director? Will true love triumph, or will the characters drown their sorrows in cannolis? The answer is a heartwarming, hilarious tale of two ordinary people in an extraordinary situation who find dreams can come true at Centennial Casting.

This random world : the myth of serendipity / by Steven Dietz

We want to believe that serendipity brings us together, but is that just a myth? Mining the comedy of missed connections, This Random World asks the serious question of how often we travel parallel paths through the world without noticing. From an ailing woman who plans one final trip, to her daughter planning one great escape and her son falling prey to a prank gone wrong, this play explores the lives that may be happening just out of reach of our own. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/This_Random_World/6r59DwAAQBAJ?q=THIS+RANDOM+WORLD:+THE+MYTH+OF+SERENDIPITY.&gbpv=1#f=false

Charles Ives take me home / by Jessica Dickey

A father's love of music and a daughter's passion for basketball are at odds, thankfully they have modernist composer Charles Ives playing referee. Dissonance, defense, and devotion are explored in the poignant and comedic story of Charles Ives Take Me Home.

Fill fill fill fill fill fill fill / by Steph Del Rosso

Joni is single, Joni is lost. Joni is moving a mile a minute. Joni must never be alone. After her five-year relationship ends, Joni must redefine her identity -- and fast. Through strangers and friends, cheese plates and gameshows, she embarks on a madcap journey to carve out a space for herself in a world that won't quite let her. FILL FILL FILL FILL FILL FILL FILL is a comedy about how we see and value women -- and how we don't. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fill_Fill_Fill_Fill_Fill_Fill_Fill/3r59DwAAQBAJ?q=FILL+FILL+FILL+FILL+FILL+FILL+FILL.+steph+del+rosso&gbpv=1#f=false

Draw the circle / by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen

The hilarious and deeply moving story of conservative Muslim mother at her wits' end, a Muslim father who likes to tell jokes, and a queer American woman trying to make a good impression on her Indian in-laws. In a story about family and love and the things we do to be together, one immigrant family must come to terms with a child who defies their most basic expectations of what it means to have a daughter...and one woman will redefine the limits of unconditional love. This unique play compassionately brings to life the often ignored struggle that a family goes through when their child transitions from one gender to another. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Draw_the_Circle/CVFgDwAAQBAJ?q=DRAW+THE+CIRCLE.+deen&gbpv=1#f=false

Rights of passage / by Ed Decker

Wayan is a young, gay Hindu man who lives on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Wayan searches for a way to reconcile who he is with what his family and community expect of him. Mixing traditional forms of storytelling, including puppetry, mask, and dance with modern devices such as digital media, the play nimbly explores the struggle that each of us faces in establishing our identity and living in a way that is true to ourselves. From the central story of Wayan's journey, the play expands to tell true stories of LGBTQ struggles and triumphs from around the world. Each story fits into the play's overall narrative arc, which is built around three key "rites" of passage in life - childhood, adolescence, and adulthood

Charm / by Philip Dawkins

When Mama Darleena Andrews--a 67-year-old, black, transgender woman--takes it upon herself to teach an etiquette class at Chicago's LGBTQ community center, the idealistic teachings of Emily Post clash with the very real life challenges of identity, poverty, and prejudice faced by her students. Inspired by the true story of Miss Gloria Allen and her work at Chicago's Center on Halsted, Charm asks--how do we lift each other up when the world wants to tear us down? Google preview:https://www.google.com/books/edition/Charm/j7t9DwAAQBAJ?q=CHARM:+INSPIRED+BY+MISS+GLORIA+ALLEN.&gbpv=1#f=false

Dontrell, who kissed the sea / by Nathan Alan Davis

Eighteen-year-old Dontrell Jones the Third decides that it is his duty and destiny to venture into the Atlantic Ocean in search of an ancestor lost during the Middle Passage. But his family is not at all ready to abandon its prized son to the waters of a mysterious and haunting past. Blending poetry, humor, wordplay, and ritual, Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea is a present-day hero's quest exploring the lengths and depths we must go to redeem history's wrongs

Victorian epic burlesques : a critical anthology of nineteenth-century theatrical entertainments after Homer

This anthology presents annotated scripts of four major burlesques by key playwrights: Melodrama Mad! or, the Siege of Troy by Thomas John Dibdin (1819); Telemachus; or, the Island of Calypso by J.R. Planché (1834); The Iliad; or, the Siege of Troy by Robert Brough (1858) and Ulysses; or the Ironclad Warriors and the Little Tug of War by F.C. Burnand (1865). Beloved legend, archaeological riddle and educational staple: Homer's epic tales of the Trojan War and its aftermath were vividly reimagined in nineteenth-century Britain. Classical burlesques--exceptionally successful theatrical entertainments--continually mined the Iliad and Odyssey to lucrative comic effect. Burlesques combined song, dance and slapstick comedy with an eclectic kaleidoscope of topical allusions. From namedropping boxing legends to recasting Shakespearean combats, epic adaptations overflow with satirical commentary on politics, cultural highlights and everyday current affairs. In uncovering Homer's irreverently playful afterlife, this selection showcases burlesque's development and wide appeal. The critical introduction analyses how these plays contested the accessibility of classical antiquity and dramatic performance. Textual and literary annotations, with contemporary illustrations, illuminate the juxtaposed sources to establish these repackaged epics as indispensable tools for unlocking nineteenth-century social, cultural and political history. Resources for further study are available online Google preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=usB2DwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=VICTORIAN%20EPIC%20BURLESQUES%3A%20A%20CRITICAL%20ANTHOLOGY%20OF%20NINETEENTH-CENTURY%20THEATRICAL%20ENTERTAINMENTS%20AFTER%20HOMER.&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=VICTORIAN%20EPIC%20BURLESQUES:%20A%20CRITICAL%20ANTHOLOGY%20OF%20NINETEENTH-CENTURY%20THEATRICAL%20ENTERTAINMENTS%20AFTER%20HOMER.&f=false

5 guys chillin' / by Peter Darney

An original look into a drug-fuelled, hedonistic, highly secret world of Chem-Sex, Grindr and instant gratification ... 5 Guys Chillin' looks at changing attitudes to sex, to HIV, to how we achieve intimacy and our perception of what sexual relations can and should be. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Five_Guys_Chillin/lqL8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=5+guys+chillin%27+/+by+Peter+Darney&printsec=frontcover

Boys, girls, and other mythological creatures : a play for young audiences / by Mark Crawford

Deep in Simon's basement, there is a secret world of imagination and adventure. When his new friend Abby comes over after school to work on a class assignment, Simon steers their work toward creating a play. However, Simon's older brother, Zach, is uneasy with their play-acting and dressing up...because, as he reveals to Abby, Simon wishes to be a girl. As the three characters struggle through their conflicts, they improvise a fairy tale about a magic prince, an evil king, a brave young girl, and a fire-breathing dragon who's getting more real by the minute. Can Abigail save Princess Simone from the Tower of Light? Will Zach succeed in turning his brother back into being a boy once and for all? And will Simon overcome fear and finally become their true self? Boys, Girls, and Other Mythological Creatures is a thoughtful and hilarious new play about our ability to transform.

Holly down in heaven / by Kara Lee Corthron

Holly collects dolls, Holly is a born-again Christian, Holly is a fifteen-year-old brainy, outspoken, spoiled, tyrannical brat. She's also pregnant. During her nine-month odyssey, she must find a way to move forward with the new life she's landed in or remain forever hidden in her special heaven ... of talking dolls. A dark comedy about navigating the treacherous terrain from childhood to adulthood.

Tin bucket drum / by Neil Coppen

On a 'cold and starless night' a young pregnant widow, Nandi, arrives in Tin Town, a bleak, drought-stricken place ruled by silence and fear. Little do the inhabitants know that Nandi is carrying the baby who will, in time, change that. Taken in by Mkhulu (grandfather), whose father established the tin bucket factory that gave the town its name, Nandi gives birth to Nomvula, the Little Drummer Girl. Mkhulu remembers a past when 'people were free to sing and dance', when the rain came and the townsfolk held up their tin buckets to catch the precious, life-giving drops. And then came the Silent Sir and his spokesman, the Censor, and the town went silent. As the singing and dancing and drumming dried up, so did the rain. The tin bucket factory closed, taking with it the life and purpose of Tin Town's inhabitants. Only the Little Drummer Girl can bring back that life, but at enormous personal cost. In Tin Bucket Drum, Neil Coppen achieves a small miracle. Through his lyrical script and the creative use of lighting and sound, one woman, the Narrator, succeeds in evoking a host of characters as this allegorical tale of oppression and liberation plays itself out. It is a story that offers a host of lessons for many places and many times. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tin_Bucket_Drum/ny9mDwAAQBAJ?q=TIN+BUCKET+DRUM.+coppen&gbpv=1#f=false

Janet Wilson meets the Queen / by Beverley Cooper

Janet Wilson Meets the Queen begins in Vancouver, 1969, as society is undergoing profound change. Janet, a woman who places great faith in the British monarchy and its traditions, is valiantly trying to hold together her dysfunctional family: her teenaged daughter, Lilibet; her aging mother, "Granny," and her husband, Jim. When Janet's nephew from San Francisco arrives on her doorstep looking for refuge from the Vietnam War draft, the family grapples with what to do. While the people she cares for are irrevocably affected by the changing political landscape, Janet Wilson struggles for equilibrium, attempting to hold on to a world that refuses to stay still.

Wolf's Blood / by Jethro Compton

1896. Canada. After the massacre of her tribe, a child is rescued by an old huntsman. Torn from centuries of tradition, struggling to find her path in the world, she soon discovers hope in the friendship of an abandoned wolf – swiftly learning the customs of her ancestors, becoming skilled in the ways of the wild. But when the time comes, will these skills be enough to survive?

Notes from a black woman's diary : selected works of Kathleen Collins / by Kathleen Collins

Stories: Scapegoat child ; Nina Simone ; Raschida -- Novel excerpt: Lollie (excerpt from an unfinished novel: Lollie : a suburban tale) -- Notes from a black woman's diary -- Letters -- Plays: The brothers : a tragedy in three acts ; Remembrance : a play in one act ; The reading : a play in one act ; Begin the beguine : a play in one act ; The healing : a play in one act -- Screenplays: A summer diary ; Losing ground. Google preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=C3pbDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=Notes%20from%20a%20black%20woman's%20diary%20%3A%20selected%20works%20of%20Kathleen%20Collins&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Notes%20from%20a%20black%20woman's%20diary%20:%20selected%20works%20of%20Kathleen%20Collins&f=false

Callisto : a queer epic / by Hal Coase

I don't believe the word love has ever meant the same thing twice.' Arabella loves the way she makes her see the stars. Alan loves a man he'll never meet again. Tammy loves a woman she's never met. And CAL loves like no human has ever loved before. Launching from a 17th-century opera house through cislunar space and into the distant future, Callisto tells four stories that have nothing and everything in common. A bright constellation of queer encounters. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Callisto_A_Queer_Epic/rqD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Callisto+:+a+queer+epic+/+by+Hal+Coase&printsec=frontcover

Eve / by Jo Clifford

What does it mean to be a woman or a man in these times of revolutionary change? What does it mean to be human? Eve tells the story of a child raised as a boy, when she knew all along it was wrong. With trans rights again under threat, legendary playwright, performer, father and grandmother Jo Clifford tells a story both gentle and passionate, intimate and political, to remind us that the journey towards our real selves is one we all need to make. Wherever it leads us. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Eve/cqD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Eve+/+by+Jo+Clifford&printsec=frontcover

A bench in the shade / by Ron Clark

Annie and Paul were engaged many years ago and now reside at the same Retirement Community, Seaside Heights Manor. Annie is intrigued by the arrival of Italian actor Roberto. The senior romance is impeded by news of the retirement home being sold

Light shining in Buckinghamshire / by Caryl Churchill

In the aftermath of its Civil War, England stands at a crossroads. Food shortages, economic instability, and a corrupt political system threaten to plunge the country into darkness and despair. The Parliament men who fought against the tyranny of the King now argue for stability and compromise, but the people are hungry for change. Light Shining in Buckinghamshire tells the story of the men and women who went into battle for the soul of England. Passionate, moving, and provocative, it speaks of the revolution they never had and the legacy it left behind.

Top girls / by Caryl Churchill

Marlene has been promoted to managing director of a London employment agency and is celebrating. The symbolic luncheon is attended by women in legend or history who offer perspectives on maternity and ambition. In a time warp, these ladies are also her co workers, clients and relatives. Marlene, like her famous guests, has had to pay a price to ascend from proletarian roots to the executive suite: she has become, figuratively speaking, a male. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Top_Girls/clrh-_L7fJwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Top+Girls+churchill&printsec=frontcover

Office hour / by Julia Cho

Gina was warned that one of her students would be a problem. Eighteen years old and strikingly odd, Dennis writes violently obscene work clearly intended to unsettle those around him. Determined to know whether he's a real threat, Gina compels Dennis to attend her office hours. But as the clock ticks down, Gina realizes that 'good' versus 'bad' is nothing more than a convenient illusion, and that the isolated young student in her office has learned one thing above all else: For the powerless, the ability to terrify others is powerful indeed. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Office_Hour/5L59DwAAQBAJ?q=office+hour+julia+cho&gbpv=1#f=false

Uncle Vanya : scenes from country life in four acts / by Anton Chekov; trans. by Richard Nelson

As the sixth play in the TCG Classic Russian Drama Series, Richard Nelson and preeminent translators of Russian literature, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, continue their collaboration with Chekhov's most intimate play.

The cherry orchard / by Anton Chekov, trans. by Rory Mullarkey

A civilised and complacent culture is on the brink of collapse... The tide of change is coming. Madam Ranyevskaya's liberal world of privilege and pleasure is beginning to show cracks, but she and her family live on in denial. Lopakhin wants to rescue Ranyevskaya. The hard-working son of one of her family's serfs, his new-found wealth can offer shelter and security to the woman he has loved since boyhood, but it will come at a high price. Meanwhile, revolution hangs in the air, the poor and hungry are pushing at the doors, and the tutor Trofimov predicts a tumultuous change for everybody. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Cherry_Orchard/u41UDwAAQBAJ?q=cherry+orchard+mullarkey&gbpv=1#f=false

Within the glass / by Anna Chatterton

Two very different couples meet after a critical mistake is made at a fertility clinic: a fertilized egg has been implanted into the wrong woman. Over the course of an awkward and absurd evening, they fight to determine the uncertain future of their IVF child. The situation forces each of them to reassess their relationships, the depths of their desire to parent, and their hopes for the future.

Maytag virgin / by Audrey Cefaly

Follows Alabama school teacher Lizzy Nash and her new neighbor, Jack Key, over the year following the tragic death of Lizzy's husband. Explores the ideas of inertia and self-enlightenment, and the bridge between the two.

The gulf / by Audrey Cefaly

The divide between Kendra and Betty mimics the very world that devours them: a vast and polarizing abyss. On a quiet summer evening, somewhere down in the Alabama Delta, Kendra and Betty troll the flats looking for redfish. After Betty begins diagnosing Kendra's dead-end life with career picks from What Color is Your Parachute, their routine fishing excursion takes a violent turn. This is the full-length version of the 40th Annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival winner.

Huff & stitch / by Cliff Cardinal

In Stitch, Kylie Grandview is a single mom struggling to make a living as a pornstar while dreaming of being on the big screen. She's painfully aware that she is among the many nameless faces on the internet, the ones that blip across cyberspace, and her yeast infection, Itchia, is there to remind at every turn. But when Kylie is offered the chance at a big break, a series of twisted events lead her down a destructive path, revealing and a face no one will forget. In Huff, brothers Wind, Huff, and Charles are trying to cope with their father's abusive whims and their mother's recent suicide. In a brutal reality of death and addiction, they huff gas and pull destructive pranks. Preyed upon by the Trickster and his own fragile psyche, Wind looks for a way out, one that might lead him to his mother's shadow.

B / by Guillermo Calderon

Society is fueled by anger; dissatisfaction shapes Twitter feeds, online petitions and protest marches. But is that enough to bring about change? Alejandra and Marcela are planting bombs in the middle of the night. They don't want violence. They just want to be heard. Prison's not much of a threat when most of your friends are inside. Then they meet Jose Miguel. He is from a different generation, a time when revolution was ripe and activism alive. And he offers them a chance to start a war. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/B/iqD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=B+/+by+Guillermo+Calderon&printsec=frontcover

The origin of the world, interior conversation piece / by Lucia Calamaro

A story of basic and perverse family dynamics, the play is an all-female human comedy in three acts. The Mother Daria lives with her Daughter Federica among bulky modern appliances, godlike monumental figures; they confront reality as they eat, chat, and get dressed. Sometimes other characters in the family constellation, such as the Analyst, join them. The womb of domestic life is staged in chapters, which lead not towards an ending but towards an origin. The play portrays the indifference, rage, and helplessness of those who live with depression.

The Ferryman / by Jez Butterworth

Armagh, 1981. The Carney farmhouse in Northern Ireland is a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest. A day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebrations lie ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor.

All you need is LSD / Leo Butler

In 2015, acclaimed British playwright Leo Butler accepted an invitation from former Government drugs tsar, Professor David Nutt, to be a guinea pig in the world's first LSD medical trials since the 1960s. Monty Python, Being John Malkovich, and Alice in Wonderland all resonate in this exhilarating and original comedy as we watch Leo jump down the rabbit-hole of a medical trial in search of enlightenment - and a good story. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_You_Need_is_LSD/TnN_DwAAQBAJ?q=ALL+YOU+NEED+IS+LSD.+butler&gbpv=1#f=false

The Oregon Trail / by Bekah Brunstetter

Jane’s trapped in her middle school computer lab playing “The Oregon Trail” for what feels like hours. The game becomes life and rips us back to the trail, 1848, where we travel in a covered wagon with Jane’s great-great-grandmother. As Game moves us, back, forward, and back again, Now-Jane and Then-Jane’s sadnesses are delicately juxtaposed in this play-meets-video-game about depression, Then and Now.

The cake / by Bekah Brunstetter

Della makes cakes, not judgment calls – those she leaves to her husband, Tim. But when the girl she helped raise comes back home to North Carolina to get married, and the fiancé is actually a fiancée, Della’s life gets turned upside down. She can’t really make a cake for such a wedding, can she? For the first time in her life, Della has to think for herself.

White / by Koko Brown

Join Koko Brown as she considers the concept of mixed-race privilege, tries to connect clashing cultures and explores what it means to be mixed in contemporary Britain. What are you when you are always the other? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/WHITE/0aD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=White+/+by+Koko+Brown&printsec=frontcover

Down in Mississippi / by Carlyle Brown

Three college students - a black man, a white woman, and a white man - travel to the dangerous world of Mississippi in 1964 to register Negro voters. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Down_in_Mississippi/BVFgDwAAQBAJ?q=down+in+mississippi+brown&gbpv=1#f=false

The prisoner / by Peter Brook

Somewhere in the world, a man sits alone outside a prison. Who is he, and why is he there? Is it a choice, or a punishment? With The Prisoner, the internationally renowned theatre director Peter Brook and his long-time collaborator Marie-Hélène Estienne ask provocative and profound questions about justice, guilt, redemption - and what it means to be free

Othello : the remix / by Rick Boynton

Othello is spun out and lyrically rewritten over original beats in this high-energy spin on Shakespeare’s play, proving that the Bard himself was the original master of rhythm and rhyme. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Othello_The_Remix/0L59DwAAQBAJ?q=&gbpv=1#f=false

Swimmers / by Rachel Bonds

Coyotes evading police. Billboards predicting the end of the world. It's been a strange day at the office, and it's only nine a.m. Moving floor by floor from the basement up to the roof, scenes between employees in a corporate office explore the angst-ridden relationships between those that people often take most advantage of: their coworkers

Plays : 10 / by Edward Bond

Select chronology -- Introduction : the square bubble -- Dea -- The testament of this day -- The price of one -- The angry roads -- The hungry bowl -- End note : the young actors.

Wilderness / by Seth Bockley

Wilderness is a pulsating documentary theatre piece that speaks to our collective search for connection and hope, as families survive the extraordinary pressures and complexities that accompany coming of age in 21st-century America. It is anchored by six real families' stories -- narratives that explore issues of mental health, addiction, and gender and sexual identity. In Wilderness, adolescents stand at the brink of emotional chaos, lost in social stigma, insecurity, aggression, and anger. Parents risk losing their children forever. Thoughts race. Emotions fire. Isolation intensifies. One question emerges: How do we persevere when we feel most alone in the world? Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wilderness/UM43DwAAQBAJ?q=wilderness+seth+bockley&gbpv=1#f=false

School girls, or, the African mean girls play / by Jocelyn Bioh

Paulina, the reigning queen bee at Ghana's most exclusive boarding school, has her sights set on the Miss Global Universe pageant. But the arrival of Ericka, a new student with undeniable talent and beauty, captures the attention of the pageant recruiter--and Paulina's hive-minded friends. This buoyant and biting comedy explores the universal similarities (and glaring differences) facing teenage girls across the globe. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/School_Girls_or_The_African_Mean_Girls_P/2L59DwAAQBAJ?q=school+girls+bioh&gbpv=1#f=false

Nollywood dreams / by Jocelyn Bioh

It's the nineties and in Lagos, Nigeria, the Nollywood film industry is exploding. Ayamma dreams of leaving her job at her parents' travel agency and becoming a star. When she auditions for a new film by Nigeria's hottest director, tension flares with his former leading lady -- as sparks fly with Nollywood's biggest heartthrob. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nollywood_Dreams/zL59DwAAQBAJ?q=&gbpv=1#f=false

Big foot / by Joseph Barnes Phillips

With grime music and Guyanese folk stories, Joseph Barnes-Phillip's semi-autobiographical story is a comic, tragic and honest portrayal of becoming a man. The story follows Rayleigh as he negotiates the tensions of growing up and taking responsibility – to his pregnant girlfriend, to his sick mother, to his church, to the multi-cultural community he grew up in and somewhere in the mix to himself. When the euphoric highs of teenage life in south London collide with his mum's terminal illness, all Rayleigh wants to do it watch anime in his pants and eat indomie. Love, life and masculinity meet head-on as Rayleigh tries to find his feet, torn between the new girl in his life and being there for his mum, while trying not to make the same mistakes as his dad. Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Big_Foot/bj6eDwAAQBAJ?q=Big+foot+by+Joseph+Barnes+Phillips.&gbpv=1#f=false

Fireflies / by Matthew Barber

Retired schoolteacher Eleanor Bannister lives a quiet life alone in tiny groverdell, Texas, set in her routines and secure in her position as the town's most respected woman--until a hole in her roof draws the attention of Abel Brown, a smooth-talking drifter intent on renovating Eleanor's house, and possibly her life. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fireflies/tL59DwAAQBAJ?q=fireflies+matthew+barber&gbpv=1#f=false

The antipodes / by Annie Baker

In Annie Baker's The Antipodes, a group of people sit around a table telling, cataloging, and theorizing stories. Their purpose is never clear: are they brainstorming ideas for a TV show? A film? A mythology? This is a world where ghostly fables co-exist with mundane discussions of snacks and sexual exploits, where the vague instruction to tell stories about "something monstrous" though "it might not be a literal monster" becomes maddeningly impossible. Part satire, part sacred rite, The Antipodes asks what value stories have for a world in crisis.

Vicuña / by Jon Robin Baitz

A tailor to the wealthy, powerful, and famous struggles to serve a very unusual client: a blustering real-estate tycoon and reality-TV star who - to everyone's surprise - becomes a major party's nominee for president. As the election spins out of control, the tailor and his apprentice are forced to examine their roles as confidants and image-makers for the candidate...and whether the right suit has the power to clinch the presidency Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vicu%C3%B1a/tu49DwAAQBAJ?q=Vicu%C3%B1a+Jon+Robin+Baitz.&gbpv=1#f=false

The secret lives of Baba Segi's wives / by Rotimi Babatunde

Men are like yam, you cut them how you like.” Baba Segi has three wives, seven children, and a mansion filled with riches. But now he has his eyes on Bolanle, a young university graduate wise to life’s misfortunes. When Bolanle responds to Baba Segi’s advances, she unwittingly uncovers a secret which threatens to rock his patriarchal household to the core Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Secret_Lives_of_Baba_Segi_s_Wives/V6H8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+secret+lives+of+Baba+Segi%27s+wives+/+by+Rotimi+Babatunde&printsec=frontcover

The gay heritage project / by Damien Atkins

This isn't your ordinary history project. In what has become an important piece of contemporary queer Canadian theatre, three of Canada's most gifted performers-Damien Atkins, Paul Dunn, and Andrew Kushnir-go on a search way past Google in order to find the history of gay people. The trio start their quest by looking back at their own lineages and move along to the library, the Yellow Brick Road, Ukraine, a game show, and a court. They discover handfuls of forgotten heroes and stories, but also visit some well-known names, compiling everything into one extraordinary history lesson that shines new light on contemporary gay culture. Equal parts personal curiosity, answers to the past, and information for the future, The Gay Heritage Project is a hilarious, thought-provoking meta tale that connects queer communities everywhere.

Devil with the blue dress / by Kevin Armento

Exhuming the little blue dress that launched the biggest media circus of a generation, this barbed spin on a political drama conjures the five women who collided in what became known as The Lewinsky Scandal. Hillary Clinton and Monica Lewinsky find themselves centre stage in a theatrical feat that takes us through the corridors of power and behind the closed doors where the abuse of that power took place. Devil with the Blue Dress grapples with one of the most challenging questions in American political history: How do we respond to women seeking power, and the men who abuse it? Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Devil_with_the_Blue_Dress/IaH8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Devil+with+the+blue+dress+/+by+Kevin+Armento&printsec=frontcover

Wheelchair : a play / by Will Arbery

Wheelchair follows the shifting lives of cities, apartments, objects, and a man named Gordon. Even though he's being evicted, Gordon believes himself to be one of God's 36 chosen people. In this play, which teeters between tragedy and comedy at all times, people and refrigerators speak of their great despairs and fantasies

How Black mothers say I love you / by Trey Anthony

Claudette still can't forgive her mother, Daphne, for leaving. For six years of her childhood, Claudette and her sister Valerie were left with their grandmother while their mother moved from Jamaica to Canada to start a new chapter for her family. But in that time, Daphne remarried and had another daughter. Now Montreal-based Claudette is in her late thirties, visiting her dying mother in Toronto, but that doesn't stop her anger and abandonment issues from bubbling up. It doesn't stop Daphne from voicing her opinions on how Claudette lives her life, either. With Daphne, Claudette, and Valerie all under one roof again, each family member is forced to confront their emotions while there's still time. Though rooted in buried strife and sadness, How Black Mothers Say I Love You is full of humour, love, and tenderness as it explores the complicated perceptions of immigrant mothers.

Blacktop sky / by Christina Anderson

Klass, a homeless, young Black man, sets up residence in the courtyard of the housing project where Ida Peters lives. Triggered by a fatal confrontation between a local street vendor and the police, Klass and Ida quickly develop a precarious bond against the backdrop of a restless neighborhood. Inspired by the Greek myth Leda and the Swan, Blacktop Sky examines the intersection of love, violence, and seduction.

The earth is flat / by Todd Almond

A coming-of-age story set in Calhoun Hall, the play follows purple-haired Ethan as he takes his first tentative steps toward self-knowledge. Day one he meets his roommate, Derek, who's popular, social, and seems to have it all together. Day two, Ethan's brother dies in an accident, sending Ethan back home to deal with his ambitious sister and his pill-addicted mother. While there, Derek and Ethan write letters in which Derek reveals he's become obsessed with conspiracy theories about the earth being flat. When Ethan returns to college, he and Derek share a kiss, but Derek isn't gay, and Ethan's embarrassment propels him further toward the theories. Will Derek and he ever repair their friendship? Will college ever be "normal"?

In a land I don't remember / by Carmen Aguirre

In a Land Called I Don't Remember is an autobiographical piece that takes place entirely on a bus in the Andes mountains, crossing from Argentina into Chile. In her first play, written at the age of 22 while she was attending theatre school, the author explores her dual identities of Chilean and Canadian, personified by two female characters who were the same age and sit next to each other. In the anthology: Chili Con Carne and Other Early Works

At night on the sun / by Will Alexander

As the curtain rises on Will Alexander's adroit pan-African pageant, courtiers puzzle, stew and snipe over the central mystery of their existence—the absence of King Asoka. Where is he? Can mere ministers of war decide, or do the eerie signals demand the counsel of the magicians? What is he doing, what does he intend? Is intention still on the table? So the old ways play themselves out, but on Asoka's return a table of glittering galaxies play themselves out like cards from the future. Like Lorraine Hansberry's Black Arts Movement era masterpiece Les Blancs, Alexander's AT NIGHT ON THE SUN presents a planet's struggle for self-determination as an occasion for both joy and fear. It is a work of art for our age and for ages yet to come

100 plays for the first hundred days / by Suzan-Lori Parks

Known for her distinctive lyrical dialogue and powerful sociopolitical themes, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is one of the most innovative and ambitious playwrights in the contemporary theatre world. In reaction to the extraordinary events of the first 100 days of the presidency of Donald J. Trump, one of America's most distinguished artists has created a unique and highly personal response to one of the most tumultuous times in our history. For each day, Parks created a play diary to capture and explore the events as they unfolded and to try and make sense out of a state of uncertainty, confusion, and chaos. An everyman's guide to the Trumpian universe Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/100_Plays_for_the_First_Hundred_Days/p_5QDwAAQBAJ?q=100+PLAYS+FOR+THE+FIRST+HUNDRED+DAYS&gbpv=1#f=false

1 hour photo / Tetsuro Shigematsu

1 Hour Photo is the story of Mas Yamamoto, a man whose life was swept up by the major currents of the 20th century. From growing up in a fishing village on the banks of the Fraser River, to being confined at a Japanese Canadian internment camp during World War II, to helping build the Distant Early Warning Line in the Canadian Arctic during the height of the Cold War, 1 Hour Photo is a moving portrait saturated with the most vivid colours of our times.

[Blank] / by Alice Birch

[BLANK] is no traditional play, it’s a series of sixty scenes - some of which may feel connected, others less so - about adults and children impacted by the criminal justice system. It's about what life is like when adults feel absent from it. But it can be about whatever you like - readers and performers can choose as many or as few scenes in order to construct their own narratives Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/BLANK/WaH8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%5BBlank%5D+/+by+Alice+Birch&printsec=frontcover

14 / by Jose Casas

14 was inspired by the true-life event in May 2001 in which a smuggler abandoned 30 Mexicans crossing the desert near Yuma, Ariz., resulting in 14 deaths due to dehydration. The play is an ethnographic exploration of immigration in the United States, in particular, coming from the perspectives of people living on the Arizona (U.S.) border and Mexico. While the play is set in the Southwest, it is reflective of the type of dialogue happening nationwide. It is a fictionalized series of monologues based on playwright interviews and public accounts of Arizonans and Mexicans and their different attitudes toward the contemporary issues of not only immigration but also race and public policy. The subject matter connects to a myriad of other issues, such as representation, identity, violence and the concept of “home.” The characters are a collection of flawed and struggling human beings and range from the reverend creating water stations in the desert to save lives to the socialite who does not acknowledge her own prejudice, to the soldier who regrets fighting for a country he feels has exploited him, to the day laborer who only wishes to provide for his family. 14 is a starting point for exploration to investigate the complexities of the relationships of people living on the border, not giving answers but raising difficult questions. The mosaic of people included emphasize the importance of investigating this topic in a way that calls not only for action and conversation but, ultimately, for a collective solution. Online preview: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/ex14FF8.pdf

Aeschylus, the Oresteia : the texts of the plays, ancient backgrounds and responses, criticism / by Aeschylus

The Texts of the Oresteia: Agamemnon ; Women At The Graveside (Choephoroi) ; Orestes At Athens (Eumenides) ; Textual Variants: Some Major Questions and Problems in the Texts ; The Text and Sequence of the Trial Scene in Orestes at Athens -- Ancient Backgrounds and Responses: Some Related Ancient Vase Paintings ; Homer: From the Odyssey ; On Stesichorus' Oresteia ; Pindar: From Pythian 11 ; From the Electras of Euripides and Sophocles ; Euripides: From Electra ; Sophocles: From Electra -- Criticism: From Lectures on Aesthetics / G. W. F. Hegel ; From Lectures on the Libation Bearers / Friedrich Nietzsche ; From The Oresteia of Aeschylus / George Thomson ; From Morals and Politics in the Oresteia / E. R. Dodds ; From Aeschylus: The Oresteia / Simon Goldhill ; From The Oresteia: A Study in Language and Structure / Anne Lebeck ; From The Dynamics of Misogyny: Myth and Mythmaking in Aeschylus' Oresteia / Froma I. Zeitlin ; From Hunting and Sacrifice in Aeschylus' Oresteia / Pierre Vidal-Naquet ; [No-Man's-Land of Dark and Light] / John Herington ; [Aeschylean Drama and the Political Moment] / Alan H. Sommerstein ; From Politics and the Oresteia / C. W. Macleod ; From Clytemnestra and the Vote of Athena / R. P. Winnington-Ingram ; From The Art of Aeschylus / Thomas G. Rosenmeyer ; The "Aetiology" of Tragedy in the Oresteia / Peter Wilson

Lickspittles, buttonholers and damned pernicious go-betweens / by Johnna Adams

During the Napoleonic wars, three extraneous Danish court officials - a professional loudmouth (the buttonholer), a kiss-ass for hire (the lickspittle), and a successful dastard (the go-between) - are tossed out of court just as Denmark's merchant fleet becomes of strategic importance. The three men journey to France and meet Napoleon's top lickspittle, buttonholer, and go-between - who are females?! Unnecessarily complex plots abound, flying machines are destroyed, and the head of Marie Antoinette is discovered during the madcap struggle to save Copenhagen from British howitzers. With an extraordinary use of rhyming alexandrine verse, plus cameos by sestina, haiku, free verse, limericks, and sonnets, 'Lickspittles, buttonholers and damned pernicious go-betweens' is a farce for the ages, a delightful romp no matter your poetic preferences. Online preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lickspittles_Buttonholers_and_Damned_Per/ekZdDgAAQBAJ?q=johnna+adams+lickspittles&gbpv=1#f=false

And here I am : (based on the life of Ahmed Tobasi) / by Hassan Abdulrazzak

A bittersweet, dark political comedy based on one man's true story and his odyssey in search for identity, And Here I Am is an epic voyage of identity and self-discovery based on Ahmed Tobasi's personal coming of age story. Combining fact and fantasy, tragedy and comedy, spanning both the first Palestinian intifada and the second, we follow the protagonist through his transformation from resistance fighter to artist, his journey as a refugee from the West Bank to Norway and then back again Google preview: https://www.google.com/books/edition/And_Here_I_Am/aKD8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=And+here+I+am+:+(based+on+the+life+of+Ahmed+Tobasi)&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover