Customer Reviews

New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2002

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"New Playwrights" series started in 1998 and has been published with new plays through the 2006 edition. "The Best Plays of 2002" is the first of the series I've read. I found the quality to be consistently high, which recommends the anthology for those seeking out new works that might be performed.

Tom Donaghy's Boys and Girls has been published by Dramatists Play Service. It is a smashing play. The play follows two gay men, Reed & Jason, who have broken up and two gay women, Bev & Shelly, who decide to ask Reed to move in with them so Bev's son can have a father figure. I'm not sure how the gay community would receive it since the ending seems to suggest that men and women belong together. But the dramatic structure is clear, the dialogue sparkles, with the play probably winning the hearts of Edward Albee fans.

"The West End Horror" by Marcia Mildrom Dodge & Anthony Dodge was produced at the Bay Street Theatre in New York. It follows Sherlock Holmes and Watson who encounter such literary luminaries as Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. The play has a cast of thousands and comes to a smashing climax. I connected a bit less with this play, thinking it substitutes cleverness for a dynamic climax. But I was certainly glad to read it.

"Birth" by Bless ji Jaja follows two black couples, Fred & Olive Mitchell and Jonas & Selah Wellings. Both couples are in their sixties and dealing with issues of approaching old age. The play is excellent because it hinges more on comedy than anger. One Caucasian woman, Vera Blume, appears. She is the catalyst for the breakup of the Wellings' marriage. The play comes to a great climax and would work well on stage. Although I missed the play's premiere in Phoenix, Arizona, I would love to see a production.

"Unequalibrium" by Alexander Lyras & Robert McCaskill is a series of five male monologues that unite with the concluding monologue where all of the characters seem to fit together to create an entire plot structure. It's an interesting concept that would work with extremely experienced and accomplished actors.

"Professional Skepticism" by James Rasheed was another excellent show that would certainly be viable onstage. It follows cutthroat business practices in the corporate world that bashes to a great conclusion. Started as a project at Brandeis University, it went through several versions. The four-person cast, tight drama, clear conflict and excellent characters make this a piece that could round out an excellent theatrical season.

Craig Wright wrote for TV's "Six Feet Under." His play Orange Flower Water details the consequences of infidelity and marital breakups. The dialogue sparkles and the conflict is bruising. It's a delightful piece of drama in much the same way as "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

"Absolving Buckner" by Liam Kuhn is another marital breakup play as three buddies meet in a bar. Frank has had an affair with Sean's wife as Brendan tries to mediate. Baseball analogies form the imagery from the 1986 appearance of the New York Mets in the Worlds Series. It is a good one act with a great climax. This is an excellent volume of new plays, well worth checking out. Enjoy!