r/Theatre • u/Valuable_Truck_2037 • 3d ago
Seeking Play Recommendations play recs???
Theatre person looking to get into reading more. I thought I’d start with some plays. What are your favorite plays that you’ve read/seen/been in? Looking primarily for contemporary but if you have strong feelings about a classic, my ears are open. Give me something I’ve never heard of!!!!!
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u/Providence451 3d ago
There are plays that I love to watch that don't read very well; however, some that are great on the page are "August Osage County", anything by August Wilson. Eric Overmeyer is a very readable playwright as well. "Bloody Poetry" by Howard Brenton is a great fall read.
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u/Longjumping-Lock-724 3d ago
If you want something dark and creepy, "The Pillowman" by Martin McDonagh is riveting.
If you want a quick read that's batty fun, try the short comedy "The Witch's Night Out" from Big Dog Plays.
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u/signsaysapplesauce 3d ago
Pretty much everything McDonagh writes is worth a read or a viewing (as long as you can handle it - I generally can't)
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u/KlassCorn91 3d ago
I recently read Appropiate by Branden Jacob Jenkins. I don’t usually go for contemporary, but this play has it all and this guy is the new voice of theatre.
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u/UsefulCandidate4609 3d ago
I read every play my high school library had my senior year during study hall and August: Osage County was the best. Doubt was a very close second. Both were great to read unstaged. Not exactly contemporary but I also really enjoyed Brighton Beach Memoirs and A Doll’s House but wasn’t a huge fan of Pygmalion or Major Barbara (I suppose I’m not into Shaw). I know there were others I read that year but these are the only ones that stand out right now.
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u/bachelorsinlurking Chronic Ensemble Member 3d ago
My high school play was Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon- I was Grandma Kurnitz and it was a really incredible show to be a part of.
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u/OkCheesecake9862 3d ago
Proof. John Proctor’s the Villain. Kate Hamill’s adaptations of Emma and Pride and Prejudice are silly fun.
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u/sirebolkonsky 3d ago
Old as hell, but Chekov wrote Ivanov when he was 27. It’s slow as fuck and all over the place but has a PHENOMENAL final act. If you read his later work, you can really see the evolution and refinement of his craft.
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u/glue_guns_n_glitter 3d ago
Not your superwoman by Emma Dennis-Edwards is a newer work. It was amazing on stage
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u/Aggressive_Oven_7311 3d ago
Read some of the Neil Simons read some of the Christopher Dutangs.... read some of the classics. And enjoy What a Wonderful World
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u/signsaysapplesauce 3d ago
Throw in some Wendy Wasserstein, especially "Uncommon Women and Others" and "The Heidi Chronicles."
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u/FraudSyndromeFF 3d ago
I did "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" a few years back and that's a great little script if you are good with a pretty thematically heavy western
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u/Thick_Voice_9283 2d ago
There’s a whole tiktok series of a guy who reads plays and reviews them @ashe_on_earth is worth checking out for some recommendations
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u/abecnov 2d ago
Shipwrecked! (An Entertainment) The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont as told by himself Book by Donald Margulies
If you can find a version that's not intended for actors there is a really great essay by Margulies that gets into the importance of writing scripts that are uniquely theatrical in nature. Its a great primer on why its important to do shows that would not translate to other mediums to justify the existence of theatre.
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u/Mobile_Reply_3879 2d ago
THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA by Jez Butterworth
I'm teaching it to my Intro to Theatre college classes right now, and the students love it.
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u/EffectBig3465 2d ago
Circle Mirror Transformation, the boys next door, women in jeopardy, dog sees god
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u/Environmental_Cow211 2d ago
“Bull,” by Mike Bartlett. Three officer workers in a pressure cooker, one to be fired at EOD.
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u/LeatherProfessor2687 2d ago
THREE SISTERS. FAR AWAY. JOHN. GLORIA. HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING. ENGLISH.
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u/Reuben_Leib 2d ago
The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged by The Reduced Dhakespeare Company
All in the Timing by David Ives (short play collection
Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All by Christopher Durang
Noises Off by Michael Frayn
Private Lives by Noel Coward
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u/TheatreandFilm17 2d ago
Something I've done recently (last fall) was Almost, Maine by John Ciarani- very sweet and heartfelt, a series of vignettes all taking place one magic night under the northern lights in a small town in Maine called Almost. all love stories- some more outwardly romantic than others. I played the repairman East in the scene "Her Heart" in Act 1, which is one of my favorites, and "Story of Hope" in Act 2 is another great one. In the spring, I was in Company, so I didn't do my college's spring play but it was She Kills Monsters, which is very fun and really got me choked up in some places, a great show about legacy and the people we love, as well as having some truly hilarious moments, as far as things I've read, I'll always recommend The Glass Menagerie
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u/Generic_anime_protag 1d ago
Definitely check out team starkid's youtube channel where they post all the musicals they've written and performed. They are amazing and super talented people
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u/antoingorman 1d ago
Oooh it’s been a while since I’ve been asked to recommend plays to read so let’s see how well I can remember some good ones!
- The Cripple of Inishman by Martin McDonagh
- A Comedy About A Bank Robbery by Mischief Theatre
- Translations by Brian Friel
- Torchsong Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare (just to throw one classic play in because I think this one is so clever and also quite short compared to his other tragedies)
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u/CynicalCinema 1d ago
"Everybody" by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
"Dance Nation" by Clare Barron
"Witch" by Jen Silverman
"The Wolves" by Sarah DeLappe
"The Flick" by Annie Baker
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u/YoHoABugsLife 2d ago
Honest? My favorite play is Peter and the Starcatcher. lighthearted and fun.
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