Reviews for New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2005

The average rating for New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2005 based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-04-20 00:00:00 Eran Zamir So it's hard to write a review for a collection of this kind (where the only unifying factor is the year the plays were produced in New York), so I'll do what I typically do: average out ratings of the individual plays. Swimming in the Shallows: Not as nearly experimental as it wishes it was and doesn't go as deep as I liked, and yet I really enjoyed it. *** Comfort Women: An amazing historical story and one that should be known but this is just a badly written play. It had an outrage that should propel it forward, but instead it's just kinda clunky. * Texas Homos: This play's saving grace, on the other hand, is its expert pacing. The energy is so good that you almost overlook the clunky exposition and characters that are flatter than one would like (not to mention a simple story). ** Learning Curve: A great story and generally well written, though the ending was a little lack-luster, and it was annoying how characters in the 60's would keep saying "it's the 60's!" *** Everything Will Be Different: A REALLY good play! It's sad and heartbreaking and somehow beautiful. ***** String of Pearls: Uses the journey of a pearl necklace to show the lives of various women and their quiet quests to connect. It's a little convoluted but still effective none-the-less. ****

Review # 2 was written on 2008-11-03 00:00:00 James Markham Adam Bock's "Swimming in the Shallows" is quite excellent.