Mini Reviews: 30 Plays in 30 Days Readathon

Towards the end of May I thought “You know, it would be fun to read all of the Tony nominated plays this year!” which then turned into “I’m gonna read a play for every day in June” and suddenly my 30 plays in 30 days readathon was born!

For someone who lives and breathes theatre, I actually don’t read plays as often as one would think (excluding Shakespeare); plays aren’t as accessible as musicals are, but I do buy a lot of plays, especially whenever I’m in New York since it’s not a NYC trip if I don’t go to the Drama Book Shop multiple times. Because of this, a lot of unread plays have gathered on my shelves, and that was another incentive to me deciding to do this reading challenge. I knew that in doing so I’d get through all of the unread plays on my shelves which meant that I actually had to buy some new plays (I know, I had to, it was a real sacrifice) to make it to 30! I mean, I could’ve read 3 other Oscar Wilde plays, but I wanted to limit it to one unread play per author, so I decided against that.

Anyway, I finished my 30 plays in 30 days readathon on June 29th, and I’m honestly so proud of myself for actually completing the readathon! Yes, plays are typically short, but reading 30 in 30 days, especially during the busiest time of my work year, is quite an accomplishment. It was also so much fun! I got to read a lot of plays that I’ve been wanting to read for years, discovered some new ones and found some new favorites! 

Since I read all of these, I figured I just had to make a post of mini reviews for them, so get comfy and cozy and let’s chat about the 30 plays I read in June!

(Please note that some of the plays I talk about include mentions of death, murder and rape)

Obviously, the easiest way to do this would be to sort them by star rating and share some of my thoughts. Some I definitely have more thoughts on than others 🤣 and to me it makes the most sense to go from lowest ratings to highest. So, let’s start with the 1 – 2 star reads.

Honestly, nothing makes me sadder than picking up any sort of book that I’m looking forward to reading and then just…not liking it at all. It can’t be avoided, but it’s always such a bummer. Luckily, I didn’t have a lot of 1-2 star reads during this readathon, but I did have a few. I do think that sometimes it can be hard to rate plays because so much of the storytelling and emotion really is portrayed on stage with the actors. However, if the script itself isn’t good, it just isn’t good, and unfortunately, these ones did not work for me.

The most disappointing for me was definitely “Oh, Mary!” by Cole Escola, which I had really high hopes for. I’d heard pretty much nothing but incredible things about this show, and with it being one of the Tony Nominees this year it was one of my priority reads. Every review has said how hilarious it is and that it’s one of the best pieces of theatre in years and I read it and absolutely hated it. I can see how much of this show relies on the actor playing Mary and the physicality, but the script is…not good. I was glad it was as short as it was because I hated it. “Oh, Mary!” may be a 5 star show for many, but it was a 1 star read for me.

I was really looking forward to reading I Wanna Fuck Like Romeo and Juliet by Andrew Rincón because I thought the plot sounded really interesting — I love the idea of Cupid being fed up with love and ripping off her wings, then her old flame Saint Valentine plans to make her believe in love again by helping two lovers get back together. That honestly sounds so fun and I was really excited to read it, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. I think that the themes explored were great, and explored interestingly, but I couldn’t get into the writing style. This one was a 2 star.

Luckily, I only had one other low rated play. Speech and Debate by Stephen Karam came in at 2.5 stars when I first read it, but the more that I’m thinking about it, it may really just be a 2 star. Speech and Debate deals with some serious topics, such as abuse of power and “relationships” between adults and minors. While they’re not treated as completely blasé, they definitely are not given the weight that they deserve and at that point I could not care because if you’re not giving these topics the weight and importance they deserve, then why are you using it as a plot device? It was adapted into a film, so I am planning on watching the film and seeing what they changed and if it works better on film. 

Now let’s chat about my 3 star plays. For most of these there were aspects that I enjoyed and other aspects that fell flat to me. 

I did a reread of The Crucible before reading John Proctor is the Villain since I hadn’t read it since my college days. While I wouldn’t necessarily say that I dislike The Crucible because I do think it’s well written and an interesting exploration of the time period, but the older I get the more frustrated I get with the story because all of those girls were victims of the men around them and victims of each other. John Proctor really is the villain, y’all.

Continuing on the witchy train, I discovered the play Witch by Jen Silverman, and obviously I needed to read it. The description of the “town witch” making a deal with the devil of course is something that I would want to read. Overall, I liked this but it wasn’t exactly what I expected. However, I thought it was an interesting idea, with pretty good execution and I liked the exploration of what one person would and wouldn’t give up their soul for. 

I had Shakespeare’s R&J by Joe Calarco on my tbr for a while and was glad to finally read it, but it was different than I expected it to be. I knew that it was an adaptation of sorts, but I didn’t really expect it to mostly be a condensed version of R&J, which to me, made it difficult to really rate. I loved the premise of these boys spending their nights immersing themselves in Shakespeare’s world and acting out the play themselves and two of the boys seeming to romantically connect/one of them seeming to have a gay awakening, and I loved getting context about what the boys were going through in the stage directions. I think this is one that is best seen so that you can really feel the weight and impact of what the story is intending. Because of this, Shakespeare’s R&J is falling solidly in the middle of the rankings.

The Flick by Annie Baker had been sitting on my shelves for years (we’re not gonna talk about how long some of these plays were on my tbr) so I was glad to finally get to it! I actually had some mixed feelings about this one. I liked the setting a lot — I think a movie theater is a very interesting setting for a play — and I thought the characters were interesting, but something just fell flat for me. I felt a disconnect between myself and the characters, which is always a bummer and I didn’t always love the language. I was actually really surprised to find out that this won the Pulitzer and that it won over Fun Home. I didn’t dislike The Flick, but it didn’t capture me the way that I was hoping it would. 

Did y’all know that Merrily We Roll Along is not only a musical, but also a play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart? Guess what…I did not…I found out a few years ago, so obviously I bought a copy and had to read it because I love the musical. While I can see how they got the musical out of the play, I do prefer the musical. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the play, but I found it less interesting the longer that it went on. I really liked act 1 and act 2, but found act 3 to be pretty boring. I enjoyed it, but I’ll stick with the musical. 

Significant Other by Joshua Harmon was one that I was interested in mostly for the cast when it was on Broadway. I mean why would I not be interested in a play with Lindsay Mendez, Gideon Glick and Rebecca Naomi Jones? There was quite a bit that I liked about this play, especially seeing Jordan handle how his life is changing with his friends getting into relationships and getting married but he feels like he’s standing still. I think that’s a pretty universal theme for people in their late 20s-30s, so I liked that part of the show and I think that I would like to see this life. I didn’t always love the language, especially the use of the r slur, which was challenged, I just didn’t love having to read it. Yeah, overall enjoyable but not my favorite just reading it.

I also had a few 3.5 star plays. These ones I mostly really enjoyed, but there was maybe one or two things holding it back from being a 4 star. 

I’ve been super curious about Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney since I watched their 2019 Tony Performance, so I was really excited to get a copy of the play! This is one that I really really wish I got to see live and that it had a cast recording, because the music is so integral to the plot! I think that I would’ve been able to fully connect to the characters/story if I was able to watch it and listen to them singing. Although I didn’t have the music, I was invested/interested in the story, so I would really love to be able to see this live one day.

Honestly, one of my favorite murder mystery tropes is like the unassuming old lady is actually the murderer, so Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring really worked for me for the most part! Abby and Martha were so funny, I’m obsessed with them and their antics, and it was especially funny how one of their nephews was just like “what the hell is happening?” The whole show was so funny. Acts 1 and 2 were stronger than act 3 was, and that’s why this one didn’t get a 4 star, but I really did enjoy it!

The Hills of California by Jez Butterworth was another one of this year’s Tony Nominees, and overall, I enjoyed it! The family dynamics were really interesting (y’all know how much I love complicated family dynamics!) and I loved the dual timelines. I do think that this is a show that I would really connect to if I was able to see it live because I think so much of the language, cadence of the text and beats in general will hit a lot harder when seeing the show in person. Additionally, it’s a play with some singing, so being able to hear the performances would really enhance the experience. One moment that really stuck with me though was when Adult Joan was at the bottom of the stairs, seeing the child version of her and talking about how a part of her died up there and she never came back. That was a super powerful moment even when just reading it, so I’d love to be able to see this one live!

I’ve had Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy on my tbr for so long, and I’m really happy that this reading challenge finally got me to read it. This was…absolutely heartbreaking. I vaguely knew what it was about when I bought the play, but since it’s been on my tbr for so long I kind of forgot the details and I just broke as I was reading it. The reveal of the murderer was absolutely gut wrenching. It was beautifully written and oh how I wish I could’ve seen Audra McDonald in this role! I just wish that it had been a little bit longer, but I would absolutely jump at the chance to see a production of this show.

And now we’re onto the 4 star reads! This one will be pretty long since the majority of the plays fell into the 4 star range!

Another one of my Tony Nominated reads was a reread of Our Town by Thornton Wilder. It had been years since I last read Our Town and I was really looking forward to rereading it and seeing if I still enjoyed it as much as I did the first time I read it when I was in college, and the answer is yes! There were quite a few things that I forgot so it was fun to feel like I was reading it for the first time at some points. I love the breaking of the fourth wall with the Stage Manager, and act 3 still makes me cry. Our Town still holds up, and I’m glad I read it again!

Let’s keep the ball rolling with the Tony Nominated plays! Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector was really interesting. I thought it was incredibly prevalent to the current state of the world, and was a really interesting exploration of school/community dynamics. While what I deal with at work with parents and families is different than what they were dealing with, it did feel very reminiscent to what I do, so I think that made it extra compelling to me. 

For the last of the Tony Noms that were 4 stars, we have English by Sanaz Toossi. I think that anyone who makes nasty comments about non-native English speakers needs to read this play. The way that these characters discuss language and the difficulties of learning another language was so emotional. They would talk about how in their native language they’re so poetic and elegant and have no trouble finding the words necessary to express their emotions and everything is so fluid, but then simple sentences and words become so difficult when they’re trying to speak English, and I found everything about it so fascinating. I also loved at the end when one of the characters spoke fully in Farsi after insisting that everyone use English for the entire show. I thought it was really lovely.

M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang is a play that I’ve read before, but I haven’t read the 2017 rewrite before, so when I found a copy of it at Barnes and Noble one day I had to get it. I really wish that I had reread the original printing of M. Butterfly before reading the rewrite because there were definitely things that I forgot and I would’ve loved to compare and contrast. I really love David Henry Hwang’s writing — I love how he breaks the fourth wall and has direct to the audience moments, he writes them so well. I also love how he plays with timelines throughout his shows, the transitions from the present timeline to the past is always so seamless. I think the differences between East and West are explored really well throughout the play and one of my favorite moments is in court when Song basically says “Even though I’m a man, I’m an Asian man so I’m seen as a woman to you white men” and the way that’s explored throughout the play is really well done.

Enter the Body by Joy McCullough is one of my favorite books and I was so excited to see that she adapted it into a play. The play follows the same formula as the book and I think it translates very well to the stage, considering the inspiration is Shakespeare. The play is obviously shorter than the book, so I did miss some of the breathing room that we have in the book, but I don’t think that’s something I would notice had I not read the book before reading the play. I love the topics that this story covers and the voice that it gives to these characters, who clearly represent things the women of their time went through. I just think that it’s wonderful.

Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband is a play that I’ve been meaning to read for years, and only just got around to it. Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is one of my all time favorite plays, so I had high hopes for An Ideal Husband and I really enjoyed it! Wilde’s signature humor shined throughout the text and the characters were really fun. The first act did have a lot of characters in it and sometimes it was kind of hard to keep track of them all, but the rest of the play felt a little less chaotic character number wise which I appreciated. I honestly loved Mrs. Cheveley, I would’ve read a whole play about her.

Medusa Undone by Bella Poynton is a play that I actually hadn’t known about before, but I was browsing on Barnes & Noble one day and saw it, so I bought it while I was purchasing some of the Tony Nominated plays. I’ve always been fascinated by Medusa/the story of Medusa, so I jumped at the opportunity to read this. This was such a heartbreaking play; you see Medusa go from hopeful and excited about the prospect of being part of Athena’s temple to (rightfully so) angry and numb after being raped by Posiden, who she had assumed to be her friend. This was also, in my opinion, a really well written exploration and critique of rape culture.

As a lover of all things mystery related, I’m obviously a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes. So, when I first heard about the play Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2b by Kate Hamill I had to read it. This was SO much fun; I thought that Kat Hamill nailed the Sherlock and Watson dynamic and I loved the genderbending of the characters. I was honestly obsessed with them and would love to play both Holmes and Watson (though I think I would be cast as Watson over Holmes). The character dynamics were so fun, the plot was great, the plot twists and use of language were great. It was hilarious and I could totally see this one playing out on stage. I really loved it and want to read more by Kate Hamill.

If Shakespeare is involved, I will read it, so Shakespeare’s Sister by Emma Whipday has been on my tbr for a while. I liked Judith as a main character and thought she was interesting to follow; she was giving some 2019 Jo March vibes which I loved. I thought this was a really good commentary on women’s lives at the time and what they “could” and “couldn’t” do and how they pushed against those boundaries. The women of the play were flawed and felt very real, and I loved that even if they didn’t particularly like one another, they banded together to fight for what they believed in.

One that I had my eyes on for a while was The Secret Love Life of Ophelia by Steven Berkoff but could not get a physical copy which was driving me crazy, so I finally bit the bullet and bought the ebook so I finally got to read it! This was completely different than I thought it would be and I loved that! This was told fully through letters to each other from Ophelia and Hamlet until the very last scene of the play, which I would love to see on stage! It was so cool to read their letters to each other because their motivations and emotions were really conveyed in their letters, and I really loved that Hamlet’s “madness” and his rejection of Ophelia was something that the two of them came up with together. I thought this was a great Hamlet adaptation and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys Hamlet.

With a title like Romeo and Juliet Walk Into a Bar, I had to read this play by John Maclay and Joe Foust. I love a show within a show, so this definitely worked for me. I think this one would be such a blast to be in or direct, there’s so many fun things that you can do with it. I really liked that each character had a different viewpoint on Shakespeare and his works and no one viewpoint was seen as correct or wrong. You could tell the authors really respect Shakespeare and his work. There were a lot of direct to the audience moments that I liked as well. The ending felt a little abrupt for me, so I would’ve liked that to have been a little more fleshed out, but it was a very enjoyable read!

If you’re a fan of the musical We Are the Tigers, then you absolutely have to read Macbitches by Sophie Mcintosh. The world of college theatre is so competitive and difficult and that’s definitely reflected in this play. The competitive cattiness with and about the girls that they didn’t like vs. being all “Oh, but you’re so amazing” to their friends while silently being glad that you got cast better than them was so realistic and definitely reminded me of some of my theatre experiences. I loved how the tension built as the story went on and led to the height of the drama which was wild, might I add. I really enjoyed this and would love to see it live. 

There were 3 plays that just missed the 5 star mark for me, so here are my 4.5 star reads!

Years ago Helena told me that I needed to read What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck and she was right! I will say, it was a little hard for me to rate this one since it’s based on a true story and the author is a character in it and I don’t typically rate memoirs and the like, but there is enough that’s been edited/fictionalized for me to feel comfortable giving this one a rating. I really liked how the play was structured and the way the story was told; I thought it was really thought provoking. When it comes to just reading it, the ending felt a little abrupt, so I would’ve liked one other little thing to close it out. I understand why it ends the way that it does, I just would’ve liked a little something else. I think that this is absolutely a 5 star play overall, but from the standpoint of just reading it, it was 4.5 for me.

I need to read everything that Sandy Rustin writes because The Cottage was brilliant. This was definitely one of the funniest plays that I read over the month. I was laughing so hard. The pacing was absolutely brilliant; you need to have super strong comedic timing to be in this play. The writing really was top tier, I could vividly picture everything that was happening and am now dying to see this on stage. The humor was brilliant, it really was. I am a huge fan of Noel Coward, I absolutely love his work and his humor and strongly felt that inspiration throughout The Cottage. I think that Sandy Rustin really hit all the comedic beats that Coward did, and I now need to read anything and everything Sandy Rustin has written. 

Prima Facie by Suzie Miller was the last play that I read for this readathon, and wow, what a note to end on. I’ve wanted to read this one for a long time because I’d heard nothing but amazing things about it. This was such a difficult read, but it was so powerful. Having this play be a one-woman play is brilliant; although Tessa is the only person on stage, the way all the characters that she mentions in the retelling of her story are so clear and vivid is really fantastically written. Tessa’s characterization and the development of her character and the way she goes from a very ambitious, focused, kind of “nothing can touch me” attitude to someone so wary of just the world in general was heartbreaking. The last 2 scenes were especially heartbreaking and I read those through tears. I’d love to see this live, and I saw that there’s also a novelized version, and I’m hoping to read that as well.

I found two 5 star plays during this readathon which brought me SO much joy! There’s nothing better than getting a 5 star read, and I’m so glad I found two new favorite plays!

Obviously, I read a lot of plays inspired by Shakespeare’s work, but I haven’t read many plays that are about him. When I randomly saw The Book of Will by Lauren Gunderson while buying some other plays and I just had to get it (also that cover is gorgeous). This was such a beautiful tribute to Shakespeare; The Book of Will takes place after the death of the Bard and it chronicles how his friends and contemporaries adjust to life without him, as well as their fight to preserve his works. I was so moved by this play. As a performer and theatre educator, I know how important the arts are, and to read about how theatre can help us process our emotions and bring us out of our darkest despair, even if it’s just for an hour or two, was really emotional because that’s one of the things about theatre I love most. The characters were so well developed! The men were emotional and openly spoke about how deeply they loved and admired Shakespeare, and not just him as a playwright, but William the person. They openly showed affection with one another, and the women were well rounded and vital to the plot, they were not just there. They were important and the men didn’t treat them as anything but. I absolutely adored The Book of Will, it was an easy 5 stars. I can’t wait to read it again and hope to see it on stage some day.

I have been dying to read/see John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Bellflower, and in fact, my desire to read it is actually what sparked this entire readathon, so it’s only fitting that this was a 5 star play. I almost do not have words to describe how much I loved this play. I’m so glad that I reread The Crucible right before reading it, because the way that Bellflower mirrored The Crucible and its themes was so wonderfully and brilliantly done and really showed how our society has not changed much since 1692. I love Kimberly Belleflower’s writing; it was funny and witty but had the gravitas necessary for the topics discussed. I have also never been so moved by stage directions before, but literal stage directions made me cry so hard that I couldn’t read what was on the page and had to stop and calm myself down. That is a powerful piece of theatre. I didn’t need to see what was happening, all I had to do was read the stage directions and I was moved to tears. This play made me feel everything and it’s absolutely my new favorite play. I don’t believe that I’ll be able to see it in New York before it closes, so I really really hope that they end up having a tour because I need to see this.

Phew! We did it, besties! If you’ve read this far, thank you! I really truly loved this readathon, and while I’m not sure that I’d do a full 30 plays in 30 days challenge again, I do want to make reading (or sometimes rereading) the Tony Nominated plays a thing every year if I’m able to get my hands on the scripts!

If you have any plays that you’ve read and loved please tell me about them! I love talking about all things book and theatre related, and it would bring me so much joy.

Until next time 💜