Dramatic Pause

6. My Emporer's New Clothes, Larry Shue. Thought Shue only wrote The Foreigner and The Nerd before he died? Guess again. This short children's musical adaptation of the classic story is one of his best - full of great characters, good fun, and the best part of Shue's writing - clever and witty stage directions.

7. Wit, Margaret Edson. You've probably read it. If not, you're in for a pleasant surprise. A first script, this one came home with every award imaginable, and with good reason. It's a great play. Plays better than it reads, and tends to border on melodrama at times, but it is still a staple of theatre.

8. A Bright Room Called Day, Tony Kushner. Tony is best known, of course, for his Angels in America plays, but this one is a horse of a different breed altogether. It is a fine, well-written play, and deserves to be read by all. I encourage you to add this one to your summer list.

9. Side Man, Warren Leight. A Tony Award winning play, this one is another that may not qualify as light "summer fare," but it is still a fine read, and it remains as a must-read for any playwright. There is a lot of good stuff in here.

10. Dinner With Friends, Donald Margulies. Margulies strikes again with a phenomenal play. This may be the best he's written yet, which is actually saying quite a bit. This one is yet another must-read, especially for anyone who has not read Margulies.

Read these ten plays this summer and see as much theatre as you can. This is, after all, the season of summer stock. Wherever you are in the country, chances are in your favor that there is good theatre somewhere near you. I would highly suggest you see as much of it as possible, even if it's an old, crowd-pleasing musical.

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