Another Way to Take in a Show: Read the Script!
—Cathy Ritchie
That guy Shakespeare was no fool: the play really is the thing. Even most of our favorite musicals still need people saying stuff in between all those songs.
This past Broadway season unveiled some intriguing plays by both newcomers and award winners. Here's just a sampling—and if you haven’t discovered the delights of reading a script, give it a try; it’s a whole new theatre experience!
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THE BALUSTERS by David Lindsay-Abaire
(Theatre Communications Group, 2026)
I enjoy plays where disparate characters find themselves thrown together, voluntarily or sometimes not (on deserted islands or boats, in jury rooms or foxholes) where people must co-exist for finite periods of time. Then a problem arises, and those same people may be forced to explore themselves and their core beliefs under pressure.
Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire introduces us to the Vernon Point Neighborhood Association, whose members love every perfect inch of their peaceful, orderly community. But when a new member suggests placing new stop signs to fix an ongoing traffic flow problem, the specter of any visual change to the area's streets shakes the group to its core—and leads to personal skirmishes and unexpected revelations. Balusters is both entertaining and engrossing, offering fine substantive acting roles and superb dialogue.
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LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD by Samuel D. Hunter
(Samuel French, 2026)
Who says a play can't be effective without elaborate scenery and stage props that fascinate the eye? As this script demonstrates, dramatic power can manifest itself with a sofa and TV set.
During the COVID years in rural Idaho, the remaining members of an estranged family—sharp-tongued aunt Sarah and her gay nephew Ethan—must join forces to deal with estate questions surrounding the death of Ethan's father. Over a two-year period, during which the family home's sofa/TV combo barely moves and Sarah deals with colon cancer, she and Ethan find each other again and learn much.
Little Bear Ridge Road premiered at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre in celebration of the company's 50th anniversary. Fittingly, Sarah was portrayed by one of the troupe's most acclaimed members, Laurie Metcalf, and the production later had a brief but well-reviewed run on Broadway. This work proves that good things often arrive in small, seemingly quiet packages.
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"OH MARY!" by Cole Escola
(Dramatists Play Service, 2025)
When I first heard of this play, I immediately felt I had no room in my brain for a work allegedly reducing a troubled, controversial First Lady to a crude caricature.
Well, social media worked its magic and I finally forced myself to commune with the script. And I now say: audiences who can suspend disbelief, accept steady profanity, and give a pass to questionable character behavior are likely to find themselves enjoying this cringe fest of a farce. Uncontrollable laughter is guaranteed, and who isn’t down with that?
Abe Lincoln is President and still dealing with that pesky Civil War. But his most immediate problem is a wife named Mary who'd rather be a cabaret star than a FLOTUS. That's right. The close-to-slapstick action never relents, as these madcap historical figures lead us on merry and usually profane chases. (Arguably, the wildest plot twist finds Mary in an affair with John Wilkes Booth. You heaerd me.)
Another unique aspect of this script is that Mary can be portrayed by an actor of any sex and/or color. Non-binary playwright Escola originated the role, winning this year's Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, who knows which leading "lady" you'll get to savor onstage. (At this writing, Bowen Yang is poised to join the Broadway cast shortly, and a film capture of the play in London—with Escola again playing Mary—is in the works.)
Public or university libraries often have straight-play or musical scripts on their shelves, sometimes in collections from years past. These days, Concord Theatricals (which more or less took over and expanded the venerable Samuel French operation, is a prime source, as are used bookstores both in town and online (try Abe Books, Thrift Books, and Second Sale—dot coms all). If you live a time zone or two from Broadway, you don’t need to wait for the next filmed play or musical to drop at the movie theatre or online. There’s plenty of theatre fun to be found in books, too!
