The Depot for New Play Readings

In “Machines Eat People” Max Gill delivers a nuanced and multi-layered drama about two families whose interactions one weekend change the way the characters think about themselves and each other. With great restraint, Gill builds tension and holds emotions taut. Everyone who attended the Depot reading was affected by it. The stakes felt so real, one actor vowed to avoid the mistakes his character made. A beautiful unfolding of one specific moment after another straight to the poignant end. Strongly recommended.

David Brodie addresses the history of the abuse of native children in Catholic-run boarding schools in his heartbreaking “Save the Man.” Daniel, a Shoshone teenager, escapes his school and hides in the barn of a family of Sikh farmers. The family's humanity cannot undo years of trauma, though. With fully developed characters, heartbreaking scenes, and multiple languages and cultures, "Save the Man" left the Depot audience speechless. A powerful play with timeless themes. Strongly recommended.

In “Alicia” J. Lois Diamond dramatizes the career of the great Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso with cinematic scope. We meet Alicia, old and blind, and, as she talks to dance students, through flashback, recounts her life. Choral roles populate scenes with multiple characters, while Alicia’s dancing comes to life in beautifully crafted dialog. In Diamond’s telling, Alicia wanted only to dance, no matter the cost to others or to herself, and despite her willfulness, sympathetic. Highly recommended.

In January, 1882, Irish poet Oscar Wilde, 27, visited his literary hero, Walt Whitman, 62, in Philadelphia. Little is known about what transpired, but in the two-hander “Wilde about Whitman,” David Simpatico delivers a dramatic answer. Over two acts, Simpatico’s vividly drawn poets tango in a dance of desire and rage. At stake is Whitman’s legacy: will he accede to demands he cut twenty-five erotic poems from Leaves of Grass to prevent its being banned? With witty repartee, double entendre, and haunting recollections about the Civil War, the play swings through a gamut of emotions. A gem. Highly recommended.

In “The Springvale Armadillo,” Donald Loftus explores the little known history of leprosaria, medical colonies for the care of patients with Hansen’s disease, or leprosy. This absorbing play focuses on Ruby, who lives in an institution based on the historical Carville. The dialog crackles, and Loftus deftly employs flashbacks and dreams for heightened emotional effect. Mystery hovers throughout the action, giving the play a slight gothic feel, without the typical trappings of the genre. In the end, Ruby’s life and stoicism are poignant and moving. Strongly recommended.