Utah Theater Bloggers Association, which is making a serious play at being the preeminent source of live-theater reviews in metropolitan Utah, has reviewed New Play Project’s new show. Although I have read all these plays (they are part of our volume Out of the Mount) and although I already knew I would like to see them performed live, I’ve never been quite so jealous of those who will get to see this show as I am now. the very idea of Eric Samuelsen playing the father in Prodigal Son gives me chills.

But whether you can make the show or not, the book is still available for purchase — including the entire text in several ebook versions for under four dollars.

Eric Samuelsen has two plays in our upcoming Out of the Mount. the first, “The Exact Total Opposite”, is part of a series of plays starring He and She that New Play Project is producing next February. The other play, “Gaia”, is in serious competition for the best short play I’ve read in the past ten years.

As reviewed by Gideon Burton (this link also includes reviews of Out of the Mount plays “Based on True-ish Stories”, “Foxgloves” and “A Burning in the Bosom”),  ”Gaia” makes “stereotypes of downtrodden Mormon women ring ever more hollow” as a premortal Eve stands down Lucifer and proves her strength and worthiness to be the mother of all living only shortly before the days of Eden.

Rumor has it that “Gaia” is the planned opening scene to a full-length work from Samuelsen.

We can only hope so.

Now available for purchase.