HOW HIS BRIDE CAME TO ABRAHAM
“Sunde’s timely, gripping, and richly magical play… this modern day Romeo and Juliet…an engrossing look at how war can prematurely turn children into adults… emotional pull of her drama…will haunt audiences well after the end of the play… forces beyond man might be at work.” American Theater Web.com
“A masterpiece…no soft edges…goes straight to the heart of the conflict… outstanding writing, sound, direction, and acting–all the elements that make great theatre"
Bloomberg Radio
“The immediacy can't help but move us—the first of many shattering moments in this triumphant production of Sunde's still-timely play. ...unforgettably explosive and emotional ...this dangerous and rapturous night together... See it for the perspective it can provide about our current situation; see it, too, because it is superbly affecting theatre.” Martin Denton NYTheatre.com
“…one of the timeliest productions to make an appearance on the New York stage…quietly yet artfully making an anti-war protest with a political boldness that rivals that of the Dixie Chicks. …a play that may have the power to heal.” OOBR.com
“Critic’s Pick of the Week” Show Business Weekly.com
"Sunde does not take sides in the conflict, and the dialogue has a crisp, biting edge... gripping drama... timely romantic drama ... volatile battle zone ... vivid portraits of offstage characters and action ... cinematic thrust of the pieces summons the inspiration for a dandy film. " VARIETY
“...its events seem ripped right out of today’s headlines. …pacifist tragedy …a fateful night that profoundly changes them – and us. It’s incisive dialogue, riveting action, and searing audience impact... The play would likewise make a first-rate film” Plays International, London
"HOW HIS BRIDE CAME TO ABRAHAM creates an extraordinary modern pacifist myth in which a wounded male Israeli soldier and a female Palestinian terrorist experience each other's passionate hunger for their homes and rights...it indelibly etches itself upon viewers' souls." CONTEMPORARY DRAMATISTS, London
(1m, 1w, 1 set)
www.broadwayplaypubl.com
THE FASTEST WOMAN ALIVE
A 3-Ring circus on a dime: Jackie Cochran, out of barefoot "sawdust row" becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier, and with her buddies Amelia Earhart, Chuck Yeager, Dwight Eisenhower, LBJ, the WASP and Mercury 13, captures more flight records than any human.
**published 2005, www.dramaticpublishing.com
"A thrilling play...amazing…a marvel…unfolds like a rocket…a wonder it's not in a Broadway theatre" NYTheatre.com
"Kaleidoscopic…fascinating true story...streaks forward. … creative theatrical thread running through… clearly displays that Sunde is more than a mere chronicler ... believable and moving" TalkingBroadway.com
"Spunky lady's tale makes fast takeoff…Sunde has done a wonderful job making her maverick character come to life." New Jersey Star-Ledger
"This is an amazing story … non-stop, near improvisatory … moving at an appropriately Cochran-like pace" Montclair Times
"Gripping…fascinating…riveting script makes this a 'not to be missed' dramatic experience." Irvington Herald
"Spitfire…wildcat '…Call Me Madam meets A League of Their Own'... the never-ending appeal of won't-take-not-for-an-answer broads… sweeping across the stage." American Theater Web
"Imaginatively constructed…unwavering desire to soar, boistrous, daring…four supporting actors play a whole nation!" BACKSTAGE
"Funny and thrilling… Simultaneous action and jump cuts...just when we need them but not for a second longer … directors and casts will find the play foolproof. We'll be seeing lots of mountings of this one."
Plays International, London
WHEN REAL LIFE BEGINS
“A passionate hour of theatrical magic.” “Tour de force.” “Thrilling”
PLAYS INTERNATIONAL (London)
“Extraordinary solo play about passion, love, and theatre.” “Top Recommendation of the Week ”
NYTHEATRE.com
A vibrant woman shows how--
as her actor husband fights for his life
the closer he gets to death,
the more powerful his acting grows...
and she discovers her passion--
to produce theatre.
IN A KINGDOM BY THE SEA
WHAT STUDENTS AT STANFORD (Sociology of Terrorism 109) say about…
IN A KINGDOM BY THE SEA
"I understand better than I ever have before" DB
"extremely time pertinent, both Lebanon and Iraq are 'kingdoms by the sea' --powerful" RC
“Theories must be grounded in the brutal realism of terrorist acts… That is, we must not only talk about terrorism in the language of numbers, but in the language of emotions as well. In In A Kingdom By the Sea, we are treated to a in-depth look at how war and terrorism affect one soldier. …Hogan, a Marine, of whom the audience could say, “Hey, I know him!” …is the cocky, brash American we love…and his character helped the audience relate to the situations going on in Lebanon. I feel I understand the emotions surrounding terrorist acts and their victims better than I ever have before.” --David Baron
“IN A KINGDOM BY THE SEA relates to terrorism in the most poignant way by representing the struggle both sides face to determine what is right and what is wrong. … The way Sunde juxtapositions these characters causes the audience to ponder who is in the right. …the human side of terrorism…a valiant commentary magnifying the intense cultural differences and barriers in the way of resolving cross-cultural conflicts. -Anna Strohl
“…provocative…suspenseful…volatile the climate of confusion, double-crossing, and secrecy that characterize terrorist activity and the strategies of network groups working next to each other… IN A KINGDOM BY THE SEA exposed the fragile and tenuous relationships between opposition groups, who balance a distant respect for each other’s missions with tit-for-tat strategy.” --Tori Babin
IN A KINGDOM BY THE SEA is extremely time pertinent today, as the United States is besieged by the incessant insurgency in Iraq. …(incidentally, both Lebanon and Iraq are “kingdoms by the sea”). The play powerfully conveys Sunde’s central message that war is far from what it is idealistically believed or claimed to be… To my enormous surprise, I found [a reading of KINGDOM] powerful in a unique way. --Ronald Chan
IN A KINGDOM BY THE SEA is a haunting and multifaceted view of the consequences of occupation, extremism and idealism through the eyes of the both the perpetrators and victims of terrorism. …Sunde’s power of characterization emerges…subtly heart-wrenching, telling a story of individual lives and emotions, as well as their place in a stark environment of conflict and violence. …This play questions the nature of heroism, the politics of peacekeeping and the values which have shaped both the societies that have condemned terrorists and those that have created them. -- Yuanxin Zhou
in PLAYS BY KAREN SUNDE www.broadwayplaypubl.com/sunde.htm
KABUKI LADY MACBETH
New lyric text, twist on Shakespeare - Lady's metamorphosis, defying Yin and Yang balance, MacDuff gains pure warrior power Macbeth sacrificed - severed heads, dance, demons. 2 men, 2 women, 4 either. **
"With a voice both poetic and theatrical, (Sunde) dramatizes historical epochs in epic scope, making hers a distinctive, even unique, contemporary American drama, more akin to European than to other US plays. ... No matter how sweeping...she chooses personal canvases upon which to paint her funny, thrilling, searing, moving scenes. In inquiring about our past, Sunde remarks upon our future. That she does so with a sure histrionic sense is a guarantee that her work will endure in the American theatre after our more commercial fare has proven ephemeral."
CONTEMPORARY DRAMATISTS "Sunde" entry, pp 643-45
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