52 Classics to Expand the Canon
52 Plays and 50 Writers, Curated by the Team at ETC
Nannuccio & his Fifteen Stepdaughters by Annalena Odaldi (1600)
If you’re looking for a cousin of commedia with a razz on dads…
Nannuccio & His Fifteen Stepdaughters by Sister Annalena Odaldi should do the trick.
The Falcon by Marie-Anne Barbier (1719)
If you’re looking for a verse romcom with snarky sidekicks and a lover’s quarrel…
look no further than Marie-Anne Barbier’s The Falcon.
Oh, These Times! by Catherine the Great (1772)
If you’re looking for a satirical comedy where every character lives life in the panic lane and practices the opposite of what they preach…
consider Catherine the Great’s Oh, These Times!
The Mannequin by Germaine de Staël (1811)
If you’re looking for a snappy satire of the sexist dating scene…
consider this tight one-act from literary luminary Germaine de Staël.
A Reflection in Disguise (Qiaoying 喬影) by Wu Zao 吴藻 (1825)
If you’re looking for a one-person piece that grapples with the legacy of women writers and the artifice of gender…
consider this sharp short by Wu Zao.
Pleasure (Volupté) by Rachilde (1896)
If you’re looking for a play that reveals how the pursuit of sensuality can both liberate and ensnare…
then Rachilde’s Pleasure is the two-hander of your dreams.
Rain of Ice by Hasegawa Shigure (1926)
If you’re looking for the character-driven naturalism of Strindberg through the lens of intersectional poverty…
consider this one-act drama from the mother of Japanese realism.
Plumes by Georgia Douglas Johnson (1927)
If you are looking for a piercing drama about family, poverty, and access to healthcare…
consider this raw, tender one-act.
Soldadera by Josefina Niggli (1936)
If you’re looking for a wartime story about the choices women must make when fighting for their rights…
Soldadera is the play for you.
Florence by Alice Childress (1949)
If you’re looking for an elegant, subtle, and subversive blend of heart and politics…
Alice Childress works her magic again with Florence.
Three Women by Sylvia Plath (1962)
If you’re looking for an achingly lyrical play probing the complex beauty and pain of pregnancy… consider this dramatic poem that brings Sylvia Plath’s raw emotionality to the stage.
Tango Palace by Maria Irene Fornés (1963)
If you’re looking for a play that leverages the existentialism of Beckett but ratchets up the stakes through erotic powerplay…
you’ll love Maria Irene Fornés’ Tango Palace.
The Inheritance by Kim Ja-Rim 김자림 (1968)
If you’re looking to mix the drive for wealth accumulation with layered family dynamics...
consider Kim Ja-Rim’s The Inheritance.
The Guitarrón by Lynne Alvarez (1983)
If you’re looking for the hot queer drama and dreamy magical realism of Angels in America set against the beaches of Veracruz…
look no further than The Guitarrón by Lynne Alvarez.
Screens by Dolores Prida (1987)
If you’re looking for a satirical critique of the blinding effects of media and consumerism…
look no further than Dolores Prida’s Screens.
The Girls from the Five and Ten (Les filles du 5-10-15) by Abla Farhoud (1987)
If you’re looking for the darkly vulnerable drama of Suburbia told through the lens of two sisters…
The Girls from the Five and Ten gets to the heart of what it means to be overlooked as an immigrant in a new country.
The 2023 List
Le Favori (The Favorite Minister) by Marie-Catherine Desjardins (1664)
If you’re looking to explore the transactional nature of relationships when status is on the line…
consider this tender-hearted hilarious romp complete with gossip, political intrigue, and romantic complications.
Adelinda by Hannah Brand (1796)
If you’re looking for an irreverent class comedy featuring a gritty female lead…
consider this romp of mistaken identities by the 18th century master of dialogue, Hannah Brand.
New System of Freedom; or the Conspiracy Against Love by Charlotte von Stein (1798)
If you’re looking for a madcap Comedy of Errors with chaotic Gen-Z wit…
consider this arch, rollicking take on love and freedom from German dramatist Charlotte Von Stein.
The Sons of Erin; or Modern Sentiments by Alicia Sheridan Le Fanu (1812)
If you’re looking for a plot-twist-filled farce with bold schemes to fight prejudice…
consider this comedy from the elusive Irish playwright, Alicia Sheridan Le Fanu.
The Verge by Susan Glaspell (1921)
If you’re looking for a tragi-comedy where the lyric insight of Virginia Woolf meets the electric cruelty of Hedda Gabler…
consider this post-war portrait of a woman created and creating through destruction.
Heaven Challenges by Li Man-kuei (1943)
If you’re looking for a dramedy about reframing your life and learning to fall in love (with yourself) again…
consider this powerful Chinese play about love, loss, and artistic identity.
Day of the Swallows by Estela Portillo-Trambley (1971)
If you’re looking for a lush, poetic drama with a powerhouse queer heroine and an intersectional view of indigeneity…
consider this moving piece from an eminent Chicana dramatist.
The Mother of 1084 (Hajar Churashir Maa) by Mahasweta Devi (1973)
If you’re looking for a whirling political drama centering a mother’s feminist awakening…
consider this dreamlike exploration of familial ties and civic responsibility.
Spell #7 by Ntozake Shange (1979)
If you’re looking for an ensemble-lead choreopoem that explores the Black experience in the entertainment industry…
consider Spell #7 by celebrated playwright Ntozake Shange.
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The 2022 List
The Lucky Chance by Aphra Behn (1686)
If you’re looking to gamble on love with this multi-generational comedy featuring headstrong heroines and aging Romeos…
consider this raunchy Restoration Comedy about sex, marriage, and consent.
Laodamia by Catherine Bernard (1698)
If you’re looking to blend the political intrigue of Shakespeare’s histories with the visceral drama of a Greek tragedy…
consider Catherine Bernard’s tight verse play featuring a moral yet conflicted Queen trapped in a tragic love quadrangle.
The Uncle by Princess Amalie of Saxony (1835)
If you’re looking for the German Jane Austen’s riff on a marriage plot where the impressionable ingenue turns out to be a shrewd strategist…
consider this fresh, delicate romantic comedy.
The Stone Host by Lesya Ukrainka (1912)
If you always wished you could see Lady Macbeth take on Don Juan…
consider this reimagining of the Don Juan myth from a celebrated Ukrainian author.
The Singing Valley by Josefina Niggli (1936)
If you’re looking for an atmospheric romance where the truest love story is one with home and community…
consider this heartfelt struggle between new and old.
Dust to Earth by Shirley Graham Du Bois (1939)
If you’re looking for a live-wire take on fossil fuel and the American labor system…
consider this incendiary drama exploring the intersection of racism, capitalism and environmentalism.
Las Pascualas by Isidora Aguirre (1957)
If you’re looking for an ethereal folk story about the perils of love and loneliness…
consider this elusively modern take on a traditional Chilean folktale.
And the Soul Shall Dance by Wakako Yamauchi (1976)
If you’re looking for a wistful story about immigration, identity, and the American dream…
then dive into the powerful yet sparse world of Wakako Yamauchi’s And the Soul Shall Dance.
The 2021 List
Valor, Agravio y Mujer (Valor, Outrage and Woman) by Ana Caro (1640)
If you want a scorned heroine who is determined to live in a revenge tragedy but accidentally finds herself in a comedy…
consider this Spanish Golden Age play.
The Frolicks, or the Lawyer Cheated by Elizabeth Polwhele (1671)
If you’re looking for a Restoration play with even more hijinks than Merry Wives of Windsor…
consider this energetic, bawdy comedy that centers around the tricksy courtship of the clever Clarabell and the rakish Rightwit.
Françoise by George Sand (1856)
If you’re looking for something a bit lighter in your Ibsen or Shaw slot…
consider this deft comedy where the girl finally learns to stand up for herself.
Forging the Truth (杨绛) by Yang Jiang (1940)
If you’re looking for a clever class comedy by a Noel Coward contemporary…
consider this zany play that takes on tradition, marriage, and capitalism.
Foriwa by Efua T. Sutherland (1962)
If you’re looking for a story about a small community and love akin to Our Town...
consider this play about how an overlooked outsider and two powerful women can shake a community out of a slump.
A Happy Country (Un País Feliz) by Maruxa Vilalta (1964)
If you’re seeking a play about revolution where the family drama is the political drama…
consider this powerful portrait of love, protest, class, and voyeurism.
Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry (1970)
If you’re looking to tackle race, imperialism, and the prejudice of the Western world towards African countries…
consider this mesmerizing masterpiece.
The Inaugural List
Los Empeños de Una Casa (House of Desires) by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1683)
If you wish Twelfth Night’s love triangle was a love octagon…
meet this passionate and thrilling comedy. House of Desires is a romantic farce about two siblings involved in a variety of romantic entanglements.
Bold Stroke for a Wife by Susanna Centlivre (1718)
If you’re looking for a restoration play that tackles the patriarchy (comedically, of course)…
you’ve met your match.
Bold Stroke for a Husband by Hannah Cowley (1783)
If you’re thinking of producing The Taming of the Shrew…
consider this play, featuring five bold women with strength and agency instead.
Anima (Her Soul) by Amelia P. Rosselli (1898)
If you put The Seagull, A Doll’s House, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession in a blender…
you get this thoughtful dramedy about a woman’s true value.
Rachel by Angelina Weld Grimké (1916)
If you’re looking to engage a white audience in BLM conversations…
consider this heartbreaking yet love-filled family portrait.
The Drag by Mae West (1927)
If you thought LGBTQ+ culture was invented in the 1960s, think again…
witty, tragic, and vibrant, The Drag is an exquisite portrait of the existing LGBTQ+ community of the 1920s.
Restless Night in Late Spring by Fumiko Enchi (1928)
If you’re interested in the intersection of art and politics…
consider this one-act play!
Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston (1935)
If you’re dreaming about a combination of the musical folklore of Hadestown and Oklahoma…
Spunk is a theatrical event (with music).
Wedding Band: A Love Story in Black and White by Alice Childress (1962)
If you want to take on the pandemic, privilege, and systemic racism with grace and heart…
then you need to look to Alice Childress.
Photo by Will O ’Hare
The Curation Team
Triza Cox, Director of Outreach & Engagement for Hedgepig (2024)
Gagarin, Actor/Ensemble Member of Hedgepig (2023-2024)
Kalina Ko, Literary Assistant of Roundabout Theatre Company (2023-2024)
Emily Lyon, Director/Dramaturg/Artistic Director of Hedgepig (2020-2024)
Skye Pagon, Actor/Director/Producer (2020-2024)
Shannon Corenthin, Actor/Producing Director of Hedgepig (2020-2023)
Mary Candler, Founding Artistic Director of Hedgepig (2020-2022)
Katherine Bischoping, Lead Research Associate
Natalie Kane, Research Committee Coordinator
Photo by Allison Stock
Partner Organizations
Classic Stage Company
The Acting Company
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The Folger Theatre
American Shakespeare Center
INTAR Theater
Irish Repertory Theatre
Island Shakespeare Festival
Roundabout Theatre Company
Midsommer Flight
Bay Area Drama Company
Classical Theatre of Harlem
Ma-Yi Theatre Company
The Sol Project
CLASSIX
New Perspectives Theatre Company
The Indie Theatre Fund