Among this year’s recent book releases from Theatre Communications Group (TCG) – the largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature in North America – are four hit shows from Broadway and Off-Broadway that represent a diversity of playwrights, provide entertaining and thought-provoking summer reading, and make great additions to every theater-lover’s library.
Ain’t No Mo’ – As bitingly relevant now as it was when it was written in 2016, the no-holds-barred absurdist socio-political satire about the Black experience in America, by Jordan E. Cooper (who, at the age of 27, made history as the youngest playwright to debut on Broadway), is set in the near future, when Black Americans are offered a no-return ticket “back to Africa” on African American Airlines Flight 1619 (the year that marked the beginnings of slavery in our country), with the flamboyant flight attendant Peaches overseeing the boarding process. Through a series of eight over-the-top vignettes, the laugh-out-loud hilarious and profoundly meaningful work explores facets of Black lives and the history of oppression, bigotry, racial violence, and class tension in America, as Peaches and the passengers juggle with excitement, reluctance, and the baggage they carry with them.
Jordan E. Cooper, Ain’t No Mo’, Theatre Communications Group, June 2025, 120 pages, ISBN: 9781636702025, paperback, $16.95.
Cambodian Rock Band – Created to be performed as part play, part concert, Lauren Yee tells a story of the Cambodian rock scene of the 1970s, which was nearly annihilated by the repressive autocratic Khmer Rouge regime in a violent totalitarian attempt to silence musicians and to erase their music. Interspersing the dialogue with hits by Dengue Fever (an American band from LA, combining Cambodian and psychedelic rock) and others, with some lyrics in English and some in Cambodian/Khmer, the darkly funny dramatic narrative shifts back and forth in time, from Phnom Penh in 2008, 1978, and 1975, as the daughter of a survivor who fled the country 30 years ago attempts to piece together her family’s history, while preparing to prosecute one of Cambodia’s most notorious war criminals. In so doing, she learns of her father’s long-kept secret, and discovers the enduring power of music and the resilience of culture and the human spirit. To aid the reader, the book contains a glossary of Cambodian terms and names
Lauren Yee, Cambodian Rock Band, Theatre Communications Group, June 2025, 96 pages, ISBN: 9781559369817, paperback, $17.95.
Public Obscenities – A finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Shayok Misha Chowdhury’s bilingual examination of intercultural identity takes a look at the intersection of queer love, family secrets, the limitations of language, and the significance of photographs and film to preserve both reality and dreams. Though Indian-American PhD student Choton can switch fluently from Bangla to English, Grindr to academicism, when he returns from the US with his cinematographer boyfriend Raheem to his family home in Kolkata to conduct interviews with users of gay dating apps from the local queer community, the shocking discovery of a decades old roll of film with intimate photos of his grandfather leaves him questioning his previous perceptions. In the book, the passages of Bangla are transliterated into the Roman alphabet, sometimes with and sometimes without an English translation, so readers can get a feel for how it sounds. Be advised that there are also graphic descriptions of sexual acts and genitalia, in keeping with the theme.
Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Public Obscenities, Theatre Communications Group, June 2025, 144 pages, ISBN: 9781636702001, paperback, $17.95.
Stereophonic – Winner of five 2024 Tony Awards, including Best Play, the documentary-style exposé by David Adjmi, with original songs by composer Will Butler, follows the studio recording sessions of a new album by a rising 1970s rock band over the period of what should have been six months but expands into a long and difficult two years of internal conflicts, during which time the group attains superstar status, while their personal relationships steadily deteriorate. The inherent pressures of striving for fame and success and suffering from sleep deprivation, exacerbated by an abundance of sex, drugs, alcohol, and egos, ignite incendiary confrontations about the songs and create cracks in the once close-knit band’s relationships, in a play filled with competition, hostility, and psychological insights.
David Adjmi, with composer Will Butler, Stereophonic, Theatre Communications Group, May 2025, 60 pages, ISBN: 9781636702162, paperback, $19.95.
