Hitler's Tasters
Winner of the Susan Glaspell Award
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019 Sell-Out Show Best of Fringe - The Stage
Three times a day, every day, a group of young women have the opportunity to die for their country. They are Adolph Hitler's food tasters. And what do girls discuss as they wait to see if they will live through another meal? Like all girls, throughout time, they gossip and dream, they question and dance. They want to love, laugh, and above all, they want to survive.
Best of Fringe - The Stage
“I left the room utterly gobsmacked at the level of talent that I just had the pleasure of watching.” - Theatre Weekly: 5 stars
“It is first and foremost worth noting that Hitler’s Tasters is raucously entertaining. Writer Michelle Kholos Brooks expertly treads the line of good taste. She is whip-crack witty. Every laugh is well placed and brilliantly managed. The risk with such dark subject matter is that the humour will go too far, that the audience with grimace rather than laugh, but this is never the case in this play. The humour is natural, in keeping with the theatrical world but never predictable. Brooks’ script is impeccable. It is thoughtful, funny and poignant. One of the hits of the season…nothing could be more relevant or more perfectly presented.” - A Younger Theatre: 5 stars
“Incredibly clever…completely different to anything I’ve seen at this year’s Fringe.” - Within Her Words: 5 stars
“Indeed, this might be a historical story, but it was the freshest drama I saw all Fringe… Packed with dangerous charm… With its nuanced portrayal of radicalization, idolatry and the banality of evil, perhaps it will become a modern Fringe classic, providing a strong message for our times.” - Jewish Chronicle: 5 stars
“... Touts an unlikely subject for comedy, and yet it succeeds – brilliantly.”- Miro Magazine: 4 Stars
“You will stumble out at the end completely bowled over by the power of this play.” - Fringe Review: 4 Stars
“Writer Michelle Kholos Brooks, beautifully depicts this twisted tale of honour and sacrifice for one’s country” - The Crumb: 4 stars
“Hitler’s Tasters is the Mean Girls/Third Reich crossover we never knew we needed. It’s enthralling, unbelievable, and inescapably relevant ... Brooks’ razor sharp humour pulls laughter from an astounded audience ...You’ll remember this one.” - Spy in the Stalls: 4 stars
“Tightly performed and directed work ... the humour cuts like barbed wire.” - Edinburgh Guide: 4 Stars
“Funny, disturbing, great performances all around…Go see it!” - Michael Sheen, Olivier-nominated actor
“Compelling Play… A show that packs lots of punches…Brilliant ensemble work!” - Janice Forsyth, BBC Scotland
“One of the best evenings I’ve spent in the theater in a long time. It was interesting, entertaining, upsetting, and it made you think.” - Susan Stroman, Legendary Choreographer and Director
“The smashing together of eras is brilliant.” -FrontRowCenter
“Powerful...should be seen.” - Broadway World Radio
“This one is an original and it is loaded from stem to stern with fresh new talents."“ —David Barbour, Lighting and Sound America.
“A refreshing interpretation of World War II and its ties to modern day, masterfully blending charm with danger. This is a play that will grip you to the end with its shameless painting of a world at war and the women who are slaves to it.” -New York Theatre Review
“What the playwright, Michelle Kholos Brooks has successfully done is meld that past horror with the current political climate in America to create a shape-shifting presentation of the 1940’s, spray painted by 2018.” —Theater Pizzaz, NYC
“The smart play functions on a number of different levels at once: as a history lesson, yes, but also as an exploration of group dynamics of young women, seemingly anywhere and everywhere.” - Theater Scene, NYC
“It’s such a great essay on the banality of evil and how people sign up to do evil as long as it serves their purpose. And I also found myself extremely entertained.” — Jose Solís, American Theatre Magazine Podcast
“Hitler’s Tasters is a disturbingly entertaining piece of work…it’s funny and creepy but also genuinely interesting to contemplate. It’s a show that will linger in your mind.” — Woman Around Town, NYC
“CAUTION. This tale may cause a rash of thoughts about ignorance and complacency. Its side effects may include uncomfortable connections. Without a doubt, its long-term effects include opened eyes.” - Splash Magazine
“Often, we transplant older tales to newer times to make it more relatable or accessible to the audience. Playwright Kholos Brooks has employed this technique but has done it so well that it has a more insightful and mature result […] By crafting this anachronistic setting, Kholos Brooks has both de-romanticized and de-vilified the past. We get the full colored, high definition picture of these young women instead of a faded, sepia toned photograph in a dusty frame.” - Chicago Theatre Review
“Highly recommended…this is a unique piece.” - Around the Town
“Brooks has done something unique in Hitler’s Tasters.” -Buzz Center Stage
“A World War II tale unlike any other...daring...entertaining and provocative.” - NJArts.net
"It is easy to fall in love with these impressive young women and the unique story." - New Jersey Footlights
Hostage
Finalist, Woodward/Newman Drama Award
Finalist, Fratti-Newman Political Play Contest Showcase
Finalist, National New Play Network
Best World Premiere Plays, Stage Scene LA
Based on true events. In 1979 students in Tehran took over the American Embassy and held hostages for 444 days. The youngest hostage, a nineteen-year-old Marine was in captivity for about six months when his mother flew from Wisconsin to Tehran in the hope of being allowed to see her son. Incredibly, the students allowed her a short visit. Hostage imagines what happened in that room when mother and son were reunited, and the consequences the mother faced when she returned to the U.S. and was suddenly suspect in her own country. Hostage is a play about patriotism, the political vs. the personal and the ferocity of a mother’s love.
“… Captures the natural maternal imperative to protect family with emotionally shattering specificity … Tour-de-force … Gripping.” - Los Angeles Times
"A gripping, tension-packed Hostage completely captivates"-Broadway World
"Heartfelt and thought-provoking... deftly injects humor throughout the play...powerful theater." -Stage Raw
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As riveting as live theater gets … the time could not be riper for ‘Hostage’…"- Stage Scene L.A.
"... A wonderfully written ... play centered on one of the 52 Americans held for 444 days at the U.S. Embassy in Iran. I was there for 66 of those days, covering the crisis for NBC News. This play brought it all back vividly." -George Lewis, former NBC News correspondent
"Hostage" is a masterpiece...we have still not learned that tinkering with other people's countries has consequences....timely, engaging, and enraging, marvelously written and performed. It is A-MUST-SEE.” -Sue Obedi, Director, Hollywood Bureau Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Kalamazoo
Winner of the Riva Shiner Comedy Award, Bloomington Playwright’s Project
Peg and Irv, two quirky but endearing baby-boomers, bravely venture into the world of modern dating. But when these opposites attract, they discover love isn’t any easier the second time around. Winner of the Riva Shiner Comedy Award, Kalamazoo is a romantic comedy about life’s second act and learning you’re never too old to be young.
Click HERE to purchase a copy of the script.
"Bouts of riotous laughter...it's hard to imagine a better show." - Herald-Times
"A disarming comedy that lets us laugh about growing older while addressing the very real hardships and heartaches that come when one spouse from a life-long marriage is suddenly left alone...the banter in this play is both hilarious and startlingly honest. It just rings true in ways that can be surprising and shocking, but always satisfying." - Examiner.com
"A rich story about love at any age." - EncoreMichigan.com
"An involved and skillful piece of writing." - IndianaPublicMedia.org
Family Planning
Finalist for the Riva Shiner Comedy Award, Bloomington Playwright’s Project
First comes love, then comes marriage, then your parents move in.
Diane and Larry have been divorced for about fifteen years. When they lose their second spouses and most of their finances, both of them are forced to move in with their daughter Sidney and her husband Michael, who are trying to start a family of their own. Family Planning explores the comedy and the drama that ensues when family members are packed into the same small space and actually forced to behave like a functional family.
"Brilliant!” - BroadwayWorld.com
"Michelle Kholos Brooks has crafted a first-rate romantic comedy, firmly anchored in real-life, with a sober undertone beneath the bright and sparkling dialogue." - MyBurbank.com
Chair
Second Place: Festival of New American Plays, Firehouse Theatre
After the death of their famous father – a politician who gave more to the public than to his children - Eva, Ritchie and Ronnie gather in his empty apartment to claim the only thing left: his favorite chair. But who is the most deserving? Chair is a high-stakes drama about how you quantify a father’s love and whether what he leaves behind will bring his children closer together, or tear them apart.
Izzy is Sick
Isabelle is sick. Or is she? Her sister, Josephine, must return to her childhood home to find out. Once there, surrounded by her family, Josephine discovers that Isabella’s illness has infected the lives of everyone around her. And the deep memory of family secrets keeps each of them sick in their own particular way.