If nineteenth century realism (Chekhov, Ibsen, etc) centers on the living room—as a cross-section of middle-class daily life—Odets’s drama roots itself in the kommunalka-like apartments of the thirties, a disparate array of people packed together by poverty. To a surprising extent, that configuration all by itself gives the plays much of their dramatic charge.

Sam Kahn pens a love letter to playwright Gina Gionfriddo, charting her career, inner world of her plays, and the influence she had over his life and writing.

Georg Büchner was a rising star in Germany’s 19th century literary scene. A prolific and thought-provoking writer, he was a counterculturalist whose life was cut short; he died at age 23. Two centuries later, writer Sam Kahn explores Büchner’s impact, and how he may be the missing link in the history of theater.