Bad Books

Play (2025)
by Sharyn Rothstein
Directed by M. Bevan O’Gara
Gloucester Stage
Gloucester, MA
June 4-27, 2026

With Aimee Doherty (The Mother), Therese Plaehn (The Librarian, The Manager, The Editor)

The Mother (Aimee Doherty) comes to complain to The Librarian (Therese Plaehn) about a book about teenage abortion named Boob Juice that the librarian had recommended to her son Jeremy. With an earnestness about the inappropriateness of the recommendation, The Mother takes the issue publicly with her well-followed Insta(gram?) account and raises the ire of a whole group who eventually demand the ouster of the librarian. In passing, it turns out, in discussion with The Librarian, that The Mother had written a memoir long ago entitled The Gingerbread Woman, about her own intense history of hallucinogenic drug use, that had some tragic associations; a woman had committed suicide by driving her car into a lake with her child in it and The Gingerbread Woman was found with her. As a result of this tragedy, The Mother had gone on an extensive search to reclaim and destroy all copies of the book. Yet, a few copies remained, and one of them was in the library supervised by The Librarian.

Subsequently, The Mother is pictured in conversation with her boss – The Manager (Therese Plaehm) – at the pharmaceutical firm where she works. The Manager takes The Mother to task for not previously revealing on her resume that she had written The Gingerbread Woman about her hallucinogenic drug use. It turns out, ironically, that The Manager had got a copy from the local library, courtesy of The Librarian. Consequently, The Mother is fired.

It then turns out that Jeremy, The Mother’s son, goes missing (see Spoilers section below) and The Mother winds up meeting with Jeremy’s girlfriend’s mother, who turns out to be a book editor. The Editor (Theres Plaehn) details some of what had transpired with her daughter and they discuss Jeremy. Knowing of The Mother’s memoir, The Editor encourages The Mother to take up writing again.

Finally, The Mother is shown behind the desk at the library, putting in volunteer hours, covering for a librarian who is no longer there. The Librarian shows up and a conversation ensues, and some interesting developments occur. (See spoilers section.)

This beautifully written play, has, on the surface, relatively little going on, but its narrative unfolds with ingenuity and vividness, and creates, within its small universe of concerns, considerable drama. The play is cast as a comedy, but does have significant tragic elements, and does a pretty good job of navigating the space between. There is, however, something about the staging at some points that seems a bit too frivolous for some of the more dramatic narrative turns. (See spoilers.) But the dialogue between The Mother and the three characters played expertly by Therese Plaehn are riveting and interesting. Indeed, both actors do an excellent job.

The denouement is interesting and well-conceived – see Spoilers section – and there is something beautiful and eloquent about how all the turns evolve. In the end, this is a tribute to communication, empathy, and the commitment to resolution, subtly but brilliantly conveyed by the playwright, and by the excellent acting under director M. Bevan O’Gara’s guidance.

– BADMan (aka Charles Munitz)