About The Book

The Beginning of August and Other Plays showcases Donaghy’s exceptional ability to render the emotional undercurrents of quiet, hardworking families faced wit hthe reality that the lives they had envisioned for themselves are vastly different than the ones they are living.  Donaghy’s plays prove The Village Voice‘s claim that he has “mastered the Chekhovian tactic of having people say everything except what’s on their mind.”

Praise

“Mr. Donaghy…is a dramatist of inventive eloquence, finding the poetry of longing in the empty mantras and sound bites of contemporary pop culture.” –The New York Times

“Donaghy is a genius with fragmentation, with details so small that it comes as a shock to discover how sufficient they really are. Like the wiry pins piercing a grenade’s shell, his scenes have similar – and far more dangerous – energy.” –The Boston Globe

“There’s a freshness to everything [Donaghy] does which lets you hang on every word, savor every incident.” –The New York Post