Cat McCarrey

Anyone remember Westworld? In the HBO series’ futuristic setting, people could purchase immersive themed experiences, like a wild Western adventure filled with automatons customers could harass and harm to their hearts’ content. An artificial world filled with artificial people, but driven by actions fueled by intense emotions. I kept thinking about it while watching Mad Cat Theatre and Dirty Gold Theatre’s production of The Maids.

by (text) & illus. by Laura Freeman . Sept. 2026. 48p. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9781419754357. COPY ISBN In this biography-in-verse, young readers are introduced to the life of poet and publisher Dudley Randall (1914–2000). Randall’s childhood was influenced by the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, and his family’s appreciation of poetry. He wrote poetry as a child, saw a poem published as a teen, and pursued publication while working a factory job after high school.

Why am I crying over a borrowed coat? We’re barely 10 minutes into Every Brilliant Thing, and I’m already getting misty as the Storyteller, the one and only official performer, clutches an audience member’s folded white windbreaker. Another random audience member approaches the jacket with a pencil, the Storyteller’s lip quivers, and I’m swallowing the catch of a sob in my throat. I know I’m being emotionally manipulated.