List of plays to read

I write plays and novels, when I can.  I'm working on a play and a novel right now, and it's kind of annoying because I get caught up in one and the other kind of falls apart, and then I go back to the other and try to get some good energy going and the first one starts to flounder.  I need to focus on one until it's completed.

In the mean time, I need to read some more plays that involve science and science fiction themes.  I heard about this book called "Science On Stage; From Doctor Faustus to Copenhagen," by Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, and found part of the annotated list of science plays in the appendix by doing a google books search.

Here's some intriguing ones:

R.U.R., by Karel Capek (1922) - Robots
To The Stars, by Andreyev Leonid (1907) - Astronomy
A Number, by Caryl Churchill (2002) - Cloning
Calabi Yau, by Susanna Speier (2002) - String theory

I just finished reading three plays that were science/science fiction oriented:

The Nether, by Jennifer Haley - This was a tough play.  Basically, it's set in The Nether, a fully immersive virtual world.  An investigator is trying to catch someone who has set up a virtual environment where people can act on their fantasies involving children.
Constellations, by Nick Payne - This play has been getting good reviews, but I was a little disappointed.  Payne uses repetition of scenes and dialogues with subtle differences in word choice and tone to suggest that there are multiple universes in which different choices lead to different results.  Centering the play around the variations of a relationship between a man and a woman felt like an easy choice - they get together, they are together, the break up, they see each other again and then?  The mechanics of the play reminded me of one of Davice Ives' short plays in All In The Timing, but I can't remember which one.
Twilight of the Golds, by Jonathan Tolins - This was another one where I was hoping for a little more science fiction.  It was still pretty interesting, if a little dated (1983, I think).  Basically, the husband works for a company that's studying human genetics.  They have a process where they can look at a the genetic code of a baby and predict all kinds of things about it.  The husband and wife decide to see what their unborn baby will be like and discover that the baby will be gay, like the wife's brother. They tell their parents and their brother, and then try to decide if they want to keep the baby or not.  Gripping emotional drama ensues.

I love science and science fiction on stage.  It's a great vehicle for asking interesting and tough philosophical questions.  I like the Nether and Twilight of the Golds more than Constellations because the science is part of the drama - it generates the crux around which the characters have to find their way.  Constellations feels more like a love story with an interesting framework.