SOURCE: "Myself when Young, Twice," in New York Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 16, 17 April 1989, pp. 80-1.

Here, Simon approves of the production of Amulets against the Dragon Forces, praising Zindel's use of dialogue.

Paul Zindel's Amulets Against the Dragon Forces is not up to the author's best previous dramatic work or down to his worst, but it is one of those confessions many a writer must get off his chest, and, happily, it is of some interest to the rest of us. Yes, it is a hysterical play; yes, it churns away almost without respite; but it is also recognizably a play, and its characters are recognizably people. Nowadays, mat is something.

Mrs. Boyd is a nurse who usually attends persons dying in their own homes. A divorced mother, she moves in with her patients and brings along her teenage son. The boy, Chris, has had a rough time of...