Romance

The Play

The Play

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-07 11:56:21
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Elle Kennedy
  • ISBN：1999549767
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Summary

A brand-new standalone novel in the New York Times bestselling Briar U series！

What I learned after last year’s distractions cost my hockey team our entire season？ No more screwing up。 No more screwing， period。 As the new team captain， I need a new philosophy: hockey and school now， women later。 Which means that I， Hunter Davenport， am officially going celibate…no matter how hard that makes things。

But there’s nothing in the rulebook that says I can’t be friends with a woman。 And I won’t lie—my new classmate Demi Davis is one cool chick。 Her smart mouth is hot as hell， and so is the rest of her， but the fact that she’s got a boyfriend eliminates the temptation to touch her。

Except three months into our friendship， Demi is single and looking for a rebound。

And she’s making a play for me。

Avoiding her is impossible。 We’re paired up on a yearlong school project， but I’m confident I can resist her。 We’d never work， anyway。 Our backgrounds are too different， our goals aren’t aligned， and her parents hate my guts。

Hooking up is a very bad idea。 Now I just have to convince my body—and my heart。

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Reviews

Mia ，

the epilogue made me so so happy！！ and this book was fantastic as all the other ones！ i had so much fun and i’m not ready to be done with those series omg

Val ，

hunter and demi are literally everything。 i read 84% of this book in one sitting and i would have finished it but i had to sleep bc i have school （it sucks i know） anyways this book is not officially one of my favourite books in the entire off-campus/briar-u series。 ALSO the team egg Pablo Eggscobar CARRIED the book ;）

Cristina ，

3’75✨

Ashley Seymour ，

The PlayOh man， I loved this book so much。 Demi and Hunters story had to much good banter it was hard not to get sucked in！ I can’t wait to read more！

Anna ，

You guys。 I'm starting to think Elle Kennedy doesn't miss。 I loved this novel。 And I'm usually not one for a friends to lovers type romance， but this one was SO good。 I don't know if I'm just under an Elle Kennedy spell， but I loved The Play so much more than I was expecting to。 Hunter and Demi are just such a fun pairing。 The Play is a funny， romantic college love story that fits perfectly inside the Briar Universe。 Seriously， though， I can't stress how funny this one is。 I was genuinely laughi You guys。 I'm starting to think Elle Kennedy doesn't miss。 I loved this novel。 And I'm usually not one for a friends to lovers type romance， but this one was SO good。 I don't know if I'm just under an Elle Kennedy spell， but I loved The Play so much more than I was expecting to。 Hunter and Demi are just such a fun pairing。 The Play is a funny， romantic college love story that fits perfectly inside the Briar Universe。 Seriously， though， I can't stress how funny this one is。 I was genuinely laughing out loud！！ I can't wait to see what comes next， but I'll be sad to see the series end！ Check out my more in-depth review （contains spoilers！） at nitpickynovels。weebly。com https://nitpickynovels。weebly。com/rev。。。 。。。more

Chelsea ，

Ooo this was good， I really loved this one。 My favourite bit of the whole book was when she was flirting with Conor and Hunter was like “nah nah lets go you want your rebound lets go”。 I dunno what it is about people watching the person they’re interested in flirting or hooking up with someone else and then they get super jealous and territorial， but holy shit I love that trope。 Gets me feeling all sorts of ways。 After the disappointment of the last book， which I was excited for， this one was a Ooo this was good， I really loved this one。 My favourite bit of the whole book was when she was flirting with Conor and Hunter was like “nah nah lets go you want your rebound lets go”。 I dunno what it is about people watching the person they’re interested in flirting or hooking up with someone else and then they get super jealous and territorial， but holy shit I love that trope。 Gets me feeling all sorts of ways。 After the disappointment of the last book， which I was excited for， this one was a pleasant surprise and I really enjoyed it。 I can’t believe I only have one book left with these characters， other than the new novella book that just got announced。 Can’t deny though， I’m very ready for a damn break， reading something completely different 。。。more

kara shen ，

YES LADIES AND GENTLEMEN kennedy has finally broken her 4。5 streakie for them briar u series。 the play was a very， very solid 4。75 stars which is basically 5 stars。AHHHHH WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN I REALLY REALLY ENJOYED THIS ONE！！！！！so the play is about demi davis and hunter davenport。 note the last names starting with d， because that's how they get paired up: for a psych project in their class together。firstly， i want to talk about how cute of a pair they were。 the first three quarters？ were basic YES LADIES AND GENTLEMEN kennedy has finally broken her 4。5 streakie for them briar u series。 the play was a very， very solid 4。75 stars which is basically 5 stars。AHHHHH WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN I REALLY REALLY ENJOYED THIS ONE！！！！！so the play is about demi davis and hunter davenport。 note the last names starting with d， because that's how they get paired up: for a psych project in their class together。firstly， i want to talk about how cute of a pair they were。 the first three quarters？ were basically demi and hunter getting to know each other， and becoming really good friends first。 reminds me a lot of the deal， in which they were meeting up for school projects/tutoring。 the big thing in the first quarter is demi has a boyfriend nico， and hunter is on his 'celibate' no sex fixation。 both of these things were very amusing， for very different reasons and i was enjoying myself the whole time。i'll say it right off the bat: i really enjoyed demi as a character。 she was a person i saw myself in， down to the tippy tops of her sugar fixation。 i like lollipops too demi， let's be best friends。 no， but seriously， she was confident but also wasn't shy to ask and fish for compliments， which hunter was all too happy to give to her。 i can very much relate to the confidence but still validation makes me happy！ thing， and i really enjoyed her the whole time。i also didn't have a moment where i really disliked any of the characters， which is also really nice for me。 hunter was。。。do we even need to say anything？ i really liked him， and i understood him about everything he said or did。 or perhaps that was just demi's beautiful psychoanalyzing。 probably。for side characters: they stole the show。 we saw a satisfying amount of old characters， with almost all of the previous mcs showing up （except for sabrina and tucker :C sadge） and i ate up these little interactions with glee。 garret， hannah， grace， logan， dean， allie， summer， fitzy， brenna and jake， they were all here！ and i loved it！ also， the play introduces conor， who is the last mc for the series， which is always exciting。 not to mention， demi's group of friends brought a new level of fun and unprecedented DEPTH into the story （yes， we are not going to by talking about that ending。。。but THAT ENDING DID ANYONE SEE IT COMING I KIND OF DID BUT NOT REALLY LOLS）even down to the relationship with her parents， i understood demi。 3the plot was so good！ i loved how hunter and demi were friends first， and how they just really generally enjoyed each other's company。 we got a glimpse of a pretty awesome platonic relationship， and then SIKE！ LOLOLOL NOT COMPLAINING I LOVE SEMI DEMI AND HUNTER HUNTER！！also that epilogue， can i just say i was SHAKING in silent laughter？？？ i love hollis and rupi so much。overall， the play exceeded all my expectations and i am very very excited to close off this series。 it's been fun， but i am super excited to expand my horizons to more sports romances。 <333 。。。more

flora ，

sin dudas este libro fue el más divertido hasta el momento GRITABA DE LA RISA pablo eggscobar best boy！！fue medio rari la relación entre demi y hunter :/ me pareció bonita y divertida pero no me enloqueció， y eso es lo que busco leyendo a elle kennedy。。。。LAS ESCENAS DE DEAN AHHHHHHHH GRITÉ！！！！

Avery Ballard ，

Hunter and Demi， wow。 The friendship between the two always made me laugh， and always kept a smile on my face。 They’re relationship was crazy and all over the place but it was still amazing to see their growth。

rae ，

this was。。。 good。 i hate myself o my god

maddy budweth ，

PABLO EGGSCOBAR SUPREMACY that’s all i have to say ✋

Rubellys ，

Ah， cute。 Hunter’s a cute kid。 This book felt a lot like Grace and Logan’s book。 Only Demi was an interesting lead （I’m sorry Grace） and again， Hunter’s a cute kid but their chemistry just didn’t do it for me。Demi’s determined and has a cool personality， I liked that。 Her friends not so much。 Also I know she was mixed but for some reason the poor Latina representation made me snort。 The random “chica”s and for the love of god you do not “salsa” to Bieber’s version of Despacito of all versions。 A Ah， cute。 Hunter’s a cute kid。 This book felt a lot like Grace and Logan’s book。 Only Demi was an interesting lead （I’m sorry Grace） and again， Hunter’s a cute kid but their chemistry just didn’t do it for me。Demi’s determined and has a cool personality， I liked that。 Her friends not so much。 Also I know she was mixed but for some reason the poor Latina representation made me snort。 The random “chica”s and for the love of god you do not “salsa” to Bieber’s version of Despacito of all versions。 Also don’t get me started on her family’s dynamic。。。 These weren’t really dealbreakers， just made me snort and giggle every now and then。 I don’t think Hunter’s character was truly explored。 Unlike Dean， Hunter IS a troubled rich kid and I was kinda expecting more than a random call from an agent instigated by a girl for him to realize he wanted to go pro。 There’s no way of going wrong with the friendship to lovers trope and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy Demi and Hunter’s bickers。 But again， I guess their chemistry just didn’t do it for me。 Now， the highlight of my day with this book was Mike & Rupi and the 2 pages Mike Hollis POV in the extended epilogue was something I didn’t know I needed。 It still bugs me the way some of them refer to Rupi but again， Mike’s epilogue and what HE thought about Rupi made me happy and more curious about their relationship from their POVs。 。。。more

ceci ，

definitely my favorite so far in the briar u series。 demi and hunter are everything！pablo， rupi and hollis made me laugh out loud so many times， it’s insane。

Rystian Dale ，

The Play is really polarizing， from what I've seen。 It's usually either people's favorite or least favorite。 And I must say that it's my favorite book from the series。 I personally loved it。 The Play is really polarizing， from what I've seen。 It's usually either people's favorite or least favorite。 And I must say that it's my favorite book from the series。 I personally loved it。 。。。more

Natalie ，

The sexual tension。。。🥵🥵

Abby ，

I love hunter he's great。 I love hunter he's great。 。。。more

Rachel ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 TW: self harmThe titles of these books are becoming more and more obscure。 They aren't even nearly related to the plot at this point。 This was called "The Play" and I was expecting a theatrical performance or something。 Needless to say I was let down。 However， even without the misleading title， this book would still be deeply disappointing。 Overall I think the main issue was just that it was incredibly dull。 This is the first book of 7 that features a friends to lovers story which is not surpris TW: self harmThe titles of these books are becoming more and more obscure。 They aren't even nearly related to the plot at this point。 This was called "The Play" and I was expecting a theatrical performance or something。 Needless to say I was let down。 However， even without the misleading title， this book would still be deeply disappointing。 Overall I think the main issue was just that it was incredibly dull。 This is the first book of 7 that features a friends to lovers story which is not surprising because all of the male leads are just down right sexist。 Friendship before a relationship is only possible in this book because the guy has taken a vow of celibacy。 The men in the series are constantly pushing themselves on to women who happen to be their love interests and it’s romantic because they get together in the end and they are meant to be love interests。 But in reality is is actually a bit creepy。 These men hardly ever take no for an answer and it is only when the guy vows to be celibate that a romantic relationship does not form。 However this vow of celibacy does not stop him from constantly objectifying her and his other female friends so not even this book is safe。 The idea that men and women can't be friends is highly problematic， it implies that men only value women to gain sexual favours。 The leading man， Hunter， actually lives with 3 girls but is "able" to feel comfortable around them because they are in relationships with his friends。 It’s almost like he wouldn’t respect a woman’s decision not to be with him unless they were “kept” by a man。 That seems to be a running theme in this series。 This guy Hunter also has some pretty messed up moral values in my opinion。 At one point he catches his friends boyfriend cheating on her but has to ask him entire hockey team and like 6 other friends before deciding to tell her？ Upon further examination I have realized that everyone in this book has messed up morals。 Our leading woman， Demi， gets cheated on by her boyfriend of 8ish years and her parents beg and almost trick her into giving him another chance。 This guy cheated on her with her best friend and 3 other women and then he blames HER！ But her parents desperately want them to get back together for reasons that are never even explained。 Listen I’m not exactly rooting for the hockey bro but in comparison its a fairly obvious choice。 The lead couple actually aren't even bad， I don't even understand why no one wants them together。 Though they use the term "boo boo" and I believe that anyone over the age of 8 who uses the word deserves to be tortured。 But they listen to run-dmc which I respect。 I am also a bit disappointed， 8 guys （really more like 16 if you count the whole team） and not one of them is gay？ I was holding out hope that this one would be。 I was wrong I guess。 Hunter is also really weird。 It’s never explained why but Hunter also always says "yup yup" instead of yes and for some reason everyone hates it。 Its actually the last words in this book， what is the significance？？ This book leaves a lot more unanswered questions too。 At one point Demi goes on a really bad date which begs the question， how is Kennedy good at writing nightmare dates but then can’t even recognize how scary her leading men are？ Also， is being a narcissist a medical condition？ At one point the main girl gasps and says “your fathers a narcissist？！” to the guy。 Like okay and？ Is that a big deal？ I’m more worried for myself if anything。 If being a narcissist is a psychological condition。。。。。 I’ll be waiting for my diagnosis。 Well， mine and every guy in this series， seriously they are so full of themselves。 This book was a bit funny though。 I loved that whole egg side plot， even if it felt a bit forced。 It's a bit of a toss up because without that egg I would have been way too bored but it also made no sense。 There was also more of Rupi and Hollis who eloped at the end of the book？ Good on them I guess？ It felt a bit icky， I mean Rupi is 19， isn't that illegal？ IM 19 and I can't even order for myself at a restaurant。 Also every single girl in this series， and some of the more scary guys， love to watch a made up show called ____ who kill。 Sometimes it’s children who kill， or doctors who kill， or magicians who kill and it’s just so random。 But I think the weirdest part of this book by far， was when that side character TJ tried to kill himself。 Listen I'm not trying to invalidate anyones feelings， that character was obviously struggling and I felt a bit bad for him because he was constantly being pushed aside。 BUT his struggles and suicide attempt were basically used as a device though which the lead Demi was finally able to convince her parents she should be a clinical psychologist rather than a medical doctor and it felt very wrong。 Listen， I didn't even like TJ。 He blamed his depression on Demi not getting with him which is all kind of wrong and sexist but to do this seriously offensive。 We shouldn't just be throwing out suicide attempts as plot devices in order for the lead to be "accepted by her parents" but ultimately barely phased by the incident。 Anyways， overall this was just meh。 There is only one more left。。。。。。 。。。more

aslı ，

One of my favourite books of ALLL time。 HOW ARE HUNTER AND DEMI SO UNDERRATED。 They’re both so funny。 I enjoyed reading the risk so much。 I was close to crying when i finished reading。 I got so attached to Hunter and Demi。 How their relationship developed from friends to lovers。 i didn’t think much about Hunter but boy I was so wrong I was literally laughing all the time。 Davenport is also one of my comfort characters i’m so glad he found Demi he deserves the world。

Rachel ，

3。5 stars Honestly the book and writing were great but the chemistry between Hunter and Demi wasn’t really as good as the other couples in these series， in my opinion。 I enjoyed all the writing and the usual twists and turns but this book just didn’t do it for me and I don’t necessarily feel like it’s one I’ll gravitate towards reading again over the others。

Lindsey ，

- I knew that we were being led up to something big happening to TJ， but woah！ Never would've expected that， but I think it fits really well with the psychology theme that was pretty throughout。- I feel like the abnormal psychology assignment scenes stopped abruptly and started to steer away from the psych aspect of the book until the end- Hollis and Rupi！- I feel like the book had kind of a choppy timeline （if that makes any sense） and I didn't feel like that during any of the other books， they - I knew that we were being led up to something big happening to TJ， but woah！ Never would've expected that， but I think it fits really well with the psychology theme that was pretty throughout。- I feel like the abnormal psychology assignment scenes stopped abruptly and started to steer away from the psych aspect of the book until the end- Hollis and Rupi！- I feel like the book had kind of a choppy timeline （if that makes any sense） and I didn't feel like that during any of the other books， they were really seamless- Hunter and Demi had good chemistry but not common interests 。。。more

Quinnly Raducha ，

This was definitely one of my favorites from the series it was so good and i loved the characters and the romance was literally so well done

Giselle Jimenez-Martinez ，

Here’s the thing， the characters were okay， they were pretty stale but not horrible。 However， all the stereotypes that were exploited in this book were not at all appreciated， they were extremely cringe and inaccurate。 Please stop doing the absolute bare minimum when trying to diversify a book， stereotypes such as the ones used throughout this book undermine BIPOC communities and have the potential to be very harmful。

Julia ，

3，5

☽ ，

ugh WHERE TO BEGIN？？ i actually really enjoyed this book like the friendship building was sooooo good i liked it。 i loved hunter i think he’s character is great and he deserves the world 🥲💔the cheating tho。。。。LIKE im happy it wasnt cheating with the mcs BUT UGH NICO？？ that asshole like ok i can see he genuinely loves her but she should’ve respected that she wanted to dump him。 what he did was so immature and annoying 🙄🔪also demi cjskkfkf i wish she could see it。 i dont blame her cause she’s been ugh WHERE TO BEGIN？？ i actually really enjoyed this book like the friendship building was sooooo good i liked it。 i loved hunter i think he’s character is great and he deserves the world 🥲💔the cheating tho。。。。LIKE im happy it wasnt cheating with the mcs BUT UGH NICO？？ that asshole like ok i can see he genuinely loves her but she should’ve respected that she wanted to dump him。 what he did was so immature and annoying 🙄🔪also demi cjskkfkf i wish she could see it。 i dont blame her cause she’s been with the guy a lot and her character is SO SWEET it breaks me。 it just sucks that shes gone through sm and how she reacted was just painful HUNTER IS JUST A HOTTIE BYE CJSJRKFK i love hunter i think he’s a great guy。 he’s a player ish？？ like yeah he sleeps around but he’s a good guy and ugh i love him OMG WHEN HE SAID “i love you” to demi MY SOUL LIKE LEFT MY BODY BYE they’re so adorable i love themALSO HOLLIS AND RUPIE GOT MARRIED LIKE TF？？ these two literally just dipped and went on a trip to and said theyre married LIKE HUH？？ i was so lost but im happy for them。 theyre so funny n e ways i really liked this book read it besties 😃❤️ 。。。more

Ebony ，

I love Hunter and Demi， I love their story and their relationship。 Elle never misses IMO。 On to the next one！ 😂

Ari ，

3。5—i'm so surprised how much i had fun reading this。 i was laughing and i really liked demi and hunter's dynamic。 demi's narrator was also adorable。 not rounding up because what happened towards the ending？ was that needed， really？ 3。5—i'm so surprised how much i had fun reading this。 i was laughing and i really liked demi and hunter's dynamic。 demi's narrator was also adorable。 not rounding up because what happened towards the ending？ was that needed， really？ 。。。more

Cassidy ，

Actual rating: 4。5 starsReally enjoying the Briar U series just as much as Off Campus！ I thought Hunter and Demi had great chemistry and hilarious banter and I thought the storyline with Pablo the mascot was super entertaining。I am disappointed that there wasn’t a content warning at the beginning of the book for suicide/attempted suicide/in depth discussion of injury from attempted suicide。 There is something that happens toward the end of the book out of left field that falls into that warning， Actual rating: 4。5 starsReally enjoying the Briar U series just as much as Off Campus！ I thought Hunter and Demi had great chemistry and hilarious banter and I thought the storyline with Pablo the mascot was super entertaining。I am disappointed that there wasn’t a content warning at the beginning of the book for suicide/attempted suicide/in depth discussion of injury from attempted suicide。 There is something that happens toward the end of the book out of left field that falls into that warning， so just be wary if that topic is triggering for you。 。。。more

Sam - s。rae。reads ，

Enjoyed hunter and Demi’s a lot。This book should come with a trigger warning for suicide as a very intense scene just comes right out of left field。

fifiey ，

ugh demi spoiled everything。 i wanted to give this a 4-star rating because i am absolutely in love with hunter since dean’s book （idk why don’t ask me but i think i have a weakness for the name hunter）， but damn it if demi-freaking-davis didn’t spoil shit。 she had no respect for hunter’s vow at all！i hate that that celibate issue was easily dissolved like that。 hunter was doing something， proving to himself with his vow。 and demi was like okay with it at first because she had a freaking boyfrien ugh demi spoiled everything。 i wanted to give this a 4-star rating because i am absolutely in love with hunter since dean’s book （idk why don’t ask me but i think i have a weakness for the name hunter）， but damn it if demi-freaking-davis didn’t spoil shit。 she had no respect for hunter’s vow at all！i hate that that celibate issue was easily dissolved like that。 hunter was doing something， proving to himself with his vow。 and demi was like okay with it at first because she had a freaking boyfriend， but the second she’d broken up with the bf， she fucking MADE hunter break his vow？ so freaking selfish of her。 and i said MADE because she made him jealous。 so immature。 i was very close to dnf-ing the moment hunter fell for operation jealousy。 goddamnit the book was getting good at the point。least she could do was wait for him after the year was up。 it wasn’t that he was going monk forever。 ugh。 and she needed to take a chill pill because she just got out of a ten-year relationship or something。 i feel like everything is too rushed when hunter explicitly said in the beginning he didn’t want to ruin their friendship， so the least she could do was fucking WAIT for a few months。 damn i hate her 😭i love hunter， okay？ like he’s an amazing character。 laidback and cool。 a great captain and hockey player。 of all the male leads for off-campus and briar u， i think he’s my favourite next to tucker。 i had a feeling i was going to love his book and i really do but demi is not doing it for me。 they’re a cute couple， ngl but yeah demi’s disregard for hunter’s celibacy vow is such a downer。and next （also lastly） CONOR’s book！ can’t waittttt because i’m half in love with him already 。。。more

Sabina Domenicano ，

🖤The Play by Elle Kennedy🖤“𝕀’𝕞 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦， 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀’𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟。 𝕀 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦。”•••I was seriously so excited to read Hunter’s book because I love seeing notorious players settling down。 And his story was so interesting， I just devoured it！ •••The Play is about Hunter， who has taken a vow of celibacy after his constant hook-ups cost him his previous hockey season， and Demi， who is looking for a rebound after she breaks up with her childhood sweetheart。 Hunter wants to stay friends， but avoiding his chemist 🖤The Play by Elle Kennedy🖤“𝕀’𝕞 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦， 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀’𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟。 𝕀 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦。”•••I was seriously so excited to read Hunter’s book because I love seeing notorious players settling down。 And his story was so interesting， I just devoured it！ •••The Play is about Hunter， who has taken a vow of celibacy after his constant hook-ups cost him his previous hockey season， and Demi， who is looking for a rebound after she breaks up with her childhood sweetheart。 Hunter wants to stay friends， but avoiding his chemistry with Demi proves too hard to ignore。•••I really loved Demi as a main character in this book because I think she’s such a good match for Hunter。 She is fiery and fun， but she’s also very realistic and responsible。 I think she provides that balance that is needed in Hunter’s life which I love。 •••Throughout the series， we’ve gotten to see Hunter through many romantic stages， but his celibacy stage was by far the most interesting。 I really loved getting to know him because Hunter is such a caring and sweet guy。 He is always looking out for others and that’s what I love about him。 He is so much more than I expected。 •••I loved how in this book， Demi was really the one to make the moves。 It was so fun seeing a woman take control of her love life after what happened to her。 And seeing Hunter step up to the challenge was so amazing。 I’d also love to give a shout-out to Rupi and Hollis for providing me with ample amounts of entertainment throughout the book。Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨4。75/5Steam:🔥🔥/3 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Play

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Play&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Play&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0