Recommended by Daniel Prillaman

I laughed until I cried and then I laughed once again. This…might as well happen. This could totally happen any day now. O’Grady captures the nuance and absurdity and terror of the current climate with piercing sharp satire. I suppose I should be thankful I look just as good in green as in red. Terrific monologue.

A refreshing, commanding play for contemporary who-dun-it-ery. Fenton deftly draws and spins a web of mystery and pure fun in this thriller, b/c I cannot overstate how great of a cast of characters this is, each with potential motives, each maudlinly aware of the genre they're in. This is a script abundant with wit, jokes, and danger. The actors will have so much fun. And the audience might even have more in theorizing all the twists and turns. Christie is certainly grinning from the beyond.

Absolutely ruthless. Cassidy’s premise wreaks havoc with our preconceived notions of zombies and judgment days, centering a tale around a family with sufficient interpersonal issues even without the mysterious supernatural phenomenon. Brilliant horror mixed with sharp comedy. I also pulled some delightful commentary on how societies treat their atypicals. Are these formerly dead a stand-in for our disabled? Our elderly? There’s a lot to pull from multiple visits here. Hell of a play.

A fantastic and theatrical character study of a much more famous family than you might realize. Rose briskly paces this play with beautiful imagery (Livvy and the Arrow Collar Man are a delight to imagine) and thought-provoking commentary on how we pursue both love (familial and non-platonic) and art, and how the choices we make in those can backfire. Not just on ourselves, but on those with whom we share everything. This is some painfully human work, and heart wrenching with the best of them.

If I was Paul Hollywood, I would shake Bultrowicz's hand. There's a damn good bake on this. This is the type of play you read and honestly consider quitting art because you'll never come up with anything as genius.

Gloriously absurd, has a more perfect mirror ever been held up to humanity and our deepest natures? How I long to experience this play live. It's honestly perfect. This is a perfect night of theatre. The love here is well deserved, and if you're not aware of this play, you should be.

I had to stop multiple times while reading Mr. Martin’s short play. Not because of my ADHD, however, but because I was cackling so hard. This is one of the most quotable plays I’ve read that I also can’t actually quote because of mixed company. Rest assured this is a hoot & a half waiting for the team mounting this (pun intended?), and it will bring down the house. The audience watching this play will probably need assistance breathing. Riotously funny, and deeply sweet beneath all the comedy.

Cross is a tremendous adapter, leaving me gobsmacked how she outdoes herself with every new subject. Her riff on Shelley's iconic tale is a tight, briskly paced tour de force for two actors. These are infectious takes on classic characters, with so much nuance and (if you'll pardon the wink) meat to dive into. Full of beautiful language and exchanges, comfortable in the silences, and heart-wrenchingly evocative in all the right places, this is a brilliant one-act for a small team.

There’s nepotism & then there’s being Rasputin’s daughter. McBurnette-Andronicos plays the acrobat herself, dancing an enthralling & tantalizing absurdist playground in front of our (non-magical) eyes. Designers will particularly devour this play, but any in the room with it will too. There’s spectacle & deeply funny wit in every line, but also a grand musing on the nature of lies and blissful, willful ignorance, and how that makes true connection, however fleeting, mean everything. Brilliant.

Absolute spooky fun. The build here is perfectly paced as a poor, tired guest who just wants to check into their room meets a stranger hotel than they were expecting. These are two great characters who actors will delight in inhabiting, and the sound designer is going to have a pretty neat time as well. This is a guaranteed audience-pleaser for any short horror fest.

A sobering scene of connection between two young adults despite grief and confusion. Preuss' dialogue is sublime, a treat for two actors to dive into. Where the scene shines the most, however, is the hopeful atmosphere seeped into every line, image, and stage direction. Hope comes from what we find within each other, and it's rare when plays tap so insightfully and perfectly into that. Beautiful.