Recommended by David Hansen

Lam’s play is fucking hilarious, and deeply troubling. And fucking hilarious. What if the Americans were the last to arrive at a planet already resettled by all those other survivors of our dying planet, none of whom are of European ancestry? Why on Earth (or Yeni Dünya) would they not be less than happy to see us? The story charges along through gut punches (without additional commentary) for example that the 100,000 Americans held in stasis for the 2,000 journey may include some “very fine people.” It’s devastating, devastatingly funny, and now I need to write my Senators.

Three researchers investigate the implications of global climate change, its effects on plankton and algae blooms, and the calamity of masses of dying whales. Exhibiting either dreams or madness, each get caught in spectacular considerations on identity, the importance of naming the animals, as Adam was said to have done, naming themselves, and naming each other. An Antarctic fever dream, stretching back to the beginning of time to the present moment, from when humans were all genders in one being, before being split apart by the gods, or by God, or by nature. It's gorgeous, and I highly recommend it.

Warrick has created four distinct personalities who bounce off of each other with varying degrees of caution, and it is those moments where they feel the freedom to be honest that connections are finally made. The enemy is out there, it is not each other. This is a generous tale about the eternal sisterhood. Highly recommended!

Diaz-Marcano presents America in microcosm, a desert town called Slab City in which a reformed Nazi skinhead and his Afro-Carribean Latinx lover live on the outskirts of Western civilization, caring for their two-spirited Native and adopted child Támit. Striving to create a new future, the past returns for revenge and though there is great loss, the younger generation are able to escape and move into a New America, to be two of those the character named Roberta calls those “great people in between the stars and stripes.” It is fiercely urgent and a great read. Highly recommended!

This is a witty and cutting dialogue between two young people whose marriage is freighted by the cost of global conflict, in want, the loss of those close to them, and their own personal incompatibility. It is a brief exchnage which communicates a great deal and you might not blame the solider on leave for becoming frustrated with his wife who is preoccupied with writing her first book. But relationships can often fail in the pursuit of one's passion. It was a rewarding sacrifice, after all. Very well done.

This full-length play is a beautifully and believably written soliloquy, the theme of which is Bill Clinton's comparison between himself and Hercules, the demigod who returns to earth to instruct and lament man’s inability to abandon hate and mistrust for peace. Here the master orator, code-switching as necessary, between Bubba and William Jefferson Clinton, espousing his love of Arkansas watermelon at one moment, and Nelson Mandela the next. This monologue is gripping, compelling, and even a bit maddening, much like the man himself. Highly recommended!

I love this script because it manages love and disappointment and hope and the desire to be desired. And because it delves into what is ugly and awkward and so so deeply upsetting without flinching. Because it’s brutal in its honesty. I feel like I could be any of these people. Also, seriously; two actors play these two couples, and the older couple is SO late-90s Gen X and the other is SO right-now Millennial, it kills me. I would love the opportunity to see two actors play these four characters.

It’s about domestic abuse, and about the failure of our protective services. It is also about the fourth estate, and how journalism has been compromised by the corporations who have acquired our media outlets and have compromised them to serve profit. And it’s about women. How they are hurt, and once hurt how our systems are more successful at protecting the men who have harmed them. The subject matter is compelling enough, but it is well-served by the playwright. Rivas structured a fact-based script which is gripping, moving, poetic and frank. Highly recommended!

The transformative power of theater is a popular trope, especially, you know, among theater people. In this tale we have a charming male drama coach, new to the school, one who inspires his young charges, and helps them to break through their personal issues to be more their true selves. He also has sex with one of them. Themes of pride, confidence, and the indefatigable power of women, all present in Antigone, are also reflected in this play, as the girls band together to protect one of their own. Highly recommended!

Trinidad’s play revolves around the close friendship of Thelxi and Chim, and the diner where they work. The place is lorded over by two white men, the owner, Tanner, and the busboy/waiter Wyatt. It is also about art, and sexual assault, about workplace harrassment, and the uses of a sincere apology. It holds a powerful lesson and one I highly recommend.