Recommended by Julie Zaffarano

A beautiful, heartfelt, family play about three generations of women who are tightly bound by their love and culture. Good Cuban Girls is a triumph of the importance of taking strength from one’s roots while living one’s life. Soaring and inspirational.

So much to love about this play. Espinoza explores the cost of intellectual and philosophical passions versus the desire for love, acceptance, and basic living needs. She challenges her audience to look at the present and the past in a truthful and authentic way. Original and ingenious.

Ester Choi is a young woman struggling with abandonment, grief, anger, as she questions her motivations and choices. As Walters masterfully reveals her characters through a series of telling vignettes, we are drawn into their familiar, yet unsettling world.

Honey Bee Baby is an eerie futuristic play of personal rights versus government control and propaganda. The characters portrayed in the story are real and can’t (sorry — can not) quite fit into a world that tries to wipe out kindness and humanity. Clever and haunting.

A gripping, crazy-assed (in the best way possible), terrifying, hysterically funny portrayal of the end of the world. Three flawed men desperately to try hang on to a crazy perception of “dudeness” as the real world crumbles. Zubel’s brilliant play will keep you up all night thinking about it.

Wyndham is a genius in cramming so many emotions and a clear character arc into short monologues. The anger, desire, humor, desperation, and, ultimately, power of this character are clearly defined, You can see them huddled in the freezing room, and, as each layer the ridiculous winter clothing comes off, so does each layer of insecurity.

Smart and funny, this play speaks to our relationship insecurities, framed against typical work place annoyances. The smelly refrigerator, the filthy coffee pot — we’ve all endured it — and the coworkers that are closer than family. But the crowning jewel of this play is the angst over trying to read the status of a lover’s true depth of feelings through a home made lunch. Jackson has another hit in this play.

Jackson gives us a poignant view of a boy who’s world is failing him. Even at his young age, he knows what is right and wrong — he shows wisdom and bravery beyond his years. I’ve had the privilege to see this show staged and hope to see it again. Well done.

A compelling story of three women in varying stages of life, each with a unique story of what brought them to this strange and filthy and beautiful world. Roa shows their adeptness at creating authentic dialog that is measured and effective. Well done.

A gripping play that draws you deeper and deeper into the mind of Miles Alloway, who may or may not be insane. Zubel’s descriptive and poetic language set against Mike’s fervor keeps the audience on the edge. Well done.