Recommended by John Minigan

It's rare to find a play that has throws totally compelling characters into intense social/political issues -- and keeps the focus clearly on both the lives of the characters AND the issues. The personal IS the political in this play. It's riveting and nuanced, with no easy answers. And its movement over the course of the story is filled with hilarious moments, gut-wrenching moments, and surprises that complicate and deepen the characters and the issues. It's a feast of a play.

This is a wild, hilarious, spin on the kid crime-buster genre. Tightly structured, fast-moving, and way more than laugh-a-minute. I'd love to see this on stage. (It's a little R-rated, so the kids the audience should probably also be played by adults)

This astonishing play uses ritual, time, and the presence and pain of both victims and assailant to confront the impossibility of understanding violent tragedy for all who experience it. The play moves us to something beyond understanding--there is grace in the writing and structure and the possibility of grace for these characters after and maybe because of their pain. Powerful and compelling.

This is an absolutely lovely play. Clear and compelling characters on a journey that you think you can predict, but which surprises you in the way it surprises the characters--which is exactly how their lives have surprised them as they've reached adulthood. There is a finely wrought blend of joy and heartbreak in this piece, and two characters you care about and root for romantically, and then care about even more deeply as their "targets" shift during their Target shift. Precise and heartfelt work.

This play captures not just a moment in movie history and a meeting of two of the great artists of the last century, it also poses essential questions about the nature of the artistic impulse and the importance of art in the world. Is it imperative to do more than entertain, especially in the face of crisis and hatred? And where will fulfillment come from for an artist? Highly theatrical storytelling, with "silent" sequences that give us the creative world of these geniuses as they work through their differences. Compelling and remarkable.

This play spirals from what seems like a farcical opening into some deep and terrifying reflections on where we are and where we could be headed. The humor of the opening language work presents what looks like a farce about the breakdown of language in the age of online communication, but it gets to a scarier and compelling examination of whether we or our machines (and their communication) define "normal." A surprising, resonant twist in a completely engaging piece.

This monologue holds heartbreak and strength beautifully just below its shimmering surface. Lucy Wang captures the way microagression can upend expectations while also maybe beginning a journey toward awareness and understanding of identity for Mabel. Outstanding work that uses fine, specific details to reflect a huge and important story.

A stunning play about the dueling powers of love and hatred, and of compassion and fear. It gives us both the past and the present on stage, asking us to look at how the pain of the past shapes life now and confronting us with the difficulty of forgiveness, the power of guilt, and the struggle to heal the deepest of wounds. Amazing work.

This is a gem of a short play. Brilliant concept and totally delightful execution. It's the best beard "limbo" imaginable, and the re-liberation (finally self-liberation) of Tiffany is worth cheering about. Very, very funny work.

Hype Man grabs you from the first moment and weaves as complicated a set of relationships as you can imagine between three clear, passionate characters whose personal, political, and artistic selves move in and out of connection, alliance, conflict. Goodwin gives all three characters space and time to breathe, to find independence from one another, their own truths, and a way to use art to bring their truths back together. It's brilliant, compelling work all the way.