Recommended by Paul Donnelly

A richly layered, funny and moving portrait of Italian-American women coping with grief and coping with family. Beneath all the bickering and drama lies a solid foundation of love and shared history. And food. The food would be enough, but it's just one reason to want to be a part of the world of Sunday Sauce.

What a rich and moving exploration of family dynamics. It's hard to believe that such complex feelings and complex relationships can be plumbed so thoroughly in only 10 pages.

A gripping exploration of a tragic and mysterious disappearance told from the shifting perspectives of the victim, her mother, her best friend, and the presumed perpetrator. Rose sympathetically captures a young woman beginning to break free from the constraints of her upbringing with shattering consequences and a mother aching to find her missing daughter. The play is full of spot on specific details and effective lyrical passages that build to a wrenching conclusion.

A delightfully odd character study of a very needy and very funny racoon and the bond he forms with his long-suffering human companion. It is truly charming and truly unlike anything I have ever read.

A moving and surprising meditation on the meaning of and necessity for art. Soulless robots discover they need creativity to advance, but the human artist assigned to teach a robot to create art realizes they can't teach creativity to a machine. Art can't exist without emotion and robots can't feel emotion. The ambiguous ending is quite haunting.

A sweet and witty variation on the idea of the "office spouse." And who doesn't occasionally just need a good hug?

A poignant exploration of a difficult man's journey to forgiveness. To the most difficult forgiveness of all, of himself. Only in forgiving himself is he able to seek authentic forgiveness from those he has harmed through his bigotry and through his neglect. The play is shrouded in a mysticism that adds to its poignancy and to its theatricality.

A wild yet sweet-natured comic ride! Norton and Chicky contend with inner storms that are far more potent than the meteorologic plague that has befallen Norton. A wacky seeming premise leads to real depth of character development and a satisfying romantic ending.

A moving, wonderfully theatrical and deeply humane rendering of the complexity and transcendence of love in the face of the mores of a different time. Filled with rich characterizations and vivid conflicts, mostly internal but clearly realized. A simply gorgeous work.

The simple act of preparing a sandwich takes on a romantic charge in this charming wordless pas de deux.