Recommended by Paul Donnelly

Crashing Through Kauai is as rich and luscious as its island setting and as poignant as the abandoned cemetery at its center. The characters are well drawn and compelling, full of witty touches and hard-earned truths. The reversal at the end of the play is gut-wrenching in the best possible way, a shock that comes to seem inevitable and honest.

A powerful and touching tragic mystery, Eve Addam's Tearoom reveals the consequences of projected self-loathing for those who fall in its path. It also revels in the wisdom and survival of a woman who knows who she is and makes no apologies. This is an engaging and surprisingly exhilarating work.

What a touching and vivid portrait of two men whose love saved a town that wouldn't allow their relationship to see the light of day. And what a moving reminder that there were heroes in the closet who never-the-less paved the way for our post-Stonewall world.

Rebel Judy is a tender, but clear-eyed romance. All three characters bring complicated histories to their intersection. Allyn the not gay hustler and Hector the wounded Judy fan banter like Beatrice and Benedict in the shadow of overt violence. Their ultimate coupling is satisfying and credible, while the danger that still surrounds them is epitomized by the drag queen survivor of the Stonewall riot who closes the play with an ironic "I Happen to Like New York." It is true to its time and true to ours.

Beautiful Noises is a deeply felt and artfully constructed exploration of grief and the power and possibility of forgiveness. It balances wit and melancholy effectively and with great subtlety. It also offers a wonderful affirmation of the power of love over death.

A truly scrumptious comedy about the ways humans are servants to food. From the hapless and put upon fast-food workers to the neurotic young man hoping to impress a date with a meal to the therapist who almost kills a patient with nut allergies (oh the solipsistic pun there!) to the central character of a perky cook show host and her surly nemesis, we see characters who are hysterically at the mercy of the food they seek to serve or prepare. Yet there is a poignant hunger just below the surface that gives each vignette real heft.

I'm generally not a fan of twist endings, but the twist at the end of Threat Level: Cream felt organic and deeply existential, while also making me jump while reading. I can only imagine how effective it would be in production! The play leading up to the twist is a quite engaging portrait of two harried government workers meeting semi-cute on the Metro when suddenly ... well ... read it or see it for yourself.

Chilling. I can't get over the chilling final lines of this smartly executed monologue. There's a menace inherent in the action of assembling a gun that creates tension under the seemingly benign and amusing recollection of his childhood obsession with James Bond. (Personal aside, my first Corgi was the Aston-Martin with the ejector seat.) Turns out the menace wins in the end. Chilling.

What's most amazing about this sometimes uproariously funny, sometimes trenchantly observed, and ultimately quite moving play is its vivid theatricality. These boys go meta in ways that illuminate their emotional dilemma, how to be a conventional "guy" who happens to have actual human feelings, effectively. It's a work I'd love to see on its feet.

Really uncomfortable truths lurk beneath the surface of this supremely funny satirical gem. The immutability of privilege and cultural appropriation are among the topics that are spoofed and yet shown to be queasily resilient. What could be a one or two note satire gains depth and resonance as it moves forward.