Recommended by Paul Donnelly

Powerful, violent and ultimately a compelling celebration of speaking one's truth in a hostile and manipulative world. The setting is vividly theatrical and provides a unique perspective on the struggle to accept and reveal an authentic identity. As others have said, this would be a wonder in a full production!

This play struck me hard as a brilliantly constructed and very subtle meditation on loss. There is a tantalizing ambiguity about the nature of the loss (I have my theory!) that will keep audiences thinking about and discussing this play for far longer than its brief running time.

This witty and surprisingly suspenseful fantasy is full of clever reveals and reversals. The "not who he seems" game has rarely been played with such lyricism and impact.

This taut monologue offers a wryly painful look at the genderqueer dating experience. I recommend it highly.

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.