Recommended by Ian Thal

A dystopian satire set just a a few minutes into a future when debt matters even more and life matters just a little less. The logical argument for abandoning our scruples is chilling.

Having worked many years as a substitute teacher, I have been in the classroom during drills and once even during an actual lockdown, as well as being placed on front door duty many times (and having second-guessed a decision or two) – the ethical and moral debate between the protagonists feels very real; very much the sort of "what-if" one ponders at the end of a bad day.

A horror-comedy with a very dry sense of humor. Razielle, the new kid, seems weird. Her parents sound weird too. It does not seem like any one in that family knows how to have fun. But how many of us have never been the weird kid for whom our new friends' ideas of fun and normalcy were a novelty?

"Birdie and Cait and the Book of Life" has a wonderful sense of place both geographically and spiritually whether in a New York apartment, a Jewish cemetery in London, or the timeless, mystical Library of the Jewish Soul. Lang draws upon the poetry both of the Jewish liturgy and of of the 19th British-Jewish poet Amy Levy to to illuminate the and repair the broken world of her characters.

A hilarious portrayal of the banter of private jokes, feigned offense, and playfulness that romantic couples share and few others understand.

As an avid museum-goer, I have intimate experience of returning to the same work for years, sometimes perplexed, sometimes feeling that I have seen something new, and on occasion I suspect I have gained insight in the artist's intentions. A meditation on aesthetic experience, creative intentions, and the institutions that support both creativity and apprehension.

A meditation on the morality of leadership. If the game of chess can teach strategic thinking and the necessity of sacrifice for the sake of an ultimate objective, does it fail to teach the responsibility of the strategist for the well-being of those being lead?

Excellent potential both as a character study and an exercise in visually and physically imaginative staging.

Kander's science-fiction conceit allows her explore the farce of mistaken identities, the inheritance of trauma, and the potential for tragedy when one acts without thinking of the consequences.

All along her characters explore the ethical teachings of Judaism, the scientific profession, and the lessons offered by folklore.

A brilliantly paced comedy about the friendships and antagonisms that form in the customer service industry, the economics of the lottery, an outsourced side-hustle gone awry, and the very fuzzy costume between pop-culture and prurient interest

Georgina insists that playing house will help her and Lucas prepare for adulthood, but it is also a way for Lucas to work through his feelings of less than perfect role-models and imagine a better future. Krantz' poetic sense captures the imagination of childhood as Georgina and Lucas imagine what colors to paint their rooms and appliances and what their dinners will taste like, as their adult selves reflect on what that play meant to them.