Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A unique and powerful piece that has the vulnerable and confessional feel of a solo show with the theatrical benefits of additional actors to help propel the story forward and fill out the world. David's journey and the way Reis gets us into his thought processes and struggles is impressively rendered. The examination of David's love of and comfort in statistics and seeing how his disordered eating and grappling with mental health both dovetail with and work against the statistical ways his mind works is all so well done and nuanced. Thank you for writing this story!

A beautiful family dramedy whose scope is as expansive as it is intimate. Pilapil explores the complexities and sacrifices and risks of emigrating from another country for a better life for you and your descendants, inherited trauma, assimilation, pride and shame, and so much more. Each character is so specifically and delicately drawn, and their wants, needs, and fears are clear and so clearly come into conflict with everyone else's in ways that are truthful and engaging to watch. Throughout, the love of this family beneath these struggles is palpable. The humor inherent in being human is poignantly executed.

An incisive, insightful piece that brings together recognizable people and tunes their personality quirks, values, fears, and desires up a notch to satirical heights. The fall of Dan, the rise of Aisha, and the meddling of Clark are all fodder for hilarious and on point commentary on the ways progressive liberals are oblivious to their biases and the dangers of not interrogating or realizing that practice. Add in some Shakespearean betrayals rendered contemporarily and a dose of musical theater fanaticism, and you have a play that promises to be an engaging evening! I'm eager to follow its developmental path!

This delicate, wrenching duet begins as a disarming story of a relationship. It continues by exploring what we give of ourselves and take from others in relationships and the messy back and forth of that, examining addiction, and coping with the jarring moment of figuring out what to do when confronted with the unforgivable. I loved the nuance and specificity of Yoshiko and John as well as the mythic, heightened, fabulistic layer of the story that emerges towards the end. Lisa Sanaye Dring has such an ear for dialogue that is everyday, human, profound, and poetic all at once.

Amazing piece that starts as an unassuming glimpse into the meeting and relationship of Gina and David and transforms into a poignant, lyrical meditation on mortality (and immortality), marriage, and connection. I really enjoyed the ways that the speculative fiction details were woven throughout the text and how an entire imagined reality for the future of our world was rendered with just two characters! Additionally, the visual and textual metaphors were rich, layered, and subtle. I'd so love to see this play in production.

A briskly moving, insightful play that is as funny as it is poignant. Haddad-Chin explores identity, assimilation, privilege, family, and much more. From Amy's satirically brazen brandishing of her "newfound identity" to Jasmine's nuanced and powerful discoveries to Samia's central journey through the liminal space of identity and unknown ancestry, there is a lot for production teams and audiences to sink their teeth into here. The central question explored here--what defines heritage and how does that impact your relationships with friends, family, and the world at large?--is so thoroughly dissected and powerfully illuminated. I'd love to see it produced!

An immensely fun read that combines the breeziness of a caper comedy with the twistiness of a clever mystery and a more grounded heart that explores anxiety, mental health, and trust. I loved the plot-related surprises along the way and felt sympathetic for and taken in by Eddie as a central nucleus throughout as his night went from bad to worse. I also appreciated the inroads he made in his own anxiety struggles even as his life was very concretely falling apart! A fun and very producible small cast farce.

A powerful, vulnerable solo show that grapples with body image and eating disorders from a lens rarely focused on. I was taken aback by the balance of specificity and universality. Herrera tells one specific narrative with nuance and particularity, but tells it in a way that addresses broader cultural conversations about mental health, self and body image, gender, masculinity, and the intersection of those things with racial and ethnic identity. If you read this while the run of this is still happening in New York (and streamed online!), I hope you take the chance to see it.

An unsettling, darkly comedic piece that lives in the world of allegory and absurd while not losing a level of specificity and nuance in its characters. It inhabits and toys with the "guests coming to dinner and instigate a reckoning" genre of theater that echoes "A Delicate Balance" but reflecting our current societal concerns and fears. Diaz looks at the intersection of friendship with the existential crises of late stage capitalism, consumption, and environmental disaster. The visceral use of food props was striking. I'd love to see this on its feet!

This astounding play is as epic in scope as it is intimate. It manages to illuminate the lives of several individuals--historical and contemporary--with deft and multi-faceted brushstrokes while also zooming out and illuminating several harmful systems the United States was built on and runs on: the enslavement of Black people, policing and incarceration, and professional sports. The links it makes between those three oppressive structures are potent and bold and startling while also being tackled in a nuanced manner. A huge, theatrical masterpiece that threads important connections and provokes necessary conversations.