Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A vital, intersectional look at cross-generational and interracial gay relationships (platonic, romantic, sexual, otherworldly) in conversation with the AIDS crisis and the advent of PrEP. Liu crafts a magical theatrical universe with its own set of rules, mixing humor with pathos quite well. The push-pull that Liu renders here of acknowledging the past and contemplating how that is in conversation with progress/today gives voice to a necessary dialogue that often remains unplumbed in queer narratives. While it is a much more intimate piece than, say, "Angels," its thematic aspirations and achievements are similarly lofty in scope.

I am so grateful that this play exists! The characters are exquisitely rendered and written with a deft and sensitive hand (even when they themselves aren't being sensitive to one another). I appreciate how Rosenberg both captures the experiences of eclectic people living with clinically defined eating disorders, while also exploring the more ambiguous and pervasive ways that shame, body image issues, addiction, self-esteem, and mental health collide in the "undiagnosed masses." All of the characters are fascinating, but I found Ian and Callie to be particularly compelling. Their journeys are poignant, brutal at times, and yet hopeful.

This piece is an astutely written, pitch perfect dark comedy about the ways women's bodies are legislated, commodified, and used by patriarchal structures. Antone has crafted some amazingly rendered characters with unique voices, a well-fleshed out fantastical theatrical world, and an insightful exploration of the aforementioned themes in a hilarious fashion. Absurdity is used so effectively to gesture towards the awful and ridiculous real-life themes that are getting metaphorical/theatrical treatment here. The brazen theatricality of the stage directions makes my brain instantly try to imagine the world of this play. I hope to follow its development trajectory.

An incredibly moving and beautifully told story! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this at Company One in Boston. Jung creates her own glorious theatrical world utilizing some creative conventions that, in the wrong hands, could be gimmicky. On the contrary, her use of a puppet to represent the child achieves a masterful storytelling sleight of hand--it makes it possible for us as an audience to witness the trauma he goes through without subjecting a child actor to it, while not losing any of the emotional potency of the character's arc. I hope this play has a long life!

HONORS STUDENTS is a terrifying, funny, heightened, truthful piece that examines female friendship and adolescence, and all of the volatility and power dynamic shifting that comes with the territory. Kora, Minnie, and Megan are all believable and sympathetic characters, and I remain invested in each even as some shocking events unfold. MacCarthy also uses double-casting here to good effect to highlight the unsettling presence in men in these young women's lives. A dark, dry sense of humor pervades the text--these girls have deftly rendered teen voices that equally illustrate their fierce intelligence, well-trained defense mechanisms, and adolescent vulnerability.

This is a hilarious, offbeat, sweet play about identity, coming of age...and Satan! Stevens establishes an eclectic cast of characters to define this dynamic theatrical world. Each character speaks with distinct cadences and rhythms, and the "human, but heightened" style of dialogue made for a brisk and entertaining read. The play explores a familiar question through Louis--how do you grow up nourishing your queer identity when your rigid and close-minded parent sees who you are as wrong and devilish--in a creative fashion. I'd love to see all of the theatrical magic described in stage directions realized!

I really enjoyed this tightly written and well-structured script. Hehir mines the minutiae of day to day work to explore human relationships and the everyday desire to be a fulfilled, happy, and upstanding individual (and how all those things interact with one another). Each character is well-drawn, believable, and able to evoke humor and pathos. This is an excellent example of a piece that examines little seismic shifts between people and that accurately captures all the glory, frustration, and awkwardness of coworkers. I'd love to see this real-time play on its feet.

What a beautiful, poignant, funny play. Mendoza gives us much to think about here with regards to caretaking, grief, family, and escaping cycles of behavior. What he does so brilliantly is utilize an exploration of AI and mechanical sentience to do so. All characters large and small are well-rendered and distinctly human. I appreciate how Jorge and Gabriel's Latinx identities, and Anita's Indian identity help us see the intersectional complexities of the human relationships being represented onstage--the kinds of relationships/plays we often see labelled as "universal" but coded as white. This play is universal yet intersectionally rich.

This definitely falls into my favorite category of plays--the "making me shamelessly weep on public transportation" genre. In all seriousness, Ian August has crafted a short but potent piece of theatrical magic here. In different hands, the conceit of the video taping could off as gimmicky, but in BRISE it allows for August to use brilliant theatrical "showing vs. telling" to illustrate Paul's deterioration. While the play does have Paul's crisis at the center, it also explores larger themes of caretaking, the fracturing and reforming of family relationships, and what makes up one's identity. I'd love to see this staged!

PIONEERS is a funny, unique, and offbeat exploration of the ways that technology can both enhance and detract from our well-being. In Maia, Rachael Carnes has crafted a perfect extended metaphor for human dependence on social media and tech for decision making, the relationship-level commitment one needs to make to keep up with technology, and contemporary tech-driven loneliness. The humor is derived both from the bizarre and increasingly intense relationship between Rory and Maia, as well as from some cleverly observed and hilariously strange threads of dialogue. I'd love to see how this looks on its feet.