Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A beautifully observed and heart wrenchingly told story. While it tackles a timely and urgent subject in opioid addiction, it does so without didacticism or preaching to either its characters or audience. Each character is so fully rendered. I love reading a quiet drama such as this that focuses on the tiny seismic shifts in life that lead to new understandings. Hope to see this produced soon!

Astonishingly brilliant! This is an exquisitely vicious dark satire in which the inventive and wholly original humor is punctuated by some gutting truths (of course, these truths are fully on display in the satire as well, just skewed/skewered to oblivion). With an inventive and brilliant use of double-casting and outrageous stage directions that could be theatricalized in effective and unique ways, this piece is oh so theatrical as well. I sincerely hope I get to see a production of this some day soon.

A beautifully melancholy and unique slice of life. What a brilliant setting and use of that setting, and what vividly drawn and compelling characters. The scenes move briskly and, for such a quiet piece, it's filled with well-earned and surprising turns.

I was privileged to see a reading of this in Boston last year--Ida is a compelling and complex protagonist. Like any good historically informed piece of literature, this made me eager to learn more about Idawalley Lewis, while still providing a satisfying snippet of her life. The sizeable supporting cast is well-developed, and the play gives voice to a kind of subtle and nuanced narrative not commonly given airtime. Would love to see this play's continued journey!

I love how this piece is simultaneously whimsical in concept and execution, and grounded by its multi dimensional characters and poignant late-play twist. I was lucky enough to see a reading of this in in Boston. The unabashed, quirky humor and punny wordplay of the first 2/3rds of the play paid off as it came to a more sobering conclusion. These contrasting sections painted a unique portrait of two sisters' evolving relationships to one another and their own identities.

What a breath of fresh air to feel seen and heard by a small, nuanced, domestic drama, the likes of which the white hetero world has a stranglehold on! A beautifully complex discussion about identity, assimilation, heritage, lingering grief, and family trauma. I also appreciated the deeply intersectional exploration of identity-- it was astounding to see these family members' relationships to their own multiple identities identities come into conflict with one another. Everyone is written as a unique, genuine person with their own distinct voices. Hope to see this developed and produced soon!

All of the characters in this beautiful piece are incredibly human and real. Del Carmen renders each character with great empathy, sensitivity, and nuance, while also not letting any of them off the hook for their faults and missteps. Both the flashback narrative and the contemporary family coming to terms with their patriarch's death kept me engaged and eagerly awaiting the next plot development. Poignant, intimate, and very theatrical. As I watched a reading of it, I could easily visualize how it would live onstage. I really hope to see this produced soon!

Wow! So intimate, hyper-focused, sexy, and moving. The genuinely hilarious and human courtship of Christian and Daniel is made more complex by some poignant and heartbreaking asides and organic yet profound and thought-provoking discussion of homophobia in the church. What's revealed to us about Christian's life external to Daniel is doled out with sparse but impactful memories and flashbacks. Comes to an oh-so-satisfying ending as well. I sincerely hope this is developed and produced soon! The visual and aural landscape Benne paints here is highly theatrical and compelling.

A supremely inventive, unique, and distinctly theatrical play! Pardo explores relationship dynamics not often tackled onstage with a great deal of creativity and nuance. Our three central lovers are rendered with humanity and sensitivity. The aural and visual elements as described also establish a theatrical world that combines naturalism with the off-kilter--polish and veneer meets the rot beneath. Really intriguing and I hope to see a production of it some time soon!

I saw an excellent reading of SHOE at LTC's Carnaval last summer and was immediately brought in by this nuanced and well-rendered story. Marta is a compelling protagonist in and of herself, but she is well-supported by a large cast of equally three-dimensional and complex characters. Family dynamics, the different ways social forces and expectations trap us, and the search for escape are all depicted here with sensitivity and clarity. The ending is as satisfying as A DOLL'S HOUSE, and the lead up to it funny, human, and poignant.