Recommended by Nick Malakhow

This is so funny, original, and highly theatrical. The ways Madison explores communication and language theatrically between machines, machines and humans, and humans would make for dynamic and fresh moments onstage. The allegorical connection to Prometheus and sci fi genre tropes raise the stakes in this piece to heightened dimensions. At the same time all of the characters, human and AI, are rendered with complexity and nuance so that, like all great sci fi, this feels like a VERY human and very contemporary exploration of class, personhood, capitalism, and socialism. Hilarious, thought-provoking, and worthy of many productions!

A hilarious, hyper-theatrical, compelling journey that explores family, identity, inherited trauma, longing, and more as Burger and her brother navigate one of the most dynamic and distinct theatrical worlds I've seen created. I'd so love to see a visionary and creative production team take it on. The eclectic, chaotic, yet aesthetically-cohesive universe serves as a great symbolic foundation for the sense of exploration, searching, yearning, journeying, migrating, and discovery threaded thematically throughout the play. Quiet and profound moments become all the more potent when juxtaposed with the volume of the rest of the play.

What a beautiful piece populated by a compelling cross-section of well-drawn characters. I especially appreciated how this story of deeply intersectional queerness, finding family, and identity never ignored its character's struggles while also never wallowing in them. Between the huge oak, the cluttered trailer home, and the house being assembled onstage, there were also many gorgeous stage images that I'd love to see realized. Sharifa Yasmin demonstrated such care and love for her characters while not letting them off the hook for hurting and coming into conflict with one another. I hope this is produced far and wide!

A beautiful, lyrical, and fantastical exploration of grief and loss. The characters are at once so naturally drawn and nuanced while also existing in this heightened, semi-fabulistic, whimsical theatrical world. The play plumbs the depths and intricacies of their individual griefs while managing to not wallow. I appreciated how Benne looked at each constellation of characters--Sebastian/Freddy, Sebastian/Julio, Julio/Freddy, all of them/Ana--and their own unique relationships with Ana, their grieving, and the journey moving forward. The ending was poignant and hopeful! Hope to see this produced soon!

I loved everything about this play--how it explored, exploded, and refracted "Little Women," how it gave distinct and potent voice to well-drawn contemporary teens, how it explored queerness and coming of age in all of its struggle without feeling exploitative or tragic. I especially loved the bombastic theatricality of it, the three layers of "reality," and how those layers interacted with one another. Excited to see where this goes and to see it on a stage in the near future I hope!

A genre-smashing, darkly comedic piece of horror that explores how the white gaze invades and infects the relationships of BIPOC folks, even when they're not directly involved. Darren and Tchai's initial interaction is funny and awkward, and Dang's turn to terror is disarming and unexpected. There are lots of startling and impactful stage images in here that I'd love to see a creative production team handle. I loved the way Darren and Tchai have to rearrange their perceptions of one another in the end, Darren not letting Tchai off the hook, while leaving room for hope as well.

An original, touching, and funny exploration of grief and its many manifestations. As a lover of mystery/supernatural documentary shows and urban legends, I appreciated how this piece paid homage to and theatricalized tropes from those forms. Laura and Richey's competing ideologies and how they manifested themselves in Bobby's and Nancy's separate griefs was fascinating. I appreciated the complex, and not neatly resolved manner in which the play concluded, but that it left room for hope, healing, and forward momentum.

A taut and tense interaction between a mother and her daughter's tutor whom she suspects of inappropriate conduct that unfolds in all the irregular and human rhythms of real time. While the mystery of what actually happened between Eric and Jessica drives the piece, Michelle's overall arc is perhaps the most compelling and intriguing throughline in the play--the way her concern for Jessica's wellbeing diverges from and intersects with her own anxieties about parenthood, not knowing her child, and self-actualization. The socio-economic snapshot is also crystal clear and well-rendered.

Sharp and incisive satire which captures the "largesse" of Shakespeare using a totally different and no less
bombastic brand of heightened theatricality than the Bard uses. I loved the rhythms of the piece, the completely differentiated and distinct characters, and the central shifting dynamic between Kaashvi, Priyanka, and Bailey. What a wonderful ensemble piece whose humor is derived from the many truths about competition, relationships, success, and self-image, especially between folks living at complex identity intersections. I'd so love to see this staged!

Each of the three sections of this play unearthed new complexities in the characters and issues addressed, and I loved how each section both lived in its own theatrical world, while also creating a cohesive whole with the others. The meeting and courtship of Joshua and Erin and the conversations they have about intersectional queerness are sweet and poignant and charming and messy. The conversations that follow about consent, age gaps in relationships, sexual assault, gay male hookup culture, and the conflation of homosexuality and pedophilia in historical and contemporary discourse is thorough and well-rendered. The ending is haunting.