Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A beautiful epistolary play with lots of exciting possibilities for staging. I can imagine this being a poignant piece with the two women portrayed by two actors throughout the years or an exciting exercise in character traits and ensemble work were they portrayed by different actors over time. The younger scenes burst with impetuousness and transition beautifully into the more grounded by still vulnerable adults Lina and Izzy become. A wonderful examination of friendship.

Beautiful, vulnerable, and heartfelt solo show that balances drama and humor so well! While the focus is on art and Gina's journey of defining themselves and their voice as a playwright, anyone who has had to live "in reaction to" the "norm," the canon, cis-hetero-patriarchy will find much to latch onto and relate to here. The moments in time are well-chosen and well-defined, the plays referenced are examined and utilized impactfully, and the storytelling is compelling, hilarious, and poignant.

A beautifully rendered relationship story in which each character individually is as compelling and complex as the thorny connections between them all. The use of music is poignant and affecting and each character's relationship with playing and creating music is thoroughly and wonderfully explored. Lovers of history and music take note!

A darkly comedic exploration of masculinity, gayness, shame, coming of age, and coming of adulthood. Even as he makes mistakes and hurts others and himself, Joey remains a complex and sympathetic individual who you root for in his journey of self-acceptance after a lifetime of being conditioned that he is a bad person.

Andy and Peter are two complex and multi-dimensional characters and are both an actor's dream! A sticky, intriguing, intimate play that's funny and sexy and provides a look into relationships, loneliness, justice, and morality. It somehow straddles the line between "Dexter," "Promising Young Woman," true crime, and an unconventional rom-com. A truly specific and nuanced two-hander with sharp, naturally rendered dialogue.

This play centers around three distinct, wonderfully rendered characters who each bring their own points of view, identities, and baggage to their relationships with one another in subtle ways. I loved the exploration of fanaticism, power dynamics, competition, and coming of age in a pressure cooker of an environment with three vividly drawn teens. The examination of the cultural elements around and concerns of riding and horse culture is also thorough and unique! I'd love to see this onstage.

An unsettling, well-drawn portrait of a town, an event, and of the ways that communities grapple with violence and tragedy. The play is structurally very inventive, and I love how layers of meaning and plot surprises were slowly unfurled to the audience as the piece progressed with a sense of restraint that heightened suspense. All of the characters were beautifully rendered and had distinct, clear voices. I would so love to see a production of this!

This is a profoundly beautiful play with five well-rendered, nuanced characters at its center. I loved the aesthetic marriage of dance with violence, intimacy, sex, and love. Beautifully realized naturalistic dialogue coexists with grandly theatrical overtures in a way that reveals inner life and helps advance the story here. I also appreciated the representation of queerness as an identity layer folded into a larger and multifaceted narrative. I'd love to see this realized onstage!

A beautifully observed portrait of two brothers. I loved how Jake's crisis moment puts into sharp relief the complexities of the struggle between Ethan and Jake their entire lives. Both brothers are very sympathetic characters, neither of whom are "villains," but it is also so very clear how and why their needs/wants have chafed against the other's throughout their lives. I loved how the play wound back and forth in time, each scene providing new revelations even if it was a past moment.

An excellent use of the "La Ronde" structure here. The scenes propulsively move from one to the next and the characters (which we spend maybe two scenes with max) are all beautifully drawn/realized. In tracing the story of this one piece of art and selecting a varied and complex cast of characters attached to it, Jennifer Maisel also explores huge themes and ideas related to art, the Holocaust, survival, forgiveness, perspective, and much more! I'd love to see this play realized onstage.