Recommended by Nick Malakhow

Beautiful, BEAUTIFUL work that explores the intersection of queerness, coming of age, fantasy/imagination, and faith. The fantastical use of Poppy serves as a delightful juxtaposition to the human, complex story of Isaac and his evolving relationship with his mother and the new boy in town. There are lots of stories that explore coming out in religious families, but I was so pleased to see one end with such intricacy, nuance, and hope. Jill's final monologue also provides such elegant and original insights into the purpose and power of religion, belief, and faith.

This play is full of exquisitely rendered relationships and complex characters who I cared for even as I disagreed with their actions or decisions. The malleability of time/space and the magic visual landscape of the forest adds a lovely theatricality and a glorious contrast to the institutional/sad reality of the hospital. The way Lorezno and Anya's relationship is built before our eyes through this combination of past and present is, in particular, a highlight of the play. I look forward to keeping track of this piece's trajectory!

Animal Town is an elegant extended metaphor and vehicle for Dakota's journey throughout this piece. Actors would enjoy playing these complex humans, and I imagine directors and designers would have a ball realizing the fantastical world onstage and theatricalizing the way reality bleeds into fantasy and vice versa. The exploration of queer friendship and love, the sometimes blurry or confusing boundaries between those things, and the yearning for a center of gravity and home base as a young adult is all thoroughly explored in a delightful manner. I'm eager to keep track of the trajectory of this piece!

A well-rendered and incisive take down of the vampiric capitalistic structures that have decimated the lives and careers and emotional/mental health of millennials emerging into the workforce. I loved the way Timms plays with real, naturalistic dialogue and potent and tough conversations as well as more stylized theatricality. The masked ensemble provides interesting fodder for movement directors and serves as an elegant metaphor for the anxieties and demons Noah isn't allowed to address due to the toxic structures or lack of structures in place to address the mental, emotional, economic, and social concerns of young adults today.

A gorgeous piece that feels both huge and small at the same time. The themes, the theatricality of the chorus and their lyrical verse, the theatrical conceit of the road trip, and the malleability of time and space are epic in scope. That said, this piece never loses sight of the real and complex humans at the center of it. Solis has created such exquisite characters and reveals their strengths and flaws with beautiful storytelling. Many of the haunting stage images were still vividly in my mind after I read the script. I'd love to see it onstage!

Beautiful piece! This intimate, contemporary familial tragedy feels both exquisitely natural and ever so slightly heightened in its theatricality. The huge themes--loneliness, identity formation, family relationships--are tackled with precision and with regard for the messiness of human relationships in an almost parable-like way. The mix of longer scenes and shorter moments and the unique introduction of a sort of "audience proxy" character in Livi appropriately shakes up the troubling equilibrium that Queenie and Amber have. This play manages to be bold and subtle all at once--I'd love to see it onstage!

A unique theatrical event that utilizes inventive casting to explore how one's identity evolves over time and the ways that one grapples with trauma. I loved how this was both a super compelling story in and of itself if you take it as a harrowing account of sci-fi truth and also as an extended metaphor for post traumatic stress and how one's relationships are impacted by such traumas. The messy Q&A and sudden ending to the piece both evoke naturalism and serve as an appropriate representation of the unresolved nature of the wounds on display.

A beautiful, funny, incisive, unsettling, and, above all, human exploration of the ways technology has impacted our ability to connect with one another--for the better and the worse! The sci-fi world feels effortlessly woven without a hint of capital E "Exposition," and both the technological and emotional realities of this future are well rendered. The examination of Irene and David's marriage, the heart of the play, is sad and sharp and funny all at once. It neither condemns nor excuses either of them. The titular primate, Atlas, is a subtle perfect metaphor/counterpoint for the human relationships on display.

I was blown away by the acrobatic lyricism of the text! Much like in the wonderful "the day we were born," Jaisey threads together poetry, everyday human speech, direct address, impressionistic choral language, and much more into a cohesive aesthetic whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts. I enjoyed reading this on the page, but if you have the chance to listen to/see it, take it! Its rhythms and depths are unlocked in that fashion. Potent and wrenching exploration of huge injustices that reveals/pinpoints/respects its characters' traumas rather than exploiting them. Gorgeous!

I adored this play and the way it used its fantastical world to explore huge themes like suicide, grief, identity, and connection. Its brisk pace, owing a lot of the pushy and hilarious Prince Two-Gill, is punctuated well with poignant, softer moments. Steven San Luis' use of a host of intriguing visual metaphors and theatrical devices (the cinder block, personified fish, clever triple casting) is crystal clear yet nuanced. The ending manages to be satisfying, true to the characters, and touching. I'd love to see a production company realize this modern fable onstage.