Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A lovely, emotionally potent story. The setup was original and fascinating, and the way Tom's discoveries and evolution unfolded was organic and heartbreaking. Denyer explores surrogacy, gay male relationships, legacy, parenthood, and how all those things are tied to the various aspects of one's identity. Moving but not overly sentimental, "Passing On" walks a fine line between being a tearjerking drama, witty comedy, and compelling morality/ethics play.

Unlike Wilder's "Our Town," Polak centers outsiders in his ode to small town life. In doing so, he finds a more meaningful representation of the "universal meets the specific." In combining meta theatricality, song, collage style scenes, and direct address, Polak both honors and subverts Wilder's work. Compelling, funny, poignant work.

Extremely compelling imagery and narratives are threaded together here. Baisch's theatrical world is specific, mindbending, and utilizes sights/sounds/textures in incredible ways. The characterization is magnificent and the way these stories and humans weave together is surprising and exciting to watch. The themes explored are manifold--substance abuse, art and ethics, socioeconomic imbalance and conspicuous consumption, and identity as commodity are merely a few of the issues Baisch examines. The transitions, the entire visual landscape as described in stage directions, and magical moments are all so rich and rife for the unpacking. How I'd love to see this live.

Mindblowing science fiction/horror with a queer lens and a slow-burn sense of encroaching dread that kept me hooked. Baisch's eye for world-building is spectacular, and he manages to flesh out the unsettling details of this reality extensively without it ever feeling like exposition. His complex and intersectional exploration of socioeconomics, capitalism, identity, rebellion and social movements, and the things humans do to escape and cope with life is extraordinarily rich. The stage images are glorious! This would be a fascinating and challenging theatrical world to design, direct, and perform in--a real treat for an entire production team.

A truly exceptional piece! Rivas tells a compelling story with dynamic and vividly-rendered characters and utilizes transitions, haunting and out-of-reality moments, and well-structured toying with chronology exceedingly well. His exploration of Michelle, Lisa, and Holly's blindnesses to their white privilege (and the root of such blindness) and Alma, Teresa, Beatríz, and "Mark's" complex relationships to one another and their identities are thoroughly rendered and nuanced. These characters speak profound truths while sounding 100% natural and human. The ending is poignant and forward looking, and everyone emerges from this piece with a satisfying arc. This should be read/seen/produced often!

An unsettling and engaging play that straddles the line between smartly-observed naturalistic drama, thriller, and social critique quite well. The three characters are all well-defined and I loved the way Ceniceroz filled in their story by weaving past and present together. The tactic allowed for exposition in scenes that still helped to move the characters and their relationships forward. I also loved the intersectional exploration of age, socioeconomics, and race in the gay male community and the way those identifiers are interwoven with themes of individual vs. community identity, found family, and power relationships.

This human tapestry explores a large cross-section of people living at a variety of identity intersections. The irregular rhythms of each scene underscore the piece's roots in Russian social realist theater. Even though the focus here isn't on a fast-moving, propulsive plot, the human beings and their struggles are always engaging and, by the end, seeing what has changed and what has not is a powerful statement in and of itself. The little seismic shifts within each character were finely-rendered with nuanced brushstrokes. A large ensemble of rich roles and some voices we often don't hear onstage.

A beautifully told story that presents us with sympathetic, specific, and well-defined characters while also examining large truths about family and long-term illness. Hortencia is a compelling central point of focus in this story, and seeing her grapple with well-meaning but frustrated family members and encroaching health issues is compelling and engaging. The dreamlike, magical moments and sequences Cabrera lays down throughout are subtle and effective foreshadowing for the wrenching final moments. I appreciated the way Cabrera drew each character in ways that didn't hide their faults, but showed great affection for them. Gorgeous work!

An amazing play that tackles disasters huge and personal. Each character is rendered with clarity and nuance and each are written with such distinct voices. The balance of humor, fear, grief, and terror is human, engaging, and devastating. What an unexpected and supremely effective cross-section of people Ramirez has chosen to highlight here. Their incredibly specific and complex story is supremely compelling and serves as a powerful exploration of family, fracturing personal relationships, mental health, and disastrous government response to tragedy on a large scale. Extremely theatrical and powerful stage images.

Strayer gives us a large ensemble of dynamic and well-rendered young people and, through them, manages to explore a whole host of issues including trauma, learning disabilities, mental health, and identities of all kinds in nuanced and innovative ways. This piece also gives directors and designers much to work with as they consider the storytelling elements which could be tackled in any number of ways utilizing movement, dance, and lights/sets/sound. Teachers of young people should take a look at this piece, which has lots of expansion possibility and treats its teen characters with care and respect.