Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A truly hilarious, moving, and at times heartrending look at Islamophobia in the early 2000s specifically among teens, coming-of-age, gendered relationships and sexuality, and multi-racial identity. Haddad uses tropes of the suburban teen movie genre and an amazingly detailed (and funny) smattering of early 2000s teen culture to take a familiar narrative and turn it upside down by centering the narratives of folks who never would've had this story told about them at the time. Leila's journey, her conversation with Adam, and her difficult-to-watch interactions with her white peers are all illuminating, impeccably-observed, and potent.

I strongly encourage folks to read both "Initiative" and this piece, a gorgeous and haunting follow-up that continues the world of those characters so beautifully. I loved how the some of the central folks from the previous part receded in dominance to privilege the narratives of the younger crowd. In rearranging their focus, Went examines different angles of coming-of-age here like grief and bereavement, breaking cycles of pain, the ever-expanding presence and impact of online culture, and healing. Identity is always central and always complex in its rendering. The dialogue is spare, lyrical, realistic. The ending is exquisite!

A piece that explores coming of age, grief, and identity with vivid and memorable characters and events. Jacob's self-destructive relationship with Shane is both a compelling story and an apt metaphor for the confusion, shame, and self-effacing compromises that queer boys are sometimes forced to feel and make as they come of age. I appreciated that, while Jacob absolutely changes a lot throughout the story, he did not undergo an instantaneous transformation and emerge out the other side a "fixed" person. Jacob's clearly on the path to who he is, and we were privy to a key seismic shift.

This hilarious and complex piece is so nuanced and gives voice to conversations about race, privilege, power, sexuality, and identity that need to be happening at this moment! Pilapil's exploration of the intersection of Asian American identity, sexuality, assumptions/stereotypes, and whiteness is so specifically rendered. It's also an intersection that's relevant/translatable to the experiences other people of color face as they navigate their proximity to white privilege, artistic colonialism, and the opportunities they have to tell their own stories in their own voices. Hilarious, sharp, indicting of privilege without being unfair to any of the characters, and poignant.

I appreciated how this piece married the nostalgia-filled vibe of coming-of-age teen movies with nuanced, naturalistic theatricality. All of the characters in this piece are complex and speak with the inelegantly human rhythms of natural speech, impressively captured by Kump. The play is a beautiful portrait of friendship and the ways we grow apart from one another in order to truly become who we are meant to be, here facilitated by the entrance of Billy. That process is illustrated with subtlety and respect for its characters. The sharp humor and warm interactions made for an engaging and illuminating slice-of-life.

I loved the way this piece used super-hero tropes to deftly explore outsiderness, bullying, and adolescent identity formation. JT is a lovable and sympathetic central character, even as he makes questionable choices, and I enjoyed his banter with Reg, and his growing connection to Trey. The super-hero reality is used effectively here to showcase what JT feels he needs to hide, his escape from his real-life troubles and issues, and ultimately his acceptance of himself--all that good teen identity stuff but with zero sentimentality, an acerbic, sharp sense of humor and a nuanced cast of characters. Great fun!

I thoroughly enjoyed Company One's production of this a few years ago. Wilder explores dreams, coming of age, cycles within family, institutionalized oppression and racism, and friendship with one foot in beautifully-observed realism and the other foot in theatrical, magical realism. Similarly, poignant moments between family members co-exist with hilarious and fantastical conversations with Bill Cosby. The contrasting aesthetics are handled wonderfully here.

This is a nuanced and engaging portrait of teens grappling with coming of age and identity in smalltown America. I loved how each character was drawn sympathetically, even as they did and said unsettling or problematic things. Fields explores the unique influence of toxic masculinity in skater culture through all of the boys, but in particular Heath--an interesting combination of bluster, fear, anxiety, and insecurity. The beauty of this piece is in all the little seismic changes that happen in social dynamics, friendships, and romantic/sexual relationships throughout. A major, life-changing event and its fallout feel earned and poignant.

This is truly a microscopic epic! I thought I was going to read this lengthy piece over several days, but found myself so taken with the fast-paced, compelling dialogue and exquisitely rendered characters that I finished almost straight through! Went gives us incredibly nuanced teens with all of the adolescent bravado, anxiety, desire, and awkwardness of real people. They hurt and help heal each other in sympathetic ways as they struggle with identity, mental health, and longing to find a place and make a difference. It's hard to simply describe how comprehensive and poignant this piece is! Read it!

A beautiful theatrical fable that would work well both as an unconventional and exciting virtual production and could potentially be a transcendent, movement-based, magical piece in person! The stories straddle this amazing mythic/colloquial voice that makes them accessible, offbeat, and universally relevant. The tales run the gamut from silly to unsettling to poignant, and characters of all sizes are vividly realized. There is much room for cast expansion and condensation as needed, so teachers and directors of young folks would do themselves a favor by reading this piece and considering it for their next season!