Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A gorgeous and haunting theatrical poem of a play that explores grief, guilt, moving on, and intersectional identity with well-chosen words and scenes. I very much appreciated the collage-like irregular structure that mirrored and uneven and inelegant rhythms of grief. All of these characters are so beautifully realized, both in relation to one another and individually, and their potently written soliloquies punctuate the whole piece beautifully. There are some exquisite stage pictures described that just felt so uniquely theatrical--everything agricultural, Jamal's computer editing, tactile interactions with flora and dirt--and I would so love to see them live.

An awesomely inventive and timely piece that resonates profoundly with today as it imagines a future informed by our present. The central characters are all well-defined, and I appreciate their intersectional richness and the ways their identities clearly influence and impact their decisions, actions, and lives. Goldfinger's exploration of digital footprint, rape culture, activism, and the broad implications of existing in a digitized world is thorough and nuanced. I also appreciated how both theatrical and flexible this piece was--it feels like the kind of piece a production team can clearly put its stamp on. Great for colleges!

As others have mentioned, this is a truly captivating and compelling play that takes you in from the start. The evolving and mysterious dynamic between and circumstances surrounding girl and soldier are endlessly intriguing! I found myself being swept up with the narrative and not getting bogged down in trying to constantly guess what was happening. That is a testament to the rich sci-fi world that Kiechel establishes with just a couple of characters. The details she provides about the circumstances of this world are well-chosen and rich. Haunting and stunning images abound! Produce this!

I appreciated the interplay of straightforward and spare dialogue with more carefully-written, lyrical moments. I also enjoyed the potent powder-keg that this play renders--Matilda's increasingly urgent need to divorce herself from her toxic relationship with Solomon and substances. While both characters are troubled and vividly-rendered, the subtly-drawn line of Matilda's journey gave the play a clear narrative shape and set up the tragedy of the ending. Her dual co-dependencies reflect one another in powerful ways. Solomon's desperate excuses about the "necessity" of making art under the influence is a sad-but-true presumption and coping mechanism of many--truthfully illustrated here.

I appreciate a lot of things about this play. There is something about this moment in time that is causing me (as I'm sure it's causing a lot of people) to reconsider and reevaluate connections, relationships, errors, and missteps I've made. Minigan captures that perfectly here, and renders that in a way that honors the complexity and age-appropriate imperfection of its teenage main characters. I also appreciate this play as a teacher who is teaching young students a "quarantine-performance-ready" playwriting unit through distance learning--it's a great model for them to read and absorb!

An absolute genre-bending blast that is so much more than the sum of its parts. I wholeheartedly love the theatrical world Walker establishes here that feels like satire, brutalism, horror, and magical realism had a love child. The piece explores identity, the challenges of living one's truth in heteronormative-patriarchal structures, trauma aftermath, and so many other issues and ideas using lyrical poetry, totally hilarious and profane pitch-black comedy, creative movement, and some strategically-timed gut punches throughout. I would love to see this realized onstage--it is absolutely a piece that is meant to be theatricalized.

This irreverent and hilarious ensemble piece is exactly the perfect quarantine reading for me this morning. Weingarten's treatment of THE DECAMERON is clever and uses modern tropes to explore (in a totally on-point fashion) multitudinous themes from the original text: decadence; moralizing and moral hypocrisy; the nasty ways women are challenged, controlled, and shamed in society; the prevention of people from living their true selves, etc. The theatrical universe Weingarten creates is hilarious and consistent. Of course the exploration of those themes in quarantine situations also has totally refreshed significance now! I'd love to see this staged.

I enjoyed that this play straddles an interesting line between whimsical romance and cynical drama! Lorenzo is a hopeless romantic both as lover and an artist--a lovely symmetry that is both an appealing character trait and, of course, his downfall. I also enjoyed the meta-exploration of theater and of the relevance of drama and human truth in a world that increasingly demands spectacle and artifice--a great extended metaphor for the characters' differing views, beliefs, and approaches to life. The poem that ends the piece is a poignant and suitable button for the themes and characters explored within.

I loved this creative and beautifully-executed play from start to finish! Seinuk does an awesome job of establishing a consistent and vividly-rendered theatrical world populated by two compelling characters. There is a poignant symmetry between Ilan and Andrew's literal and metaphorical captivity, and I appreciated that, while there were clear parallels drawn between the two, it was always evident that each man's journey was unique, distinct, and respected as such. Structurally, I loved the contemplative but continuously progressive tempo and rhythm of the piece. I'd love to see this on its feet!

Jan Rosenberg has a knack for writing young people who feel vulnerable and in pain, but who construct walls and other obstacles to preventing that pain from overtaking them. Mae is a bold and vividly-rendered character and, from the moment she first meets Caden, I became intrigued by their arc and had to see it to its conclusion. What is most impressive here is how Rosenberg grapples with big and "scary" themes--depression, self-harm, suicide, mental health, family crises--with what I've come to see as her trademark balance of humor and sensitivity. The end is poignant, surprising, and hopeful!