Recommended by Nick Malakhow

This play is spectacular in so many ways! It works as unsettling and clever science fiction, pitch black satire, and, most powerfully, as a sharp and on point exploration of a multitude of issues surrounding race. Christopher Washington takes on white privilege and guilt; dangerous empathy; the hyper-sexualization, commodification, and abuse of black bodies; and identity as culture vs. as physical reality. Structurally speaking, I loved how each scene was its own potent work of art, but had these chilling and revelatory moments when you realized where each fit into the world Washington slowly and effectively established. Brilliant!

Whoa! This goes from zero to "End of Days" slowly and surely throughout the taut and tense continuous action. I loved how unique and vividly rendered each character was, and their relationships to one another, faith, and queerness were all truly fascinating. I also appreciated how the theatrical world Christopher sets up works as a self-contained, directly-told story...and that I also saw within it a larger metaphor for issues of shame, compromise, repression, and the tension between truth and intra-group social expectations that is characteristic of the life of queer men. The bonkers finale feels quite earned!

This briskly-moving, powerful play renders three vivid characters in just three potent scenes. The dynamic between Serena and Aunie is immediately engaging. In each scene they feel identifiably themselves and consistent, and the evolution of both their relationships with one another and their internal lives is compelling to watch. Greg's presence is first affable and then alarming, making the loaded relationship between him and Serena realistic and sad. Though there are some big events and shocks, Herrera wisely keeps major bits of character growth to small moments, which heightens their impact. The ambiguous end knocked my socks off!

As a horror fan, I enjoyed this theatrical horror comedy! Shimano establishes the given circumstances of the universe from the outset in a visceral and hilarious opening scene, introducing us to several dynamic characters. The story pivots in the second act the way that unique and cerebral genre-bending horror (a la "Cabin the Woods") does to help illustrate his broader points about loneliness, love, and connection. It would be a blast to see this engaging theatrical world realized onstage.

What a funny, lovely play that would be a treat for not just actors but directors, designers, and choreographers to sink their teeth into. Kirk Shimano's self-effacing and sympathetic protagonist, Akira, goes on a poignant journey as he explores love, loneliness, outsidership, friendship, and adulthood. The folktales' emphases on listener interpretation, seizing opportunities, and learning from mistakes perfectly echo and amplify Akira's growth and misadventures as a young gay man. Additionally, Shimano tackles racism in gay dating and reflection on one's family history, shedding important intersectional light on his main character's experiences. I'd love to see this staged!

This is a beautiful, nuanced play! Avalon is a compelling central character and hir journey is rendered here in the urgent present with some detours to a difficult past. Erin Lerch explores the experiences and traumas of growing up nonbinary in this small town, and captures perfectly the cognitive dissonance of returning home a different, inspiring, more grounded person, but still unable to escape the feelings (and people) left behind. All of this is done without contrived theatrics. Lerch executes beautifully-illustrated seismic shifts within and between characters that are so much greater than the sum of their parts!

As a fan of all kinds of horror, I enjoyed this genre-bending play! I appreciated the extreme contrast between the comfort and ease of the first quarter of the piece and Laura Beth's abrupt discovery which upends her life. I was swept along for the ride as revelations came forth about Hope, Ethan, and the true nature of LB's pregnancy. IN THE SLUSH worked for me as a paranoia-inducing and propulsive horror story, and it also struck me as an intriguing exploration of relationships--being and feeling trapped, unrealized expectations, and trust/deceit. I'd love to track this play's development!

This is a nuanced and sensitively rendered look at a moment of crisis within a family. While John and Sara's marital implosion is the catalyzing force in the play, the ripple effects and seismic changes it causes in the remainder of the family make the story what it is. It's a poignant and truthful look at what happens when long-simmering dissatisfaction and tensions go ignored. Despite the big themes--divorce, infidelity, various-stage-life-crises, illness--Seidel successfully avoids contrived theatrics and histrionics and, instead, creates a really lovely and quiet examination of family and the disappointments of adulthood.

I was thoroughly engrossed in this intricately written piece! I loved how not only was the scenario itself was rich enough fodder for a compelling story, but Hoke also pushes the audience to constantly question and reframe how they'd feel about the situation given a rotating smorgasbord of gendered interactions. I also appreciated how the dialogue's flexibility and gender neutrality was so nuanced. The code-switching individual actors would have the opportunity to do while relating to various scene-partner-permutations would be a delightful challenge and also an excellent opportunity for bold conversation starting about gender, power, relationships, and propriety.

I was quickly engrossed in this intimate piece that explores large themes of adolescence, peer pressure, failed/failing relationships, and broken expectations. I particularly loved how, throughout the first several scenes, it was unclear what the relationship was between the two main narrative strands. Ellie and Tracy's dynamic was rendered in a pitch-perfect manner. David and Alice's relationship illuminated the particular sadness and disconnection of a young couple tied together by increasingly tenuous threads. The whole piece is conducted with a quietness and subtlety that is theatrical, tender, and microscopically focused. A poignant cross-section of people is presented here.