Recommended by Nick Malakhow

Kevin King writes a thorough examination of a complex and multi-faceted relationship. He explores the things both large and small that create divisions and draw attention to differences in this May-December romance. I loved how things such as Tony teaching Joey how to iron mirrored bigger conversations about money, sex, honesty, and communication. I also loved how King illustrated their chemistry and sexuality behind closed doors, while poignantly highlighting their discomfort in public with small details of body language. Eric and Mara, besides being fun characters you root for, became a sympathetic chorus or surrogate for the audience.

An original and complex play about loneliness and connection. Aurin Squire dissects the ways these characters' identities, fears, insecurities, and desires draw them to one another in the unlikeliest of ways. Once the jig is up, so to speak, Squire sidesteps the "gay tragedy" trajectory and, instead, focuses on unconventional and surprising human connection. What is most impressive is the morally ambiguous and nuanced relationship that Lorenzo and Maurice do forge. The lack of histrionic and catastrophic theatrics or fairy tale romance make for a nuanced and compelling piece that I'd love to see.

A gorgeous and haunting play that captures something so truthful and well-articulated about the loneliness of gay men that, up until now, I'd only seen best captured in novel form. Squire creates a dynamic theatrical world that utilizes meta-theatricality, poignantly human dialogue, and creative movement. Somehow, these disparate elements manage to both evoke the disjointed and puzzling nature of grief and alienation, while also feeling like a beautiful and cohesive whole. The piece eschews sentimentality for specificity of experience, nuance, and complexity. It is all the more heartbreaking for it. Beautifully rendered!

A spectacular, theatrical piece with potent and important truths and a nuanced heart. Warren is a delightful protagonist to follow due to his humor, the empathy he evokes as we see his varied and complex experiences, and his blindness and faults. His connection with Cece is an incredibly strong thread woven through the entire piece. Squire explores the multitudinous factors that influence political attitudes, dissecting the confounding intersection between idealism, arrogance, anger, ignorance, frustration, and hope at the heart of election/campaign season. This piece really needs to get more attention as we barrel towards another one.

JASPER is a well-rendered, poignant, and complex portrait of the different challenges three parents face. In Andrea and Drew, MacDermott has given us a nuanced look at the struggles of parenting a disabled child, from their unending love to what feels like finite emotional and physical resources to cope. Drew's connection with Shayla happens organically and feels both plausible and surprising. The scenes are written with human warmth, even as the characters experience and express their feelings of being trapped and overwhelmed. The ambiguous ending is moving and punctuates the play with healing and hopeful moment.

Funny and tragic, MAYBE TOMORROW is a highly engaging play that is impossible not to be taken in by! Mondi matches absurdity with a hilariously wrenching story that explores the growing complications of a relationship and marriage in which each partner seems to emotionally and ideologically stray from one another even as they grow into a codependent rut. Gail is charming (which makes her character's arc even more poignant and sad) and the relationship she builds with the audience is unique and well-told; Mondi provides a great blueprint for a skilled actor and improviser to flourish with.

A beautifully told small story about a complexly rendered family. Carabatsos has given us a group of people with complicated and varied relationships to one another and successfully uses the context of a semi-mythologized election to comment on and parallel the dynamics between family members. She explores loss, grieving, and familial and ideological divisions. Carabatsos powerfully illustrates the forces that divide and alienate people--everyone's senses of themselves, their hopes, and their disappointments. Rain is an extremely compelling central character and her difficult and evolving relationship with her son (and others) is drawn here with nuance and tenderness. Amazing piece!

This disturbing little tale is a tightly-written, compact episode of horror! As others have mentioned, yes, the "Lord of the Flies" vibe is very much alive and well here. By utilizing adult bodies in children's roles, Hansen helps to examine the relentless roots of cruelty, social conditioning, and maintaining the status quo--a potent metaphor that can apply to all sorts of emotional and physical traumas we inflict upon one another.

A beautiful, small story filled with aching melancholy, two well-drawn characters, and perfectly excellent self-contained unity of time and space. Romeo comments on love, loss, moving on, connection, and loneliness in ways that feel universal. At the same time, she doesn't ignore the specific identities of her characters and how those inform their journeys--how they are drawn together, what might divide them apart, and what options they have to grieve and move on. The lightly magic touch (catapulting boxes!) adds a subtle but effective visual metaphor and makes for an awesome final stage picture in the end.

What a unique, poignant, and affecting play! I particularly love how each of the three scenes stands alone as an intriguing commentary on relationships, while as a whole they become a much more profound exploration of love, truth, and regret. Dani and Charles are compelling characters to follow across a decade, and each subsequent scene provides surprises that shed new light on events from the previous one. They are distinct and well-drawn characters, and they would be excellent roles for two strong and versatile actors. I'd look forward to seeing a production of this theatrical and nuanced play!