Recommended by Nick Malakhow

Spectacular! McCreary creates a defined and bold theatrical universe that is cohesive, vivid, and unsettling. The play both presents a creepy post-apocalyptic vision of the future and serves as an extended and effective representation of the black queer experience as survivalist horror where people both struggle and succeed to find positive relationships and strength. It tackles trauma, past and present, intimacy, fellowship, and the toxic ways society frames survival as pitting potential allies and communities against one another. All of this is presented with a dose of dark and savvy humor. I'd love to see this onstage!

THE LAST DAUGHTER is an excellent piece of darkly comedic sci-fi. Strayer gives us enough details about the world to understand the lay of the land while still focusing entirely on character and theme rather than getting bogged down in exposition. Eve is a compelling protagonist, and the two women surrounding her--Mother and Elizabeth--have potent motivations as well. The visual metaphors are powerful and direct, and Strayer explores reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy, gender roles, self-actualization, and systems that oppress women with complexity and nuance. I finished this briskly-moving play in one entertaining sitting.

Wow! This piece had my mind spinning in the best ways. Vanderark establishes a cohesive, well-defined, and endlessly interesting theatrical universe. Like the best sci-fi, we learn just enough about the world to have our bearings, but nothing ever feels like exposition. I was so impressed with the way the playwright transitioned between dreamlike, disjointed scenes; pointed and powerful naturalism; and expressionistic ambient poetry. The exploration of grief, relationships, loss, and the questions raised about what can and should live on about a person and in what form are complex and nuanced. The end is potently abrupt. Beautiful work!

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.

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!