Recommended by Donald E. Baker

Being a born and bred Hoosier, I see a piece with "Indiana" in the title and I have to read it. I'm so happy I did in this case. I've known a lot of "nice girls from Indiana," many of whom embraced the home-husband-kids expectations set for them. Peter Fenton has perfectly captured the undercurrent of angst of someone who wants something else out of her life, who chafes against the expectations but knows it will be difficult to defy them. Fine work.

They're back! The saga of the murder-solving Stillwell sisters continues in this latest installment. This time the plot involves Americans (gasp) who move into their neighbo(u)rhood. When one of them is shot at his own costume party, the game is afoot. If you love cozy English mysteries, and if you love old-time radio dramas, you will love the Stillwell's. And you can treat yourself to more of their adventures in Lermond's delightful collection, "Mad for Mystery," available from Next Stage Press.

"The Gentlemen's Rules of Restroom Etiquette" are usually unspoken but no less sacrosanct. In this play by Arthur M. Jolly, the rules--for example, always leave a vacant urinal between you and the next guy--are not only spoken but debated. And just to what extent a guy does or does not obey the rules turns out to say a lot about him in all sorts of political and cultural ways. This little comedy contains a number of cogent, shall we say, "observations." It would delight and titillate any audience.

Reggie and Tommy--a couple of bindle stiffs who have developed a close comradeship tramping around the country looking for work. But now Reggie has an opportunity to settle down with a permanent job close to his sister and her family. Tommy tries to convince him to take it. Reggie tries to keep Tommy from following along. Breaking up is hard to do, even when best friends try to pretend it's just another bump in the road. An excellent, atmospheric piece with realistic characters.

For the second time Claudine has lost a son to senseless gun violence. She swears this time around she is not going to have an emotional breakdown. As she describes all the wonderful (six types of brownies) and strange (the title dish) food her friends and neighbors have brought in, she seems to hold herself together. But throughout, one can sense that an explosion is waiting just below the surface calm. Really terrific work.

This Memorial Day weekend is early enough in the AIDS pandemic that a broken condom could be a death sentence, doctors are burning out from hopelessness, and grief is a chronic condition. Of the two couples in this excellent play, three men have lost partners and are struggling to move on. One is a doctor with a terrible secret that is tearing him up. "Memorial Day" tugs at the same heartstrings as "The Normal Heart" and "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and deserves to stand beside them as a record of a terrible time that changed Gay life, and American society, forever.

Yes, Steph needs a bone marrow match, but deception is the name of the game here. It seems everyone in this family is deceiving someone or is thought to be. It's either a drama full of unexpected farce or a farce tinged with serious themes. Either way it's simply an excellent play. Fortunate Cincinnati theatergoers should be lining up to see this one at Ensemble Theatre in 2024.

A very well-done monologue on growing up from a talented young man for whom the experience was relatively recent. It's well-thought out, well-expressed, a little philosophical, a lot relatable. And then a zinger of a last line makes it totally delightful. Excellent work.

In the library, two staffers and a particularly smelly patron all try to wipe off a very old dusty tome, so when the genie of the book appears, instead of one of them getting three wishes, each gets only one. Since the genie is just a bit malicious, the results of their wishes are not at all what any of them expect. Another amusing piece of theater from the always clever Rex McGregor.

The relationship between a father and his little boy is lovely, even more so after we discover what really happened. So well written. So well constructed. So touching.