Recommended by Donald E. Baker

Apparently these guys got no shame, doin' what they like to do. But this zany concoction of song lyrics and noir does something to me, something that really mystifies me. I didn't know whether to admire the voodoo they do so well or just shake my head in wonder at the effrontery of the whole enterprise. But still, I thought, 'swonderful, 'smarvelous. I could have laughed all night.

A sneeze can wreak havoc but it can also work magic, as it does in this play. Norkin has worked in enough delightful wordplay, physical humor, and sight gags involving inappropriate costuming to keep an audience in stitches from start to finish. An absolutely delightful backstage comedy.

Don't let the fantasy label mislead you. There are no dragons or wizards here. Just a lovely story about a woman who has lost her mother, a story that proves anything is possible on a Midsummer's night. Very nicely done!

Mary emerges from the jungle still very young, almost non-verbal, and exhibiting behaviors far more feline than human, but she has no difficulty running rings around the pompous child psychologist determined to civilize that feral child. As she becomes more comfortable with language, she reveals her secret identity and her mission to save the tigers of the world, bestowed upon her by the tigers themselves. This hilarious play with a serious message would be a romp for the right troupe of character actors--and a physically flexible younger actress. Highly recommended.

Love this play. Cassie needs attention, her grandmother provides it, and the two generations discover they have more in common with each other than they do with the generation in between. In the process, Cassie perhaps learns more about Gram than she ever wanted to know. This is a lovely intergenerational show that would be a delight to see on stage.

Martineau has created a fraught world in which five characters are all battling something emotionally or physically, and they take it out on themselves and each other. So many stresses, so many secrets, so much baggage from the past weighing them down has each of them near a breaking point. The writing keeps the audience as off balance as the people on stage, until the play provides a ray of hope in its satisfying conclusion Excellent work that will stick with you.

I love plays that take familiar characters and develop them in unexpected ways. There's little that can be more unexpected than to take J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan characters, age them into adults, and set them in a grungy Film Noir world where Barrie himself becomes the hard-boiled detective lured into a mystery by a beautiful woman--that would be Wendy. At its core this is a play about drug abuse and the appearance of a dangerous new drug called...well, read it and find out for yourself. Another wonderful work from the unique creative mind of Rachel Feeny-Williams.

This excellent play tackles big issues--the immigrant experience (first- and second-generation), coming of age, religious conflict, prejudice against Arab-Americans--and does so on by examining the uneasy relationship between two families. Audiences will appreciate the memorable characters, and theater practitioners will admire Smoot's imaginative manipulation of a multi-purpose unit set and his seamless transitions between scenes. Very well done. A rewarding read that would make a searing production.

These days nothing seems to get people's knickers in a twist faster than any hint of gender non-conformity. When an experienced teacher tries to ignore her school's guidelines on the use of students' preferred pronouns, she gets a huge surprise from a younger colleague. I love a play in which a willfully ignorant character gets their (don't they just hate "they" used as a singular?) comeuppance. A most timely play that will have you cheering at the end. Highly recommended.

Fortunately the theater world has become more sensitive to actors' comfort levels in scenes calling for close physical contact. An intimacy director has minutely choreographed an encounter between two older gay men cast in a groundbreaking production. The two rehearse their moves awkwardly but with increasing mutual interest. A funny, enlightening, and very satisfying play. Scott Sickles never fails to surprise and delight.