Recommended by Donald E. Baker

Cathro has structured this ingenious play as a fugue for six couples, full of overlapping themes and recurring leitmotivs, and the dialogue is as close to music as prose can get. Very highly recommended, whether or not you have any knowledge of the album that inspired it.

Thoughtful writing about the horrible reality of school shooting is necessary. In this excellent example, shots--we think--ring out and five panicky people take refuge in an office: three staff, a student, and a parent. As they debate school policy and their own course of action, they are all too willing to speculate on the shooter's identity based on one student's appearance and perceived attitudes. Then they discover that student hiding in a closet. It turns out neither he nor any of the others are what they first seemed. An insightful and important play.

Stories, especially our personal histories, are powerful. What we choose to reveal or conceal can heal or hurt—ourselves and our relationships. Vince Gatton illustrates that power forcefully in this excellent examination of two people dealing with life-changing events—marriage, baby, removal to a totally different environment. I highly recommend this beautiful, haunting play.

This play is a model for the writing of history or biography plays. The characters are so well drawn, their hopes and fears so clearly understood, the movement from one episode to the next so deft, the language so elevated--Scott Sickles' prodigious talent is on full display in this masterful work.

The cynicism of American politics is on full display as two operatives attempt to manipulate Trump and each other, supposedly for the good of their party. Their voices and attitudes are toned perfectly; we might have heard them on last Sunday's talk shows. But their world is completely overturned when Trump literally has a "come to Jesus" moment. Writing "what if" history is very difficult because the alternative facts have to seem as plausible as the real ones. Chris Smith does an excellent job of it in this revealing, thought-provoking play. Great work.

"The Boys in the Band" meets "And Then There Were None." Five guests arrive at a birthday party dressed as iconic Joan Crawford movie roles (think the drag sensitivity of Milton Berle rather than RuPaul) only to find their host hanged (not on a wire coat hanger) in a closet. As the "Joan's" are each then killed off one by one, snappy, bitchy dialogue reveals their fraught relationships. Funny, excellent work with a major twist at the end. Don't miss it!

This is a play about big things, like imagination, memory, and death, with a heroine named for a type font, a cardboard boat in which to go adventuring, and a stuffed bear to act as narrator and muse. I had the pleasure of seeing this play read at Atlantic Stage in Myrtle Beach some years ago, and it has stuck with me since. I'm happy to report it's even better than I remembered. In short, fantastic work!

I love plays about monsters, and here Robert Weibezahl has created an especially disturbing one--literally--a personification of that awful voice that continues working on your play why you desperately try to get some much-needed sleep, all the while sowing self-doubt and stoking fear of rejection. We've all faced that monster but it took this playwright to bring it to life. Well done!

Accused of being a homicidal monster by the media, millionaire philanthropist Randy is about to be the central figure is the latest "trial of the century." And much to his attorney's disgust, her client seems determined to sabotage his own defense. Their dialogue snaps and crackles and is soon revealed to be a roller coaster of lies and hidden information. It builds and builds until it reaches the final stunning revelation that will have audiences discussing this excellent play long after they leave the theater. Great work!

When Gavin's mother arrives early, secrets are laid bare. She finds him in a dress and is not pleased. She reveals she and Gavin's father have separated and he doesn't know what to think. Watching the two working to adjust to their new realities makes for a heartwarming play that I heartily recommend.