Recommended by Donald E. Baker

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!

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.

Jan Probst is so terrific at creating atmosphere and distinct, recognizable voices. As someone who also grew up in the lake area of northern Indiana, I felt like I knew her people and their speech patterns. They are real and true. I loved this play, in part because I was sure I knew how it would end and it took a turn that left me stunned. Treat yourself to this one!

History is more engaging on stage when large events are seen through individual experience. Mansfield does this beautifully in a play that explores the interpersonal effects of the George Floyd killing on an interracial family in an Indiana town that has inherited the state's dark historical legacy of racism--Klan, lynchings, sunset towns, de facto segregation. That the white father is a policeman and the black teens are old enough to question their place in the family and the world only adds to the tension. This is an important play. Highly recommended.

Brett arrives at college undeclared in more ways than one--his major and his sexuality. But one of those gets declared after he meets Chip, a confident, definitely declared gay man. This is a lovely little play about finding the courage to take the first step to recognizing who one is. It can be read alone or as the first of an eight-play cycle called "Tales from the Hill." I look forward to reading the other seven and seeing where these two engaging characters go from here.

I love plays like this in which the Devil gets a taste of his own medicine, and who better to deliver it than a being as evil as himself, the clerk at the DMV. Nora Louise Syran almost makes one feel sorry for him in this very funny short duologue. Highly recommended!

I loved this nostalgic short play about boyhood friends bound together by a love of baseball and how that love persisted through tragedy and loss. Anyone who has ever played little league or softball or just thrown a game of catch in the back yard can relate to these boys of summers of yesteryear. That they are based on real young men adds another layer of depth to a poignant story.