Recommended by Donald E. Baker

So many questions. Who is the ghost? Is the young man a stalker? Of the several possibilities, who ends up with whom? But at least there's no question the ambitious understudy will replace the aging star. Right? Well, maybe, maybe not. At every turn, Rowan brilliantly uses our well-worn "Phantom"-"All About Eve"-"42nd Street" expectations against us. You do not have to appreciate opera to appreciate this excellent, entertaining play, but if you love opera, you will love the play all the more. Very highly recommended.

A woman in an ominous setting and a stranger who knows a little too much about her. Paul Smith doles out information about their relationship in small doses as their conversation leads to an gobsmacking conclusion. Excellent work and a delight to read.

DC Cathro is a master of the surprise ending, the zinger that lurks in the last line of dialogue or the final stage direction and leaves the reader gasping in delight. Here the build-up is perfect and the ending is truly the best of all possible finales. Loved it.

In this delightful take-off on Noel Coward's "Private Lives," first- and second-wives discuss the size of a French mastiff's "output," the invention of the "vertical fly," and, of course, the shortcomings of the former/current husband. The repartee is even more delightful because Jones couches it in a parody of Coward's idiosyncratic speech cadences. Highly recommended.

I'm simply mad about the boys in this same-sex reimagining of the first act of Noel Coward's "Private Lives." Arthur and Edward are wonderfully campy and waspish as the ex-couple and Sonny and Vincent are suitably hapless as the current spouses caught in the verbal cross-fire. Coward himself could never have presented the private lives of gay couples on stage. Bravo to Marj O'Neill-Butler for doing so in this delightful homage.

Luca is in college, a playwrighting student with a creative imagination. He is also schizophrenic and alcoholic, all of which means that he is not always certain whether what is happening around him is delusion or illusion or reality. And the play is so well conceived that at times the audience shares those uncertainties. After causing a horrible accident, Luca vows to get the help he needs and to do the work he knows will not be easy. I hope college-age actors everywhere will accept the challenge of this masterful, unsettling work from the creative mind of Jarred Corona.

The past and present, recollection and reality, flow together seemlessly as feisty waitress Daphne reflects on her decades-long working life alongside her friend Vera. People fade in and out of her memories--the men she and Vera married, the working-class guys who came in for breakfast and lunch, the girls who hit the place for some food on their way to the clubs. The play is a sometimes heart-warming, sometimes heart-breaking portrayal that will leave audiences with a smile and a tear. Beautifully done.

You may think you know this story--the SS searches for a boy and threatens members of the family they believe is hiding him. But the twists and turns this play takes will shatter your preconceptions. If you read it it will haunt you for days. Members of an audience lucky enough to see it performed will still be debating the ending the next day over breakfast. Highly recommended.

In seventy years of playing bingo, rivals Mary and Susan have each won 1,503 games. They only have one more night to determine a lifetime champion, and for them "cutthroat" competition is no metaphor. This hilarious play would be comedy gold for two older actors and the two outsiders who inadvertently get in their way. A real treat.

Will they or won't they? Can connection survive detergent sensitivity? A rash nearly derails a rush to the bedroom--or the trampoline--but Henry David Thoreau plays matchmaker. A unique concept results in an engaging little play. Delightful.