Recommended by Donald E. Baker

"Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been.'" In this sweet little play, Williams deftly shows how one choice, one chance not taken, could have made all the difference in two young men`s lives. Very well done.

John Busser has a strange and wonderful mind. This skewed, satirical look at science fair projects and helicopter parenting is a prime example of his dark-humored wit and is a super vehicle for the right pair of comedic actors. The play pulls you in and gets more macabre as it goes on. Super work.

Blending families is never easy. Especially when they are a diverse tribe of Christians and Jews, African-Americans and Caucasians. More especially when Mom is determined to subject them to a "traditional" Christmas recreated from her own childhood. Scrooge-less, Grinch-less (mostly), and with a gentle lesson about the power of listening to one another, this play is a wonderful alternative for the holidays. Oh, and we discover why Santa, the real one, is obviously Jewish. Highly recommended.

Ultra-conservative members of the school board of Paine County plan to turn the history curriculum into propaganda to indoctrinate students with their point of view. Two founding fathers, observing from the great beyond, decide to meddle in earthly affairs to prevent that. The subject is serious and timely but the presentation is comedic with even a little Gilbert and Sullivan thrown in. Very highly recommended.

If you were a white, misogynistic, homophobic, racist man in his sixties who woke up one day as a black, possibly lesbian, woman in her thirties, how would you convince people that the "Aaron" on your driver's license is the same person as the "Erin" standing in front of them? More importantly, would you learn anything from the experience? This delightfully layered play would be an interesting challenge for the two completely different actors having to play the same person. Great concept, great execution.

At an all-boys boarding school, the weak, the different, the perceived gay became targets. Jeff survived by finding a protector, staying stoned, and pretending not to be who he was. Richard broke under the bullying and lives with PTSD-like nightmares. Now both have returned to the school to teach. But why? To exorcise their demons or to embrace them? They seek to answer that question in this gripping and engaging drama of memory and survival. Audiences need to see this play.

This is a brilliant contemporary political satire cleverly disguised as a Shakespearesque history play. Nero is portrayed as a raging egomaniac surrounded by sycophants seeking either to curtail or to profit from his excesses. Sound vaguely familiar? There are no exact parallels to recent events but there are many echoes, some faint, others blaring: "I am untouchable. I could cut throats in the street and no one would arraign me." Well done!

The small town in this play has no fences but it sure has boundaries, so when two women decide they want to own a junk yard, everyone conspires to thwart such an inappropriate notion. I was raised in a small Indiana town, and Jan Probst has perfectly captured, without resorting to caricature, the cadences and concerns of my parents' generation, especially the skillful wielding of collective memory to heal or to hurt as the occasion demands. It's a rich portrayal that would be a tour de force for a versatile actress. Brava!

June Havoc's long distinguished career as a stage and screen actress was eclipsed by Baby June, the child vaudevillian portrayed in "Gypsy." She fights to prevent that from happening and to be remembered on her own terms in this marvelous play. The personalities onstage are strong adversaries. The clever dialogue is sprinkled with a word here or there that reminds you of the musical, but after reading this I'll never see "Gypsy" the same way again. I want to see a double-bill. "Fable" at a matinee, "Gypsy" in the evening. It'd be swell. It'd be great.

I suspect the most chilling words I'll read all year are "It's just blood." We are raising a generation for whom mass shootings are just another ordinary mundane part of everyday life. This play about two women--one older, one younger--dealing with the aftermath of an atrocity at the public library is very short but very powerful. Please perform it everywhere.