Recommended by Donald E. Baker

That rarity, a Civil War play that centers women, nurses, as full participants. The enlisted men of the "Irish Brigade" at their camp near Gettysburg are "ready to spill our guts for a country that hates the very look of us." So is the wounded African-American who turns up and whom the nurses must keep hidden from their cowardly commanding officer. The play deals with questions of duty, power, religion, and race, and each character's inward and outward conflicts and relationships are well drawn. A nice contemporary play in period dress.

If you want to see Marie Dressler act, check out "Tugboat Annie." If you want to get to know her, read this lovely monologue. At the end of her life, Marie has no illusions about herself, her career, or her fate. Diana Burbano has given us a fine work of self-acceptance.

This amusing two-hander for an older actress and younger actor would add a little something unexpected to any program of short holiday pieces. Stephen is gay, but his grandmother is the drama queen. She threatens to cancel Christmas if Stephen and his partner don’t tell her the secret she knows they’re hiding from her. Goats butt into the dialogue throughout, and in the end kids save Christmas. No goat rodeo, but an enjoyable ride for actors and audience alike.

A delightful play about inheritance, leavened with wisecracks and shining a light into a corner of the transgender experience. The late Aunt Tammy teaches her transphobic sister that, literally, where there's a will there's a way. And we get to consider the difference between a codicil and a codpiece. Highly recommended.