Recommended by Susan Middaugh

Funny. Mrs. Mendelbaum learns from the Doc, he learns from her. Sweet. Clever use of words, including Yiddish. Deserves to be produced.

Great subtext here. You think Daniel is going in one direction, then he had me scratching my head. Daniel, you must be a feminist. Good job.

Grace captures the anxiety and awkwardness of two young women, friends since childhood, when one of them decides to leave town under less than ideal circumstances. The treehouse setting is poignant, once a child's place for fun and semi-independence, now a leap into the void. Grace skillfully manages the subtext here with pleasant and not so pleasant surprises to keep you cheering and guessing what's next.

Enid has created a short Halloween play that will put the audience in mind of Dickens's The Christmas Carol except her protagonist is a Grim Reaper (GR) in training who is very much in charge of the action. The conflict begins on page one and kept me wondering what would happen next. GR has a number of funny lines, including "I'm clearly a summer. This drab old thing completely washes out my complexion." She makes efficient use of doubling, suggests a simple set to simulate a taxi and imaginative use of props. A good edition to a holiday festival.

An intriguing story about two women aerialists who must wait in a kind of limbo until they can remember their own names. The younger one passes up a chance to leave out of respect for her forebear and a desire to hear how she became the first human cannonball. Nimble and compassionate.

Paloma offers a counterpoint to what many Americans might consider a compliment but instead comes across as patronizing. Thank you for your insight, the dance, and for not being "silent."

A nice twist: Grandma is not sentimental. Her granddaughter is. They disagree over what to keep and what Grandma plans to recycle or donate. Ultimately, as with family members who love one another, Granddaughter has an impact although Grandma may not be able to admit it. Nice, Donna.

Two former lovers who haven't seen one another in a long time meet by accident. They catch up on each other's lives and commiserate. Will they get back together? Liked the ending, Rachel.

A paranoid young woman engages a stranger on a subway train with her concerns about potential terrorists. He calms her down and they share commuting woes. The play ends with a surprise twist that will leave you guessing. Well done, John!

An ultimately uplifting play about self-acceptance, love, friendship, and a world weary Santa who manages to pull out one more miracle on a rooftop in Brooklyn -- instead of 34th street.