Recommended by Susan Middaugh

Emily makes his feel Calvin's frustration with his father and their lack of connection though Calvin tries. And then they do connect and it's lovely. I also liked this funny line in another wise serious play: "Where was this study done? the Institute of Tin Foil Hats?"

Affirming, healing, a dream instead of what could have been and probably was a nightmare. Very smart choice, Emma, to have the actors engage directly with the audience.

A clever spoof of TV police procedurals and a classic fairy tale that leaves you in suspense about who killed Grandma. Many red herrings that implicate even sacred cows like the investigating detectives. Everyone seems to have the hots for Grandma, who is 86 but looks half her age. The cast features a grown-up Red Riding Hood and a Werewolf. All of them have distinct voices. I watched this play as a podcast on Quarantine Players. Not for children but fun for adults.

Office workers reach out with food and awkwardness to a coworker who's been through a very difficult time. She knows they care and just wants to do the normal everyday things like basketball pools that will help her deal with the recent past. Real, sad but uplifting.

A plucky homeowner who's not gonna take it anymore wields a baseball bat during a break in. Turns out she knows him and he's actually returning the things he stole. Unexpected, a 180, for both. A softening.

Two boyhood friends, now adults, meet by chance. One is a reporter with a camera, the other, an artist down on his luck and homeless. The reporter plans to write about his friend until the friend who has revealed too much about his life changes his mind. But the reporter maintains the upper hand and forgets his former friend is a human being with feelings. Well done.

A newspaper reporter wrapped up in lies interviews a serial killer on death row. He tries without success to find out why the prisoner has killed so many women. Then he reveals something about himself that ties him to the prisoner and that sickens him. Chilling.

What starts out as a downer evolves into an uplifting and romantic Christmas play about two lonely people who find each other at just the right time. Funny line: "They (poinsettias) might make your cat sick." Dwayne to the rescue!

The names of the two military men are in keeping with this play about the possibility of nuclear annihilation, a big topic. So what do they argue over while they wait to be relieved of their post? A game of jacks, a small thing that looms large in the lead up to the ending. Well crafted, well paced, scary.

An endearing play about an impatient career woman whose new cleaning lady reminds her of her mother. From that moment on, her behavior changes -- in a positive direction, much to the older woman's surprise. Heartwarming.