Recommended by Ali MacLean

An achingly beautiful play in which a friendship's boundaries are tested when a very important favor is asked. A generational gap widens when one settles on having an abortion and one thinks it is a good idea to wait. The characters are artfully drawn and the dialogue flows easily which belies the play's undercurrent - it doesn't spare the audience from the agony of the decision or the gruesome physical reality of abortion.

A powerful play that is a morality tale mixing church and state. A young woman, thinking she is doing good, gets in over her head when she is used as a political pawn. The play flips back and forth with flashbacks, allowing characters to break the fourth wall and witness the past. The plotlines twist and turn and the ending offers wild 'choose your own adventure' alternatives for the director. Innovative play!

This hilarious and heartbreaking play takes two older grieving parents through the looking glass (courtesy of a raver kid's stash) when the mother's beloved game show comes to life in garish form, but the questions have actual consequences on their lives. This script is clever, funny, arch, and poignant, as the two can't decide whether to move forward or keep the memory of their dead son alive. The characters are richly drawn - both quirky and relatable. This play is a great ride and I would like to buy a fast pass.

Pentimento adroitly intertwines a touching story about a grandfather trying to reconnect with his petulant (pitch-perfectly written) granddaughter by telling her the story behind a painting in his shop. The colorful world of the painting literally leaps off the canvas as we see all who crossed paths with it over time. Stein weaves a beautiful tapestry that shows how revisiting our past can help strengthen bonds in the present. Read this play.

This play is a heartbreaking portrait of two small-town boys with a secret that tears apart their friendship. The well-drawn characters are reminiscent of S.E. Hinton and the slow pacing builds beautifully to the poignant climax. A wonderful play.

A touching and charming play about how our families can be the ones we create rather than the ones we are born into. Tablescape has deftly written characters, twists and turns, and a bittersweet ending that gives you hope. This play is a great read.

This beautiful, lyrical play demonstrates the cyclical and Sisyphean hell that minorities can't escape when put through the industrial prison complex. Franky's touching characters are caught within the walls of the prison structure but are also flip and self-aware of the play's structure. Especially fun are the two inmates whose back and forth is like a jailhouse Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. This is a very special play.

A fun and funny thriller that isn't what it seems. A couple is trying to Nancy Drew their way through a numerical code left in a will in order to find the reward. However, the code turns out to be a lot more nefarious than it looks. Without giving anything away, the play ends leaving the audience to decide which person was right about the message they received. Great suspense and a cool turn!

This beautiful play has the lead character, who is also Franky, examine the gut-wrenching wounds his father foisted on him before he passes them on to his own son. During the course of the play, he eats the sweet treat that he shared with his Dad during his childhood, the paletas de coco. As it melts so do his barriers, and the walls he had to build to survive. A brave and achingly honest play.

Stark, touching, and funny all at the same time, this play explores how grief can break apart a family and also create new ones. Renata is grieving the recent loss of her husband, while Mallory the loss of her daughter who moved out long ago. The two of them come together and find they have more in common than the accident that brought them together. This play deftly balances recall of the gruesome accident, with beautifully drawn characters who, together, must move forward.