Recommended by Robert Weibezahl

Noah and Andy have wandered into this hilarious short play straight from a Tarantino or Coen Brothers movie. A dead-on portrayal of male posturing and stupidity...beautifully done in by a mouse. The character dynamics are perfect. One suspects Frandsen has known these guys, or ones quite like them. A gem.

Joni Mitchell wrote, “Laughing and crying, you know, it’s the same release,” and Mabey proves that truth so beautifully in this emotionally bountiful short play. The relationships brim with love, despite the deep-seated scars, and the hopefulness at the end is so palpable it defies you outright not to smile. Mabey is such a generous writer, giving so much to both his characters and his audience. BIRDSEED is definitely a gift.

Like Pinter, Mabey lets the silences speak. This brutally honest short play is a cunning dance of deception—pitting adversary against adversary, but also choreographed with self-deception. The characters learn their own repressed truths in real time, at the very moment the audience learns them. Elusive and thought-provoking work.

Miller’s Alice speaks for anyone who, having reached a certain age, after faithfully going to work every day and giving her all to “the Man,” suddenly asks, “Is that all there is?” The oh-too-familiar pain is (darkly) comic, the dark comedy all too painful—and all in the best way for good dramatic writing.

Another sharp slice of domestic truth from Williams, who has mastered the art of getting right to the heart of the matter when exploring the things that simultaneously pull family’s apart and bind them together. A novel’s worth of back story and emotion packed into an honest and resonant episode.

At the nexus of the comic alacrity of the old “Dick Van Dyke Show” and the salacious villainy of “Mad Men” lives the “The Fierce Urgency of Now.” DeVita’s compelling audio adaptation of his own stage play crackles with the energy of old-time radio drama while capturing the, well, fierce urgency of so many toxic workplace scenarios. Kyle’s journey to self proves anything but a turbulence-free flight, and his unexpected alliance with aptly named, career-extinction-defying Dodo is unforgettable—poignant, defiant, empowering, and ultimately life-enhancing.

For anyone who foolishly believes that age is just a number, Lamedman’s Sylvie has a few choice words. Quite a few, actually, and they are funny, angry, pointed and painfully accurate words. This sharp two-hander provides great roles for female actors of a certain age, who surely will relish the chance to savor and spew this dead-on dialogue.

Every artist will relate to this bittersweet monologue, especially artists who have reached theIr later years. Aspirations vs. achievements. Disappointments, resentments, but eternal hope. Smith deftly pulls it off with humor and affection. Eric is a great opportunity for an older actor to shine. Touching and memorable work.

Elegant, alluring, elusive—the dancer Suzanna is a physical and visceral storyteller, impossible to ignore. But is her suspense-building narrative true? Or is what we witness just her “interpretative” dance/version of events? Is she victim or perpetrator? We can never know. And that—along with the sheer physicality of this monologue—is what makes the piece as impossible to ignore as Suzanna herself. A haunting conundrum that will spur many conflicting reactions from the audience.

Many of Williams’s candid plays involve memory and reconciliation. DARK TWIST explores these themes through the eyes of two former prep school boys, now men, who outwardly reject the past while clinging to it emotionally. Rich in symbolism and subtext, the story unfolds through scenes involving calculated role playing that underscore how we are all playing one calculated role or another in our day to day lives. A penetrating and thought-provoking play.