Recommended by Robert Weibezahl

No one brings the inanimate to life on stage quite like Arianna Rose, and this heartfelt comedy about chairs (yup, chairs!) is no exception. Directors will need to deeply tap their creativity to stage this laugh-out-loud play, and I hope many will rise to the challenge because I want to see it! Now! So much fun.

Despite the sadness of irretrievable loss that permeates this moving short play, O’Neill-Butler infuses Mom’s vague new world with a gentle humor that somehow imbues it with hope. Audiences are sure to relate to this heartfelt play, another of the playwright’s masterful “bench plays.”

Cole has all the elements of a holiday classic at work here: a new twist on the venerable Santa story marked by playful humor and some genuine heart-tugging. Clever and memorable.

Norkin has gone meta with this balls-to-the-wall holiday noir spoof. The twisted private eye tropes and nonstop banter drawn from the lyrics of dozens of holiday chestnuts come so fast and furious that you’ll laugh yourself silly (and maybe forget to breathe). Did I say silly? Well … that’s the whole point! Funny, punny, and oh so jolly, too.

Where do old community theatre actors congregate and kibbitz? Why, at the Veterans of Community Theatre Hall, of course! Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn has fashioned a black-edged valentine to community theatre with all its high-flown intentions and pretensions, lovable one-upmanship and “oh gee” earnestness. It’s likely you’ve shared the stage with these characters—Floyd-Priskorn clearly has. Delightful!

Clearly playwright-cum-middle school teacher Baughfman has been stretched to the limit in enduring the 6-7 trend among his students (how could he not?). He has channeled his frustration into a wickedly charming Christmas fantasy for those self-same students and their peers to perform and enjoy. As it cleverly plays with many iterations of those dreaded cardinal numbers, this gleeful cautionary tale begs the question: If Santa can’t get the kids to stop the madness, who can?

Yikes! This hilarious mini sex farce takes helicopter parenting to a whole new level! A brilliant, cringy premise, packed with clever puns on insider gay lingo, this breakneck comic treat also has a lot of heart. I would encourage every LGBTQ 10-minute play fest to jump on this gem, and I hope many daring general-themed festivals do as well. Bravo, Mr. Martin.

Thanksgiving, the turducken, and MAGA. Three quintessentially overloaded American peculiarities collide in this thoughtful examination of family traditions and family implosion. Fenton expertly leavens the darkness with wacky humor and real-life poignancy, never losing the innate humanity of his characters as they struggle to keep the idea of family alive despite the odds. A wry nod to the Ibsenesque title as well.

A charming, big-hearted two-hander about the perpetual scourge of teenage bullying, propelled by the assurance that it will someday get better. Ray and Clownie are wonderfully real characters, a troubled teen and a compassionate party clown. Their unexpected encounter plays out through pitch-perfect dialogue, witty and touching, that taps into the underlying humanity of the piece. NO SMALL FEET will be a crowd-pleaser (even if you’re scared of clowns.)

Who does the land really belong to? That ageless, increasingly contentious question is at the heart of Karp’s layered short play. The earnestly-drawn characters take us along on a thoughtful journey into past truths and future lies as the present-day fate of an American family farm hangs in the balance. At its center is a wonderful old tree, symbolic of everything, reminding us that the power of nature will prevail, despite human efforts to destroy or control it.