Recommended by Emily Hageman

It's rare to find a play that would work so well for young audiences. Not only would they marvel at the incredible spectacle that this show requires (which would be the dream of any ambitious designer!), but they would be encouraged by the strong and beautiful message--that anyone of any age and any size can be of great importance. Sweet, sincere and never pandering, Hansen has crafted a quality show that would be the jewel of any children's theatre.

A powerful piece for a courageous young actress. This unflinching monologue will challenge a young actress to dig into the depth of her emotional honesty while speaking an important truth. What I love most about this monologue is how it focuses on compassion and empathy for everyone involved in situations like this--and there could not be anything more beautiful to teach children. Robert writes with a tenderness and a care for young people that will immediately endear this piece to any student. Audiences will ache, but they will understand--because who can deny love?

Weaver shows yet again that he is incredibly self-aware and doesn't take himself too seriously. I couldn't help but cringe at lines that are TOO TRUE--"the writer is discovering as it unfolds." This would be a hilarious follow-up to another one of Weaver's plays--or maybe after a night of his short plays! Trippy and clever, I can see this play looping into eternity. Heck, why not make it a post-modern piece where it just repeats into perpetuity? I'd watch it.

A really unique play that would be a delight to see staged. The dialogue is equal parts archaic and modern, which gives the whole thing a fun spin. The characters are charming--Sir is roguish, Kit is adorable, Ned is delightfully crusty, Edie is spunky, and Joan is a hoot. The fight scene would be exciting to see staged--and actors would enjoy chewing the scenery with meaty, dramatic scenes with laugh-out-loud humor sprinkled throughout. I can honestly say I've never read a play like this before--and I mean that as a compliment.

Oh, wow. This play completely caught me off guard in so many ways. I love the concept--the idea of changing actors so fluidly with completely random chance dictating who is who is completely innovative. But what I love most of all is that the content of the piece is so incredibly universal. Who hasn't heard an old couple talk like this before? I have literally heard my grandparents have these conversations. The language of Dana and Frances is sweet and soothing--its tenderness, patience, and familiarity feel like a warm, used blanket with Irish Soap beneath the comforter.

Timely and unfortunately believable, INSERT TOKEN is a strong duet piece that begs the question--what are we telling the internet when we use it? Burdick's relentless jokes are funny (I'll never look at Angry Birds the same way), but--as good comedy does--the show stings unexpectedly.

Everyone knows Wyndham as a master of the monologue, but in THE PLATYPODES, he proves that he is more than that. As is always true with Wyndham's writing, this heart-wrenching play is tender, funny, hopeful, real, and bleak. No one writes dialogue quite as realistically as he does--and in this play, it truly, genuinely hurts Each character is an incredibly unique person--and Vito is an absolute joy--which is why the truthful end aches even more. Creative, brilliant, and beautiful, THE PLATYPODES is the kind of play that stays with an audience for a long time.

This play absolutely destroyed me. We follow Lucy, one of the sweetest and most relatable protagonists I've read in recent memory, as she tries to piece together a terrible night that never should have happened. I hate the male characters in the play, but I know them. That's what makes this play so incredibly powerful. With sparkling dialogue, aching subtext, and careful precision, Bublitz opens up the dialogue about rape and all the gray--and the black and white--that come with it. This play must be seen immediately.

In the stunning ELEVATOR GIRL, Hoke fearlessly takes on more issues than can be counted--rape, consent, body image, "good guys," feminism, misogyny, the patriarchy--but she does it with a feather light touch that later feels like a super-powered punch in the jaw. This is a play that needs to be performed on a REGULAR BASIS for people of all ages, all genders, and all races. ELEVATOR GIRL is the kind of play that will receive a standing ovation everywhere it's performed because audiences won't be able to help it--and then they will discuss it deep into the night.

An absolute delight from start to finish. If Weaver's tongue is any more in his cheek, it's going to get stuck there. The dialogue is hilarious, the premise is brilliant, and Weaver's wit shines through with absolute clarity. Every line is carefully crafted for maximum humor that is readily accessible for both the nerdiest of drama enthusiasts and your basic layman. The only downside is it won't be performed for the next seven thousand years.