Recommended by Charles Scott Jones

“Now I’ve seen it all. A stranger that wants my ukulele and a horse that doesn’t want to be sold,” says SLIM TAKINGS - which is an approximation of the goings-on in the fetching and charming A HORSE CALLED HOME. I love John P Bray’s two tier strategy, the in-game and out-of-game that goes from childish imaginings of TV Westerns to anxious real-world realities children must cope with. The names are a hoot and I’m reminded in the best way of the award-winning Toy Story movies.

A worthy continuation of the delightfully ribald, adult fairytale LIVE, LAUGH, LOBOTOMIZE. Jacquelyn Priskorn brings us A SHOP IN THE DARKNESS - a one-act that goes beyond Olivia’s troubled psyche. Added to the half-demon shopkeeper FLURK and the wood troll RAMIFORM is BROB, the stuff of children’s nightmares (the “booger” man in the closet, you’ll soon see why) who has lost his menace because “the little ones don’t even look up from their glowing rectangles.” A must-read for the twisted jokes, a new deeper darkness, an ominous presence, and big insights from Priskorn’s dark shop.

A conversation that is mesmerizing and deep. Quietly awesome. The characters Deb (a hologram of Xan’s deceased mother) and Xan (her late teen or older young adult) are very engaging and endearing for their attempts to capture something of the past. With EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, John Mabey utilizes his rare ability to keep the reader slightly off-balance while writing perfectly natural dialogue. I love the hologram Deb’s touching attempts at humor in the same vein as the deceased mother. And her cyber-nagging is hilarious. Xan should've read the fine print. The closing science report on cicadas is magical.

This is a fine mother-daughter play. YOU BEFORE ME can be read without knowledge of the Demeter - Persephone - Hades myth. But refreshing my memory of the mythical antecedents gave added depth to the tension between Seph and Deme. I love it that Seph and her husband are realtors in Florida and that Seph has come into her own - so well that she can give just the right loving attention (nourishment) to her mother. Samantha Marchant has authored a very warm and heartfelt play for every season.

INTERVENTIONS by Greg Lam is big fun. Even if you haven’t researched the Tippet Equation. Even if you’ve never heard of it. Lam has a knack for taking genre scenarios (sci-fi, horror) and making them seem fresh through his skillful and imaginative handling of characterization. It’s no accident this time-travel gem is frequently produced. I look forward to reading more from this playwright.

Terrific short play. Love the sense of temporal panic and lunacy. DO YOU HAVE THE TIME by Kate Danley reminds of a line from a song - "Time made a fool out of me." Time is making fools of us all.

Ah, the ubiquity of zombie apocalypse doom death destruction. Or the complete collapse of civilization has been exaggerated. DAY SHIFT OF THE DEAD by Greg Mandryk is a blast. I really admire the way the protagonist Bert sets up the world of the play and his insightful monologue that gives a new layer to the madness. Fine work from a playwright that always delivers the goods.

The back and forth between Amy and Dr. Roman creates a spectacularly weird suspense. That’s distinctly veterinary mythological - evolutionary theological - or something. Words fail. This short marvel of a play - AWESOME POSSUM by Elizabeth A. M. Keel - toys with your imagination until you’re afraid to discover what’s in your own head. Don’t want to say more. So read, produce, enjoy the poke at your sanity.

The argument in THE NEW CLIENT is so meticulously and poignantly composed. Paul Donnelly does an admirable job making both sides of the classic Duty vs Love conflict credible, sympathetic, and contemporary. As much as any play you will ever read, this one will have you wondering what the future will hold for its characters. Every time I think I have a handle on how I feel about this issue I think about it some more. And I'm not so sure. So if our goal as dramatists is to encourage a more thoughtful society, this is a cornerstone.

Almost ten years now since the city of Flint, Michigan changed its municipal water supply to the Flint River - and (UN)DRINKABLE by Dana Hall is perhaps more important than ever with climate change and shrinking water supplies. The drip-by-drip construction of this drama hammers home the horrific inhumanity and systemic racism of the Flint water crisis. This is a play I will never forget. For its focus and centering on an essential tragic flaw in our system. The quote from Dr. White-Newsome's MLK lecture says it all. Read this play today for all of our tomorrows.