Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

What we see and hear... is it what we really see and hear? What Franky Gonzalez does so well, as he does in all his writing, is use language and words at a lyrical level that enhances the suspense, and the poetry of the dialogue is enchanting in both its depth and deceptively simple delivery. Every word, every movement, every silence builds the tension and makes us watch and listen.

Don't tell me you don't know parents who pull this kind of thing on their unsuspecting little darlings and think they can get away with it. This is a perfect life lesson, and not just for Christmas anymore.

This is a nugget of wisdom and insight wrapped up in a comical tale of two people who look for nothing but surface and find reality is more than skin deep. I would love to see this play in any short play festival for all audiences; it speaks to all of us as people and a culture obsessed with appearances.

The delightfully scary thing about this play is that there's a moment of truth here that cannot be diminished or denied. Rachael Carnes tells it so deftly and keenly that you laugh at the same time you're aching with the realization that it's painfully true: Christmas can be brutal. I love it.

I had the pleasure of seeing this play as a part of the City Theatre Winter Shorts Festival 2018 in Miami, and it is a delight. A Thanksgiving dinner that is -- at least to one member of the family -- planned out only to go off the rails with the hilarious results and heart-string tugs that only a real family can produce. Yes, it's a holiday play, but it would be a joy to see it any time of year.

George Sapio had me at "Hocking Murray," and now he brings his deft and rapier-like wit and dexterity to the cut-throat world of advertising and promotion in "Putt-Putt." The hook -- miniature golf for Jesus! -- is just the appetizer for this quick and hilarious journey through the obstacles of true feelings held close to the heart. This one is a real champion.

Witty, acerbic, and truth-telling: what more do you need in a play that takes on the very real situation of privilege and misogyny that passes for literary discernment in the theatre? Emily Hageman doesn't hold back, and her awareness of both the absurdity and the real shame of ignoring a huge well of talent for the sake of making other privileged patriarchs feel good comes storming through. Brava!

This family farce puts the fun in dysfunctional, and the quirky characters have enough issues with their relations to make any holiday gathering memorable. Todd Caster's depiction of this family will remind the audience that when folks get together, anything can happen. Enjoy this with a cup of 'nog and lots of laughs.

What you think you see and hear isn't always what's real, and this play shows in exquisite detail how the dynamics of relationships between teacher and student and teacher and principal can be just as fluid as the identities we think we see. Donna Hoke has crafted this story in such a way that while the characters are very real, the perceptions may not be at all what the audience expects. It was stunning in a reading, so a production is a must-see.

A completely plausible but deeply absurdist -- do fish really have kitchens? -- tale of both foreboding and reflection, told in a deadpan comic style that keeps your attention and never lets go. We're seeing racism, environmental degradation, and a bleak outlook of the future portrayed in such a way that it never feels like a lecture.