Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

Very much in the style of parody ala Christopher Durang, Paul Donnelly serves up those two lovebirds from Edward Albee's masterpiece and makes it his own. Fun and fast and with a great twist at the end.

"A tiny act of courage." I know why this line jumped out to speak to me. What John Mabey describes in this short moment of finality for Willem speaks to what it was and what it took for humanity to gain a foothold against evil. The battles, be they large or small, are won through the acts of individuals who realize what it means to cradle a dying hope in your hands and then go on to the next and the next, or at the least, pass it along to those who will live on.

The afterlife that Peter Fenton imagines through the eyes of three college students stuck in a hellish dorm room plays out in cinematic style: their pasts and their ends being told in grainy flashbacks, and the games they play to while away the time and searching for Answers. These three souls -- at times wise, at times maddeningly childish -- are trying to find their way to a universal truth that works for them, but what about the others and those they left behind? A complex story that each of us sees ending differently. Just like life.

Although this was written with characters of a certain age in mind, I honestly think that this is a play that could be reasonably played at any age. After all, the quest for happiness, or at least a good post-service buffet, knows no age limit. With her patented gift for dialogue and interaction, Marj O'Neill-Butler continues her bench plays that combined make for a thoroughly enjoyable time but also stand alone so well.

Enlightenment, be it a word of advice from an elder, or something discovered on your own, comes in the most opportune times, even if it's a little late. This gentle and moving two-hander is ample opportunity for Flo and Aunt Nellie, and we as onlookers learn, too. And I envy the actors who get to spend time with them.

There comes a time in many father-son relationships when it grows beyond parent and child and becomes man-to-man. This play does it with the awkward yet caring feelings that both men have for each other and a respect for their own experiences. Donald E. Baker has shown in his full-length plays that he can give us such strong characters, and now he brings those dimensions to this short but meaningful moment of honesty, love, and learning.

I read this and loved eavesdropping on these old guys with their gentle worries about life and memories, lost loves and time inexorably moving on... and then I realize I am the same age as the two friends in this moment. Thank you, Marj, for the gentle reminder of the fragility of life and the bonds of friends.

A memory play told with wistful recollections of people and places is shaped by the one doing the telling, but in this recollection of a moment in his life, Larry does his best to tell us honestly, flaws and all, of his memory of the day he became a man. Told in the fashion of a living flashback brings immediacy to the moments, the people, and the path to the future, and when we learn why Larry is so intent on remembering this event, it becomes even more meaningful. Beautifully done.

Knowing Marj O'Neill-Butler, this play tells her story about finding the way to escape from the gray world of chores and family life by sitting at the keyboard and letting her characters and memories take her away to the stage. But everyone has their escape pod: reading, music, painting, anything that opens the mind and quietly closes the other door. Some have found ways that are destructive, but more often than not, it is good and colorful and expressive. See; you're doing it right now.

There's something universal about university bureaucracy, and as a veteran of eleven years of college and also working on both sides of the desk, I know that Brian Cern's absurdist take on getting a scholarship is not as absurd as you might think. That said, he has skillfully channeled Samuel Beckett with a touch of Abbott & Costello into this madcap dash through the halls of higher learning and the maze of Regent Hall.