Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

If you know Rand Higbee -- and if you don't, why not? -- you know he loves baseball (Go Twins) and writing plays that are both comedic and intricate with clues to insights about life and perhaps old movies. "Rice, Sam" is one such short play that is both funny and multi-layered. There's good baseball history, but peel back the layers and look for the nuggets of wisdom from stories that are ancient and timeless. And if you know who Sam Rice was, you'll catch the connection.

Leave it in the very capable hands of Adam Richter to mash together some of the best legends of history and faerie-land fantasy: pirates and Santa Claus. Throw in a reunion of lost loves and a touch of magic and you have a Christmas story laced evenly with cinnamon and cynicism; the kids will love it.

The beauty of a radio play is that all of the design work is in the listener's mind, much like the consciousness of Ed: coming and going, one moment reality, the next memory, all the while dwelling in the background. The sounds of the battle and the struggle; are they real, or is someone, something, playing an intense mind-game, manipulating Ed and us, and is that really Kym or just a figment. Sam Heyman has a gift for creating fantastic stories and characters in our head. This play proves it.

When do family traditions and exhortations from an old song become a burden that must be borne year after year while their meaning is fading away like snow turning to slush? Lily is trying so hard to get those stupid chestnuts to roast and still put up with the pressure of the season as if it was some cult ritual, all the while Joe is doing his best to keep the season bright. But at some point... Lainie Vansant's take on the holiday is a fun and cautionary tale. Ho ho ho!

Matthew Weaver never fails to reach me, either with his sense of humor or his touching moments of friendship and love. "Godfart" has both, and it had me in tears of fond remembrance of my beloved Sam and friend Sombra who I still hold close to my heart. I can't imagine anyone not connecting with these friends who made our lives bearable and who will be patiently waiting for us, reminding us of how precious they are in our lives and perhaps where we left our keys. Thank you, Matthew.

Anyone who has ever tried to share their deepest thoughts and hopes in a song lyric will immediately get where Kieran Khanna is taking us. Harmonea, Coral, Finigan, and Reef all have skin (or is it scales; we're talking about merfolk here) in making their song and their message a success, so hearts go out to The Abyss, a band that really wants to get their message across. Yes, there are some silly moments, but that makes the it all the more true to the spirit of the tale. Or is it tail?

The best fables give us immortal morals, and in this wry and perfectly cynical take on Chicken Little resonates on several levels, including the skill that a so-called leader has to evade responsibility for protecting us at the risk of their own skin. David L. Williams does this neatly with two great roles that show levels of humor and insight. Great work.

As I listened to this as a part of the Playwrights Thriving Secret Santa Exchange 2025, I could not help but imagine this as a black-and-white film noir with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray pulling off a heist. But then the turn that it took gave me an insight to the characters and took on a whole new approach, questioning the morals and the fates that awaited these souls. Well done and very intriguing.

The further adventures of Bascom and Isaac, this time in a wonderfully chaotic stream of thoughts spoken out loud, the quiet parts said out loud, the vulnerability laid bare in a way that takes your breath away and elevates the relationship to giddy heights. Not for nothing, but every time I encounter these adorable characters, I am caught up in their world and don't want to let go.

Having grown up in the 'burbs and seen the changes wrought by time and progress, this short, sharp, and wonderfully allegorical moment hits all the right notes. Rather than go at social hypocrisies and faux-manners with a sledgehammer, no one gets away from the deft rapier that Steven Satta skillfully uses on Susan, Harry, and Meredith. Touche!