Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

Okay, I like my coffee strong with a shot of cream, no sugar. That's me. Other people like it with sugar and flavoring, and others like it straight, no additives. Are they wrong? How we take our coffee can be a metaphor for many things, and in this short, sharp, sweet, and strong play, we are learning that it can be a mirror of our identity, of who we think we are and how others see us. Paloma Sierra's stirring of el cafe is perfecto in any language. Muchas gracias.

First dates are always awkward, but in the loving and insightful pen of Amber Palmer, Betty and Erin find that their movie date is the start of a learning experience for both of them. I saw a reading of it as a part of City Theatre's National Award for Short Playwriting Contest 2020, and it was touching, funny, and stayed with me.

You do not need to know the background of these characters to understand their relationship, nor do you have to be a person of faith to grasp the meaning. Relationships between rivals are universal, and the fact that Matthew Weaver has chosen these two towering figures -- mythological to some, very real to others -- only makes the conversation that much more meaningful and insightful. It'd say it's divine.

I've been to modern art shows such as Art Basel, prowled through galleries hosted by eager dealers, shadowed by the artists, waiting for my response to their work; a sign -- any sign of reaction -- to validate or (horrors!) judge their lifeblood efforts. (By the way, visual artists aren't the only ones who do that...) Jack Levine's perspectives on this world is on full display in "Perspectives" with wit, charm, humor, and a wry sprinkling of cynicism that make this worth taking a look at and putting on display.

This short play touched me in several ways, not the least in how Stephen Kaplan skillfully weaves the tale of the former student and his idolized teacher and their re-connection in an eerily familiar place. As a former teacher, I felt it deeply, remembering the responsibility I had to my students and what I was teaching them, but also learning from them as much. I was reminded of the line from "The King and I": "If you become a teacher, by your students you'll be taught." This is a wonderful way to show that truth.

The title sounds like a set-up for a tasteless joke. It's anything but, even though it does have a wry and dry wit and humor, in no small way on behalf of Helen Keller herself. Stephen Kaplan brings us into their world and it's a gentle yet powerful awakening to elements of art that go beyond sight and sound.

I wonder how many people reach this point in their journey of faith and practice and then take the next inexorable step. Steven G. Martin poses these questions and provides a powerful setting to ask them and leave you wondering what you would do in this situation.

Yes. This play is everything we hold dear in our creative abilities and proves that craft and skill don't need something as mundane as the tools we use. It is how we express ourselves that matters the most.

A turn on the Oscar Wilde tale with high school students for whom Picture Day becomes a lesson in life and holding on to the present. John Busser uses the situation to good effect by painting the picture of typical high school kids in an atypical situation. It's fun, but also has the moral of a story that might be told by Rod Serling.

A mystery piece with a Hitchcock-noir twist. Great set-up and good fun.