Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

I'm familiar with the radio business and I'm streaming an amazing classical music station as I write this, so Larry Rinkel's "Capriccio Radio" hits home with me on several levels. It's a loving and incisive look inside the box to see what makes the music come out, and the characters are just as you'd imagine in the world where money and culture clash. But in this case, the storytelling and the action make beautiful music together. Or, to steal from the title of the late Karl Haas's program, it's adventures in good music. Bravo!

As your mother used to tell you, it's all fun and games until someone... well, you know. Scott Sickles has both the right approach and the deft touch to make this comedy both touching and laugh-out-loud farcical as well as endearing with characters to match. The best part is that you know these two young men -- maybe you were even like them -- but everyone can see a bit of themselves in this play. I'd love to see it on stage, and share a bowl of popcorn with either Stan or Kip.

Don't be fooled. Doug DeVita's razor-sharp wit, his multidimensional characters, and energetic pacing will have you thinking "The Fierce Urgency of Now" is just some madcap Madison Avenue romp in the vicious world of advertising. But that's just a cover for a deeply moving play about love, commitment, friendship, and the growth of character, and you will find yourself gasping back sobs as you laugh and truly feel these people. Even if I knew nothing about the world he shares with us, I would still know exactly what happens here and love seeing how it soars.

"Page Count" is a testament to friendship that transcends artistic. cultural, and age difference to achieve something wonderful... and also write a decent film script. The wit and wisdom rivals that of the best buddy comedies, and the banter and truths told between the young playwright and the alcohol-soaked and disillusioned veteran writer is both funny and achingly true. Kerr Lockhart has given us a powerful and endearing story that any theatre would be lucky to produce.

It's a comedy, yes, but it's also a cautionary tale that needs to be shared with everyone with or without a stubborn parent who thinks "Well, I'm fine, dear! Stop worrying!" Adam Seidel has a great gift for saying and accurately getting to the point, and this short piece is brilliant in both ways. Share this tale -- virtually, please -- with your loved ones and everyone.

Funny, truthful, and with Matthew Weaver's unique sense of timing, not to mention the absolutely spot-on dialogue and character portrayal. This is, like all of his works, a joy to read, an inspiration for the imagination, and a wonderful challenge for the set and costume designer.

Wait, where's the side of potato chips?

For people of a certain age -- such as mine -- this play will bring back powerful memories, as does the story itself for the characters. Robert Weibezahl has a very good sense of the time and place and brings it to a wider audience with deft and intelligence. It's a powerful play.

Chris's poetry and love of language comes through in this monologue, where even a houseplant can dream of hope and contemplate life. It also makes us realize that all living things have a spirit and drive to survive and hope for the best from each of us.

Timely and timeless, Maximillian Gill's deft touch, dry wit and laser-like design of his characters and situations makes this play both a pleasure to read and foreboding to contemplate. The people who populate this apocalyptic moment in time at first appear to be shallow and inconsequential; let the plague take them and no one would care; not even Death herself. But they have the dimensions that have survived this moment and even in the face of Doom they go on, and even dance.

At last! Molly Wagner truly grasps the real moral of the Cinderella story without all the dancing mice and bibbety-bobbyity-boo noise. And it turns out that reality is the true fairy tale for this Godmother and her shallow charge.