Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

Even though the title was a giveaway for me, it was still a delight to read this glittering gem from DC Cathro. And I so want to be with Randy when he finally lets go.

Ken Levine nails the ten-minute play and all that comes with them in perfect rhythm.

This is the dinner-table discussion to top them all. Now, I know we all have our little peccadilloes when it comes to eating preferences -- oh please don't get me started -- but this little moment takes us to the next level. No, not really the next level. It's more like the next level if the next level is exponentially ten times up from that last one. Don't believe me? Read it and find out. Please.

(And to think I once had dinner with Steven Hayet...)

Marj O'Neill-Butler has a deft and rapier-like wit and creates a very nice fencing match between mother and daughter until the final touche that brings a smile and nod of recognition.

You may think you've heard it all before: a young man coming out to his overly-protective mother, but the way Aaron Leventman tells it, it's touching and full of life and love.

By the way, David is absolutely right: character actors are the lifeblood of theatre.

A cautionary tale for our time but done with humor and sharp wit. Yes, it has the elements of "The Seventh Seal" immortal game of chess, and deftly done as well. But it also put me mind of Paul Osborn's "On Borrowed Time," where bargaining for life and death takes on an interesting turn. There's a human-ness in how Dominica Plummer tells this story, and it makes it all the more appealing... and terrifying.

This play hit me very hard for my own reasons, but it also has a universal message and love story for anyone who reads it or sees it.

These two people love each other deeply, and despite the struggle they face, their love comes shining through and proves that no matter what comes, they will be there for each other. It's both heartbreaking and incredibly uplifting.

The truest rendering of suspense in any story is the leading up to the climax, which then surprises and twists in ways unforeseen. Rachael Carnes weaves a tale of haunting and vengeance that builds so artfully that you cannot stop reading. And it leaves you wondering... is it real, is it imagined, is the mind playing tricks or telling the truth? Oh, you must find out for yourself.

The adage that you can't love someone else until you love yourself comes to play in "Lost Marbles." Eytan Deray's very honest and often witty look at the bumpy road to love and candid self-awareness moves along with the charm and fluidity we have come to expect from this young playwright. The challenges presented to the characters are real, the outcome is genuine, and the bargains they make along the way are what make you pay attention to the end and hope for the best.

Short, sharp, shocking, and sadly, devastatingly truthful.