Recommended by Scott Sickles

A beautifully chimeric piece - grounded in a literally and metaphorically dark reality that doubles as a supernatural subterranea – about a literal or figurative lost soul living like NYC’s mole people - who faces the reliably intermittent threat of a train that brings fear even if all it ever does is pass through. The monologue is equal parts stark realism and theatrical absurdism evoking explosive poetic resonance. It is so many things all at once. Best of all, it’s undeniably powerful.

When I saw the title, I certainly could not have expected what came after. I did know nothing could prepare me for the thunder to follow. What I could not have braced for was the gentle, tender, deeply human yet utterly true to form portrayal of the creatures telling this tale. This tiny play about little creatures doing a big important job is a balm for the soul.

As an employee of the conglomerate in question, I'm well aware of said entity's reputations (a company this size has many) for both its devotion to making others happy while staunchly protecting itself. Through sharp satire and deep humanity, Gibbs displays the imperviousness of corporate armor before exposing its chinks from within. Corporations may not be people but they are made up of human beings, some of whom have figured out how to use their stations to help those who may never again know a happy place on earth.

Again, West effortlessly transport us to the darkest of places places, miraculously making that destination comfortable, even cozy. The conflict between body and soul has never been personified with such grace and warmth. We've all experienced it. But what about when the battle is over and all that's left is reconciliation and goodbye? Here we meet two separate yet inextricable halves of what seems to be a pretty nice guy. By the end, West has stopped and broken both our physical and spiritual hearts. Sublime!

A couple of old guys sitting around talkin'... Green's exquisite ode to later-in-life transitions sublimely examines the tectonic shifts that happen over coffee as the play dissects the Venn diagram between growing old, growing up, and the precarious overlap in the middle. Another one that demands being read aloud so that the reader can channel the characters through their remarkably individuated voices and unique personas. (I had a blast!) An absolute gem for old souls and immature spirits

Sometimes, the most helpful people are just doing their best holding the darkness at bay. Garrett is the nicest guy you may ever meet. And not in a saccharine way. He is a sincerely generous dude doing his genuine best to help others help others. Yet something is off. Not some horror-thriller evil secret – a simple yet powerful private human struggle. The world Martin immerses us in is unfamiliar to many though it exists everywhere, and it was a joy to visit. One can't help but wish everyone in it well. Especially Garrett.

What's funny is... this play is classified as a dark comedy but I see it as brilliant straight up horror! We're invited into a comedy club that turns into a deeply haunted hall of mirrors. The journey has a dreamlike quality that uses openly comic theatricality to create stark episodes into a troubled past. Hanna skillfully keeps the time-hopping rooted in the present as the titular Jane carries her trauma with her onstage. Alas, her chosen method of expression may not be enough to expel her demons.

Talk about a long day's journey into night! First, this is an absolute joy to speak. Like some dark spell, the language enters the eyes and leaves through the rest of the body like a channeled spirit, literally possessing you. Green has threaded mystery through this most bitter diatribe: who is the speaker? Who the listener? Why are the neighbors like that? All is made clear in perfect time. Also a treatise on suburbia, hypocrisy, and moral relativism, it imbues the audience with unsettling empathy.

No one leaves a six year old alone unless they have a VERY GOOD REASON! We don't even need to know what it is. The dad knows. The son knows what happen could happen. The stakes could not be higher. The negotiation that ensued is a tribute to the talismans of childhood, rife with peril, specificity, and magical thinking. A perfectly captured moment.

This exquisite take on Persephone embraces the totality not only of the myth but of the woman, the goddess, the queen. Her depth goes deeper than the Underworld and her multitudes abound. Xanthololou's poetry (and it IS a poem) is both subtle and sublime – all substance, no flash necessary. She's Queen of the Underworld! She doesn't have to prove herself! There are dozens of specifics to praise but you should let them surprise you as you read it aloud. And you must read it aloud. Extraordinary work!