Recommended by Scott Sickles

A delightful riff on interspecies time-traveling duos: this time with an era-hopping human grad student doing immersive research (you can’t get more immersive than time travel) accompanied by her feline dissertation advisor. They’re a hilarious duo made funnier when they encounter an actual historical figure. Plummer uses history to great effect evoking atmosphere and adventure! Does she follow the rules of time travel narratives? Plummer does but her protagonist bends them a bit here and there. Age, experience, and all kinds of passion are at odds here making for a wonderful romp!

OH MY GOD!
Spoiler Alert: God doesn’t show up.

This is some serious “The Goldbergs meets an After School Special in Galilee” magic! I don’t want to reveal too much about the titular Conversation About The Facts of Life other than its hilarious, awkward, and perfect!

Weaver could have written it as a straight sketch but why take the easy way out when he can throw in some depth and spiritual resonance. After all, Mary and Joseph know who their kid is and who He’s gonna be. And that makes ALL the difference.

Glorious!

It's only a slight exaggeration.
But you know this person.
They not only answer their own questions, they ask themselves questions on your behalf! They'd finish your sentences for you, probably incorrectly, if they let you get a word in.
And worst of all, there is no escape!

Levine's monologue is hilariously infuriating! I'd love to see someone perform it opposite an actor live on stage. It would be extraordinary fun for performers, director, and audiences!

A must for any holiday play or monologue festival!

Even at one-minute (and I'm betting it's closer to thirty seconds; the actors can seriously milk their moments and be under time) it's quietly suspenseful in a way that makes you wince with hope. Directors and actors will have a lot of fun during this lovely little promenade.

It's every battle in every war story ever filmed or staged, yet told as only Weaver could tell it.

But first, pronouns. Specifically, they/them. Specifically the line, "Think of them. Back home. If we don’t stop them here, they’ll go there and hurt them." It's spoken three times. "They/them" simultaneously stands for those we're fighting and those we're defending. The pronouns unite a divided humanity.

Weaver creates a ballet of archetypes with infinite and beautiful staging opportunities amid a kaleidoscope of mini-scenes and haunting moments. It's a Theater of War masterpiece embracing humanity with long arms.

Education is so important.

Since this is a Matthew Weaver play not about Jesus, there's probably gonna be kissing, most likely between two people with divergent levels of experience. It's his own subgenre.

Here, the divergence is between two couples, both heterosexual pairings, one eager to learn, the other with much to teach. It's a fantasy scenario the inexperienced and/or fumbling dream of! Weaver grounds it beautifully with awkwardness, reluctance, and curiosity, tempered with abundant generosity of spirit. The characters and their relationships are specific and complex. And damn, the syllabus is thorough!

It's the sweetest mate-swapping foursome ever!

A profoundly disturbing play about hero worship, cognitive dissonance, parenting, impulse control, war, and morality. Martin entices us with a winter urban pastoral, children preparing to sled down a steep snowy street. Then, he systematically shatters every expectation. I haven’t been so horrified by children since Cronenberg’s The Brood. But these kids aren’t mindless monsters; they're filled with rage and entitlement, ready to punish those who don't meet their wants, refusing to understand consequences until they're in danger of being held accountable. Beautifully grounded in specifics, it's also a horrific indictment of ignorance in a violent world.

I saw a wonderful production of this ages ago, but with plays as delightful as these how could it not be? In the opening scene, Levine takes a well-explored trope, characters discovering they’re in play, and deftly infuses it with originality and heart. After that, we’re off and running, each piece more entertaining than the last, culminating with the glorious titular play, which is utterly transporting.

Each play would be the jewel in any festival’s crown but as an evening, it’s unparalleled entertainment. Levine’s imagination, wit, and humanity will have you smiling for days!

You've been one or both of these people.
Or you're afraid you will be.
If you're not afraid, you should be!
Perfect!

Get your mind out of the gutter!
Of course, if you don't, this play will do it for you!

Martin is a master of the one-minute drama and this speculative science fiction piece somehow manages to have a beautiful slow build followed by a gut-punch. It'll haunt you long after you put it down.