Recommended by Scott Sickles

Rollercoaster designers could learn a thing out two from this wickedly dark thrill ride of a play! Loewenstern expertly presents the story of a sociopath and narcissist ensconcing her own subjecting point of view with the objective reality she weaponizes. Puente is endlessly complex both in her consistency and her contradictions. It’s the kind of role that sweeps awards. The same is true for Pat, the social worker who sees through Puente’s machinations. The non-chronological structure actively pressures and parses information as we need it, creating gripping suspense and relentless momentum! Masterful!

Word to the Wise re Men’s Room Etiquette: forego the urinal and use the stall. It’s just easier.

For instance, one can avoid confrontations like the one so wonderfully depicted here! Is there any more appropriate setting to demonstrate the petty struggle for male domination than the men’s room? I think not! Though the stick in question may not be what you’re expecting.

This is a beautifully observed, highly metaphorical, and hilariously (distressingly) literal examination of masculine repression, overcompensation, negotiation, and expectation. A gift for two deadpan comic actors and an intimacy director. Substantial and fun!

It’s one thing to not have anywhere to go or anyone to see, so you CHOOSE to stay in; its another when you’re forced to stay in; and it’s yet another when either way, your absence in GenPop is unnoticed or even preferred. This monologue begins ostensibly as a political rant about isolation then becomes an intimately detailed depiction of it. A heartfelt “loser’s lament” where jelly-bean-sized doses of dignity triumph over self pity, though just barely. I’ve been this guy, most of us have. A funny, vulnerable piece that hits you where you live.

Lyrical and expressionistic, the play takes an unflinching yet surprisingly balanced look at artists who use heroin as a “performance-enhancing drug.” One can dismiss obvious excuses like “the great geniuses of art and literature all did it” and “I need it to work,” and indeed Matilda does, but the play also asks itself, ”what if those excuses aren’t just excuses?” Gacinski shows us a relationship as toxic as the substance they shoot into their veins, while giving us glimpses into what once might have been a worthwhile creative and romantic partnership. A rough but worthy ride into darkness.

The loss of innocence is always a tribulation, especially when the brightness of one's illusions is darkened by violence and trauma. Have you ever considered what it must be like for the lone slice of bread, or would be if it were sentient?

Matthew Weaver has!

A story of wide-eyed optimism and camaraderie brought up short by the decadence and indifference of those who nourish themselves off the silent, both grain and dairy. Not to mention the unspoken hypocrisy of the bread lamenting its own fate while failing to consider the tomato's before it was soup! Devastating!

DEVASTATINGLY HILARIOUS!!! BRAVO!!!

It's one thing to wish you were dead, it's a whole other thing not to know that you're alive. There's so much evidence gathering, from overt attempts at contact to the tiniest cries for acknowledgment. What this play especially nails is the pendulum swaying between crippling isolation and spiteful alienation: the desire to be noticed by those you almost simultaneously no longer deem worthy. It’s a maddening spiral depicted with alarming truth and terrifying speed. A gut-punch!

Well, SOMEONE sure knows how to spot a loophole! Molly Wagner takes a detail about the Cinderella story that's been RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES FOR CENTURIES (since 1697! I looked it up! 323 years!!!) and turns it into a great comic twist with a message on how we should view our ourselves, what we should expect from others, and what we actually do. It would make any fairy godmother ask why she even bothers! I'm still chuckling. A great piece for an ingenue and an mature actress. Well done!

A superhero origin story with an origin story of its own, this play examines the double edged sword of necessity and futility that comes with escapism born from trauma. An uneasy vibe resonates throughout belying the speaker's tone. Eventually, the truth about the why and the weight of it all settles in. A versatile, powerful speech.

DC Cathro and Leo Schwartz have created a rousing and powerful new musical.

Instead of focusing on young Emmett's death, TILL celebrates his life - one that was vibrant and full of love and humor. Juxtaposed with the Till family in Chicago are scenes of ever-building racial tensions in Mississippi, where Emmett's fate will eventually be sealed.

Till's inevitable, horrific murder looms over the story from the beginning providing a sense of tragic destiny that fuels the story. There is no staging of the murder itself. The lead-up and the aftermath is enough. And it is devastating.

Talk about a brief encounter! There's a lot to unpack in these 60 seconds but it all comes down to one thing: consideration. The words we use, the protections we not only take but the ones we offer. Other people matter and we can't assume they're fine with what we're fine with, especially during a time when getting closer than 6 feet to someone is a risk. It's an important lesson and the play packs a punch.