Recommended by Scott Sickles

As a militant anti-smoker I cheered this kid on from beginning to end! I want this child to grow up and RUN THE WORLD!!!

As a monologue it presents a great challenge to the performer because it starts and 65mph and doesn't stop! The variations in pace and intensity will be fun to play with, and the words are eminently and relentlessly speakable. It's a great portrait of a child on a crusade!

As a militant anti-smoker I cheered this kid on from beginning to end! I want this child to grow up and RUN THE WORLD!!!

As a monologue it presents a great challenge to the performer because it starts and 65mph and doesn't stop! The variations in pace and intensity will be fun to play with, and the words are eminently and relentlessly speakable. It's a great portrait of a child on a crusade!

Whatever you do, DO NOT read this play on public transportation. You will either laugh so hard that people will be irritated with you OR in your attempts to suppress that laughter, your face will contort itself in ways that will cause your fellow straphangers grave concern.

In addition to the play being hysterically funny, it's also unpretentiously self-deprecating yet sharply observed. I swear, I have overheard actors have this exact conversation, or at least very close variations. It speaks cold hard truths about theater people with great affection.

This piece is a two-minute miracle. It begins with an almost Ionesco-like patter and builds to a sublime wallop! I was amused, then suddenly surprisingly moved. The economy of storytelling is kind of dazzling.

Grippingly suspenseful! I held my breath as I read it. Whether or not the woman is actually in peril is uncertain, and that's the point. It's impossible to tell. Nothing night happen or the worst could happen, and there are many variations on "the worst."

One moment that struck me was when the woman considers walking to another bus stop. Suddenly, I was deeply concerned for a fictional woman's safety, worried that she might become even more vulnerable between this stop and another. Was it safer to wait it out? Could she make it there safely?

A 3-minute masterpiece!

I highly recommend reading this piece out loud. Once you start, you can't stop! It is a raging river of words, thoughts, and emotion. It will sweep you away!

I especially recommend reading this aloud if you are a man, especially a heterosexual man. You will learn so much if you keep your ears, mind and heart open. I won't tell you what; the play speaks clearly for itself.

I hope this gets produced everywhere and often, and as described in the stage directions. A truly powerful work of art, and a gift for female actors over 50.

Matthew Weaver has a gift for turning awkward and uncomfortabe transgressions into moments that are heartfelt, human, complex and real. These scenarios usually (in the few plays I've read) involve boys in their adolescence and women who are not. It could get icky. But taking that risk is what raises the stakes, and the writing is never exploitative or gratuitous. Here an inappropriate and unfair request is made. Yet the characters are so well-drawn in their yearnings that it feels more like you're watching life than reading a play. Their actions are as honest and their actions are complex. Excellent!

A gut-punch! John Minigan illuminates part of the fallout of the 2016 election that many men probably wouldn't think of; I know I didn't. This play is a perfect illustration of how the highest levels of government affect citizens in the most intimate and violent ways, and dares to follow-through on the bleak consequences of what is already a worst-case scenario. A must-read, especially for Trump-voting parents of women and girls. It should be produced everywhere.

Beautiful. Just beautiful.
An exquisite take on the old O Henry tale in the least exquisite of places. Gonzalez creates a profoundly deep friendship between two guys in unfortunate circumstances, then invites us into their world. Their space is confined but their bond is vast, heartfelt and unshakeable.

Adorable! Somewhere between fully anthropomorphized and animal-who-just-happens-to-speak, Chauncey is having a bad day that we've all had. His support human is fighting an uphill battle, both to get Chauncey to complete a simple survey, and to provide reassurance to a raccoon in denial about his shortcomings - a common symptom of the post-breakup blues. Ultimately, it's a play about who's really there for you, even when you want someone else.