Recommended by Scott Sickles

Hobbies are important but obsessions… are REALLY IMPORTANT!!!

A grand metaphor for the toxic effects of rampant consumerism or a fun story about a marriage besieged by ecosytemic impulse buying, this one’s a fun ride.

Not to mention an important cautionary tale about rainforest creatures…

I have this saying, most suitable for both our best and the worst moments, the peaks and valleys: “Every moment of your life has led to this one.”

It’s different from “Wherever you go, there you are.” My saying is about choices, events, the things that happened, that we made happen, that might have happened but did not.

This monologue illustrates that saying in sharp relief. If eschews specific details to allow the performer and listener to become immersed in thier own events, thier own sins of commission and omissions, their own joys and regrets.

Evocative and powerful.

Well! This is the dishiest dishing that’s ever been dished! All served poolside like a high-octane resort pina colada! Louise has all the tea and Kate’s cup is ready to be filled!

A well-observed social satire full of exquisitely individualted details about the neighbors and the secrets polluting the airs they put on. Great roles for two actresses (I couldn’t help picturing Nicola Walker and Sarah Lancashire from LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX.)

The familial interjections keep the proceedings grounded but the bitchy gossip and social commentary soars!

OMG, the rehearsals for this must have been, will be and, in at least one of the 196,833 dimensions, currently are utterly delightful! Directors, actors, designers, possibly puppeteers and choreographers, will not know what to do with themselves, their bliss will be so great!

Thal imagines feline epistemology in relation to humans, objects, and the world, making a point to demonstrate the intellectual differences between cats and kittens. Interspecises relations are also examined with great care and comedy.

Once those delightful rehearsals are over, this must be a joy to see staged!

Well, this did not go where I though it would!

Mandy/Randy is a challenging role for a young actor adept at movement and/or physical comedy. The character is unapologetically awful, a paragon of teen narcissism and entitlement. Fortunately, there are consequences. UNfortuantely, those consequences are… let’s just say, you’ll need a creative design team.

Bubbly, sharp, and uncompromising!

Right at the start, there’s an unsettling feeling of being trapped. Anyone who’s been stuck in a car with a troubles or troubling parent knows this sensation in their DNA. Even though circumstance and dynamics in the play are extremely specific, that feeling will resurface.

This father son drama escalates beautifully, like a narrative police pursuit though city streets. The turns are sharp and you’re not sure what you’ll hit around the corner.

A dark and gritty examination of intergenerational power imbalance and the passing down out morality, ethics, and entitlement.

Oh, how I love Spooky U!

This is a fast paced delight! A great vehicle for comic actors proficient at fencing, so all you thespians who have played a musketeer or the witty stabby roles in Shakespeare, take note.

In my head, I hear Reggie emitting “Boimler screams.” If you know what that means, you will enjoy this play 10 times more than anyone who doesn’t. In fact, you might enjoy it so much it could…

Well… I don’t wanna scare you.

Peruse. Laugh. Scream along!

Temporal portals are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

Unfortunately, Charlie wandered through one and he's not in Kansas anymore. No, the poor guy's stuck in a video store – why'd it have to be a video store? – and if it's a dream, there's no way to snap out of it! He can do or do not because no matter how he tries, he won't be back.

What starts out as a comic trope takes a dark dive and for Charlie... no matter where he go... there he is.

Absolutely delightful!

I love a good memoir piece and this one is lovely – just the right amount of nostalgia without too much sentimentality. But with a piece like this, nostalgia and sentiment are as elemental three-quarter time is to a waltz.

We get to know just enough about Essie and Willie to love them through the eyes of the author. What a beautiful way to travel back in time!

I've always been fascinated by the outskirts of tragedy. Certainly, there's greater drama and trauma at the epicenter of a disaster. But what about the moments before? When we see the water recede from the beach signaling a tsunami...

Here, Gatton perfectly captures the calm before a maelstrom. Three nurses enjoy a break on a slow day, each making incremental yet significant advances toward their own happiness. Tragedy inevitably strikes but it strikes elsewhere. But the reason why we're bearing witness to these people soon becomes startlingly clear.

Delightful characters, effervescent dialogue, and exquisite detail make this a heartbreaker.