Recommended by Scott Sickles

I'm generally good with debt collectors. I know it's their job and it's not like I don't owe whatever money I forgot to pay. I'll even thank them for their help.

But if one showed up at my house...

Williams gives his debt collector a fascinating reason to show up in person. The debt is a Macguffin for a much richer story – two, in fact – all leading to a lovely resolution. Both characters have a heartfelt and complicated history and it's impossible not to ship them at least a little.

I just adored this play.

I love a ten-minute play that requires a choreographer!

Just for a little beat but what a great little beat it is!

Fortunately, this play is made up on nonstop great little beats. Line by line, it's funny and rich. The roles actors over 65 would kill for! In fact, gladiatorial combat might be the perfect way to audition.

Donnelly packs so much history into every moment – not only their relationships but their lives until now – while painting a vivid portrait of the present culture, all keeping things at a breakneck pace. Fantastic, hilarious, and inspiring!

Man, I do not miss corporate.

[I can't tell you how tempted I was to leave that as my entire recommendation.]

We've all dealt with this machine, regardless of what this machine might actually be. We've needed it. It spurned us. And the day just snowballs... not just for all but for all who need The Machine. And WE ALL... NEED... THE MACHINE!!!

Fortunately, Gatton's characters are no mere office archetypes. Each has their own personality and different stakes in the outcome. The tension escalates steadily and hilariously functioning as a comic reflection and a stirring warning!

A jawdropper!

The atmosphere is instantly dangerous. He's a big, heavily tattooed man with a darkness that both weighs on and exudes from him. By contrast, she's petite, sunny, and potentially trapped. You're immediately worried for her safety, praying for situational irony. Very quickly, you're concerned for them both. The irony arrives but it's not what you prayed for. What follows is a gentle vivisection of souls.

There's pain – sharp and frequent, leaving an permanent mark. A map of who they've been. Cathro ingeniously has them stare into a literal abyss as we look on, indelibly moved.

Profound and stirring.

The first half of this hour-long one-act (remember those?) feels downright Capraesque with its idealistic albeit naive hero, his cynical yet pragmatic advisor, and the sharp-witted woman who keeps them grounded while cracking wise. Midway through, right where it should, the play takes a dark turn that's as much Capra as it is Miller. The zing is replaced by a haunting negotiation between opportunity and ethics. But this isn't Capra or Miller, it's O'Day and he puts a glorifying spin on a dizzyingly complex debate. Funny, gripping, and deeply satisfying, this is a post-war play that's profoundly timeless.

Higbee puts the “gas” in gaslighting in this comedy of parental deception, intergenerational sensitivity, and dead pets! The truths may be tough but the denials are as delightful, as mother tries to protect daughter from her own emotionality. Great roles and a terrific audience pleaser!

Sometimes, when a person reveals something utterly bizarre about themselves, the best reaction we can hope for is a simple, loving, “okay.” In this tiny world so skillfully crafted by Rebecca Kane, isn’t no wonder that love makes some people lighter than air. Absolutely lovely!

If you think Nature is brutal, try being a woman in Science, where sexism and ageism is not entirely dissimilar to what hornets do to bees. Of course, with hornets, it’s instinct and with people, it’s a choice - one necessitating equally brutal decisions like the ones Alicia makes for herself. Her mission: save American bees from an invasion of hornets. It’s good for the bees, the environment, and her career – an enlightened self interest.

Villanueva gives us three vividly complex women, a terrifying manifestation of evil, and eye-popping theatricality. A dream for actors and especially designers!

A Seder play different from, all other Seder plays!

Frimer takes the trope of Bringing My Same Sex Partner Home to Meet the Family and not only turns it on its head but makes it take flight with a touch of fairy dust and a Dickensian journey through time and life.

What’s especially lovely is that unlike many family dramas, YOU WILL WANT TO EAT WITH THESE PEOPLE!!! Perri, her parents, and Pan are great roles, each with a beautiful complexity. The dialogue is filled with music and heart.

This is one Sedar you will not want to miss!

“Don’t skip…!”

Being the working class sport-minded masculine father of an uncoordinated probably gay son presents its challenges. (I remember this well!) At least Rusty is trying. His batting average isn’t great but he keeps going up to the plate with his son Axl, less concerned about who his son is than about how the world will treat him. It’s heartening to see a backward parent take their first steps forward. Gearhart’s play brings attitudes and misconceptions up to date in a story that is as potentially brutal as it is ultimately gentle. A home run!