Recommended by Scott Sickles

This one hurt. In the best ways. As theater makers we have all dealt with the fucking actor who won't take direction because whatever pretentious reason. Levine takes this oft explored situation, adds fresh elements to it, and it all delivers in spades! (I saw a reading where Joseph the Janitor was played by an actor older than described and for me it make the piece even better!) Some of the play-within-a-play dialogue starts out rough but Levine does this by design and the payoff is tremendous!

What's in a name? Who am I anyway? Who are you? Who, who, who, who?
In this unique holiday play, Bray plops us into the epicenter of where everything happens around Jesus's birthday: the mall. The characters are as relatable as they are unusual. You just want to hug them. Exploring themes of identity and generosity germinating miraculously (appropriate as Christ All Mighty is working the kiosk) in a hub of working class commerce, you might not know what you're watching at first, but you'll be glad you saw it.

Fuck! John Fucking Busser has unleashed a mass fucking sendup of his fucking playwright compatriots, including Yours Fucking Truly. I've been fucking characterized as a fucking opinionated fuck-spewing contrarian, to which I fucking take fucking exception. Many of his fucking characterizations are spot fucking on! Others he's clearly fucking met or at least learned their fucking names. Regardless, this fucking play is really fucking funny whether you know the fuckers he's lampooning or not! Fucking Busser...

A banger of a monologue! If insomnia has ever driven you to the edge of sanity (or even if it hasn't), you'll feel Sam's intensity ricochet through your nervous system. So many of us have heard this monster, been gaslit by it, wished we could rebel against it. But what happens when we do find that courage? What are the consequences? Jones shows us one possibility and it's a heart-stopper.

I had the tremendous good fortune to watch Dana Hall perform this piece on Zoom. All I'll say is that it is a tremendously powerful indictment against the casual cruelty of those blindly privileged with "normalcy" at the expense of empathy. My heart was in my throat the entire time. It's the kind of monologue that opens her eyes to both the insufficiencies and difficult miracles in the world around you.

Media crazes come and go and at this writing we're in the height of a frenzy surrounding a show about gay hockey players. Someday, hopefully not too soon, the world will have moved on. But the people who came out because of that show, who opened themselves to love for the first time or finally sealed the deal after an eternity of hesitation, will live on, forever changed by the craze. Martin, as ever, captures a moment both specific and timeless with profound simplify and simple profundity. GOAL!

I mean, DAMN! This exquisite testimonial from The Minotaur weaponizes the mythology we know into an indictment of how society persecutes its outcasts and the spin that requires. Reading this as an American in 2026, it hits like a jackhammer to my heart. But in a universal sense, it's even more profound. Xanthopoulou has again immersed me into a world she's created and I had the honor of witnessing her and the Minotaur unleash Eumenides raining truth on a populace desperately in need of it.

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help." If fucking only. Captain Stone is on a quest. He's not waiting for the government to show up; he's going TO the government! In search of a member of Congress to beseech someone in a position of power to help a friend, a patriot who has served this country alongside him, get out of ICE custody. The obstacles are as many as they are infuriatingly frivolous. Wyndham creates a 5-minute odyssey through the dining halls of power and the stakes are as high as any (other) war.

I want to know more! But sometimes horror arrives without explanation. And just because no reason is given, it doesn't mean there isn't one. This is no random act. This is isolation. This is being trapped. And unlike a shark who just does its thing based on instinct, a certain amount of planning is involved here. But like a shark, you don't see it coming until it's happening. Even if you read this before you read the play, you won't have time to save anybody.

Now THIS is how you put research to good use!

This play is a gift to actors, costumers, and choreography/ movement folks. It's filled with blunt sexual overtures, religious lore, fun facts, and even a little romance. Also poop!

This will be a joy to stage and great fun to watch. Carry on! (See what I did there? Because vultures... I'll see myself out.)