Recommended by Scott Sickles

Magnificent. Nothing short of magnificent.

Not to mention surprising in a very fundamental way. There are unexpected dynamics between the two characters. Then soon, it becomes clear: this is a battle between ones person's earnest, sincere, desire to help and another's unmitigated need for accountability.

A terrible thing has happened: an act of callousness and indifference, and I cannot honestly say I wouldn't have committed the same sin. Soucy points out a societal neglect, indicting his characters and people in general with surgical specificity.

As resonant as it is profound.

Oh the joy of a new escapade for our immortal and indelible antihero, The Bear!

The tales get taller as playwright Plumridge takes us genre-jumping with his beloved creation, and here our undead ursine night creature goes quite literally and blissfully over the top!

This delightful hat tip to the heist action subgenre is more than just a titular homage to James Bond. (I challenge you NOT to hear The Bear pronounce "sexy" like Sean Connery!) There’s romance, acrobatics, and property damage!

What more could a Bear fan want???

Where to begin? What a terrific cavalcade of characters. And as you move from piece the piece, the excerpted speeches provide a great sample of Bethany Dickens Assaf’s voice as a playwright. The characters are beautifully individuated, the circumstances for each are clear, and they all speak with a purpose (rather than into an expositional void).

Each would make a an excellent audition piece, most regardless of gender.

Have a look! At the very least it’s like watching some great coming attractions!

If anything, this is a play about making better choices about time management! One should not schedule a pickleball match and a wedding on the closing night of a show! Those first two things can wait!

The other important lesson is to never hold in a sneeze, even when you're almost at places! If you do... well, it's just one disaster after another.

The screwball dialogue zings while the catastrophes zip along. It's hard not to root for Pam and Larry -- mesh, he's right -- for Larry and Pam! A fun romp about a rough (almost) 24 hours!

I didn't read the description before I read the monologue. So, I didn't know...

I recommend this. (But if you already know, that's fine too!)

Imagining the monologue as a show and tell type speech given in front of a class (or similar) it soars. An adorable yet never cloying portrait of innocence ultimately leading to a poignant ending. Her specificity with how long she had the rock and her attachment to it indicated a neurodivergence (not wrong!) and details about the rock provide further clues to the truth. It's lovely no matter what.

But the truth is really cool!

The epistemology, genealogy, and longevity of gods… all in 8 brisk pages! Cern tackles a few eternal questions, most notably “which came first, the deity or the belief?” Who created Whom? The adversaries are well matched, the characters delightful, any familiar tropes are made fresh, I don’t know why it takes place in Prague but I love that it does, and there’s even a magic trick that totally won me over.

If you like philosophy, religion, or the philosophy of religion, this is a rich confection that’s also good for you!

Onward and Amen!

At face value, this is a delightful tale about facing your fears, trusting your instincts, and questioning your world to prepare for the next -- or even your first -- great adventure!

Through an LGBTQIA+ lens, it becomes a clarion call! It illustrates how children start out as exactly who we are. Then we're faced with The Closet, the manifestation of all the fears that keep us from moving forward. Beyond The Closet, there are worlds to explore. But we have to make it through The Closet to get there. As many of us have and do.

Away we go!

I didn't read the keywords or the description, just the title, and went in blind. You don't need to know what the playwright is going for to enjoy the hell out of this almost wordless pantomime. The physical comedy is delightful.

As a person with ADHD, I thought it perfectly represented what it's like trying to write, or complete a project, or form a complex thought while being interrupted constantly by other thoughts and sensations. Knowing the intent going in helps the payoff, of course. But your own interpretation can still be a great ride before the clarifying reveal.

Some people see shapes in clouds, others don’t. Some people envision the imaginary and ephemeral, others extrapolate from experience through the lens of desired objectives.
Some plays are simple and lovely, and this is one of them.

Once upon a time, someone I don't talk to anymore told me: "It must be so nice being Asian; you don't have to work hard for anything."

They have no fucking idea. (About a lot of things.)

In this searing monologue, Soucy captures the stark otherness being East Asian in America, and it's not just rooted in non-whiteness. We're taught to work harder than humanly possible but never let anyone see the struggle. That effort and its toll are not only achievement-oriented but by identity-bound as well. He explodes these dichotomies and then some through a painfully personal lens.