Recommended by Scott Sickles

Righteousness is a double-edged sword.

Or a heavy menorah. Or piney artificial tree.

It's a weapon.

And McClain wields her weapons of hilarity, relevance, and satire like a Christmas Ninja! I mean, holiday warrior. Winter safety advocate?

When institutions try to avoid excluding anybody and end up excluding everybody there's a real problem. There are also productive ways to approach it, but those don't make good plays. This is a terrific play! Fast paced, funny, and sharply observed.

Theaters take note: there's a concession opportunity you'd be fools not to jump on. All you need are pipe cleaners!

It's always nice to see good plays about older gay men. (In part because I come from a generation where a lot of gay men didn't get to grow old.) Plays like this, lighthearted yet maritally intense contretemps amongst long-time couples about the hot barista and building maintenance... they're more than a fun ten-minute comedy; they're a testament to life and love. Baker achieves all of that here, even if you don't notice between the smiles, the chuckles, and the zingers. It's a refreshing play, not unlike an extra large caramel macchiato with six shots!

This extraordinary work is a series of -gasms! Brain-gasms! Nerd-gasms! Actor- and writer-gasms! Orgasms? Well… they’re not irrelevant…

I silently performed this at a coffeeshop table and anyone watching would have thought I was having the most organized seizure. To perform DROPLETS, even silently lip-synching as words project from page to brain, shaping breathlessly on ones lips, is a VISCERALLY PASSIONATE EXPERIENCE!

Stanley captures scientific passion, frustration, inspiration with such intimacy and accuracy it practically resurrects the man it’s about - more like possession than acting. A real actor needs to perform the fuck out of this! NOW!

I have mixed feelings about Betty. On one hand she is being the change she wants to see in her world and a stitch in time does save nine. And Frank, well… He’s doing his best with what he has to work with... But at the end of the day, this is not her circus, these are not her monkeys, and what doesn’t kill them makes them stronger.

Playwright Hunt repurposes stale baked-in utterances to create two fresh, fun characters in a unique take on a timeless predicament about the search for connection and inspiration. Great fun!

Generally, when fairies steal your baby, you don’t get it back. You get some crotchety agent of chaos replacing your adorable agent of chaos. But Cross’s LostMother is getting a one-time exception!

If only she’d read the fine print.

Cross’s easy-to-speak verse flawlessly combines old-timey formality with an earthy wit, as characters negotiate between maternal expectation and grounded magical reality. Children grow up faster when parents aren’t looking. They won’t want what you want for them, regardless. The circumstances and backstory keep you guessing. The result is heartfelt, suspenseful, and utterly enchanting!

Equal parts dark and adorable, this twisted little tale is delightfully delicious.

I mean, the scorpion’s name is BARB!

The stakes could not be higher to begin with but McGregor piles tension on top of tension, never betraying his storybook tone. The characters are beautifully individuated, perfectly anthropomorphized, and endlessly entertaining.

This would make a great audio drama without changing a thing but on stage… designers would kill to create this.

This should be taught in classes about diplomacy and negotiation. It’s a perfect parable for adult conflict, which makes it more necessary than ever!

The nerd/jock dynamic is a tale as old as time from which infinite variations can manifest. With Chip and Brett, we wish we either knew them in college or were them. Though originating from archetypes, they’re drawn as multi-dimensional human beings with nary a stereotype in sight. They’re just THEMSELVES. Even the “accepting female best friend” is given a glorious spin! (It’s never mentioned, but her ADHD is wildly apparent. I felt REPRESENTED!) The situation could have been played as farce but Heyman keeps it real throughout. The payoff is spectacular!

A fascinating examination of what people, working class men in particular, inherit generation by generation. Not just meager tokens and remembrances but attitudes as well. Most powerfully, these young men don't seem to have many options. They're cornered into accepting a lot in society they may not want but are convinced is their duty.

The roles, brothers in their very early 20s, have depth and nuance. Ruyle shows us a tiny corner of a vast world and I wanted them to remain safe where they were.

A subtle naturalistic tragedy that delivers a powerful theatrical punch.

The beauty of THE BEAUTY OF ONIONS AND SQUIDS lies in absences. The play's premise and Buddie's existence stem from loneliness. Buddie lacks connection with his own emotional expression. This disconnect threatens to prevent interpersonal bonding.

BEEN THERE!!! On both sides.

BUDDIE may not be human, but their problem is one that's deeply identifiable. Like BUDDIE, sometimes people - from parents to companions, romantic and otherwise - don't always have the tools to connect. Buddie's determination to fulfill his function to be loving and supportive is sublimely beautiful, warm, and moving.

Where do I order mine?

Every now and then we can all use someone to check in on us, even if it's a complete stranger. During a time when isolation has become a global survival strategy, we become severed from the connections we need and liberated from the ones we don't... and even those are a kind of loss. Cathro shows us the possibilities when people who need help ask for it from others whose only appropriate skill set for connection is compassion.