Recommended by Scott Sickles

O, to be young and dead!

Next time I'm in London, I'm taking this walk with Marcus and Sextus. Plummer turns neighborhood travelogue into a multi-millennial scavenger hunt. Armed with fun repartee, evocative historical detail, and iffy memories as to where they left what, they set out on their adventure and take us happily along for the ride. Or rather, the stroll. Delightful!

Dueling monologues are tricky because audiences are never sure when the conflict is going to come in, and because the overlap is inevitable, we try to predict how that will manifest: do they fall in love? Do they just miss each other? How will they connect?

I'm not going to tell you.

Hunt gives us two likable, relatable characters, couching their convergence in tales of marginal luck. Just as I started wondering where it was going, their stories took a turn toward destiny. The reveal is masterful and the payoff, elegant. A gorgeous tale of loss and renewal.

Make of DELUGE what you will.

That's why it's here! Though Lamedman doesn't leave you completely without a compass. The four voices vary distinctly in tone, need, and yearning. Specificity of meaning may be up to the director and performers, but the beauty, loss, and emotions are powerfully grounded in this elegant deluge of words, thoughts, images.

Encouraged as a verbal movement piece, there are tremendous staging and choreographic possibilities, all of which will have a powerful impact upon audiences.

Timing is everything.

When you're visiting another planet hoping to interact with their leadership, maybe do a little research first, specifically about that leadership because, well...

Zutter's wonderful satire captures the rogue nature of various government agencies during a previous presidential administration, one that at the very least did not like people from other places or intelligent life. And while one wants to be a good host to distant travelers, one is not always prepared for surprise visit. Great roles, even if one of them is an offstage voice, and sharply observed!

“My wife. I think I’ll keep her.”

Like it’s up to you, buddy!

Martin again demonstrates mastery of the minute with this Alfred Hitchcock Presents-worthy tale of marriage and mixology. There's tension from the start and he lets us know only what we need to understand why what happens must happen.

The rest of the backstory can be explained to a jury. That is, if anyone asks...

A perfectly tiny glimpse at a larger story.

When you’re trapped in the shadowlands between platonic and romantic love for a friend, an alien invasion might be a welcome distraction.

Careful what you wish for…

St. Croix again delivers a complex tale of love between guys in an astoundingly short period of time using extreme circumstances to move the action and get to the narrative heart. Simple to produce, a tour de force for the actor playing Daniel, and a gift to directors who conduct visual symphonies on bear stages, it’s a mini masterpiece.

I’ve never been a fan of videos where parents traumatizes their young children for a laugh. Kids are often freaked out by drastic changes in a parent’s appearance. Cathro creates a freshly shaven dad understandably upset by the terror his new visage has caused.

The debate sparked in the play quickly escalates from personal to dangerous. Trusts are broken. Tables are turned. One “joke” changes everything!

The onstage marriage and offstage extended family are viscerally real. Cathro gives us just enough information to be afraid.

It’s a play about a baby that Albee wished he wrote!

A beautiful short monologue containing a tremendous amount of history and emotion. O'Neill-Butler's narrative economy is astounding as she actively weaves a mother-daughter history into an urgent present-day tale. Even without descriptions, we can see these women, this house, and everything that's missing in what was once the bond between them. The fight to get it back is a subtle return to the routine of a shared past. The stakes are high and the clock is ticking, but it never feels forced or rush. This is honest, real storytelling that feels like it's about people we already know.

We've all been there. But what if we got stuck there???

A tale of romantic existential horror or a commentary on American gluttony and consumerism at the expense of health and happiness? Why not both??? Why not more??? And more??? AND MORE?????

As a carb addict I found it distressing that there could ever be too much bread. But Prillaman is a master of mixing the menacing and the mundane. The characters and relationships are real, grounded, and complex, making the horror extremely compelling. You'll delight in their torment, brought fresh in a basket every few minutes. Bon appetite!

As if the title wasn't enticing enough...

Our own realizations come gradually at first, then all at once. There's a bit of a mystery illness at the top that becomes more about "why" than "what happened?" The answers are as rewarding as fresh Krispy Kreme glazed hot off the belt.

Cathro whips up a love story from exhaustion, annoyance, and imperfection and creates a rich confection of marital romance tempered with just the right about no-nonsense humor. When all the realizations come to you, you'll be glad you ate the whole thing.