Recommended by Lee R. Lawing

The Dog is a darkly funny and horrifying cautionary tale about one engagement derailed by one dog's violent and unpredictable reaction to their owner's engagement. Relationships are hard enough as it is and when you bring any of the family into it, be it human or canine, you are bound to face those who approve and those who do not. What A and B find out during the play is just how far anyone will go to appease one you are promising yourself to for that life-time commitment though sickness and health until parted by death.

Everyone has insecurities and it's so fun to see two literary giant discussing something so intimate and personal of which so many men have wondered about since the beginning of man-kind.

Having a little faith can't be that bad when it comes to starting a new world and civilization, and our Adam and Eve find out soon enough that they might need a little more than that when it comes time to start a new Martian world after humans have destroyed the lovely gift of earth that we were given by God. There's only so much a god can take before they too will turn their backs on us and let us defend for ourselves in a what seems to be a barren future.

There are so many moments in life that we feel stuck in and that being stuck can be an emotional high or make you feel you are trapped in a prison that you'll never get out of and one's true sexual understanding of themselves can be those moments that nothing in life really prepares you for. It is getting a little better, but still it's not a simple thing. Smith's play is one of a trilogy and it would be fascinating for a theater to do all three for the audience to see the heartfelt emotions of all 3.

Oh those people we choose to send in to deal with life and end of world situations, those people that we think have to be smarter than the rest of us because they in that powerful position to be sent. They are, of course, human with all the human emotions that come from it. This is a laugh out loud script with two of those selected to help us stave off nuclear winter by agreeing to end the arms race. I felt sympathy for B’s hunger pains as they were going to battle without the proper nourishment

An emotional and heart wrenching journey of every day people living in what at times feels like a nightmare of unparalleled proportions. I've never been put in the position of being or having to be a caregiver, but I know others who have come out of it with PTSD because of the emotional drain that comes from giving the care that some are trained for and others just forced upon it due to circumstance.

The human spirit is such an incredible force that guides each and everyone of us though our time here on earth and this play shows the amazing journey of Margo Frank and her sister Anne and shows them as young women with hopes and dreams and love of sports and to debate the world around us, even as that world is over-taken by the evil that was Hitler . Belief in a higher power is always so hard to do when that power seems to have abandoned you without any warning or understanding, yet Margo still lit her candle.

I had never heard of this story. Norkin's beautifully written play Urashima Taro is one that would be enjoyed by every one. It is very dream-like and that fits perfectly with the story of Taro and what befalls him. Like a lot of myths, there are unfortunate circumstances that happen to our hero for not listening to the instructions given him and that makes a very sad ending which is truly earned by the writer in his re-telling of this gorgeous Japanese myth.

The coming out process is so different for everyone. Smith's Isaac is a beautifully constructed story about one such man's process and the struggle that it presents for him and his friends. That the world doesn't always make it the easiest of processes to go through, the me in Isaac comes to that decision at the young age of 29 It is heartening that there are so many in the world that are realizing that sooner and sooner which allows them to experience everything out in the open and honestly.

What a powerful, terrifying, and thought-provoking monologue about the future state of the world when people that cannot afford to live above ground have all been force underneath. Davida is watching over her husband who may or may not make it in the long run but she is there by his side regardless the outcome.