Recommended by Lee R. Lawing

It amazes me that so much our history was pushed aside, especially while I was coming through the school system. Thankfully I did have the craving for knowledge that was beyond the pale of what I was spoon fed. That hunger made me read the histories of other cultures and people that were not just white. Diamond's play touches on this with Tanya's awakening and we are brought into another realization that there is still so much to learn and know and having a little help makes all the difference!

Whenever you read a play by Martin you can expect to be dazzled and sometimes you are amazed at what you just read. His play Art was one of the first plays I read on NPX that showed me there is possibility in any topic and this play here has once again made me think about the fragility of our own lives, of the seemingly worsening human condition and the hope that this is not the future we are getting and further more expecting without a fight.

Bullies are everywhere and it's far time that the non-bullies fight back. Lamedman gives us a setting of a library and you'd think that would be such a safe place but turns out not. A Quiet Place gives us a revenge fantasy come to life and it feels just right. Shhhh!

What a touching and sweet ode to parenthood. The Dad in this play made me fondly think of my dad as he was always the one who checked in on us no matter the situation. I like to think he would have slept in my bed to protect me from the monsters out there!

We all wish for a little acceptance which if we don't get, can knock us down a limb or two. Lam's Given Away gives a whole new meaning to crocodile smile and the great lengths people go to spare us their true emotions. I was raised with religion which I no longer use or believe in, but I still put on that smile for a lot of people when necessary because as Claire shows her new daughter-in-law, it's a much better way to keep the family tied together in a "love" knot instead of a straight-jacket.

We've all had those shows or books where we just want to scream at them for not giving us what we think they should or worse where the writer just skips down a path of sexism, racism or so many other isms that there are out there that make us cringe when we read about them. Cross ups the ante in her delicious revenge comedy where a writer is trapped in a refrigerator and the payback is so fun to watch!

This is a funny play that spotlights such a horrible subject. Childhood trauma is something that can be so difficult to leave behind or work through. Martineau presents all those famous fable characters who definitely had traumatic childhoods, something of them so horrible that it's amazing that we still have their fairy tales around to past down to all the the new generations.

The saying goes, if it's not in your own backyard, there's no reason to go out looking for it. Puzzle Night gives us two people who question if they are wasting their time staying in and just puzzling, but in Berry's hands, we see layer upon layer stripped away as the play goes on and we become invested in the puzzle, in Archie and Jessica and in the outcome as we find ourselves holding our breath waiting for it to come.

The title grabbed me because I knew it was about Trump but the way he was acting in office it was like a Mafia Boss all the time he was in office. Reading this now after the nightmare has gone away (but can we say for good?) still brings smiles to my face because it's funny as hell and so well written, you even feel there might be a little bit of human inside the crazy and insane man despite the disaster that we know is actually true.

We've all those jobs which we just hated and were so determined to leave but had them because we needed them financially or got stuck in them just because. Lermond's monologue stands as one of inspiration and fortitude. Barbara shines as a beacon for so many of us and also spotlights Lermond's talents as a writer in full light,