Recommended by Jennifer Maisel

Donna Hoke tackles the subject of professional and personal boundaries in a unique theatrical way that opens our eyes to the gender dynamics at play in every relationship. What an exciting challenge for actors and directors to take this on -- a production that will engender much discussion for days to come.

An unforgettable apocalyptic ride. Alix's Last Night in Inwood is fast-paced, funny, heartbreaking and scarily believable. Alix deftly has her characters breach rifts of feminism, racism, homophobia and generational schisms to come together into the symbol of what we need today: unity. Loved the reading I just saw - can't wait to see it in production.

Heartbreaking and beautifully rendered, The Madres brings us into a different world of Argentina's The Disappeared but also the universal world of the agony of motherhood when our children are lost to us.

I just saw a beautiful production of Through the Eye of a Needle at The Road Theatre and it feels like a play that should be produced all over the country for its deep complicated characters and messages of embracing change and acceptance in the face of the worst news a parent can face. Brandli is masterful with this family drama that transcends the average holiday play and does not leave a dry eye in the house.

A beautifully evocative play that captures not only the essence of the experience of Russian immigrants but the legacy that their trauma visits on future generations. Kenner-Grissom's gorgeous dialogue threads throughout heartbreaking scenes of family drama, all feeling at once authentic and theatrical. The doubling underscores the repetition of familial history in a unique and lovely way. Produce this play!

Achingly beautiful, honest, timely and funny, Lolly Ward’s Gone explores the intricacies of what we are left with when we face the mortality of our family life as we know it. It’s about nostalgia, greed and love, and the way every member of a family has grown up in both the same family and a different one. I can’t wait to see this on the stage – someone produce it fast!

This gorgeous play weaves the pain of the fractured love between a storytelling woman and her veteran husband with the healing power of music. Paula Cizmar's characters are heartbreaking, authentic and human, her language lush, the setting evocative.

News for the Deaf Man is a riveting deeply personal drama about lost relationships and lost dreams with meaty roles for three adult men. Often plays and movies about father-son dynamics don't move me. New for the Deaf Man does, with its frank look at how these two men come to terms with each other.