Recommended by John Bavoso

In Jr., Jordan Noble has created a fascinating world in which the term “fur baby” takes on a whole new meaning. But he uses this thought experiment to have provocative conversations about prejudice, reproductive justice, the complexities of being a parent, and more—all through the lens of surprisingly recognizable and relatable characters. I can imagine this show would be a delicious challenge for the right cast and creative team, and would lead to some truly memorable post-show conversations. Give this one a read!

This is such a fun send up of/homage to Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories packed with witty one-liners and memorable characters (Charlie is a personal favorite!). I can imagine this would make for a perfect, easy-to-produce live-read radio drama and be an audience-pleaser, especially around Halloween.

In SUMMERS IN PRAGUE, Strasse offers a study of the changing relationship between a sex worker and his client across multiple years and how that connection evolves and grows, but also stays at its core transactional. The dialogue is natural and moves quickly, dotted with moments of awkwardness and uncomfortable laughter. Easy to produce and a great showcase for a pair of fine actors, I could see this being popular with theatre companies and audiences alike.

Harrowing, yet beautifully wrought and suffused with dark, campy humor, MEMORIAL DAY is a touching encapsulation of the fear, grief, exhaustion, and resiliency that typified the AIDS crisis. Donnelly’s characters are living in a world with so many earth-changing things happening all around and inside them, but they also feel like real people just trying to make it though life with as much joy and hope as possible. An achingly tender read perfect for this long weekend or any other time.

It may be partially due to the fact that I’m currently suffering through an early-season heat wave, but this escape to a B&B in Maine was exactly what I needed! Klass does an excellent job modernizing an oft-maligned genre, and keeping the tone from getting too broad while still injecting contemporary and meta-theatrical themes. This would be great as a site-specific piece as well as a fun, summery read.

Who do you become when the thing you’ve built your entire identity around is suddenly taken away from you? It’s a question so many of us in the theatre have had to grapple with the past couple years, and is central to Murdock’s quietly thoughtful play. He takes a seemingly simple premise—a painter’s broken arm—and uses it to dive deeply into four complex characters. With naturalistic dialogue and a quick pace, this is sure to be a piece that both actors and audiences gravitate toward. Well worth a read!

Fernandez has created a story that’s fun and spooky but also contains real pathos as well as characters that you will fall in love with and relate to. This script offers so many great opportunities for both actors and designers to play and experiment. This is a play I’d love to experience live!

The mixture of the mundane and personal and the horrifying and world-changing is what makes this script so effectively chilling and funny at the same time. As we get wrapped up in the selfies and interpersonal drama between the characters, we can never forget the atrocities happening just offstage. I’m sure this would make for a tense and thought-provoking evening of theatre!

I was hooked from the very beginning by this multilayered two-hander in which power and control ebb and flow back and forth continuously between the characters. The pace is sprightly, with just enough twists and turns to keep you interested but never so much that they distract. In the end, you’re left with a cleverly constructed and keenly observed meditation on the lines that get blurred when developing and manipulating emotions is at the very heart of your life’s work. This play is a gift to actors and highly recommended!

Wow. Tina has constructed this script masterfully—from the way bits of information are slowly revealed, how the whole thing is suffused with ambiguous menace, and bookended with poetry. These characters feel so alive, even just on the page—even Tony! Jane is a dream come true for the right actor. I can only imagine how delightfully tense it would be to sit in the audience watching this story play out before me. I highly recommend giving this play a read—and then producing it!