Recommended by Jennie Webb

Jen Maisel's writing is always strong and striking, often unexpectedly poetic and raw in a way that catches you off guard. YELLOW WALLPAPER 2.0 2020 is a beautiful and powerful "riff" off of a classic that takes us into a place and time (NYC early pandemic) in way that is both familiar and terrifying, through a character who is very "now" and absolutely unforgettable. This play is a tour de force that will last the test of time and then some.

It's not very often you find a play that's smart, funny, touching and absolutely terrifying at the same time. At the center of Deb Hiett's CIRCLE FORWARD is a very modern, oh-so-together woman who finds herself taking a new look at her path and her past... through a most unexpected lens. I was lucky to watch a reading of this play, and Deb's sharp dialogue is such a treat. Her characters are surprising and revealed in terrific ways - we follow all the right kind of left turns into and out of the most gripping places, here!

This brand new play travels into history with smart, smart humor and tons of heart to shed a light on one remarkable woman and her sad fate. But it's a story which is constructed in such a way that it not only honors Sophia Hayden and her work, it gives us a new perspective on women in America, an artist's struggles and the role we all play in a society that all too often rewards the expected and fears the extraordinary.

This sharp and always surprising comedy takes us on a journey that is at once familiar and totally unexpected, with twists and turns that make the banal prophetic and force us to take another look at our everyday experiences and expectations. With five amazing roles for women+ actors and super flexible staging and production demands, THE INTENSIVE is a character-centered piece that promises a super fun ride... that'll kinda take your breath away when it's over.

This is the kind of play that sneaks up on you - in its simplicity, its honesty and its often unexpected humor - and ultimately hits you where it counts. The playwright manages to create such a compelling narrative through real-life letters, drawing pictures of specific people and places while a much bigger story unfolds. A story that belongs onstage.

The best opening of a play, ever! (Yes, Virginia - her vagina just did that.) Tiffany Antone's mind-blowing, dark, messy and way smart comedy is both a ridiculously farcical romp, and a devastatingly pointed comment on women's bodies and our (collective, in the biggest possible sense) relationship with them - our ownership of them, being the territorial beasts that we are. Plus, this is THE go-to reference for alternative terms for lady parts. (Sorry, no spoiler alerts.)

Okay, this never happens: I was reading this play and didn't want it to end. The construction of this play is such a treat; the beautifully connected stories ultimately tell a tale that's sweet and savory, rich and frothy, comforting and unsettling all at the same time. It's as journey built upon questions and images and shifting realities, but we've always got the playwright's assured voice to hang onto. Hooray.

A raw and intimate look at a young man reeling after a profound loss, the discoveries he makes about his mother and the trail he follows... which leads him somewhere he didn't at all expect. I loved the playwright's ability to surprise us with sharp turns and dark comedy, even as he navigates such deeply emotional territory. Love even more that this is a first draft; can't wait to see where he goes next!

The way Gina leads us with a sure, easy hand into off-center (yet we know exactly who they are) characters is such a treat in this bittersweet, almost gentle play. Set in a sex shop where porn, vibrators, piano tunes and Disney films as art form all play together nicely, the world of THIS HAPPENED is at once everyday and taboo, way familiar (in a good way) and totally unexpected.