Recommended by Doug DeVita

Superb storytelling, ghoulishly witty gallows humor, larger-than-life-characters, and a wonderful twist at the end make Jim Lucason's "The Prisoner" fabulously entertaining to read. And with three roles for gifted actors to sink their teeth into, it should play even better. Dark fun!

Delicately heartbreaking, David Zarko’s “Hobson’s Choice” beautifully limns the relationship between a 30-something woman and her gay boyfriend, carefully avoiding all the cliches by concentrating on the humanity of both characters as they face an impossible decision: continue with a relationship that is unsatisfying but comfortable, or have no relationship at all. A lovely, haunting work.

A musical about the Donner Party? What an audacious idea. And yet, like many other unlikely subjects for musical treatment have in the past, Margaret Rose's strong book and Eric Rockwell's soaring score prove there is no story off limits when it is given the right treatment. And Rockwell and Rose have certainly done that. I hope this show enjoys a long, successful life – I for one would love to see it staged, sooner rather than later.

Brutally honest, intensely personal, gorgeously theatrical – Emma Goldman-Sherman's FUCKT is extraordinary on any and every level. As riveting as it is to read, I can only imagine how powerful it will be when staged. And it should be. Often.

Powerful, relentless, and grimly beautiful, Gina Femia's "The Violet Sisters" captures a soured sibling relationship in all its brutal glory, providing a tour de force for two performers to devour with gusto. Extraordinary.

Short, but stunningly constructed and filled with rich detail and heartbreaking depth. It haunts for days after reading it, becoming even richer and deeper with time. I'm sorry I missed the recent production at Sam French, but I'm sure I'll be seeing it in another production soon.

This play gobsmacked me when I saw it at the NY Fringe Festival, and gobsmacked me again when I recently re-read it. A stunning work of triumph over the unthinkable horrors of bad parenting, often harrowing, often funny, and always, always moving. Bravo again, Bob. Bravo.

Shaun Fauntleroy takes a look at casual, everyday racism as filtered through the lens of writers working on a pilot for a new HBO series. She looks with daggers in her eyes, and then proceeds to decimate the tangled knottiness of her subject matter (and her genially agreeable characters) with nothing more than incisive, unsparing, yet absolutely hilarious honesty. IMHO: a perfect 10, and sure ratings winner.

One of the darkest and funniest plays I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading and/or heard read. It’s so unapologetically black in its humor, every time you think it couldn’t possibly top itself it does, and the laughs pile up as fast as the bodies. Gasp inducing, bloody good fun.

Nifty, funny, terrifying thriller, perfect for the Halloween season.