Recommended by Doug DeVita

Once again, Busser writes about a hit man, but in this case the gasps induced are from uncontrollable laughter. A delightful comedy with an outlandish plot and two of the most endearing criminals ever put on a stage, this is Busser firing on all cylinders, and hitting the mark with every hilarious line.

Plays about Death can be funny. And this one is funny. Funny, funny, ROFLMAO funny.

A tour de force for an actress and I imagine great fun for an audience to watch as one performer plays three distinctly different women at very different ages, linked La Ronde style by the Pharmacy in which their stories are set. What’s breathtaking for both the actress and the audience alike is how distinctly drawn these three women are; Lamedman’s characters jump off the page/stage with their sharply detailed quirks and peculiarities, and command our attention throughout. Terrific work.

Powerful stuff; what takes this piece beyond a COVID-themed play is how Lamedman beautifully captures the arrogant ignorance permeating our society, which gives it heft and an urgency that will always keep it timeless, and potent.

All families have stories they pass down from generation to generation; some are older than the hills, some are barely a decade old, and some are… well… hilarious. Picture Marie Barone and Julia Child going head-to-head over latkes at a family Chanukah celebration, and you’ll get an idea what D. Lee Miller serves up in this delightful short comedy which crosses cultural boundaries with its universal story: who hasn’t watched in amused bemusement as mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and sisters-in-law have torn each other apart at the buffet table over whose covered dish should remain covered? Spot on, Lee.

A perfect one-minute that should be filmed and broadcast as a PSA everywhere.

As much as we love the humans in our life, our pets hold a special place in our hearts; Williams captures the profoundly emotional bond we share with them in this deeply touching, tender, and moving work from the master of memory, longing, mourning, letting go, and moving on – but not forgetting. Well done.

A lovely, touching work from Vansant that deals with love, loss, and reconciliation in an appealingly low-key yet magical manner. Truly haunting, in the best way.

A few things stood out for me in Ian Thal’s gleefully satiric comedy: the nostalgia for a time when we fervently believed passion was enough to change the world; the precise look at the absolute fatuousness of college administrations and their steadfast inability to ever truly listen to their students; and – as mentioned before – that fabulous pillow fight. Well done, Ian!

Taube’s incisive look at a rape victim’s emotional journey to forgiving ¬– but not forgetting ¬– tackles the generational damage inflicted by bad parenting with clear-eyed, dispassionate passion. Greatly benefitting from it sharply drawn characters and its all-female cast, this play should enjoy a long life in theatre’s all over the country. It has something to say and says it with eloquent force.