Recommended by Stephanie Alison Walker

This highly theatrical play is grounded in its complex characters and their love for each other. It's deeply moving and filled with surprising moments throughout. I love how we get to see the sleight of hand play out on stage and how sleight of hand is deployed as a metaphor as well. The Magician's Sister is about female magicians, sisters, father-daughter/mother-daughter relationships, suffocating expectations placed on others and ourselves, processing trauma and forgiveness. This is sure to be a massive crowd pleaser and truly deserves many productions!

I'm very particular about parenting plays and this one gets it. It's real, complex, hilarious, specific, so very relatable and inquisitive. Hallie Palladino gets underneath what's at the heart of struggles for parents and friendships. There's no re-packaging old stereotypes here, but unearthing truths and searching for catharsis. The Cleanup is a wonderful ride of a play with huge stakes, delicious relationships, beautiful metaphor and imagery and a satisfying catharsis.

I had the privilege of seeing the world premiere by Teatro Vista at Steppenwolf (currently running at Steppenwolf.) This play delivers everything I look for in a night of theatre-- crackling dialogue, complex women, suspense, intrigue and catharsis. Nozicka's writing is razor sharp and authentic. At its core, this is a play that explores (in an extremely fresh manner) how to love when it's scary, how to accept someone through their pain and how we cope (or don't) with unfathomable grief. Nozicka is a storyteller to watch and this play is not to be missed!

I want to see this play so very much! I had the privilege of hearing Jonathan Norton read excerpts of his own work at the NNPN Showcase 2022 and I was not alone in wanting more more more! I love these characters, this premise and this world that I know so little about- Usher Boards. Norton's talent for character and dialogue delivers a feast and I will for sure be overeating without shame. Nourishing storytelling at its best!

Everyone has said it. It's brilliant. It's so funny, authentically nuanced, courageous, enticing and ultimately gut punching. Inda uses everything at her disposal- her deeply drawn character work, her gift for dialogue, her mastery of metaphor and visual language to create this complex and powerful piece that is highly entertaining and says so much.

Burst grabbed me immediately and didn't let me go until the final beat. Bublitz has crafted a tightrope walk of a play that delves into the meaty terrain of women relationships in business and power and ethics in Silicon Valley. The writing is crisp and visual, the tension is thick and the story is riveting. I'd love to see this one on stage!

This play is a visceral and highly relatable look at what it means to be a woman in this world today through the lens of the early days of Covid. As usual, Maisel's writing is highly poetic, specific and visual. With Yellow Wallpaper 2.0 2020, she takes us on a journey of one family and makes us face our own struggles as individuals and partners.

How many different ways to say that E.M. Lewis' writing is gorgeous, human, transformative and healing? I'm adding my voice to these lovely recommendations to say that the shared pain of this play is what heals us all. Sharing the pain. Sharing our truth. Lewis' writing is so grounded and truthful in every single beat. She's one of the masters of subtext. The shared humanity of her work makes it relevant forever.

Deb Hiett gives us all the goods with Circle Forward. It's filled with humor, mystery, intrigue, twists, complex characters and gut-wrenching authenticity. In a Deb Hiett play, chicken salad is never just chicken salad. I desperately want to see a full production of this play. And the roles, oh the amazing roles for actors. The entire premise itself is unendingly fascinating. She has struck gold with this one. It's a tour de force.

Both surreal and uncomfortably realistic, Fenbert's The Intensive is a character-driven feast. It forces us to question everything just like the characters in the play. What's real? What's imagined? What's transformation? What's manipulation? The characters shift in their own thinking as we do as well. I love the unexpected twists and the comedy. It's laugh out loud and incisively human.