Recommended by Adam Richter

And you thought the Beatles had problems. Their dysfunction is nothing like what's happening with Cäterwäul. Dominica Plummer's short and hilarious comedy shows us a band on the verge of making it big — if not for a blizzard that shut down their high school gym. When the parents show up, revealing how cool THEY used to be, the comedy gets turned up to 11.
"Cäterwäul" rocks. As to whether Cäterwäul gets a chance to rock: That depends on the weather.
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There is a depressing stubbornness to hate, and what makes it worse is when such bigotry is on display in one's own family. Kevin's mother sticks to her rigid notions of what it means to be Irish, to the point of alienating her gay son. It would lead to a heartbreaking ending but for the choice that Kevin makes that gives him, and the audience, hope.

Paul Donnelly packs a ton of thoughtful commentary into this short play with great dialogue and vivid characters. Well done!

The closing credits of "Car Talk" have nothing on Joe Swenson, whose "Justin Thyme" is a theatrical and laugh-out-loud funny take on the predicament of punny names. The wordplay in this is delicious and the play would be a delight for audiences and actors alike.

You never know what REALLY goes on in the lives of people who write holiday newsletters. Debra Cole's fantastic short drama provides a peek into the agony of getting this peculiar tradition just right. She does so without resorting to easy parody. David Sedaris this ain't. The final reveal at the end is a gut punch that just makes the entire piece that much more poignant and memorable.

"Funny, dark and tender" can be used to describe so many of Scott Sickles' works, but "Wheel of Fortune Reversed" excels so well at all three. This masterful comedy-drama gives us a man who is afraid of death yet determined to confront it. He does so in unexpected ways, and the ending is likewise not at all how you think a confrontation with the Grim Reaper will end.
A beautiful play about life's final moments. Bravo!

Not all ghosts are there to haunt. Zelly's dead husband stays with her long after he's gone to help her cope with the loss of him, and guide her to a new life. Grief is a universal feeling that humans have been trying to wrestle as long as there have been humans. But Miranda Jonte finds something new to say about it, and she does so beautifully.

"The Great Tinsel War of 1979" is a laugh-out-loud comedy about the conflict with the highest stakes: holiday traditions. Told as a Ken Burns-style mockumentary, the play exposes the raw nerves of two families, telling their stories with deadly seriousness and hilarious results.

Christopher Soucy reminds us that maybe we shouldn't hew to tradition so rigidly. I'd love to see this in a lineup of holiday shorts. The cast would have a ball with this play.

Sam Heyman takes the convention of having a narrator, plays with it, tosses it in the air, smashes it with a hammer and rebuilds it in this funny, funny play. For the man behind the curtain, everything rides on Portnoy committing a mundane, everyday act. But when Carl inserts himself into the story, much to Portnoy's dismay, the consequences are world-changing.

This is a fun play that would be a treat for audiences and actors.

Bravo! And gesundheit!

Some people think Christmas has gotten too commercial. Those heathens never tried to write a Christmas (sorry — HOLIDAY) jingle for a septic tank company.
PHILIP MIDDLETON WILLIAMS once again hits it out of the park with this short and hilarious satire of ad writers trying to make the holidays a little greener for their clients. Absolutely brilliant.

Such a beautiful play about second chances — for dogs and for people. The action is perfectly paced, as is the evolution of the characters. Straton Rushing has given us a terrific piece that is uplifting without seeming the least bit treacly. Bravo!