Recommended by Adam Richter

I laughed out loud reading this hilariously over-the-top sendup of Star Wars, Star Trek, nearly every other sci-fi franchise you've ever thought of — and Chekhov. Philip Middleton Williams leaves no cliché unturned, and audiences will love it. Bravo!

When art and science collide, sometimes the science must suffer for the sake of the art. Monica Cross's terrific short play gives us plenty of heat, both romantic and exothermic*, in this short science-fiction comedy where the earth crashing into the sun is the LEAST of everyone's worries. Enjoy this sci-fi treat, but more importantly: Produce it.
*I'm sure the Galactic Dramaturg will correct me if I'm wrong.

Monica Cross perfectly captures the voices and social styles of 9-year-olds in this touching play about friendship and conflict. You feel for these two kids as they navigate a seemingly simple question that doesn't have an easy answer: Why didn't you turn in your homework?
This would be a great play for a pair of child actors. Bravo!

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.