Recommended by John Busser

The multiple levels this piece plays with make it a delightful little exercise for the audience. Our two characters don't know whether they are themselves, playing characters, or playing characters who for all intents, ARE themselves, which makes it doubly (or triply) satisfying when they reach the ending of the play... within the play... within the play.

Ooh would THIS piece be great to hear on the radio. The characters themselves talk about the power of imagination and sure enough, what we would imagine listening to this would surely be more horrific than seeing it. The inevitability of this going wrong is somewhat akin to people who go to horror movies KNOWING THEY WILL BE SCARED but go anyway is wonderfully ironic.

A sharp-as-a-tack ensemble comedy for a group of actresses that have to be even sharper to keep up with the constant barrage of banter from this hard-drinking group of friends. Discussing everything from singing gynecologists to name picks for private parts, the zingers fly fast and furious. Really fun stuff.

This short comedy not only hits all the right notes in being relatable and funny, but the added confusion and frustration needed to settle matters over Zoom just compounds the hilarity. I like that Dana Hall makes use of Zoom's multiple drawbacks for comedic effect. And yet, this play isn't all just jokes. It's got heart to it as well. Which makes it all the better for the stage.

I should have known this was a Vivian Lermond monologue. It drips with authenticity and comic timing. The interaction of the drunk at the drive-thru with Barbara sounds like the lament that launched a thousand fast food job desertions. Funny and oh-so-relatable.

The beauty of this play by Greg Vovos is in watching the plot simmer and steam under a constant lack of fulfillment on Father's part for Uncle's desk. Uncle keeps procrastinating because he MUST HAVE THIS DESK. And the plot keeps throwing ridiculously hilarious curveballs that keep it just out of his reach. Vovos knows exactly how to build comic tension here, and the payoff is appropriately sublime. Any writer should see himself reflected in this funhouse mirror. I know I did.

Just when you think you may have reached your zenith, sometimes another perspective can show you there is more that life has to offer. Every step you take is but a resting spot till you make the next one. David Hansen puts this in a simple and eloquent fashion with a play about two friends who approach things from looking in opposite directions. One looks where they are at. The other, more importantly, looks ahead. Nicely written.

A simple moment of polite interaction is rudely (and loudly) interrupted in a short play about how life itself is full of connections that get severed by outside events. Stuart Hoffman's characters ring true here. The small talk they make grows increasingly personal and interesting, but before something more can have a chance to take root, the intercom cleaves through the connection like a meat cleaver. It's sad to contemplate how many other connections get severed this way, but that's life. And that's what makes this piece so relatable.

This adaptation of the story of Jesus in the wilderness eschewing the material offers of a tempter shows there's a lot more to this story than you would first believe. It would be so easy for Jay to accept the "goods" offered by El, but Jay doesn't need them. He has all he requires, which infuriates El. Is this charity rejected, and is it really charity? And although Jay seems in the dark about things, it's really El who can't see the forest for the trees. Smartly told.

There are two very important lessons to learn in this dark comedy from Alice Josephs. Never, never, NEVER mistreat an old woman in a story. And ALWAYS read the fine print. Then you'll be better off than poor Simon is in this fun little play.