Recommended by John Busser

03.18.25 - I guess it's never too late to find lost love (in this case, the familial kind between father and son). James learns from his sister that his estrangement from his father may have been unfounded. Even if it took dad's funeral to get him here to learn it. Avoiding an easy narrative of reconciliation, Rachel Feeny-Williams instead shows us that while life is finite, love truly can be eternal. This was a wonderful read.

03.18.25 - Dealing with the loss of a loved one is sometimes a burden incapable of being carried alone. But asking someone for help it isn't something we tend to do. Which makes the character of Braden a literal Godsend for Joanie whether she realizes it or not. Joe Swenson's characters here are so relatable you can't help but get caught up in their story. You want Joanie to find peace and Braden seems like the antithesis of that, until you understand why he is there. Touching and beautiful.

03.17.25 - Sometimes the best medicine doesn't come from pills or needles, but from understanding the pain of another human being and offering to share some of that burden. Nurse Elsie, with little in the way of supplies and hours of flight time with three wounded vets, does her damndest to help the three men through their agonies. The character work here is terrific. I feel like these are real men. And hell, I want to learn the tune of Gregory's songs. Wonderful writing from Danielle Wirsansky.

03.17.25 - Well THAT stuck the landing for me. Abby Burgess gives us 4 friends (or 3 friends and someone becoming one?) with a Sex-In-The-City vibe crossed with the X-Files. Color me intrigued. Would be fun for actresses to play that catty, bantering, teasing dynamic and just when the audience isn't looking, BAM, out come the claws. But for real. Fun stuff.

03.17.25 - The best works always have a large spectrum of emotional depth to them, taking you from laugh-out-loud highs to soul-crushing lows. Aly Kantor manages this with ease. Manic Mina, the main protagonist here, is on the verge of something with potential to change the universe. If only she dares to do so. But failure would be intolerable, so the question hangs. Should she? Maybe if she slept on it first. Or would that ruin everything? Read this to find out.

03.17.25 - I had the distinct pleasure to read this aloud over Zoom and couldn't have enjoyed it more. Being a movie fan, I was tickled over all the movie references (The Swarm AND The Wicker Man amongst others, what's not to like?) as Grandpa spins his tales for his grandpupae(?). David Lipschutz always delights with his writing and I would love to portray Grandpa onstage if only to say all this great stuff.

03.17.25 - If a pinball game could be translated into a play, Sam Heyman would be the one to do it, if this play is any indication. The laughs fly in from unexpected directions, caroming off responses and bouncing the characters along to even funnier laughs. Charlotte ands Nigel keep hammering away at Melanie until she doesn't know what to expect. I laughed my head off at this.

03.17.25 - This was heart-breaking to endure, yet riveting to read. Our inhumanity towards the "other" isn't limited to those in power. Sometimes the peripheral ones, desperate in their own ways, are just as guilty when they find themselves on a slightly higher rung of the ladder. Scott Sickles has written a deeply emotional look at how we all claw our way out of the pits we find ourselves in, and we don't always care about who we are crawling over. Powerful and important to contemplate.

03.13.25 - Don Baker hits the bullseye here as he skewers those churchgoing hypocrites that want God's teachings served with some white privilege on top. We're seeing quite a bit of this attitude lately, and nobody is calling these toxic individuals out on their disregard for the Bible's teachings (except of course, the ones talking punishment of people they don't like. And where are THOSE teachings anyway? That's right, they only exist in their closed minds). A smart on-target slap in the face.

03.13.25 - A really funny piece that would be terrific to see staged, if only for the costumes. And page 9. Something happens on page 9 that I want to see happen in a theater. I won't say what it is. But I want to see it. Bruce Bonafede is a twisted individual. Thank God for twisted individuals. And Pigeons.