Recommended by John Busser

A frightening examination of power hierarchy in relationships. Sam Heyman gives us an unsettling and hard to watch (but compelling nevertheless) play about control and the price to pay for surrendering it in the name of comfort. For Pete, the price suddenly becomes too high as the addition of Glenn adds an unwanted element to his and Marcus' situation. And yes, Pete isn't in control here. And that makes all the difference. This is horrifying as it reflects the power dynamic of many real world relationships. I imagine a number of audience members might have their own eyes opened.

I'd say the unseen aliens of Lee Lawing's play are shooting fish in a barrel here, but it's more like eating these fish. A support group of "wanna-be" alien abductees is a truly inspired idea and I expect no less from Lee. His mind works in mysteriously funny ways. The humor is spot on, the characters perfectly imagined. The sound and lighting people will have a field day at one point, (and you'll know what I mean) will have your audience believing that the truth is out there, or at least up there on stage.

Holy Sh*t! That was creepy as Hell! And we STILL don't know what "IT" is. Dan Prillaman's script is brilliantly creepy and it's power comes from the fact that we don't know the answer to the question posed here. The audience is left to finish the play in their own minds. This is absolutely my favorite thing I've read today. And now I know I'm going to be just a little apprehensive the next time I see my doctor, and she tells me to breathe deeply. Thanks Dan, you sick bastard...

Recollections of past events are by definition, unfinished. Memory is faulty, and the narrator is usually presenting an isolated point of view. Which makes this short series of monologues by Liz Duffy Adams more intriguing. They not only provide additional viewpoints, but because they are presented from different points in time as well, we see how focus can shift. Cora concentrates on different things than does Annie, or Kate. Their situations provide insight into their lives during the event as well as years later. Not a whole picture by any means, but a much expanded view than we we expecting.

I love the "meta-ness" of it. Playwright characters writing dystopian plays during a dystopia. J. Chavez hits all the right notes too, including the Lesbian love story (or porn story, depending how far the playwright would have gotten before being interrupted). There's plenty of inside-baseball type humor here for us playwrights, but an audience force fed one goddamn dystopian play after another will spot all the tropes as well. Well done.

It astonishes me to think that there are people in this world to whom this play would represent a documentary, and not a dark AF satire on the 2nd Amendment zombies who believe in their hearts that the only bad guns are the unfired ones. Brian Cern actually hits the bullseye here with his fictional family more interested in making daughter a martyr (And my God, is that not the saddest thing you've ever heard?) in order to preserve their God-given right to Make America Great Again over her dead body. Scathing and necessary at the same time.

Wow! Just... wow. What an emotional wringer Chris Lockheardt puts the audience through. 2 damaged people playing two very different, but equally disturbing games with each other. The shift in the power dynamics goes both ways, and I honestly wondered, where was this going to go? And in whose favor? An audience is sure to be kept guessing right up until the end, and even then, you have to wonder if there are any real winners here. Yeas... the audience.

Work never stops, not for the everyday schlub with rent to pay, not for the mindless horde currently on the hunt for fresh meat. Greg Mandryk never disappoints, giving us a twisted, darkly funny take with this zombie apocalypse meets the Office short play. For some, the pursuit of the almighty dollar trumps pursuit of the brain. But considering the thinking ability of some of Greg's characters, these zombies might not need to take a lunch hour. Freaking funny stuff!

Part of being an audience member means you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the cringe. Bob LeBlanc has got your back. While the meet-cute (or meet-"Acute" - it's a weird triangle) of Brittany's current groom to be didn't exactly take the normal route to get there, she DID commit to tying the knot. Until, that is, she gets cold feet. Then she desperately needs help and our other character in this play, Mary, needs to help untie things. With humor, insight and some hard truths, Mary gets the job done. A wonderful two-hander.

I don't know who drank more cough syrup, the writers of this hysterically funny satire on American politics, or me before I read it. But there's something almost magical (read that: Fever-Dreamish) about watching the fictional (but sounding completely like the orange-hued idiot we all know) Papa Ubu as he stumbles, mumbles and bumbles his way through his dumb machinations. The audience will either be shell-shocked, horrified, bemused or in need of therapy after seeing this (You know, just like in real life). I laughed my ass off a number of times but only because it's funnier than crying. Bravo.