Recommended by John Busser

I didn't know whether to laugh or scream in anger, but since the cause is in this hilarious play by Joe Swenson, I laughed long and hard. Watching Mary Beth absolutely torment poor Peter got funnier with each line. I would bet any audience member watching this play would certainly identify with Peter's dilemma. His solution was novel, just as ludicrous as her handling of things and the perfect topper to this piece. Who needs anger management when you've got faster dolphins (it makes sense in context, believe me)?

If you haven't read Cue yet, you're missing a sure-fire winning comedy by Kate Danley! I liked it so much I'm giving it a second read and recommendation. If you're an actor, this will surely resonate with you as we've ALL had this happen at one time or another. John and Mary tap dance around the late-to-the-stage Tom in ever more hilarious ways. Tom continues to be a bigger source of laughs OFFstage than he probably would be on. Produce this play somewhere near me so I can see it in all it's glory.

With characters like these three aspects of the devil, you'd think this would be a much darker piece, but it's surprisingly light and sort of fun. Getting together at a reunion, we see Beezy, Luce and Stan reminisce about better (or is it worse?) times, and with the nostalgia that brings up, we also get some contemplation on where to go from here. Here, Stan wants to pursue a lighter path. I don't know about you, but I was rooting for Stan to walk that path. Nostalgia can be fun, but forging a new way has its benefits as well.

A short and sweet strike that is (pun definitely intended) right up my alley. Vivian Lermond has penned a winner here as we see a woman inadvertently try to pull off a 7-10 split when she goes for two bowlers from the same team. But some balls never roll that way and we see there's no splitting these good buddies.

I laughed numerous times reading this piece by Liz Duffy Adams and I think you will too. Any playwrights out there NOT see themselves in Bill's shoes, even if only for a moment. The satire runs freely here, with the "serious" talkbackers expounding on everything wrong with the play, even as they attempt to dumb it down for the masses. Bill's decision at the end is sweet, even as it is followed by a parting shot of absurdity. I would love for an audience to have a real talkback after seeing this. I loved this.

There really is a light at the end of a dark tunnel. But it's a lot easier to see it when we have someone to walk the tunnel with. Both Mom and Son went through the darkness alone, but they both came to realize there was someone out there who needed them. Glenn Alterman writes a hopeful play about suicide, with an important lesson to teach. Mom and Son are inside most of us in one aspect or another, so it's both a relief and a reminder to look for those other points of light to show us the way.

A brilliant epilogue to a series of pieces that, while they portray an abused and damaged individual, shows there's a way to pick up the damaged bits, piece them together, and come out stronger. Joe Swenson is a giant of a human being. His experiences could have left him twisted and brittle, ready to fall apart at the slightest provocation. Instead, he took his experience and drove straight at the darkness, made it his bitch, and put it up there for the benefit of others, those who needed to hear it, and those, like myself, who WANT to hear it.

The concept of the "do-over" is brought wonderfully to life by Mark Harvey Levine in this short piece that takes one line uttered at a party, and explores various tracks the conversation could, would, should, and shouldn't follow. Although the paths diverge concurrently, in a variety of ways, the presentation makes a weird kind of sense. There's a magical quality at play here as we watch George and Joan navigate and replay their responses to each other. We want them to succeed, and the maze they wander through takes them down equally interesting paths. Terrific stuff.

Pity the poor understudy. Not quite good enough to snag the role, but expected to learn the role anyway, most likely never to perform it. Well, in Courtney Taylor's laugh out loud farce, the Understudy has the opposite problem. Watching the escalation of excuses (and roles) thrown at this character was a hoot and a half. This was a play written for ALL the unsung heroes of theater, the Understudy actors, the Techies, the SMs, who get to learn the hilariously hard way, that the show must go on. No matter who has dropped out.

The personification of a website review comes to hilarious life in this short and sweet piece by Rob Matsushita. The characters put a face to the play we haven't seen (but someone has, and they were NOT amused). The comments sound absolutely real (and I'm guessing they are) and are scathingly funny as hell, as we see the battle lines being drawn between those who loathed it and those who loved it (wearing terrific disguise mustaches of course). Would love to see this mirror of a play shown to an audience.