Recommended by John Busser

Joe Swenson writes a "meet-cute" play with a little bit of a sci-fi twist to it. It seems both of these characters have a "gift" that carries them through their interaction. And the audience benefits the most from this. With terrific dialogue and some delightful call backs to earlier points in the script, this is a wonderful romantic story that begs an expansion. Where can this go? I'd like to find out.

Well that certainly made me laugh! Don Baker has a fun-filled, pun-filled piece (I was talking about his play here. Get your minds out of the gutter!) Size matters to some, and even though this is a short play (only 6 pages) the laughs are long and hard. God, It's tough doing this without resorting to dick jokes. Thankfully, Don has things well in hand here (dammit, did it again). The names are oh-so-appropriate, the issue is all-too-real, and I haven't thought about this type of thing since right before my honeymoon. Could be why I'm divorced...

With a title like that, how could I NOT be interested in reading it. And despite Sam Heyman's fun title, it's an interesting dilemma we have here. Do you accept your fate, knowing you are basically a prisoner who in the end, will be turned into hamburger, or do you yearn for more? Mavis refuses to be cowed (so to speak) and Bessie may get the last word in, but there are a lot of laughs to be milked here.

A powerful reminder that hate can only end in tragedy. And there are tragedies aplenty here. We hear of a bombing where thousands lost their lives. We see the aftermath of the death of a trans child, beloved by one and shunned by another. Mostly, we see the tearing asunder of a family relationship because of seemingly irreconcilable differences in the treatment of the child. The handling of the journal entry, letting us see and hear Estrella's pain is a tremendous device. And then the painful resolution, where we witness Eladio finally holding himself accountable is powerful and heartbreaking.

Putting two characters with weirdly similar yet wildly different personalities together always produces sparks. Scott Sickles knows so well how to do this. You totally get why Bascom is attracted to Issac and vice versa. The fun is in watching these two maneuver around each other. And rather than try to add conflict to spice things up, Sickles lets these two just find each other for a happy resolution. With gentle humor and charm to spare, we are infinitely more interested to see where these two go than the unseen married couple they are there for.

A picture perfect mystery (without the picture, of course) done up as a radio play. Very glad Vivian Lermond has continued the adventures of Dorethea and Margarite, the detective sisters with an eye for crime and a taste for sweets. As always, Vivian's dialogue has charm out the wazoo (even if my review doesn't). As a radio play, there's a lot to fiddle around with; party noises, location sounds, the retort of gunfire, etc. I bet the sound designer will have a field day. As will any audience listening to this. I hope the sisters sleuthing and snacking will continue.

Christopher Lockheardt highlights something here that, if you think about it, most of us have not paid nearly enough attention to. A simple thing like a first kiss. You might remember where or when it took place. Who it was with. But really, does anyone dwell on the kiss itself? Or any subsequent kissing? A short play about really paying attention to the details. Lockheardt reminds us here to take heed of these details. They can enrich us more than we think. A simple piece that says volumes. Wonderful writing here, Chris.

Oh man, this broke me. I was treating Kelly like a real dog while reading this. And the choice between Sue and Doug was wrenching. I wanted Kelly with both of them. As I'm sure an audience will. Mike Solomonson has created a play that will tear at your heartstrings while making you praise God we have dogs in our lives. I can give this piece no higher praise than to say I'm supremely envious I didn't think to write this first. And I couldn't write it nearly as well as Mike did. Beautifully done. Thanks for THIS service, Mike.

THIS is why dating is so hard. There are expectations and realities and rarely do they meet. But in this case, Mike Solomonson throws in an extra monkey wrench. What IF the perfect date shows some baggage you weren't expecting? In this case, living with the family. This could be cause for alarm, but we find out (even if Angela doesn't) there's a good and compassionate reason for the living arrangements. Sometimes expectations, with a little adjustment, can still be met. This play does a wonderful job of presenting a complex situation that COULD have worked. Too bad Angela!

There's a lot going on here and even more at stake. For AL that is. He's competing with a dead man and losing thanks to nothing more than an A.I. phone app. How's that for terrifying? We're so addicted to technology that real people can't compete. Mike Solomonson has hit on something here and it has some pretty frightening implications. That being said, Mike doesn't attempt to scare you here, just show realistic people (the dialogue is very natural sounding, veering from jokiness to solemn at the drop of a hat) in an strange new world. Hope we're ready.