Recommended by D. Lee Miller

Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend is a playwright to be reckoned with. There's comedy in WE ARE CRANSTON and there is drama. There are well-drawn characters and pitch-perfect dialogue - and there is commentary, too -- on what our culture has chosen to value in competitive sports. I look forward to reading more of her work!

Is it because it's a Friday and I was happy to enter Grace O'Malley's Public House? Maybe. More likely, it's Vivian Lermond's Irish fare of musical-like anecdotes! For a bit of the blarney and the shanachie, come sit by Crowley's Corner. Have a drink or not, but definitely imbibe the Irish atmosphere, the characters and join in smiling ear to ear. You'll be jealous of Conklin and wish you were the American in this tale. Slainte!

Nothing is absolute and nothing ever was. John Mabey inspects the world of sexual labels that may have helped liberate and define us but are now traps of our own making. Have the times changed or have people changed? With loving and searching characters, relationships with insightful and delicious dialogue, B IS FOR BULLSH!T is a celebration of this mess we have created all in the name of good!

From the first moment of DOUBLE DOWN SANTA, we meet two lively characters whose dreams are over their heads. This high-spirited new short by Vivian Lermond is a doozy: As always, Lemond's writing is impeccable. I love the characters, the story and the sentiment behind this play. Treat yourself to a feel-good play - add it to any festival or line up and you'll be happy you did. P.S. I hope Lemond writes a play about Tutti Pignataro!

ALL IN A WHITE TRASH PIE by Miranda Jonte is a wonderful two slices of life --- that show how relationships work, how bonds are made and broken - how dreams might change. This play left me happy --- It's nice to see characters who love each other and are well-defined. Kudos to Jonte!

I like ANGEL'S MICE AND MEN vy Cindi Sansone-Braff. I like the people - the style of living they live. It is comfortable, ethnic and full of love. It is a light comedy - with some darkness - that keeps you wanting to know what happens next. Well done.

FIX by John Patrick Bray, is so real. It's the sitting on the ground real conversation in the back of a party. It's got the puff of soul in it. There is truth and honesty in its beautiful writing. When you say no one can catch that time in the 60's or 70's --- Bray can catch that time. Kudoes.

There are some people that have to ruin your day - or try. This succinct one-minute play, ANTAGONISM, or SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO P*SS IN THE POOL, by Steven G. Martin, not only has a title almost as long as the play, but will have a lasting effect on you, too. Martin nails it on the head.

A parent and child (no matter the age) play about HOW TO BREW TEA by Adam Richter is a good giggle. Some parents are not like this but so many are. A nearly universal moment in a family.

Claudia Haas' own walking play, (after challenging other writers to write them), TWENTY BELOW, is a theatrical journey with two close and likable characters. A mother and daughter set out in typical Minnesota weather with their own goals in mind. There are a some twists and turns that will leave your smiling and even laughing in this heartfelt play. Kudos to Haas for touching us so beautifully.