Recommended by Kim E. Ruyle

The Practice Room is beautiful. It’s rare to find a two-hander where characters compare and contrast across so many dimensions. Julissa and Giselle are altogether likeable and yet flawed. They are kindred spirits and yet polar opposites. They complement each other perfectly and make each other better. Like the music they will make together, The Practice Room has perfect tempo, rich harmony, and stirring emotional chemistry. Brava!

Easy to see why Ruby Tuesday is already getting production! Really fantastic, insightful work. The dialogue/relationships are terrific – interesting, authentic, and revealing. It’s smart. It’s funny. It’s magical. But what makes this play so special is how Byham so smoothly sucks us into the story. The reveals are perfect as to timing and execution. It seems effortless, and that’s a testament to the craft on display here. Ruby Tuesday gets my highest recommendation.

Kim Loe takes us into the world of British wrestling populated with an ensemble of authentic wrestlers and a wheeler-dealer promoter. It’s a gritty world that’s in decline, or is it? Maybe not after wrestlers choreograph their own performances instead of doing the bidding of the promoter who’s being pushed into a deal with Americans. The characters are great. And the choreography – Wow! It’s all very theatrical, and manages to be sad, hopeful, and comical. Well done.

Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend serves up the inauspicious beginning and the surprising ending of a year-long national tour of a children’s theatre troupe. Four players populate this dark comedy, and what a great cast of characters they are – all so distinct and well-drawn. This fast-paced ensemble piece is highly producible. One-liners pop like popcorn, and the tribulations of the actors at the hand of a sinister stage manager pay off handsomely in the clever, unsettling twist at the end. Well done!

Oh, those restless spirits! Kantor’s characters are vividly drawn and immediately likable. Set in 1920, this tender, female-centered story moves briskly, carried by sparkling, authentic dialogue. The women seek comfort through mysticism, which is anathema for Sully, Annie’s beau. His efforts to dissuade her don’t have the effect he intends but may be what Annie needs to unburden herself. The Care and Feeding of Restless Spirits is powerful, thought-provoking, and ultimately affirming. Brava!

Is there one special person, a soul mate, that exists for every individual? If there is, how can we be sure we’ve found The One? And what becomes of us if we find The One but fail to recognize it until it’s too late? Or maybe never? What is life without true love? These are the momentous questions raised in Her Love, Endures, the bittersweet saga of Joe and Sandy. It’s a poignant saga that will have the audience pondering their life choices. What could be more important?

“Sometimes you have to look beyond the obvious” - a repeating theme in Norkin’s full-length upgrade to The Big Sneeze. What’s obvious is that poor Larry can’t win between a crippling sneeze, a disastrous, drug-induced best man speech, and a pickleball backhand to the rib cage. What’s also obvious is the addition of Larry’s mother adds a whole new dimension to Larry’s suffering and the comedy. There’s non-stop physical comedy and one-line zingers. I-choo think The Big Sneeze is big on laughs!

Out of the Scorpion’s Nest is a superb, gripping three-hander. And the story unfolds beautifully, underpinned by Minigan’s research and his deft touch with dialogue. The characters are equally compelling – flawed but thoroughly likeable. And the obstacles each faces create a fantastic three-dimensional story – ethical dilemmas, health issues, and dysfunctional family relationships. Very highly recommended.

I am a Sean Grennan fan and have seen quite a few of his plays on stage, some multiple times. Now and Then is my favorite – I’ve seen it at three different theatres and would see it again. Grennan’s plays are thought-provoking, perhaps none more so than Now and Then. Great characters. Lots of humor. Lots of heart. Lots of great lines, but most memorable for me: Abby telling Jimmy that Jamie isn’t selfish enough to make to the top. I chew on that line almost every day. Bravo!

Big Bastard is an unsettling, dark mystery. Houk skillfully weaves the story of Patty’s trauma as young woman at the hands of a “big bastard” with the tormented existence of Patrice who, years later, must contend with a villain of an entirely different species. The haunting interlaced story lines take the audience on a heartbreaking journey that will certainly provoke conversation and reflection after the curtain drops.