Recommended by Kim E. Ruyle

Wow! Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend finds the perfect tone and hits every note in this wonderful romantic comedy. The quirky characters are an enchanting blend of wacky, pitiable, and loveable. They are distinctly drawn, but there’s also a collective vibe of the single, mid-twenties women that is captured perfectly. This play is truly funny, but it manages to be so much more. it’s an insightful exploration of relationships and self-confidence. Brava!

Syran packs so much into this short historical play. By blending a meta theatrical world with some documentary of the Nazi invasion of Norway, we get a history lesson and a story about the courage of the Norwegian people and, specifically, about the courage of a theatre coat check girl. There’s also the courage of the theatre cast and crew who take the stage in spite of danger and, most striking, the courage of a mother to make a decision that goes against every fiber of her being. Terrific.

Doug Gearhart has a distinctive voice. There are echoes of Mamet and Shepherd in Gearhart’s work, but it’s not derivative. It’s creative and original. Stories about common men, regular guys (yes, mostly guys), that go through life mostly unseen. They use language that is coarse and so authentic. The problems they face are real gritty problems related to their identity and achieving something that others might deem insignificant. Just Like Stealing brilliantly delivers such a story. Bravo!

We all have a different level of tolerance for change, but for everyone, there’s a point at which change becomes threatening. For Sheila, who’s in her 70s, the thought of going to a strip club for a bachelorette party is a bridge too far. I love stories with seniors, and Donnelly gives us a fun story here that’s a testament to the ability of seniors to get past their fears and embrace change. Go Sheila!

Sherman’s got a gift for comedy. I was sucked from the opening scene. The comedic dialogue just sings, but this play is more than hilarity. It has heart. It has romance. And it has the poignant transformation of two seniors finding each other and life anew. Maladies is lovely.

Drift is a grim but thought-provoking and highly theatrical examination of a failing marriage and it’s tragic end. Drift is beautifully crafted, so the story unfolds and reveals the secrets of Eliana and David at a perfect pace and with an exquisite design to guarantee the engagement of the audience. Excellent.

Brilliant! Braverman has perfectly captured the pomposity and verbosity of the legal profession, and pity poor Leo who has inadvertently wandered into the wrong area of the park. If there’s a hell, the Lawyer Zone is it.

Welcome to the Family is a worthy addition to the series that follows a non-traditional family over a couple of decades. Will, who came on the scene in a previous episode, takes center stage. He’s anticipating his marriage to P.J. when his biological father and half-brother arrive unexpectedly, and this sends him into a tailspin. His reaction is all too real, but his family – all of his family, especially Josh – help him find his way through his pain. Another excellent family drama.

It all hits at once. The death of Paul’s dad. The appearance of Will who’s spent the night with P.J. The arrival of Dorothy that’s followed by the arrival of Fox. And then, to top it off, the arrival of Gene, Will’s alcohol-abusing father. In lesser hands, the story of these characters with all the emotions, decisions, and conflict (some physical) could be muddled. But Williams masterfully weaves it all together in a moving, heartfelt tapestry, a fitting next chapter in the saga of this family.

Friedman has theatrically animated a psychological framework in this woman-centered play so that, rather than being academic and clinical, Attachment Theory is an engaging story. The premise is a great starting point, but it’s the distinctly drawn principal characters that give this play vitality. Jackie and Jasmine are especially compelling characters and breathe life and humor and insight into the story, but the ensemble works so well together and gives Attachment Theory a beating heart.