Recommended by Kim E. Ruyle

When a group of enterprising quilters help each other out to escape from their abusers we see how their creativity goes way beyond quilting. Shared interests can bring people together, but the Crazy Quilters share a bond unlike another other group of quilters. They share secrets, take risks for each other, and learn that nothing brings people together like having a common enemy. A dark comedy nicely done!

Melt is clever, creepy fun. Kniess lures us into the relationship dynamic between David and Stacey, throws in a twist with a marriage counselor, and then gives us a shocking but satisfying ending. Nice!

Sharing the Stage is Murder is a fun, frenetic romp as actors play multiple roles in multiple plays that are staged simultaneously. The pacing never lets up and heads never stop spinning in an attempt to keep up with identities, accents, and time periods. Lots of fun for the audience, and a challenging treat for actors to sink their teeth into various roles as they scramble to keep up with the choreography. Timing is everything in comedy. With the right timing, Sharing the Stage is Murder…Kills!

Ructions abound in this fast-moving three-hander. And the quarrels aren’t limited to verbal sparring – there’s physical combat that punctuates the dysfunction in this family. Smith paints a dystopian picture but then gives us a surprising view when the picture is flipped over. Ructions is sharply written and thought-provoking. Well done.

I hope Night of the Were-Wife is just the second in a long series of Boone monologues. Boone is a spinner of yarns par excellence. He stacks colorful, crazy, laugh-out-loud phrases one on top of another. And Busser makes it look easy, jes like Worman slidin’ outta his Mama’s flume ride.

From the gleefully demented mind of John Busser, we have another classic! Bigfoot orgies, a tomato juice lawn sprinkler, a barrage of flying killer-dillies, and so much more – it’s stunning, nonstop visual imagery. And Boone’s language and vivid descriptions are priceless. Read this! I guarantee you will laugh out loud!

In one continuous scene in a restaurant, a pair of siblings married to another pair of siblings reminisce, spar, cajole, and engage in some thought-provoking amateur psychoanalysis. I really liked the slow reveal of the fate of Finn, a sibling that’s absent from the meal. Are these people happy? Fulfilled? Successful? Failures? There’s something of everything in this set of mid-life adults. They’re normal. And Martineau has shown that normal can be provocative. Well done.

Jonathan Cook writes with deep insight and credibility about the struggles of Eddie’s struggles with PTSD. This is really a wonderful piece of theatre – compelling story, great character development, and highly theatrical. From the opening scene, the audience will be hit in the gut and fully invested in Eddie and his journey. Insurgentes is real. It’s raw. It’s terrific.

In Oyster Stuffing, Donnelly takes us into the broken Curtis family and, boy, is this family broken. Mother and daughters are three very distinct characters, and we become convinced that we know these characters as they suck us into their world view and then they surprise us with their insights and reactions. Oyster Stuffing serves up a Thanksgiving feast of emotions that are so palpable - pain, anger, ambivalence, sanctimony, selfishness, and even a glimmer of hope and joy. Excellent.

A basement in Hoboken is not where you expect to find a story that bristles with such theatricality, but that’s what we get in Neon Widow. The premise is simple on its surface – a former secret service agent suffering from PTSD and haunted by a chimera, a pink dress worn by Jackie Kennedy. Jones gives us fascinating characters that take us on a wild ride filled with unexpected twists. And while the story is surreal, the dialogue has the ring of authenticity that is Jones’ trademark. Terrific!