Recommended by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend

Perennially topical, this musical about a school shooting should be performed everywhere. Jumping around in time, we relive the shooting and aftermath multiple times, through the eyes of students, teachers, parents, and shooters (who aren't given names, which I love). The whole thing is heartbreaking. I especially liked the play on 'false flag.' I was trying to decide which song was the biggest gut punch, but the line that hit me hardest ended up not being in a song at all: "Is someone going to save us?" Flood the theaters with this play, and maybe one day someone will.

I was sucked into this play from the start and 111 pages flew by. What a captivating story about the things from our pasts that hold us hostage and the ways in which we try to break free. I loved it!

A comedy in a funeral parlor! This short is delightful. Especially after two years of COVID, it's nice to read a play about two people connecting through small acts of compassion. It's a nice reminder that there are good people in the world - and that you never know how you're going to meet that special someone.

This short comedy is a lot of fun! Max is currently a YouTube sensation for all the wrong reasons, and he swears he will never leave his house again. I loved the natural dialogue as the characters bantered back and forth, and I'd be interested to see what happens next for both Max and Carla, who was also featured in the YouTube video.

Oooooh I like this. A man who was abused by a priest as child sees the warning signs in the way a priest at midnight mass is touching the altar boy - so he tries to kill him. Paul Donnelly's monologue is nuanced and sympathetic and leaves you wanting to know what happened next. I would watch a whole play about this character. What a powerful monologue that draws you in from the start and leaves you thinking about it long after it's over.

This play opens with a grown man sobbing in a Darth Vader costume, and I knew immediately that it was going to be great. This short about a divorced couple trying to navigate parenting their eight-year-old son is both funny and poignant. It does a good job presenting the complexity of blended families without sacrificing humor. It would be a very strong piece in a night of shorts!

I love this short play! The dialogue is fast and feels like a comedy, even though it's about a relationship that is potentially ending because of what we've done to the planet. It gets its point about climate change across without being heavy handed. It shows us the consequences of our actions instead of preaching about the consequences of our actions. Wonderful work!

I saw this play in Chicago, just before the pandemic hit, and it is a wonderful, undefinable play touching seamlessly on a zillion aspects of what it means to be human, with some climate change warnings thrown in as well. That last oral report on an extinct animal is one I still think about. This play is unique and terrific, and I hope it has many more productions to come.

This play is gorgeous! Without a single wasted word, it tells the story of three people with dreams deferred who feel - some figuratively, some literally - that time is slipping away from them. I loved watching the relationships grow and change as the play went on, and as Beverly's memory slowly disintegrated. All three characters are complex and would be a joy for any actor. Stellar stuff!!

This play is a delight! A lot of women are disguised as the male supporting roles in "Hamlet" so they can take charge and prevent everyone from ending up dead at the end. From the comments lovingly poking fun at Shakespeare's language to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern trying to shriek their way through a giant pool noodle fight, this is a hilarious love letter to Hamlet.