Recommended by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend

A history play with puppets - what's not to love? As a Chicago resident, I knew the very basics of how Streeterville came to be, but this play delves deep into the legend with puppets and razzle dazzle. It's raunchy and fun, unique and thoroughly enjoyable. Just like Chicago. You should give it a read, no matter where you live.

Remember the 2016 presidential election? Well, what if the people who didn't vote for Trump woke up the next morning with superpowers? This very engaging short play took me back to how that morning felt, and it is both funny and angry at the same time. A perfect tribute to that time, with an ending that seems to foreshadow the place the last four years have led us to.

This one act is SO sweet. Anyone who has ever been bullied (which - show me the lucky person who has never been bullied) will immediately empathize with what Kangaroo Boy is going through. He's so miserable and lonely - and then Jordan shows up. They have a conversation which is touching without falling into sappy, and which will leave you feeling all warm inside. Sweet and funny, this play is a great reminder that there are still good people in the world.

This play is so, so good. The woman who recently found herself in charge of the Carson County Animal Control has to mediate a dispute between two dog owners in this play about assumptions and why we (humans AND dogs) are the way we are. With a small cast and a single set, this would be easy for a theater company of any size to produce, and they should - it's wonderful, and the ending broke my heart.

In "Making Napoleon's Garden," a huge star is forced to do a one man show about Napoleon in Waterloo, Iowa, as part of his court settlement for sexually assaulting an understudy in his last Broadway show. As he rehearses with the playwright/director, parallels emerge between himself, exiled in Iowa, and Napoleon exiled on St. Helena. A study on toxic masculinity, my favorite parts of this play were the interactions between the exiled actor and his female director - as well as the surprise ending.

I love The Bushwick Girls! It follows the stories of young women living in the same house in Bushwick in both 1949 and 2017, with scenes flowing so uniquely from one time to another, as though the worlds are almost happening simultaneously. The girls in both times wrestle with issues related to immigration, assimilation, and the meaning of home. Plus the ending moment is pretty much perfect.

Well, this is delightful. A wealthy couple builds a hermitage on their property and hires a friend to live there as their hermit, for them to "come upon" when they walk about the grounds. This hilarious premise is made even funnier by the quick, hilarious dialogue. Each character has fun things to do, and I think this play would be delightful to watch OR to perform in. Such a great play!

The first line of this short play is, "No, this isn't gay at all," and I knew immediately that I should settle in for a good time. I just finished googling Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum (the paintings of them are terrific!) and I'm thrilled that Lee Lawing wrote a play about them AND taught me something new. It's fun to think of them making out with each other for all eternity under the watchful gaze of their giant, not-gay-at-all tomb painting.

This short play is surprisingly sweet! Michelangelo shows his former lover, Tommaso, his finished work in the Sistine Chapel, and they have a conversation that feels very true to two people who used to be close, but have since grown apart. I don't want to give anything away, but the ending really got me. So touching! I'd love to see this live.

This full length play about a group of women who take on the Grand Dragon is great! The women are complex and surprising, and I loved watching the story unfold.