Recommended by John Mabey

I look to comedy for not only laughs but something deeper that makes me still think about the themes long after. And in BLESS THIS FEST by Brent Alles, not only was the comedy strong but I also thought about family and faith and forgiveness too. And I absolutely laughed! The farcical elements work divinely against the parish hall setting in this small town where the festivities matter but the community even more. A blessed fest indeed.

In BALLAD: A TWO CHARACTER PLAY, Ken Love has crafted a complex and intimate story that weaves together powerful themes about identity and repercussions of choices across time. The structure is really exciting as another tale is woven throughout, mirroring the broader story in very surprising ways. I also connected with the authentic ways these characters spoke, reflecting how masculinity and society change too. This would be magical to see unfold on stage with designers of light and sound.

Sometimes in life we need a reminder of what truly matters, even from those who are dead but never forgotten. In GHOST OF SHABBOS PAST we're treated to such a funny and tender play between a Jewish man and the ghost of his grandfather, where faith and grief lead to transformation and healing. Plus I absolutely love how Sam centers queer joy around spirituality in a way that makes this play truly shine.

HELP ME/SHOOT ME is such a powerful and poetically written play based on real people and events from nearly 100 years ago and still so relevant today. A Jewish refugee and his wife make sacrifices to help those in need and pay the consequences of their kindness, demonstrating the sharp contrast between showing compassion for others versus what what will keep you personally safe. This play also so deftly explores the role of sexism in historically silencing the voices - and names - of women.

Claudia Haas writes inspired and amazing plays about real people and imagined, sometimes combining both to entertain and educate along the way. In FOSSIL LADY we meet the historical Mary Anning and explore her incredible talent and frustration as the first female paleontologist in the early 1800s. I feel the emotional and physical beats of this play so deeply throughout and am grateful to be introduced to this amazing woman by a writer I admire.

There is such a delicate brightness to AMBIENT LIGHT by Paul Donnelly that you'll want to read it more than once to see all the colors. Two former lovers meet after a lifetime apart and discover that there's still so much life to be enjoyed. And the promise of that life, without guarantee, is another reason this story resonates so strongly with emotional truth. Donnelly's play has such beautiful writing throughout and characters who will linger in your memories.

From start to finish, Nora Louise Syran's MADAME MEDUSA WOULD PREFER A CHARDONNAY is breathtakingly haunting and magical. The character of Medusa comes alive with so many emotional layers, it'll be a performer's dream on stage. And for the audience, it's an absolute delight in a character from Greek Mythology who transforms herself before our eyes - and us along the way.

I think it's an incredible skill to reimagine classic works in new ways, and Adam Richter succeeds in spades. EVENING PLANS explores the nuance of queerness, class, and society in a past time that feels very present. The characters of Scrooge and Marley are expanded to include a relationship that fits so naturally within the broader story and fills-in gaps that I didn't realize were there. Richter has crafted such an exciting world that's familiar and unknowingly unexplored at the same time.

Living our lives and navigating the boundaries of visibility and invisibility as trans persons is more than a balancing act. It's complex and evolving and especially complicated in the face of family and religion. Emmet L.F. Cameron explores these themes with humor and grace in a monologue that educates as much as it entertains with a character I'd love to meet again.

There's such a dynamic and vibrant way the landscape comes alive in DINOSAUR(s) by James Still that it becomes another character altogether. It shapes not only the story itself but each of the characters in this exquisitely written play about family, community, and the things that hold us together despite all the odds. There's also a kind of movement in this play (literal and metaphorical) that makes it so rich for set and sound designers too.