Recommended by John Patrick Bray

If Oscar Wilde, with his rapier wit, and Captain Beefheart, with his post-Dada sense of word play, were to have a baby, I am convinced they would write this play. It was so much fun to read. The pacing is excellent, the puns land, and a number of the lines will tickle, delight, or take you a beat to think about - like a joke grenade; pull the pin and wait 1-2-3-ha! Highly recommended for those who love absurdism.

I love this world of story. I used to be a car-swap driver, and ended up spending a lot of time in diners and truck stops asking for directions and getting a kick out of the local conversations coming from the booths and tables. It feels like this piece of Americana is all-but-forgotten, and yet it remains as vital as ever thanks to plays such as SUGAR PIE, a real slice-of-life that leaves you wanting to spend more time with these two people and the world in which they inhabit.

A sweet slice of life about a marriage that is coasting on fumes, V-Day reminds us when the only thing on the menu is fried bologna, it’s time to spice things up with champagne. (Plus, I’m a sucker for anything that references Lou Reed.)

Not many people can create a fully realized world and distinct characters in under eight pages; Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn does not suffer from this problem. Using a platform many can understand (those long conversations with a person in IT when we are desperately trying to retrieve an important file from our computer which only gives us the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH), Floyd-Priskorn unpacks gun violence(s) in a remarkably nuanced, theatrical, and heart-breaking way. I happened to listen to Dan Reeder's "Maybe" after reading this play; if I were directing it, that's how I'd close this thoughtful piece.

A delicious blend of theatre of the absurd, Punch and Judy, Victorian Music Hall, farce, and tragedy. Have you ever read a play and thought "dang, I wish I had written this?" That's exactly the way I felt about Masque of the Macabre - from its deceptively playful opening moments, to the final consequences, which echo the strongest moments in Sartre and Beckett (IMHO). I highly recommend this piece to those who love genre-blending theatricality with a sly wink, and a meditation on existential futility.

A very funny play about the dangers/horrors of bringing home a new potential romantic partner to meet the parents. Plus, anything featuring the particular type of mystery date in this play will always have my full attention (trying not to give away any spoilers here).

Fable is so gorgeously theatrical; I love the framing of the piece which mirrors the content so well. It's a story of someone who is barely a footnote in theatre history, and that is a damn shame. It's at turns hilarious and heartbreaking; the closing moments resonate deeply. This play features excellent roles for women over forty and presents exciting design opportunities.

Have you ever tried to look up something to watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime? You know you're in the mood for a certain genre, but you're having trouble deciding which program you truly desire to watch right this minute? Yeah, same here. Thank goodness for Chewie, Get us Out of Here! which has it all! This is a wonderful example of Geek Theatre, loaded with SciFi and Fantasy references (and a nods to Lewis Carroll as well). As another reader said, "this did my nerdy heart good." Same, fellow nerd. Same. To quote Nine, "Fantastic!"

Middle school was terrifying. I could empathize with Teddy entirely. In Sickles's play, there is also plenty to fear about the newly formed Confederacy, but the liberal haven of the North is not truly safe, either, for the two boys who have found friendship and love via a series of vulnerable letters. This play is a beautiful, heart-rending look at two boys trying to find love from two deceptively different worlds that would never allow it their love to happen. The visual poetry and dialogue are gorgeously woven together by the sure hands of a truly gifted playwright. Bravo, Scott!

A touching, resonate look at the transformations we undergo during our teenage years as we try to figure out how we fit into our world while keeping our individuality. Paige’s (a human) final discussion with Ember (the mother dragon) about her new friend Sparks (Ember’s daughter - a dragon who has transformed herself into a human) is a gorgeous and hopeful view of humanity and one I believe we all need to hear.