Recommended by Aly Kantor

Despite the kale slander, this is an entertaining and deeply relatable play! I'm sure there are MANY people who will see themselves in Casey, especially now that the world has acknowledged "food noise" is a real phenomenon and, as this play proves, food can be VERY LOUD & OBNOXIOUS! The anthropomorphized foodstuff provides ample opportunities for designers to craft something spectacular, with music and physicality galore! This piece makes a common struggle... day I say... palatable?! Fantastic!

It's simultaneously fun and humbling to read a play that could be a scene from your life! If I had a nickel for every time I nodded my head in recognition while reading this incredibly theatrical, absurdly funny play, I'd jingle while I walked! Rose brilliantly personifies the many 'voices in women's heads' as they navigate a world that is once again becoming obsessed with thinness over balance and well-being. The physicality is spectacular. There's even a musical number! Read it and nod along!

Read the title and guess what this play is about. Now read the summary and guess what this play is about. Heck, read the PLAY and guess what this play is about! YOU CAN'T, and that's what makes it such a delightful adVENGure! While it's totally consistent and cohesive, every line feels so charmingly irreverent you can't help but cackle! It is also educational! Young audiences will learn the definition of bureaucracy and also the singular form of "lice!" Mostly, though, they will laugh and laugh!

Gastronomy meets astronomy in this slice-of-life short, which shows us an average night in a restaurant that's out of this world... literally...illuminating the class differences between the affluent diners and the long-suffering server who makes their experience possible. The worldbuilding was great - it didn't feel too far removed from your average episode of Chef's Table! The character voices were spot on, and I felt like I was eavesdropping on something truly scandalous! Atmospheric and fun!

I wanted to recommend this play but, alas, I've been banned. That's a huge shame, because it's very funny. I would have loved to say something nice about the characterization of some of my dearest playwright friends, the groan-worthy one-liners, and the theatrical use of Zoom. Ah, well. Maybe next time.

The world of sports cards has so much vernacular that, at times, this play felt like masterful high fantasy, instantly immersing me in a subculture I knew nothing about. What really sings in this script, however, are the characters, who yearn and struggle in gorgeous, deeply human ways. Even when the stakes are more or less financial, you can feel the human heartbeat behind each decision. I really believe this tense script has something for everyone, from reconciliation to romance! Fantastic!

There is a sense of drowsy nostalgia absolutely dripping from every page of this short play, and it feels like an amalgamation of a thousand blurry conversations we've all had - impaired or otherwise. If you're young, you might find this play profound. If you're even a little older, you'll find it a warm reminder of the simple epiphanies you can stumble upon when you place yourself in the context of a dynamic universe. It's sweet and just a little magical!

As a pedagogue and artist, I found myself nodding non-stop while reading this play - not just because I agreed with the points being made, but because I felt like I knew all of the thoughtfully-drawn, complex educators at the center of this story. The real magic trick is that a character I despised at the beginning became a character I was rooting for by the end...which is sort of the thesis of the play - empathy, empathy, empathy! I think this should be required reading for new teachers!

This play does a great job illustrating what harassment looks like from day to day, across a life, and how it's a cycle that goes on and on and on...and never gets any less frightening or exhausting. The piece feels incredibly active, and I know it was accurate because I experienced sympathetic churning in my gut while reading! From grooming to mansplaining, we experience it all from the point of view of one woman, who finally takes matters into her own hands. A cathartic, theatrical read!

An awesome premise, populated by a bunch of specific characters, each with wonky motivations! Never in a million years would I expect this mismatched group of oddballs to agree unanimously on anything, and yet this play quickly raises the stakes, like a trolley problem on steroids...and we see what it takes to get everyone on board. Simultaneously silly and tense, this piece holds a cracked funhouse mirror up to our current reality and makes you question what you'd do...or what you're doing.