Recommended by Aly Kantor

An escape room game is a brilliant structural framing device for a play, but the action ensures that the audience stays just as engaged as the players, feeding them just enough clues to construct the world beyond the room in their minds. I love how the fascist theme of the escape room reflects the reality just outside, and every character's perspective felt complex and authentic. On top of that, it offers a great interrogation of truth and belief that's crucial in the current political moment!

In the late 1940s, Sidney Farber showed the world the face of childhood cancer, humanizing it enough to change treatment forever. In the 21st century, Frank is doing the same for the individuals behind the work, warts and all, including The Jimmy Fund's eponymous Jimmy himself! Even the women behind the scenes have a say. The play takes a massive part of history and makes it so digestible. I love the mix of realism and theatricality, and I'm already imagining innovative ways to stage this story.

My obsession with the Peabody family has meant this cast of transcendentalists has long been vibrant in my mind, but this play, so rich with theatrical imagination, has brought them to life for me in a new, vital way! Full of wit, historical richness, and well-utilized anachronism, it couldn't be more engaging or accessible. As a (mostly) historical play, I knew where it was headed, but the journey there was language-rich and ripe with delicious foreshadowing. Familiar, surprising, and lovely!

I love an impossible play. I particularly love an impossible play that excites me enough to start dreaming about all the ways I could make it possible. This one is erudite as hell and loaded with wit and symbolism galore. You will laugh so heartily that you won't be entirely sure why you feel moved and hopeful until you sit back and exhale. All to say—this play is brave and weird and wonderful...and makes "exit, pursued by a bear" seem like child's play. Enjoy having your mind blown! I did!

It's amazing how quickly I got sucked into the world of these characters, probably because they're specific, witty, and as discordant as they are complementary—and, like the fungal networks underground, learning what was beneath the surface of these funny, flawed, very human individuals was incredibly compelling. And that's not even getting to the surprising but inevitable theatrical magic that occurs on stage! By the end, I was fully weeping, and I loved every moment of it. Just stunning work!

Poor George... but lucky audience who will one day get to experience this non-stop farce, that has retro charm in spades! I want to say this is set "in a simpler time," but there's nothing simple about this twisted plot! This play is packed with so much chaos that I was getting palpitations in anticipation of the complications to come! And that's all BEFORE Elvis bursts through the door! By the end, I was exhausted as a READER, which means actors will definitely have a blast with this one!

This play gives kids so much agency, offering a premise that is just this side of scary, making it feel exciting for young actors—no condescension here! Despite the huge ensemble, every role is specific and provides opportunities for new performers to make strong choices. And it's a visual spectacle, too, full of all the theatre magic that makes a show exciting! Storms! Spyglasses! Swords! Serpents! Satisfying narrative symmetry! Fast-moving and packed with plot, this is great youth material!

Another Prillaman banger about a guy with a secret room in the basement! And I wouldn't have it any other way! This is a fantastic contemporary Poe adaptation, and I'm ashamed to say I probably would have been led astray by the promise of a vending machine full of pink moscato, too. The dialogue is natural and hilarious, with plenty of room for actors to play, and scenic designers will start salivating just reading this. Best of all, it's truly, deeply eerie, and will leave you feeling chilled!

The contrast of high vs low in this absurd play is such a theatrical treat, with celestial beings competing with microwaved lunches. From there, we're treated to tons more delicious dichotomy as our hero sinks further into ordained apathy, but the world remains vibrant, dynamic, and full of miracles! There is a truly theatrical moment when the play "breaks" and turns into a fabulous direct-address clusterfuck of fun and truth! Plus, the message about inherent value is powerful and necessary!

Who knew I'd be able to relate to a play about two bees at a summer camp! Right now, it's so easy to get caught up in catastrophizing, and we may forget, as Bebe seemed to, that the world isn't already over, and there is so much goodness to be found—particularly in other people. The humor in this piece is subtle and snicker-worthy, giving actors so many opportunities to make strong, silly choices that will have audiences grinning ear to ear! This satisfying short is as sweet as honey! Lovely!