Recommended by Aly Kantor

Ah, yes - the masculine urge to push your beds together and slumber next to your bro in the moonlight! We've all been there. Somehow, a bizarre, absurd observation transitions seamlessly into a moment of sweet, genuine vulnerability. It's a sweet, silly, tender scene, and though I know things might look different when the sun is in the sky (and less alcohol is in some veins), I'm left with hope for these two "buddies!"

This play is a structural snare, and it's brilliant. Detail by tiny, agonizing detail, a spirited island get-together transforms into something more sinister. As an audience member, it felt like eavesdropping, creating a sense of powerful intimacy. My giddiness over these secret connections was at war with my sense of dread - and the painful reversal was the nail in the coffin. Ultimately, this smart, subtle piece is painfully prescient and effective - necessary storytelling for this moment!

While one could argue that this delicious, intimate play is about a horrifying pandemic, it really delivers universal messages about the powers of grief and fear. Even at the end of the world, we see man's propensity to assign blame to the other... but what I love most about this piece is the stunning, subtle implication that the key to resilience in this post-apocalyptic landscape is love. There are a few really stunning lines that took my breath away, but I'll let you discover them! Gorgeous!

When is a job more than a job? Anyone trying to strike a work-life balance under capitalism has asked that question. In HERO WORK, our protagonist is a reporter by day and a superhero by night, and this workplace drama slash crime-fighting-adventure sheds light on the ways one person can make a difference... and the ways one person CAN'T make a difference. It asks many great questions about attention and identity. It's theatrical, fiercely character-driven, and funny as heck, too! Great play!

Art imitates life, and in this compelling historical drama, we watch Charlotte Brontë's biographer grapple with that truth in her attempt to paint the author as palatable. This play feels incredibly intimate and atmospheric - clearly well-researched but never didactic. The characters are well-drawn and delightfully messy in all their relatable humanity. The language is poetic, and I felt drawn to the themes of emotion and shame, which permeate the piece until its tender, bittersweet conclusion!

This is a terse, cerebral sci-fi play that doesn't need much to establish a sense of tension - the first image we see is an invaluable piece of futuristic tech and a guy with a baseball bat! Talk about narrative efficiency! From there, an old, nerdy, viral meme is reintroduced in a context that makes it feel genuinely harrowing because the "experiment" at the center of the thought experiment is potentially feasible. I love the twisty reversal of an ending, which left me sighing with relief!

A fascinating premise executed phenomenally! I love the way the story subverts a common trope—in this play, the "original" is the one fiercely asserting his individuality. This is a really engaging, urgent, and tense exploration of what humans would do (and, in fact, have done across history) when given power over others - and in this case, Mick can't even rationalize that Robbie is indeed "other" due to their shared genetics. This is a play that will get audiences thinking. Fantastic work!

In this terse horror short, Moughon shows a lot of faith in the audience... if only friend number two had been able to! So much is left to the imagination, yet the details we do get (an unbeatable enemy that MELTS people and trees? A magical new FACE?) are more than enough to paint a picture of both terror and the desperate lengths people in this world will go through in their attempts to ward it off. A character-imposed ticking clock keeps the tension high, and the unresolved ending is great!

Come for the cross-dressing, tremendous wordplay, and pop culture references... stay for the pool noodle stage combat! Somehow, this abridgment of Hamlet hits on all the memorable plot points - though I'd argue it might run longer than an hour because the actors will have to hold for audience laughter! It may be utterly ridiculous, but I think this piece would clear a lot of things up for a lot of students - and amuse the heck out of adults in the audience! Plus, it has GREAT comedic roles!

There are so many quotable, chuckle-worthy lines in this script that I'd run out of space if I quoted them all! Let's just say this all-female, intergenerational comedy is a holiday HOOT! While it begins with familiar tropes—"let's put on the best darn show this struggling catholic school has ever seen!"—the specificity of the characters, musical interludes, and goofy one-liners ensure this wonky, wonderful alternative Christmas tale is fresh and memorable! Plus, there are ghosts!