Recommended by Aly Kantor

This comedic sci-fi short may be set in the future, but its message about AI and art could not be more timely! As silly as the play is, it foreshadows a future in which art, including music, has become the medium of machines. Somehow, the concept of emotion itself gets lost in the transition. I loved the choice to have the computer character be the most obviously "human" in the group. I also appreciate how the characters transformed when exposed to human-made art... the only thing as natural as love! What a gorgeous, goofy little cautionary tale!

This engaging, highly theatrical piece straddles the line between absurdism, magical realism, and metaphor to create a dynamic picture of an exceptional family in crisis. We've all heard stories about an athlete who gets injured and has to rethink everything about their future. The genius in this script is that, after a period of struggle, the athlete is more or less okay. Instead, this piece is about her parents and what they lost (or, more aptly, what is left) when they believed their sacrifices amounted to nothing. It's creative, compelling, and full of visually exciting surprises! A genuinely original play!

Wow, wow, wow. This play is utterly raw, surprisingly poetic, and extremely satisfying in its bloody, brazen symmetry. The scale of the story is perfect, allowing a level of honesty and specificity to shine through, making this a piece about people rather than a run-of-the-mill "issue play." It is not a "sports play" and absolutely, unquestionably a "sports play," and I think that's part of what makes it so staggering. Every scene is high stakes, even though the brilliant structure informs the audience precisely where this runaway train is headed in scene one. A challenging read but an important one!

Oooh, I could sense something ominous was going on here from page one, and all I could do was sit back, enjoy the very realistic antagonistic sister banter, and wait! If it was this much morbid fun for me as a reader, I can only imagine a live audience actively squirming in their seats! As an older sister with a younger sister who loves to "borrow" from my closet, I found it both relatable and VERY satisfying... right up until that killer reversal! This is a funny, dark, very entertaining piece of theatre!

I LOVE a meet-cute, and this banter-filled romantic comedy was right up my alley! It's full of great, natural, laugh-out-loud lines as these two unfortunately-named characters flirt their brains out. The will-they, won't-they is a fun rollercoaster that will have audiences tuned in and groaning (and loving every second of it). I have my fingers crossed that the frat boy and the matchmaker have a bright future ahead of them! This would be a perfect piece for a Valentine's Day festival.

This play is gorgeous. It tells the story of Emily, a complex and layered woman with an incredible life. Although it is a "cancer story," it isn't THAT cancer story. If anything, Emily is a dyed-in-the-wool pragmatist, at times to her own detriment. This play isn't about her "battle," and you'll find no romanticization or inspirational platitudes here. Instead, you'll journey through her difficult past in a range of highly theatrical ways, from flashbacks to dreams to drug-induced hallucinations. It's consistently compelling and ultimately uplifting, with messages about joy and forgiveness that apply to everyone. What a lovely, well-constructed piece!

As an early childhood teacher, I am very much in favor of this play, which is both a darling, authentic scene about the resilience of children and an instruction manual for benevolent rebellion and civil disobedience! Unfortunately, I have been in this teacher's shoes (for slightly different reasons) - this is a case in which I am hopeful that life will imitate art! Plus, the dialogue coming from a precocious six-year-old makes the current political situation seem even more absurd. Short, sweet, and well done!

This play is timely on several different levels. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has fallen in love with a book series only to learn that I don't support the author's politics. Does that negate the lessons that transformed my worldview at a formative age?

In this piece, three actors are tasked with embodying a beloved literary character - who reflects an impossible feminine ideal. The audition setting adds a unique sense of competition and stakes. Who could possibly live up to "Professor Princess?"

The play features well-drawn, flawed, funny characters rendered beautifully! It's relevant, real, and fabulous!

Oh, this one's FUN—and very contrary, in a number of delightful, wholly original ways! Not only is this irreverent, pint-sized ode to girl sleuth Nancy Drew about a "reverse burglar" who leaves objects in homes, but parts of it take place entirely in the dark, creating a compelling sense of raunchy theatricality that could only be conjured in the mind! It's full of groan-worthy campy lines, colorful catchphrases, and just a touch of adult humor. It's a goofy, ridiculous, anachronistic good time!

How can I not recommend a play with a Topo Giglio reference right at the top? This piece is a silly, anachronistic romp through "sometime during the roman empire" - or possibly some point during the mid-1960s. It's packed to the brim with references, geometry gags, and goofy wordplay that could be straight out of a Sondheim musical. The on-stage crowd is a fantastic touch that adds an additional element of playful theatricality. All in all, it's just a lot of fun... even though it doesn't end with the violent on-stage execution I was hoping for ;-)