Recommended by Aly Kantor

What does it mean for something to be "real?" Is a wrestling belt "real" if the championship it represents is rigged and everyone knows it? Is "love" real if it's love for an institution that has not always been kind to you and your body? This play really asks some fantastic questions about identity, aging, and the sunk-cost fallacy, using deeply human characters with rich histories and relationships. It moves quickly, with a lovely final image that audiences will be discussing on the way home.

This one had me at the premise! Mermaids in a rock band? I cannot think of anything more charming... or more fun for a wardrobe department to take on! This play also has plenty of fun opportunities for actor-musicians to show off a bit, giving the piece texture - no two productions will ever be exactly alike, which is quite beautiful. Though ultimately silly, this piece is very tender. I hope sweet Harmonea finds her love, and the song finds a home in their heart!

We live in a misogynistic world. If you choose to present as feminine, you're damned if you "conform" and damned if you don't. In this hilarious take on the Willy Wonka trope, a pair of award winners get to do something that shouldn't be revolutionary: just ENJOY the silly, simple things that make them happy, without the need to apologize to the world! We get to that glorious conclusion after a number of progressively goofy twists that you definitely won't see coming! Such a funny, smart play!

You know a play has great characters when the first thought you have when you're done is "I think I love these women." And there is a LOT to love - about this hilarious, lived-in pair of 40-something friends and the mind-reading Italian footballer they've tandem hallucinated as some sort of metaphor for the idealization of the past, even though the past also sucked, but in different, beautiful ways. It moves fast, with laugh after laugh, and would be simple to produce with just a set of chairs!

Do you like dad jokes? Do you like groaning at dad jokes? Either way, you're going to like this goofy, heartfelt holiday play! There are things in boxes! There are puns! There is a spectacular stage picture that designers and actors will have a BLAST staging... and the only folks who will love it more will be the audience! This may be the silliest new holiday classic!

Well, that was certainly awkward! Not to mention absolutely chilling... literally and figuratively! Poor Heather is trying to do so hard to do the right thing (so much more than most people would do), and she pays the ultimate price in a visceral, unsettling, highly theatrical manner! I love the way the setting itself felt like a character, as haunted (or perhaps just haunting) places are wont to do. This play is a sensory treat that you can see, hear, and feel, and the twist is BEYOND CREEPY!

Structurally, this fantasma on grief and religious displacement runs on dream logic, giving it a fluid sensibility that invites audiences to "interpret" the central narrative, traveling-guru-style. It's irreverent, often metatheatrical, and as unexpectedly funny as it is deeply heartwrenching. The piece offers creatives nearly unlimited options for depicting this kaleidoscope world, making it a fantastic canvas for designers, directors, and more. What a unique and unexpectedly universal play!

Lovers of the mystery genre and its tropes will adore this twisty, twisted whodunit! And all of the characters know the tropes, too - since they're all mystery writers, each bringing unique genre expertise (and damage) to this retreat. The characters are vivid and specific, feeling distinct and lived-in from page one, and I loved tracking their motives. Whoever is responsible for sourcing and crafting props is in for a particular treat! This was a fun, brisk mystery from beginning to end!

Don't be fooled - the titular "Believers Market" is not what you think... and it's SO much darker than your standard holiday craft fair! Bluestein-Lyons does an excellent job building up a sense of mundane familiarity before springing a fantastic trap on us. You'll go from lighthearted giggling to anxiously giggling in a trice! If you are looking for a very unconventional holiday story with a wicked reversal, this is the short for you!

A charming, action-packed, metatheatrical romp that's engaging precisely because it's so self-aware! The surprises don't come out of left field - they are telegraphed to the extreme, and yet no less surprising, because, as a reader, you can't quite believe the playwright (the actual playwright, not the character!) will commit to such silliness... and yet!! There are plenty of opportunities for theatrical magic (chainsawing a flat live on stage!?), and this piece truly utilizes the whole theatre!