Recommended by Aly Kantor

I hoped that this play would be what I was expecting - I was excited to find that I was correct! There is so much more to this chilling duologue than a twist ending. It's full of beautiful insights about human nature that will stay with you - the sort of observations that speak to centuries of wisdom. Now, I'm not saying John Mabey is definitely an eldritch entity... I'm just saying we shouldn't rule it out! Either way, this is a stellar supernatural play that is likely to resonate with many writers and observers during isolated times.

In this short play, three children gather to slaughter a chicken for dinner - but, in analyzing their roles in the weekly ritual, they come to question their own unexpected responses to grief. How much of the mourning process springs out of routine and how much is really natural? This is a cathartic piece about the ways "moving on" after loss doesn't always follow the expected path. Audiences will recognize themselves in these well-meaning siblings and their mother.

I am in this play. In Phat Girls, we watch as the cast of women develop complex, often dangerous relationships to food, spurred on by the incessant voice of "Mr. Horrible" - our best friend and worst enemy. The ensemble cast is actually a great way to show the world that "the anorexic" and "the compulsive overeater" are sometimes the same person. I love the positive ending, which helps the audience leave the theatre with a tool they can use immediately. This is a great play for anyone who loves a person with a complex relationship with food. Very powerful!

This play is DELIGHTFUL! Any theatre artist who has ever suffered through a day rep gig to pay the bills will fall in love with this hilarious dark comedy! This play follows three actors and a stage manager as they embark on day one of a 12-month national children's tour - and we watch the chaos creep in! The twists come fast and hard, but all of them are well earned! There are so many brilliant recurring bits, and each one pays off in a hilarious way until the play's dark ending. This is a laugh-out-loud love letter to artists!

So much is brilliant about this short piece, which centers Emily Dickinson's maid and her role in helping her death-obsessed employer obtain immortality. It makes so much sense that a poet would rely on metaphor and double meaning to make her wishes known - and that the woman who claims she doesn't understand poetry would come to understand the most. Sharp, clever dialogue and shifts in time help keep this story moving efficiently, for maximum emotional impact. You might even learn something new about the now-immortal poet! As a bonus, it has three excellent roles for women over 40!

As a former museum docent, the seemingly far-fetched premise of this silly short comedy doesn't seem too far off to me! We're introduced to a young, verbose ancient Mummy and the grumpy security guard who just wants to eat lunch in peace! While the play is full of wit and delightful puns, it ends with an unexpected reversal that will only add to your love of these two unlikely buddies!

This play is fascinating - I immediately had to do some quick research to find out how much of this hidden history was true! In 'For the Public Good' Josephs uses a contemporary framing device to tell the stories of several women lost to history. Although the small ensemble does double duty, each character has a distinct voice and a clear and compelling backstory. I found my heart breaking for Hattie and Eva. This is an interesting piece to discover during a pandemic as we grapple with our own evolving understanding of the situation. I hope we do better!

Surviving grief takes as much humor and imagination as it does pain. In True Skies, we meet a couple standing on the precipice of a tremendous loss. Their love makes it possible for them to confront and accept the future with something like joy. The piece is full of gorgeous and metaphorically resonant imagery that makes the world feel incredibly rich and tangible. The specificity of the characters makes them so very human, which might be the key to this play's emotional power. The play comes full circle in a satisfying, hopeful, and genuinely moving way.

Another delightful, self-contained mini mystery from Ms. Lermond! In this case, the piece plays with biases and expectations to help the murderer hide in plain sight! These dueling monologues are well structured, and sneakily provide you with all of the information you need in order to crack the case! Both characters are specific and distinct and would be a blast to play!

It's amazing how a metaphor can sometimes get to the heart of something so much more efficiently than words alone! In this play, anxiety is made tangible in the form of a talking bear. The fact that the bear both keeps Alice safe and holds her back was a particularly brilliant observation - this entire play could be about the split second before an anxious person cancels plans. I hope people without anxiety will see this play and come to understand and empathize with this feeling. As a person with anxiety, I felt seen and understood. A very effective play!