Recommended by Maximillian Gill

A fun and creepy little chiller with a strong moral message. Baughfman's comic gifts truly shine in this piece and the characterizations of a self-obsessed teen willing to do anything for "likes." The action is brisk, the ghost scenes funny with just enough hint of menace, and the underlying message one that all of us, teens and grown-ups, can stand to be constantly reminded of.

Another hilarious precocious child monologue by Sickles, this one in a mock-heroic vein. The language alone is a delight, a brilliant child's POV evocation of epic speech. And within the sheer glorious fun of this piece is a tribute to the boundlessness of the human imagination, particularly at its most innocent stage when whole worlds are effortlessly invented, explored, and conquered without leaving the confines of one's bedroom. If only we could all dream as big as Mill does!

A grimly funny gem of a play. Baughfman manages to carefully calibrate the hideo-comic tone of a piece that mines the humorous possibilities of a character likely suffering from a fatalistic narcissism and keeps us guessing until the very end about what is really going on. Marvelous!

Gacinski's grasp of the drama and dark comedy inherent in all familial relationships is on full display in this play. All of the characters are well-defined and their relationships inspiring at times and truly horrid at others. I see this play developing into a very fine piece.

This portrait of a writer at a crisis point mostly of his own making is hilarious and gripping. Williams perfectly captures the breezy, sun-soaked atmosphere of a setting that fails to soothe a cast of characters who are all discontented in their own specific ways. The use of a character in the protagonist's head is a bold stroke that really works here; it adds dimension to the protagonist's journey even as it brings in another comic touch. This writer's work never fails to impress in every way.

Rinkel's distillation of the mighty Ring Cycle is not just witty and a lot of fun for any opera fan, but it's also a fine summary analysis of the major motivations for human behavior (and thus drama) as well as an affectionate subversion of the very notion of "endurance art." A quick and delightful piece.

A simply devastating piece. The play's depiction of a character with body image issues is unrelentingly honest, but the device of showing us the same character at different points in life adds another layer that really enhances the power of the story. We see how a youthful obsession follows this character through her life, shaping her in every relation with others. The overall effect is heart-breaking.

A truly fascinating play. Yes, it is about power but also about the many ways that power suppresses our basic humanity as we see characters straining at the structures that keep them in place. The dialogue deftly plays with the style of speech familiar to anyone who's ever seen a '60s-era television show, yet at the same time it cleverly subverts the tropes of the genre and comments on their absurdity. Danley augments the rich commentary of the play itself by incorporating chance and improvisation to highlight the preposterous nature of hierarchy. An incredibly thoughtful and emotive work.

This play simply overflows with riches. So much is packed in here about institutional racism, generational misery, history, the power of art, and many other topics we all need to think about. But more than anything, this play is deeply human. Gonzalez renders his characters realistically but with a sensitivity that made me gasp at times. It is unfailingly heart-breaking and true, urgent and poetic, both fatalistic and redemptive. This writer's talents continue to astonish me.

Mashing up a Wagner opera with a couple bickering on their trip home is a genius idea I really wish I had thought of! As an opera lover I very much enjoy all of the references, but more than anything I love the character of the Dutchman, less a tragic figure in this telling and more a wise guy who's been wandering long enough to have something to say about everything. A witty tribute to both the romance and the sheer absurdity of opera.