Recommended by Heather Helinsky

Like Julie Z., I also had the pleasure of seeing this reading at PlayPenn and enjoyed the comic book/horror style this play uses to take on gentrification. Enjoyable twists and turns as an invisible man fights off the "zuburbanites" (zombies + suburbanites) who are cannibalizing the neighborhood (and all the gluten-free baked goods). Fun!

This clear, relevant play, refuses to give easy answers, but it will break your heart and leave audiences discussing the issues. This play grabbed me from the start and has stayed with me a year later, and I hope it quickly moves to production, as it's a story we need to hear.

Webb knows how to create a vivid, theatrical world to capture those difficult emotions of loneliness, loss, and separation. She knows how to do it with humor & a buoyancy that lifts us up. This small cast play would be great for a company that may have a lot of tech industry folks in the community, as the plot explores afterlife in social media. When is a sister ready to take down her brother's FB, tweets, and Yelp posts---and does she have a right to? Or should his presence linger online? Tough choices; good writing.

A play about just one of these fierce women would be a party, it's a joy to encounter all of them at once! This is a play where Marlene needs the support and wisdom of the ancestors, and we're along for both the fun of that and the complicated answers they bring to the table. I also encourage educators to take a look at this play---great roles!

Don't we all wish the adult world would keep it's promises? I loved encountering Jess on her journey to understand why she wished to be a Mastodon while the other little girls wished to be pretty princesses, and the troubling discoveries she makes about Clarence who turns into his childhood wish of being secret agent "Clint". It's a fantastical journey, full of fresh humor, with a playful ensemble.

Gripping, immediate, tense as the two parents dig through the sand for their murdered children. I was really along for this emotional ride as I felt for their deep grief in being a part of a terrible history. Enjoyed the twists and turns, the themes of space/stars/desert/an empty heart.

As a dramaturg, I find plays about mental health are tricky to dramatize and I appreciate the theatricality of this one. At the heart of this play, the characters want to run away from a reality of Nebraska. Peter’s act of running away is to leave home to become a professional actor. Queenie is running away from the people in her life forcing her to take medication. For Grace, she’s running away from memories. I like the question of if it's better to stay home and face fears? Also, #ithinkitisapieceofshitbutamanwoulduploadit is hilarious, good luck playwright!

A standout play---period. I've read lots of plays this season set in a school where there are questionable actions between teachers/students, but often the action gets mired in a lot of back-and-forth accusations. This story stays active and present, showing, not just telling. It questions all the small, subtle interactions, but also shows us the cycles of abuse of power. Definitely easy to produce and more theatrical---stop producing OLEANNA and choose this play instead!

Beautifully tragic coming-of-age tale with characters who learn the power of storytelling to transform. This story has great specificity of place and characters; I feel like I was able to see all hidden corners of light and darkness in this small, mid-western town. Enjoyed the natural flow of the bilingual scenes as well.

It's always a tricky balance to establish what's going on politically in North Korea with a more personal, family story, but this play does it with ease! Both playful and heartbreaking, I appreciate the free-wheeling theatricality balanced with a love story and family drama.