Recommended by Franky D. Gonzalez

Meditating on the meaning of forgiveness, the muddiness of memory in the face of trauma, poverty, visions, the desperation behind trying to break the cycle of abusive fatherhood. What doesn't FRESNO by Augusto Amador pack into its pages? And yet, there is not an ounce of fat on this marvel of a play. Every movement is necessary, every action filled with the weight struggles over years trapped in the brutal cycle of poverty. But more, there is love that exists in this play. Love that warps, love that heals, love that gives a way forward, love that burns. A marvel.

A masterwork. A beautiful human document spanning over 20 years telling the story of an immigrant surviving and enduring through much more than people should in a too-often cruel world. You will laugh and you will cry, and you will feel so many emotions as you journey with Darja. I can't recommend this play enough.

Nelson Diaz-Marcano takes the structure of the domestic family drama and turns it into an exploration of family dynamics in a Puerto Rican family. The play would be fine on those legs alone, but Nelson takes it a step further and explores both sexuality, identity, immigration, and the toxicity of blind deference to the Latino patriarch. A marvelous play that will keep you reading and watching from first page to last. I hope it finds a long production life.

Stunned. Absolutely stunned. This play is raw, real, it's burning with energy and passion. It's a play where the words practically leap from the pages and onto the stage. Ren Dara Santiago is an absolute force and this play is an achievement in its portrayals of dysfunction, class struggle, trauma, and love. It's a play that covers hot button issues and the culture of urban struggles without pontificating. A magnificent play, an absolute masterwork. I can't recommend this play enough.

There's enough praise and adulation for this play that it almost feels like anything I add will just feel redundant. However here is my attempt...

ALABASTERby Audrey Cefaly stands as a prime example of how the boundary between tragedy and comedy is razor-thin. Cefaly walks that tightrope and brings together a play that is at once uproariously funny and heartbreakingly sad. Whether you read it or see ALABASTER, you will be moved, hurt, and uplifted all at once. A marvelous play.

A father's pride and love for his children reaches beyond any barrier, even when that barrier is insurmountable. A tender, human piece that brings the national pastime together with our ultimate pastime. Any father, no, any parent will feel this play deeply.

In Molly Wagner’s ENVISION we are given a delicate balance between comedy and human drama where three people communicate in a higher realm and each make decisions about next steps going forward. It’s a piece you’ll read again and wonder at. What if it was you? Can you let go if those things that weigh on you? Can you walk through the fire? Will you go alone? Can you afford to wait? So many questions for yourself and so many possibilities given in this lovely play.

A hilarious take on the Three Witches.
Written in a way that will leave you in stitches.

Brujeria, karmic debt, trances, and reincarnation
Create a marvelously wicked combination.

Now listen here as I plead,
Give this play a read.

Entertainment you'll receive
Much more than you'd believe.

Why aren't you yet reading this play?
Make haste and get to it without delay.

Dang, it's such a struggle in this age.
To get people to turn a page.

Christin's talented without doubt.
So get to reading and see what the hype is about.

Really fun play!

AMERICAN MADE takes a conversation about the working conditions in prison and inmate exploitation and creates a portrait of two men attempting to create a better life for themselves in a situation that doesn't offer chances. Christin Eve Cato takes two ends of the spectrum from a debate on how to achieve that better life to the meeting point at the one, most heartbreaking reason men have try to either subvert or conform: his children's welfare. It's a ten-minute packed with all the punch of a full-length.

"I gotta love the only life I was given."

In this powerful play by playwright Christin Eve Cato we see her command of playwriting shine through words that will make you laugh uproariously while breaking your heart at the same time. You find yourself cheering for Marjorie, relating, empathizing, and rooting for things to work out because in your heart you know that her journey through rocky relationships with friends, lovers, and family is like your own. Cato creates an unforgettable experience in WHAT'S UP WITH MARJORIE? that has to be experienced to believe. Read and produce this play immediately.