Recommended by Franky D. Gonzalez

I wept. This play hurt so deeply at a wound I never realized I had. I hurt from how brilliant the dialogue was and how beautifully Raul Garza captured the movement of time in this play. It's a play that brings into startlingly clarity the immigrant experience. It shows the sacrifices we make for love and the betrayals of men to their wives. Raul demystifies that era of Camelot in America and presents a view from the second-class. It gives us an insight that if we all had, we'd be a better society than we are now. A beautiful play.

It's a play that goes through time, ask questions of art and the heart. It's tough to get through without tears welling up because of how heartrendingly real it is. There are plays that you read and feel that something deeply mysterious but true is being related to you. And that's really what this play is. It's true. It's true in its beauty, in its heartbreak, in the way we try to find happiness and, tragically fail. This play clings to the past and rushes to the future, while you're let here in the present, in wonderment.

It's the play that goes there. It's a microcosm of our society and the conversations we're trying to have politely, and dares to get at the heart of the question of America's future. One room, two women, and explosive lines that shifts power and control of the dialogue at the turn of a phrase. It calls out everything from race, ageism, the definition of feminism across age, the notion of acceptable academia, and the list goes on. The play is no laundry list, though. It's a searing drama with the highest stakes. Highly recommended.

This was the kind of play that left my skin crawling from how horribly, awfully, and believably real it was. Sarah Tuft lampoons the sacred cows in entertainment and explores, almost grimly, the cycle of predatory behavior and the excuses we make for the sake of our "geniuses." But that's not to say there aren't laughs here. Sarah creates witty, hilarious dialogue that actors wait whole careers to be able to sink their teeth into. ABIGAIL is compelling theatre and insightful critique of our industry. It's a play you need to read, produce, and watch real honest debate unfold afterward.

What can I say that hasn't already been said about this amazing play by Stephanie Alison Walker? It has compelling dialogue, it calls for a very long--and difficult--look at the deeply held beliefs and their potential for warping into toxic obsession and masculinity. Both in seeing the play in production and in reading it, I was left wondering about some of my own deeply held beliefs and began analyzing what my positions were and whether I held those beliefs with sincerity or with more sinister purpose. It's a gut-check of a play that will leave you debating long after reading.

There are certain plays where the premise is both puzzling and alluring. Stefani Kuo's delicacy of a puffin heart is a play that you wonder about long after both reading and watching. The play kept me at the edge of my seat throughout and wouldn't let go of my heart and soul. It's a play that bears repeated reading, where revelations and turns feel so natural, and whose dialogue feels unlike anything you'll read. Give it a try. Better yet, produce it and see the possibility of a new kind of theatre.

With machine-gun quickness, this is the kind of play that leaves you wondering just what happened and how it ended so quickly. Rachael Carnes makes absurd dialogue blend so easily with a bleak future that you laugh and want to cry all at once. Read it. Read it again. Read it out loud and think it over. A taut, and speedy drama that is deceptive in its depth.

Confession: I've never read Little Women. However, after reading Donna's adaptation, I intend to. What you get here is a story that lays claim to being the play chart the decay of the nuclear family model in the 21st century. It has comedic and dramatic moments aplenty, it charts the paths that sisters take in the pursuit of happiness and, best yet, not a single character is without depth. You feel for every character and find yourself rooting for all of them, even when they are opposed. 100-words aren't enough to express how I feel about this play. Read now!

You will feel so many different emotions going through this play. Greg Burdick creates for the reader a gripping drama that holds you and does not let go in its explosion of raw emotion and critique of the American educational system. You feel the passion of a teacher on every page. You feel the struggle against bureaucracy a teacher has to contend with. You feel and you feel and you feel until you realize that the play has ended. This play is a call to action. It's needed and should be read by as many people as possible.

TOMORROW OR NEXT YEAR explores empathy and the heartbreaking effects of survival after one of the great modern tragedies of our time. O'Grady presents equally compelling arguments for hope and its absence in the face of senseless violence and resolves the question, not necessarily in a neat bow but with the vow to go on, if only because we're in this together. It's a touching play, one that tears at your heartstrings and leaves you asking why haven't solutions been produced?