Recommended by Morey Norkin

Move over, Indiana Jones, there’s a new hero in town - Dash Malone! John Busser’s clever comedy features an archetypal matinee idol whose over-sharing with the audience foils multiple attempts to escape from the dastardly Captain Ramirez. In true serial adventure form, Busser even manages to leave us with a cliffhanger! I hope there’s a sequel in store!

This is a tender and moving story of an aging parent and their conflicted adult son. The soothing, non-judgmental voice of reason, encouragement, and compassion in the form of a virtual assistant, is such a nice touch. “Would You Like Help With That?” is written as a Zoom play, and it is perfect for that format. I’m sure a theater with the technical know how and a creative director could also make this a compelling piece for the stage!

This play is simply brilliant. Focused on the short adult life of Martha Jefferson, She Tunes the Violin is heartbreaking, frustrating, and at times very funny as Fereind shines a spotlight on how Martha’s life and the lives of the Jefferson “servants” are subject to the white male patriarchy of colonial America. The scene where John Adams is reading from the Declaration of Independence is jaw-dropping. Read it and you’ll see what I mean. This play truly deserves to be produced, often!

Here’s a predicament that works in a variety of contexts, making this short play enjoyable for all audiences. Who hasn’t hit send or enter and then wished they could retrieve the message before the intended target could read it? Do you keep writing and possibly dig a deeper hole? Or simply move on? So much possibility that will keep audiences buzzing afterwards.

Like Sondheim’s Ladies Who Lunch, Edith in Does it Bring You Joy? Is not a happy person. She’s jealous of her presumably younger and fitter neighbor, her husband annoys her, and anything foreign seems like too much of a bother. Even the KondoMari Method can’t bring Edith joy. But in this short monologue, Nora Louise Syran manages to make Edith a sympathetic character. There is humor to be found, but it merely highlights the sad state of Edith’s life. A great challenge for an actor!

Beauty and the Beast may be a tale as old as time, but Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend’s Beast is a comic romp for our time! Adam, the former Beast, isn’t having it when the Old Beggar Woman who transformed him returns to cast her spell again. She claims Adam hasn’t learned the lesson that beauty resides within, but she is about as convincing as a land shark (SNL reference) and twice as funny. Great roles, especially if one actor plays the three males.

What a chilling tale! Chilling because it is based on true events from the 1920s that sadly sound too familiar in the 2020s. A KKK leader who gains political and financial power by stirring up the most despicable prejudices of his “base.” And when finally charged with rape and murder, his defense is to attack the character of the victim. Baker has written an important play. I hope someday we all learn its lessons.

What a wonderful imagination Sam Heyman has to create such a sweet play. He beautifully captures the insecurity so common during high school years as Mo, with the aid of an understanding school counselor, accepts the decision of her imaginary friend. Clever and heartwarming, a guaranteed festival favorite.

I will never look at geese again in quite the same way. An interesting tale, kind of like Animal Farm in miniature. Debra Cole clearly has a gift for making an impact in a minute or less.

A tragic situation, a child’s innocent curiosity, a beautiful play.