Recommended by Morey Norkin

Others have used the word “heartbreaking” to describe this play, and it certainly is. It’s one thing to read/see a play about a character that is subjected to this level of abuse and be moved but quite another experience to know that “Joey” is the true story of the playwright, Joe Swenson. I can’t even begin to imagine the strength to survive such an ordeal let alone share it in such a coherent, moving drama. Please read this.

This may not be the season to BE jolly, but it is certainly the season to READ Jolly! Arthur M, Jolly’s “Mrs. Dilber’s Fabulous Bedcurtains” is simply brilliant. Everything you know from “A Christmas Carol” is there, and then some. With Scrooge’s housekeeper as the central character, Jolly provides clever commentary on the original story, Victorian society, and our current economic imbalances. And did I mention it’s funny? Read it, you’ll see!

Paul Donnelly has crafted an emotionally charged one-act that deals with family dysfunction, the ability to change and forgive, or not. Paul’s dialogue is so crisp and real, you may find yourself wanting to excuse yourself and step into another room during the intense Thanksgiving dinner climax. And for me personally, the many suburban Washington, DC references were a special treat. A great vehicle for four strong female actors.

I read this immediately after reading Jacquelyn’s Veterans of Community Theatre. What a remarkable range! In Good Morning, Miriam, Jacquelyn tackles the difficult subject of dementia through Miriam’s struggle with loss of memory and self and Audrey’s struggle with the loss of her mother. A very moving piece from a very versatile talent!

Painfully funny! I say “painfully” because I feel like I know these characters or maybe I’m one of them! Did I tell you about one of the times I played… don’t get me started! Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn has hilariously captured the egos that abound in community theater and the challenge of fitting in. If you’ve ever done community theater, you need to read this!

Take two very different characters, put them in the middle of the desert, and force them to remain stuck (or cuffed) together and you have the ingredients for a delightful buddy story filled with laughs and warmth. Philip Middleton Williams lets the dialogue between the two men evolve naturally as they share their stories and find common ground. Witty, intelligent, and loaded with cultural reference gems (Lola Falana!), Tucumcari Tonite is sure to be an audience favorite.

In A Kreutzer Sonata, Larry Rinkel has crafted an extraordinary composition. Not a musical nor simply a play with music, but a play that flows like a beautiful symphony, where themes are carried across movements, each with its own tempo and dynamics. Rinkel skillfully orchestrates plot lines related to family, faith, cultural identity, and acceptance with completely engaging characters. What a wonderful evening of theater can be achieved in the hands of the right director/conductor!

In Speed Dating in Paradise, Vivian Lermond’s clever take on the goings on in the Garden of Eden, Adam’s roommate, Luce, decides the young fellow needs to hit the dating scene after his breakup (fall) from Grace. After one strikeout in Paradise, enter Eve. She’s into snakes but not apples, He’s an environmentalist. They are both interested in kids, or at least the production process. A match made in…? Even John Milton would have to laugh out loud!

Given her impressive background in English literature, it is not surprising that Marcia Eppich-Harris’s “The Profession” is brimming with the stuff of great literature: morality vs. self-preservation, ambition, finding purpose in our lives, all put together in a strong story with fully developed characters. Eppich-Harris explores these themes while revealing the disheartening state of higher education. I wish I had a professor like Dr. Hardy (or Dr. Eppich-Harris) when I took Shakespeare and Milton as an undergrad.

Ripped from the headlines, as they say, and a situation that is becoming more frighteningly possible. A middle-aged couple wakes up to learn that their Hawaii vacation, and everything they know could be ended by an incoming ballistic missile. Marcia Eppich-Harris has put two fairly ordinary characters in an extraordinary situation. Farewells are recorded, confessions made, and oops! Now what? Plenty of tension and comic interludes fill this ten-minute triumph.