Recommended by Morey Norkin

Light and breezy, AROMA, is a fun look at life in an upscale department store and new product marketing. Hastings and Sue have a long history, apparently not just as colleagues, and it’s this familiarity that allows them to come together for what looks like a win-win situation. Read this for one more win!

Try not to cry while reading this. I failed. Ryan Vaughan shares a lovely, heartbreaking story around a tragedy that has become much too common. Told with quiet compassion, this play will stay with you long after reading.

How many Lucy’s are there? Not just in the UK, but in every country where economic conditions and disinterested politicians lead to countless young people being deprived of their childhood. This monologue speaks truth to power. Now is the time for action! Produce this!

I thoroughly enjoyed this! Brent Alles’ dialogue is crisp and clever. (My favorite line - “Serious as a breadstick.) The living arrangements of the two characters are far from typical, and once you understand that, the familiarity and tension between them makes perfect sense. You can’t help but be drawn in by these two characters and find hope with the intriguing ending. Time for this play to return to the stage!

How do you get someone struggling with depression to see their own value? Cal offers Em hope, persistence, setting manageable milestones in addition to true friendship. The conversation is witty and warm. This play is simply beautiful and left me feeling hopeful. Aly Kantor is a wonder.

Kim E. Ruyle has created a clever romantic comedy with mature characters whose connections are based on some surprising coincidences. The crisp dialogue and the way Ruyle weaves the backstories with the present pull you in so you can’t help but root for all the various relationships to work out. In addition to the romantic relationships, there are family dynamics at play that provide a source of drama and tension. It all works beautifully! And that ending! Would love to see this before I slide completely into seniorhood!

From lights up and the description of Gayle, her ladle, and an upside down bucket, you know you’re in the strange and wonderful world of John Busser’s imagination! And when Gayle, alternating between sweet hostess and distressed widow, asks what we think is under the bucket, I was ready to believe the worst. So many laugh out loud moments between the terrific lines (“…still had egg on his face, but only metaphorically”) and the extreme physical comedy. And still there is sympathy for Gayle. In the end, I’m glad she has a friend like Henry. Well done!

True friends, the kind who always have your back, who you can always joke with, who may cross the line occasionally with their teasing, but who deep down love you, are priceless. Marj O’Neill-Butler presents five women, two of whom are sisters, who are just such friends. The adult humor is hilarious and shows the deep bond between these women. And when tragedy strikes the two sisters, the others show their professionalism and friendship know no bounds. A powerful, emotional journey for an ensemble of strong female actors. Brilliant!

This is a terrific two-hander that makes great use of a confined space and physicality of one character in particular to heighten the desperation in Dan Taube’s brilliant dialogue. So much of life is a question of choices. For Stutz, a parolee, bad choices are the norm. But maybe with the help of Berman he can turn his life around. I highly recommend you make the right choice and read SECOND CHANCES! Better yet, produce it!

What a masterful stroke! Plot twists are always interesting when they take you by surprise, but what Marilyn Ollett does here is make you question everything you’ve just seen and heard. Aren’t we supposed to believe the victim? Could her story and/or memory have changed during the intervening years? The story starts out with good-natured flirtatious humor, but the tension quickly builds. And then we’re left with a big question. I’m still not sure what my answer is, but I encourage everyone to read this and find their own!