Recommended by Robin Rice

Vladimir and Estragon move over. Bottle is waiting... waiting... wishing to be taken home, or at least to be recycled. The Sun rises and sets and time passes. A philosophical Bird. A gust of Wind. And time passes into the ecological future we're afraid is coming. Humans, unaware and careless, are no more. I love this very beautiful play!

Life from snakes' POV. Very cool! The next time I'm hiking and happen upon a snake in the woods, I'll think of this play. (Love the description of what the actors wear. And their rattles!)

The young Cat is simply hysterical. The older Cat, with theories like humans evolved opposable thumbs so they can "operate can openers and door knobs in the service of cats," is equally hysterical. The Human's understanding of science is caught in a whirlwind of theories that zip back and forth like the Bat in this fabulous fun!

A woman remembers her mother's (pretty darned awful) cooking as she prepares cookie dough. Reading this, I'm reminded of the olden days - and how much things have changed since women stopped being tied to the kitchen by their apron strings. Oh Gawd. Liver. Canned peas. Thanks for the memories!

Ohmygod, I love it! This is so my kind of play. I would love to see this on stage. Meanwhile, I want to read every other play Ryan has written.

I so love the surprise! We need more of this good feeling. More!

Past, present and hope for the future are captured in this brief moment, this time set in amber in BLACKCURRANT JAM. As one woman has her ritual tea and toast, shut inside as most of us are during the coronovirus seige, she transitions into seeing a brighter future and thereby brings a breath of spring to all of us. The undercurrent (no pun intended) of the monologue isn't, however, restricted to the specific corona quarantine time. Like jam, it may be spread out, over any life at any time. So specific it's universal.

An art gallery is a world apart. The air is charged with history. It's the perfect setting for memories to manifest. Schwartz's heroine faces an unwanted memory, and realizes she must deal with it because he's going to be with her forever. (I have written many plays about artists, paintings and memory. I'd know if a playwright was "using" art, but Schwartz's writing rings true. She absolutely knows her characters and where they are.)

Phillie and Barbie are best friends since childhood. We root for them to remain best friends forever, these kids who support each other through thick and thin (including multi-dimensional parents who don't proceed gently). We follow Phillie and Barbie into adulthood, and damn - their friendship comes apart at gut-level seams. I'm left shaken when Phillie discovers he has been rejected in a terribly crushing way. DeVita leaves us with friends who are now "indistinguishable from any other middle aged childhood friends who’d stayed too long at the party."

Everything makes sense in the technological Babel that is the future world of this play. Frightening sense. The choices presented to the characters couldn't be more fateful. In a world where babies who are less than "perfect" are sent to live in an underground village, the choice to end a pregnancy or to value life despite the powers-that-be couldn't be more difficult. In Goldfinger's skillful play the story's impact is immediate and chilling. Her world is imaginary, but the link to today is very real. Think long and hard before you press that button in the voting booth!