Recommended by Anna Tatelman

I saw this play at The Shattered Glass Project's May 2024 festival of new works. In each scene, playwright Rachel Atkins skillfully fleshes out the lost humanity and futures of those who perished, or of the loved ones they left behind, bringing empathy and individuality to the victims of large-scale catastrophes. Each vignette within this piece depicts people who are, confusingly but accurately, both resistant to and hungry for genuine human connection.

I saw this performed at The Shattered Glass Project's May 2024 festival of new works. What a fun sapphic campy romp! This adaptation follows the novel’s major plot points while adding a sense of irreverent, goofy humor, poking fun at the silly formality of outdated customs while lending its characters sympathy. The script also knows when to cleverly morph from its self-aware sense of humor to something more dark and sinister. The sequence in which our human protagonist has a nightmare is legitimately startling!

I saw this play and its companion piece "Mystery Date" read at Drunken Owl Theatre. They are both delightful! Kate Danley does a fantastic job taking the familiar situation of skeptical/disapproving relatives meeting a new spouse and giving it a comedic twist. Each of the four parts is light-hearted but meaty enough to give actors a wide range of testing both physical and verbal comedic skills.

I saw this at Macha winter 2022 and it was one of the best things I saw that season. Lisa Every and Jenn Ruzumna deftly tackles the subject of sexual assault with a nuanced gaze, one that poses no hard answers but many searing questions, that challenge the audience both during and outside of the play. The main characters are wonderfully human, practically breathing in the way they reflect all these complexities and conflicting ideas/views. It's two years later and I still think about this one a lot. I look forward to seeing where it goes next.

I saw this at Macha winter 2022 and it was one of the best things I saw that season. Lisa Every and Jenn Ruzumna deftly tackles the subject of sexual assault with a nuanced gaze, one that poses no hard answers but many searing questions, that challenge the audience both during and outside of the play. The main characters are wonderfully human, practically breathing in the way they reflect all these complexities and conflicting ideas/views. It's two years later and I still think about this one a lot. I look forward to seeing where it goes next.

I saw this at Village Theatre in spring 2023 and was riveted. I have never seen a work of art about racism within the healthcare industry. That this piece manages to not only tackle this complex subject, but does so with great nuance, individualized characters, and so many beautiful songs, is a huge achievement. I don't cry a lot at the theatre, but I did that evening. I look forward to seeing where this musical goes next.

I saw this play at the 2023 Kenmore Quickies and loved it. Just like the father in this suitcase, this play is delightfully self-contained and complete while raising so many questions and themes to be discussed afterward, from the meaning of life to the complexities of grieving a living person. Smart, funny, concise, with rich opportunities for all three actors -- what more do you want from a ten-minute piece?

I saw this last fall and it remains one of the best pieces I've seen this season. The past and present narratives intertangled in a beautiful, heartbreaking, and, ultimately, surprisingly hopeful way. The music not only established the tone of the piece, but helped display the strong connections, and eventual disconnections, between these humans caught up in forces beyond their control. And the dark humor was so sharp yet uncomfortable, inviting the audience into the narrative while highlighting our complicity in listening to this story. Amazing, amazing piece.

I saw this at Taproot Theatre in fall 2023. The poetic language in this piece is stunning. I also love how Andrew both honored and critiqued the genre of the Western through this thoughtful piece.

I saw this play at Seattle's ArtsWest Theatre in February 2024. I thought I was in for a bitingly dark romantic comedy, but what I was really in for was a whirlwind of both theatrical genius and emotional punches. Adams does a wonderful job of both playing to and subverting our expectations of these two, larger-than-life historical figures, awing us with their literary and political brilliance while making us profoundly feel their, and our, humanity.