Recommended by Matthew Weaver

Bonkers concept and bonkers play, Khanna clearly has fun. Love that it's an almost-wholesome twist on characters who are usually seen as destructive forces banding together to assist someone in need/solve a mystery. There's so much room for fun here within Kieran's words, and audiences will have an absolute blast.

Gorgeous and heartbreaking and tragically I suspect will only become more and more relevant as the years go on. So exquisitely crafted out of grief and despair and yes, hopefulness. An OUR TOWN for our times, using the original as a point of reference, and reminds us of the lessons from that play, shining light in such a way that they feel even more timely and relevant.

Don't you hate it when a longstanding family tradition is found to have ... sinister origins? SPECIAL PEPPERMINT has all the trappings of a cutesy holiday family gathering, until it doesn't. Until it REALLY doesn't.
Baughfman adds a little bit of pitch-black coal to any Christmas short play festival, and the results are welcome! Forget being spiked with a little bit of holiday cheer, this one might actually be poisonous - which makes it all the more delicious.

The past, present and future get together - literally - in this endearing Halloween-based CHRISTMAS CAROL gem. Plummer clearly has fun with the concept (I was ready to revolt about an obvious anachronism until she made it all OK) - although perhaps the audience will have even MORE.
Better yet, here's a crowd-pleaser that would fit right in at a Halloween play festival (a fact which I ADORE), then happily be revived a month and a half later for Christmas! Brilliant concept, brilliant delivery.

Mr. Beckett is THAT teacher, inspiring students in unconventional lessons (in math???), while perhaps driving them mad (and possibly to the point of hypothermia). Carolyn is THAT student, bold, uncompromising and challenging. Fenton aptly pushes them together to see what happens in an all-too-brief tale that's both funny and potentially quite bleak.
Also: "I’ve never made a joke in my life, Carolyn. I’m a math teacher." Hilarious.

Warm and rich story in which the past, present and future come together for charcuterie and progress. Bluestein-Lyons takes a mug of hot chocolate of a title and delivers on its promise, and then some.
Performers and audiences alike will find much to enjoy, embrace and delight in. SNOWED IN... is an oasis from whiteout driving conditions (unsafe!) and the cold.

A perfect addition to any festival of plays, and guaranteed to be the one audiences leave talking about.
McClain here uses silence to full advantage, inviting us to pore over the characters' every motion and nuance, until the truth can be revealed. And when it is ...
She gets just as much credit for tackling contemporary subject material in such a cathartic way. I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I? is a loving squeeze on the shoulder for heartbroken audience members, & a much needed, if grim, chuckle.

Make no mistake - a not-insignificant part of this play's charm is how exasperated its author appears to be over its very existence. But Daniel's too hard on himself - all of his authorial/ theatrical talents are out in full force, and we his fans are delighted and unsurprised by what he can do with a fun Secret Santa title exchange. If there were ever an insane asylum on SESAME STREET, this play is surely an escapee, and may it never be apprehended. A perfect addition to the Prillaman legacy.

O'Grady took arguably the hardest title to receive in a Secret Santa playwriting title swap (it's certainly one of the most intimidating!!!) and uses it to breathe hot-lava dragon fire. Satire? She scorches the earth, and it's cathartic for an audience desperately seeking oasis and validation that they're not alone.
Actually, this title and this playwright were destined to find one another across universes. Hat tip to the forces that brought them together to let O'Grady shine as she always does.

Jackie takes charge, Scott handles the stuff on the sidelines. Neither is wrong, and they're absolutely not alone.
Busser, a maestro of plays of any length, does an outstanding job showing the comedic-mundane realities that come during the grieving process, and the ways we can use them to find solace. Indeed, these can be the moments when humanity shines the most. WAITING ON MOM, WHO ALREADY LEFT (great title!) is hilarious. It's also REAL, which is the bigger accomplishment.