Recommended by Matthew Weaver

This one-woman show offers all Hoke's signature hallmarks in their finest form: An in-depth look beneath the surface of a Hollywood starlet's life and career.
Here Hoke gives Mabel Normand, the female Charlie Chaplin, the first woman ever to be tied to a railroad track, her chance to share her story, and it is riveting. Hoke does a thorough examination and an enviable job of putting Mabel's life in the context of the time and setting (misogny and sexism are ever-present). A star of the silver screen, long ignored and forgotten, unearthed, and Hoke gives her back her voice.

Ooooooooooooh, another dark offering from the author of TARTARUS. Sickles offers an otherworldly, Gothic tale tinged with violence and grief and heartbreak. Jessa and Quinton do a danse macabre in the darkness.
Sickles' words are always a delight, but he's particularly at his best when he's sending shivers up and down your spine.

For those of us who love Sickles' gift for dialogue, he is equally adept with action. OLD NORSE LOVE ARIA is a beautiful, funny, haunting pantomime that feels at once like something true and something we would witness in a dream. I was particularly touched by the image of the ring bearer and flower girl seeking refuge.
Sickles is SO gifted at words that while reading his descriptions, I literally could hear the howling wind and feel the cold.
Audience goers are equally fortunate whether Sickles elects to speak up, speak out or be silent. This is lovely, lovely, lovely.

A superb capture of such strange modern times. Kingsley adeptly tells a story that is very of the now, with a clever mystery and use of technology available to us now, particularly during the pandemic, while giving us an important, oft-neglected viewpoint. You will feel the isolation breathing down your neck. A very important play; consider it for your Zoom productions and festivals. Exceedingly well done.
I enjoyed a Zoom performance of DOES SHE EXIST? during Playwrights Playground at Stage Left Theater in Spokane, WA.

"James, let's see how well you can saw that in half blindfolded." "James, let's see if that camel is ticklish." Dellagiarino Feriend gives us a totally new side of Jesus - snarky older brother and mischievous uncle - from the perspective of long-suffering younger brother James. It's a lighthearted viewpoint that emphasizes Jesus both as a human person, and ultimately as someone his disciples would follow into death. I've had Dellagiarino Feriend's play atop my reading list for a long time. It more than lived up to my excitement and greatly exceeded my expectations. Oh, and camels? Not ticklish, apparently.

All the hallmarks of a Paul Lewis play are here: Strong characters, especially strong women; a timeless historical tale that stays on just this side of magic and a mystery that shows the past is never far from the present. Farmers of the Pacific Northwest's Palouse and agricultural advocates, in particular, I think will enjoy this look at the past that captures the wonder of their machinery and life's work, an admiration the playwright uses to great effect here.
There is always something mysterious and magical afoot in a Paul Lewis play, but the greatest wonder is Lewis' words themselves.

Emily Hageman is very very good at writing plays about and for teenagers. She is also very very good at writing plays about superheroes. Therefore, an Emily Hageman play about superheroes about and for teenagers is going to be very very good, indeed, and THE ADAPTORS does NOT disappoint. (Hageman's writing does many things, but disappointing us is never one of them.)
Hageman explores the darkest traumas of the team's various origin stories with her signature empathy, grace and kindness. It's not hard to imagine a grieving YA audience finding comfort in these words. After all, that's Emily Hageman's superpower.

A fascinating, complex interaction in which Sickles layers on the history. Joanie and Ken navigate a complicated past in which one person has done the terrible wronging and one has been terribly wronged. Both sides get their perspective, and the unfairness of the situation is honestly acknowledged; there are no victims here. Would that reality were as even and fair-balanced as Sickles' characters. And as badass: I particularly liked Joanie's motherly pride in her daughter as she relays the story of trouble at school.
As always, Sickles' words are full of heart and class in the face of heartache.

I guess the biggest thing I can say about ORION is that I needed to read it the very moment I read it, and that I suspect I will come back to it in the future as well.
He gets extra bonus points for writing an exceedingly kind and compassionate play, one that's fair to all of its characters and gives them their moment. Heartwrenching, yes, real, also yes.
This better become a college production mainstay.
McLachlan is a new to me playwright, but I certainly expect to and look forward to reading more of his work in the future.

I had the pleasure of watching this play as Theatre Unmasked's first full-length Zoom performance.
Hayet's script takes a look that's both compassionate and hilarious at the fates of the original golden ticket holders of Wonka's chocolate factory. Every continuation Hayet imagines here makes absolute perfect sense as a logical continuation of the original tale, and yet is wholly original itself. A delightful showcase that allows each individual cast member their moment to shine, it would be a success whether on stage or on Zoom.
Just as Roald Dahl envisioned, Hayet brings a lot of humanity to the fantastic.