Recommended by Claudia Haas

If there's one thing a bride needs - it's her "swoosh." And when you find out why Darcy's losing it - your heart cracks a little. Cows and mothers and pockets and swoosh somehow produce a beginning, middle and end that goes from quirkiness to sweetness, to abrupt sadness and finally to an ending that is also a beginning. It all makes sense but you never see any of it coming - which is why you stay connected until the very end.

"Everyone needs somewhere to be." And Green gives us the most marvelous place to be - right next to three men who are navigating life after work, the nuances of friendship and the challenges of retirement. As the men look back at their erstwhile life, what really stands out is the future they are creating, the bonds they are forging and the newness and rediscovery of being who they always probably were once upon a time.

Donna Reed and Father Knows Best has been updated to celebrate the Second Amendment. That’s all you need to know. Read it. Produce it.

As a former New Yorker, there was always something romantic to me about the Central Park Horses. Part of me always said, "yes, I'd like to take a ride." And part of me always said "no you wouldn't." O'Grady's poignant and pointed exchange told me to trust my instincts. Those blinders protect more than the horses. What an engaging play for the holidays - dreams of freedom. Well done.

Yes, there's wit and humor and a lot of sly-side glances but there's also heartbreak. The part about "carrying your American ID with you wherever you go" is currently a truism in America today. As our country slides back into putting people in racial boxes (and arresting them for it), it is all too timely.

As a believer in legends, spooky winters and magical wolves, I was "all in" as the play twisted me into places I wasn't sure I wanted to go. It will be a long time before I visit a winter resort and a longer time before I dare match wits with someone specializing in improvisation. Scary-spooky-enchanting fun.

It’s a difficult and challenging world and Rader does not shy from any of it. She explores a loving and complicated friendship of three girls navigating a world where the country is fractured, the families have cracks and places that are supposed to be safe places for children are mired in the sensitivities of a male patriarchy. As we watch the young girls develop from childhood to adults, you root for them. You wish them love, you know them and you want to save them.

One of the best “female friendship” buddy tales that I have read in - forever. Finding truths in soccer, in snow, in surprises, in love and marriage left me wishing for the next act of Tiffany’s and Jessica’s friendship. The play shines brightly during deep December.

I had the pleasure of seeing Siskind’s staged reading of this at Thinktank Theatre’s Playfest2025. It’s said that people come into your life for a reason. They may or may not stay but their footprint stays on your soul. Siskind’s beautiful rendering of a friendship may evoke memories of people in your life. The friendship may end or continue. It’s beautifully open-ended. But you know it will remain important in their lives wherever life takes them. So easy to produce. So do it.

I had the pleasure of seeing a staged reading of this at Thinktank Theatre TYA recently. Funny, poignant and thoughtful, the two playwrights don’t shy away from real teen-speak and mature themes that teens today grapple with. There are some knockout monologues and chances for all the actresses to shine. Teen audiences will appreciate being immersed in a play that accurately shows their realities, their fears and their challenges in coping with today’s world. Read it. Discuss it. Produce it.