Recommended by Claudia Haas

We all need a Bobby in our life. And Bear. And Brompton. Plumridge gives us a Bear interlude that is interrupted by love. We should all be interrupted by love.

Disclosure: I was raised by a father who put on the tinsel 1 strand at a time. Really, Lorne and Molly - don’t even go there. Soucy opens up the Christmas traditions that are sacred. Choose your fights or you might wind up with children that create a thermo-nuclear war. Tinsel escalates. Soucy escalates. To throw tinsel or to place tinsel? Soucy asks this in earnest. Think carefully before you answer. Don’t endanger your holly jolly Christmas. (I now await the Fruitcake Wars play.)

Puller brings us a tale of racism that is accessible to young children. Yes, children will laugh and clap and later think as they choose a crayon. One of the beauties of the play is that she has not dumbed anything down for children but actually provides clarity for all ages. The flawed but easy “all crayons matter” hits home. The ending will surprise. Puller is shining a light and not giving an easy out. A gem that will engage the young and old. The play is a portal for discussion.

How Higbee can take a mother, a daughter, and a goldfish and mine it into a twisty, pseudo-whodunnit is why I return to his plays again and again. This may surpass “A Fish Called Wanda” as my favorite goldfish tale. The under currents run deep but I was still jolted at the end. This was born to be staged.

Wang knows how to explore relationships with food. With all in its proper place, Aimee bids farewell to the appetizers and entrees in her life as she looks forward to the dessert. Unique, just sweet enough, and leaves you hungering for more of Aimee.

Wow! You thinking your entering spooky-romance-comedy-territory and then Williams turns the table on everyone: the characters and the audience. The ending will send a chill. A taut, unique short play that packs a wallop in just a few minutes.

This monologue may be the most charming yet. I love the heroics and Shakespeare would approve of all the improvements Bear made to his lines. In London, the rain may raineth every day but Bear is the sun.

If you decide to marry and you both celebrate Christmas, beware the blending of families during Christmas season. Hoke has given you one of the biggest challenges - present expectations. Oh sure, you’ll laugh while reading this. You’ll actually have the best time watching this. But somewhere deep down you may wonder, “Is this in my future?” Merry merry.

Jessica walks a minefield in trying to understand her friend’s heartbreak while also filling her in on a few truths about that relationship. It’s explosive, funny, and poignant. Klass shines a mirror on relationships where a woman loses her own identity to conform to what her significant other needs. Untethered is a beautiful nod to friendship as well as a reminder to preserve your own identity. Love yourself.

My knowledge of comedy begins with the Borscht Belt and ends with today’s newcomers. The world spins and sometimes we feel left behind - out of orbit. Norkin bridges the “before” and “after” of this unique world with constant comic relief, regret, wishes, and humanity. Yes, you’ll laugh a lot. You will also feel “all the feels.” It’s what theatre does best.